Hi everyone, wow, it’s been a while since the last post.
Nevertheless, I can describe the whole summer term in just two words – revision and exams. Or actually what was supposed to be revision was seeing the stuff for the first time and thinking “oh, really, that’s what that lecture series was all about!” Library has become my second home and most of the people including myself were glad it works 24/7.
Just a few weeks before the exams we got our biochemistry hoodies and everyone was wearing them all the time. As by this time almost every other student in this country has finished their exams the whole silent area was full of people in identical hoodies. It felt like a big happy (or not really) family.
All of this might seem quite dull but actually the summer term was not that bad. Firstly we went to Brighton. We were extremely lucky with the weather, walked on the seafront, visited Brighton Pier, ate at Donatello (as usual we didn’t even had to look at the menu), ended up in our favourite shisha place before going to the lounge where we used to spend all the Friday (and sometimes Saturday as well) nights. This night featured missing the last train, meeting lots of people who are currently studying in Bellerbys, and eating fish and chips (classic!) on Brighton station in early morning.
Secondly as my friends from other universities were finishing their exams they usually were coming down to my place or tried to get me out – basically did their best to distract me from my revision. Not sure what I would have done without those little breaks – so every time I was beginning to dream about curly arrows and moving electrons (they did not want to move and were talking to me with very funny voices) – chemistry students will understand what I mean - I knew it’s time for some more distraction.
And finally my dear fellow biochemists whose serious concentrated faces motivated me to work harder and whose jokes and little chats helped me to survive the miserable periods when you feel you cannot do it any longer. Exam period itself was pretty intense – 3 hours a day, 3 days in a row. I am not even trying to estimate how many liters of coffee I drunk, how many trees were killed to produce all that paper that I wasted in writing endless notes hoping that at least something with stick to my head, and how many times I just wished it is be over.
And when the exams were indeed finished it felt a bit weird - all that work just for 9 hours in total and now we can forget it all – until the next year. The same day the Royal School of Science organized a Summer Ball as most of Biochemists, Chemists and some other Scientists did not go to the main Imperial Summer Ball due to the revision (can you imagine? I did not go to the Summer Ball – and this is after 3 years worth of tradition of May Balls!).
As most of my friends were there the Science Ball was quite fun even though we were all pretty exhausted. And guess what, the next day we had a Biochemistry Open Day where me and my friend were student guides and had to represent our course! We really did our best and hope that we succeeded in showing them how great is biochemistry (even after 3 exams and a sleepless night) and that biochemistry in Imperial is even better.
Then we spent our afternoon at the advice desk explaining everything about Imperial from accommodation to tutorial system to numerous extra-caring parents. After all of this we felt like we deserve a treat and went to a Japanese restaurant and then to have a couple of glasses of wine with other girls. Friday night was marked by going out to a very posh club – something we haven’t done for ages so felt extremely good realizing once again that you are in London – a city where everything is possible.
So what’s now? Some of my friends decided to stay in London over summer and I thought it might be a good idea for me as well – at least for a month. So now I am staying here till the 2nd of August and will be doing some mentoring in a girls catholic school – if it doesn’t sound like me at all I will have to add – the subject I will be doing is my favourite Chemistry. I am also planning to do some volunteering and obviously have a great time here in London!
My mum is coming soon as well and we have lots of plans including trips to Edinburgh, Bath and Cambridge and Brighton, classical music concert and obviously some shopping! It doesn’t seem like I am going to spend a lot of time in Moscow, as my parents are planning a visit to St. Petersburg, and I really want to go somewhere warm as well (even though at the moment I am a bit tired of the heat – it's getting too hot in London this summer!) So now the summer holidays have officially started, so let’s go out in the sun (while it’s still there – in UK you may never know!) and make the most of it!
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