University of Aberdeen Blog

I have been home for about two weeks now and I must say I am having a great time so far. The weather isn’t as nice as I was hoping for, but everything else is great. I’ve met up with a lot of family and friends and there have been some great BBQs. In general it seems that all I do is eat, sleep, drink and meet up with people. Not that I am complaining at all, mind you. I probably should do a bit more work on my PhD, but there’s always next week for that

I’ve also managed to sort through some paperwork while over here. I need a new passport and national identity card. The passport I need, because I am flying to Florida at the end of August to meet up with a good friend of mine who’s working in Disney World. The new ID card I need, because the current picture is horribly out of date and doesn’t resemble me at all thanks to my weight loss. And I am sick and tired of airport security people giving me funny looks because of it. Gonna have a new picture for my University student card, too.

So far I am not missing Aberdeen at all. No doubt that’ll happen in another week’s time, but for now I am getting ready for a three-day trip to Darmstadt in Germany to visit some people I haven’t seen in far too long. I hope your summers are equally fun. Until the next time, be well in all things.

David

It is that time of year again when one must begin to pack up all of their things, transport them and try to make another place feel like home. However when you are a hoarder, like me, this is a very difficult task. I do seem to have twice the amount of stuff that my flatmates do and having been packing gradually for the past few weeks, I have still over half of my room to sort!

Then added to the stress of packing, is the stress of cleaning the flat to the high standard of my Landlord. Cleaning is made all the harder by the fact that half of my flatmates have left never to darken that door again. But it helps when you have amazing friends who offer to give up their time to help.

By the time I write my next blog, I shall be firmly ensconced in a wonderful new flat. I have to admit to being very excited about it. My landlady for the next year is a wonderfully nice person. And the flat is wonderful. It will be a bit of a change as I am to be living with only 1 other person having lived with 5 others for the last 2 years.

I have just returned from a weeks visit to see my family. Much as I love Aberdeen, it is wonderful to return home for a bit of TLC. Whilst on the way to the train station, I broke my suitcase meaning that changing trains was rather difficult! This meant that I had to get a new suitcase, which just happened to be bigger than my old one. And as most girls know, you just can’t travel with an empty suitcase.Meaning that I had to buy more things with which to fill it

But as for now, I have to get back to my packing!

Claire

I am flying back home to Luxembourg on Friday. I’ll be gone for a full month and I am very much looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and to catching up with my friends. I already have plenty of events planned for my first weekend back home. On Saturday it’s my grandmother’s 85^th birthday and we’re having a big family reunion; while on Sunday it’s my theatre group’s annual summer BBQ. I will also finally be visiting some of my friends in Germany who I haven’t seen in a long time during July. On top of all that, I will continue working on my PhD, though overall July should be a very relaxing and fun month for me.

However, there is a bit of sadness and nostalgia mixed in with all of this. As I have mentioned before a lot of my friends have successfully finished their degrees now and are leaving Aberdeen for good this summer. Some have already done so and more will have left by the time I get back to Aberdeen in August; among them one of my very best friends of all times. I am, of course, very happy for my friends and wish them all the best for the future, but part of me will definitely miss our weekly shenanigans. I know that we will stay in contact (thanks to emails, Facebook, etc.) and that I will see them again at various points, but it won’t quite be the same as having them around in the same city. Or, to paraphrase one of my favourite TV shows:

“I believe that when we leave a place, part of it goes with us and part of us remains. Go anywhere in Aberdeen, when it is quiet, and just listen. After a while, you will hear the echoes of all our conversations, every thought and word we’ve exchanged. Long after we are gone … our voices will linger in these walls for as long as this place remains. But I will admit … that the part of me that is staying … will very much miss the part of you that is going.”

There is something very reassuring about those words and I know I will cope and adapt to whatever August and beyond hold in store for me. In the meantime there are farewell shindigs to plan and suitcases to pack. Until the next time, be well in all things.

David

PS: In case you’re wondering, the quote is from Babylon 5, one of the best sci-fi shows ever made!