My name’s Ehsas Kakkar and I’m the 2025/26 committee lead for international students on this year’s BMA medical students committee. My job this year is to continue to bring attention to the issues faced by international medical students across the country.
In this article, I want to bring attention to our goals for international student representation this year. I also wish to speak to some of my experiences on an issue that many international medical students struggle with, fight against and learn to live with as they come to the UK for the first time: the British winter.
As we come up to the festive period, I remember my first winter in the UK. Specifically, the rushed coat purchasing, daily layering of clothes and joy at having a few weeks to spend time with family and friends after an intense first few months in medical school.
As we’re coming up to Christmas, I wanted this blog post to serve as a guide to the international portfolio and a mini guide to surviving your first winter in the UK as an international student.
As an international student applying to university abroad, many people told me the UK was a wonderful place to study. A diverse country (made up of four countries, which I was told as I arrived) with students from all over the world, living out their dream lives, in some of the best universities.
People also spoke about the weather. Repeatedly.
And in all fairness, from September to November, it was a little cold. As someone who had exclusively grown up in countries where temperatures wouldn’t dip below 25ºC, 8ºC was described by a friend of mine to me, as a 'cold hug'.
However, what I truly wasn’t prepared for was Christmas.
While we always had a small procession for Christmas at home, it was nothing like what I had seen where I was living, in the outskirts of London. Markets, charity drives, decorations, Santa hats, everything, everywhere, all at once.
So, if you’re an international medical student spending your first Christmas in the UK, here’s some tips that I wish I knew about when I arrived:
1) Visit your local winter market
Where we lived, our nearest town had a winter market set up around the end of November with food stalls, clothes stalls, and games. I didn’t realise that this seemed to be standard procedure among British local towns and cities but if you’re an international student and you get the chance to go see a local Christmas market, go for it.
2) Invest in a fan/heater (if you can)
I realised very quickly that I am not ready for my house or myself to be cold. Houses in the UK are meant to trap heat but during winter. Every footstep without socks, on non-carpeted floor, was a challenge. Your house may already have a radiator to help out during winter but some people prefer purchasing a mini fan/heater to help with heating a little more. If you’re unable to, try investing in a good pair of warm socks or gloves.
3) Plan something with the people in your university or ask your university if they’re having an event
While many international and UK students head home for Christmas and New Year, at Brunel University, our medical school was kind enough to arrange a small meet-up for all students staying on campus for Christmas. If you’re an international student staying on campus for the winter break, ask your medical school if there’s a campus event on.
4) Try and relax
After my first term-end exam, I sat there in my dorm room thinking about whether I should still be studying for the next term ahead. Part of me did think this was a good idea but part of me also thought I needed to spend some time and enjoy the days off. This was our first holiday after a fresher’s week, introduction week, two to three months of biochemistry I hadn’t seen since high school and I wanted a break. Often as medical students, we can feel a sense of guilt for not studying at certain times during our degree. But sometimes, taking a break and some time to enjoy time with friends and family was equally as important for me.
For all the international medical students spending their first Christmas in the UK, try and relax a little during the break and enjoy yourself.