University of Aberdeen Blog

It is hard to believe, but another academic year has come and gone and the quiet days of summer are upon Aberdeen again. However, quiet does not mean idle or uneventful, at least not in my case. Quite the contrary, actually. It is not just the weather that is heating up, but my PhD work, too. I have recently finished a draft version of the first chapter of my PhD thesis, which I am very happy about. I am currently trying my best to get chapters two and three done and dusted, too. Once that is done I will have about half of my PhD sorted and can breathe a slight sigh of relief.

The last few weeks have not been very helpful in that regard, as I have been rather distracted. At the end of May my oldest sister got married down in Piperdam near Dundee. We had crystal clear skies, and plenty of warmth and sunshine, which confused a lot of the guests who were in Scotland for the first time and had only ever heard horror stories about the Scottish weather. Some had to go into Dundee to buy shorts and t-shirt, only having brought woollen jumpers and raincoats… The wedding itself was wonderful and I have never seen my sister look more beautiful or happy then when she said yes.

I only had about a week to recover from the wedding, as my best friend and I went on a Nile cruise in Egypt at the beginning of June. This was totally irresponsible from a financial point of you, but a bit of a dream come true as I have always been fascinated with the ancient Egyptian civilisation. We saw plenty of ancient monuments, temples, and pyramids. After having lived in Aberdeen for about seven years now, it definitely took some getting used to the Egyptian sun. We had an average of 42 degrees Celsius, with the thermometer hitting the 49 degree Celsius mark one day! Overall, it was a really great holiday and I am glad I went despite it being so warm and rather expensive.

Looking out my window while I sit here writing this shows me nothing but low-hanging grey clouds at the moment which bring my feet nicely back on the ground in the here and now. I have had my fill of sun and fun for the time being and will now go back to work on my PhD. Until the next time, be well in all things.

David