Deadlines, reading and a few more deadlines - welcome back

As the holidays draw to a close I am sadly being forced to start contemplating the coming classes and deadlines more seriously than just as a vague idea hovering in the middle-distance. With just 9 1/2 weeks until I return to the UK and a mere 7 until the beginning of exams it's time to step up the legal work - farewell relaxed weekends spent lounging around in pajamas and watching films.

To give an idea of the craziness about to ensue, here is my deadlines/exam schedule:

• 18 April External Relations seminar
• 20 April Discrimination paper due
• 20 April WTO Group Assignment 2 due
• 25 April Globalisation seminar
• 4 May Discrimination presentation
• 15 May Private paper due
• 29 May External Relations paper due
• 29 May Globalisation paper due
• 1 June Discrimination exam
• 4 June Private exam
• 8 June WTO exam
• 14 June Protection of Human Rights exam

 My stress level is certainly going to climb quite high, especially in the next 2 weeks! At least I had an amazing week in Dundee with my girlfriend going to the cinema, art openings and (3 years after moving to Dundee) the RRS Discovery. Plus I got to do a serious amount of practice at the rink (as can be shown in the lingering bruises 2 weeks later) - wind-up spin 2-3 revolutions? Check!

Now I have only just over 2 months left living in Antwerpen I've been thinking about what would have been useful to know ahead of setting out for the train station. The biggest impact on my budget (even with the Erasmus grant) was definitely textbooks and course readers. Being used to UoD where you only study a couple of subjects a semester and can usually share books or borrow them from the library, it was a big shock to my purse when I had to buy at least one book for almost every one of the 12 subjects I've studied. And of course, being law, it is hard to use second hand as new editions keep coming out and the lecturers update their course readers every year. In total I have been forced to buy 8 sets of materials and 4 books, and had to print over 300 pages for various subjects. And Amazon either doesn't sell them or doesn't discount more than a pound or two so it's easier to buy from Acco, the campus bookshop. Ouch. With the textbooks having an average cost of €45 and the readers costing on average €20 each (occasionally there will be one that's only €10 but some cost €30), that is a pretty hefty pricetag - make sure you leave plenty of room in your budget for the year!

      Handy hint: check the set textbooks for the subjects you've chosen before departing as you may be able to find last years edition and borrow a friends when the new version is different

Now that the holiday is almost over I must begin to tackle the reading mountain for the week ahead - and with classes in WTO, Protection of Human Rights, Globalisation and 10 hours of External Relations, it is a rather high mountain! I just hope I don't get altitude sicknes when I manage to reach the summit.