It’s about to be a month since I arrived in London from Nairobi, Kenya and honestly, it still feels like I stepped foot at Heathrow airport only yesterday! I was buzzing with excitement as I sat in the taxi on the way to my new home, and the first thing that struck me about London was its vibrant scenery and bustling atmosphere, from the beautiful row houses that are a rare sight in Nairobi, to the freedom of walking without any fear on the streets- I was already mesmerized by this city.

I love how one can walk out at any time of the day and ramble about lost in the picturesque streets of London without getting bored which (especially for someone so used to being driven around in cars) is a fabulous experience for adventure seekers. The fact that LSE in in central London makes it an even better place to be at! From the shopping heaven in Covent Garden being 5 minutes away, to the scrumptious meals being served at fancy restaurants outside Holborn station and the elegant St. Paul’s Cathedral at a 10-minute walk from LSE, LSE is in the heart of this exciting city! The view during the walk from Bankside House to LSE itself every day is breath-taking with the London Eye and Big Ben in clear sight and a magical grey sky in the backdrop (which is honestly the most touristy thing for me to be jazzed by but truly am I even a Londoner yet?)

Well, I have been rambling about what life is like after I arrived, but can we take a minute to realise the struggles one went through while packing for university? Have you ever struggled in packing for a holiday trip that was going to last approximately 15 days? Well, being a girl, packing for university was ten times worse than that! Moving to university is almost like shifting to a new house-except you can’t carry everything you want to because of space limitations! Deciding what to carry from clothes to shoes to accessories, I was terrified when I had four suitcases packed and all the things that I wanted to take had not fit into them! Thus, began the taxing process of segregating and cutting down the list to only the bare necessities (believe me when I say it was a struggle and almost heart breaking to leave behind your favourite stationery!). A piece of advice- travel to university with your family so that you can carry more of your things in their luggage allowance!

Did I mention how time flies by in the blink of an eye once you are at university? Doing a Bachelors in Actuarial Science is a very quantitative course, with a lot of practice having to be done on your own and, till now I have enjoyed almost all of my lectures (except for the fact that I have felt lost in the lectures many times!). LSE houses the most diverse student population- with a whopping 70% of the student body being international students and that is what attracted me the most to join LSE (well apart from the obvious reason of its high reputation that is). Meeting people from various cultures and backgrounds excites me and I can’t wait to see what new experiences and adventures the next three years are going to bring!