Life as a "tourist": Living in Essex

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.