Hello! My name is Astrid, I’m from Peru and an IB student at UWC East Africa. Let me tell you some things about my experience abroad.
What is UWC
UWC (United World Colleges) is an international network of schools with the same purpose of making education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for a sustainable future.
All the UWC schools and colleges bring students from diverse backgrounds, who are immersed in a rigorous academic program (International Baccalaureate), integrated with experiential learning and personal growth opportunities.
The program lasts two years, and the students are also learning about global citizenship by fostering understanding and empathy among students of varied nationalities.
What led me to UWC
I was close to graduating from my Peruvian High School and honestly, I didn’t know what to do with my life. Since I was an outstanding student, many people were drawing standards for what they believed I should do; however, meeting those expectations was not my goal. Actually, I wasn’t sure I had a specific goal in mind and thought I needed to know myself more before taking the big step of deciding on a major.
Due to my large amount of free time, I was engaged in volunteer work and connected to the activism world, where I met many awesome compatriots and people from all over the world. There, I also met a nice young lady who told me about the UWC program and encouraged me to apply–an event that would change my life.
To be sincere, I began the application completely hopelessly. I knew that 800 people were competing for 8 scholarships, so I was skeptical about getting in (impostor syndrome controlling my mind over that time). In that period of my life, I was very used to pretending in order to fit in an environment but for some reason, I opted to show my true self in the UWC application and I am proud to admit that it made me get in.
I applied through the Peruvian National Committee and asked for a full ride, so I got matched with the East Africa college.
Main challenges
Adapting to my new environment: As a Latina, I was frequently thinking that I could be talking too fast, being too loud, or laughing too hard. I think that these and many other things were prescribed in my country and culture; however, they were very different compared to those of other people. This was challenging at first, always asking for consent and being extremely careful about my language was a daily task, but with time, it became normal and an amazing way to learn about respect and the importance of boundaries while being in such a diverse group. This new environment also exposed me to new beliefs, religions, and traditions that expanded my vision of the world.
IB curriculum: I must admit that my first introduction to the IB curriculum after studying with the Peruvian curriculum (that it’s quite complete but basic) was a nightmare! The first barrier I encountered was the language. I had studied English for two years in Peru and had a fair colloquial English level yet my academic level was not strong enough, so I struggled to understand some content and questions on tests for a while.
When I overcame that barrier, the next one was the IB format. It makes you think further, and deeply to answer clearly (learning features I was not used to). The IB always expects you to answer in a specific way, otherwise you get a bad grade. I’d say that your efforts are not proportional to the score you get. Anyway, there are some things I appreciate about this curriculum as well; I honestly think that I’m learning a lot about how to think outside of the box, analyze my own mistakes, and evaluate many situations. Between us, I think that I will struggle with IB until the day I graduate; still, I don’t regret taking it.
Homesickness: I miss my country! I haven’t lived with my family since I was 15; however, when being in Peru I could see them quite often anyway. Currently, we are thousands of kilometers away and due to my financial situation, I cannot visit them during every break we have here. Homesickness has been one of the toughest challenges that I try to dismiss by frequently watching Peruvian News, pretending that is a typical morning back there; video calling my mom, brother, or grandma (almost everyone, actually); listening to Peruvian rock and even watching Peruvian memes. Those little things make me feel closer to home and alleviate my sadness.
Activities beyond classes
Most of my extracurricular activities have come with me from Peru. My favorite one–that has a super special place in my heart – is Peer Reviews, an organization I founded to help people with the writing portion of any application. Peer Reviews assists many students with their college essays, extracurricular activities, or program resumes. I try to be as active as I can but the time difference between my place and Peru complicates things sometimes; gladly, my team is always there to help me!
On the other hand, I also sing and I’m learning to play the guitar, piano, and bass due to the music course I take for the IB. Furthermore, I like going to the gym, swimming, and yoga. Sometimes I also teach Spanish or English to local people.
Finally, I dedicate my time to being a coach in Enseña Peru, a Peruvian leadership program; my work in the Latin American Leadership Academy; and writing!
My favorite thing
Learning about other cultures is my favorite thing, by far! This has taught me to be more respectful and open-minded in a diverse environment but above all, has given me really good friends. People here are not scared of loving and are constantly supporting me and each other in every situation that we face. I have discovered true friendship at UWC.
Future plans
I have already completed my first year at UWC. Now, I’ll be attending Yale Young Global Scholars for the summer.
Finally, I am also focusing on my application to US colleges. I am part of the Cometa Camp, a Peruvian program that specializes in guiding students on how to prepare to apply to some of the 9 top universities in the United States. As a camper, I have access to individual mental health support, individual college essay feedback, international exam prep, registration, and travel support, as well as monthly college application guidance ALL FOR FREE!
I’m pretty thrilled to continue my journey at UWC and apply to US universities by the end of the year!!
I hope you learned something about UWC and I could help you by sharing my experience.
