Rachel’s First Year Blog

Hi everyone!

The last time you heard from me I was under deep exam stress, but they’re all over now!! My last one was a ‘Labs’ exam on the Thursday, and afterwards a few course-mates and I went to Black Milk Cereal (the weird and wonderful cereal café in Afflecks I’ve mentioned before!) for an extreme sugar fix, which I’ve never appreciated so much! It was good to chill because my Friday was mostly spent running around and packing for the weekend… because I went ice climbing on Glen Coe Mountain in Scotland with the Mountaineering Society!!

After exams sugar fix

We climbed a mountain!

It’s safe to say, I’ve never been so cold, tired and wet in my entire life. The weather was so bad on the mountains on Saturday: -10°C and 70mph winds… MY HAIR FROZE!!! (I was actually so proud of this). We learnt how to use our ice axes to hike up the side of the hill, which was hard going, especially after my goggles came off in the wind and my glasses started freezing solid! At one point, our instructor told us to huddle down on the ice, as the blizzard got insanely strong, before we built a massive group ice shelter in the side of the hill to huddle in. No wonder the day was called “Winter Survival”!! The Sunday was less intense by far, with less wind so we could actually SEE the amazing views. We used our crampons to climb up the side of a mountain, whilst learning how to read the snow for signs of avalanches. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!! The day ended with snowman making, another 8-hour bus ride back to university, and four hours sleep… before I got up for my first 9am of second semester!

Hover over photos to view captions:

In a bit of a blizzard

OUR HAIR FROZE

Amazing views

Team snowman building

 

I’m studying loads of new modules this semester – ‘Microbes, Man and the Environment’, ‘Excitable Cells’, ‘Drugs: From Molecules to Man’, ‘Biochemistry’, ‘From Molecules to Cells’ and a ‘Human Biology’ lab course, which means some weeks I have an extra 9 hours in a lab and lose my free Friday (sad times). I thought I’d enjoy ‘Excitable Cells’ the most, as in the first lecture we learnt how the brain and spinal chord develops in the embryo, which I found really interesting. But my favourites are currently the Microbes and the Drugs module. ‘Drugs: From Molecules to Man’ is a pharmacology-type unit, and it’s really cool to learn how drugs interact with receptors in the body to cause effects – indeed, this was the basis of my first lab session in which we were working on rat ileums. Similarly, bacteria are a lot more interesting than I initially thought! In ‘Microbes, Man and the Environment’ we are learning about everything from the origins of life to how bacteria cause disease… it’s really interesting!

The fact that I’m able to study such a wide range of modules was one of the reasons I applied to study the Life Sciences degree course at The University of Manchester. It may sound confusing given that the Faculty itself is named ‘Life Sciences’, but you can actually study such a degree programme for your first year. This is an option for students who aren’t entirely sure which Life Sciences course they wish to study – it’s a year of exploring your interests! There are only 15 students currently studying on this course; so it was really easy to make friends! It is the broadest course available as we were physically able to tailor our degree programme; we had 90 credits of optional modules to choose from, barely any compulsory modules, yet we’re still in the same lectures as everyone else – as everyone has a common first year to allow easy changes between courses. I felt like such flexibility was perfect for me, as it would allow me to experience anything I wanted, to help me make a decision about my specialisation for second year. I’ve thought about opting onto Biology to maintain the broadness, and the modules look really interesting and varied –from ‘Animal Behaviour’ to ‘Clinical Drug Development’!

I think all of this sums up why I put Manchester down as my first choice when deciding which university to go to. Other universities seemed to lack the sheer breadth and diversity that I wanted, and The University of Manchester offered this– even from the chance to do an integrated Masters course, study abroad, or go on an Industrial Placement in my third year (ranging from helping the sloth sanctuary in Costa Rice, studying sharks in the Bahamas to being stationed at the Medical Research Council in The Gambia. Like, hello?!?!). It seemed like a no-brainer to me.

The city was also an aspect that convinced me out of my firm choice dilemma. It’s an insanely diverse and lively place with its many quarters – just the other week we went out into the Northern Quarter and explored some quirky cocktail bars, and the next day there was a parade and fireworks in China Town for Chinese New Year. It’s lovely to be in a place that’s global in its celebration of many international festivals, yet is equally such a close and friendly community to allow you to meet people from all around the world. In the last few weeks I’ve had a goodbye coffee with a friend going back to Japan after her semester abroad, a cute film night with my Norwegian friends, and amazing cheesecake-and-oreo-milkshakes (at Black Milk, where else?!), as my Chinese friend and I were saying goodbye to our rock climbing friend who was going back to Norway. It’s really nice to be able to say I have made friends from around the world.

Lanterns around Manchester for Chinese New Year

Yuka’s goodbye coffee

Lack rock climbing trio outing 😦

Then to end it all, the open day cemented Manchester as my firm choice, as it highlighted just what an inspirational place the university was. We were told about the latest research going on in the faculty and their global impact … and it was MIND BLOWING. Even my Dad – who has no interest in science whatsoever – walked out saying he would go here in a heartbeat. From the effort put in by the university at this point, I could see that The University of Manchester wanted to invest in us as PEOPLE. This was clear from the students showing us around; all were brilliantly friendly, full of life and passionate about every aspect of life at Manchester – from societies and volunteering, to work experience and opportunities. I felt like no other place encouraged me to come as much as they did; from the fascinating videos about their latest research, to reminders about the 100+ industry placements I could go on. And considering that Manchester had just been named European Science City of the year… why would I go anywhere else?!

Until next time!

Rachel

Why Manchester? (The City)

Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming moving to a new city for university. To help settle any anxieties you may have about the city of Manchester, we asked a number of students and academics ‘What is your favourite thing about living in Manchester?’…

Here’s what they had to say:

‘I love how vibrant the city is. There is always something going on and of course Manchester is the European City of Science for 2016. It has such a rich scientific heritage and has made some great contributions to scientific discovery’ – Dr Shazia Chaudhry, Foundation Year Programme Director

‘I love living in Manchester. I really like the diverse nature of things to do and see here, but I think my favourite thing to do is to go to the Northern Quarter for tea and cake’ – Helen Massey, BSc Anatomical Sciences with German

Photo: Just some of the quirky places to eat in Manchester’s Northern Quarter

‘You can put on a wetsuit and go swimming in Salford Quays on a Saturday or Wednesday. I find it quite liberating and particularly after a long day at work it’s quite nice to go there. All types of different people do it and it’s a really friendly community.– Martin Pool, Biochemistry Programme Director

‘With the amazing Chester Zoo so close there’s always an excuse for a day out. There are so many green spaces in Manchester too that when the sun does shine, I can’t help but get myself to one of them. Another great thing about Manchester is that it’s such an exciting city to be in, with new things popping up all the time. It’s a music lover’s paradise and there’s always something quirky going on. I recently just went to play crazy golf on courses made entirely out of scrapyard junk!’ – Sean Dougherty, BSc Biology with Spanish

Turtle at Blue Planet Aquarium, Trafford Centre

Junkyard crazy golf!

Red panda at Chester Zoo

Otters at Chestnut Centre Wildlife park

‘It is a vibrant city with a rich cultural life, friendly people in general and local communities in particular, beautiful places for walking nearby, great system of public transport and so much more. And it certainly does not rain every day’ – Lubomira Stateva, Biotechnology Programme Director

Lyme Park, a National Trust Park near Manchester – the perfect place for an autumnal walk

‘My favourite thing about living in Manchester is definitely the music scene; there is something to suit every music taste. I’ve also really fallen in love with the Northern Quarter and all its quirky places to eat! ‘– Rebecca Thorpe, BSc Cell Biology

Manchester Academy, a music venue opposite the Stopford Building

 

‘It’s lovely to be in a place that’s global in its celebration of many international festivals, yet is equally such a close and friendly community to allow you to meet and make friends with people from all around the world.’ – Rachel Thomson, BSc Life Sciences with I/E

 

 

‘I particularly like the diversity and vibrancy here. Whilst the city is small enough to easily escape into the countryside on my bike, there is always a lot going on within the city including live music and theatre.’ – Jennifer Cavet, Microbiology Programme Director

‘I like how the city has become a melting pot of all sorts of cultures and how this is reflected by various aspects of the city, from the rich and diverse history of the city to the food scene. There is always something new to try and experience in Manchester.’ – Rishibashni Mohan, BSc Microbiology with I/E

 ‘I enjoy living in Manchester because of all the activities there are here. There are constantly events being held to suit everyone! It’s a student friendly city with loads of discounts on student activities. I enjoy exploring the city centre and making the most of the amazing variety of places to eat. There are loads of shopping centres, bars, restaurants, museums and world class sporting teams. There are also a number of seasonal activities you can do, such as the famous Manchester Christmas markets which arrive every year, and are great to go around. Finally, my personal favourite thing about living in Manchester is that it is where Coronation Street is filmed—you can even go and have a tour around the studios!’ – Ben Walker, BSc Pharmacology with I/E

‘I love the randomness of the city! Manchester is a mixture of everything – old and new, different people from all over the World, urban area and countryside. I enjoy the openness, diversity and vividness of the city.’ – Minsung Kim, Plant Science Programme Director

‘I love living in a big city. There are so many things to discover and explore, there are always new café’s to try out, a new play at the theatre to see, musical performances for every music taste etc. There is so much to see and do beyond campus! Manchester is also a great place if you love food. There are numerous great places to eat out at a reasonable price.’ – Helen Feord, MSci Plant Science

Halle Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall

 ‘It’s a big city, but most of the people you see walking round are students like you, so it doesn’t feel so big and scary. You feel like you’re part of a community no matter where you go in the city.‘ – Roksana Wilson, BSc Zoology

Katie’s Placement Year Blog

Hi FLS student blog readers!

I’m Katie, and I’m an undergraduate Biochemist currently on placement with the British Mycological Society (BMS). I’m based right here in Manchester, along with many of you! The BMS is a learned society that focuses on encouraging people to be more interested in mycology (the study of fungus). Although the BMS offices are currently based in Manchester city centre, the society has eyes and ears all over the UK, from Aberdeen to Cambridge. I might still be getting the Magic bus to university but my placement is a little unusual, and very new and exciting. I’m carrying out a science communication and media project for the society.

Manchester: The centre of the universe

Everyone’s first question, “so you’re really interested in mushrooms?” Not particularly! Or at least I wasn’t to start with. In fact I had to Google what mycology was when I applied. Surprisingly this works well though because it means that as I don’t know much about it, I’m in entirely the same boat as my target audience, allowing me to have a really advantageous perspective. Most importantly, the magic of a science communication placement is as long as you’re enthusiastic about life sciences; you’ll be absolutely fine communicating it. So there was my motivation to apply! I’m really passionate about life sciences, and enthusiastic about getting people involved. Also after taking A-Level English Literature, I really enjoy writing and have always been interested in a career in science communication or medical writing.

Miss Mycology 2015/16

I began in August last year, and my first few weeks were spent getting to know the society. My project has a strong focus on developing educational resources, so I spent a long time digging through all the resources the BMS currently has. UK Fungus Day is the BMS’ main public outreach event, and October 2015 was its fourth year. Up to a hundred events are held across the UK at venues such as Edinburgh Botanical Gardens and Sherwood Forest, all concentrating on increasing public interest in fungi. It’s gotten to be a pretty big deal now within the world of mycology! This was really convenient for me because it meant that I spent my first few months on placement helping to organise a massive, national event.

After all the excitement of UK Fungus Day I felt familiar enough with the society to begin working on my own project, which is increasing public engagement with mycology. With such a broad task there was so much freedom with what I could do; meaning I initially struggled with the lack of guidance. It’s quite difficult to find a starting place when you can do whatever you want! I developed the idea of writing a blog so that I had a weekly target that I could continually work on, and this is how “The Mycelium Comedian” (click for link) was born. The biggest hurdle with communicating mycology is that it can be quite a dry topic to the public. To be frank, when I asked my friends if they wanted to learn about fungi, they awkwardly shuffled their feet and politely declined. It can be quite a boring subject, so I saw that the best way to engage a large audience is through humour. If I could make mycology funny and more relatable to the average person then they’d be more inspired to listen. I aim to publish a post on ‘The Mycelium Comedian’ every week; they have to be witty (aka full of rubbish jokes), laid back, but most importantly educational. It’s been really successful! I’ve written about things such as bioluminescence, fairy rings and using yeast to make beers and wines.

I also have other side projects with my placement, which keeps it really fresh and exciting. I’m developing a collection of laboratory practical’s for undergraduate students that will hopefully be published on the BMS website. I’m also lucky enough to attend events as a BMS representative, which is really exciting. I joined the “Invasive Fungus” conference in September, as well as the Fungal Biology Research group committee meeting in October, and I was really busy being out and about with numerous things in December! I travelled down to London for the Education and Outreach Committee meeting, which was so much fun (mainly because the society paid for all my travel and a hotel room) but also because I was given the chance to give a short presentation on my placement and work for the society so far. I also attended a school visit to present prizes for a BMS poster competition. This was fabulous purely because it was so nice to see the school children so enthusiastic about fungi!

My certificate of attendance from the ‘Invasive Fungus’ conference, which brings back fond memories of the wonderful buffet that was provided

It’s quite difficult to explain what I do on an average week because my placement is so creative. I spend approximately three days a week on my placement work, and I can do most of that from home (ie. in bed), or in university buildings like the learning commons, where I focus a lot better. I’ve also continued on this year as a student ambassador for the Faculty of Life Sciences during interview days. With all this freedom it means I’ve kept my part time job at the student union bar, and best of all I get an extra year living in Manchester. This is fantastic because I still have the legendary Manchester social life and live with my friends in Fallowfield. Best of all I’ve experienced a year living in Manchester not as a student without the stress of exams and deadlines. This has been just as enjoyable (if not more) than you’d imagine. I took advantage of my revision free Christmas by travelling to Berlin with my friends, and smugly sitting back whilst they stressed about university revision and dissertation planning.

The face of someone free from deadlines and exams during the Christmas holidays

The highlights of my placement so far? I recently received news from the University of Tennessee that one of the essays I posted on my blog will feature on their “Introduction to Plant Pathology” reading list next semester. This is so exciting because I never expected my writing to get that far in such a short space of time. Additionally, I’m currently writing a piece that’ll hopefully feature as an online document for the Biological Sciences Review. It’s known as “digital surround”, and will complement an article on mycology that is due to feature in their April issue.

I was skeptical about undertaking a placement that’s so unusual and new, but I feel really lucky for all the opportunities it’s given me (and I feel so jammy to have had an extra year in my favourite city!).

Thanks for reading! Good luck with your placement applications if you’re a current student and if you’re a prospective applicant, I would highly recommend doing a degree with industrial experience!

Katie

(Link to the Mycelium Comedian: www.themyceliumcomedian.wordpress.com)

Why Manchester? (The University)

We understand that choosing which university to study at can be a little difficult! So we thought this might help you to make your decision…

We asked a number of students why they chose to study a Life Sciences course at The University of Manchester. This was what they said:

‘There are so many reasons that I wanted to study here, I never really considered going elsewhere! I wanted to go to a big city where there’s always something going on. This is true for Manchester – so many opportunities. It really appealed to me that Manchester has such a big student population, as I wanted to go to university and meet loads of new people and I’ve definitely done that. The other big reason was definitely because of our Faculty of Life Sciences. I feel so proud to be part of a faculty that produces such important research, and ranks so highly across the world. The faculty’s success has allowed me to have some really exciting opportunities that I wouldn’t have elsewhere. Another thing that I don’t think people realise is that our faculty is so friendly; despite having such an incredible reputation, I don’t feel intimidated by the academics, research staff or huge student body. There really is a family feel and I feel really lucky to be able to feel as comfortable around the academics as I do. We really do get the most out of working with such fantastic staff.’ – Katie Holmes, BSc Biochemistry with I/E

‘I really loved the flexibility of the course here, both from the wide range of modules on offer to the ability to move between programmes if you wanted to. The flexibility of the course has meant I’ve been able to tailor my degree to my interests, being able to specialise in some areas but also maintain a breath of knowledge from throughout biology.’ – Sean Dougherty, BSc Biology with Spanish

‘I loved the idea of so much diversity concentrated into one area. There is a huge international community here, so I knew I’d feel at home’ – Inez Dawoodjee, BSc Biology with Science and Society with I/E

 

‘I was really sold by the placement opportunities. Manchester has some really good links with prestigious companies and institutions. I was able to work for AstraZeneca for my placement year. It was great to gain invaluable experience in the lab in a professional industry setting, and I will also be getting co-authorship on a published paper’ – Alicia Galdon, BSc Biomedical Sciences with I/E

‘The university’s prestige and Research Assessment Exercise scores were very important to me, as I wanted to study somewhere with a strong academic reputation. I prefer big cities so I knew I wanted to study somewhere like Manchester that has as much going on as London but with northern prices!’ – Annie Morsi, BSc Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology

‘Manchester provides a great student life with plenty of opportunities to start new hobbies. And, the recently revamped the Optometry building providing new students with brand new facilities. It seemed like a no brainer to me!’ – Aashni Amin, BSc Optometry

‘I chose Manchester due to the prestige associated with the university, as well as the amount of time spent in labs. Manchester is a highly valued University in terms of its research abilities and academic qualities. It is also recognised as this by employers, of which many will agree that it is a world-class University, making UoM graduates of keen interest to employers.’ – Ben Walker, BSc Pharmacology with I/E

‘It’s a highly regarded University with great services and utilities. Beyond this the opportunities available to students during their time here, and the high employability, were both strong factors. But when it comes down to the basic stuff, I really just liked the look of the place. It felt like somewhere I would be happy living and studying.’ – Jack Cameron-Drayton, BSc Physiology with I/E

‘I loved the course flexibility that the Faculty of Life Sciences offered, as I was not that sure what I wanted to do when I applied to university. What I love about the Plant Science course here is that you have the ability to choose units which range from organismal biology and ecology through to genetics and cell biology, all relevant to plant science, and all vastly interesting.’ – Helen Feord, MSci Plant Science

 

Featured Photo – Michael Smith and Stopford Building, taken by Arthur Yu (Msc Neuroscience student)

Dan’s Final Year Blog

Well hello there again lords and ladies, hello and welcome!

I hope you have all been keeping well and behaving yourselves since I was last on here and have been waiting with baited breath for my next update… Haha, didn’t think so! You might think that blogs this time of year can often be tricky to write because, usually, all that has happened since the last one is exams. But you’re forgetting just how much I love talking about myself for extended periods of time!

So let’s just get the exams bit out of the way first, as I’m sure you’re all fed up of hearing us moan on here about how much we all just want to boil our own heads every January. Final year exams are all essay based and the marker has to evaluate how much extra reading you’ve put into your revision (and therefore your answers) to award you the minimum 2.1 mark (60). Therefore it’s a bit more difficult to judge how well I did but as it happens, I feel like this exam season actually went quite well. The worst part of it was that I had to sit my last exam of the season on the Friday afternoon when most of my other friends had already finished and were out celebrating! However, I did survive to fight another day, and there are now only 4 more exams standing between me and graduation, which is both exciting and terrifying to think about at the same time.

To celebrate the end of the exam period, I went to an event at the Albert Hall in Manchester City Centre called Kurupt FM. On the Saturday, we went to a ‘Pangaea Festival’ which is hosted by the university’s Student Union at the end of exam period. This year the theme was ‘retro gaming’! We’ve been to lots of Pangea festivals and so we had planned to enjoy our last one together as a group…so naturally, within 3 minutes, everyone was lost! But it was a great weekend!

It’s also the time of year when people all start having their 21^st birthdays! My housemate kicked off the spree with a night out in Fallowfield before we decided that it would be far better for society as a whole if we remained confined to the house. For the second birthday celebration, we travelled to Coventry, for my Neuroscience course-mate’s joint 21^st with her Mum’s 50^th. The road trip down was a great laugh although I wasn’t too impressed that I missed the majority of the England v Scotland Six Nations Rugby game! I also thought it was very brave of my friend’s parents to let all these strange students into their house for a night, but a great night nonetheless, with a live band and a free curry. The next big scheduled 21^st is an old schoolmate’s in Leamington – I’ll let you all know how it goes but if he’s serving the same cocktails as on NYE, then I might need some help.

Coventry

The righteous amongst us cheering England

What else has actually been going on then..? Oh, well it’s project season after all. Final year projects are the single most important piece of work you do as an undergraduate, taking up 40/120 credits in a year weighted as roughly 2/3 of your whole degree. Feedback on my lit review (worth 10 credits) has so far been positive which is a relief because I put in a lot of effort with it and tried my very hardest. Now though the real project starts, and I’ve been signed up to present at one of the upcoming ‘Science Outreach’ events at the Manchester Museum in a few weeks, so be ready for some shameless project plugging and promotion in blogs to come.

Ambassadorial work started again the week after exams finished and over the next few weeks, prospective students will be interviewing for all Life Sciences and Optometry courses so these are really busy days. This means that me and the other Senior Ambassadors have to be on top of our game. Luckily, we have a fantastic team who are enthusiastic and dedicated which helps make sure that the days run as smoothly as possible. It’s going to be tough for us to recommend  people for the next senior team as there are so many great ambassadors to choose from.

Not much else to report I’m afraid. I’m sure I’ll be in touch soon with some more unique insights. In the meantime, stay safe, peace and love, and all the rest of it.

Dan xx

Happy Chinese New Year!

Although red lanterns have decorated the streets of Manchester city centre for a few weeks now, this weekend was when the city really came to life with the celebrations for Chinese New Year. Today we hear from Bali Lee, one of our second year students in the Faculty of Life Sciences, who explains that in a city as vibrant and diverse as Manchester, it can make an international holiday feel like home.

The Chinese New Year is a celebration centred on visiting family and friends. It is a festival of food and good times and like our own New Year, focuses on the future and what the New Year can hold. Therefore the celebrations for it are always infectious and full of colour and movement. I lived in Singapore for three years and the Chinese New Year was a serious event in the yearly calendar. I always looked forward to it because of the fun decorations that would cover Singapore and the delicious food I knew I could look out for. As an undergraduate Neuroscientist at The University of Manchester, the Chinese New Year celebrations offer themselves as a welcome relief having just finished exams.

The Chinese New Year celebrations in Manchester span a total of four days, with various events and exhibitions on show in the city centre. The New Year light show in St. Ann’s square was spectacular and interwove light projections with cinematography that included an animated story of the zodiac signs and artwork to honor the arrival of the year of the monkey.

St Ann’s Square Light Show

Exhibitions included RareKind China street art, parkour monkey runners, lion dancers, and live dance acts and music by local Chinese musicians. All of this helped contribute to the atmosphere of celebration, which was enhanced by the crowds of excited observers, even on a drizzly Saturday afternoon. Many of the live events were even presented and performed by students from The University of Manchester!

With so many spectators and revelers in the street one might expect there to be no room for anything else. However, the Chinese New Year celebrations revolve around food and the street food vendors did not disappoint. Stalls lined the streets of Chinatown and it was not only Chinese food that was on offer: Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese etc., all were present. I picked up some Chuan’r (chinese kebabs), Ci Faan (stuffed rice balls) and candied fruit all for under £8!

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Asian street food

My favourite, candied fruit!

Delicious Ci Faan

On the Sunday there was a dragon parade leading to Chinatown. The weather was perfect and the cool crisp blue of the sky perfectly contrasted with the flashing red and gold colours on the dragon and the dancers. The mood was contagious and the oriental music that accompanied the parade made me feel like I was back in Singapore. Every tenth person in the crowd was carrying a streamer or ribbon. These were being sold for £1 each and came in a variety of colours. Naturally the streets of Chinatown, and a lot of the centre were decked out with Chinese lanterns and these too added to the authentic charm of the festivities. My favourite event was most definitely the parade, and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Manchester around the time of the Chinese New Year.

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Dragon parade on Sunday

Dancer’s in St Ann’s square

Indeed, what was so great about the whole festival was the mix of people present. A whole range of ethnicities was represented as everyone in Manchester came out to enjoy the good food and fun. I believe that the celebrations did an amazing job of showcasing Chinese and South-East Asian culture as well as taking the opportunity to promote local authentic Chinese artistry and cuisine.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Bali.

As 2016 is the year of the Monkey, why not watch our Minute Lecture about Primates!

 

 

Lucy’s Third Year Blog

Hello again,

Exams are finally over and I honestly couldn’t be happier. Things get pretty intense in third year and the exams are harder than ever before. Luckily I really enjoy the units I’ve chosen this year and I’m getting stuck into the topics that I’m most interested in. I spent pretty much the whole of January revising, so my life has been a little uneventful since my last post. I sat three exams in total: ‘Advanced Immunology’, ‘The Evolution of Genes, Genomes and Systems’ and ‘Biotic Interactions’. Generally, I feel happy about the questions that came up, so hopefully it will all be worth it (I get my results in a month or so).  If you sat any exams in the past month I hope they went well for you! In the meantime, I’m spending some time recovering from the intense few weeks I’ve just had.

Just one glass for me!

I finished my last exam about a week ago on the same day as my other housemates. The possibilities were endless; I’d forgotten what freedom was like! What to do first?! Eat? Sleep? Drink? Go out? My housemates and I made plans to go to the Northern Quarter to watch a free live jazz band at a cocktail bar.  However, being the unorganised and slightly exhausted people we were, we didn’t even manage to get ourselves ready until around 11pm. Nevertheless, we had a great night and ended up ordering food and having drinks at the house – it was lovely!

I didn’t get to see very much of my family over Christmas since I was so engrossed in my revision, so last weekend I went home for a surprise visit. It was so lovely to see everyone and we went out for a much needed Sunday lunch at the pub! This isn’t just any pub though, they serve the most spectacular cakes you can imagine and I brought a couple of slices back to Manchester with me. I have a soft spot for cake and so to not miss out on delicious deserts whilst I’m in Manchester, I’ve sniffed out another amazing cake shop in the Northern Quarter where they are possibly even tastier than the ones at home. Funnily enough, it’s actually called ‘Home Sweet Home’!

I love cake!

Yesterday I met up with my best friend after a long month apart. I know her from school back home but she lives in Manchester too now. Despite the rather windy weather we decided to go somewhere for a walk. We’re both used to living by the beach where we can go walking, and although Manchester has pretty much everything you could ever need, it doesn’t have a beach (we’ll let it off). However, we took a short drive to the edge of Manchester where we found a beautiful reservoir surrounded by hills. It was surprisingly close to the city yet it felt like we were a million miles away from anywhere or anyone. I love living in Manchester for so many reasons but one of the best reasons is that, if I ever want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, there are so many parks and pretty places to discover nearby.

Exploring the other side of Manchester

Brushing up on Malaria pathology (with cake – of course!)

I don’t have any lectures this week as final year students now get a week between exams and semester 2 to get a head start on their final year projects. Luckily I’m not a final year, so this week is a pretty chilled one for me. I am however getting stuck into my next Masters project proposal. You might remember me saying last semester that I had to design two research projects for my fourth year, one of which I would pursue as my masters project. I really enjoyed my last one where I designed a project which looked at the immune response to whipworm in the intestine. My research on this even came in handy as extra reading during exams! My second project proposal is going to stick with the theme of parasites and is focussed on the pathology of malaria. I really don’t know in any detail what I’m going to do yet but I have my first meeting with my supervisor this week to discuss possibilities. I’m really excited about this one as malaria is a disease that I’m fascinated by and that is really close to my heart. The MSci programme has given me the freedom to pursue my interest in parasitology and self-arrange two projects that I’m really passionate about. In fact, I’m going to find it very hard to pick just one at the end of this year.

It’s great to have this week off uni, but I’m actually very excited for my lecture units this semester! I’ll be taking ‘Bioethics’ which I think will be a really nice change from what I’m used to as it’s very interactive and we’ll be debating lots of controversial topics based on science and biomedicine. I’m also taking ‘Immune Response and Disease’ along with ‘Advanced Parasitology’. I will definitely be in my element with parasitology!

This week I’ve spoiled myself a little. I have booked to go to Barcelona with some of my course friends in the Easter break to visit another one of our Biology friends who is currently living there as part of his industrial/modern language year. He sounds like he’s having an amazing time out there working in a zoology lab and we couldn’t pass on the perfect excuse for a quick getaway. I’ve also booked to go to Brussels a couple of weeks after that with some other friends from home. I’m quite a savvy traveller so it’s all worked out pretty cheap (for what it is), although I need to stop booking flights willy-nilly and actually try to save some of my money  for once.

I’m getting very excited for the rest of this year; it’s already shaping up to be a good one! Hopefully I’ll have even more to tell you next time!

Ciao for now!

Lucy