As is
tradition, the big end-of-term/exams/year celebration is Summerball. Initially
I wasn’t planning on going but when tickets went on sale I thought, you know
what? It’s my last Summerball so heck, I’ll go. Last year was great because I
knew so many people who were about to graduate, but I bumped into a lot of
familiar faces this time round too.
MAIT/TPLS
people gathered at the Crescent for some drinks and photos and then we went up
to campus. I had a great night dancing to let go of all the steam from the
year. Sadly, I missed the BUSMS photo by ten minutes *cry* But I bumped into a
lot of friends throughout the night and we kept going until we got kicked out
of the SU at around 2am. Luvly. My hangover the next day was monumental.
DISSERTATION
AND WORK
Then it was
time to begin the dissertation grind. The first thing I’d done after finishing
my exams was to meet with my supervisor to set my draft deadlines. My initial
plan was to get it all done before I flew home on the 23rd of July,
but I realised that would not actually work after my meeting. Anyway, I was
adamant I’d finish as much as possible before leaving.
My
dissertation days went a lot like revision time. I’d get up early and go to
campus, but this time set up camp on floor five of the library, wonderfully
empty now that all undergraduate students had gone. I’d work there through to
lunch time, eat with course mates at Claverton, then back to the library until
I hit the gym at around 5pm. Then home to chill and repeat the next day. Soon
enough, though, I decided to start watching Love Island and then lunch breaks
became viewing parties in the small lab with other MAIT and TPLS people working
on their dissertation on campus, complete with rankings of the contestants and
doodles on the board. That’s what I call putting the lab to good use. Hey, no
judgement though, we all needed a little escape from the torture of
diss-writing! The viewing parties even made it onto my ‘Acknowledgements’
section under the code name of ‘much needed breaks’…
Eventually
I got most of the work done and even sent the drafts a few days before my
deadline, although I’d get them back late. Because I knew I’d go mad if I had
no other distractions, I also signed up to be a Student Ambassador at the June
Open Days and an usher at the Graduation Ceremonies. The Open Days were fun,
although it was super sunny and I was stationed at the East Car Park and ended
up sunburnt on the first day. That wasn’t much fun but I do love meeting
prospective students and chatting about uni. Also some of the other ambassadors
I was working with were super nice, so I enjoyed both days although I ended up
knackered!
The
Graduation Ceremonies were also really cool. Sam from MAIT happened to be
working too. They were a long four days with a lot of standing and aching feet
as well as heavy usher gowns but I really enjoyed it. I got to see a lot of
friends graduate, either while I was on the stage myself or through the windows
when I was on ticket duty at the door. One of my favourite things was just
exploring backstage at the Royal Crescent, seeing the changing rooms, the decks
and workshops, all the shortcuts… It was great. Oh, and I also got to see a few
famous people: the University Chancellor the Earl of Wessex who gave a few of
the speeches and also Andrew Lloyd-Webber who came to see his daughter
graduate! What are the odds!
TRIPS
As well as
working, I knew I’d want to get out of Bath as soon as I handed in my drafts so
I booked myself some short trips away.
First I
went up to Liverpool to visit Simon. Despite some train delays on my way there,
the rest of the trip was good. The weather was super nice but not scorching hot
so we did a lot of walking around the city to visit the different sites. I was
pleasantly surprised; it’s a much nicer city than I imagined. For some reason I
thought it would be really industrial like Bristol but it was actually quite
pretty in some areas. I dragged Simon to some of the museums because of course
it’s me, I have to go to a few museums. I learnt a lot more about the history
of the city and also visited the Museum of Slavery, which I would highly
recommend if you go there!
Right
before flying back home I went over to London to visit Megan and see a few
shows. I went during the week so Megs had to work but it was alright because I
saw her in the evening and the morning on Saturday before catching my train
back to Bath. The first day was really sunny and I didn’t have much planned so
I decided to go to the West End and try for a cheap matinée ticket. I was lucky
enough to get a lottery ticket to see The Book of Mormon! I was so chuffed!
First row for 20 quid! The show was hilarious so I really enjoyed it. Then I
met Megs for dinner and we went to King’s Place to see The Guilty Feminist
live! We saw the recording of two podcasts, one called ‘Loneliness’ with
Aisling Bea which I highly recommend listening to (on Spotify). Deborah
Francis-White is one of our role-models and I got Megan into TGF while we were
on interrail so it was amazing to go and see one of the live recordings together!
The next day I explored Portobello Road and Candem before watching SIX during
the afternoon (literally a pop concert about the six wives of Henry the VIII,
it’s amazing) and on Friday it was
pouring so I went to TATE Britain and the British Museum to have a stroll and
do some sketching before meeting Megan D’Souza for dinner. We went to Theatre
Café before watching Come From Away. It was lovely to see her before I went
back home and she goes off to Australia for her exchange (good luck! You’ll
smash it!). CFA was absolutely wonderful and heart-wrenching and it made me cry
a few times. Definitely up there with my favourite musicals.
In among
these short trips I also went to Bradford-on-Avon on a very hot day with some
course mates. We did a bit of walking around the town and then grabbed lunch to
sit by the river and chill for a bit until our train was due. It was just a
really wholesome day.
Finally, a
few of us also went to Bristol Pride on the 13th of July. It was a
great day. It started off a bit cold but the sun came out eventually. We had a
‘linguists for equality’ banner that we proudly waved during the march and had
a picnic lunch before going to The Downs for the Pride Festival. It was so much
fun! Just hanging out, watching the drag queen performances and live music on
the stage. Such a lovely Pride 2019 spent with a bunch of really cool people!
WHAT NOW?
I flew back
on the 23rd of July (one woman, four suitcases - what an odyssey)
and a bittersweet feeling knowing I wouldn’t be back in Bath in September. I
feel like the worst few days are always the last ones, when I’ve packed my
things and the room is really empty and I’m just counting the hours until I’m
back home. I really wanted to go back to Tenerife; I hadn’t been back since
January and I was missing my family, friends and the sea.
Coming back
is also a strange experience. I’ve become used to living alone and being back
in the family home stresses me at times so I’m thankful for my evening runs to
clear my mind and also spending some time to myself. I met up with my friends
as soon as I came back and we caught up over some beers. I saw Vero and we went
to one of our favourite spots to watch the sun set over the island. My family
from England came for the holidays so we had a family reunion in Santa Úrsula.
I didn’t have much time before coming to Fuerteventura but I tried my best to
finish the dissertation before then. It didn’t work and I spent a good extra
week or so working on it while I’ve been here in Fuerteventura until I was
finally able to send it off on the 16th. So glad that’s done. I’ve
managed to finish this masters!
I’ve now
been trying to wind down and enjoy the summer, sunbathe, swim in the sea and
just chill for a bit because I haven’t been able to rest properly for a good year.
I’ve been applying for various translation traineeships at the EU institutions
for next year and I’ve given myself until December to see if any work out
before I properly set out to find a job. I don’t have much of a plan aside from
that. I like interpreting but I don’t plan on sitting any institutional exams
any time soon. I do have a list of other things I should do and now is properly
the time to get them done, but I’m taking it slow. For now, it’s time to enjoy
the last few days in Fuerteventura before heading back home. I’ll be going to
Madrid for a week at the beginning of September to help Erin move into her new
flat but aside from that, the future is uncertain. Time for adulting now, Zoe,
good luck.
‘Welcome to
the real world. It sucks. You’re gonna love it.’ - Monica Geller.
Until next
time,
Zoe x
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoeamz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gatheringsmithereens/
