Aug 2020 – TeresaAmbrosio

A day in London – my favourite places

I haven’t been to London since the day I moved from Nottingham to Kent. It was the beginning of March when we knew about this coronavirus but many wouldn’t take it so seriously. I remember being very nervous to be in London although it was a short stay at Saint Pancras international to change train. After 6 months spent in Kent only and not being able to visit Italy due to travel restrictions, I took advantage of the last available day of using the student discount of my railway card and went to London for one day.

I don’t have any regret about my PhD!

When I look back at my PhD, I have no regrets. I did everything I could to make the most of the opportunity I got and of my time abroad as an international student. I wrote an article about this last year on bringing my PhD up to the next level. Of course, this doesn’t only apply to a PhD programme, you can do and achieve the same things with a master degree or a postdoc.

Plans for 2020? No, thanks!

Aug the 9th marked my 5th month into my new job, 5 months since I loved to Kent and 5 months of a global pandemic. I didn’t want to write this article because it seems like I have been repeating the same things for the last 5 months. 5 months ago, I was the happiest person in the world. After so much sacrifices, hard work and dedication, I had finished my PhD and was about to start my new job.

A day at St Margaret’s Bay

My staycation is coming to an end and this is the last weekend on holiday. When I booked my holiday last month, I didn’t know this was going to be the hottest week of the year. Temperatures reached up to 36 C in some places like London, for example. Hello, climate changes!

The life of your dream doesn’t cost a fortune

One of my strongest assets is that I am very good at managing my money. When I was small, my parents didn’t have a stable job and we didn’t have the luxury of buying many things. I used to complain about this, but with age and maturity, I got to learn that it was a different experience and definitely taught me how to be conscious with my money and appreciate everything I have. Finances for students, parents or if you are thinking of going self-employed is a tough topic because every penny counts to make it to the end of the month.

Enjoying my staycation

I think we pretty much established that 2020 was going to be the year of change and unexpected events. For the first time in 30 years, I won’t spend my summer holiday with my family in Italy and for the first time in 10 years, my summer holidays will be only for me. I don’t have to worry about studying for exams, writing thesis, PhD bullshit, all this time off is for me, not for science.