top of page
  • Writer's pictureZeziliax

UWCiM Week 1

The countdown is over!


I'm on the plane and I'm about to reach my next destination in less than an hour... As the airplane closes by, I start to lay my eyes on my new home. My first impression on Bosnia Herzegovina..." green and organized".


Then, my plane lands and by the time I realize, I am at the entrance of my residence and walking towards it with nervous and worried steps.


..........................................................................................................................................................................

Seeing tens of new welcoming faces was very intimidating for a 'firstie'... that's what we are called here.... Also you don't remember even a quarter of the names of the people you've met and that's totally cool :)


In the next moment, I approach my room with my second years...The lock turns and ta-da ... disappointment! It's not the kind of disappointment you would think it is. Let me clarify that before you guys fall into wrong thoughts.


My new room was less than the half the size of my old room. I had a tiny desk, which is something really disturbing for a messy worker like me. My bed was a simple one in terms of design and surprisingly comfortable. I had a wardrobe that was pretty reasonable in size... two huge luggages and two small bags fit into it, and there was extra space left... It was minimalistic...


When there's a sudden change in your environment and with the addition of being homesick, your thoughts suddenly turn into pessimistic ones at first. However, thank god this only lasts for a few hours. I call this the "initial shock".


In UWC, your feelings can change faster than the speed of light. I spent my first few hours regretting my decision, falling into pessimistic thoughts, crying on my bed, calling my parents every freaking minute, so that I could ignore the pain of longing for their presence.


As I recall the moments now, I was really making a fool of myself.


Thankfully, my mood changed eventually as I started making friends... One of the best sides of UWC is that people are amazing. They're so welcoming and they're literally an expert at making you happy. I've got welcoming cards, free food and lots of visitations. These felt like medicine that healed my wounds magically.


The next day, I truly started the 'UWC Life' with the INDUCTION WEEK. It's always the first day that's hard. Then, the stones eventually fall into their right places and you see a path ahead of you.


Let me talk about the boring and stressful moments of these few days. On top of our list is PLACEMENT TESTS then, ACADEMIC FAIR and Other Informative Talks. Although these are the necessities of the education program, they could really put you under stress and boredom.


Placement Tests didn't even worth my attention of studying for them. They were doable and almost everyone got to their desired level. So, as my second years say, "Don't Stress About It!" When it comes to the Academic Fair, it just gets very tiring and boring at times, especially if you're not interested in the subject and just entering the session for the sake of attending. Same goes for the Other Informative Talk.


I don't want to label them with such negative words, but for a person, who comes from an IB background and when you know the topics, you tend to be less interested than the rest of the people.


Anyways, let's talk about the fun stuff now. In UWC, friendships take on a whole different level, because they become your everything. You start to share life together. You live...study...eat...have fun...sleep...cry...and do everything else together. In here, a day feels like a week of friendship in the normal school environment.


I'm so grateful for the friends I've already made so far and excited for my future friendships. In here, life feels empty without the adventures you take on with your friends, especially the parties, which I would like to save for another post.


Also, the feeling of being independent has an amazing taste. You make your own judgments and truly control your own life. At times, you do crazy things, too. The craziest thing I did this week was to jump off a cliff.


It may not feel like a huge thing to most of you, but for a person, who has a fear of heights, experiencing the gravity pulling you down wasn't a really happy moment. For the first time, I actually believed that the things I've learned in Physics weren't useless information, because I felt it.


As I come to an end, I want to add to the last detail. Despite the fact that I've only been here for a week, I've already started calling my residence, Musala as my home. I started to feel like I belong here and even fought for the pride of my residence in our inter-residential football tournament during the weekend.


Even the inter-residential games have a different feel in here. You actually feel like you're competing for the honor of your residence, unlike the team games I've played back in my old school. The cheering and the atmosphere was amazing...words aren't enough to explain it.

.................................................................................................................................................................................


A week past and added tons of unique memories to my life. I can't wait to live the upcoming weeks! Now I started to understand, what it means to be a part of UWC.... and it's only the first week.

44 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

This Girl is On Fire?!

Date: 8 February 2019 The life in UWCiM is continuing at its usual busy pace. And, this week is unique, because it's African Culture Week! On Sunday, we had our opening ceremony that officially kick s

bottom of page