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Fancy place to have tea in Cape Town |
Despite the fact that I am an accomplished gusher, there is no way that I could gush sufficiently to portray how much I have appreciated my friends through the whole PhD process. Not only for their constant support, subtle (and not so subtle) ways of making sure I am eating properly and saintly patience with my whining (which I have made into a full on public affair with this blog) but also because when I found out I have to resubmit - they unanimously blamed the examiner and not my own inadequacies (even if they privately thought it they didn't let me know because they are really nice people).
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It isn't sunset... but it is a good view |
There may be
disadvantages of staying at one university for all your studies, but I plan on ignoring them and count myself lucky to have been at
UCT through undergrad, Honours, MSc and
PhD. This isn't
just because it is the best university in South Africa - which it is - or that it means I haven't had to move from my
lovely flat with a stunning
sunset view, or that I can proudly say that my campus has been a castle in this
movie (
there is an element of tongue-in-cheek there) or that I
love that I know almost everyone in the
department (
I really do love that), although all that is true, but it is because I have made some
amazing friends here - and crazily enough, some of them have been with me since the first week of undergrad...
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Fancy Michelangelo tea goodies - not a
feature in the department |
I very clearly remember the absolutely terrified feeling I had when I realised that I had moved to a whole
new town - straight out of
high school - and didn't know a
soul. My parents driving away, leaving me in front of the
ugliest building I have ever been in (
which would be "home" for the year) was one of the most daunting, loneliest moments in my life. So, I can imagine that starting a
PhD (or MSc) at a new institute, must be even more scary, particularly since you might be put in a hole-in-the-wall office with no one to chat to.
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Admittedly this was the end of year
function, not tea, but how cool are
these cakes? |
So, this is why I advocate attending
tea... Big departmental welcome functions are a little intimidating if, you are like me, and can only really handle speaking to a
handful of people at a time. If your
department has a tea time, it means that you can meet the handful of stalwarts that go to tea every day and hopefully make some
friends. Hopefully, if you become a tea regular, people will notice when you are not there and come find you where you are hiding under your
desk. I can not emphasize enough how important it is to have people you can count on during your
PhD, because there will be times when you feel
sad, and sometimes all it takes to make things better is knowing there is someone you can whine to or go to the
pub with. (
I have awesome friends all over the world, all of whom make my life more wonderful in many different ways, but I specifically mean people in the same town because that makes drinking together easier)
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Proof - Tea is the Source of Happiness! |
Obviously, when you move to a new town and want to meet new people, most suggestions would include getting a
hobby or joining a team sport. So do that too, if you have
time and are
passionate about something, but if you find you have too much work to do, or not interested in
sport (that's me) try going to
tea. (
Or, do pilates at the Studio Group... because it is awesome and they notice when you haven't been for a while, and isn't that what we all want, someone to care if we are around or not?) If nothing else it gives you an excuse to stand up from your desk and drink some yummy
tea!!!
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Fancy place to have tea in JHB
(Westcliff) |
If your department doesn't have a tea time, suggest it to the
HOD -
not only is it a good time to meet people, it can also foster
collaborations, provide a platform for
intellectual discussion and a place for people to stay in touch with the greater workings in the
department. It is a small suggestion that might result in meeting some new friends, that could make all the difference to how much you enjoy your PhD... I know that I couldn't do it without my
awesome friends and the
happy moments I have had with them (and the yummy meals they have shared with me!)
Or... since I am babbling as a result of free sugar at a workshop this morning... maybe you should rather read
this article on how to stay sane during your PhD...
OH and Happy World Penguin Day!!!!
Happy Penguin Day to you too! And we missed you at Birthday Tea this morning. Which you forgot to mention, incidentally. It was a good one, with a medium to large supply of cakes and other yummy stuff :-)
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