Life after Bellerbys College

Catching Up

Hey, everyone!!

I am back...again!

A few past weeks were simply a period of catching up with stuff – firstly with the revision for the exam (leaving everything till the last minute and then crying “omg, there is soooo much to learn!!!”), then with my family (my parents visited me in London, more on this shortly), then with my studies (trying to pass my exam obviously made me forget that we are expected to READ for our degree so sleeping on the lectures doesn’t count towards it), my social life (yeap, I was even too busy to party, can you imagine that?) and finally with this blog!!!

So as you can see I am now at the end of my “catching up list” so you might think I got it all sorted out but Easter holidays are approaching at an enormous speed and after one month in Russia I will have to catch up with everything from the beginning.

You can see that my life is just one big mess once again (even my New Year resolutions cannot help it) but that’s probably what makes it so much fun!

Okey, let’s take it slowly! The 19th of February was the last day we had to care about amino acids, stereoisomers, peptide bonds and various levels of protein structure (at that moment we didn’t know that we will have to come back to all of this once again in even more details in the Proteins&Enzymes course). The list might be continued with some more exciting topics including radioactivity, spectrometry, electron transport chain and metabolism – all can be forgotten now....well, until the next year!

Even though I didn’t manage to get a proper sleep the night before (to Bellerbys students: do NOT follow my example – to get my six A’s I actually had to sleep properly. Why not now? Well, when you will get to you first year at uni you will understand....) I was extremely excited, eating my dark chocolate and trying to feed everyone with it (“Come on guys, your brains urgently needs some adenosine triphosphate!).

When everything was over the feeling was rather strange – usually when you do your exams they are not simply finished within three hours! It was a bit unreal...too good to be true...nice weather, friends all around you...and absolutely NO work to be done over the week-end! So what could we do? Obviously go to the union, sit there for hours, go home, get changed and sit there for hours again (some alcohol is obviously involved).

We had a special rule that night though – if someone starts talking about the exam he has to finish his entire glass! The rule was really useful as listening to all the questions again is the last thing you want to do after an exam.

But what about the questions themselves? Well, I cannot say that they were extremely difficult – that would be unfair and probably scare people - but they were strange. While looking through my notes, there were a few things I almost spent no time on, basically because I thought that they will never include those in the exam... Well, they did... a good lesson for me – doesn’t matter how silly/difficult/irrelevant material looks we still have to learn it!

The results will only be published after Easter and that would only be an approximate grade with the final percentage marks out in summer (yes, that’s even longer than waiting for your A-levels!) so the only thing I can do now is forget about them and try to study harder for the ones still to come!

Talking about the summer exams – I guess here in Imperial we are the last ones to finish in the entire country (and Biochemists seem to finish latter than everyone else in the college!). All my friends from other universities will be finished in April- May, but we have to study till the end of June... And to make it absolutely “perfect” all the exams are one after another on the same week! Well, that doesn’t make me love Imperial any less but it is simply unfair!!! Hopefully, at least this summer will be nice in the UK...not that we will particularly have time to enjoy it but still...

So what else can I tell you about the college life? In brief (don’t want you to get bored), we had a few practicals that didn’t work (that should comfort Bellerbys science students- once you get to the higher level nothing changes – labs still don’t work!), a couple of presentations (For the first one we had to talk about one of the articles in Scientific American- my title was “New ways to squash superbugs” - just love this business about antibiotic resistance – how clever it is, not that it kills more people than AIDS and costs world economy billions of dollars!

For the second one we had to pick the greatest scientist of all times – but only with the name starting with the letters allocated to us. I ended up doing Pasteur who is actually a brilliant researcher and a cool guy at the same time!) and obviously lots of various assignments including write-ups for the practicals which didn’t work (Logic?).

Ok, now move on to more exciting stuff involving wasting time + money = having fun. Initially my parents wanted to come for my birthday as they do every year but this arrangement would completely disrupt my revision so they decided to fly to London as soon as the exam was finished.

Even though it was just a week we managed to do quite a few things including sorting out the delivery of my furniture (my table is pretty famous among my friends as I was waiting for it for half-a year and that was a main reason why I couldn’t do proper house parties), going to Windsor Castle, visiting China town (my father has never been there before and I never mind eating nice food), seeing “Sister Act” in London Palladium, obviously some shopping (me and my mum would not be ourselves if we didn’t visit Westfield) and don’t forget that I had to go to uni as well!

If you have never been to Windsor before I highly recommend you going there – the castle and the town are really worth it! It’s only taken us under an hour to get there and even though we weren’t particularly lucky with the weather it still could not spoil the beauty of the place.

We first took a tour around the castle and the chapel. The castle is just huge even though most of it is not open to public – it is actually the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world and is now the residence of the queen (sadly we didn’t have a chance to see her even though she was in the castle).

We learned quite a lot about the history of the place and the royal family itself, saw a part of the magnificent State Apartments (I wouldn’t mind living there) furnished with some of the finest works of art. When we finished with the castle we went for a walk around the town, had a look at the riverside, bought lots of fudge (my parents’ favourite sweet) and saw a place that reminded me of Brighton– Shakaway – where the best milk-shakes are made from everything that might come into your head from strawberry cheesecake to tic-tac. I miss you, Brighton...

The reason I bought tickets for “Sister Act” musical was that it is one of my father’s favourite movies that he used to watch all the time when I was a kid. Both of us (and my mum as well, as she simply had no choice) know the plot by heart and really wanted to see the alternative version. And we were not disappointed – the show was just hilarious (even probably a bit over the top – don’t forget that it’s still about nuns!), acting and singing was at a really high standard and songs made me want to download them straightaway!

When my parents were in London I didn’t have much time for my friends so most of the next week I spent in endless phone conversations (can you imagine how much can happen to a single person in a week time? A lot, believe my experience), parties (haven’t been to a proper club since the last term- if you don’t overdo it it’s actually so much fun) and going to friends halls (house parties for 3 days in a row –I now know lots of drinking games so can it be considered as exploration of the British culture?)

Ok, main points mentioned...time for a holiday! I am planning to go somewhere warm and exotic so you can start looking forward to some beautiful pictures!

Have a great Easter! XXX

Ksenia achieved six A grades at Bellerbys Brighton in 2009

The New Routine At University

It’s only my first year in university but the phrase “party hard but study even harder” has already become my motto.  Actually it’s almost impossible to behave differently in Imperial where everyone is just sooo good and motivated and obviously when you study biochemistry which as you know is the best degree ever!

So what exactly is it like studying in Imperial?  Biochemists are quite lucky, as except for Wednesdays we do not have lectures until 10 in the morning.  I actually got used to it very quickly which means that I go to bed one hour later… and it’s ok as long as the next day is not Wednesday!

We have two lectures in the morning (always in the same lecture theatre, and I have my “own” seat there now) and as soon as they finish we ran to the library café (the best muffins served there... still remember that I am a chocoholic?).  We are constantly hungry – I try to convince myself that it’s because of intellectual work requiring high level of glucose but I suppose the only reason for it is that I oversleep almost every day and to be on time for the lecture I have to skip the breakfast (a lecture is more important than the food, can you believe it?).

In the afternoons we usually have labs or tutorials.  Two weeks ago for example we had a four-day experiment where we had to isolate, purify and analyze DNA from different sources – it felt like real science going on as we were using the techniques I could have only read about before.  We had to separate our DNA from all the other materials in the cell based on it’s different chemical and physical properties (I was using a centrifuge for the first time which was really exciting except for the fact that in some cases we had to wait for half an hour for it to work), than cut it with restriction enzymes into smaller fragments and finally sort them out according to their sizes using gel-electrophoresis (it might seem a bit pointless but actually is a very useful technique – search Google if you are really desperate to know).

When we got our results (I was a bit scared that me or my lab partner got something wrong at the beginning and have ruined the whole experiment but surprisingly we did not) we had to do the hardest bit – somehow try and make sense of the photograph of our gel.  For the following week we could not talk about anything else but our graphs, pictures of gels, tables and measurements.  Even if we started talking about something else we ended up discussing the questions at the end of our lab reports.  It was extremely crazy and you can imagine how happy I was when I printed the finished thing out.

Sometimes we do not have anything timetabled for the afternoon but does it mean that we are getting a free one?  Not all, if you thought that coming to lectures is enough to pass your exams or at least understand what the question is talking about… well you should realize that you are wrong and the sooner the better.  Lectures usually just introduce you the topic and highlight areas for independent study - sounds scary, doesn’t it?  And actually it is as sometimes going through a single lecture may take you many hours.  That is why you pass most of your time in Imperial in the library…  But there is much more to it than just study, right?  So somehow we still find time for the life outside college doors!

Meeting up with friends, socials with societies (a meal in La Tasca with Debating society was worth every penny!) some nightlife, watching new movies (featuring 2012 and the long-awaited New Moon, I guess everyone has watched them so no need for comments) and even some cultural events to remind ourselves that we still live in London.

Last Friday we went out with girls to watch Shawshank Redemption at Wyndhams Theatre.  I was impressed with the film which is often mentioned as one of the best movies of all times so I was really looking forward to this new interpretation on the stage.  It was obviously very similar to the film – the plot was not changed at all, but the feeling was completely different – that is exactly what the theatre is all about – it seems that you are there, in that prison among all those people who are actually talking to you.  The ending was done in another way to the film and was so emotional that a few people (including myself as usual) nearly started crying.  Overall it was a fantastic experience and I was very glad that I had a chance to see this performance.

Talking about other extra-curriculum activities, even though I am really short of time I still manage to go to the choir rehearsal regularly (I am gradually getting better and do not feel as lost as I was the first time though I still try to sing a bit quieter not to confuse other people) and trying to attend debating society meetings.

Another thing is that the Open Days for UCAS applicants have already started so I had a chance to be a student guide and show people around on one of them.  It was a very strange and weird feeling – it seems like it was yesterday when I first came to Imperial not sure of my future myself and at the same time it was ages ago.  I remember looking at my guide and trying to imagine what does it feel like to be an Imperial student knowing every corner of the campus and suddenly I found myself in this position answering people’s questions and wishing them good luck with their applications.  And I realized one more time how happy and grateful I am to be in this position.

So now Christmas is coming, London is already decorated and looks even more beautiful than ever and my mum is going to visit me very soon – life is perfect but I really should start doing some work now to enjoy it fully…. So that’s it from me now and have a good end of term!

Ksenia achieved six A grades at Bellerbys Brighton in 2009

From London to Edinburgh

Oh, so many things have happened after I have written the last post so I really struggle to remember everything…  Ok, I will just mention the most important events then (you should be happy at this point – it saves you from reading all the unimportant stuff I have completely forgotten about!).

Basically the study time has finally arrived – we have lots of lab reports to submit, an essay to write (can you imagine?  An essay for Molecular Biology – actually is more complicated than you may think – avoiding plagiarism when writing about the topic where everything has been already said before you even born can be a bit tricky) and do not forget that we absolutely must do some extra reading around the lecture material (I am not saying that everybody does but in principal…)

Obviously all of this does not stop me from having a great time here in London!  And not only in London actually…  We, poor Imperial College students, do not have any reading week (or in other words seven day of everything but reading) but if I really want to go to Scotland to see my ex-neighbour from Brighton a six-hour train journey does not make a significant difference especially if my new Bible (A2 Chemistry book looks pretty lonely and abandoned on the shelf now but I do not think I will ever be able to get rid of it) – Molecular Biology of the Cell by Alberts is accompanying me.

So on Friday afternoon straight after the Biological Chemistry tutorial I headed towards King’s Cross Station and at midnight I was already in Edinburgh giving a very strong hug to my dear friend.  But if I have come that far do you think that we were going to sleep?  I am sure you guessed correctly)

So as I was starving (as usual) we decided to order some Chinese food – following our old Brighton tradition.  After half an hour search we found out that all the local deliveries were closed but we could actually go and grab some food by ourselves from a restaurant my friend had absolutely no idea about.  But as we had no other choice we got out and my first tour around the Scottish capital has begun. 

It was much warmer than I expected (almost the same as it was in London at the moment) and even though I had no idea what the city is about it felt strangely a bit like Brighton however dissimilar those cities might seem – one is in the south another in the north, different architecture, different people (I did not have many opportunities to speak to local people as most of those we were hanging around were Russian speakers but all Scottish people spoke pretty good and understandable English) and even different money (I was so shocked when I saw them for the first time and tried to spend them all in Edinburgh as still could not believe that people are going to accept them in London) – I felt at home there, almost like I have been there many times before – and this feeling is very similar to what I experience when I go back to Brighton. So this night I was just so happy to be in Edinburgh (and become even happier when we finally got some food!)

We went to bed at 5 in the morning but at 11 we already got up as I was just so enthusiastic about exploring this new to me city and my friend was just so desperate about getting a cup of coffee from our favorite Starbucks. 

We then went for another tour, a bit more formal this time, around the city and my friend was showing me the main attractions – the central streets, numerous cathedrals, splendid university buildings and finally the Edinburgh castle. 

We then visited the Museum of Illusions that was so much fun – together with all the kids and adults we were looking at various mirrors, moving pictures, solving mysteries of various objects and finally going to the “world famous” (at least they say so – I have never heard of it before) Camera Obscura – the principal behind it is pretty simple - through the hole in the roof at the top of the tower using a few powerful lenses you can actually see everything that happens in the city and one is able to do some funny things with people on streets. As we just did not have time to see everything I was very happy to have this little tour around the town and learn a few interesting facts.

During our walk we managed to buy costumes for the Halloween party that was to take place that night so after we had a traditional Scottish meal (haggis!!!  Tastes much better than it looks or sounds) at a pub we went straight back to my friend’s place, dressed up and here we are – two angels – black and white.

I was obviously the good white one (how could it be different?  I am just such a good girl!)  Everyone liked our costumes and some of our friends had very funny ones as well (one of the boys dressed up like a female prostitute – and got lots of undesired attention by the end of the night when people stopped seeing it as a joke).  There was a good crowd everywhere, the music was nice, we were surrounded by friends and even managed to take a few decent pictures …what else could we wish for?

The next morning it was raining heavily and one more time I realized how lucky I was as the weather was simply gorgeous on Saturday.  We did not mind really just sitting and chatting with a cup of coffee and a few toasts as I had leave soon anyway.  A long journey back home was ahead of me but with the Molecular Biology of the Cell in my bag I did not have a chance to become bored.

London was waiting for me as usual – for the rest of the week I was making all the possible efforts not to fall asleep on the lectures, attend the clubs and societies meetings where it was possible and Thursday was the Guy Fawkes Night!  If you don’t know, it’s just one more reason to have a party and watch the fireworks).

We celebrated on a boat floating on a river Thames with UCL Investment Society.  Cannot quite see the link between myself and the investment society?  Well, my best friend who is now second year UCL student invited me along.  It was real fun: unlimited champagne, nice company and gorgeous views of central London…but I guess I should mention here that we did not have a chance to see the fireworks themselves eventually!

But we decided to have a look at them on Saturday though!  Bonfire and fireworks at Battersea Park were just awesome and the apple in caramel really made my evening.

So what happened next? Ha-ha, not telling you, wait for the next post!

The Fresher (Part 2)

On Thursday we had the first introductory lectures in Molecular Cell Biology and Biological Chemistry. Together with Molecular Cell Biology those are the main subjects we going to study this term.  I really liked the professor for the Molecular biology – his presentation was interesting and very stimulating to start studying straight away.  At the same time he was constantly making jokes which made us perfectly awake during the whole lecture.

The professor in Biological Chemistry was completely different – he concentrated straight away on the subject and after a quick insight into the main areas of study we had to take our pens out and start writing notes.  I really enjoyed the lecture – professor was explaining everything very carefully and was writing some very clear and well-organised notes on the piece of paper that was projected on the screen for us.  The way he taught us remained me of the classes in Bellerbys and his serious approach was exactly was I was expecting from a Chemistry teacher.  After one of the lectures I even had a chance to ask one of my usual silly questions.

Molecular Biology of the Cell is a very broad subject so it will be taught to us by various people and each of them will be a specialist in a particular field.  I found this system fantastic as we will have a chance to listen to different people and learn about the subject directly from those who are passionate about it.

On Thursday evening there was a first meeting with the choir.  I was only singing at the age of seven or eight and cannot really read music as three years of piano classes were a complete failure (either  I absolutely lacked any ability for it or I just did not work hard enough).  But I was not the only one like it and when everyone started singing I could not really hear how bad I was which made me feel much better.

One of the pieces we sang that evening I found particularly hard to follow especially because I had no idea which part I should sing - soprano or alto.  After the rehearsal we all had some wine and cheese and a chance to meet other people in the club.  I even saw a girl Jessica who used to study in Bellerbys there.  After that we decided to go to a pub to have one more drink.  Initially I was planning to just take part in the rehearsal for about an hour and then go home and have an early night, but at the end I stayed till 11.  You can understand how hard I was trying to sing by the fact that the next morning I almost had no voice

It did not stop me from going to the Fresher’s Ball though.  This great occasion was definitely not to be missed.  We all dressed up in very smart clothes and once again had lots of fun.  It was very nice to see that I already know a few people and I felt so comfortable sitting and chatting to my new friends.  The way home was an adventure for me as well, as previously I used the tube or a taxi but that time it was already quite late and I knew that there must be a night bus somewhere out there.  I guess it looked pretty funny to watch me running backwards and forwards along the Hyde Park trying to find the stop I need.  I was very happy when I finally got on the bus and made sure it’s going into the right direction.  People on the bus were quite friendly as well (except those who were really drunk) and even advised me the right stop.

On Saturday we decided to meet with my dear girls from Bellerbys and go together to Brighton.  It was so great to see them – I missed them enormously over the summer and still haven’t had a chance to meet them since my arrival as we were all very busy and live in different cities now (or even parts of UK – one of my best friends is now at Edinburgh).

We walked around Brighton, drank our favourite milkshakes, went to the seafront – it was just perfect as weather was great – sunny and warm.  In the evening we went to one of the Brighton lounges where we were having such a good time while we were at Bellerbys.  We just could not stop talking – so many things happened and we absolutely needed to share them with each other.

In Brighton we also met a few current and ex-students from Bellebys who we knew and it was interesting to hear how they are doing.  The next morning after a full English breakfast we went back to London where a new exciting week was waiting for me. Find out what was going on in Imperial in the next post soon on Life after Bellerbys College!