Martina Gardeva (Bulgaria)

My name is Martina Gardeva and I am a Bulgarian postgraduate student in MSc Tourism Management and Marketing. Being away from home and studying in a completely different country can be quite exhausting and overwhelming sometimes. It’s normal to feel homesick and miss your friends and family, but if you feel that you need to talk to someone, the university has you covered.

You are not alone

Email askbu@bournemouth.ac.uk and share your thoughts or problems with them. The service is anonymous and you can always count on some good advice. If further help is needed, they will always refer you to the right place. Popular topics include drugs and addictions, relationships, pregnancy, stress, depression and so on.

You can also contact the student support and engagement team for your faculty if you have any personal enquiries. There is an A-Z list of resources which you can check out for further support here. You need to remember you are not alone in this!

Medical Centre on campus

BU has at its disposal the Student Medical Centre, which is located at Talbot House and is available during the weekdays. There is also an option for emergencies. Remember, you need to make an appointment before you go as they serve a high volume of students. You can find more information on that here.

Help with no physical issues 

Feeling good and healthy is a must in order to do your best in your studies. There is a free student wellbeing service at Talbot house, which also offers advice, workshops and drop-in sessions. They also deal with mental health needs of any kind. Whether you have a faith or not the Chaplaincy at BU also supports all students. They provide a space to relax and unwind, while exploring the world of spirituality.

Peer to peer support 

Another option if you are looking for someone to talk to about a personal problem or the way you feel is to go to the SUBU team (Student Union Bournemouth University). You can go to their building, located on Talbot campus, or just send an email to subuadvice@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Remember, it’s always a good idea to seek help when you think you need some and there is nothing shameful about that! The best advice I can give you is to surround yourself with nice and positive people and try to find some good friends you can spend your days with. You can then fully enjoy your time at BU and forget about all the dull chores or work you are usually stressing about!

By Martina Gardeva, Bulgaria, MSc Tourism Management and Marketing, 2017/18