I am kicking of ‘A Day In The Life Week’ at HC Durham by giving you a look into my typical Monday…
9.00am
Alarm goes off. Time to snooze… My first lecture isn’t for another two hours so what’s the point in getting up early?
11.00am
Make it to Elvet just about on time. Try to switch brain into German mode for oral class.
12 noon
Straight from German oral to French oral – confusing much? Welcome to the life of a linguist…
1.00pm
Time for lunch in the DSU with my housemate. Discussions of dissertation stress and the DSU’s questionable choice of music videos. But mainly thinking about when we will next get the chance to drink too much wine.
3.00pm
Another French class (writing this time) with the same teacher I had in the morning. Talk about the Durham bubble!
4.00pm-8.00pm
A frantic attempt to catch up on the dissertation work I didn’t get done at the weekend. Usually involves a worryingly strong coffee (thanks to Paris for getting me addicted to it on my year abroad).
8.00pm-9.00pm
Dinner time. Sounds late? That’s what living with a Spaniard and two Tunisians over summer does to you.
9.00pm onwards
Not gonna lie – Monday nights as a finalist are pretty chilled. Usually end up chilling with my two housemates or watching some of the French TV series Les Revenants (living the nerd life).
BUT we linguists do do more exciting things on other evenings. We will probably end up going out twice during the week (and regretting it of course). Often involves an Erasmus Society event (great for finding some Germans to chat to), a college formal or just a desperate pub trip to keep us going.
On Thursdays OK my housemate and I go to the World Cinema Society film screenings where, they show loads of really cool international films from over the decades and on Saturdays I go to a salsa class at the DSU! It’s a great way of meeting new people, doing some sober dancing and enjoying music that is miles better than what you hear in Jimmy As any day.
So there you have it, a little glimpse into the life of a Durham languages student!