It was such a joyous day when I got the news that I had been offered a scholarship to study for a PhD in economics under the NIHR funded Improving Adolescent Health and Wellbeing in Malawi program. My heart rejoiced as I knew that this was the first step in a journey of 1000 miles. Finally, my dreams of advancing my education and getting a PhD in economics were coming to life. Not only did this opportunity represent a chance to advance my education, but it also offered a chance for me to work on key developmental issues that I am passionate about. I had been offered a chance to conduct research with a potential to improve the lives of adolescents in Malawi and beyond.

I landed in Glasgow for my studies in January 2024. Despite all the research that I did on what living in Glasgow would be like, I was so surprised by how cold this country was when I first got here. I was shocked by how late the sun rose in the morning and how early it got dark. Never have I ever experienced days so short and grey. And I thought to myself: “what have I done?”.  As someone coming from a sub-Saharan country, the change in the temperature was very drastic and a bit more than what I had expected. There I was, in a foreign country feeling so cold and wondering what happened to the sun that I loved so much? How could it be that the sun was shining but it was still cold? For in my country when one sees the sun, they expect to feel its warm embrace when they are out and about. The story is different during winter in Glasgow. The sun no longer represents warmth and joy for it is almost always accompanied by a breeze so cold you would think the heavens left a refrigerator open. And this made me miss home: the warm heart of Africa.

As I started going outside more and meeting different people, I finally understood what the phrase “people make Glasgow” means. For I had seen this signpost on the internet before I left home but I did not know exactly what it meant. Most of the people that I met turned out to be quite friendly, which made me feel more at home and miss home a little less. I was fortunate enough to end up in a neighborhood with very friendly people.  Take, for example, one of my neighbours. She did her best to make sure that I was comfortable. She brought me food and did everything she could to help me get situated. I was also fortunate enough to meet a landlord who went above and beyond to make sure that I had everything that I needed. On top of that, I met a very supportive student community at Strathclyde.

One of my favorite things about Glasgow is how safe it feels to walk around, even for long distances. This is very important to me because I like to take long walks in order to clear my head. I also like that Glasgow has a lot of parks where I can go relax and do some soul searching when I hit a stumbling block in my research journey. One of my favourite parks is Victoria Park which offers quite a beautiful and serene environment conducive for generating great ideas.

My academic journey so far has been interesting. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from and interact with great minds. I have met some of the most helpful individuals in the classes that I have attended so far. It has also been a pleasure working with my supervisory committee, who have inspired me to refine my research so that it can be of the highest standard possible.

I look forward to what lies ahead in this journey!!!