Living in Essex - First Term

This is my home in England. No, not the boat. I live in a lovely student accommodation next to the river, where some people live on houseboats. On the photo the river looks just like a mud bank, that's because we're so close to the sea that it changes with the tide. Along the river I can either walk to the neighbouring village even closer to the ocean, or walk downtown. I live in a really old, small town with a lovely riverbank and teeny tiny shopping streets. I usually take the bus to campus, but I could also walk there for about 25 minutes. And the campus is huge!!! So many buildings, shops, restaurants, offices.. It's like the university's own town. It's definetely a big change for me, because back in Germany I was at a private business school with only one building and a small garden.

Essex Business School

If this is what the public business school here looks like, how come my private one back home was such a disappointment? England, with all my heart, I really do love you!

Campus

I have come to love this university so much. Already during fresher's week I've met so many new people who have become my friends! I have joined the LGBT* & Friends society, where I have met some amazing and unique friends. I checked out Badminton and now I meet up to play Badminton and Squash on a regular basis. I joined the Writing Society and go to the meetings every single week, I feel so at home with this group of people, it's amazing! I went to the postgrad mixer and made a friend I went on a few lovely excursions with, who I get great support from. One of the excursions was a trip to Cambridge, I'll tell you more about it and show you some pictures in a later post. I joined the Catholic Community on campus and it's the best experience with religion I have ever made. It is completely different to church and mass back home in Germany. It is so open and relaxed and I really feel part of the family. I also took part in a one hour Mindfulness workshop. I made a friend there and also signed up for the full time seminar this term. I am really looking forward to it!! So you can see, I have met some amazing people here at the university and I just feel part of a great community. Last term I also had one of the greatest modules I have ever had. It was called Writing Magic and gave me so much inspiration for poems and stories I want to write. If you want me to share some of my pieces with you, either here or on YouTube, please tell me, I would love to. And last but not least, I finally began to learn Russian, a language I always wanted to learn! This term I have three modules, plus the Mindfulness seminar and the Russian course. I will start preparing my dissertation and continue playing Badminton and Squash, meeting up with the Writing Society, joining the Catholic Community and seeing my friends.

The beautiful surroundings

If you want to support me in my 1000miles as fundraising for charity and donate money to Mind-The Mental Health Charity:

Fundraising for Charity

Announcement:

From now on I upload every Friday at 5PM (that's 6PM in Central Europe).

My uploads will alternate between YouTube and my blog.

Also, on the last of every month I will upload my monthly gratitude project on YouTube.

So stay tuned!

Have you seen my latest YouTube video?

Life as a "tourist" POEMS

I am reading three of my English poems to you :)

 

 

 See you next week!
Jen
xx 

London (or Moving to England)

For years I knew I would eventually move back to England. After graduating with my Bachelor of Arts in Summer 2016 I was planning and thinking and organising... Would I work or do a Master? Where? I applied in several different cities both for jobs and universities, I got accepted in various places and had to make up my mind. And in September I finally decided to do a one year taught postgraduate degree in Translation and Literature (English - German) in Essex, and the moment I made my decision I instantly knew it was the right choice.





I packed my bags and the last September weekend my Mum and I flew to England. We stayed a couple of days in London before taking the train up to Essex, my new home!

 

















We didn't really do any sightseeing because we've both been to London so many times before. So what did we do?

We went shopping in Westfield, we had a lovely walk around London Bridge, Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral and along the river. We also had a nice walk on the Isle of Dogs, and another through Green Park and St James's Park.

After that we had a well deserved break. We enjoyed the most delicious food and drinks at the Sanderson Hotel where they organised a Mad Hatters Tea Party - how amazing is that???!!

It was delicious!! And it was a lovely time in London. But I was so excited for October 1st, when we took the train up to Essex. I love my new home with all the amazing people I've met!! And I will definitely tell and show you more of it, so hang on ;)

At the beginning of this week I also uploaded a new YouTube video for you, in which I chat to you about my life and goals, about this year and my love for languages. If you like it, you would make me very happy if you give it a thumps-up and subscribe to my channel.

If you want to support me in my 1000miles as fundraising for charity and donate money to Mind-The Mental Health Charity:

JustGiving 1000miles in 2017 Mind The Mental Health Charity

Lots of love
Jen