Hello everyone! I cannot believe Christmas is just around the corner, I am super excited!
Yesterday I went out and had an early dinner with my course mates, we have been trying to get together for a while and it finally happened! We went to Wagamamas and chatted for two straight hours about everything, from different modules we are taking, funny flatmate stories to the plans we have for the holidays! I was never good at socialising and using another language does not make it better. But everyone I have met so far is lovely and I have become more and more comfortable in different social situations. I would definitely recommend getting together with your course mates, especially if it is a smaller group of people! (I am not including pictures for this because I do not have the permission of my course mates)
Lately, I have noticed ‘free from’ showing up in a few supermarkets and I thought it was such a wonderful idea! In the UK, being a vegetarian or vegan is quite common and the numbers are growing quite rapidly. Back home, most of my friends and the people that I know are not vegans nor are they familiar with the term, things like ‘gluten-free’ or ‘wheat-free’ does not really come up. Now, do not get me wrong, I am sure we have a fair share of vegetarians and vegans in Hong Kong, it is just not as popular in comparison to the UK. So if you ever come across people who does not consume animal by-products, do remember to be respectful 🙂
University of Surrey is quite international which means you are going to meet people from literally around the world with different backgrounds and beliefs. It is one of the things I love about being here, I feel like everyday I am learning something new just by talking to people and I have become more respectful towards different opinions. Throughout secondary school, I was always surrounded with people like me, we all have similar beliefs (I went to a Christian school) with almost identical family backgrounds and because of that I feel like I became a bit opinionated. I could not be happier with my decision (going to the UK for my university education) because it has made me a better person!
Knowing it is the last week before the holidays makes it so difficult to study and prepare for tutorials. Over the weekend, the only thing I managed to do was to procrastinate and I refuse to let it happen again! For those who has a similar problem, here are some tips that will hopefully get us back on track!
1.Create a schedule
It is important that you create a realistic routine with a good balance of work and fun before the holidays start. You know how you get up everyday at a certain time according to your timetable and you attend whatever it is that you need to attend without thinking twice about it? That is what you need to reinforce! Do not allow any excuses, if it is on the schedule, that is what you should be doing.
2.Accountability
Increasing your accountability will increases your chances of completing the task. It does not have to be too complicated, you can simply let a friend or flatmate know that you will be studying at a certain hour and have them ask you what you did at the end of the day.
3.Make a List
When holidays come, there are always a million things going on in our heads, like what presents to buy? Where should I go with my friends or what movies to watch? The list goes on and on, remembering and prioritising all of them might put our brains in overdrive. So make a list of what you need to do and put them into different categories, this way you can easily organise your time instead of being constantly confused.
4. Treat yourself!
Do not forget it is still a holiday, spending time with friends and families, relaxing at home, eating until you cannot eat anymore…etc. These are the things you will do eventually so do not fight it! Just sit back and relax knowing that you have finished what you are supposed to do for the day 😉
