I decided to join the Buddy Scheme during the summer before starting as a new student at the University of Sussex in September 2013. I came to Sussex all by myself and I was ready to tackle a new challenge: no friends, no family, new country. Thus, in order to speed up the process of settling in, I thought it would be a good idea to become part of the buddy scheme.

Soon after I subscribed, I received the details about my buddy. I remember this being such an exciting moment! Given that curiosity is in my nature, I immediately contacted my buddy. Already after the first couple of emails I realised that the match was simply perfect! Francesca, now a graduate of Sussex, was doing the exact same course as me (American Studies and English) and she only came back from her year abroad in Santa Barbara when we first met. This was of particular interest to me since I knew I would go on my year abroad in 2015 as well. Hence Francesca could provide so many useful information about our course and about her personal experiences in the States. In this sense, the buddy scheme, and Francesca in particular, helped me to find my way into university life as a student at Sussex.

Francesca and I first started to meet on campus for a coffee, or a drink. After a while, and after we both realised that we have similar interests, we became close friends and started to meet outside of university. As a Fresher I lived in campus accommodation. Therefore, I was really grateful that Francesca offered to show me Brighton and some of her favourite places. This was especially exciting for me as an international student from Luxembourg since I was able to discover my new “home” from many different perspectives: Francesca showed me local shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants. All this made me conclude that I undoubtedly chose the perfect place to study!

In summary, I would say that because of Francesca I was able to familiarise myself with university life, and Brighton much quicker than I would have doneby myself. Unfortunately we never made it to the buddy scheme events because our timetables simply did not allow us to do so. However, I can only say that I had great experiences with the buddy scheme and I would definitely recommend it to all newcomers at Sussex, especially to international students. Moreover it was much easier to settle into university life having Francesca by my side as a guide showing me all the beautiful things about Sussex and Brighton. Franky and I are still in contact today. A couple of weeks ago she stayed in Brighton for the weekend, and we had tea together at my place to catch up on everything. We had a great time!

By Sara Hoffmann – Buddy 2015

Photo of Sara enjoying her first cupcake ever in Brighton at a cafe called Catwalk Cakes in the Laines