15/09
Monday
morning was a bit of an hectic period... I got up and I had breakfast with
Isabela, again by chance, but then we spent so much time talking and when I
looked at the time it was 5 minutes before an appointment I had with other
Italians. So i rushed and joined them as soon as possible and our group (there
were 4 people) went to the International Students Welcome Session where they
introduced us quickly to Queen Mary. We also had to remain to the non-EU
students' session because we didn't feel like leaving while somebody was
talking, so we had to hear about visas and permissions to work, which we do not
need as EU nationals.
Later, I went met up with Maria Stella, Costanza and other girls for a tour of the library and our guide explained to us how to use the printers, how to buy printing credit, how to borrow books/dvds and how to return them. She also showed us to the "group study rooms" and the "silent study areas". The library looks amazing! I think I am going to give it a try as soon as possible and it seems like something that might help me not getting distracted while studying!
After the library tour, I met my mum and we went to the bank (Barclays) to open an account for me... OMG it took ONE HOUR AND A HALF! I was so much in a hurry afterwards... However, now I have my account set up and I just need to wait for my card and various documents to be posted to me.
Done that, we picked up a box of things that had arrived at the post office for me and we went back to my room to put the new stuff in place... by then it was like 3pm and I still had to have lunch, before going to the SBCS (School of Biological and Chemical Sciences) induction at 3.30pm!! So I said goodbye to mum... because she was going to catch a train to the airport and it took me a while to acknowledge that I was, in the end, on my own. It still doesn't feel real and I am very unsure of how to feel about it... I miss my family and my friends, but I am also so busy that I can keep that in the back of my mind most of the time luckily.
After the quickest lunch ever, I made it to the Great Hall just on time for the induction to start. I met a boy doing Psychology on the way there, but we didn't get to talk much because it was a full hour and a half at the Hall. This first induction wasn't really too interesting, because it mainly covered stuff I already knew, ranging from the introduction to SBCS to the Students Union and some Student Support and Counselling. I didn't even take any notes during all this time, I only jotted down a website!!
Soon after I met up with a girl I had met on facebook around March, Samantha, and some friends of hers (SBCS 2nd years, by the way). While we were all together, the 2nd years gave lots of useful info about my lecturers, my modules in general and how SBCS works for the first year. I am sooo glad I met them, or I would have been totally at loss on so many things! They also showed my temporary timetables, which starts on Monday at 9am with "Evolution and Ecology" - the module I am most looking forward to! At some stage, Sam and I left them and we sat somewhere to chat ourselves and we talked for over an hour, during which she also came with me to Sainsbury's to get water and then back to my room. I am really happy I've finally met her, after so long!
After dinner, where it was just me and Isabela again (our flat mates aren't exactly fans of cooking or of the kitchen in general, from what I have seen so far!), the two of us were meant to go to the Icebreaker at the Ministry of Sound, the biggest event for freshers. But, in the afternoon, another one of my flat mates (Melanie) had told me that the underground here closes at midnight and that we would have to catch buses on the way back from the party... so we decided we'd stay at the campus party and we went to the Drapers again, for the Indie Night. At first, it was Isabela, Melanie, a friend of hers and me, but then Melanie and her friend left us and we met other people throughout the night. It was very different from the Social Network party, though. This time, it wasn't only freshers... or better, there were very few freshers because most had gone to the Icebreaker! Therefore, there were mainly 2nd and 3rd years and they were less interested in getting to know new people... OMG it was so embarrassing when, at some stage, we introduced ourselves to a group of boys and they just turned away after staring at us like we were aliens!! Anyway, it was a fun night, because two 3rd year boys joined us and stayed with us for a very long time and then we also met 4 other freshers (among whom there were an Italian and an Italian-speaking British!), so we had company :D This time, though, we only remained at the Drapers until after midnight.
16/09
Yesterday
morning I was in such a rush!! I woke up pretty early despite having my first
meeting at 10am and then I had breakfast with my flat mate Isabela, but it was
still pretty early when we finished... so I took my time and had a shower,
dried my hair and then started writing a blog post without realising what the
time was... I ended up leaving my room at 9.55 and running towards the Great
Hall! But I got there on time at least, so it was fine. I met a boy from Hong
Kong, who is doing Psychology, on the way there, but I haven't seen him again,
so it was just a very quick chat. This second SBCS induction was a lot better than
the previous one, though. They explained to us how to achieve our best, how to
survive these years in a good way, how to make the best of our opportunities
and how to avoid plagiarism (intentional and unintentional). They also gave us
practical information about how the three years are going to be structured, how
exams are organised, how are marks will be calculated and how coursework counts
towards our final mark. I truly enjoyed this session and I found very useful!
At lunch, I got my first compliment on my cooking ever: Melanie (one of my flat mates) walked in the kitchen once I had just finished cooking burgers (making lots of smokes, by the way!) and she said the kitchen smelled wonderful, so she was like "You really know how to cook!" :D That never happened before ahahah
Anyway, at 2pm I was meant to meet my Academic Advisor, so I walked to the Bancroft Building, where I was going to meet him, and I looked for the room marked on my sheet. Ok, my sheet said "Room 1.01", but there were heaps of "1.01.1" and "1.01.2"... So I just entered the first one and I sat randomly. I started talking to a girl and we introduced ourselves (her name is Andrea) and we found out we were both doing Biology, so we were reassured about the room. Eventually, though, a lady came in (and I was already startled because I expected a man) and she said she was representing the Science and Engineering Foundation Program... What?! Andrea and I were so dumbfounded and we didn't know what to do, especially when they confirmed to us that we were in the wrong room... so we left, veeeeery embarrassed, and also another girl (Lina) came with us! Gosh, I am so glad I wasn't the only one who got it wrong!! On our way out, we met a couple of "Help" people and we asked them directions, so we finally found our room, ten minutes after our actual appointment... walking in was so embarrassing... I wonder what our Advisor must have thought of the three of us being late to our very first meeting! Anyway he was lovely and he introduced himself again, he started from the beginning and I found him really likeable :) He has studied and worked around the world, including in Melbourne (Australia!), and specialised in aquatic ecosystems, which sounds so very interesting!! He is also a 2nd year lecturer and his course seems to be pretty good, so I might be up for it next year. For the rest of the time, he asked the eight of us in the room to say something about ourselves: I was expecting everyone to say "I am from... (somewhere other than UK)" but I was the first one saying I was from abroad (and I was the second-last person speaking)! In the end, also Carolina (who was the last) is and international student, specifically from Sweden, so I am not alone :) However, both Andrea and Carolina are commuters, so we didn't get to spend time together after the meeting as they just went home... so I did the same and simply rested for an hour or so, until Isabela invited me to join her and some other people from her course at cafè on campus. That was really nice! And WOW, the people from her course are just so lively and friendly and talkative and all that, I was impressed! We stayed there almost until seven, with the number of people always decreasing (I think we were like 8 at the beginning and 3 at the end: the two of us and another Italian, Giulia), chatting about various things and it was truly lovely :D
I then had a very busy evening, even though I didn't go to any party! I Skyped my friend Giulia (in Italy) for like three quarters of an hour, then I had dinner with Isabela in the flat and then I went to Maria Stella's (the Italian girl I met on Sunday night) room in another Hall. I spend lots of time there, despite having previously decided to go to bed early, because we simply started talking about random stuff and we went on almost until midnight without even noticing. I enjoyed it, really! We found out we have a lot in common, starting from my obsession... "Once Upon a Time" (as in the tv show) :P We also spoke about our future, our expectations for uni, our fears and our hopes (pretty deep topics), our lives in general.. it was good, you know, just to be able to talk freely. I mean, it might have also been because I was speaking Italian... I love English, it's my favourite language, but I can't express everything I want through it, because I don't know all the words and structures.
And after I got back to my room, I didn't go straight to bed, but I started chatting on Facebook with Zemfira, a freshers that I had met on Facebook around March and then with whom I have been chatting with since then - exactly like with Samantha (we were all in the same whats app group). We organised to meet today, finally!
At lunch, I got my first compliment on my cooking ever: Melanie (one of my flat mates) walked in the kitchen once I had just finished cooking burgers (making lots of smokes, by the way!) and she said the kitchen smelled wonderful, so she was like "You really know how to cook!" :D That never happened before ahahah
Anyway, at 2pm I was meant to meet my Academic Advisor, so I walked to the Bancroft Building, where I was going to meet him, and I looked for the room marked on my sheet. Ok, my sheet said "Room 1.01", but there were heaps of "1.01.1" and "1.01.2"... So I just entered the first one and I sat randomly. I started talking to a girl and we introduced ourselves (her name is Andrea) and we found out we were both doing Biology, so we were reassured about the room. Eventually, though, a lady came in (and I was already startled because I expected a man) and she said she was representing the Science and Engineering Foundation Program... What?! Andrea and I were so dumbfounded and we didn't know what to do, especially when they confirmed to us that we were in the wrong room... so we left, veeeeery embarrassed, and also another girl (Lina) came with us! Gosh, I am so glad I wasn't the only one who got it wrong!! On our way out, we met a couple of "Help" people and we asked them directions, so we finally found our room, ten minutes after our actual appointment... walking in was so embarrassing... I wonder what our Advisor must have thought of the three of us being late to our very first meeting! Anyway he was lovely and he introduced himself again, he started from the beginning and I found him really likeable :) He has studied and worked around the world, including in Melbourne (Australia!), and specialised in aquatic ecosystems, which sounds so very interesting!! He is also a 2nd year lecturer and his course seems to be pretty good, so I might be up for it next year. For the rest of the time, he asked the eight of us in the room to say something about ourselves: I was expecting everyone to say "I am from... (somewhere other than UK)" but I was the first one saying I was from abroad (and I was the second-last person speaking)! In the end, also Carolina (who was the last) is and international student, specifically from Sweden, so I am not alone :) However, both Andrea and Carolina are commuters, so we didn't get to spend time together after the meeting as they just went home... so I did the same and simply rested for an hour or so, until Isabela invited me to join her and some other people from her course at cafè on campus. That was really nice! And WOW, the people from her course are just so lively and friendly and talkative and all that, I was impressed! We stayed there almost until seven, with the number of people always decreasing (I think we were like 8 at the beginning and 3 at the end: the two of us and another Italian, Giulia), chatting about various things and it was truly lovely :D
I then had a very busy evening, even though I didn't go to any party! I Skyped my friend Giulia (in Italy) for like three quarters of an hour, then I had dinner with Isabela in the flat and then I went to Maria Stella's (the Italian girl I met on Sunday night) room in another Hall. I spend lots of time there, despite having previously decided to go to bed early, because we simply started talking about random stuff and we went on almost until midnight without even noticing. I enjoyed it, really! We found out we have a lot in common, starting from my obsession... "Once Upon a Time" (as in the tv show) :P We also spoke about our future, our expectations for uni, our fears and our hopes (pretty deep topics), our lives in general.. it was good, you know, just to be able to talk freely. I mean, it might have also been because I was speaking Italian... I love English, it's my favourite language, but I can't express everything I want through it, because I don't know all the words and structures.
And after I got back to my room, I didn't go straight to bed, but I started chatting on Facebook with Zemfira, a freshers that I had met on Facebook around March and then with whom I have been chatting with since then - exactly like with Samantha (we were all in the same whats app group). We organised to meet today, finally!
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