Northern Lights in St Andrews

The entire first semester and especially the exam period were really busy for me. I found it really hard to find time for both academic and extracurricular commitments, but I think I did quite well. Had not been for the fever a few days before my exams, it would have all been less hectic and stressful.

Today, I will shortly describe the two new jobs I started in last semester. The first one is a paid job in the kitchen of St Salvator's Hall in the centre of the town. Being in desperate need of money, I was really happy and relieved that I managed to find a job, which is by all means not an easy task in a small town like St. Andrews. Working in a kitchen is a very straightforward activity. The position of “kitchen assistant” obliges me to help out with anything that is needed – it includes assisting with cooking, cleaning dishes, serving food, sweeping, mopping and customer service. Although the work might sometimes be physically demanding, I am glad to have it. Especially given the remuneration which is more than twice as much of what I would be most likely paid in the Czech Republic.

The second work experience is an internship in Frontier Horizons, a specialist consultancy established to plan, implement and deliver bespoke solutions, including risk assessments for institutions and individual clients around the world. My task is to write monthly reports on two countries, in my case Tanzania and Somaliland. The reports provide analysis of recent summaries of key political, security and economic events. The two countries I write about are very different in that there is an excessive amount of resources for Tanzania, so I have to analyse and evaluate a lot of information, while the sources for Somaliland are rather limited. Since I started in October, I can say I have already developed solid knowledge of the political and economic situation of the two countries.
 
To end my short post, I want to illustrate how amazing studying in St. Andrews can be. A few nights ago, woken up by my friend at midnight, I set out for the beach to see a rather rare phenomenon – the Northern Lights. Never had I thought I would get to see something so spectacular in my life. Again, one of the many perks of studying in St. Andrews.