Hi everyone,

So, last weekend was the British University College Sport Nationals weekend in Sheffield. Over the weekend, there were 7 sports all going on at the same time – Badminton, Climbing, Fencing, Indoor Athletics, Judo, Karate, Rifle and Long Course Swimming.

Lancaster University did really well. A couple of my friends helped break university records, which is a fabulous achievement. In terms of my own perforamce, I finally got an official time for my 100m breaststroke in long course swimming (1 minute, 35.33 seconds). Long course swimming is when the pool is 50m long instead of the normal 25m, (I missed the little breaks you would get as you turned in a 25m pool very much!!) Despite a few hiccups here and there for other members of the team and myself, everyone did super well and it is always an honour to wear your Lancaster swimming hat and show the country what we can do.

Back down to reality from the weekend of competition, I have been making some good progress on my essays. For my public economics essay, I am writing about the theories of voter turnout. I am also doing a very similar essay for my politics course on elections, voters and political parties. Whilst both essays take a very different approach to the subject, I find it great to work on a subject that actually blends my two separate degree subjects together. It is allowing me to get a deep understanding of a subject which is often a point of contention once election data is released. My dissertation is also coming along nicely. I have been enjoying writing it a lot because I have a passion for American politics and it has allowed me to learn a lot about President George W. Bush, as well as allowing me to develop key academic skills in my search for information and examples about President Trump.

Finally, this week is perhaps the biggest week of them all for Lancaster University Politics Society. On Friday 22nd February, the society will host its first ever ball! This has been a long process to get all the bits and pieces together, but I have every belief it will be a brilliant event that all our members will enjoy.

That’s all for now everyone, take care.

Orla

 

Hey guys!

 

I hope those of you who came last week enjoyed the Open day! Week 7 is already here, accompanied by an incredibly good weather and by the call of duty to our essays. With 4 weeks to go, most of us are already starting to get tense about the deadlines, and it is about time to get serious about the work we do. Things are going quite well for me, so I can’t complain much. I have only two essays left for the end of this term, and the dissertation for the end of April, so I feel that I can manage it.

At the same time however, it is tempting to leave everything and enjoy the weather! For those of you who have already been on campus, you’ll have seen how big and open it is, and it is in these warm times that one can best enjoy it. One thing people tend to do is read and study outside, it is actually quite enjoyable and contributes to create a general feel good factor that is quite necessary in this period.

 

If you’ll excuse me, I must now return to writing my essays and joining my fellow classmates in doing the photosynthesis outside. I’ll keep you posted of how things develop!

Guillermo

Hey everyone!
First of all, I want to thank you for those who came to the Applicant Visit Day on Saturday. I hope you had a great day, I certainly did, I enjoyed talking to you and to your parents, and thankfully, the weather was very nice which made the day even better.

It has been a very busy 2 weeks since my last post, as my sister came to visit me for five days. It was amazing: we had loads of social time with my flatmates who couldn’t have been more amazing, went out on Friday, went to Morecambe for a nice walk, and watched one of my friends play a football game. As I will not be able to go home until the end of June, it was so nice to have some sister time, and to show her what my life looks like here (not to mention all the Hungarian goods she brought me).

Since she left, I am trying to catch up with all the studying which feels like a mission impossible right now, but hopefully, I will manage all the essays, dissertation and seminar readings. I also met my dissertation supervisor to discuss my next step which was really helpful, as I now have a very clear idea how my dissertation is going to go. I started working in the pre-school after a long time, which is great; it’s so good to be back with the children.

Maybe it’s only for just a brief time but we’ve had quite a few beautiful sunny days here, in Lancaster (so we do get sun even during the winter ), which means spring is coming! I love this time of the year when the weather gets warmer and sunnier and the campus becomes very lively with students enjoying the sunshine. I already feel happier and more energised and I try to spend as much time outside as possible, when I catch up with friends on Alex Square (the main square of the uni) or go for a walk around the campus.

Next week will be very busy as well, as this time my friend from Hungary is visiting me for a few days, which is amazing, especially that she’ll be here on my birthday.

That’s about it for now. Have a lovely week, everyone!

Zsofia

Hi guys,

The last few months for me have been very busy. I’ve have been applying for some funding for my PhD next year, and away in London for a Cyber Security competition. Lumpy has been staying at home keeping an eye on my house and reminding me that I need to sleep in the evenings and write during the day… not the other way around!

The last few months have also seen our first Offer Holder Visit days! These days are an opportunity to see the campus again, learn more about what studying in PPR might be like, and to meet some of the awesome staff and students here!

There are 3 more Visit Days coming up, so sign up for one of those if you can; they really are very helpful!

I went to an offer holder day this time 3 years ago, and it was a really great day! I got to remind myself of what the campus looked like, and think more clearly about what it might be like to actually live here. It helped to ground me in the knowledge that the place where I would study was also somewhere I liked to walk around, and felt safe in.

Talking about the course defiantly filled me with a feeling of wonder and excitement that had stuck around to this day. I was able to see that I really would be learning about topics that I loved, and had the opportunity to learn about others that I had never encountered before. I also realised that I would be able to still learn a little about History, without having to do an entire History Course. This helped my transition to university a lot, as I didn’t quite feel ready to end my formal study of history, but I also didn’t want to do it as my degree – doing it as a minor helped patch this discomfort.