Making friends and hobbies.

Well I have been in Rochester for nearly a month and things have settle down a little. Moving into halls went well. I did start off in a tiny room but after a few days I was moved into somewhere a little bigger. I think one of the biggest thing is I am alone in the flat. The advantage is I get to walk around in what ever state of dress, which feels comfortable and I have the fridge all to myself. The downside is it is incredibly lonely.

So far, I haven’t had the chance to make any friends. Most of the students in halls just ignore me, I think at the beginning, they thought I was a member of staff and just ran away from me when I say hello and now they are in their little groups.

Unfortunately, the universities student union is barely on life support. There are practically no events and freshers day was a bit of a washout (though I did, paint a bag) This has meant that making friends is a huge challenge. There is only one society The film society I did go to a screening last Wednesday, it felt a bit strange only about five people turned up and they were all on the theatre design course.

The MA Photography/Fashion photography course is mainly made up of international students. Whilst, they are all very polite, they tend to hang out in their own ethnic groups. A problem I have is understanding everyone. Due to my dyslexia, I am not the best when it comes to accents. I have lots of problems understanding a lot of what is being said.

The level of English in the class is also very mixed. The south Asian ethnic group, have very good English, though often with quite strong accents, which is only natural. The Eastern ethnic group are much more mixed. Some have a decent level of English, whilst other have quite a minimal level.

Of course, I have to remember that I have no level of second language and I am sure they will pick up English very quickly and by the end of the year, they will probably be better than I am.

I am thinking of restarting the Photographic society but I worry I won’t have time, I will have a chat and see if anyone is interested in joining.

I have started doing MMA training. This is mainly for fitness. At the moment I am at best terrible, which after 2 weeks is not surprising. I have no flexibility, my fitness is terrible and I am out of breath after 30 seconds. I also feel terrible the next day, which is a worry, as the beginner class is on a Tuesday evening and I have a practical photography class on a Wednesday. There is another intermediate MMA class on Thursdays but I have lectures on a Friday. I can only hope that as I do more, my body adjusts and I feel better.