Christmas complications, the first exam period, and well-deserved relaxation

I completed most of my projects in November and December and took three smaller tests, each amounting to 20% of the final grade. So when my Christmas holidays started on December 17, I started looking for Christmas gifts and packing up for my trip home.

We did know that the whole of Britain had been hit by a transportation meltdown, but we also were in Bristol the whole day, indulging in beautiful weather, so we could not believe that our flight could be in trouble. However, the Easy Jet staff had many surprises in store for us, and they kept us in suspense until the very end. The delay was announced at the last moment, and the flight was canceled after we took a very long airport bus ride towards the orange-colored jetliner and back. In the end, we left the airport five hours later, confused and very annoyed. We were told the next available flight was on Christmas Eve, but given our newly acquired distrust in the company, we opted for a different way home. Which is why we took a bus from Exeter to London at 4 a.m. on December 21, planning to ride Student Agency to Prague. A few days and several hundred kilometers later, we were happy to see the Prague Florenc bus terminal at 5 a.m.

Having spent two weeks in Prague, I got back Exeter refreshed, though with quite a bit of stress as well. Since I had not seen my family and friends for months, I spent most of my time with them, and I never opened the textbooks that I had brought with me to prepare for the January tests. So once I got back to Exeter, I jumped back into studying and spent the following days preparing for the rapidly approaching accounting and management tests, and drinking energy drinks in the process … Ultimately, I took both exams excellently prepared, but came back totally exhausted.

Once my first, and rather hectic, exam period was over, I took a day off and then spent the next few days reading literature and writing an essay. I learned about the results in all my subjects one month later: Accounting I, Management, Business Information Systems, Leadership, and Teams. I found that I had navigated the pitfalls of the first semester very quickly and, on top of that, very successfully. That obviously lifted my mood, so one fine day I finally decided to take a trip to the nearby town of Exmouth by the sea and enjoy a long walk on a promenade along a sandy beach.

In addition, I discovered more beautiful stuff in Exeter in the recent months, such as the quay and the inside of the cathedral. Also, I have finally found a place with a decent selection of loose tea, and tried some English cuisine – fisherman’s pie, Yorkshire pudding, various steaks, fish and chips, and so on. In addition to discovering the local culture, I also decided to bring a bit of my home to Exeter, which is why I had my parents send me a good supply of loose tea, and my friend made me pickled Camembert. Last but not least, my Bulgarian friends and I have finally founded a Bulgarian “society,” and my family visit was a very nice moment in recent days.

Overall, I can say that the last couple of months were very different from the initial ones. I feel at home here – I have gotten used to most of the differences and learned to live in true happiness here. It really is a joy to be here. The weather is gorgeous, the sun shines almost incessantly, and, honestly, I can’t remember the last time it rained here. I just hope things will stay that way, because this atmosphere gives me the energy that I will really need in the next two months as I prepare for my exams in Business Statistics, Economics, and Accounting II, which are due in early May.

For the next few months, I plan to see the nearby parks and towns and also find a job, primarily to acquire new skills and improve my existing ones. Sadly, as a Bulgarian national, I must obtain a work permit first. I have already sent my documents to the relevant authority, and all I can do now is wait and hope – the period for the processing of applications can be up to six months.