Hello!
As I said
in the last post, this is less of a catch-up on the second semester and more of
a round-up post about the awkward time between the end of exams, graduation and
coming back home (at last!), plus what plans I have for the future.
After I
finished my exams and celebrated with a bang during Summer Ball, I stayed in
Bath for Fringe Week and went to a few different shows, workshops and socials. After Fringe, Megan and I
left on a three-week interrail trip around Central Europe. We visited five
different countries- Poland, Hungary,
Austria, Slovenia and Croatia- and we had an absolute blast and came back with
a tan and lots of stories to tell. However, that will be a whole other series
of posts so bear with me.
Once we
came back to Bath I had a few days to sort out my things before my family
arrived for graduation. They flew to Bath on the 8th of July and
stayed for two weeks. The UK is currently undergoing a heat wave so, for once,
it does actually feel like summer here and it is quite nice to be able to chill
in the park and not worry about an impending downpour of rain. Erin stayed in
my room with me while my parents rented an Airbnb just down the road
(convenient!). We did a bit of walking around Bath (they’ve all been to Bath before
so the touristy things have already been checked off the list). Erin and I did
some shopping and brunching while my parents explored the area around Bath,
taking a bus day trip to Warminster and Bradford-on-Avon amongst other places.
We also went to Wiltshire for an evening to my sister’s house to watch my
nieces and nephew perform in the school play, and had a day out in Salisbury (I
got to see the Magna Carta and Cathedral which was cool, and also had to sit
through 6 hours on the bus on the whole to get to and from Bath…Not so cool).
My
graduation was on the 10th of July at 5pm. It is strange to think
all the hard work of the past four years was building up to that single day of
celebration. Fortunately for us, it was a lovely sunny day! I picked up my gown
in the morning and the family got ready before lunch. We had a quick lunch
before heading over to the Crescent for some photos (featuring the incredibly
dry grass because of the lack of rain…) and then to the PoLIS marquee. For the
first time, parents met and teachers met also. Prizes were given. Photos were
taken. A mortarboard hit and bruised my hand. Prosecco was drunk. We then went
into the Royal Theatre for the ceremony (the Abbey is undergoing construction
so our ceremony was in the theatre instead). We were sat on the stage which was
quite cool. The uncool part was nobody explained us what we had to do until we
actually had to do it, and being Amador by surname I was in the first lot to
go, the fifth person in the ceremony to be precise. So that was stressful.
Fortunately, no tripping over my heels and I quite coolly strutted down the
stage, shook hands and went to sit back down. Fairly anti-climactic. After the
ceremony we took some more photos in front of the Abbey and then I changed into
flats and returned the gown before heading to Woods for dinner, where Josie
joined us. Overall a lovely day. Personally, I do think graduation is more of a
day for the family than for the student or at least that is what I think. I
felt like I had finished my degree once I handed in my last essay and then a
few weeks later got my final results, not when throwing the mortarboard into
the air – but it makes for a good profile photo!
After
running errands during graduation week and meeting up with the few people who
were still around or leaving those days for good, we went over to Wiltshire to
stay with my family there for the week. It was lovely to see the kids (despite
all the tantrums) and to experience the English countryside (we were literally
in the middle of a field). I did a lot of reading and Aunty Zoe duties supporting
at school Sport Days and Swimming competitions, aside from visiting a couple of
towns around the area such as Devizes or Marlborough for some quality charity
shopping.
The last
week I was in Bath I spent in my empty room as I’d stored my things away for
the summer. I tried to do some exercise and hikes, visit a few monuments around
Bath, do some blog work and overall try to meet with the few people left for
cinema or coffee dates, but more than anything I was just looking forward to
finally going home to the sun and sea!
What about
the future now? I have finished my four years as undergraduate at Bath. It was
back in 2014 that I first started posting regularly (unlike this year though)
on the blog, updating you all on my UK adventures. Well, fear not. I will be
back.
This summer
I will be spending a few weeks in Fuerteventura. As always, that will involve
no blogging (except for the interrail posts), a lot of sunbathing, surfing and
swimming. In September Megan is coming to Tenerife for a few days which will be
amazing. Vero and I will be showing her around and we are all looking forward
to the Erasmus reunion.
What about
September?
As you
know, I have been offered a place in the Interpreting and Translating MA at the
University of Bath. I took my exams back in May, coinciding with a very
stressful exam and assignment heavy period. The tests and interviews were quite
hard and at the end of the day I didn’t think I’d get in. The Masters is very
demanding and intense and I thought my English would not be up to scratch being
a Spanish national. After my perceived failure, I started planning my plan B,
which involved taking a gap year and possibly working in France while I
prepared for the assessments for other masters in Tenerife and Paris, both for
conference interpreting… However, to my amazement, I was offered a place
(informed on the down-low during PoLIS Ball and turning my plans upside down).
Now I had to decide if I wanted to accept and if so, find a house for next year
which as we all know, is no mean feat in Bath at such short notice. After a lot
of discussion with teachers and family, I decided to accept the offer. I will
be studying the MAIT French and Spanish! I know it will be intense and so, so
hard, but in the long run it will be beneficial for my future and will pave the
way towards my dream of becoming an interpreter for an international
institution. That meant that the few days between PoLIS ball and leaving for
interrail I had to not only make up my mind but find accommodation. After a
load of research, checking out all the options, phone calls and emails, I
finally managed to secure a room lodging in a house in Widcombe. I’ll be living
with an older couple but I think it will be a good solution as I will have
peace and quiet and, hopefully, the room will not be freezing cold as this last
winter… So that has been sorted. I’ve spent the past month and a half applying
to various bursaries and trying to do some work to up my English over the
summer, but I am looking forward to the new chapter. It will be strange to be
back in Bath with so many people having graduated and left, but I love the city
and this university and I cannot wait to meet my new course mates! It will be a
challenge, but I’m all up for it! Wish me luck!
So that’s
all for my UG degree catch-up posts. It’s crazy to see that I have managed
(with more or less delay) to keep this blog updated on my life. I love to flick
back on the posts and see how much I’ve grown over the past four years. Thanks
to all of you who have come along in this journey and for your all your
support!
Stay tuned
for my interrail trip posts! And don’t forget to follow me on social media (I
post regularly on Instagram – especially travel pics!).
Love
always, Zoe x
Snapchat: zoeamma
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