It has been approximately 4 months since beginning my studies at Lancaster University, and it has indeed been a journey. The Michaelmas term went by really fast, and was filled with so much learning, unlearning and re-learning. However, all good things must come to an end, giving opportunity to the start of something new. In this case, the end of the term meant the start of the Christmas Holidays.

Holidaying in Lancaster could feel discouraging because it’s a student town and holidays mean most students return home to spend holidays with their families, which means the town won’t be as busy as during term time. However, the town still had a bunch of Holiday activities to really keep up the Christmas spirit, from a Tour of the Lancaster castle to all the fun at Dalton Square. Dalton Square was like the centre for Christmas fun with activities like ice-skating, ferris wheel, and lots of Christmas fun foods, but ultimately, Christmas is fun because of who you spend it with, so whether in or out of town, Christmas fun is what you make it. For me, it was spending time with friends, binge watching movies, and experimenting with recipes.

However, in the midst of all the fun, academic reality was still at the back of my mind, with exams in my department scheduled for the first week of the Lent Term. The term started with two open-book exams, a pretty firm way to start the term. Open-book exams are new territory for me making it difficult to get off my mind all through the holidays. With exams done and everyone back from Holidays, campus life is back to normal, and my first weekend saw me hanging with friends at a pub for a cool evening of drinking and catch up, and now academics resumes.

Speaking of academics, these beginning weeks have been about introductions to the courses for the term and relevant assessments, as well as preparing for dissertation. Also, as an international student, there’s also the job search which has me visiting LUMS Careers for career advice and submitting loads of applications for both part-time and full-time roles. It surely would be a busy term with a lot to do in 10 weeks.

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