TOP 5 TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

I could 100% say that travelling is my favourite thing to do. I envy those people who get to travel the world thanks to their job, although sometimes I think it can be a bit of a pain to never “settle down”. However, I would like to have enough time (and money) to explore and discover new places as often as possible. I’m still quite young yet, but I have had the chance to do some amazing trips so far and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them. Today I’ll be sharing with you some of my best tips for travelling and making the most out of it. I’m sure you’ll find something helpful!

Ian Shneider

- Bring spare underwear in your carry-on bag, just in case you lose your luggage. If you are doing long flights and must change planes, there is a slight possibility of your big suitcase getting lost between the connection flights. I recommend to always have something to wear on the carry-on, so it doesn’t catch you unprepared.

- Have chewing-gum with if you are taking a plane. With the change of pressure, I always get a terrible earache. By chewing some gum, you keep yourself busy and it makes it easier to adapt to the “new pressure” (if that makes sense), especially during the taking off and the landing.

- Book your hotel and tickets in advanced (as soon as you know when you’ll be going). I feel really safe when I know where I’m staying, how many nights I will be there… So, whenever you know that you’re definitely going to do that trip, book your flights and hotel at the same time. Many web pages, like Tripping, can help you find the best deal, so make sure you do your research before you buy anything. There are plenty of places you can choose from!

Tomo Nogi

- Put on the heaviest clothes while you’re travelling. This is very useful if you are staying somewhere for a long time and you need bring lots of clothes. If you must bring a coat or a heavy pair of shoes, I recommend you to wear them on the day of your trip, therefore, they won’t take up too much space in your suitcase and you will be able to fill it with other useful stuff.

- Use a belt pouch to keep all your documentation and tickets. Although I wouldn’t bring it with you at all times if you’re going to be doing tourism around any city, it’s very handy when you’re travelling. Having a place to put all the important documents (passport, ID card, health insurance) will save you a lot of time during the check in or when you’re looking for your tickets to board the plane/ train/ whatever you’re taking.

Richard Tilney-Bassett

Have you got any travel essentials you would like to share? Do so in the comments!! See you soon :)

7 STEPS TO STUDYING OVERSEAS

Hello lovely readers, today Steph will share some useful information for those who are interested in studying abroad. She also has a blog where you can discover more things about her, so make sure to head over there as soon as you finish reading this post and send her some love!

Studying abroad can be a very long (but very fun) process. I’ve recently embarked on this journey and figured out the ins and outs of where and how to start this exciting undertaking. I currently live in South Africa, but will start an undergraduate degree at a university, in Europe, in September 2017. Whether you’re going abroad for one year or three, these tips are bound to get you boarding a plane and discovering a new city.

There are several reasons why someone would want to study overseas, and for each person the answer will be different. Some will cross oceans for the fun and the adventure and others for a better-quality education that cannot be matched from their current city. I personally fall into the latter category.

If you think that you’re someone who would like to study in another country but is unsure of what this enlivening new adventure will take, then finish up here and head on over to my blog to read my blogging buddy, Cecile’s post called ‘'5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Studying Abroad'’.

I found the process to be enjoyable, sometimes nerve-wrecking and at times stressful but when that acceptance letter slides through your mailbox or into your inbox with the assurance of a brand-new adventure and chapter of your life, it’s worth it.

#1 Pick a City

Studying abroad implies moving to a new city. If you’re more the ‘happy go lucky type’, throw pins randomly at a map on the wall, or more rationally, choose a city based on its community, safety, lifestyle and quality of education. A lot of thought (and conversation) should go into the making of your choice as this city will be your new home. Confide and ask for guidance from a parent, sibling or friend whom you trust will offer you golden nuggets of guidance. Can you see yourself strutting down Regent street or 5^th Avenue? If the answer is no, then keep looking!

#2 Find a Degree

Before considering what university or college to attend, you first need to know what course you want to give your brain capacity and storage over to for the next year or possibly the span of your life. One university could be esteemed for engineering, science and mathematics, but if you want to study drama, then despite its top-10 global ranking, the university probably isn’t for you. You need to choose a top-quality university that offers the best quality in your specific degree. I mean, you’re not flying over oceans for a mediocre quality of education, are you? When researching degrees, you should consider lifestyle, salary, working hours and stress-levels (amongst other aspects). A helpful question to ask yourself at this stage is “could I see myself doing this for the next 50 years?”. If the answer is no, keep looking.

#3 Scour for a Uni

Now that you’ve found your subject of study, it’s time to place yourself in an environment that will get your neurons buzzing and your heart fluttering. You need to find a uni that offers you the professional facilities and expert educators, however, beyond the classroom and hitting the books, you need an environment that offers you the choice to join societies and sports clubs because, whilst you’re flying over horizons, you need to be venturing into new ones.

#4 Finances + Costs

Although it’s hunky dory to up and leave from home and venture into a new city, with new friends and new foods, you need to assess your financial standings and gage what you, your family or guardian can afford. You should consider that you’ll have to possibly be in residence, pay for transportation, food, university tuition and then still need money to enjoy the ‘needs’ we all really know to be ‘wants’- like the clubbing and fancier dining-- as you should.

Don’t let several digit numbers and massive exchange rate differences put you off your path of studying abroad. All universities offer scholarships, bursaries and help/advice on student loans. Contact student funding after receiving an acceptance and work out what plan best suits you.

If you think finances will hold you back from a specific university, you should maybe consider a school in the same country, possibly the same city and or even just down the road. The second best could be an option now, but, remember to save the best for last. You can always go to ‘the best’ for postgraduate studies.

#5 Entry Requirements

Different countries have different requirements to start studying. You need to ensure that your high school or university qualification meets the requirements of the university. Failing this, you will need to subject yourself to a different examination, required by the university, which could potentially involve a different curriculum from the one you are learning or have learnt. From my own experience, I also found that if you are from a country that is not recognized as being an English-speaking majority, upon the request of the university, you will write an IELTs exams to prove your English proficiency. 

Some good advice would be to familiarize yourself with the requirements early in the process so that you know what grades you need to achieve or any extra lessons/subjects that you need to take.

#6 Personal statement

If you’re writing a personal statement, it means you’re applying-yipee! Congrats on taking a leap of faith! Your statement is important for your educators to get a good sense about who you are as a person- show off your skills and personality but not your inflated ego. There are some great websites and Youtube videos which give you great direction with writing these statements, from people whose job it is to read these.

As an international student, you should take care to note why you want to study in another country and what you offer the university as an international student.

#7 Visit the uni

You’ve scoured the web, dusted off the cobwebs in your brain; It’s now time to knock on the door, ring the doorbell and pop-in for a visit. Chances are you’ve applied to more than one university (just for insurance). Hop into a plane, a bus or a train and go visit your potential new home. You’ve probably travelled far for this, so make it a holiday - gracing all the museums and architectural wonders with your presence while you’re there. Take note of the type of students at the university and the university’s surrounding environment. The best advice I can give you here is this: If you know, you know.

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If you think that you’re up for the challenge and studying in a new country could be for you, then head on over to my blog to read Cecile’s post.

It’s been lovely taking up space on Cecile’s blog. If you’d like to see more of me, you can follow me on my blog or on Instagram. Do pop in and say ‘hi’. However, from me, for now, Bye!

Steph

WHY YOUR BLOG DOESN'T NEED A NICHE

I am tired of reading "find your niche", or, "your blog needs a niche"... blah, blah, blah. I don't think that your blog needs a niche. The word "niche" stands for a "a distinct segment of a market", therefore, if your niche is photography, all your posts will be dedicated to this topic. That's great if you treat your blog as a business or if you have very few interests. However, what can people do if they have lots of hobbies/are interested in many things and they can't choose which one to focus their blog on? Well, they can come to the dark side and don't have a niche. Just like my blog!

I love plenty of things. I enjoy home decoration, photography, reading good books, travelling, sharing personal experiences, sitting down and writing about whatever is going through my mind ... Some people would put my blog into the personal/lifestyle category of blogs, but it isn't. As humans we tend to label everything and we need to learn that somethings aren't labeable (I've invented this adverb, I know, I'm a genius!). A blog with a niche will have specific readers interested in that topic, which is great, but there are some blogs which are meant to not have a niche. These kind of blogs are messy, random, with a very irregular posting schedule. The authors behind the posts are crazy and simply want a place to share their thoughts. Its readers end up there God knows why, and sometimes, they decide to stay, because they fancy having a wide variety of content, the same way the author enjoys writing about everything they want.

Nowadays, the blogging industry has grown tremendously and many people make a living by writing a blog. I understand the reason why lots of bloggers out there see it as a business, but we shouldn't forget about the original blog.  Yes, I'm talking about these individuals who are just trying to blog the old-fashioned way, as a hobby, as a way to reach out to the lovely and engaged audience they have. I defend blogs without a niche because I believe in "less rigid" blogging rules, because I think that we need to go back to basics when everyone is blogging about "what they are supposed to blog" or they are busy finding a niche that their blog doesn't need in the first place. Don't let niches reduce the creativity of your blog and the content you put into it. If people want to read your blog, they will do it regardless of your  "niche". The ones who read niche-less blogs enjoy the way the authors write, it also helps if they say wise things and stuff, but they like their personality and their view of the world. As simple as that.

If you're still reading, thank you :) Have a nice week everybody!

LONDON IN 3 DAYS: THE LAST TRIP OF 2016

Big Ben

London is a beautiful city, and it even looks better during Christmas time. Last year (it feels so weird) I had the chance to visit it with my best friend and we both had an amazing time. I visited London three or four years ago, and I was surprised to recognise some of its streets. There's something about this city that makes me want to stay there forever (well, maybe not forever, but for a long time), so I hope to go back soon.

Planning of the trip: what did we visit?

Day 1: Big Ben and the London Eye, the London Bridge and Oxford/Regent's street (the shopping area around those streets).

Day 2: King's Cross station (we took a picture with the Platform 9 3/4, of course), Kensington neighbourhood and its gardens. Then we went to Camden Town and spend the rest of the afternoon there. Once we got back, we visited the National History Museum and the Science Museum (these were short visits, because they were both about to close once we got there).

Day 3: Buckingham palace, Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Before going to the airport we went to Covent Garden and then back to Camden Town to buy a few things we wanted.

We went to the most popular places, I think that the first time you go somewhere, you need to tackle down those monuments that “need to be seen” and then, if you go back, you can wander around other not-so-touristic spots (does that make sense?). During our holiday, I would have my camera hanging from my neck all day long, stopping every minute to take pictures. I get very excited when there are beautiful things all over the place! So here you can admire London's beauty (just a tiny bit of it). Although the pictures I took only show the “touristic side” of the city, I can reassure you that next time I'll shoot other picturesque areas.

Buckingham palace

Hyde Park

London Bridge

King's Cross station

London Eye

Big Ben from another point of view

I always think that the journey begins when you start packing, even when you buy your ticket. And this trip was special, because I got to experience it with my closest friend. I really appreciate spending time with people I love, and what a better way to do it than being in London. It was my first trip alone (well, not with my parents), therefore, I learned a lot of things. However, what I take with me after this visit is that London isn't only about the Big Ben, the London Eye or the red payphones. London is much more than that. London is watery roads, shy sun rays sneaking trough the morning fog, quiet people, on time underground trains and streets with chalk painted pavements, crowds of tourists, nights in sushi bars, eating Nerds on our way home, buying cheap books in book warehouses... I tend to fall in love with cities, and London has stolen my heart and mind.

THE BEST WAY TO (ACTUALLY) LEARN ANY LANGUAGE

As a Translation and Interpretation student I'm interested in learning languages and looking for methods that make this process easier. I do not speak many languages (yet), but I'm definitely planning on studying more and becoming fluent on those I am learning now. It has been scientifically proven that learning a language has many benefits such as improving your memory, developing your ability to multi-task... So why not give it a try?

In today's post I want to share a few tips that have worked for me when it comes to leaning a new language from scratch, or even if you already know the basics but you want to get serious about it:

1. Get used to how it sounds by looking at programs, movies, documentaries... Even if you don't understand the words. Watch youtubers whose native language is the one you are trying to learn and turn on the subtitles in English or any other language you do understand. I think it's important that you start to recognise when a word finishes and another one starts, although you may not know what it means.

2. Use apps such as Duolingo during any spare time you have. This kind of apps let you set up daily goals, therefore, you can decide how often you want to practise.

3. Put post its around your house with the translation of the furniture/ rooms... in the language you're learning, this way you will be surrounded by this words all day long and you'll end up learning them. It's true that there's no need to know long lists of vocabulary, but the more words you know, the more things you'll be able to explain (if you know how to use them properly, of course)

4. Learn structures, not single words. Many language have completely different structures that do not correspond with the ones from our mother tongue. Some people tend to translate them literally into the other language, without taking into account the possible changes of meaning. For example, in English, we say: "When is your birthday" whereas on German, the same question would be "Wann hast du Geburstag?", which literally means "When do you have your birthday?".

5. Repeating is the best way to assimilate the pronunciation. I would watch videos and pause them to repeat the sentences so you start to get used to the phonetics of the language. If you don't know a word and you look it up on an online dictionary, listen to its pronunciation, most of this pages have a place where you can click to hear how it sounds.

6. Read short texts that are related with the vocabulary you're studying. At the beginning it will be hard and you won't understand much, but don't be afraid to look up for words and write down their meaning for future reference. As you get better you'll see that it's very rewarding when you realise that you actually understand something foreign language. You can also read blogs, magazines...

7. Colour code. This technique is very useful if you are learning a language that has different genders (Ex: French, German, Spanish, Italian...). Use a different colour for the feminine, masculine and the neutral, so your brain associates it better. I think that colour coding your notes is also helpful when studying the verb tenses and other tricky aspects you need to learn by heart. 

8. Get a pen pal. When you start to feel comfortable writing in that language, get a pen pal from a country when they speak it to practise your writing skills. By doing so you can also learn a lot of things related to the culture, since they are native and they know it first hand.

9. Surround yourself with that language in every aspect. Change the language on your phone, tablet, computer... Visit a country that speaks this language. Spending some time abroad is definitely the best thing you can do, but that takes a bit of time and money.

I hope you found these tips helpful and share some other advice in the comments!! Are you learning any language at the moment/ planning on learning one?

Have a nice weekend :)

I DON'T KNOW IF I LIKE WHAT I'M DOING

In one of my recent posts I wrote about me going to college, really loving all of my subjects and in general enjoying what I studied. Well... I no longer know if I feel the same.

Since I started watching teenage movies about going to college and creating your future in there, my dream was to someday study a degree in university. When I had three years left of high school all my teachers and family begun to ask me “What do you want to do when you finish high school?” and I would always reply "I don't know". At that time I still had a few years to decide what would probably be the most important decision of my life so far. I knew that I wanted to go to college because for me, it was the next place to go after finishing high school. I had never considered doing anything else since that was what seemed "the right thing to do".

Years passed by and one day I was in the train with my mother and the woman sitting in front of us asked me for the time. She looked as if she really wanted to talk to somebody and somehow we started a conversation. I remember she told me that she has attended a wedding of a friend of hers the previous day, and that she was now going home. She also mentioned that she met that friend back when she spent a year abroad in France, while doing her degree. We chatted for a good hour or so and she definitely was a very down to Earth person. I think I told her how much I liked travelling, writing and learning languages because she encouraged me to study Translation and Interpretation in college, the same as she did. She said that if I liked languages Translation was a great choice and that she also thought that I would be a good translator. At that time I didn't even consider studying such degree. The woman was lovely and I really enjoyed every single minute of our conversation. Once we arrived at our destination we said "Goodbye" and I have never heard from her again (that sounded dramatic).

Since that was a curious story, I explained it to my friends and family and that's what made me actually consider studying Translation and Interpretation. I looked up for information about the studies and I was amazed by everything I found. From then on I knew that I wanted to be a translator/interpreter.

A few months ago I started college and I really liked everything. I'm studying Translation and Interpretation. I'm learning a new language, I'm improving my native language and that's awesome. However,... I miss something. I miss literature. Damn it how much I miss it.

Reading, writing, getting to know the greatest writers... That is something I did during my last years of high school and I loved it. Now my study plan is only based on learning languages, which is great, but I think it's very impersonal. I need passionate teachers explaining me literary treasures (am I asking for too much?). I still have to learn a lot about literature in general, and although I do read for myself, I wish it could be a part of my studies, because you never know, maybe I have considered becoming a writer... (I have). What I have heard is that the first year of every degree it's kind of "boring", since you have to build a solid base of the most important content (in my case it is all about learning languages in depth). I'm not planning on quitting what I'm studying now, because I continue to see myself working as an interpreter in the future, but I will consider taking up some literature classes, a part from my curricular subjects. It's hard for me to know if I like what I'm going or not, because when I thought of completely changing my degree, I wasn't interested in any of the other possibilities that my university offered. I really like the enviroment around college, and something I know for sure is that it is the place that I want to study in for the next four years. Therefore, I'm just going to wait. Maybe at the end of the second semester I've changed my mind. Or maybe I realise if I want to continue with what I'm doing or if I want to take up another degree.

In situations like this, I like having a blog. Writing everything down helps me to clear out my mind and even though I have a journal as well. something about writing here is very satisfying, because I know that someone will read it and maybe has gone through the same as I have. 

Enjoy your weekend :)

PS: Christmas posts are coming soon!

All pictures are from Unsplash

LETS' TALK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA SATURATION

Is social media over saturated? Yes, my answer is that social media is definitely saturated. Here's why I decided to bring back my series "Let's talk about..." and give you my opinion when it comes to the "social media phenomenon".

When the idea of writing this post came to my mind I decided to search on Google articles related to the topic, to see if anyone had written about it previously. Here are the three first entries that came out when I looked for "social media saturation":

- Social Media Saturation (or why Snapchat is so successful)

- Is social media at saturation point? Interest in Pinterest plummets but Facebook engagement still on the rise

- Is the social media market saturated?

I don't think I'm going to write anything related to what the links above say, but I just left them there in case you wanted to read more about this subject. I read the three of them thinking that we would have similar opinions but surprisingly, I have a different perspective, and that's what pushed me into writing what is probably going to be the more disorganised and random post in this blog. 

Picture from Unsplash

The other day I found myself looking for some tips on how to become a better blogger and grow my audience, because, why not? It's nice to see that what you write is being read. Pinterest is my number one source when it comes to advice as well as finding useful posts, so I was browsing through their website and clicking on everything I found interesting. I believe I ended up reading about 10-15 posts related to what I was looking for and the content was almost the same in each of them. The main points that were supposed to help you to gain a bigger audience were:

- Get to know your audience

- Write things you would like to read

- Quality over quantity

- Post regularly

- Create original content

- Be active on social media

- Do collabs with other bloggers

-  Write about what you like and be passionate about it

More or less that was everything. After each headline there were a few sentences explaining what to do in order to "get to know your audience" or "create original content", in case you didn't know how to do it. Now, my question is: did that help you in anyway? Because to me it all seems pretty obvious. However, how are you supposed to stand out when nowadays almost everybody has a blog? The thing is even harder when you're not a fashion blogger... I'm not saying that I want to become an over night sensation, but come on, something must be wrong in a world where you can buy followers for your social media profiles...

I just feel that social networks are getting bigger and bigger everyday and everyone is a tiny part of this huge community. Some pages tell you that "being yourself" is the key, but what happens when there are many original people out there? There's no way to stand out. From my point of view, social media it is definitely saturated. It is true that you see new faces that have been recently discovered online, but most influencers/ it girls or boys/ instagramers/ youtubers... started their online career (that's how I'm going to call it) in 2007 or 2009, when Internet was almost unknown. 

Picture from Unsplash

I also think that our characters are 70% real and 30% virtual (the percentages are approximate). We are what we post on our social media profiles. Some people make a living out of it and that's awesome, but we have to remember that everything we see on the Internet may not be true. I understand that people only share a small part of their lives, but the ones who see it from the other side of the screen believe that this person does have a perfect live (does that make sense?) I know it has nothing to do with social media being saturated, but I believe that networks also have a huge impact on society. Many stereotypes and issues have been spread online, weather they are good or bad.

There isn't a conclusion to this whole bunch of thoughts. I just started writing everything that came to my mind and now it feels good. I don't want to change the world by writing posts like this, but I feel really lucky to have a place were I can say such things. I don't want this post to be taken as a complain or anything, I love having built a small community around this blog, so thank you for reading this, whoever you are.

I really want to know your opinions about the topic, so please, leave them in the comments and we can discuss anything you suggest. Do you think that social media is saturated? How can somebody stand out in such a big network?