Six weeks gone, six more to go

It's hard to believe that six weeks has already gone by since the start of the new academic year. Part of me has reverted back to the pre-summer routine and it feels like I’ve been here forever, but at the same time I feel as though it’s still week one and I have no idea what’s going on.

Thanks to the joy of coursework deadlines and reading assignments beginning to pile up, I thought I would just write a short blog this week, highlighting the best bits of the Semester so far, and what I’m still looking forward to.

My favourite things so far:

Getting back into baking. So many of my posts are about the things I do to avoid doing my University work, it’s a wonder I get anything done at all! Thanks to the cold and uninspiring weather of late, I’ve been spending a lot of time trying new recipes for bread and cakes which is lots of fun but doesn’t do my waistline any good!

My growing collection of flour is taking over my tiny kitchen!

Meeting the new people on my course. There are only three of us taking MSc Global Health this year which is lovely because we became good friends really quickly. What’s even greater is that our modules are really diverse, so we have met lots of lovely people studying various different postgraduate degrees. We meet regularly for study groups (usually hosted at my place since I’m so close to campus) and the occasional dinner out in Southampton.

Having a great time at La Baronia, plus as it was Mexico Week organised through the University, we enjoyed 10% off and a free cocktail!

Halloween! This year instead of going “out-out”, I went to a party that my old boss from work was hosting. It was so much fun catching up with the people that I used to work with because I don’t have much opportunity to see them anymore. Instead of dressing up I put my creative efforts into a Monsters Inc themed cake, complete with eyes that ‘bled’ jam…

I named him Fred

The eyes, though a bit disconcerting, were delicious! 

Things I’m looking forward to:

Starting to hunt and apply for graduate jobs. It feels like such a strange thing to be doing only six weeks into the MSc, but big companies start their recruitment drives early! Positions for graduates are already being advertised, with interviews in January and start dates in July. Although I’m nervous about filling in lengthy job applications (the ever present fear of rejection looming over me) I’m excited to see what’s out there and what opportunities I can go for.

Going to Oxford to see my sister and my parents. I haven’t seen my family in a long while since travel is so expensive and home is quite a way away for me. Fortunately my sister lives in Oxford, which is much easier to get to, so we are all meeting for lunch there to celebrate my birthday (testimony to how busy we all are, my birthday was mid-October!)

I can’t wait to see my dog in real life and not just over snapchat… 

Christmas dinner with the lovely ladies on my course. I’ve never had a proper University-style Christmas party before due to heavy coursework loads and people leaving at different times. This year we are going to book a table at a restaurant in the city and have a proper Christmas celebration.
Tables book up quickly so if you are planning on having a Christmas meal, best book a good time in advance to ensure you can get a table big enough for everyone.

Emma