Sheffield: My Scond Home

Talia Ortega, Mexico

My life here has changed dramatically; I arrived last year just to study a one year course; an MSc in Environmental and Energy Engineering. At this time I was very excited and at the same time a little sad to leave my family, friends and my boyfriend in Mexico. After a month my boyfriend and l couldn't be apart so he decided to come, even though his parents were in disagreement. He asked me to be his wife and we got married here in Sheffield in the register office. All my family were amazed and they thought that maybe I couldn't be successful in the Masters, but despite their beliefs, I got very good grades and I won a prize from Borax Europe for my research project and a letter of recommendation.

After this achievement, I decided to stay to study a PhD in Chemical Engineering; because I really like the University life, the atmosphere, the city and the people. My husband is younger than me, I'm 25 and he's 23 and he is finishing his undergraduate studies at Hallam University.

I have been involved in such a variety of activities like being the President of the Mexican and Latin-American Society, being the International Representative in the Women's Committee and being University Ambassador. I have even had the opportunity to attend a Conference in Oxford held by the Prime Minister of Mexico and been able to talk with him! (an opportunity that maybe I couldn't have had in Mexico), I have also had the opportunity to meet the Ambassador from Mexico in the European Community based in Brussels in a Conference held in Cambridge.

Studying here has given me a lot of opportunities to discover skills that I didn't even know I had before, like being a leader, learning how to dance the Mexican typical dances, knowing how to manage a group, organise activities, etc. The best thing of being here is the opportunity to fill my life with all these experiences, people and knowledge. I know now a lot about the United Kingdom, history, places, food, accents and customs. I am enjoying my life here, I even know more cities in England than an English person. My first friends when I arrived here where five great English girls from Tapton Hall of Residence, who helped me not to feel homesick. Even though I cannot see them that often, I am very grateful to them.

At the same time as learning about British culture, I can share my knowledge of Mexican culture with people interested in it. For example the Department of Hispanic Studies ask us to help practice Spanish and we can improve our English with them.

I think everybody always complains about the weather, but in fact the first time I saw snow was great. My friends and I were outside taking pictures, playing and having fun. Home people were really annoyed by the snow; but for us it was a nice experience.

At this point I can tell that the experience of studying here is invaluable for me!

Talia Ortega, Mexico