Hi everyone! My name is Simona, I am a first year International Business student from Slovakia and I am a new Loughborough University blogger!

I love to play sports (my favourite sport is basketball), I like travelling, hanging out with my friends and getting to know people from other countries and their cultures. I have had an amazing experience at Loughborough University so far and I would like to share it with you. I hope you will enjoy reading my blogs!

It has already been almost three months since I first came to Loughborough. This is my first time in England and I absolutely love it! Choosing Loughborough was one of the best things that I have done so far in my life and I am really enjoying my time here, because there is always something to do and you are never bored. Let’s take a look at my past month here and the activities that I took part in.

December started off with the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters and I was one of the volunteers helping out at the event. It was an amazing experience and I still can’t believe that such a big and famous event took place on our campus! Volunteering is a lot of fun and you can develop a lot of skills that can help you in the future. Another event that I volunteered at in December was the netball game, where I was doing the ticketing and met some very nice people!

December is the time of Christmas socials and Christmas meals and since I am playing AU Basketball I got to go to the Basketball Christmas meal in Revs, where we had a lot of fun with my teammates just talking, eating and playing games. Another Christmas meal that I went to was with my international friends from China, Switzerland, Italy, Indonesia and Spain. It is amazing how you can meet people from different countries at the university and make friends from all over the world. I also visited Christmas markets in Birmingham with my other friends and enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere and some mulled wine there.

Besides all these exciting activities, I had to pack my stuff and get ready to go home for the Christmas break. Even though I am very happy that I am going to see my friends and family back in Slovakia after three months, I can’t wait for the second semester at Loughborough University and for all the new adventures!