culture

Volunteering in schools with Lancaster University Student Union

/ Lina Harb Tyson

Lancaster University Student Union (LUSU) offers a wide range of volunteering opportunities and school volunteering is one of them. I chose to attend an introductory session on this project because, not only did I want to be engaged with the local community, but also I was interested in knowing more about the education system in the UK and in helping people achieve their potential. What unfolded during the session made this opportunity evermore compelling.

The session started with the reasons that inspired LUSU to develop the schools volunteering project. The project aims at bringing to pupils the opportunity to engage with university students and at helping them to consider going to university as a future option. The focus is on children coming from disadvantaged backgrounds or vulnerable pupils. Then the project’s development manager shared his experience with us on how children have different thoughts and impressions about going to university: while it could be a very possible option for some, for others, it was a path that they have never heard of.

The volunteering coordinator explained how LUSU will support us through this journey and how the different opportunities can be flexible, accessible and suitable to the volunteers’ passion and experience. The students who express an interest in school volunteering would be matched with a primary or secondary school, depending on the type of work they prefer. The aim is to get the best possible experience for both the volunteers and the pupils.

I am looking forward to starting my school volunteering placement in January. This opportunity will allow me to reinforce the positive impact that the project has on the community while engaging in a rewarding activity. I will have the chance to share with the pupils their classroom environment, as well as discuss with them my experience as a university student to increase their awareness of the option to continue their education in the future.

I am also looking forward to the impact that this experience will have on me. Through this project, I will have the chance to know more about the local culture as well as broaden my own future career aspirations. As an international student at LUMS, I am hoping to gain more international exposure and flexibility to discuss various issues with pupils, teachers and other students who are engaged in this project. Also, the activities will influence my communication and rapport-building skills, which have important and transferable aspects that I can use in a variety of situations. Last but not least, I am looking forward to this rewarding opportunity that will allow me to give back to the community and make a difference in other people’s lives.

Cultural Food Night, What’s There Other Than Food?

/ Nila Sukmawati

“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.”

– Wendell Berry

Hi! My name is Nila Sukmawati, and I am a postgraduate student at LUMS, studying MSc Information Technology, Management and Organisational change (ITMOC). As an International student who is going abroad for the first time to study, everything about Lancaster, UK and any places that I have visited are all exciting for me. I had so many firsts during my 4 months experience of living abroad. First long-haul flight (yeah, I took 18 hours flight from Indonesia to Manchester, and another 1.5 train ride to Lancaster), first time being away from home for such a long time, first time visiting Europe and my most fascinating “first” would be my first time of having 21 classmates from 15 different Nationalities!

As I have classmates who is coming from different culture and background, it is really interesting to see how we speak in different English accent, how we talk and share to each other about how we missed home or about how much we are craving for foods from our hometown. Fun fact about my class is that we regularly held social events so that we get to know each other better and of course to get away for a while from tons of reading lists and assignments 😀 . One of the most exciting and unforgettable event for me (and maybe for the rest of the class) would be…. CULTURAL FOOD NIGHT!

Can you imagine when 22 people from 15 Nationalities had to bring foods from their country to be shared together? Food overload! 😀 I tried various kind of foods that I have never tasted or seen before. Blinis from Russia, Special pancake from The Netherlands, beef meatball and potato salad from Germany, egg frittata from Italy… and these were all yummy. Our friend from Taiwan also made delicious sushi and I made corn fritter, Indonesia special noodle and… fire noodles from Korea (it is not from Indonesia, but it is still from Asia though hehe). I was thinking about cooking fire noodles because I know that my classmates from Western countries might not be able to handle its spiciness. It is super spicy that your whole mouth would feel like it is burning. So, I want to challenge them!

Without any bias, I might say that this fire noodle was the “most wanted” food during our food night. Some of us can handle it, some can’t handle it and some did not have any courage to try it. But at least, I was really happy to get to introduce this food to my lovely classmates.

After filling in our tummy with various kind of foods, we started to play games and shared the story about our life. My friend from Russia brought a special drink from his country and introducing the way to drink with “Russian Style”. We also played “Guess the Movie” game together where someone had to describe a movie title with body gestures or drawing some pictures and the rest of us will guess the movie title. We can’t stop laughing and we felt happy together even though we are all far far away from our home.

Throughout this event, I really feel like I can get closer to my classmates. Sometimes, we are too busy working on our assignments or doing something else outside class that we forgot to socialise with people whom we met every day in class. For me, homesick attack is coming to me quite often and I can’t help myself to not complain about life. But on event like this where you can play, share and listen to the stories from your classmates, you will somehow feel like “Hey, chill! You are not alone here. You are here to discover yourselves and get to know others better. Be strong and you will be a better YOU!”.

I highly recommend this cultural food night event to be held in another class in Lancaster University. Not only we get the experience of tasting the whole new savory from another part of the world, but we would also be able to get to know about interesting culture and stories about another country. Additionally, this kind of event makes us realise that we are struggling here in Lancaster together and you don’t have to feel alone, because you are not! 🙂

 

Come, get yourself a taste of Lancaster!

/ Ipshita Rath

Come around here, and experience all the tastes LUMS has to offer!

LumsCupcakes Ipshitha

Hola! I am Ipshita and currently pursuing a MSc in Human Resources and Knowledge Management. This is not my first time in the UK, nor is it my first time in Lancaster, but it is the first time I have been here for more than just a summer school or a holiday. I have travelled quite a bit, almost to 13 countries and a few times alone as well. I flew alone for the first time when I was 6, but this is the first time I have ever lived by myself for a whole year! As life is, there have been ups and downs, but the best things are so worthy that I would never trade them for anything else.

I am fond of travelling, meeting new people and experiencing cultures. I remember a new module we started in the second term, the professor decided to ask everyone to introduce themselves, as he wrote down all their native countries on the board. He started with the last row, there were 10 students and all 10 of them were from 10 different countries! Could you believe that? In total, there were 37 students from 18 different countries! Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, France, Greece, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and the United Kingdom. It was the first time that it really hit me that I am actually studying in a truly global environment. Not to mention the friends I have made from many other countries.

Apart from academics, this experience is also enriching because of how I have grown internally. Stepping away from your comfort zone can really do wonders! (those quotes you see on Instagram or tumbler are true!) The magic actually happens outside your comfort zone.

There were all sorts of things I was worried about before coming. I have always been the younger kid in the class. When the course was about to begin, I thought to myself “A 20-year-old kid doing masters? Nah, they will for sure treat me like a baby”. I was pretty wrong. I have gotten to know people from all walks of life and I have learnt a great deal from every single one of them.
Also, before the course began, I wanted a self-sufficient studio because I did not know what kind of people I might have to share my flat with. I am glad I chose an en-suite room with a sharing kitchen,  I have made some of the best friends I could on my flat. Moreover, I have actually learnt to cook a few good meals from scratch! [mind that, ramen noodle is not cooking].

The experience is not just the academics, being here at Lancaster University is a package of an experience!