Oana Salcescu at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Equilibrium: That Perfect Balance Between Work and Play Part 2

Posted by BCSAadmin on 12/04/2015

Click here to read Part 1 of Equilibrium: That Perfect Balance Between Work and Play 

But back to the topic at hand – what does this have to do with balancing my life?

Well, I was reading a lot about problems we face due to being overworked or overtired. When I started realizing my life balancing skills were lacking, I took a step back to assess what was going on and came to some important conclusions.

So, let’s dive into the first important thing I learned:

Stop taking yourself so seriously.

This became more and more pertinent as I spent time subjecting myself to the evaluation of others – for example, through applicatio...

Tags: Writers in Residence Rotterdam Netherlands Study Abroad
Category: Writers In Residence
Read More
Oana Salcescu, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Equilibrium: That Perfect Balance Between Work and Play

Posted by BCSAadmin on 12/02/2015

Hi there! My name is Oana and I was recently approached to be a Writer in Residence for the BC Study Abroad Blog. Initially I was more than excited to take up the offer, but I realized I had a problem: I felt as though I was already in the depths of school-related responsibilities and had little time to do anything for fun, let alone take on another one more commitment.

As I mulled this over, I remembered one important lesson I’ve learned: if you don’t manage your time, your time will manage you – and it will probably end poorly.

I’m sure everyone can relate to this: you are doing X amount of coursework per week, have friends/a family/a significant other, maybe have a part-time job or are involved in clubs and sports. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed.

If this sounds like you,...

Tags: Writers in Residence Rotterdam Netherlands Study Abroad
Category: Writers In Residence
Read More
Oana Salcescu, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Home

Posted by BCSAadmin on 12/01/2015

Written in August 2013

As some of you already know, it’s been a pretty difficult week for me because I got a horrible cold that knocked me off my feet. I’ve been stuck in bed blowing my nose every few minutes and coughing up a storm.

On the plus side, I’ve been immersed in many different worlds from watching so many movies! While I haven’t had any energy to leave the house, I’ve had time to myself to just rest and relax. Considering that school starts on Monday I feel that this rest was something I needed to get mentally ready.

Until this week, I don’t think that I fully understood what “hey everybody, I’m moving to the Netherlands for a year!” really meant. Packing up some clothes and belongings, saying goodbye to everyone you know, and getting on a plane to fly acr...

Tags: student blog Rotterdam Study Abroad Netherlands
Category: Student Blog
Read More
Brendon Dawson, Yuyuan Gardens in central Shanghai

Arrival Formalities

Posted by BCSAadmin on 11/18/2015

As a citizen of your own country, immigration procedures are something that you rarely have to think about; they exist for those who decide to come to your country, not those who already live in it. Studying abroad changes that assumption and introduces you to a completely foreign bureaucracy that you are often left to navigate alone. My arrival in China a month ago has certainly been a myriad of different challenges and new experiences but all have revolved around my quest to attain a residence permit.

The bureaucracy was a seemingly endless succession of forms, stamps, photos, and signatures all attained, received, and submitted to different offices, approval centres, and registration desks. This experience was certainly frustrating at first but then became comical as you realize you are...

Tags: China Shanghai Writers in Residence Studying Abroad
Category: Writers In Residence
Read More

Pages