Hello again everyone!

It’s been a while since I’ve written my last blog, but in the time that I was away, I arrived back in Guildford and have recently started University and lectures again.

I think it’s safe to say that the journey back to the UK was a bit scary. I had to get tested for the coronavirus (thank God I tested negative) and then I had to undergo mandatory self isolation for 14 days once I got to my new house here in Guildford. The whole isolation situation wasn’t the most fun experience in all honesty, as I saw my friends going out and socialising and I was stuck in my house every day, for 14 days straight.

Luckily, seeing as I had nothing else to do apart from stay in my room during isolation, it gave me the perfect opportunity to apply for the first couple of placement year opportunities that I was interested in. I also had ample time to catch up on my Netflix shows before the academic year started.

Needless to say, my first day out of isolation was a godsent. It was the first time in over 6+ months where I was able to see my friends from the university and I was able to walk further than the front door of my house.

Having gone through two periods of isolation now (once when I went back home to Dubai and now once here in the UK), I definitely don’t think its an easy experience. I felt really lonely sometimes when I would see my friends and other people meeting up, socialising, or even just going for a a walk. I had to be creative in the ways that I entertained myself and that wasn’t always an easy task.

Although I am now out of isolation and have been able to go out of the house for a while now, other things have been difficult for me. After not having been at University physically for the last 6 months, it was really strange to be back and to walk around campus with all of the new designated routes and rules. It feels like home, but a version of it that I’ll have to get used to overtime.

I will say though, the University have done a great job in terms of enforcing social distancing and other appropriate measures to help prevent the spread of the virus. Face masks are mandatory in all enclosed spaced on campus, they’ve set up even more hand sanitising stations around campus than there were before, made one-way walking routes and they’ve increased the prevalence of security in some cases (such as during the Freshers’ Fair). I was quite nervous about how things were going to run when we would all come back to the University, but they really have been staying on top of it and have made our safety their number one priority.

As for lectures and work related to my degree, second year has started off with a bang and I’ve personally found the amount of work quite overwhelming. I am taking it bit by bit, doing my assigned work every day and hopefully I will be able to stay on top of it in the future.

That’s all from me this week!

Be safe and have a wonderful weekend 🙂