First Term of Uni

A felt snowflake I put on my window.

Christmas tree outside Elphinstone Hall. Kings college chapel in the background 

Sir Duncan Rice library

Beach

November sunset

River Don and the sea in the distance

Out on a walk

Autumn 2012

Sunshine

All photos taken with my iPod

Now that the first term of uni is over and done with (hurray!), I thought it would be a good idea to inform you of my thoughts and experiences of it all. Hope you enjoy!
Move-in Weekend
It was one hectic weekend, filled with lots of emotions. I arrived here early in the morning on Thursday the 13th of September with my mum & dad. Thursday and Friday consisted of shopping for things for my room, exploring the city and the university campus.
Saturday the 15th was the official first day of moving in. We packed up all of my things in the hotel room, hopped on a bus to Hillhead (the little student accommodation "village"where I currently reside), signed in, got my keys and found my flat. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my bedroom door. I wasn't expecting it to be so clean and tidy, haha!
The rest of the day we spent unpacking and setting everything up in my room. I met my lovely flatmates Michele, Paola, Hannah and Sarah in person for the first time and chatted for a while.
That evening, my parents and I went out for dinner at Wagamama's in the city centre. I didn't sleep in my room that night because I was so exhausted and overwhelmed to go back to Hillhead (which is about a 15-20 minute bus ride from the city, and a 10-15 minute walk from uni), so I stayed in the hotel.
Sunday consisted of pretty much the same thing, except that night I went out with my flatmates for the first time! Which was great :)
Settling in
It took about one-two weeks for me to actually realise that all of this was for real. During Fresher's week I was so busy having fun, I didn't really have time to myself and sit and think about what was going on.
I quickly got into my daily routine of going to lectures, tutorial and practicals all week long. However, it was a little difficult getting used to the teaching style that the uni has.
Settling into a new country and a new way of living always takes a little bit of time. I'm quite used to having to adapt to a new environment and being open-minded. I enjoy experiencing a new way of living - it's always exciting!
School Work
One thing that every university has in common, is the amount of reading you have to do. I knew this beforehand, but it's hard to keep up with all the reading when you have three subjects and they all demand the same amount of effort from you. Also, being an independent worker is key to accomplishment. No one is going to tell you to do your assignments and reading - it's all up to you. Thankfully, I understand the importance of this, and usually I'm pretty good at managing my time.
This term I studied: Psychology (which is my degree), Sociology (a module) and Managing Organisations (another module). For Psychology I had four hours of lectures a week, a two hour practical and a two hour workshop every fortnight (ever two weeks in other words). For Sociology I had two hours of lectures a week, and a one hour tutorial a week. For Managing Organisations I had two hours of lectures a week along with a one hour tutorial every fortnight. All in all I was at uni roughly 14-15 hours a week, plus all the reading, the visits to the library, and all of the time spent on the assignments etc.
Societies
Even before arriving, the university compelled us to join at least one society. Why is this you may wonder. Well, it's very important not to get lost in your studies - which can be very easy. A society is a wonderful way of escaping the hectic student life and focusing on something other than your school work.
During Fresher's week there was a Societies & Sports Fayre where they informed us on what they had to offer and so on. I joined the Dance Society, Nordic Society and the Psychology Society.
Every society has a membership fee which is mandatory if you want to join, and usually, if they have organised an event you have to pay £1-3 to take part. For non-members it's usually a little more expensive, but even non-members are allowed to come along to the events! I myself, have been to many events, such as pub crawls for example, organised by other societies. It's a great way to meet new people and mingle with the older students.

One thing I wished I would have done more this term is sight-seeing. Several of my friends have gone to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, St. Andrews etc. for a weekend to experience the beauty of this country. Hopefully I will have the chance to go someplace next term with a group of friends!
However, I did have the opportunity to go to London for the weekend and I had an amazing time! :D
I have considered getting a part time job to earn some extra money. But I decided that this first term, I was going to focus on settling in, and getting used to my new life at uni. Next term I will most likely apply for a part time job, as a sales assistant, barista, waitress...the list goes on.

If there's anything you'd like to know more about, or something I haven't mentioned that you'd like to know about, comment below!! :)