lsesuclaire-blog

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Chinese New Year in London: 2018

Chinese New Year is coming! Known also as Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, the celebrations in London are fabulous, and some of the biggest outside Asia! This year, join more than 700,000 people as they traverse the West End to enjoy the parade, free stage performances, and lots of yummy Chinese food!  First up: you need to wish everyone “Xin Nian Kuai Le!” (Happy New Year! in Mandarin) or “San Nin Fai Lok” (Happy New Year! in Cantonese). Read on to find out where, when, and what the hubbub is all about! 

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Student Cooking: Three Easy Meals For a Day!

In this post, read on for three (very) easy recipes that will cover you for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and may even give you some leftovers! :D 

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Student Cooking: Easy Slow Cooker Recipes

Ah… winter! I love love love looking up crockpot recipes at this time of the year. These recipes are fuss-free, simple, cheap and you can stock up for days! (And a lot healthier than getting a Chinese takeaway….!!!)

Read on to find some recipes for my favourite crockpot food!

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Some Tips on London House Hunting!

January is that time of the year when everyone has to start thinking about their living situation for the next year. There are lots of things to do, and a lot of things to avoid, so here are some tips on what you should do! 

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

LSE Postgrad Offer Holders: Words of Wisdom by Khadija

In case you missed her first interview, LSESU Postgrad Officer Khadija Ahmed very kindly agreed to give out some words of wisdom to prospective LSE postgrad applicants here. 

As our Postgraduate Officer, Khadija’s job is to represent all postgraduate students across the LSE. Read her recent end of term update here.  You can also check her out on Twitter, Instagram and see her crazy-good magazine, anotherlenz. This girl can do no wrong! 

Read on to find out Khadija’s thoughts on preparing for and choosing the LSE!  

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

LSE Postgrad Applicants: Words of Wisdom from Khadija

Our fabulous Postgraduate Officer, Khadija Ahmed, very kindly agreed to be interviewed to calm the nerves of all hopeful LSE Postgraduate Applicants across the world. As our Postgraduate Officer, Khadija’s job is to represent all postgraduate students across the LSE, champion their voices at all levels and to campaign on issues affecting postgraduates. Read her recent end of term update here.  

You can also check her out on Twitter, Instagram and see her crazy-good magazine, anotherlenz. She just happens to be a super talented writer for the likes of Huffington Post! Yes, you read our minds - we are super in awe of her! 

Read on for her words of wisdom on… what she wish she’d known before applying to the LSE!

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

London’s Best Day Trips

Staying in London for the holidays? Need an escape but don’t want to go to the trouble of getting out your passport or getting to an airport? Fear not! There are loads of beautiful places all around London to explore - they’re great for a visit all year round, but at this time of year with Christmas lights, Christmas weather and Christmas holidays, they seem even better! 

Here are some great places you can go to this winter

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Christmas Dinner: Student’s Edition

For those of you staying in London with your flatmates, creating a Christmas dinner is a great way to celebrate the festive season!

Creating a Christmas Dinner from scratch isn’t always the cheapest thing to do, so here are some tips, tricks and recipes for that perfect party - all without breaking the bank! 

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Staying Well This Winter

As the winter drags on, the days get colder, you might start to feel a little under the weather (#punintended!). We are all about wellness at the LSESU (both mentally and physically). Here are some tips on how to stay well throughout the winter season!

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

NYE 2017: Getting around London!

If you’re staying in London to celebrate New Year’s Eve, LUCKY YOU! The London celebrations are breathtaking in every regard.

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Making Sense of Culture Shock

You’ve arrived in London, unpacked, explored, fallen in love with a thousand new things about the the city, had the time of your life with friends, both new and old. But we’re not mid-way through the term - and for some of you, there might be a thousand negative emotions going through your mind that you can’t quite comprehend: you might be feeling angry, frustrated, sad - but you might not actually know why. You tell yourself over and over again that you’re studying in one of the best, and most culturally diverse, universities in the country; you’ve got opportunities in your hand that many others lost out on. Still, nothing makes sense, and everything hurts.

If this is you, again, I’m here to tell you that you are not alone. Studying abroad invites culture shock into our lives - and this post will try to make sense of what you’re feeling, and how you might be able to get over those feelings.  Bad news? Most people moving abroad for the first time will inevitably experience the shock. Good news? Everything will be okay in the end.

The 4 Stages of Culture Shock

Culture shock comes in many unexpected ways to a variety of people living away from home - it is not simply about being unfamiliar with cultural norms, and it usually hits even after one becomes semi-familiar in new environments. Learning about the four stages of culture shock helped me to come to terms with what I was feeling, which in turn helped me to cope. These four stages may differ from person to person - it’s just meant to be a general guide that you can identify with to help you along the way.

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Readjusting to Uni after Reading Week

Reading Week has come… and gone!* Coming back to school even after such a short break can be brutal - no more sleeping in, or doing whatever you want throughout the day, sigh. 

For those of you in first year: congratulations! You’ve made it past the half-way mark of your first term, and if you’re feeling a little blah about starting school again… remember, only a few more weeks until the Christmas holidays!!  

Here’s how you can “re-adjust” to University life again after all those holidays… I mean…. reading! 

*For most of us. 

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Making Sense of Culture Shock

You’ve arrived in London, unpacked, explored, fallen in love with a thousand new things about the the city, had the time of your life with friends, both new and old. But we’re not mid-way through the term - and for some of you, there might be a thousand negative emotions going through your mind that you can’t quite comprehend: you might be feeling angry, frustrated, sad - but you might not actually know why. You tell yourself over and over again that you’re studying in one of the best, and most culturally diverse, universities in the country; you’ve got opportunities in your hand that many others lost out on. Still, nothing makes sense, and everything hurts. 

If this is you, again, I’m here to tell you that you are not alone. Studying abroad invites culture shock into our lives - and this post will try to make sense of what you’re feeling, and how you might be able to get over those feelings.  Bad news? Most people moving abroad for the first time will inevitably experience the shock. Good news? Everything will be okay in the end. 

The 4 Stages of Culture Shock

Culture shock comes in many unexpected ways to a variety of people living away from home - it is not simply about being unfamiliar with cultural norms, and it usually hits even after one becomes semi-familiar in new environments. Learning about the four stages of culture shock helped me to come to terms with what I was feeling, which in turn helped me to cope. These four stages may differ from person to person - it’s just meant to be a general guide that you can identify with to help you along the way. 

The Honeymoon Stage

The first stage of ‘Culture Shock’ is the best stage - at this point in my first year, I was in love with London. Its sights, its smells, its sounds. I had been so excited in the month leading up to my flight to London. I’d been so excited when I said goodbye at the airport. When I landed, I was smiling all the way to my hall, chattering away with my Uber driver, all pumped with adrenalin which helped me lug my 45 kilos of luggage up to my room. My hall was cool. My flatmates were amazing. I slept well, got pumped for freshers. Everywhere I went, I was exhilarated and in awe. I skipped as I walked. I ate too much food, had too many ‘afternoon tea’ sessions, and spent a lot of money on West End tickets. I walked around LSE in a daze, fascinated both by the people we were learning from and the people who had once attended. I loved my classes. I loved everything. I felt like I’d made the best decision I could ever have made - and every day was literally a new form of excitement. I couldn’t contain all the happy emotions I felt, and it was almost as if my heart was bursting with all the joy. 

This ‘euphoria’ eventually died down, and for many, homesickness kicks in here. This is when the first stage turns into ....

The Anger / Frustration Stage

We’re mid-way through the term at time of writing, and this just might be where you’re currently at. This is quite possibly the hardest part of culture shock - and I almost allowed my emotions to swallow me whole at this point. At this point, the ‘exciting’ surroundings are no longer exciting and you might long to be in your old, and far more familiar, home environment. You might miss your old friends, and you will almost definitely miss your family. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t loving one of the best cities on Earth, particularly when I’d been so happy only a few days before. I was frustrated with everything. 

The smallest things - like not being used to taking public transport because public transport in your home country is non-existent, not realizing the social norms, not understanding local lingo, or even being jealous that your British friends get to go back to their families during reading week - only adds to your anger, prejudice or frustration. You might not be used to the change towards colder weather and might have gotten the flu - you might be miserable with yourself, irritated with everyone else; you might lock yourself in your room, overwhelmed by nostalgia and all you want to do, right then and there, is just go home. If this is you - what you’re feeling is entirely normal, and it’s only a matter of time before things get better. You might feel short spurts of depression or homesickness, you might beg your parents to let you fly home for the week - you might simply be craving more familiar and comfortable surroundings during this stage.

For me, at this point, I craved the sun (I’d come straight from the tropics), really really badly. Particularly when the British sun started setting at 3.30pm. I was frustrated that some of my British friends didn’t realize how miserable and tired the damp and cold made me. I woke up feeling miserable, I lost my appetite, I felt unmotivated and listless. I spoke to my parents too many times. I cried even more often. But it got better, and better, and here I am now, living in and loving London with all my heart.

So please don’t give up - because the frustration does go away, I promise. All you need to do is give it time. 

The Adjustment Stage 

As above, with time, you begin to feel more familiar, more comfortable with London and its quirks. You slip into a routine, and the miserable feelings just about start to go away. You can navigate better around the city. You have forged better, often deeper, relationships with your new friends - you might have taken up some responsibility in society or at work and settled into your positions; you might be more used to British accents; you might have gotten used to your hall food, or gotten used to cooking student meals for yourself (or with your flatmates!). You know the best place for a drink, and you don’t always feel like you want to go home all the time. All of these things mean you have now shifted into the ‘adjustment stage’, where you are slowly acclimatising to this new environment and things are starting to look better and brighter. You’re not quite there yet - periodic highs and lows are tantamount - some bouts of depression or feeling miserable might still come up, but you’re getting there, you’re trying to make the most of your time in London and that is what counts.

The Acceptance Stage And the final stage of culture shock - it might take weeks, even months to get here - is acceptance. This is somewhat like a compromise: it doesn’t mean that you completely understand, or will ever truly ‘get’ British culture in the complete sense - but it means that you’ve got familiar with the city, that you’ve put together the resources you need to feel at ease, and that you can function and thrive in these more familiar and somewhat more comfortable surroundings. I personally found peace of mind in realizing I should stop constantly comparing and contrasting everything between home and London, because that was significantly affecting my happiness. I looked at the differences, accepted them without comparing them, and moved on with my life (this applied heavily to the currency exchange thing). I acknowledged homesickness and culture shock as natural parts of living abroad. I learned to live in and be comfortable with London. I worked on forging deeper friendships, delved into a thousand new activities at school, limited the time I talked to my parents (so I wouldn’t constantly be reminded of what I missed - this was what I needed to do for myself, it may not work for you) and reached out to people whenever I couldn’t take the feelings I felt. Some friends in other parts of Europe came to visit; my parents came over for Christmas. The best part was exploring the city with them and remembering what it felt like to be a tourist all over again. I knew London better - I was familiar, and happy.. and it slowly, but surely, became my home. 

Dealing with culture shock might be one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do in London - and as your heart aches, and your head hurts, just remember that this is an essential part of studying abroad. Many people are feeling the same way as you. If you try to recognize it for what it is, remember the stages, you might then be able to cope with it, and realize that this too shall pass... and then, you will eventually go on to have the most fantastic experiences imaginable. 

At any point of the 4 stages, if you’re wondering how you can cope, here are some ways in which you can get to ‘acceptance’:  NB: this is not meant to be an exhaustive list and as always, do what works best for YOU.

Repeat after me (x5): this too shall pass. Realizing that you’re dealing with culture shock means that you know these horrible feelings will go away with time. Knowing that things would be okay in the end allowed me to come to terms with what I was feeling. I could then force myself to focus on the positive - even if the positive end was far away - and took things hour by hour, day by day. 

The 4 stages of culture shock might require varying levels of mental health support. You don’t have to take on this struggle alone, and please please reach out to the people you love, the people around you, or even a Peer Supporter. You’ll find, particularly if you speak to another international student, that there are many people out there feeling equally miserable. Knowing you are not alone in this helps. LSE and the LSESU also have a variety of resources you can tap into if you’re feeling a little down, all of which can be found here. 

Try *emphasis on try* to limit your contact with friends and family from home. Don’t cut them off completely, but schedule in set times in which you talk to them. I found that speaking to my parents once a week helped a great deal, and helped me build up a week’s worth of funny stories for them to hear over one loooong Skype video-call. Many of my friends wish that they’d spent less time on the computer and more time exploring London in first year -- so remember that time spent on Skype means less time enjoying London, particularly important if your time in London is limited. 

Invite friends and family to visit - this is what helped me, quite a bit. Exploring this new city with familiar friends and family helped me to adjust, for reasons which I might never comprehend. And having mum and dad around obviously helped me love this city a little bit more. 

Force yourself, even if you’re feeling miserable, dead tired, without any motivation at all, to get out of your room. Believe me, I’ve been there - on the darkest and coldest days, I forced myself (with basically all of the little energy I had) to get up, get out - whether it was to go get dinner, to get to class, to take a walk around St James Park, to watch a movie with a friend or to read a book in a cafe - with every ounce of effort I had, I made it out, and found that things didn’t seem so bad once I’d forced myself to get a little bit of fresh air. 

Exercise! Jog in a park, join one of the many sports at LSE, do some Yoga with Active Lifestyle - you’ll meet more people, get some much-needed endorphins, and feel a ton better after you sweat it out! 

Travel! You’re in London, one of the best hubs for European travel. With Ryanair, Easyjet, and the dozen budget airlines in between (+ all the trains!), book yourself a weekend trip to somewhere and come back feeling refreshed and re-energized! 

Just remember, above all, to try and stay positive. The key is to be content right where you are, no matter how you’re feeling. Remember that in the end, it’ll be okay. Realize what you’re dealing with, because understanding is the first step to acceptance. Always reach out to get the help you need -- and you’ll end up having some of the best times of your life -- even if it might take a while to get to that happy stage again. 

[lsesuclaire-blog]

A Thorough Guide to... Mental Health Help at the LSE!

There has been much debate surrounding whether the LSE provides enough support for students with mental health issues - as the dialogue continues, here is an expansive overview of the resources you can nevertheless tap into, if you are facing any issues, as the School continues to review its support systems. 

Please remember, you are never ever alone, and there are many people out there who really would love to help you with anything you are facing. 

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

5 Reasons to... BE EXCITED about #MichaelmasElections2017 Results Night!

Voting is open and the countdown to MT 2017 Elections’ results night has begun!

Quick reminder of the where and when:

Where: The Venue, LSESU Saw Swee Hock Building When: Thursday, 26th October Doors Open: 7.30pm

More details at: https://www.lsesu.com/democracy/elections/

With that out of the way, here are some quick highlights on why you should be super duper excited to vote and look out for these election results…

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

Easy Recipes for the Student Life

Whether your hall is catered or non-catered, chances are you’ll have to cook for yourself throughout the year. Here are some of my absolute favourite recipes to make because they are quick, easy and delicious! *Note: I generally eyeball a lot of my cooking so these are just quick guides and meant to be a starting point for ideas on what to make (because I was personally lost when I first started), please google for more precise recipes and adjust accordingly!

Keep reading

[lsesuclaire-blog]

International Students: Touchdown!

So you’ve arrived in London, unpacked your bags, had a nap (or three). What’s next? Here are some things you should do the moment you’ve touched down! 

Keep reading