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Day in the Life

Day in the Life of a Second Year:

Breakfast for me can vary; depending on how long I plan to stay on campus or how long I have to leave the house. I always try to eat something or at least have a few snacks in bag for the bus journey or time between lectures. I became used to making packed lunches as well, which were handy when I would stay late on campus to plan for One World Week, a society I joined this year. I would also make coffee in a flask for a morning pick-me-up, a great money saver.


As a second year I chose to live in Leamington as it was where most of my friends were. The high-street also had lots of food options and shops, something I had missed in first year. I’ve slowly adapted to life in Leamington planning my time in order to catch the bus at least 45 minutes before needing to be on campus. As a second year the department tries to schedule lectures later so the morning rush is avoidable, I only had one 9am start this year on Thursdays.


Mondays and Tuesdays are my busiest days, starting with 10am Ancient Greek. All my language classes are 1 hour and consist of going through work previously set, alongside new constructions and grammar. My class is small which is great as I feel focussed and can ask a question if I need. We also practice pronunciation, which proves extremely helpful when trying to translate. I then have a two hour gap where I might grab a mint hot chocolate from Curiositea, catch up with work or go for lunch with friends and discuss the weekend previous.


Next up, from 1pm-3pm I have City of Rome, a module I have particularly enjoyed this term. Covering a range of topics from early Christianity to entertainment in Rome, this module leaves me engaged and interested. My lecturer is enthusiastic and lectures often interactive. For example, one week my lecturer arrived dressed in a toga and separated the class into different seating areas mirroring the Circus Maximus to explain gladiators and entertainment in Rome, a very interesting experience! Though 2 hours may seem a long time, this is broken up with a 10 minute break.


Next I have Latin Language and Literature. Enjoying the compulsory Latin Language module in first year I decided to continue on in second year. While there is a jump in difficulty it hasn’t been too tricky to adapt and my lecturer is always on hand to help. Extra help-sheets and podcasts were created alongside regular vocabulary and grammar tests, ensuring the class was up to date. Deciding to take both Greek and Latin languages was challenging but I have thoroughly enjoyed and got a lot out of it.


I then have hockey training from 6pm-8pm on the Westwood Astro pitches. This year I joined the ladies hockey 4th team as a fun way of trying out the sport as a complete beginner. Coached by members of the hockey club we are entered into a Sunday league to practice our skills in a match. The social side of hockey is generally good as well, from circling to the annual hockey ball. After this I’ll head back to Leamington and have dinner with my flatmates as I won’t get back till late. This year I have learnt to appreciate cooking and am far better than first year when frozen pizza was a regular occurrence. Though takeaways are tempting it’s nice have leftovers I can then use when I’m tired or in a rush.


On Tuesdays I have the second year core module, Hellenistic World, consisting of a lecture and a seminar each week. The seminar begins with a 20 minute presentation from a student; I did mine on the apotheosis of Homer and the Archelaos relief. This large sculptural relief depicted the chain of inspiration from Zeus down to homer and was very useful case study of Hellenistic art. The rest of the hour is dedicated to broader discussion of the topic. The lecture straight after is really interesting as we tend to have a different lecturer each week. For example we had a guest lecturer from Oxford on the topic of Papyrology, a great experience of different academics viewpoints. Here we studied the ancient documents from the Hellenistic period preserved in manuscripts written on papyrus. Though Mondays and Tuesdays seem busy I only have 1 hour on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, meaning the rest of my week is free to catch up on work, reading and meeting with friends. On nights like this I might go for a meal in a pub or restaurant in Leamington, go to friends houses, take a trip to the cinema or go clubbing either to Pop! at the SU or out in town.

Luisa Piu, Classical Civilisation

Leamington Bus


curiositea


Ladies Hockey