London October 2017
No matter how cliche it sounds, it is true, time flies when you are having fun, and too fast if you ask me. Before I left I remember thinking ‘four months is going to be too much’, but the opposite is true it is not enough and there are still so many thinks I want to see and do. Since I am person that is very attached to home, it feels wierd to say that I’m not really missing it. Maybe, because I don’t really have time to do so. The last few weeks have been a lot of fun, some highlights… While reading week is actually ment for reading, I must admit that is not really (at all) what I used it for.
Manchester Ice skate rink
With some Erasmus friends we decided to go to London, which was a lot of fun! We walked everyday till our legs were tired and visited all the main attractions. We had lunch at nice indoor markets and in Camden town and watched the fireworks from a hill on Guy Fawkes Night. But not only have I enjoyed other places, but also Manchester. While the days get colder and shorter, Manchester gets more cosy. With the beautiful lights twinkling in the city and the cute Christmas markets. Obviously, while visiting the markets we could not resist the hot chocolate and waffles with an overload on whipped cream. By the way, don’t forget to go ice skating on the idyllic ice rink surrounded by twinkling lights.
Of course I did not only travel and party this last few months, but also did that for what I am here, studying! Like a real Dutchie I bike to university every day. I got a nice yellow bike at Biko’s Bike for only one pound a week (it’s crazy I know!!!) and it is really really convenient. The first weeks I took the 9 AM overcrowded bus from Fallowfield which took 30 (if not more) minutes to get to uni. This while it is only 3 km away!! My yellow bike on the other side, brings me to uni in less then ten minutes and also gives me the chance to look at all the people rushing to work on the curry mile. But this aside… my study. Last week I had to hand in some essays, and writing them was much harder than I imagined. Since, at home I write all my essays in Dutch it was really hard at first to find the right academic words and phrases. Because of this, it took me almost a week, to finish one single essay. Luckily it was not all for nothing, with every day that passed by I started to notice that my writing got better and better. Completing my second essay went so much faster. I must say that it feels really good, noticing improvements after days of struggling.
Autumn in London
A Final note; Since we are arriving at the end of the Erasmus, some are already leaving. Printing pictures for their goodbyes of the things we did together, made me realise how many great memories we made in such a short period of time. The last time I said ‘enjoy your Erasmus, because it is over before you notice’ and while writing the date on my essay I did however notice that there was only one month left. When I get home the real study life will start, less parties and trips, but writing my thesis. Therefore I will (and you should do to) try to get everything I can out of this last month. I know that ‘Netflix and chill’ are really hard to resit when it is dark and cold outside, but we can do that at home, now it is time to go out of the house and meet people!
Erasmus Family
