Be The Difference – and find more possibilities in University of Stirling

“Be the difference”, the succinct motto could be prominently seen on each part of the campus, encouraging everyone to explore the possibilities of life. The University of Stirling has a history of only 51 years and is one of the youngest universities in the UK. Compared to a century-old school like Cambridge or Oxford, it is more like a young and energetic stripling, eager to change itself, and change its students as well.

On Sept 9, 2018, the 2016 Media Experiment Class of the School of Journalism and Communication in Nanjing University arrived at Stirling University, which located in Scotland, North England. It is one of the featured projects of the media experiment class that the whole class went to study abroad. Compared to the enthusiasm of the Kentucky University (the university the seniors studied), Stirling, this historic old city welcomes us in a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

In the next three-month study, we will learn more about theories and status quo of western communication through a series of practical activities like visiting BBC headquarters in Scotland and some classes which include “Writing for Journalism” “Magazine Journalism” “Journalism Studies” “Reading Films and Television” “Mass Media Research Methods” “Media Studies and Industries” and so on.

A week has passed up till now, our students have different experiences in their own life there.

Ancient and warm: one city multifaceted

When we first arrived, the city gave us an old but warm feeling. Speaking of ancient, Stirling was once the political, industrial and commercial center of the ancient Scottish kingdom before the invasion of the English army in the 15th century. Therefore, the oldest palace in the ancient Scottish kingdom, Stirling Castle, is located here. In addition, the famous Wallace Monument is located in the southeast corner of the city, which is the landmark here to commemorate the Scottish uprising leader William Wallace. From the window of our dormitory, we can see the monument standing in the foothills.

When it comes to warmth, we can feel it in our daily life. It confuses us a lot when we looking for change in front of a long team because British pennies come in a wide variety of shapes and similar to each other. However, the clerk’s “take it easy” always makes us no longer anxious. The bus here is not crowded, each passenger will greet with the driver whenever they get on or off the bus. And if we are in trouble or get lost, there will always be local residents asking if we need help initiatively, or even send us to destinations a few kilometers away. These wonderful experiences all gave us great surprises and comfort.

In addition, due to its proximity to Glasgow in the southwest and Edinburgh in the southeast, the transportation here is very convenient. It takes about 20 minutes by bus from the school to the train station in the city center, then we could take the train to the nearby cities.

Modern and simple, warm and quiet, contradictory and unified parties interweave in Stirling, drawing the unique landscape.

The Welcome Reception: “Diversity is the source of happiness”

On the second day we arrived in Stirling, we experienced the relaxing and ardent cultural and academic atmosphere of University of Stirling from the Welcome Reception held for us by the academic staff.

Adrian Hadland, head of the Department of Media and Culture, welcomed the arrival of teachers and students from Nanjing in his speech. He also said that this was the first time they tried such a project and hoped to make progress together with us in the project.

After the speech, we received the first “surprise” that Stirling gave us – impromptu self-introduction.

In the self-introductions, the most mentioned feature by us is the “unique” weather here. Indeed, in mid-September, it has been like the late autumn in Nanjing. The interweaving of dazzling sunshine as well as breeze and drizzle has authentically made us feel the difference between Stirling and our hometown.

The individual speaking session ends in a piece of delightful music. We walked out of the seat and communicated with the academic staff joyfully over tea, coffee and pastries.

Here, the teachers chatted with us from magazine news to Scotch whisky, from their personal experiences to our future planning. Moreover, when we talked about our favorite teacher in China, our project coordinator, Damyan Kachulski, joked that “I will replace him!”

(Project coordinator, Damyan Kachulski, introducing the programme)

From the beginning to the end, we all experienced and enjoyed the differences between Chinese and Scottish culture, as well as the discrepant academic atmosphere at home and abroad in this welcoming ceremony.

As Russell’s words quoted by Professor Xiaoyu Li in her speech: “Divesity is the source of happiness.” In the next three months, we firmly believe that we will “make each day count” by tasting the joy of learning and living in Scotland, and exploring the potential in diversity.

Club Activity – Find the Other Possibility of University Life!

Luckily, before long, we deeply experienced the “variety” that Professor Li had mentioned before. Actually, almost all clubs chose the first week to have new recruit, therefore, although the space in front of the library is not spacious, it was entirely occupied with different clubs. Endless students came here to seek for the “home” of interests and like-minded friends. With the mood of curiosity and exploration, we came here to find the other possibility of university life.

The style of student clubs in the University of Stirling is distinctive. There are clubs for academy, volunteering, hobbies, etc. At the same time, the “Sport union” were also having the new recruit. Additionally, the University of Stirling attaches much importance to sport, and it is one of the official National Athlete Training Centers designated by the British Olympic Committee. What is more, it has one of the best sports facilities in the UK and it ranks the first in Scotland. In this atmosphere, the activities held by the “Sport Union” are colorful.

In the Tennis Gymnasium, the sports clubs formed a circle, and in the center of the circle, there are students playing tennis and trampoline. The soft trampoline, difficult aerial two and a half turn, we were deeply impressed by the girl playing on the trampoline. In China, this sport is not universal. Hence, we were eager to have a try. Under the encouragement by the president of the trampoline club, many of us trod on the trampoline, feeling the charm of this sport by ourselves.

(University of Stirling Trampoline Club)

Besides trampoline, there are also special clubs like mountaineering club, kayak club, archery club…. Those rich and colorful sports clubs have also added a heavy color to university life.

Referring to student activities, the ball would be the most important.

Living in a campus where 20% are international students, to get so many students from all over the world, with different language, different culture and different habits, to come together and socialize with each other is not an easy task. But music and dancing have no borders. On the first day of university, a fantastic Freshers’ Ceilidh let everyone throw away the shame of first-time knowledge and quickly broke the ice.

Freshers’ Ceilidh is a traditional fresher welcoming party in University of Stirling. Ceilidh is a common social party with long history in Scotland. With live band playing around, everyone dances happily and brightly.

We were, of course, not a good dancer. All we can do was just following the DJ’s instruction and secretly glimpsed at the boys in Scottish costume, but we always stepped on our partners in a panic. What a shame! When the song finally ended, we still cannot dance but received several black footprints on our shows.

Left, right; clap your hands, kick your legs; change your partner, turn around… The movement of Scottish dancing is simple and neat, without so many gorgeous turns and beautiful rotations. On the stage, guitar and violin are playing brisk songs. On the small platforms beside the dance floor, people are eager for the next movement. At the bar, the young people are painting Scottish flag on cheeks, drinking beer, and chatting with joy. Rotating, it seems to be in the country dance under Jane Austen’s pen, but I just don’t know whether there will be the arrogant Mr. Darcy in the crowd.

Living in Campus: Leisure and Rigor

Despite of abundant colourful and dynamic activities in campus, we still can feel the unique leisure style in a British way. It might be the influence of the slow pace of life in Stirling.

Professors and students are always walking tranquilly, not too fast or slow. When there comes an unexpected shower, they won’t be hasty even without an umbrella. Quaint castle, tender lawn, swans in the loch… I can find impressive scenery in every inadvertent moment.

‘Crow’ implies a bad fortune in traditional Chinese culture. However, crows can be seen everywhere in campus. Black feather with blue eyes, crows are witty, cute and not afraid of humans. The most attractive scenery is that sometimes crows and pigeons perch on either sides of lane. Black, white, and green, these ingenious creatures are made up of a landscape, a peaceful symphony.

Beside exuberant beech wood, the dormitory we live in is called ‘Beech Court’. In front of the building, there is a loch, which has groups of swans swimming in. Cool breeze blows through trees and window sills every morning, revealing a sense of British leisure style.

In Beech Court, ten single rooms consist of a big suite, sharing one communal kitchen and living room. Due to the high food price in Scotland, we choose to feed ourselves. When it comes to the meal time, we cook delectable food with great interest in kitchen. At first, it is a challenge for us to use the electric stove, because it would take a long time before the stove reach the temperature we want.

However, panic can’t be avoided. For safety, a sensitive smoke alarm is installed in every single room. As long as one room or kitchen overcooks, all the alarms in whole building would alert people at the same time. Everyone is supposed to go downstairs and gather in front of the building.

We experienced this thrilling moment on the second night in campus. All of us were shocked by the sudden loud alarm, and went downstairs with others at a loss. The chubby security guard, who held a flashlight, passed through the crowd agilely.

Lily, one of our roommates, told us that this time was just an exercise, for the sake of the safety. But smoke alarms ring a lot here, sometimes even at 4 in the morning. Therefore, it is necessary for us to prepare a jacket at the bedside, and ready to go downstairs at any time.

After the exercise, students, who had stood in the cold wind for almost fifteen minutes, began to disperse. The lawn became tranquil and hid into the darkness in a while.

Leisure, calm, and rigor. No matter what happened, is part of our life in Stirling.

In me the tiger sniffs the rose. We come here with dreams and hopes, looking forward to taking nutrition in different soil and experiencing different life in new environment. The first week in Scotland has ended. With the help of teachers and classmates, frustration and tension is fading, with expectation instead. In the following days, what stories are we going to create?

Written by: Danye Zhou, Xuefei Hu, Yihan Xia, Yijun Wang, Zhihui Xian

Photos cr: Danye Zhou, Siyu Zhang, Xuefei Hu, Zepeng Gou