Life after - t

My trip to Exeter started with the fact that my potential accomodation still hadn’t replied to confirm as I sat in the bus on the way to Exeter. A few worried phone calls to churches in the area later and I had a place to stay for the night at 4:30pm that afternoon!

I walked around Exeter a bit first, then headed to a cafe/bar to meet the guy I’d be staying with (his wife and son were still at work) along with an old friend from church he’d been planning to see, and another young lady from the church. It was nice to meet local people and chat, but it was pretty tiring as they had a lot to catch up on and the music was very loud. The two ladies both went to Exter uni, but both advised me not to go there! They felt it wasn’t at all worth the money, and that I should study in Germany. They thought the only reason I should go to an english uni is for the reputation, e.g. Cambridge or LSE yes, but not just a normal Russel Group uni. I was pretty surprised!

That night I realised the family had a cat and suffered quite a lot! In the morning I headed off to Exeter uni. Unfortunately I hadn’t been able to find anyone to meet, or a lecture to go to, so I first hung out at the library. Then I went to the hall where they were having a business faire, because Matt and I had realised that he would be going there for work! How mad is that? We hadn’t seen eachother in 10 years, and then three times in one week. 

It was great to see him again. Even if I felt he could have dressed a bit smarter!

After saying goodbye again, I took the official university tour. The guide was lovely, but I was disappointed that we couldn’t look into any actual accomodation or lecture theatres. It was a really nice looking university, but I didn’t love it like I did the other two. 

After that I also briefly met with somebody from the politics department to ask a few questions. From what I remember, their grading system is different again! I think your grades in year 2 and 3 count twice as much as your year 1 grades... but I could be wrong. So funny how it’s so different everywhere!

The long awaited, though shorter than it could have been, post on my trip to London is finally here!

It was with sadness that I left Cambridge, but my two days in London were also absolutely wonderful. Whilst carrying my life on my back around London both days wasn’t so much fun, the people I met made it an incredible experience.

I arrived, got lost, but eventually found my way to near the LSE where I met with Ellen! I was given her contact through the Christian Union at LSE, and was soon amazed by all we have in common. She’s a squash loving, kind, left-wing, christian feminist who wants to work in women’s rights as a lawyer. The perfect friend for me! We had lunch together, and then she gave me a tour of the LSE. The buildings are lovely, and it’s incredibly central in London. We then sat in the park and chatted for a couple of hours, before going to the British Museum.

After that it was time for us to walk to the train station where I would be meeting my cousin Matt. He’s doing a one year internship with Unilever in London and I hadn’t seen him in years. We clicked straight away though and it was great! Together we travelled back to my other cousin’s house where he’s staying for the year. We ate dinner together as a family, and then Matt and I chatted into the evening.

We journeyed together back into London in the morning, had a lovely chat before Matt went to work, and then I walked to the LSE to meet Ellen again. She had found out where some lectures would be, and we snuck into the first one together. It was a 2nd year politics lecture about Game Theory and Voter Theory. Despite being maths heavy I really enjoyed it! 

After that we got lunch together, and then she’d arranged for me to meet with a guy studying PPE. I chatted to him for hours and got the low down on how politics at LSE is. 

After that I went alone to a 1st year Social Policy course, which was about the Welfare State in various countries. I found it really interesting, although it wasn’t one that went into much depth as it was the start of term. I even answered a question! 

Then I got to say a final goodbye to Ellen, and was handed over to another guy who studies International Relations, giving me an insight into that part of the course. I was so thankful to Ellen for organising my time so perfectly!

After that it was time to leave, and I got a text from Matt asking if I wanted to grab dinner. We went to a restaurant for pizza, and then I took the tube to London Victoria Bus Station, catching the evening bus back to Southampton.

It was such a great trip. I loved the left-wing, politically minded energy of the LSE, Ellen, and spending time with Matt. I came home tired, but happy.

Next I went to London to visit LSE! A post about my trip will follow, but here’s what I learnt about LSE:

Their grading system is pretty strange! So I’ll try to explain it: - Each year you take four papers (exams). - In the first year, your 4 marks are averaged to give you one grade for the year. - This grade counts as 1 unit.  - In year 2 and 3 the grade you get for each paper counts for 1 unit (so that’s 8 units) - So in total you have 9 units worth of grades - Then your final grade is based on which grade you got the most...! So it’s based on the mode - If you get 5 1sts and 4 2:1s then you’ll get a 1st - If you get 2 2:1′s and 4 1sts then you’ll get a 2:1 - If you get 2 1sts, 3 2:1′s and 4 3rds then you’ll get a 2:1 (because the majority of your marks are a 2:1 or higher) - If you get 5 1sts and 4 3rds then you get a 1st!

So it seems quite a crazy, random way to do it, in my opinion. However, apparently this is quite good as you can essentially decide to focus on just 5 units and only pass the others if you want. LSE give out the 3rd most 1sts in the UK apparently. And also apparently it’s extremely easy to get at least a 2:1.

One cool thing is that you can really customise your degree. One guy I spoke to, who is studying Politics and International Relations in his first year, is doing 1 Politics module, 1 IR module, 1 history module, and 1 maths module! Both of the last two are “borrowed” from other departments. You have less flexibility in 2nd year, but in 3rd year you again have the option for one “outside” paper.

However, having just looked at the Social Policy and Gvmt degree on the website, it seems that there isn’t the option there to pick an “outside” option. So that’s definitely something to consider!

I also asked what the difference is between Politics and Government, but it turns out that there is none! They have the exact same modules, which are incidentally called “Government”. 

In terms of workload, it’s clearly significanlty less than at Cambridge. There are some essays, but maximum one per week. And even then, you know about them way in advance, and have a couple of weeks to do them. The exams themselves seems fair too.

Something special about this uni is that everyone is studying a course that interlinks with your own course. Several people described it like “either you’re here to be an investment banker, or you’re a left winger into politics”! Which is very cool and suits me well. 

There’s lots of green, and although the busyness and traffic of London is horrible for me, once you turn the corner into the LSE area it feels calmer. I love that musuems in London are free, and that there are just so many different kinds of shops and restaurants. 

My greatest concern was finding accomodation locally. To some degree they assured me. The halls are walking distance, so that’s your first year sorted at least. Flats are always to be found, though very last minute, and it can vary greatly where you’re staying. The furthest out you could be, might mean a 40minute walk or tube ride. There are one closer, and not too much more expensive, but it is a bit of pot luck. Rents are between 140-200gbp a week! And the tube is 90gbp a week. It would be very tight with the maintenance loan, however money isn’t something I’m worried about. God has always made sure I have enough. The prospect of being 60,000gbp in debt is less appealing! Then again, it’s all a bit abstract.

You have a mixture of lectures and classes at LSE. Roughly 1 lecture, and 1 class per paper per week. There’s about 11 contact hours a week. The terms are also about 11 weeks long. 

All in all, it seems like quite a modern, social science university in the heart of London.

Some things I learnt about Cambridge!

- You apply for one college, and they interview you and either accept/reject you - If they think you’re right for Cambridge, but not the college, they can “pool you” - Being pooled, means other colleges have the chance to accept you if they want - You take 4 papers (exams) per year - You have lectures, classes and supervisions - There are about 8 hours worth of lectures and classes per week (1 of each per class per week) - You have four supervisions per fortnight - For each supervision you have to write an essay - So you have 4 essays per fortnight, with just under a week to write each one - The supervisions are are small... sometimes just you and the supervisor but other times up to two others as well - The only thing that counts towards your end result are the exams in year 3 - On your certificate you are just awarded “Bachelor of Arts” and the employer or whatever actually has to look at the course/certificated breakdown to see what you studied! - To get a 1st is extremely difficult - The colleges are all very different; some have many traditions and rules, whilst others don’t  - The prices of rooms and even meals and laundry vary from college to college! - Facilities and clubs are also very different - Queens college for example had teeny tiny kitchens with just two hob plates and no oven and two tiny fridges between 8 students! - Rooms are allocated by ballot  - You may have to share a room with somebody, but you can choose who you want to share with - There’s a cleaning service... once a week somebody cleans your room and ensuite and they also clean the kitchens and commen areas - There are porters on site at all times to help with anything you need - Cambridge has it’s own language and weird names for everything! - The terms are much shorter than at normal uni’s; just 8 weeks long

The journey to Cambridge took 7 hours door to door, but it flew by! On arrival I was met by a Cambridge student and CU member named Ruth, who I would be staying with. She was so lovely! We walked back to her college: Queens, and dropped off my things. We then went wandering around Cambridge. There are security guards preventing tourists from going into any colleges, so it was great to have Ruth and her student card with me as an all access pass! 

It’s so beautiful! The colleges are majestic and there are so many of them. It seems like such an idylic place to live. Ruth answered all my questions and it was great. We walked sooo long though! We then had dinner in Queens and chatted until it was time for bed. I felt incredibly blessed to eat in the halls. It was like a fairytale. 

The next day I got up early and met with Ella. Ella and I had been writing to eachother over the summer. She’s also in the CU and studys the course I’m interested in: Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS), now in her second year. 

(The way HSPS works is that in the first year you take politics, international relations, sociology and social anthropology. From the second year you choose a “stream” i.e to focus on just one of the four)

I got to go to a lecture with her, which was a Economic Anthropology one. I was a little sceptical, as I don’t want to study the Anthropology stream of the course, but it was incredibly interesting! We learnt about the theories relating to human nature and liberalism and capatalism. It was so good and I could actually follow it all, though I’d hate to have to write notes as soo much was covered in that one hour. It would have filled four lectures at another uni i think. 

After the lecture we went for a coffee together and then to a museum. We walked around Cambridge chatting, before getting lunch at Yo Sushi! Ella then drove me to Lucy Cavendish, where I had a 2pm meeting. 

Lucy Cavendish is an all female, mature college (for over 21s). The admissions lady Gaby gave me a short tour, and we then sat down so I could ask her my questions. It was great to hear for example, that a skype interview would be possible, and that I could do the entrance test at my school if somebody can invigilate. There’s also a supplementary personal statement and questionnaire, so I don’t have to worry too much about tailoring my UCAS personal statement towards their quite specific course. 

After that I wandered back through Cambridge and took some pictures, before going back to Queens to hang out there and rest. In the evening I went to the local church’s student night (Holy Trinity Cambridge) where we had a meal and worship, a talk and then split into small groups. It was really nice, and afterwards we went to the Cambridge Brew House together and played spoons. I had so much fun! I walked back to Queens with a girl from Cat’s college, and was happy to go to sleep.

The next morning it was already off to London!

1,2,3,4 - In a place called Nörten-Hardenberg which is not far from here. I went there for my friend’s birthday.  The sign says “The one who sleeps in democracy, wakes in a dictatorship” which I really like. There is even a vending machine of meat and fizzy drinks on the street there!!

5 - In Göttingen there is this sign to memorialise the book burnings that happened there in the Nazi time. It says: “In a place where books are burned, in the end people are burned too”

6,7 - These are signs due to the German election that was on the 24. September (one week ago!) The say: “There is no Planet B”  “You can’t always tell somebody is a Nazi straight away... Act against the right instead of looking away.”  “No place for Nazis”

8,9 - The botanical garden in Göttingen

It’s crazy how time flies! Today is the 1st of October and that means that my October break has already begun. Next saturday I fly to England, but before that I’ll be catching up on homework and completing assessments. 

The last month has been a lot less stressful. I was able to manage my workload better, and got through some class tests. I got a 6 on my Bio test so I was really happy with that, especially as nobody got a 7. We also had a German test, so I’ll be very interested to find out what I got on that. 

Anyhow, Autumn has arrived! It’s mild and rainy but thankfully a lifetime in England has prepared me for the disappointing weather of the north. Some more pictures from September will follow!

Last sunday my church celebrated 60 years! There was a service with a guest preacher, a BBQ, salads, cake, ice cream, live music, box-climbing, a bouncy castle and various other kid activities. 

9 of my friends from school actually came (though only 4 were there for the service) and they all had a really lovely time which was great!

Oh also: I was voted class president!

It’s been a month since school began, and my silence has been indicative of a serious lack of free time since then! 

In brief: - The last weeks of the summer were really nice - We had a kids week at church, and I really enjoyed it - The start of school went well - My new class is very nice - I have more friends in my class than last year - It’s so much bigger than usual! We have (i think) 28 students - In context: my old class is now just 10 - I was moved from German B (learning German) to German A (language and literature) which is a huge step up in level and quite a challenge for me - My timetable is much fuller this year - I am consistantly given A LOT of homework - Because I do so many church things in the evenings, it all piles up for the weekend - I haven’t even had time to go swimming this month, wheras last year I went three times a week - Though, I went to the outdoor pool last week as it was 28C and it was soo nice! - On top of our school work, we’re expected to do something creative, active and service during the week which I don’t know how to fit into my schedule as anything you did before August does not count and neither do “religious” things - I started leading a young adult small group at my church! - Tomorrow my church celebrates 60 years and many of my school friends have said they will come 

Perhaps you notice that I am feeling quite overwhelmed! This is the new normal, and I will get used to it. I’m sure it’s good preparation for university, but I feel scared of feeling this way for two years. My health has to be a priority, but when it comes to mental health it’s hard to say what is healthy pressure and what is leading to a breakdown! 

Prayers are appreciated ;) 

Making good use of my train ticket, last saturday a friend and I travelled to Bremen for the day! The map (again, for reference) shows how far it is:

We actually had a 45minute stopover in Hannover where we did a bit of window shopping. I saw/went into a Primark for the first time in two years! Then it was on to Bremen. 

After lunch at Subway we walked away from town, through the beautiful “Bürgerpark” (Citizens park) until we got to Universum. I was amazed how there can be such a huge park in such a big city!

Universum is a little like the natual science museum. We first looked at the special/temporary exhibiton. It was the different rooms of a house, all set up, each with information and art to do with that section. For example, in the kitchen they showed a map of the world with the average food a family from different countries eats. It was very cool. 

The bathroom one was about body image. They showed pictures representing the “ideal body” according to people from different countries. It’s interesting how beauty standards vary throughout the world. There was also a wall of photography of naked people (so german) sharing their stories of their body. For example, one section was of women post-breast cancer surgery. There was also a shower which, when you stood in it, gave you compliments. The idea being that we should speak more positive words into our lives about ourselves.

Here’s a picture of me in the “transport” room! Not sure if I love or hate this picture. Behind me you can see some blind people canes. There were glasses you could put on so you couldn’t see, and then you could try to follow the path on the floor using the stick (can you see the ribbed lines on the floor on the left?) to highlight how cities can help blind people navigate pavements and roads. 

Then it was through an airport-like tunnel to the normal section. It was split into three levels: technology, human and nature. There were soo many interactive things to see and do. It was very cool! Some examples: an earthquake room, a drum that beats with your heartbeat, a tank with moon jellyfish, a cloud-making machine, circuit boards to create etc. 

Here you can see a machine that uses the laws of physics to keep about 5 snooker-like balls moving continously around the track. The kids could use buttons to control certain parts. 

In no time at all it was 6pm and the place was closing. We briefly looked at the outside area too which was lovely. A very cool, quirky playground with lots of water based things for kids to do. I had a quick go on the slides and then we left.

Having taken a tram back into the centre, we grabbed hot dogs for dinner and realised we would need to take the 19:17 train back to Göttingen. Because the journey is nearly 4 hours, this would be the only one to get back before the buses stopped going for the night. 

Nevertheless, we had the time to quickly walk into the old town and grab something from the bakery for our journey back.

By the time I got home it was 11:30pm and I was extremely tired. However, I had such a lovely day and the company made the long journeys go by in no time. The only sad thing is that there was still so much more to see, if we’d had more time! 

From top to bottom:

1 - The Hannover Opera House (ranked in the top 20 in the world)

2 - The Holocaust Memorial (it has written on it all the names of the Jewish people of Hannover, their age and when they were deported to which camp)

3, 4, 5, 6 - The Aegidienkirche was almost completely destroyed in an airraid in 1943 but is now a memorial for the victims of Hiroshima. There is a sculpture, a peace bell (donated by the city of Hiroshima) and hidden away artwork here

7 - The town hall!

8, 9 - Niki’s colourful girls, strange sculptures which have become one of Hannover’s most famous tourist attractions

There was so much more, but I spent more time enjoying than taking photos.