The trip of my life

by Marcela Vivanco (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

A leap into the unknown Great Britain

The trip of my life My name is Marcela; I’m from Santiago of Chile, though I currently live in Colchester, England, where my journey began in October 2018. I would like to share a biographical travel story along with my own experience abroad. Since I was a little girl I dreamed of visiting the United Kingdom one day. I was madly obsessed with the English language as all my favourite bands were from England. When I was adolescent, I realised that my passion was related to foreign languages and culture. Then I decided to study a BA in Education and English Teaching at a Chilean university. My purpose was to make not only the English language but the British civilisation my professional career. Thus, I worked as an English Teacher for ten years in diverse areas of Santiago. Although I was happy teaching English to the students who I worked with, especially to children, I always felt that there was something missing in myself. My job allowed me to travel to 19 different countries. Whenever I was on either winter or summer holidays, I went on a trip. Even though I travelled around South America, Europe and Southeast Asia, I still got attracted to the UK. I wanted not just to stay there for a few weeks, rushing from airport to airport, but to spend part of my life. That is why in 2017 I applied for a Master’s course in Psycholinguistics at the University of Essex, England. I was accepted, yet I didn’t have the whole amount of money to pay both accommodation and tuition fees. I continued working hard for one more year to save as much money as I could. However, I knew it would be difficult to make it without any scholarship. Once I was fully convinced that this was the right track, I received like a divine message straight away. The University offered me funding through a Masters scholarship named Academic Excellence International, which helped me cover some of the tuition cost. Hence I quit my job in August 2018 to get ready for such a great adventure. I had to sort out a student visa, residence permit and general documents. Eventually, I figured all the next moves out. 1st October my parents drove me to the airport early in the morning. It was sad because I lived with them for almost 34 years, though I felt really excited for this absolutely new stage coming soon. I travelled for 2 days from Santiago-Toronto, Toronto-London. Afterwards, when I arrived in London, I had to wait for hours the bus which took me to the University accommodation. Later that evening, I was already in Colchester, based at the Uni Quays to live on campus for one year. I couldn’t believe my eyes; I was starting to accomplish my biggest dream. There was a mixture of emotions going on in my mind. I was glad yet scared of all the unknown experiences waiting for me. The autumn term started and I needed to catch up with too much information of each module I was enrolled. Besides, my theoretical knowledge regarding the English language was not enough to cope with the massive input I was exposed to for the first time. I reckoned that age would be a crucial variable to settle in a foreign country and acquire a second language. 22nd October 2018, it was my third week living in England and my 34th birthday. I celebrated it 11.784 km away from my family like never before, I felt quite homesick. I took a one-way flight and just at this point I considered the importance of that decision. However, I understood time might be another determining factor which can be used either positively or negatively. As the months passed, I got used to the normally cold weather of England, varied British accents, and so on. I finished the MA course to become a Psycholinguist and I did so with merit results. Despite of living abroad has implied several challenges for me, it helped me find myself. I have made my childhood dream true and I want to keep writing down stories in my traveller’s journal.