Why study in UK? When I decided to begin this kind of hard life in UK, I always asked by myself.

Maybe I can have a look at the oldest and largest museum in the world, the British Museum which collected a wild range of priceless relics and antiques; maybe I can take a photo at the Top 10 University --- Cambridge and Oxford to feel the sense of study; maybe I can visit the home of Shakespeare where he made great poems; maybe I can come to the leaving port of “Titanic” where she begin her first and last voyage. That’s the city where I study in, Southampton, a small city in the southern part of England. The process of living in UK is the answer itself. This passage is to conclude my past and look into the future.

I was enrolled in the exchanging program of study in the UK Top20 School --- University of Southampton in October 2010. And it was my first time here and during nearly one year of life, I gained a lot.Exciting and a little scare came to my mind instead of the tiredness of 14 hours flight when I made my first step in the land of UK, though we came to this school as a group. Everything is full of mystery and curious after we arrived at London Heathrow airport. And it was the beginning of my UK life.

First of all, living is the most important part in UK. I need to handle all the daily stuff by yourself rather than my parents. When I first came into my room, I was satisfy with the furniture, the bathroom, the bed, the desk and all of it.

And I begin to cook for yourself which I never did before. And I need to clean my room as I want to live in such a comfortable space. As I do not want to waste my time in UK, I start to plan your time.

Life in UK is a kind of lonely and slow, everyone spend a lot of time on the internet. At first, I were curious about the night life in UK because I heard that there is no karaoke and other place of entertainment in midnight. Then I asked the native for this, I knew that most teenagers went to the pub for fun, to dance to release all the pressure which is quite from Chinese. Maybe it is the different way of thinking between Chinese and English, the former one express quite implicative while the other express quite straightly. In just one week, I have adapt to the life in UK. Another important difference is the food, English food is quite boring and disgusting, many Chinese students may not like it, and sometimes they prefer to cook for themselves or go to the Chinese restaurants. By the way, many English people like Chinese food very much if you do not put much chilly in your dish, and you can make many English friends through this way. But what I have to say is the teenager in UK is very naughty, they like to play tricks on others. You should learn to tolerant, otherwise if you beat them, you will in trouble. Because they are protected in law no matter what they did.Studying is another important part because I came here for studying rather than travelling. The teaching timetable is quite flexible, I have 6 hours lecture from 11am to 5pm without any break or sometimes enjoy a full day without any lecture. After lecture tutorial and seminars will be sent to me, and I can choose any tutorial or seminar in a week as there is more than once. And studying in UK is quite different from studying in china, teacher will not give any key points before exam, I need to prepare all the points covered in the lecture. And I should write the essay and dissertation by myself rather than copy from internet. If I did that, the professor will clearly know my work and mark them fairly. And the way of teaching is quite preciseness, there is no way for me to make any beeline to success instead step by step. So preparing for the final exam is quite a hard work and labor consuming, I clearly remember that I spend more than 10 hours in the library to review the courses in the last several weeks. And many Chinese students are really good at studying, they often reach a good mark in the final exam, some of them got above 70% average in it while the pass grade is 40%. Through the year I took 7 classes, MANG2003 financial accounting2, MANG3008 strategic management, ECON2026 introduction to econometrics, MANG3009 international banking, MANG2004 portfolio theory and financial market, MANG3032 risk management and MANG3020 future and option. Travelling is an important part in holiday. During this year, I have been to the London for shopping and have a view of one of the financial center in the world. I have been to visit the great universities, Oxford and Cambridge. I have been to the elder capital---Winchester to feel the UK’s history. I have been to one of the biggest harbor---Portsmouth to have a view of the beautiful England seaside. I have been to the Stonehenge to see the stones which is full of mystery. During the easter holidays, i came to Europe for a travel, it took me 9 days to 7 countries, including German, France, Swiss and so on. Not only I broader my eyes but also practicing my oral English during the way of travelling. I feel so warm when I get lost and receive passengers’ help. So I suggest if anyone came to travel, you might prepare the entire thing including map before the day you plan.Moreover, the view of Southampton is very beautiful as well although it is nearly destroyed in World War II. The beach and old tower can give up a sense of relax, and we just become a part of the beautiful picture. The Highfield campus is also very beautiful, a large piece of grass and river through the campus--- the greatest picture you can image.At last, I have to say, one year experience of studying here is my best memory in my life, I learn to grow up, learn to be independent, and learn to think by myself.