Student blogs

Hey everyone! I know that a few of my fellow DAs have done the “a day in the life” or a “week in the life” post. But I have not actually done one about Global Health, because I am sure a day in any of our lives differs a lot. I am a person who likes routine, so I usually have a schedule for myself but that of course differs according to the day it is. What I will do is choose a day in the life of one of my busiest and most exemplary days and explain what I do: Fridays.

Morning routine

7:00 am – I think most people wake up at 7am every day because the Global Health Programme has class every single day. To see a preview of what our schedule might look like check out my blog on the Schedule for the Master’s in Global Health. I am not a breakfast person. But ever since I began this programme I have to have something before I leave home or I would lose concentration by 10am. I take the time to make a fresh breakfast or I most likely won’t eat it. I also pack my bags at this time since I leave my devices charging overnight, and lunch so I don’t have to wait in line for food.

7:40 am- I get ready for class. Since I live off of campus I have to leave much earlier to get there on time. It also means that I have to do my exercise/getting to school as a combination since I do not have time to do both separately.

8: 05am- I walk for my bus which is about 20 minutes away. I can take the train to the city and then take a bus back to KI which is a longer route but involves less walking. This however, is my morning exercise. The bus is also emptier than the train and gets there earlier. It is a nice walk through a forest and up two hills and I usually reach on time for my bus at 8:30am.

8:30 – 8:45am- Bus ride.

9:00 am- 12:00pm- This is the first class of the day, or could be two lectures given in the first 3 hours.

Lunch

12:00 – 1:00pm- I am not sure if the other programmes get a longer lunch, but Global Health just gets this one hour. The people who bring food from home eat together which is one of the ways in which we bonded as a class which I wrote about in this blog. Sometimes people make lunch dates together to grab food from the restaurant next door, since this is our most free hour for the day.

Afternoon

1:00 – 4:00pm- The second class of the day. It might be a continuation of the morning lecture, a workshop or a whole new lecture. This lecture might also end at 4:30 depending on what day it is.

4:00 – 5:00pm- Since the weekend is coming up, on my way home on Fridays, I usually stop in the grocery store to pick up some items for meal prep during the weekend. Although I make breakfast every morning, I prefer to cook a lager meal for a few days on the weekend to save myself from having to cook during the week.

5:00 – 5:30pm- Exercise. This almost always involves walking or doing a YouTube workout video during the winter because it is so cold. Sometimes I don’t want to do it, or the day exhausts me but I still try. This does not mean that there are days when I just sit on my bed during this hour telling myself that I deserve to watch TV for the week.

After-class evening routine

5:30 – 6:30pm- This is my downtime. I make and eat dinner around this time and maybe watch TV. Sometimes, especially if I have to go out I try to get some studying done but this is a Friday schedule so I am a bit more relaxed with my studies so early in the day. At 6:30 I will usually shower, or maybe do it later in the night depending on my mood.

7:00 – 9:00pm

Going Out: If my friends manage to drag me out we like to go around 7pm. By this time everyone has changed and is in a much better mood. It is also the end of the week so we we are less stressed and can actually stay out late. I make it a point to leave at 9pm on most gatherings because I do not live on campus, so I always try to get home by 9:30 and still get a little studying done before 11pm.

Home: If I am home on a Friday this is when I actually do my assignments or study if an exam is soon. I usually work on assignments until around 10:30, then try to work on my blog concepts and ideas until 11. The actual time allocated to these tasks change depending on how much I have to do.

Night routine

11:00 – 1:00am- On Fridays I like to do nothing. So before bed at around 1am, I leave my schedule open to either sleep a bit earlier if I went out and am exhausted, watch TV or just go on my phone and talk to my friends back home.

This is a day in my life on a day that I would call an exemplary day where I perfectly follow my routine. Not every Friday is like this, and sometimes I do not want to study or exercise and I procrastinate instead. So I hope that I do not make myself sound like the world’s most perfect student by any means. My weekly routine is a lot more hectic since I do have a job being a DA as well as my internship and of course a ton of group work. However, I hope it does make you understand that although the Master’s in Global Health programme is just one year, there is still time for relaxing and hanging out with your friends. As well as travelling and pursuing your hobbies which I do on Saturdays if I have the time. So good luck! We have all got this!