My summer holiday so far

I’m not sure where the time goes, but after thinking I’ve been off university for one month, I just realised I’ve actually been off university for two months! So far it has been filled up with many new and fun memories that I thought I’d share.

For anyone who reads this blog regularly, you might remember that I started off by going home to Norway for a couple of days with the boyfriend.

However, with almost a month left of my tenancy I didn’t see the point in staying in Norway whilst still paying for my house in England.

So back to Southampton I went, where I got to experience the one and only Craig David at the Common People festival, which I’ve already written a post on.

I also went to Marwell Zoo for some exploring. Who said the zoo was only for children? It is most definitely not! If you fancy meeting some lions, cheetahs, zebras or monkeys this is where you should go. Marwell Zoo is not far from Southampton at all, and there are bus connections, but again it’s probably easiest to reach by car.

My boyfriend James and I decided to put our relationship to the real test and go bowling in Millbrook. I forget from time to time how fun bowling actually is and this is a great option instead of going out during the weekend. As far as I know you can go bowling in Millbrook and Eastleigh in Southampton. I lost, but I’ll be back to restore my honour!

We also went on two short day trips to Hythe and Muddiford – both very nice, although it’s a lot easier reaching Hythe with the ferry rather than driving. Unfortunately, I was sloppy and didn’t take any good pictures from either of the places. But I guess that just means I have to go back again soon, which I don’t mind at all!

After a great month of adventures it was time for me to go back home to Norway and although the places I’ve been to since then are a lot less reachable than the previously mentioned, I think they are worth mentioning.

I’ve recently been on a little road trip in Norway with my dad. If you’ve seen Norway on a map you’d know it’s quite a big country and there are still loads of places I haven’t seen. We drove the Atlantic Ocean Road and ticked off some small cities I haven’t seen before along with the beautiful fjords which I never get tired of seeing. If you’re interested, there are actually cruises going from Southampton to Norway. I haven’t been on them, but at least I know the destination is beautiful!

Right after I got back from the road trip I went to Romania where I’m currently blogging from. I can’t really say it has been proper summer weather in Norway or England, but at least here it is sunny and about 30 degrees every day. I’m not complaining about the heat just yet.

Happy summer!

Alexandra

Student travel: deciding where to go

As Alexandra pointed out in her recent blog post, exams are very nearly over. True, I’ve been sat here twiddling my thumbs for almost a week already, but now more and more students are crossing over into the realms of freedom, and a whole lot of you are probably wondering what to do next.

I mentioned a while back that a favourite among students when it comes to the monumentally huge summer break is to spend some time travelling.

This isn’t even exclusive to third-year graduates either; the summer is big enough to cover lots of new ground, even if you’re planning on heading back down here to Southampton in September.

If you’re like me, and libraries and textbooks have very much taken over your life as of late, a change of scenery is usually a pretty exciting idea. The only question that remains from here is ‘Where?’

It seems almost a silly question, but believe it or not, the world is pretty darn enormous, and thanks to this little thing called globalisation more recently, travelling to some of the more far-out destinations isn’t quite as difficult as you might think. Almost anything is on the cards; this is one of the only times in your life that you’re likely to have the freedom to completely up-sticks and wander the globe, so why not use it?

If the world is quite literally your oyster, how do you narrow it down enough to actually pull together a manageable trip? Sure, we’d all love to go everywhere, but time and money don’t usually prevail in the way we’d like them to.

Here are some things to consider when planning your trip:

With any luck, I’ll hopefully be finding myself back here in sunny Vancouver come the summer!

Desire

Like I’ve already said, this is likely to be one of the only times in your life you will have the ability to spread your wings and go where you want to go. Ask yourself: where is the one place on Earth that I’ve always wanted to travel to?

It might be Japan, it might be Peru, it might be Africa; everyone is different. Try not to fall into the same old student cycle of simply just going to the most popular destinations. True, a lot of students do go to Australia and Thailand, but that doesn’t mean that you have to if you’re interested in going somewhere else. Be creative and surprise yourself!

Contacts

This doesn’t just mean the people you’re travelling with (although it’s always a good idea to at least have a partner along for the ride!). Think about people you may know in other countries, and if you might be able to stay with them. It’ll cut the budget in half and the chances are you’ll form a great new/reignited friendship out of it too.

When I sat down to plan something for the summer, I started plotting the family I’m in touch with in the US and Canada and found a way to connect between four different cities. It might just be couch-surfing, but it’ll certainly give me a more authentic and a significantly cheaper travelling experience overall!

Budget

Sadly this ends up being the be-all and end-all of most trips. New Zealand might sound like a blast but the flights will likely set you back an entire year’s worth of rent, and the same goes for quite a few places. Have an idea in your head of how much money you’re able to spend/fundraise, and try to craft your trip realistically around that.

Some countries will be cheaper than others in terms of living costs (food etc.), but remember to factor in the money you might lose in exchange fees on currency or on tourist VISA applications.

Depending on what happens in next month’s referendum, Europe is a (potentially) cheap and beautiful alternative to world travel - Amsterdam is definitely worth a visit!

Still, with a decent amount of planning, you could find yourself living it up in an entirely different part of the world in a few months - certainly an exciting prospect if you’re still chained to a desk with deadlines looming.

Adventure calls!

Ben

SUSU's Culture Festival 2016

The University of Southampton loves to celebrate the diversity of nationalities present in its organisation.

This year, Southampton University Student’s Union (SUSU) did just so by holding its first ever Culture Festival. From the 24th until the 30th of April the Union hosted activities within and outside of its campuses which immersed students into the cultures of its diverse student body from across the globe.

From food and activities, to language sessions and movies; all the bases were covered. Some events even had free entry, such as the language lessons, film screenings, and the halls food exchange in which students had the opportunity to share food from their home country and try other traditional cuisines.

It certainly was a memorable week before the crunch of summer exams.

The Travel Fair

The first event I went to was the Travel Fair which was brilliantly organised by the Travelling Society. It consisted of the Union’s international societies which gave practical tips on travelling and suggestions on where to go when visiting their members’ countries of origin.

I was involved in the fair through being the President of the Filipino Society (FilSoc). Our committee held a stall which answered keen travellers’ questions on what it may be like to be a first time traveller to the Philippines and what other useful information they may take with them when planning a visit. Entry was completely free and even had drinks deals at The Bridge where the fair was held.

The fair filling up fast with keen travellers 

Speaking to Alicia about Jamaican food and how just upon entering the restaurant you can guess whether or not the food is going to be good or bad 

Drinks deals at the Bridge made especially for the event 

International Performance Night 

My favourite event out of all during the festival is definitely the International Culture Night. Superbly organised by AISEC Southampton every year, this was an evening of music, dancing, poetry and a range of all other creative performances by the Union’s international societies.

What really struck me about this evening was the differences, similarities and the colourful traditions within this University that we are all surrounded with.

The Vietnamese society won 1st place as having given the best performance of the night. This picture was taken during the spontaneous dance off between all societies 

With the President of AISEC, Rofini 

Global Village

The purpose of this event was to showcase the different cultures and nationalities within the University through global cuisine, international music, art, international exhibits and activities. Guests were provided with a free and unique opportunity to experience a variety of cultures through sight, sound and taste. In essence, this “Global Village” offered attendees a trip around the world without leaving Southampton!

Societies were able to set up stalls which portrayed their culture through their traditional food, clothes, music and games.

The societies who participated include: Polish Students’ Society, Bruneian Society, Malaysian Society, Pakistan Society, Nepalese Society, Omani Society, Indonesian Society, Lebanese Society and many more.

Of course the Filipino Society took part and we brought along our karaoke machine with us for attendees to have a go at! A big part of Filipino culture is singing. Filipinos love to sing and almost every household in the Philippines own a karaoke machine so we thought it would be a fantastic idea to use as a prop for our stall.

The Filipino Society’s stall at the Global Village. Behind me is our karaoke machine where we encouraged guests to perform a song before they got their stamp on your activities passport 

Certainly many other events were available during the week. There was even a Holi Festival on the Redbrick area on Highfield Campus!

Not your average day at the Union… 

All in all, SUSU’s first ever Culture Festival was a success. I most definitely had fun participating in the events and enjoyed meeting new people from different cultures.

Being at university is the perfect time to expand your horizons by experiencing cultures you never thought you could ever have the chance to get involved in… and I didn’t even have to leave Southampton!

Rylyn