Concrete Jungle + The Capitol (Trip to the States)

By Modinat Tijani, Queen’s University, Canada

For my February reading week, me and 5 friends (all of us coincidentally English international students) decided to do a trip to New York City and then Washington D.C.

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Getting into a routine and Life on Campus

By Modinat Tijani, Queen’s University, Canada

After completing O-week (orientation week), it was time to brace for Queens University academically and my timetable was pretty intense compared to my friends’. I had to get used to the complete change in assessment methods, where there are assignments, midterms, and finals. Coming from UoM Chemistry, where most of my modules were 100% exams based, it did take a lot to get used to. I see the benefits to both having regular assignments vs having 100% exams. Being in the labs felt different compared to the ones in Manchester.

Honestly at first I struggled with the workload, mostly because I wasn’t used to the sheer amount assignments that we were getting. Plus the unfamiliarity of grading and a whole bunch of stuff. I did ‘badly’ on an assignment and I went to the IPO and they were really great with me and kind of just reassured me that everything was fine. My visit to the IPO was amazing, one professor in particular (shout out to Dr Margaret from the IPO) was extremely reassuring and we just had a long talk in her office. If you’re ever going through anything just go to the IPO and ask for help! Plus, Queen’s has free counselling for students.

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Reading Week Trip (J’adore Montreal!)

By Modinat Tijani, Queen’s University, Canada

If you go to Canada, I would definitely recommend travelling. I went to Montreal during reading week and it was such a great time. It’s such a beautiful city, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

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Settling in Kingston, Orientation Week! NEWTS!!

By Modinat Tijani, Queen’s University, Canada

My first few days in Kingston were at the end of August and school hadn’t started yet. In this time, I started getting used to my surroundings. Because it was summer and very hot I did quite a few outdoor things.

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Snow, Toronto, Homesickness :( and my trip home :)

By Modinat Tijani, Queen’s University, Canada

Of course, we all know what Canada’s weather is famous for being, and the stories are true. I can now say that I’ve experienced -30°C weather and survived. THE COLD IS NOT A JOKE. My nose hairs literally froze but I made it through.

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