29

Mar

Fast forward to the end of my first semester

In academic terms, my first semester at Uni is over now and it’s been great (I’m almost done with my second one, but I’ll fill you in on that in exactly two weeks) . Not quite what I expected at first, but I grew accustomed to the new system, the fancy and expensive journalistic equipment, the library loan system and thinking, dreaming and breathing in a different language. I’m quite happy that I went from being an introvert when it came to speaking in English to being able to speak it coherently, without stammering. But I’d still take writing over speaking anyday now, and I guess that’s good, since I’m on my way to becoming a journalist.

In my Newsgathering module, we started uploading our articles, NIBs, vox pops etc. on a WordPress platform I think in the beginning of November, whilst working on our remaining pieces for the InDesign templates. The templates were pre-set and we were allowed to change only minor details, such as the picture position or size and some of the fonts, so it wasn’t that difficult pasting the articles I’d written in them. I struggled with my review templates because I kind of, slightly, only a teensie tiny bit, exceeded my word count and then I had to chop a whole lot off and rephrase stuff in order to fit it in there, but I did it, with some help from my tutor who was extremely helpful. I ended up reviewing ‘Ladies of the Street’ for my journalistic book review and I enjoyed it more than I had thought. As for my film review, I did ‘The Perks of being a Wallflower‘, as it was the only movie I went to during that term and plus, I really liked it. My other template was a news template, which comprised of 4 articles of different lengths, 3 NIBs and 3 vox pops. My ‘main’ news story was about the Romanian and Bulgarian students’ work permit situation and seeing as this is a fairly close topic to my heart, as I’m facing those hardships myself, I tried to get it as much coverage as possible, so I ended up being awarded the great opportunity of publishing it on The Independent’s website. Click  here to read the article and in case Tom Mendelsohn, the editor of the Student section ever reads this: thank you so much, Tom! Apart from these InDesign templates (final versions of the .pdf will go down below), I also handed in a 1,500-word essay about the Leveson Inquiry (which was not released at the time of writing) and which regulation I’d implement for the British press.

Book review: Ladies of the Street by Liz Hodgkinson

Book review: Ladies of the Street by Liz Hodgkinson

Film review: The Perks of being a Wallflower

Film review: The Perks of being a Wallflower

For Journalism and Society, every week for the duration of the term we had a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar, which covered topics such as the origins of the press, photography and news, the arrival of television, gender and power, news and racism etc. Seeing as this was a 100% academic module, our only assessment was a 2,000 word essay one of this topics. I chose the following statement: “Outline the main factors explaining news definitions of gender and assess the evidence that journalism contributes towards the alienation of women within society”, because I was truly fascinated with the books I read for my research and the issue of gender discrimination in our society then and now.

Lastly, my Professional Craft Skills module didn’t end in December, as it’s a year-long module and it ends on April 12. Our broadcast portfolio (which I’m feverishly working on these days) should contain a 1 min 30 sec TV package, a 3 minute radio news feature and an online multimedia slideshow. I’m 80% done with filming for my TV package and I’ve recorded my radio package (these still need to be edited and burnt to a disk), but I’ve yet to find anything interesting to tell in pictures for my slideshow.  I think this is the module I’m feeling most edgy about, because although I’ve enjoyed it and I don’t completely reject the possibility of working in broadcast one day, it’s just not as enjoyable for me as writing is.  Nevertheless, I still aim to put together a good portfolio and be as satisfied as I can with the work I’ve done.

 

51 days ago Short URL Comments

Daily ramblings

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10

Nov

Judgy-wudgy was a bear

My name is Mădălina and I judge people. A slightly humorous AA joke there, because I feel there should be such a therapy group called ‘Those-who-judge Anonymous’, since there are so many of us who do it, either unintentionally or out of pure maliciousness.

 

polar_bear-1

 

Photo from Google

I know this topic is frowned upon by many. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the verb ‘to judge’ equals ‘ to form an opinion or conclusion about’ something/ ‘to decide upon critically’. Why is it then that our parents (well,at least mine) teach us and even warn us not to judge people as soon as we can make use of our cognitive capacities? What constitutes judging and why is it perceived by many as a bad thing? I reckon judging is an innate human ability, so I can’t see why we shouldn’t exercise it and develop it to its full potential. Granted, we should not do it in a gossip-y manner, by sitting behind the crystal clear glass at Starbucks, with all the ‘posh’ people (I personally don’t believe Starbucks favours this kind of behaviour, but let’s put it there for the sake of the argument) , sipping Caramel Macchiato and passing superflous judgment on passers by, such as looking down on them because they’re not wearing the latest trends in fashion or because they accidentally tripped and fell bum first onto the sidewalk. That is the wrong kind of judgement. People are different and unique in their own way. That’s the beauty of this cold-hearted monster called ‘ society’, in which apparently you can either blend in and become as faded as a summer flower , or stand out and be seen as a pariah. It’s a constant battle of egos and what is perceived as normality. I don’t judge girls on the street because they’re wearing skirts too short for their figure or for the general common sense – de gustibus non disputandum. I don’t judge men who are gay or lesbian women – it’s their choice. Their choices do not inflict upon me and who am I to say what’s normal and what is not? Yes, God intended for women and men to fall in love, marry and have children, but isn’t it an individual’s choice to seek for his happiness in every way possible? Again, as long as it’s not hurting me or other people, why should I act disgusted and grumble ‘This is a moral sin’ ? Is that going to make me feel better or sleep warm and fuzzy at night? I think not.

What I do think deserve to be judged within society are stupidity, arrogance and ignorance. At the risk of sounding morally uptight , I can honestly say I’ve worked pretty damn hard for what I have achieved during these 19 years of my life. Nothing’s been handed to me on a silver platter, except for the common sense and priceless education my family has kindly instilled in me. I’ve learned nothing should be taken for granted and luck has pretty much avoided me my entire life. Sheer dumb luck that is, so I came to believe that luck is handed to dumb people to compensate for their lack of intelligence. Yes, that’s a bit unfair, because if a hard-working, deserving person had only a fraction of the luck other people have, he or she might get that big break they were unfairly denied in their career, let’s say. But no, smart and hard-working people have what it takes to make it happen for themselves, so they get nothing, which is quite fine by me, since I’d rather have the satisfaction I’ve gotten to where I am (or will be, in the future) through my own strength, but it kills me to hear daft people having so many benefits at their doorstep and in their gold-lined pillowcases , and STILL make a mockery of their lives and everybody else’s, might I add. Yes, you have money, good for you . Use it with purpose, find out on your own how difficult it is to actually earn that money by sweating 40 hours a week rather than spending them in the blink of an eye on useless things (that is, if they can even remember where exactly the money have gone; how can you not have a sensible notion of where your money has gone? it’s not like they vanished into thin air). It makes me scream in frustration when I’m being confronted with little, precious ‘mommy-and-daddy’s-girls’, who act like money can be just xeroxed day after day in their basement, while I am struggling to cope with my financial difficulties of getting through higher education, and I would give anything to be able to work (except I’m not YET, so thanks for that, UK legislation, but that’s a whole different issue which I won’t get into). How can I not pass judgement on these brats’ way of thinking and this utter disrespect they have towards life? I’ve earned my right to judge them and I won’t feel bad for it even for a second.

People have told me numerous times that I consider myself to be superior, and I am indeed. Not because of my IQ, not because I’ve been a very good student my whole life, but because I can appreciate the important things in life and I can value what’s been given to me and what I have to do in life to accomplish myself. Nobody can tell me that judging a person prohibits you from seeing its true nature – his or her actions and words speak for themselves.

PS: I’ve recently become a contributor for JumpforJournalism! It’s a great read for aspiring journalists and I’ll be updating weekly(ish) with my journalistic endeavors and the challenges I’m being confronted with in Uni.
Vox popping in the rain
Lights,camera,action

190 days ago Short URL Comments

Bit o' philosophy/Daily ramblings/Inside my mind

11

Oct

I stand alone, like the proverbial cheese.

I make it one of my goals to come up with a really interesting and mind boggling post title every time I post. And no, my lack of posting isn’t due to the fact that I have no inspiration for titles, it’s rather a persistent whirlwind of lectures,seminars,cooking, breathing and sometimes going out. I am not complaining, my University schedule is not difficult or exhaustive, but the fact that I have to get up an hour and a half before my lecture starts and change two buses is a bit of a nuisance. Apart from that, my body is either still set on a Romanian time frame, or I’m just really tired for some reason, because the first thing I crave to do when I get home is sleep. Which almost never happens because there lies my beautiful, sleek laptop, whispering: ‘Come and watch the Big Bang Theory..”, hence the title of this post.

Since I’ve already mentioned a dairy product so early in this writing piece, tonight’s post will be about student cooking . Cooking food, that is. Not microwaving Sainsbury’s or Tesco’s casseroles. Before I left home to move to Bristol, I hadn’t properly cooked a meal in my life, because let’s face it, mum’s food is better than anything I might ever produce. So I could only assemble a basic range of meals, such as  grilled chicken breast, french fries, pancakes, omelette (and other types of eggs) and well, sandwiches. I am glad, on one side, that I have the opportunity now to develop my cooking skills properly, because I have good taste in food and I think that’s a start in becoming a good cook as well. On the other side, I don’t feel much like cooking after coming back home from University , which is why my new goal is to cook enough food in the weekend to last me for the whole week, and either freeze it or store it in casseroles in the fridge (I’ve only done the latter until now). I found some useful websites for student cooking, with fairly easy and fun recipes, which I will link at the bottom of the post **, but for now, let’s have a look through my work of art in terms of food, throughout the last (almost a) month!

I am warning you, you will see a lot of the same ingredients (my mum takes every opportunity to mock the fact that I’ve eaten more baked beans since I’ve been here than in my entire life) and not so much variation, but hey, it’s a start! And most  students don’t even bother with eating anything else except beans on toast or noodle soup.

Top row: rice with vegetables ; beans,cheddar&eggs on toast; chicken rolled in breadcrumbs; mash potatoes, omelette&grilled chicken;pasta with bolognese sauce and cheddar ; nutella on toast (this is not cooking,but I had to include something sweet ;) )

More to follow! I have been eyeing this for a while now, and I intend to make some sort of roasted potatoes with either chicken drumsticks or pork after I purchase it, and of course after my mother kindly explains to me how to do it via Skype.

What are you eating as a student? Tell me in the comments below!

**http://www.studentcook.co.uk/

     http://studentrecipes.com/

     http://www.studentcooking.tv/

220 days ago Short URL Comments

Daily ramblings

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28

Sep

Lectures, seminars and copy clinics, oh my!

As you might have guessed from the title, this post is going to be about my first week of Uni, with proper, full-time (is it?) classes, that just ended yesterday at noon. Yes, that’s right, I have Fridays off!  How awesome is it to have an extended weekend from my first semester, when already I have no more than nine hours of Uni per week?

Above, you can see a detailed picture of my schedule for the next trimester, which ends on December 14th.  The three modules that I am taking this year are Newsgathering , Journalism and Society and Professional Craft Skills. For the first two, I have both a lecture and a seminar (which in Newsgathering is called ‘Copy clinic’), but only for Newsgathering and Professional Craft Skills I have also a workshop. I will proceed in detailing what I’ve done so far everyday of the past week, and give you a bit more information about the modules themselves.  Oh, and as you know, I am doing a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Public Relations, but my first year is the same as of the people doing a single Journalism degree.

On Monday (which happened to be my birthday as well, but I figured the lecturers would not be interested in me telling them that),for our two-hour Newsgathering lecture, we had to watch the American drama film called ‘Shattered Glass‘ and take notes during the whole time. By now, you might’ve already started thinking ‘ What? They had to watch a film for Uni? What is that, Uni or second grade?’. If you haven’t, I apologise and applaud you, but that is the reaction I’ve had from my friends back home, because watching a film for academic purposes is not something that happens in Romanian universities. This film had ,indeed, an academic purpose. For those of you who haven’t seen it (like myself ), I suggest you do, you will relate with the main character possibly more than you think. I won’t spoil everything, but Stephen Glass ( clever title, eh?) ,portrayed by Hayden Christensen (I bet this has sparked your interest) is a mid-20′s aspiring journalists, working for a prestigious Washington magazine, but whose ambitions are overcome by his sociopathic side, making him fabricate entirely or partially more than half of the articles he’s written. Eventually, he makes good use of this, which I think was an appropriate ending to the movie. This module is really as straight forward as its title: we will learn how to gather and write news, what makes a good article and the techniques to write one.

In the one-hour workshop that followed, we got to know each other, say something about ourselves, our experience in Journalism so far and which field of it we were most interested in working. We also went through the module handbook and had a talk about Journalism in general, what constitutes it and what are its main characteristics and interviewed each other.

Sadly, on Tuesday I missed half of my Journalism and Society lecture, and that’s something that never happens to me. The circumstances were external, the buses were running late and since we’re about sixty people every morning trying to get on the same bus, you can imagine that we couldn’t, so we had to wait for the second bus and so on. The lecturer was discussing  a PowerPoint presentation about the history of Journalism and the idea that today it is considered a fourth estate institution. The seminar followed up on this, as we tried to put together a definition of  Journalism and his links with society. I have a five-hour gap between my lecture and seminar on Tuesday, which is absolutely counter productive, so I’m hoping we can get transferred to an earlier seminar, so that in my spare time I can think about what I’ve done whilst in Uni, not what I’m about to do in the next hour. This is the only ‘academic’ module we have, as in theoretical and not practical, for which we will be assessed through an essay.

In my Newsgathering copy clinic on Wednesday, we started writing our film reviews and profile/interviews of each other . It was a great activity because the teacher made us read them out loud (only the introductions) and comment on each other’s work. My colleagues’ introductions were really good, but we are so shy at the moment that I don’t think anyone would dare say ‘ yours sucks’ or critique it in any way,shape or form, but I’m sure that we’ll get comfortable with doing that in no time (of course, in a polite and constructive way). We were set a task for next week, to finish these two pieces and bring them printed out, after which we are supposed to attach them to our workbook , when we feel completely satisfied by our work.

Yesterday, in our Professional Craft Skills workshop, our very nice lecturer talked us through the course, showed us a compilation of her best journalistic work in broadcast and gave us some basic terminology that we have to learn by next week, along with watching the news and commenting on them, on either ITV or BBC Point West . She has a very funny and active way of teaching, and she makes us engage, so we were paired in teams of two and given a sheet with three blank squares on it. We had to gather information from our partner and then illustrate (that’s right, DRAW) what we thought was representative of that person, without using any words. I am terrible at drawing humans, but I managed to sketch something and it was really funny trying to guess other people’s drawings. The purpose of this exercise was to be able to illustrate a story through pictures, when using words is not an option.

That being said, I already have ‘homework’ for next week, which I am looking forward to do! Also, one of my textbooks came today (good job, Amazon) and I am really excited to start using and reading it.

I’ve already witnessed a very unusual event which I am not going to disclose, but I might be writing an article on that soon! It’s quite a big story and I’m a bit afraid I won’t manage it, but I’ll do my best! For everybody that’s reading my blog and has done work experience in either Journalism or PR, would you recommend applying for it in your first year? I’m thinking of sending out a few CV’s for June, and I am not sure if I stand any chance in front of more experienced aspiring  journalists :) So please, let me know what you think!

233 days ago Short URL Comments

Daily ramblings/Inside my mind

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23

Sep

I heart Bristol?

Sunday, September 23rd marks my ninth day away from the comfort of my own home and into the chilly, grey,dreary land that is the United Kingdom and Bristol, more specifically. I think someone up there has grown really tired of my incessant complaining about the weather, because yesterday (at the time I wrote this post) was the warmest day I could have possibly asked for! (has now been raining for the past three hours incessantly) Thus, I left home in just a jumper, which is an unusual outfit for me, since everyday until now I’ve been bundled up like a burrito in blouses, jumpers and coats. But let’s start from the beginning..

I landed in London Luton airport on the 14th of September, at 7:15 am, after the most uncomfortable plane ride I’ve ever experienced..I had flown with WizzAir before, but I had forgotten how the seats were not able to double in any way , shape or form, so I had to sleep for three hours with my head on the little tray in front (embarrassing, I know, but I was too tired and other people were doing it,so!) . After landing, I was ,again, faced with the chilly and windy weather outside , but once I got my luggage and met with my friend , everything seem to fall into place. We had to wait for the bus that was taking us to London Victoria Station (from where we had to take the other bus to Bristol), and I couldn’t believe my eyes that we had actual free WiFi throughout the two and a half hours that our journey lasted..Simply stunned I was, I could already feel the civilization reaching a whole new level. Oh, and I feel the need to brag about the fact that I had to carry by myself  my two suitcases, one of which I could have fit in and a smaller one, and I succeeded in doing so.

We arrived in Bristol at about 2pm and thankfully, I slept all the way from London ( which looks absolutely BRILLIANT, I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie every time my bus went through the lane so close to another car or bus), but brilliant as I am, I didn’t bring any type of coat or jacket, so my only hoodie (a prize I won in an UWE competition, thank you Creative Industries) was a lifesaver.

I had to take a taxi from Bristol city centre to my house (would’ve been a 20 minute walk , that otherwise costed £8,50), and after being introduced to everything and choosing my room , I proceeded in speaking with my family and friends on Skype, complaining about how I missed home and maybe even looking at flight tickets back to Romania, reason why I did not even unpack for the first five days. Yes, my clothes definitely suffered from that, but they are now sitting on a clean shelf inside my wardrobe, so I’ve started to act like a girl who cares about her appearance ,  although I have not brought ANY type of make-up from home (mainly because I didn’t have anything left that was worth taking, and I figured I can just buy it from here – big mistake , every time the Queen leaves my wallet, I cry a bit inside).

I’ve not started lectures properly , that’ll be my lovely present for my 19th birthday on Monday, but I’ve been to UWE’s Bower Ashton campus quite a few times until now, to attend Induction lectures, student events ( Free roast , yay!) and campus tours and I can honestly say I love it there, the library is especially AWESOME. I’ve also visited UWE’s main and far bigger campus, Frenchay, but for some reason I like mine better. It’s still modern and big, but that not that big that it will take me an hour to get from D block to F block and then another hour to search for my floor and room. Oh, that’s another confusing thing, but that luckily we got explained – whenever a room is named something like  3B1, 3 represents the floor, B the block and 1 the room (I pray I’ve not gotten it wrong..). My time right now is split between going out and visiting more of the city with some friends/coursemates, trying to cook decent food (a separate post on that later) and not spend money on useless things (*ahem* been to IKEA yesterday..) and keeping in touch with my family and friends, because I miss them so much and they still got about eight days of summer holidays!

I had so much to write about, but I feel like I can’t jumble everything into a huge post that doesn’t make any sense, so I’ll try to do a separate post on food/cooking and Uni stuff soon. Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with a few snaps of Bristol, my house and room, campus and everything. Enjoy and good luck to everybody who’s starting Uni sometime next week!

238 days ago Short URL 8 Comments

Daily ramblings/Inside my mind

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03

Sep

Farewell summer, hello autumn!

It’s officially Autumn! I know I’m a little late, since the first day of Autumn was three days ago, but that does not mean in any way that I’m less excited for September! I’ll admit part of this joy is due to the fact that my birthday is in three weeks from today and that’s always a good thing ; birthdays are awesome. My last birthday was especially lovely, since it marked my eighteenth year of existence on this planet, and the fact that I’d finally reached that milestone when I became fully responsible for my acts (not that I wasn’t before) and well, I could drink legally, but that’s the least important part for me. This year I’m turning nineteen on my very first day of classes at University. That should be interesting, I reckon – (next to) no one will know me properly and I certainly will not go around shouting ‘ It’s my birthday!’ at random strangers  in the campus bar. In Romania, ever since first grade, you are expected to take a box of chocolates to school for your fellow classmates and teachers on this special day, and they must sing ‘Happy birthday’ to you, while you go around serving and kissing everyone. What chances do I have to successfully migrate this unusual custom to the UK?

Even the most unselfish person has to admit that the possibility of prospective presents/gifts on one’s birthday is rather exciting. You don’t have to be a ‘material girl’ to enjoy clothes, chocolates and other bits and bobs from your family and friends, although, of course, these are not of the utmost importance – the presence of our loved ones on this special day is what makes us cherish it. My lovely friends threw me a surprise birthday party last year and I couldn’t have asked for more! I even got a giant ’18′ number made entirely out of cupcakes, since I despise cake. This year, since I’m spending it far from my family and friends, I’ll have to settle for a virtual Skype party , so I made a wish-list collage out of stuff I’d want (not necessarily need) for my birthday, but as I’m well aware of their price and my current economic status, it’s here purely for the lolz (and this might sound cheesy, but I’d give anything to be able to spend my birthday with my boyfriend, friends and family).

 

 

1,5-ASOS 2-Casetagram 3-Moleskine Peanuts Snoopy edition 4-River Island 6-Urban Decay 7- Forever21 8-Yankee candles 9-Converse

Apart from this and feeling both sad and excited for my departure in just eleven days, I’m actually looking forward to finding out my timetable for this year. I’m hoping to have at least one day off per week, two would be a dream!  And also, I find it rather unfair that British universities have different holiday schedules  - I might have less than three weeks for my Christmas vacation and just two for my Easter one. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I have at least three for each and maybe few/no exams (that’s unlikely) so that I can stay more at home, since I am planning on going home for the holidays.

That is pretty much what I had to say,or should I say write, for today! Keep checking Yuppee Mag and The Student Review for my upcoming articles and I would also like to thank Wannabe Hacks for featuring me as a Featured Wannabe in past week’s newsletter (here is an excerpt of the feature)! Those of you ,aspiring journalists, who are not signed up for the newsletter, go and do it right now, it’s simple and very useful!

PS: I haven’t mentioned any serendipities lately, but the fact that I’ve decided to bring back to life my Twitter account has really brought me some amazing opportunities, and I’m beyond thankful for those.

258 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Daily ramblings

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27

Aug

Daylight

In case you were wondering about the title of this post, I had absolutely no idea of what to write in that blank space, until I realised I’ve been listening to Maroon 5 -’ Daylight’ quite a lot over the past few weeks. I feel somehow personally attached to this song , because the lyrics fit my mood and my current situation perfectly, although they’re sung from a boy’s perspective. For anybody who has not listened to the song yet (although I doubt that), you can do so here.

This past Saturday was a memorable day – I finally sorted everything out with my accommodation, I paid my deposit and I’m officially not homeless!  Furthermore, as of today I am a certified student, since I completed my online registration for University. It felt odd – my hands were kind of shaking at the thought of pressing that ‘submit’ button and knowing there’s no going back (those who know me are aware of the fact that I have to quadruple-check everything before I finalize it – I always press my door knob a hundred times after I’ve locked the door, just to make sure I did and I always verify if I’ve turned off the ‘cellular data’ on my iPhone , my boyfriend can testify to that), but I was excited at the prospect of being a student for the first time in my life. Later on, I got to talking to my high-school classmate and best friend about University and she told me how she went on a stationery shopping spree today , but felt different than the times she used to buy supplies before high-school term started. Right then and there, it dawned on me : I will never, ever be a high-school student again. People have warned me that this nostalgia-type feeling will kick in someday soon, but I’m having mixed feelings about it. I spent the last twelve years of my life in those old, dusty, brick buildings, doodling on the desks ,erasing  the blackboard (in case you were wondering, I went to the same school ever since the first  grade) and proudly answering ‘I’m a Carol I student’ whenever some taxi driver asked me where I went to school.  Friendships formed, friends drifted apart, enemies were made, knowledge was accumulated and before I knew it, I had fledged my nurturing nest with a graduate diploma and a hopeful future in front of me.  I remember saying ‘I can’t wait to get rid of high-school and go to Uni!’  so many times during these last four years, and it just makes me chuckle now, that my wish has finally come true. High-school is a fantastic experience in one’s life, no matter how much your classmates annoy you or how much you’re cursing Chemistry and Maths, but it’s mostly based on what kind of people you meet and how easy/difficult they make your life. I know I’m beyond grateful for the friendships I’ve managed to sustain throughout high-school and I can only hope that the University era will rise to my expectations and if not more, it’ll be at least as enjoyable as this past one.

On a much happier note, in case you’re not familiar with how our summers are over here ,in Romania, there’s just one word to describe them best – scorching. There have been around 40° Celsius (36° if we were lucky) almost every day this summer , which I enjoyed when I had the opportunity to go to the pool/seaside or cool myself with tons of ice cream. But then the night came and I live on the fourth floor of a four floor building, and honestly, I wouldn’t know the difference between my apartment and an oven or a sauna. So when I woke up today and saw the coal gray sky in front of me and felt the cool breeze inundating  the room, I knew it was time for something long overdue – RAIN. Maybe it’s because I’m born in September, but I love rain and particularly, the smell of it. There’s nothing more enjoyable for me than walking in the rain (mild rain, not pouring cats and dogs-type of rain) and feeling the warmth and the earthy smell rise into the air. Having said that, I took some photos today while on my way home to show you how my city looks when it’s raining, although I’m sure there’s nothing special about it whatsoever.

Over the next days I will be busy organising my departure (or at least that’s what I keep telling myself before procrastinating in front of my laptop, with a bag of crisps and Friends) , spending time with family and friends and maybe finally making a list for everything I need for Uni! One of my biggest concerns now is whether I should buy stationery from here or just pick them up in the UK?

Nevertheless, I’ll try to update as frequently as possible (and make sure it’s something interesting), but meanwhile I’m proud and thankful to announce that I’m the newest contributor of  The Student Review, a UK-based online newspaper, written by and for students (you can read my first article here) and YuppeeMag, an online daily news magazine, brought to you by young  journalists ( my first article is due to be published, so keep an eye out for that  now online, read it here). I strongly recommend giving a read to these two websites if you’re interested in fun yet inspiring and insightful stories from the Journalism world through the eyes of some young  journalists!

265 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Daily ramblings

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21

Aug

Packing – friend or foe?

Ah, packing – the crème de la crème of one’s organisational skills. This particular activity can one second be an exciting, mesmerizing, painting-a-wonderful-picture objective, and one second later it can become a daunting experience. Usually, the sweet side of packing is brought to us by a surprise vacation whisk-away , invitation or plan. Making lists and checking things with a little ‘v’ as soon as we purchase them is indeed a powerful process, especially for the ladies. It’s all fun and games ’till you’re left with a pile of white, insipid plastic bags lying on the floor, containing the things you’ve been so eager to buy , but are now not too pleased to organize in a compact mass in your lonely suitcase. I know what you think, it’s already bad enough having to fork up the power to sort through your outfits, toiletry and leisure items for a mere ten days of holiday, but what do you do when you literally have to pack your life and move 2634 Kms away? And so the packing nightmare ensues.

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That picture above pretty much sums up what my life is going to be like in about two and a half weeks and I sure hope my poor suitcase will oblige. I have to fit all of my belongings (clothes,shoes, toiletries, books, accessories, laptop, giant candle and a few stuffed animals) into a 32 kgs suitcase, courtesy of WizzAir airlines. I’m actually grateful for their baggage limit (also an additional 10kgs hand baggage free, yipee!), since other airlines have a maximum limit of 23 kgs. How on Earth is someone supposed to fit everything in that, when there’s one of my best friends  people carrying two suitcases with them only for a seven day beach vacation 500 kms away from home?! Usually, I could say that I’m a pretty light packer, but I’m actually afraid of leaving important things behind now. There are a great deal of voluminous items needed to be taken with me, such as bed linens and quilts, bath robe, towels, shoes and I’m afraid I will have to leave some of them behind. Fortunately, I’ve worked out a system for my clothes : since Bristol (and the UK in general) is pretty chilly and breezy, but not freezing cold, there is no point in me taking shorts and tank tops, which form a big part of my wardrobe. Instead, I’m taking layer-able items, such as t-shirts, sweaters and blouses, three pairs of jeans, three pairs of leggins, socks and that’s it! I figure since I’m probably coming home for Christmas break in December, I can take the remaining winter-y clothes with me then. It shouldn’t be that difficult fitting everything in, but let’s not forget about the almighty hair-dryer and pressing iron, the life-saving saucepan and frying pan aaand I’ll stop here before I reward myself with a headache. I must confess, I pretty much dislike packing and the feeling must be mutual; honestly, if it were up to me, I’d just throw the whole lot in ( ok, maybe I’d try folding them first), clench my teeth until the zipper goes all the way round, and then be a happy camper- or should I say ‘ packer ‘?

If anyone has any tips on space-saving packing or just general organisational advice , I would appreciate it if you’d send it my way so I don’t end up standing on all fours above my suitcase, yelling ‘ Close, damn it, close! ‘

271 days ago Short URL 4 Comments

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20

Aug

Decisions, decisions…

The title of this post is a rather famous catch-phrase ; it’s used in an ironical tone, a genuinely worried one, in titles of tv shows and maybe even songs. I got to thinking when I woke up this morning feeling anxious and frightened regarding the decision, or maybe even lack of it, I have made concerning my life as an academic student, and an employee later on. You see, making a decision is a really important , powerful and lengthy process for me. It’s in my nature, I am simply unable to  ’go with the flow’, regardless of how insignificantly important the matter at hand might be. Thankfully, I was raised in such way, that I have been able to make my own decisions from an early age, and having made some mistakes, I am now able to discern between the good and the bad.

Photo credit: Google

As you all know, after long considerations in the past year, I have decided to pursue an university degree abroad, in the United Kingdom. Not being able to be there whilst doing so, and being incapacitated to see , judge and research for myself, I had to rely on the Internet to carefully select which universities would best suit my needs. As expected, there still is a margin of error that this almighty reliable source has. You are basically basing a life-altering decision on other people’s life experiences or simply their opinions, which might be biased or even not based on any type of real knowledge. In my opinion, this is both unfair and well..rather tragic. People can learn from other people’s experience, but not follow them blindly into an unknown world. Each individual is different in its thinking and character, so what worked marvels for someone might be the end of someone else. So, having said this, there’s only one option left : do your research (based on legitimate academic / university websites) and then take a leap of faith and simply go with your gut.

I am recently second-doubting myself and the decision I’ve made. So many questions are bubbling up inside my head, it feels like a pressure cooker. What if it’s not the right university? What if the other one would’ve suited me best? What if the teachers won’t give their best? and so on. I went and told everything to my mother, she has always been a massive help and great support for me. She listened carefully to everything, while I was weighing the pros and cons of my chosen university and the one that wouldn’t leave my mind alone, and then uttered this magical words : ‘ Go with your instinct. You know, they don’t say ” your first instinct is always the right one” ,for nothing. ‘ There it is, that they again. Who are they, I wondered?! A fully qualified committee of people or just normal human beings having discovered at some point in their lives that basing their decisions on their first instinct was beneficial? But I decided to do that, because everything is what you make of it – a job, a relationship, a career. I might be unhappy switching universities or it might be the best decision I’ve ever made. But for now, I’m sticking to my original one, because I know that is what I have always wanted and the thing I have worked towards for such a long time. I feel quite positive that making the most of that will have a better result in the long run, because I am going to be passionate about it .

All in all, making a decision is a grueling process , but we should not forget about our instincts. It’s up to us to decide how much we let these instincts take over the whole process, but in my case, I’d say it’s a fair divide of 80% research and thought – 20% instincts. What’s yours?

273 days ago Short URL Comments

Inside my mind

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14

Aug

Creative moment

Just a quick post. I was browsing through my ‘ Notes section ‘ on Facebook and I came across this rather rambly, but poetic (only in my head?) piece of writing I posted like an year ago. I think I was single at the time / probably going through a rough patch / my boyfriend had disappointed me / I was tired of guys. Anyway, I quite like the way it sounds. It’s in Spanish, so I’ll post the original version and then a translated into English version, although I’m not sure how dramatic will it sound in English.

Yo no sé qué es amar a alguien de verdad. He oído tantas definiciones del amor. ¿ Y el mío? No consigo encajarlo en ninguna. ¿ Será que es defectuoso ? ¿ Habrá que devolverlo mientras sigue en guarantía? ¿ Estoy pasando de él, no lo percibo, o es que está huyendo de mi? ¿ Por qué lo necesito y por qué a veces me basto yo sola para sonreir ? Acaso no sabemos qué hacer de nuestras vidas si no nos convencemos a nosotros mismos que hay que enamorarnos para sentirnos plenos, para que se adjunte a la mitad de nuestro corazón otra? Un turista pasajero,eso es el amor , y nosotros le damos una visa permanente. Ni siquiera sé si habla el mismo idioma que yo. No me gusta el amor. Es demasiado egoista, te pide que cambies, que cierres los ojos ante un camino por el cual sabes que hay que caminar con los ojos abiertos. Y no te da la mano, sólo te empuja a veces, o camina delante de ti para darte un sentimiento de falsa seguridad, pero al acercarte al primer precipicio hay que valerte por ti mismo, él mantiene la cabeza en alto y los brazos cruzados. Te critica si te caes, te mira de reojo,desconfiado, si te levantas.

Querido Amor, ¿ qué es lo que quieres de mi ? No quiero ofenderte,pero…sin duda prescindiría de ti!

Translation:

I don’t know what loving someone truly really means. I’ve heard so many definitions of ‘love’. What about mine? I can’t seem to enclose it in one. Could it be broken?  Will I have to take it back while it still has its warranty? Am I not seeing it, am I not perceiving it, or is it trying to escape from my grasp? Why do I need it and why am I, sometimes, enough to make myself smile? Can it be that we don’t know what to do with our lives if we don’t persuade ourselves that we have to fall in love to be complete, that another half has to be attached to our already existing heart? A passing tourist, that’s what love is, and we give him a permanent visa. I don’t even know if he speaks the same language as I do. I don’t like love. It’s too selfish, it asks you to change, to close your eyes before an unknown road, that you know deep down you have to walk with your eyes wide open. And it doesn’t take your hand, it just pushes you sometimes, or walks in front of you to give you the false feeling of safety, but when you’re close to a precipice , you have to make it on your own. He just keep his head up high and his arms crossed. He will criticize you if you fall, he will look at you defiantly if you stand up.

Dear Love, what is it that you want from me? I don’t mean to offend you, but…no doubt I’d gladly rid myself of you.

279 days ago Short URL Comments

Bit o' philosophy

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