TIME’S ALMOST UP

My dear cyber friends,

My time at Bellerbys College is almost over and boy, it was a heck of a year! I started alone, and now I finish knowing how much I’ve accomplished, how many friends I’ve made throughout the year and, of course, how much food I’ve eaten.

Life as a College student isn’t easy, at all. There’s work, work and, yeah, you guessed it, MORE WORK. From coursework and presentations to writing tasks and balloon debates; writing essays, citations and bibliographies as well as creating graphs using Microsoft Excel; doing loads of Psychology and Sociology homework, and of course the creation of this blog.

For me, at the beginning of this course I never thought in a million years that I’d call this place my home and coming to think of it, even though I won’t be gone for that long, I’ll miss it terribly. I’m talking about the UK. HAHA

Seriously, I feel like I’m leaving Bellerbys not only as a graduate/alumni, but as a changed, mature young lady and my experience here has been exceptionally outstanding. I have made friends with both the staff and my fellow international students. I thank my teachers for teaching me what I know now and for coping with my ‘over-joyed’ self, even though I highly doubt that one can be ‘too happy’, with my right hand gal Viviane (what can I say, we’re passionate about learning). 😉

As for my friends, we always keep in touch so there’s no worry there. I love them to the stars and back!

MODULES

At Bellerbys College, the values for Foundation modules vary. They are divided into two; Core modules and Pathway modules. The core modules include FES and CIT where there are 4 modules and consist of of 5-10 credits. Pathway modules, on the other hand,  include the subjects from the Foundation course that I chose to do (Humanities) which include Psychology and Sociology and each module consists of 15 credits while the core modules.This term, I am currently doing 4 subjects, Psychology, Sociology, FES and CIT and for each subject, at least one hour is done everyday, except for CIT, which is done only twice a week for two hours.

 

 

 

Girls: How we get ready

I think we are all aware of how long ladies take to get ready, no matter what the occasion is. I don’t think we can help it. We do everything to look good, if not, GREAT. Why? Because we feel good when we look good, it’s just that simple.

Also, it’s not like we spend all that time ‘getting dressed’, we kind of procrastinate. I can’t exactly explain in detail how we (girls) get ready to go out, but here’s a video that will give you an idea of what actually happens ‘behind the scenes’.

Enjoy, or at least try. 😀

CIT

During my Foundation course, I’ve had a few CIT classes with this man called Mr. Perry. I, personally, really like his name.

My purpose for studying this is because I need to learn how to use certain things like making graphs from data on a spreadsheet to writing blogs so that I can apply these skills when I get to university.

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I have understood that computer isn’t just all about Twitter and YouTube, it takes a lot to know how to actually use Microsoft Office and their complex features. I enjoy our classes, they’re so much fun. It’s the kind of lesson when you can go off topic with friends, laugh around and at the same time be focused and get the work done on time. It’s also that kind of lesson where, when Mr. Perry shows you what he’s done (what the objective of the lesson is), we’re all like “EH?” and at the end of it our reactions change to “Oooooh…” and it turns out that these things we perceive as complex, aren’t so complex after all.

So far, I haven’t found anything difficult because we’re taught how to get to our goals (for the lesson) in a step-by-step manner, which gives us more understanding in the things we’re do during every lesson.

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What I’m Learning (:

I am currently taking the Humanities course at Bellerbys College and my main subject is Psychology. I chose this course because the subjects included (Psychology, Sociology and English) will help me in the course I am about to take in university, which is Media and Communications.

I am on my last term of the course and we have learnt a lot from the passed two terms because there was a lot to learn, even though the syllabus was ‘cut short’ (LIES). From what I understand, there are ways in which behaviour is learnt, there are reasons as to why people have eating disorders such as genetics, and our memory works through certain models like the Multi Store Model.

I found a lot of the work done in the last term a bit difficult. I feel like I need to know more about the topics we learnt about in the second term. This is mainly because we had such a limited time frame, there was so much to learn and I couldn’t exactly ‘soak it in’.

I like the way we’re taught. The teacher normally uses PowerPoint Presentations and we get to watch videos (I like videos) which is a bit different from how I used to learn at home.

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Difference between learning in the UK and back at home

There are definitely some differences between studying here in the UK and back home. One of them is the teaching styles. The teachers here, in my school, are much nicer than some of the teachers in my previous school. They (the teachers here) move almost at the students’ pace and, at the same time, theirs whereas the ones at home kind of compete to see who teaches the fastest. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s how I see it.

The workload here is much less than what I used to get back home. This is mainly because I did much less subjects than I do now. I also get more time to do the work I’m given here compared to back home, where I had to give in loads of work the next day.

I don’t think I can really compare the friendships I have here and at home because they’re pretty much the same, not that the people are all the same, but I am the same person when I’m with my friends here and with my friends there. Let’s just say they’re close friendships.

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The class sizes are different. The ones in Kenya are much bigger, with much more people in one class, like around 20-30 students.

My expectations weren’t that high. Although, I thought there would be a ‘clique’ of popular kids hanging around and bullying people but to my surprise, everyone is sort of getting along and I like it.

About English…..

The reason as to why I’m taking my Foundation English classes at Bellerbys is because it is more than just general English that’s being learnt/taught. It’s like learning English at an advanced stage.

So far, what I’ve enjoyed for the passed two terms up to date is how relaxed the class is. It’s also fun at the same time because we get to laugh with Mandy Bright, our teacher. I haven’t really found anything too difficult during this course as English is one of my first languages but, even though it is, I ‘m still surprised by what we learn and how English is such a broad subject.

What I need to know more about is how to write essays, especially introductions, those things can be the death of some one (me); they make me think TOO MUCH! Other than that, I think I’m fine, I’m not perfectly fine, but I’m satisfied with the things I’ve learnt and how it’s been presented to me.

The way we’re taught at Bellerbys College in general revolves mostly around technology. This is basically through PowerPoint Presentations and watching documentaries and/or tutorials. In English, we do both writing and projector based things. I like how we can email Mandy on any enquiries while doing English homework or coursework because it’s easy access and we don’t have to wait till the next day to ask her, unless there’s something wrong with your phone, laptop or the Internet

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My First Impression

My name is Loise Martina Muyanga. You can choose which ever name you want to call me, but I prefer Martina.

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My first impression of the UK when I got off the plane was how fast people move from one place to another. By that, I mean the way the passengers rushed from the door of the plane to immigrations. I also do remember begging my mum to help me open my hand luggage to get my coat out. IT WAS SO COLD!

It was a long ride before I got to Brighton, fell asleep on the way, but when I eventually got there, there were fewer people rushing around, compared to London. The clean environment was very encouraging and the people here, I mean most people, are so nice. The double-decker buses were the cherry, or rather cherries, on top.

In terms of education, I really want to go to US (University of Sussex) to study Media. I find it really interesting mainly because I’ve had a bit of work experience here and there which encouraged me to choose that course.

As for the future, I’m not too sure yet on what I want to do when I graduate, but if I was to do something, I want it to do with media.