With the final weeks of our program underway (less than a month till we cross the finish line for this semester!), we had a week packed with fun to help us stay in a healthy zone mentally and physically while battling the midterm blues. This has been a productive yet relaxing week with school activities and my hobbies to destress. I started my week trying my luck at cooking a nutritious dish for myself to stay healthy (and not catch a cold going around). With a super easy-to-follow recipe, I made some tasty veggie wraps with super cheap ingredients. Like they say, ‘good food, good life; this was an excellent start to the week with some good food.
Mid-week days can be draining, and often all I wait for is the weekend but something lovely about the last week was that when I stepped out of Devon House at 5 pm on a Wednesday, I didn’t see darkness. It was officially the beginning of springtime and a time to say goodbye to 4 pm sunsets. But that wasn’t the only fantastic thing this week. Our accommodation partners realize students’ tough time in the middle of the semester and were kind enough to organize the best event I’ve been to – Puppy Therapy. They set us up for a 25-minute session with adorable six-week-old puppies. The moment we held them and played with them, it was pure bliss. Puppy therapy or any pet therapy is proven to enable the release of good oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin in our bodies that make us feel lighter.
This week we had a lot of events lined up, which made each day of the week something to look forward to (after all the hard work we’ve been doing in school). Immediately following the beautiful puppy therapy event, we had a trip scheduled to tour the Tower of London (for free!). The Tower of London is a landmark we see every day when we walk to Devon House and back, and you can’t do anything but wonder what it looks like on the inside (spoiler alert: it’s massive) when you walk past it every single day. Ordinarily, it is quite pricey to visit the Tower, but one of the benefits of studying abroad is that the college sponsors many big events. The Tower of London is an iconic structure that dates back to the 11th century and is built as a fortress and entrance to the capital city of London by the River Thames. This is very evident when we look closely at the architecture and the layout of The Tower. The tour of The Tower allowed us to visit various rooms that belonged to the kings and queens, the prison cells that were once used to hold enemies, defense walls, and last but not least, the room full of crown jewels.
The next event was yet another day trip—correction: two-day trips. While I could only be a part of one of them, I believe that my day trip choice was worth missing the others for. I chose to go to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of the renowned poet – William Shakespeare. A small, peaceful town in Warwickshire, Stratford upon Avon, didn’t have perfect weather. Nevertheless, the dark clouds and light rain added to the aesthetics of old houses, small souvenir shops with wooden doors, and churches that are centuries old. This place is a heaven for all those book readers who have read Shakespeare’s many brilliant works. On the trip, we were able to visit Shakespeare’s birthplace, the new house where the family lived; we could also spot Shakespeare’s schoolroom and William Shakespeare’s grave in the Holy Trinity Church. My highlight of the trip was what was about to come next – afternoon tea on a boat. The 45-minute boat ride in the Countess of Evesham in the River Avon has to be a unique and unforgettable experience. It is not every day that you cruise around in a boat with the ambiance of a rich historical restaurant around a historic town while sipping tea and tasting fresh scones and finger sandwiches.
This brings me to the final event we had during the week – The Women Who Empower’s fireside chat with renowned chef and a star on the Netflix show Chef’s Table – Asma Khan, on the occasion of Women’s History Month. The event kicked off with some delectable Indian appetizers from Asma Khan’s restaurant, beverages in a vibrant ambiance and decor at Devon House. Asma Khan’s journey to success empowered every person sitting in that hall listening to her. This has to be an event that changed people’s perspectives and motivated others to spread more empathy and values of upliftment wherever they go. Asma’s inspiring words have stuck with me every day since that talk, and I encourage you to listen to them. In a world where women are still struggling to achieve success, Asma is an excellent example of how you change your life and that of others. One of the quotes that stuck with me was, “People always say you have broken the glass ceiling[…]I don’t want to be standing surrounded by glass, I want to bring the building down because the building has doors and windows keeping people out.”
There was a wide range of events planned this week which kept us busy for the most part and enabled us to see more of London and the UK. As a student at NCH, you are likely to be a part of more events on campus, such as student societies meets, mixers, bake sales to raise funds for good causes, and many more.
