Today, after weeks of not knowing my way around, I pointed a couple of people in the right direction. It felt oddly satisfying to know that I do actually have a vague idea of Where Things Are. Still much to learn, no doubt, but I’m getting there. (Ha ha…)
Tomorrow, I am celebrating 1 month since I started dating this guy. I am also meeting his parents who came to visit all the way from Luxembourg. Nervousness to the max.
How could I even begin to encompass everything that has happened to me? There is no point in trying to decribe every little event – not because it’s boring, but because there is little chance of me even remembering everything, let alone doing it justice. Therefore, I shall cover the main points.
I don’t know how I feel about this place. I don’t hate it, but I don’t really love it yet either. Evidently, this is one of those things which take time. I know my way around campus far better, but I have yet to explore the town. Everything in its own time, though – before I spend hours walking around aimlessly, I have to get through my week. And that’s certainly not boring (yet!)
Monday sees me out of bed and into lectures by 9am. It’s my only early start, and not only that, but it’s Management analysis (hardcore maths) – it’s proving quite a challenge so far, especially since I hadn’t done maths in earnest since I was roughly 16 years old. So far I find that reading the book and going through the slides in my own time is far more successful than the actual lectures. Plus, it’s awlays a bit of a struggle to make it to the lecture theatre in time. Following a 4-hour break, I have a Financial Accounting Workshop (which basically means more maths, except it’s vaguely reminiscent of number-tetris than algebra/geometry) and then a couple of lectures on Introduction to Management. The latter is particularly entertaining, as it involves extensive use of “Gucci words” and the class comprises of a bunch of 18 to 24-year olds split in groups of four and playing with LEGO blocks in total silence, in a feat to achive…well, we’re not really sure what.
Tuesdays are much more relaxed in that I have only one class (Accounting) in the afternoon. Essentially, that means I leave the work for said class until Tuesday morning – a fact I often throw out the window to go do just about anything BUT said work. Tuesday is therefore my designated housework day, which effectively means I spend my time cleaning and doing my washing – y’know, standart housewife stuff!!!
Wednesday is equally laid-back, with only one lecture on what can most easily be described as psychology. Now, I’ve nothing against the subject as a whole – in fact, I find it quite interesting – but the woman lecturing us has the annoying habit of saying “um” (or variations thereof) every couple of words. It is so distracting that I’ve ended up betting on how many times she’ll say it in a lecture as opposed to actually listening to the rest of the sentence. The pointlessness of her lectures is highlighted even further by the fact that she stands at the front doing nothing but reading the slides which have been taken straight out of the book. Again, nothing wrong with that – except there is no reason for me to be at her lectures aside from to ascertain that I am still alive and kicking. In other words, I go, I sit around doodling, I leave, I get the slides off Blackboard, I read the book and I’m sorted. Incidentally, the class component in this case takes the form of an online discussion board with 4 different topics – good for me, I suppose, since it finally gives me an excuse to spend even more time online than I would under any circumstances (not that I need an excuse, but it’s nice to have one.)
Thursdays are my other busiest days, but no early starts this time. I love that about this place – I can get out of bed at 10 every day bar one, sort things out and make it to lectures in plenty of time. It’s somewhat fulfilling to know that I’ve not missed anything even though I’m hardly an early bird. Also, the analysis class is much more bearable in the afternoon. It’s followed by another two hour block (accounting and introduction to management) and it just leaves me begging for more. Not really.
Fridays I have two things, and however intense both of these are I don’t feel they justify the 3pm finish. Still, I find I prefer things the way they are rather than having all of my lectures back to back in the first couple of days and then nothing for the rest of the week – it gives me the motivation to get out and about as opposed to sitting around at home doing nothing. I find this is something of a problem for some people, especially on weekends. I personally can’t stay in my room all day long, I have to be doing something, and the vast majority of the people I know really can’t be bothered with much over the weekend. Still, it’s not a major issue, I just happen to be overly energetic. CHances are I’m making up for lost time…
In other news, I seem to be falling ill – I have a fever and my tonsils are swollen. Sad times, but then again, that’s what usually happens when everyone around you spends weeks coughing and sneezing around you. I have no doubt that I shall recover, but it’s annoying all the same. And with that, I take my leave to go to lectures.
(You’ve no idea how weird it feels to be saying that!! I’m actually a uni student now….)
So, the studying has kicked in in earnest – and by that, I mean that I’ve been reading and looking into things, and doing research, and writing out notes and such. It’s strange to be a student again, after such a long holiday and a not-so-smooth transition. I couild easily say I am getting used to it, but that would be a lie. Yes, I know my way around better, and no, I don’t feel lonely. But it doesn’t feel *right* just yet, y’know?
That said, I find myself leaving behind a lot of memories, especially as I am making new ones. We shall wait and see.
Today, I am unhappy.
I therefore went to the shop earlier and bought a jar (?) of chocolate spread, which I’ve almost finished. I also went to the pub and had a couple of pints in the afternoon. Overall, I ate chocolate and listened to loud music, as well as get through my longest day – I did the things that make me happy.
What do you do when you hit a low point?
How can I even begin to describe my uni experience in its entirety? There are no word to encompass the world in a grain of sand so I won’t try to. There have been ups and downs, twists and turns – triple axels, on occasion. I have been out every night for the past three weeks; I have learned how to play darts, downed a pint for the first time, met a large amount of people not only from the UK but also from so many different parts of the world. I have smoked my first cigarette since I was five years old (and found no appeal in smoking whatsoever) and attended my first foam party.
Evidently, it is the time for me to close my eyes and leap. But there’s two sides to every coin.
The academia is proving quite a challenge in that I’m unused to the style of work and I seem to be lacking the skills to study in this environment.
I’m told that it’s very hard to settle in. I must admit myself doubtful of that, however there are many things to get used to. I’ve resolved to give it a try: thus, tomorrow the wheel spins again in a frenzy of lectures, classes, people, salsa, debating, going out, staying in, making notes and tea, watching seasons of TV series on disgracefully small laptop screens and falling asleep in the small hours of the night only to wake up and do it all again.
Don’t stop me now…I don’t wanna stop at all…
So, what did everybody do today? Went to Oceana and had one hell of a time.
What did I do today? Went to Oceana and ended up taking care of everyone else and their stuff before, during and after said outing.
Score.
You know that feeling of belonging you have in your group of friends? That sense of being in the right place, at the right time – right there and then, with the right people?
Why is it so bloody hard to find??
A couple of days ago, an anniversary went by unmarked. The date will be forever etched onto my heart as it symbolised something I used to take refuge in. Something important, something good…something comforting – like a pair of Converses you put on without thinking: just slip into position, tighten and go. That’s all there was to it. But not anymore. Guess it’s time to leave the Converses behind. The old, green, worn out, trusty ones with the hole and the torn apart laces – yes, those. It’s time to put them in a box, just like every other pair of shoes I’ve ever had.
It’s time to leave the past in the past.
And so, here I am. A whole new blogging challenge, simple though it may seem. I still have no idea how to do the vast majority of things, but I am learning.
Other than that, the butterflies in my stomach are making it hard to eat anything. It’s rather weird – it’s not like this is the first time I’ve had to go through changes. But these are changes of a much bigger magnitude. I’m in for an interesting journey. Here’s hoping I handle it well.
Last, but certainly not least, welcome – to faces old and new, familiar and strange, young and not-so-young. Feel free to join me as I embark on a quest through the terra incognita of university.
