Student Activities Blogs

Andrea Lama

The End of Europe and the Beginning of Normal Life

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Hello everyone! I know it’s been a ridiculously long time since I last wrote, but, to be fair, I’ve been really busy! Here’s what happened since last time:

Highlands

So the semester ended in England (tears), but not without event! I was able to squeeze in one last trip – to Scotland! It was one of the greatest! Edinburgh was fantastic! I went to Edinburgh castle (can I live there, please?) and climbed Arthur’s Seat (a mountain slash dead volcano thing) and walked around the Royal Mile and saw the North Sea! And that was all in one day! The next day I went on a tour of the Highlands! I was picked up bright and early by a bus whose license plate was “NES5IE” (not joking), and drove up all the way to Loch Ness. It has always been a dream of mine to go to the Loch and try and find the monster, who remained in the depths of Ness, sadly. It is also the farthest north I have ever been, it was still light out at 9:30 PM! Of course, I ate Haggis, which actually was yummy (as a fritter) and other delicious Scottish food! Scotland was beautiful, the mountains were breath-taking, and even though it was cold (in May!) it was one of the best trips I went on.

As far as school went, the semester ended with finals, which were pretty typical finals. The major difference between there and here is that, since Warwick is a small school, everyone takes finals at once, in a huge room. You also have assigned seating, and they design it so that no one around you is taking the same exam you are. Not just different versions, but completely different classes. Engineering exams are next to English exams are next to Chemistry exams so that no one can copy off their neighbor. Intense! I was a little worried about finals because, since they don’t have midterms, that was my only grade for some classes, but in the end, finals are finals are finals, and I did just fine.

Loch Ness

I spent the last weeks of England sitting on the grass outside my flat, surrounded by my flatmates, sipping lemonade under the bits of random sunshine that poked through the ever-present British clouds. A long trip home felt shorter due to the awesome touch-screen entertainment center in the seat in front of me and the baby boy who wanted to play peek-a-boo for a couple hours. If I didn’t pretend to hide, he screamed, so I was glad to oblige. Since I got home late in the summer, I wasn’t able to score an internship, or a job at all for that matter, so for the remainder of the summer I stayed at home, spent time with my parents and my blind, old dog, enjoying the heat of the summer and the sunshine and vitamin D I’ve missed for the past six months.

If you are thinking about going abroad, my message to you is this: JUST GO. Pick a place, any place, grab your stuff, and leave. The deadline is September 29, 2009. Let go of all your inhibitions about traveling, being away from home, and just go. Go somewhere you’ve always wanted to. Go somewhere you never thought you’d go. Go somewhere, period. You have never really been independent until you’ve said goodbye to your parents and everything familiar, gotten lost in a city you’ve never been to, and had to deal with a new culture, a new life, and a new time zone, all at once. It was the best thing I have ever done. I would do it all over again, without even a second thought. So, I recommend you all do it to. Don’t let it be one of those things you regret not doing when you’re older, or even tomorrow. JUST GO!

But now, school is back in session! While Europe was awesome, and I mean AWESOME, it does feel good to be back at UConn. It still smells the same as it did when I left (you never realize UConn has a smell until you leave and come back), and the Ugg boots and Northfaces (yes, I’ve seen them in August) and UConn hoodies complete the UConn feeling of home. And since I’m back, SO IS HOLDUP! (YAY!). It’s not in full swing quite yet, but we’ve got lots of exciting plans for this semester! It feels really good to be working with it again, I have missed it so! I am really excited to be working with high school students again and making workshops and going to the meetings and everything HOLDUP! related. Even wearing the T-shirt makes me smile! I’ll let you know how it goes (and how YOU can get involved!) once it starts up again.

In other news, I AM A SENIOR (omg!). In one of my courses, my professor said “So, the Career Fair is in three weeks” and I almost fainted! Three weeks!? I thought I wasn’t ready, but I’m so glad that UConn has such great opportunities like that to help us get ready for life after graduation (does such a thing even exist?). I’ll fill you in on how it goes, but if you want more info on it, please go to the website: http://www.career.uconn.edu/career_fairs.html. This will help you figure out what companies will be there, what you should bring, and even help you decide what you want to do.

So I’ll end it here, now that I have homework to do again! Keep in touch, (go abroad!) and I hope you are having as great of a start to the semester as I am.