Steve is a Taiwanese student studying in Bristol who finds it difficult to communicate with her English housemates due to cultural and language differences. She struggles to socialize at clubs and find common interests. Craig is a French student living alone in Bristol who wants to meet other students in similar situations but finds it hard to break into existing social groups. Carlos is a Spanish student who will miss speaking with Spanish friends and family while studying in Bristol and wants to socialize in non-drinking contexts to discuss different cultures.
2. Steve is a 23 year old Taiwanese girl who has moved to Bristol to complete her masters in International relations. It is Steve’s first time out of Taipei and she is nervous about the culture difference. When she arrived at Bristol University there were lots of Erasmus parties but she did not like the loud clubs, drinking and found it difficult to meet new friends. The house she moved into has 3 English boys, they are all nice to Steve but she finds it hard to communicate as they speak very quickly and use slang. When they invite her to go to places it is usually to clubs and Steve does not know anywhere to invite them that they might all enjoy. Steve finds it hard to relate to some of the jokes of her new friends. Even at dinner time the type of food they eat is very different and although Steve is a good cook she does not know what the boys might like to eat as a communal meal. There are not many other Chinese speaking students on her course and has found it difficult to be away from home. She uses Skype and her iPhone to call back home but often feels homesick.
3. Craig is an 18 year old French student who has been living in England for the past two years. He has recently moved to Bristol to start studying Business at UWE. Even though Craig has been living in Bristol for the past two years, he does not have many friends and is nervous about starting University. He is living on his own and would like a way to find and interact with other students in a similar situation to himself. Craig speaks fluent English, he has no problem in socialising but does not know where to meet students and where to go out. He has tried joining Facebook groups but it seems to be advertising for nights out rather than other real students. Craig found that after freshers week he has found it hard to break into cliques and although he knows there are other students who are having a hard time to meet people he cannot find them. He has started to feel lonely and misses home, this is starting to impact on his university work.
4. Carlos is a 28-year old who has recently moved to Bristol to complete his masters degree in European Philosophy. Carlos is Spanish and this is his first time in England. He has aspirations of a quality degree mark and is eager to spend a lot of time on his work. Carlos fears that it may be difficult to contact and speak to his Spanish friends and family whilst working hard in Bristol. Carlos will be living with two English and a German housemates and is disappointed that he won’t be able to converse daily with anyone who speaks fluent Spanish. Carlos is interested in European/ world culture, food and film, and looks forward to spending time conversing and discussing different cultures. He enjoys cooking meals with family, attending drama productions and dining out. Carlos is catholic and avoids drinking to excess. He therefore tends to shy away from socialising in circles where large alcohol consumption is prevalent. He is not familiar with the English culture and does not know his way around Bristol. Carlos describes himself as an introvert and would like other ways to socialise and discuss stories with new friends. He would also like to expand his recipe list and find quality restaurants in the area.
5. Jim is a 22 year old Chinese girl who has recently moved to Bristol to study on a beauty and fashion course. She wants to move to England to study somewhere else other than China like her friends and embrace a new culture. She is the only one of her friends to study in the UK. moved into halls and has met her new flatmates. Even though she has learnt English she finds it hard to understand what people are saying as they speak too quickly and in use lots of slang. Her housemates are all English who are in their first year of uni. They are all really nice and try to involve Jim in everything that they do. Unfortunately, this usually involves going out to parties and nightclubs and drinking lots of alcohol. Jim has never really drunk alcohol a lot before so doesn't attend a lot of these parties. Jim hasn’t really ventured out around Bristol and doesn’t know her way around. She has spent time on the UWE campus and knows where important locations are on campus. Jim would like to meet people who are studying from China too, but would like to immerse herself in English culture, this being music, food and other popular traits.