Three Weeks Later and ECS Is In Full Swing

On day one, I remember thinking “This is it. Wow.” Three whole weeks later, life in Southampton and ECS is officially in full swing.

I remember how reading these blogs helped me in getting an idea as to what daily life was like for a student here, so here’s a summary for any prospective students: yes, this is a wonderful place to live, with an open and green main campus, shops galore, and that life-saver of a Uni-Link bus system; yes, everybody is amazingly open and friendly (and the Jumpstart events guarantee you’ll meet coursemates quickly, especially when you’re planning how to defend the city from an impending zombie apocalypse); and yes, your mind will be blown – and I can safely say this after only week 3!

That’s without even mentioning the plethora of societies that were competing for attention at the Bunfight, enticing me into making TV (and being part of a live online broadcast already), being pelted by dodgeballs, singing in choirs and landing a part in the Freshers’ play (come along and see it!). On top of that, there’s the whole “living” thing to consider; cooking, cleaning, washing-up, grocery shopping and (*shudder*) laundry have now all somehow slotted into my routine, despite the odd mishap here and there (I’ve certainly learnt the importance of fully boiling potatoes before trying to mash them!).

The course modules have already been fascinating, if a noticeable step up from school, and every day is a fruitful one for learning new material. Having learnt a bit of the Pascal programming language at school, I was taken aback by how different Java is, but now that I’m coding in Java in labs and receiving further tuition from the “Ground Controllers” scheme the course offers, I’m raring to pick it up as fast as I can.

Challenges aplenty, and nowhere near enough hours in a day; if the next four years are anything like the last three weeks, then I won’t be leading the calm life any time soon!