Author: Katie Work

Post-Uni Plans: by Becky and Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello!

This week we thought we’d talk about what to do after university. There are of course many options for what you can do. Whether you want to apply for graduate schemes, postgraduate study or just do your own thing, it’s always good to plan ahead. For example, when applying to jobs, particularly graduate schemes, application deadlines can close up to a year in advance, so it’s always good to have in mind the kind of thing you’d like to do before you start your final year at university.

However, having this said this, it can quite often be the case that you just don’t know what to do which is also ok!

There are plenty of options and opportunities which arise at uni, as well as careers advice and help. This is definitely worth taking advantage of because they really are so useful and happy to help with suggestions and mock interviews.

The PPR department will also offer a lot of support when it comes to thinking about applying for a Masters/PhD. There are plenty of people you can talk to about the courses available to you, how to apply and any funding options available to you.

By third year, most people don’t actually know what they want to do so if you have no idea what your future plans are when you arrive at uni then don’t worry – chances are most other people won’t either. It is good to come to uni with an open mind and to see where your degree takes you, so many opportunities arise and you meet so many people who will influence you and so by the end of your time at uni, some ideas will have fallen into place.

We are both staying on at Lancaster to do a MA in religion and conflict, something which neither of us thought we would do when we first arrived at uni. It definitely is nothing to worry about as many opportunities will arise and something will definitely fall into place for you!

Becky and Katie

How to get more involved in the department: Becky & Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello!

This week we thought we would write about how to get more involved in the department. There are lots of opportunities to participate in your faculty on a non-academic level.

For instance, there always various talks happening around current topics related to trending issues within the academic community. We have both been to a number of talks, some of which have been on topics such as ISIS in the media, Palestine and Nationalism. We find these really helpful and they can enhance your learning experience at uni. Furthermore, lecturers and university staff attend these talks so this offers a different learning space to your usual seminars/lectures. We would recommend keeping an eye out for these talks as the are such a great opportunity.

As we have mentioned before, our role in the department is the UCAS Admissions Mentors for Religious Studies. This means that we have to contact prospective students and welcome them to the department. We also visit schools, help at open days and write this blog! This is an opportunity that could be open to you, most likely in your final year. We’ve really enjoyed this experience as it has allowed to feel integrated in the PPR department.

There are also a number of societies relating to the department’s subject areas that you can get involved in. These offer a further medium in which to learn about the subjects you’re interested in with like-minded people, and a few socials along the way. These include groups such as the Politics society, Philosophy society, and almost every UK major political party has an affiliated society on campus.

As you can see, there are many potential opportunities, and many more on the horizon. We would suggest you get involved with the department as much as you can.

Becky, Katie & Alex

 

Independent Travel in India: Becky & Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello!

Last week we told you about our experiences in Visthar, the NGO in India. This week, we thought we’d talk about our 5 weeks of Independent travel after this from South to North.

When we actually arrived in India, we had not booked any transport or accommodation for our 5 weeks of travelling, we simply had a list of places we wanted to see. At Visthar, we told them where we wanted to go and they helped us plan and book our journey.

When we left Visthar, the first stop was Auroville: a sustainable community in a previous French colonial area, located in the state Tamil Nadu. Our first experience of traveling solo was interesting to say the at least! We came out of the train station with an address in our hands trying to communicate with non-English speaking Rickshaw drivers. We ended up getting a rickshaw for forty minutes down a dirt track before arriving at the wrong hostel. We soon sorted the misunderstanding and arrived at a house/hostel. This journey was a bit of a culture shock but definitely prepared us for the next 5 weeks India had in store for us.

From Auroville, we got the train to Kochin in the state Keral which was about a seventeen hour journey. Fortunately we managed to sleep for a large amount of this. We travelled through Keral for a week, and then got the train to Goa for a couple of nights.

After Goa, we went to the nearby area called Ratnagiri- beautiful beach setting where we took a week to relax and read lots of books!

From there, we went to Mumbai for a few days, and then flew to Delhi. These were a massive change from Ratnagiri and they were some of the most chaotic places we’ve ever been.

We of course intended to travel to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, but on the way there we had a big problem so had to turn around which meant that we never got to see the Taj (although we don’t mind because that is only a tiny tiny fraction of Indian culture and life). When we were back in Delhi we got the train to Jaipur for a few days then went back to Delhi. From Delhi we went to Haridwar (the most holy pilgrimage site for Hindus) and then went to Rishikesh for a few days. Both Haridwar and Rishikesh are situated in the Himalayas and being surrounded by mountains was so beautiful. We stayed in an ashram which added to the ‘chilled vibes’ of the area.

We then returned back to Delhi and flew to London.

Next week we will be writing more about our experiences and what we learnt and saw but we can honestly say that these eight weeks were the most amazing and educationally stimulating weeks of our lives. We miss it so much and could actually talk about it forever.

Becky and Katie x

Visthar: by Becky and Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello,

Last week we talked about how we planned our trip to India last summer.

So this week, we’ll tell you about the first part of our time in India: the NGO that we stayed at, Visthar.

Having spoken to a contact in Visthar prior to our arrival, we arranged to be picked up from Bangalore airport at around 3am. This reassured us as we could tell that they were a kind group and would look after us well. Having had no sleep, we were a little disorientated and it felt we had been driving through no man’s land for hours. However, when we got to Visthar, at about 5, we already knew that we would love it there as it was so beautiful and green.

Visthar is a centre for Social Justice and Peace Studies. On the campus (nothing like a uni campus of course), it is surrounded by trees, it’s very lush and green and there are several animals wandering around (dogs, cats, cows, etc.). They provided us with three meals a day, plus snacks, and had really good facilities.

Visthar is a very sustainable campus, with its own vegetable and herb gardens, recycling paper factory , and solar panels.

One thing that we used a lot were the bikes you could take out to the nearby shop. They were also good for exploring the nearby areas and going on adventures when there was nothing else to do.

During our time at Visthar we had classes, usually one a day, in a very small group of just us. These were usually held outside and were very informal, yet informative. We covered topics such as poverty, economics, gender, the environment, etc. These weren’t like uni lectures as they were very discussion-based and we found this to be a really helpful and interesting way of learning. Because these classes were on such an intimate basis, we felt comfortable asking lots of questions which meant we got the most out of each class.

One thing that we will never forget was when we sat down with a panel of people, all from different backgrounds in India, and were able to ask them questions about their lives and stories. This helped us understand so much about India on a very personal level, and was even quite emotional at times. In return, we also answered their questions for us, so the whole experience was mutually beneficial.

Overall, Visthar was such a valuable experience for us, and we learned so much, partly through classes, partly through talking to the staff and hearing their stories. The module that allowed us to go to Visthar was so worthwhile and we couldn’t recommend it to anyone enough. It was truly unforgettable.

Becky & Katie x

Planning India: Becky and Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello!

We thought that this week we would talk about the start of our trip to India last summer, and how we planned the whole thing. Our trip to India was part of a third year module in which you go to India during the summer, and then write a dissertation about themes you encounter while out there.

We initially heard about the trip on an open day as prospective students, and so even before we were in Lancaster, or even knew each other, we both knew it was something we wanted to do. We first started planning the trip about 6 months before we left, with a lot of help from members of the department, and students who had been on the trip the year before.

The whole purpose of the trip was to go to Visthar- an NGO for Social Justice and Peace Studies in Bangalore (South India). We would spend 3 weeks here having informal lectures learning about a range of social issues in the context of India. We thought, however, that since we would be in India for 3 weeks anyway, we might as well spend a few more weeks seeing as much of India as we could.

The first thing we did was write a long list of all the places we wanted to see in India. These ranged from the south to the north and where we finally ended up going was pretty close to our original list. Our plan was to travel from Bangalore up to the Himalayas in 5 weeks, stopping at various places on the way. We bought several travel guides and maps to help plan our route and receive inspiration for places to go to. From the start, we knew we wanted to see the more popular places associated with India, such as Mumbai, Goa and Delhi. We also really like the look of Kerala, a southern state, as well as many places we hadn’t even heard of. Even just planning our trip meant that we were learning so much about India already.

Because we knew that this was something we wanted to do, we picked second year modules in sync with our plans, such a Indian Politics and Hinduism modules. Not only did we find these modules very interesting, we found that, once we were in India, we could relate to a lot of what we saw and understand them on a deeper level.

After planning our route, we booked the flights and the countdown officially began. The next few months mostly consisted of excitement and sending each other various relevant links to the places we’d be going to.

We will write many more blogs about our time in India, as we would talk about it forever! We thought we’d talk about this subject because it is such a great opportunity that the department offers!

Becky and Katie x

Keeping up with work over the holidays: Becky and Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello!

When it comes to going home Christmas, work tends to be the last thing you want to think about. You’re excited for Christmas, to see your friends from home, and to enjoy all the luxuries of home comforts. However, it is sometimes the case that you have deadlines for the beginning of next term and so you just have to spend some of your holiday working.

However, this is not the end of the world. With some good planning, you can get the work done without it taking over your whole break. We think that the best plan is to get as much done early in the holidays so that you can enjoy the rest of the break. This requires a lot of motivation and, as both of us have learned, may take some practice to master as it can be very tempting to leave the work til the end of the holidays. The key is making a good plan so that you do a little each day. This way, it never feels like it’s taking over your whole day, but you’ll also find that you’ll have got the majority of it finished pretty soon. If you can, try and get up early(ish) and get a couple hours done in the morning and then that can be it for the day!

It is most likely the case that you will have essays due in for January. If you want to be really prepared, you can start these essays before you even break up for the holiday. If you do this, we recommend just working on the plan, having a consultation with your tutor and getting some books out of the library. That way, you’ll have a headstart on your essay so you won’t have as much to tackle through the holiday. This is worthwhile especially if you have a job or other responsibilities back home that may be time consuming.

It may sound like a bit too much to say plan well and get ahead, but we think that it is most important to do this just so that you can actually have a proper break! You’ll have had a busy term and need a rest, which is why you’ll be so happy to have got the bulk of your work done early so you can really enjoy Christmas.

We hope you keep this in mind and that it helps to give you a proper rest during the holidays!

Becky and Katie x

 

Societies: By Becky and Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello!

This week, we thought we’d talk about all the amazing societies you can take part in while at university. It’s only at uni that you’ll have the opportunity to try out almost any sport/hobby you can think of, so if there’s anything you fancy having a go at, now is the time.

It might be the case that you already have something you’re interested in (perhaps you’re on your sixth form’s hockey team) and you would like to pursue it in uni. Joining the society means that you’ll instantly gain friends with the same interests as you. It may be that ages ago you tried something out as a one off and you enjoyed it and would like to give it a go again. Or, of course, you may have never tried something out and you just fancied it. The great thing about societies is that you can pretty much turn up with no experience. Never be put off joining something because you feel that everyone else will be some kind of expert- we guarantee,  anything that’s even remotely unusual (i.e. not football/netball) , most people will join as complete beginners.

During Freshers’ week, you’ll have the chance to go to the Freshers’ fair, in which all the societies and extra curricular activities have stands set up and you can walk through, see what sparks your interest, and talk to existing members of the club to see if it’s something you’d be interested in. Our advice here is: sign up to anything and everything! There is no harm in putting your name down so they can email you to let you know when the first session/meeting is. That way, you can go away and think about the societies you want to dedicate your time to.

Some examples of the kind of things you can get involved in is: pretty much any sport you can think of, a range of martial arts clubs, charities, performance based societies, subject based societies, debating, even board gaming, the list goes on and on. Lancaster’s collegiate system also means that there are numerous teams for certain sports. For each of the 9 colleges, there are several football and netball teams, as well as a bar sports team. These teams then compete between colleges which means that there is a healthy rivalry, which is always fun, and great for college pride.

Another great opportunity that you can get involved with in societies is becoming part of the exec. If you find that you really enjoy being involved in your society, you may want to have some responsibility. There are a number of roles on the exec, and these can vary depending on your society. For example, sports may need equipment/safety roles. Not only is this a great way to really engage with your society, but it also boosts the CV, and if you can do this by doing something you enjoy, it’s surely worth it!

Something else that is very important to societies, as most will tell you, are the socials. This is usually when you really get to know your fellow members, and will help you to become good friends with them. Socials can involve bar crawls and nights out in clubs, as well as pizza nights in, fancy Christmas meals and film marathons. Be sure to get involved with socials, even if you’re a bit nervous about not knowing anyone there, all the freshers will be the same and existing members will be aware of this and do everything they can to get you to know one another.

University is the only time you can try out such a range of different activities, so give it a go! You never know what hidden talent you could uncover!

Becky and Katie x

Student Cooking: By Becky and Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello!

This week, we thought we’d talk about one of our most favourite topics: food! Thinking about cooking for yourself can seem a bit scary when you’re used to homemade food that you don’t have to pay for. However, once you find your feet, surprisingly, cooking can actually be quite enjoyable and a good way to get away from work.

Stereotypically, you’ll hear that students only ever eat beans on toast, pasta, or cereal. Yes, every student has been a culprit of this, however, if you learn how to budget your money and what to buy to get the most out of each meal, you will find no problem in eating well.

Budgeting is so important; it’s so easy to waste money on ready meals and takeaways, whereas you can make a pot of soup that will last for four meals for less than half the price! Yes, you’ll find that sometimes you miss the more exciting meals, such as roast dinners, but eating at uni doesn’t have to be a tedious chore. You’ll soon find where the best places are to buy food. Lancaster University run a free bus to Sainsbury’s to and from campus, which means you have easy access to a big supermarket for a good food shop. Also, the best place to go for cheap and good food is Lancaster’s markets. Every Wednesday and Saturday, you can have your choice of fresh fruit and veg, as well as eggs, meat and fish, for really cheap. Of course, there is always the option of online supermarket delivery which can be delivered right outside your accommodation on campus.

Here are some of our favourite things that we often eat at uni, that both save us money, and fill us up!

Soup (invest in a hand blender and you can turn pretty much anything into soup. Make a big batch and it will last for ages).

Stir-fry (All you need is a pack of noodles, your choice of fresh veg and a tasty sauce, and take hardly any time).

For house meal, fajitas (these are easy to make in bulk, are quick, and feel like a real treat).

Bolognaise/ chilli (make a big batch and freeze portions individually so you have a stack of pre-made meals in your freezer that just need reheating. Just make pasta/rice/a jacket potato and you’ll have a filling meal in no time).

Of course, after some trial and error, you will find recipes that work for you and mean that you really look forward to teatime after spending the day in lectures.

However, it can’t be denied that after a night out, nothing will sort you out better than a huge portion of cheesy chips, or a burger from Sultans (our much loved, post-night out takeaway on campus). As long as you budget in the week, and in general have a balanced diet, you won’t feel so bad taking a kebab home to bed with you after a night out.

In terms of brainfood, this may sound a little unorthodox, but we have both been told by a number of sources that bananas make you more intelligent…We genuinely both eat bananas before every exam we have and they are good during essay writing. They are cheap and filling and whether they do actually make a difference or not is debatable but, our lecturers say they make you clever and sometimes any type of little boost helps!

Despite the weird banana topic, eating in general at uni is nothing to be scared of. You soon get used to how much to spend / where to spend it / how to cook etc and it can become a enjoyable part of your day so don’t feel it to be a daunting aspect of uni life – it really is not that bad!

Becky and Katie x

 

Lancaster’s Nightlife: Becky and Katie

/ Katie Work

Hello!

Since over the past few weeks, we’ve been talking a lot about the academic side of uni, we thought that this week, we’d discuss a more light-hearted topic and talk about Lancaster’s nightlife! Lancaster doesn’t have the best reputation for a good night out. For both of us, when we first said we were going to Lancaster, people’s responses were “the nightlife is going to be rubbish!” However, this isn’t really the case.

In freshers’ week going out is a big thing (although, if you are not a big drinker or don’t really like going out, there is still stuff to do!). Firstly, there are nine bars on campus (one in each college) most of which also have pool tables etc and are a good place to hang out. This means that for a good night, out you don’t even have to venture off campus into town – we both have had some good nights staying on campus!

If you do decide to go out, pre-drinks will probably be the biggest event – flats come together and it becomes a big mixture of people who you live with, friends of friends and also people from your course. Guarantee you will play some games which always end up being funny and a great way of getting conversations going and meeting people. In first year you will have freshers reps (second or third year students) who look after your flat on nights out. They will all be really lovely and will look out for you / stick with you when you go out.

The most popular place to go in Lancaster as a student is Sugarhouse – the club run by the student union. You can’t really describe a night out in sugar until you go but; cheesy music, cheap drinks and loads of people are a guaranteed. There are Sugarbuses that run from campus to the club and also back home, so you never need to worry about getting there or back or paying for taxis because these busses are free and reliable.

There are other clubs too, such as Hustle (lovably horrendous), Dalton rooms and a number of bars ranging from Spoons (cheap for a pre-drink) or Study Rooms (bit more sophisticated with really good cocktails). As a student town new bars and clubs are always opening up. Lancaster is tiny and it can’t be compared to anywhere such as London or Manchester for a night out, BUT, as long as you go out with the right people you will have a good time.

We know that this probably sounds a bit daunting and that you will get lost / not have a good time but we guarantee, once you know your way around and where you like to go, you will have a really good time. Your student reps will help you by showing you around the campus bars and clubs and pubs in town, for example, in the form of a bar crawl! It’s also cheap which is obviously no bad thing. (If you’re from down south guarantee you will never have had such a cheap night out before!)

One thing that we found different about uni is how often you can go out in the week, rather than just the weekend. Who knew it was okay to go out on a school night?! The biggest night out of the week is normally Sugarhouse on Wednesdays; this inevitably means that it becomes socially acceptable to turn up to your Thursday 9am hungover, possibly looking and feeling a little worse-for-wear. Thankfully, many of the bars on campus serve some good hangover food. Fylde bar is a personal favourite of ours for its chip butties and a brew.

If you do fancy a change of scene and perhaps a bigger city for a day out/night out, Manchester is hour’s train ride away, and Leeds isn’t too far either. This means that even though you may be going to a campus university, this does not mean you don’t have access to cities and the outside world.

Basically, ignore the rumours that Lancaster has no nightlife and rest assured that you will have a good time. Ask most people, some of the funniest stories you’ll have from uni are from nights out, either at pre-drinks or that one drink that turned into twenty.

Becky and Katie x

An Introduction…

/ Katie Work

Hello!

Before we start writing about our experiences, let us introduce ourselves.

We are Becky and Katie, both third year students in the PPR department. I, Katie, am doing a BA hons in Religious Studies and I, Becky, am doing a joint BA hons in Religious Studies and Politics. We have taken many modules together over the past three years and now have a close friendship within university, as well as outside.

We are writing this blog with the aim of informing you about what the ‘real’ university experience is like. We will cover topics both academic and social, including things such as life within the PPR department as well as life in Lancaster as a city.

Each week we will write about a specific topic, covering various aspects of our time at Lancaster University. We will cover most things, from our first day of moving to uni, to essay deadlines, picking our modules and friendship gains and losses.

A big part of life at uni is all the opportunities Lancaster and the PPR department have to offer. This summer, through taking the ‘PPR in India’ module, we were able to spend two months together studying in, and travelling through, India. This experience was literally life-changing and we will be sharing many of our stories (both good and bad) which will show that anything is possible when you’re thrown in at the deep-end!

University has definitely expanded our horizons, both socially and in terms of our plans for the future. We both feel we have made a friend for life in one another, as well in others from our colleges and from our courses.

We will be writing this blog together with the aim of giving an informative and well-rounded view of student life in Lancaster.

Each week we will share one small piece of advice that we wish someone would have told us when we were new to student life. This week’s little piece of encouragement is – simply do not worry. You may feel out of your depth and like you’re not ready to live away from home or to start student life, but firstly, you’re not alone. We guarantee everyone else is in the same boat as you. And secondly, as long as you keep an open-mind and always be yourself, you’ll soon find you fit in very well and will wonder why you ever even worried! Basically, don’t worry – everything is always fine in the end.

Next week’s blog will be about our experiences within the first few weeks of university when we started in first year and how we dealt with all the new things which we had to adapt to and understand.

We hope our posts will be helpful and informative, and that you find some of our stories as funny as we do…

Catch you soon,

Becky and Katie x