Memories of a Canadian scholar: My Chevening Experience

Our latest Chevening Conversations blog is by Canadian alumnus Shahreen Reza, who studied for an MPHIL in Modern Society and Global Transformations at the University of Cambridge. Shahreen blogs about the initial Cambridge experience from a Canadian perspective.

When we first arrive we’re all terribly homesick. Suddenly the grit and grime of the city of Toronto felt divine. Nostalgia will hit you; it is inevitable, but it will fade. Friends are the most important part of a graduate student’s life. No one tells you how dreadfully isolating it can become. Solitude is no longer a solace; rather, you realize how lonely you really are, up in your room with a thesis that beckons. Cambridge is truly a world filled with brilliant minds. Your colleagues will help push you through.

Go horseback riding and canter off your stress. Wake up at 4:30 a.m. and go for a jog. The idyllic world of Cambridge offers stark beauty at the crack of dawn. Get involved in theatre, even if you only act once and are later beaten down by eight failed auditions. Row and experience bumps when all the colleges race against each other down the river Cam: the exhilaration and the camaraderie you build, biking down at 6 a.m. to hit the water, the dreaded 2k on the ergs … these will be times that you will look back on fondly.

New Hall offered a nurturing environment with incredibly caring staff. My college graduate tutor was a guardian angel who helped me through the many hurdles that sprung up along the way. When you’re in trouble, you aren’t alone. There are so many people who are there to help you, be it the college nurse, the registrar, the fellows or even the porters. You have a new family in a world to which you will feel alien during the first few months. The British Council is also there for you and is very approachable. I became good friends with my Chevening rep, Nick Hewitt, who still mentors me years after! Don’t despair when you grow depressed; it will pass … and if you allow yourself to be open to new social and academic experiences, you will discover moments of euphoria and absolute satisfaction.

Take the time to travel. Stansted airport is a 15-minute train ride away and sometimes you will realize that a flight to Norway is cheaper than a stay in London. Discover the amazing food Cambridge has to offer. Yes, even England can offer a plethora of experiences for an epicurean’s palette! Whether it’s succulent ostrich burgers on a Sunday in Market Square, fresh fudge at the Fudge Kitchen, a gastronomically delightful lunch at MidSummer House or dabbling in Middle Eastern food from Mill Road, make sure you try more than a curry!

Explore all the facets of the town. There are many homeless people in Cambridge. Get to know them because they are as much a part of the place as the students and the professors. One of my favourites was Joe, a regular busker, who sang outside Sainsbury’s every day in order to have a place to sleep at night.

Never feel intimidated. If there is something you are passionate about, strive for it; even if the hierarchical bureaucracy of your department disapproves, learning should not have limitations. Let your research be your own and if your supervisor is unable or unwilling to help you, don’t be afraid to seek someone more supportive. Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do … so if you feel like stripping down and taking a run on the college lawn, where non-fellows are forbidden to place their feet, then take off those pants and enjoy a jog! It may be an 800-year-old institution, but we’re Canadian, eh?

Take a bike ride to Grantchester and watch the sun set over the thatched roofs – marvelous architecture very different from the colleges. And for goodness’ sake, when you ride a bike (and you will need one), make sure you wear a helmet, even if it ruins your hair and makes you look uncool. Take it from me, I flew over my handlebars and fell on my face as I accelerated down Castle Hill, the only hill in all of Cambridge, and was taken away in an ambulance with blood gushing down my face a week before my thesis deadline. Don’t be stupid.

If you are a Chevening scholar or alumnus and you would like to submit a blog entry, please get in touch. You can get in touch with me, Declan Byrne,  via the Chevening Community website or via your local British Embassy/High Commission. Entries should be 500 to 700 words please. Remember that you can link to your own blog page if you have more to say. We would be particularly interested to hear about the initial experiences of the UK from our new 2011/12 scholars.