Part 1. My Guide to surviving freshers week

Its nearly that time of the year again when all of the fresh faced first years will be starting university,to say i'm sad that i'm going into my third year is a massive understatement. But with basically two years spent being a fresher, once in Southampton and then again on my exchange year in Finland i've experienced and learned a lot as well as having had a huge heap of fun! My short guide here is me telling you what i wish i knew before i went to university,in the hope to help you survive the craziest and funnest week of your life!

Here are some of my top tips;

-As soon as you arrive and have unpacked/settled in make an effort to get to know your housemates, leave your door open so people can come in and chat, try and get involved with some of the events going on and befriend people on your uni course, i was unfortunate to be put with some people in my house that didn't really make an effort but because i had made friends with my course friends i always had that group of people to do things with! 

-Make sure you find out when your freshers fair is on and go there early! I got soo much free stuff,including food, cooking stuff,vouchers,sweets,discount codes,free entry to clubs as well as hearing about any exciting events that were going on that week,i recommend going down early because the stuff goes fast and most people who went towards the afternoon went away empty handed!

-Sadly the myth about freshers 8 pounds (where you gain 8 pounds in this crazy week) during freshers week/fortnight is true to some extent(not everyone)!Before i went away i was naive and knew that someone as fit and healthy as me wouldn't gain weight . Well i did. I drank more than i ever had before, i actually ate takeaways and could have as much pic n mix where and when i wanted(sweet deprived child), had many late nights, never exercised and i wasn't really looking after myself! You want to enjoy your freshers week but don't drink to excess and know your limits as no one likes to be the embarrassed housemate on the first night,yeh, I've been there!

Don't be this person in freshers week

-Be careful on nights out and stick together in a group, to me its strange that its your first few days in a strange place yet you allow yourself to become drunk in this group of people you don't know very well,so be careful on the first week,never leave your drink alone,leave the club with someone else and if in doubt get a taxi home!

-BUDGET! So many people i know didn't budget and blew all of their money in the first week partying, every year i save up before i go back so i know i have that to fall back on if needed. I also budgeted for each month on food,mobile contract,gym memberships,alcohol.... and then the rest definitely goes on clothes and makeup,boring but its best to know where you stand with money.

So skint he resulted to drinking alcohol spilled on the floor..

-However hungover you are, don't stay in bed all day! Have a look around the place and get your bearings, i spent so many nights out getting lost! Make sure you know how to get to all the uni campuses(if more than one),register with the local doctors, know where the hospital and police station is and the nearest food shops,takeaways and night clubs!! It it is worth knowing where the hospital is just in case you or someone else needs it! Also make sure you have a local taxi number saved to your phone,some taxi companies even offer discount to students.

-Do dress up! I took so many fancy dress costumes to uni and used the majority whether it it is for the notorious Carnage bar crawl(my fav) where there is a different theme each time, Halloween or a birthday occasion.Plan outfits to take so you don't end up spending more money while you are away.

So do dress up and look more orange than the entire cast of towie,geordie shore etc you get the idea..

-Lastly have fun!! That's what freshers week (fortnight) is all about and i had the best time ever and wish i could relive it all again!!! Be safe,take care,make friends and don't exceed your limits and you'll have the best time!

I hope these tips are helpful and if you have any other questions about university life please leave a comment below i would be more than happy to answer it for you! Is anyone going to either of the Southampton unis?

Half way there, spring semester

Well I am half of the way through the year now studying as an exchange student in Tampere, Finland. Everything feels completely different to when i first arrived here back in the summer. The corridors in Lapinkaari which used to be noisy and where there was always someone to chat to are now deadly quiet and since I have arrived back I haven't seen one person here. Hopefully some more people will start to move in in the following weeks. Because I have been so bored I thought it would be best to be productive with my time and start my blog up again!

The weather here now is cold but I thought it would be a lot colder as it is only just reaching into the minus temperatures again. However, there is still a lot of snow on the ground and there is forecast to be more on the way for the rest of the week. Because the temperatures have slowly risen a bit its meant that the ground outside it pretty slippery and even with the best grips on my snow boots i'm still at a risk of slipping over. My mum gave me some spikes that can be fitted onto shoes so i'm going to definitely try those out. Has anyone else used this and do they work?!

The snow in December in Tampere

Also in my accommodation there is no freezer space at all so last year I really struggled with cooking a variety of foods but because the temperature is freezing now I have put up a make shift freezer outside which is working brilliantly! So easy to use and its right outside my window!

Freezer complete with a Stockmann bag-you don't get more Finnish than that!

My classes aren't due to start until next week either so I have a free week to myself so i'm hoping to get right up to date with my blogging and also start going to the swimming pool a few times a week again. The only thing so annoying about swimming in this weather is if you go outside with wet hair after it freezes straight away, its pretty funny but must be awfully damaging for your hair I can imagine!

Feeling sorry for myself in bed writing this after picking up a horrible cold while at home in England for Christmas,typical really as I haven't been ill once since living in Finland.I really do think the air is so much fresher and healthier here, I don't suspect any viruses would be able to spread in this cold weather anyway!

Would love to hear from fellow bloggers out there about any winter survival tips!

Moi Moi  Nicole xo