Too much food will make you fatter, yet too few will make you skinnier. Of course your parents don’t want to see you in different shape when you come back home, so it is important to take care of your diet. Besides that, your food is closely related with your health and wellbeing. Here you can think of some diseases and conditions, like high blood pressure, diabetes, and even cancer.

I know it is hard to ignore fast foods around, but try not to eat them all the time. I know that some fast foods aren’t bad, because although it is fast, it is made of fresh ingredients. What you have to avoid are junk foods, which are sources of fats and disease. I also advise you not to frequently consume instant food, such as instant noodles, because we don’t know exactly what is in it.

Because I have advised you not to eat those kinds of food, now I have to suggest you what to eat. Before that, I am going to tell you what our body needs from our foods. Our body needs carbs, proteins, minerals, fats (yes, we need some of this), and vitamins.

Our body needs energy to move, to do our activities. Usually it is based on calories, 2000kcal for women and 2500kcal for men. There are many foods that contain this, like potato (chips is actually not really good as it contains quite lot of oil. Better to roast or mash it), rice, bread, and pasta. For bread and pasta, whole grain is better without reducing the taste. Remember to eat some of this everyday to fulfill your energy needs every day.

Protein is also important. It helps you to build your muscles, help to regenerate old cells, make you smarter (except if you are not studying at all), and also another energy source. You can get it from chicken, beef, lamb, fish, and also beans. Include one of them in your diet every day. And remember to choose good quality of them, especially meat, choose one that is not so fatty, so you can get healthier effects. You better get fats from fish rather than from meat that contains ‘evil’ fats.

You can get vitamins mainly from fruits and vegetables. Try to include them in your diet. There are many ways to eat them, like include peas in your dinner, eat some salad, carrots with hummus, eat fresh fruit after your meal (banana, apple, orange are really easy to eat), or even just drink juice (less sugar is better, of course). Beside of that, fruits and vegetables are also good sources of minerals and fibre. Minerals from vegetables are useful for our blood cells and bones, and fibre is really useful for your digestive system.

I also give you other advices for your daily diet. Try dark chocolate, digestive biscuits, and low fat yoghurt for your snack time. If you drink alcohol, I remind you to drink responsibly, reduce it if you can. Drink eight glass of water every day, and also one glass of milk would be great. Eat healthy cereals to start your day, like corn flakes, oats, etc. Don’t push yourself too strictly to my advices, remember to treat yourself sometimes (not always!).

And the most important is, who knows what is the best for you is yourself. Eat healthy!

By Haikal B. Anggoro

It is quite easy to organise weekend breaks. First things first, it would be nicer if you get a partner to go with or maybe a small group of people. Secondly, decide the place that you want to visit. Decide it according to your own interests, and don’t forget to compare with other places that you also like. And don’t forget to search a little bit about what you can do once you are there. I will share with you some interesting places in the UK later in this article.

Thirdly, find a train ticket and book a room. It is very easy to find a train ticket now. Just go to thetrainline.com, and put your dates. It is very helpful if you have a railcard. Look for offers and the cheapest ticket available. After you purchase it, you can collect your ticket at the station. And it is also easy to book a room to stay. Just go to booking.com, type the town that you want to visit. You can compare each available room and hotel, and then book it.  And before you depart from this our lovely Lancaster; don’t forget to bring your basic needs (clothes, etc) and your ticket and room booking confirmation. Enjoy your weekend trip!

Best places to spend a weekend trip

London

London, the capital city of England is very tempting to visit. Although I think it is not enough just one weekend to explore London, but it is still one of the best places to visit. If you want to shop high street brands, which you can’t find in Lancaster, just visit Mayfair or Harrods in Knightsbridge. If you want to see England’s History and Culture, there are plenty places to visit like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Parliament House, Westminster Abbey (where Kings, Queens, and famous people were buried), Tower Bridge (the most famous bridge in the world), Tower of London, and many more. “Hop on hop off bus” is a useful transport to use if you want to visit those places. You also can visit London Eye, Madame Tusauds (wax sculptures of famous people), and River Cruise along Thames River. London is also a departure city if you want to see the famous Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, Oxford, and Bath (a very beautiful old town).

York

York is located in the northwest of England, about 2.5 hours from Lancaster. It is a historical city, one of the top destinations in the UK. You can see a city wall around York which is very long, although it is not as long as China’s Great Wall. York Minster is a nice place to visit. You should walk around the minster and see amazing architectures, climb up to minster’s tower, the highest tower in York, 275 steps from the ground, and you should see the crypt beneath the minster, and see how this minster was built.  You also should visit JORVIK, it is a Viking centre in York. It will tell you quite a lot about Viking in York.

Lake District

Lake District is a beautiful place to relax. It is quite near to Lancaster. There are some daily buses from Lancaster Bus Station. It is famous for its beautiful lake. It is possible to visit Lake District as one day trip or more. You can stay and enjoy the beauty of the lake or if you like mountain hiking, you can hike mountains around there and see the beautiful scenery.

Stratford upon Avon

Stratford is the place where world famous poet, William Shakespeare, was born, lived, and buried. It is a small beautiful old city, the best place to relax. You can visit Shakespeare’s birthplace and other important places in his life. You also can watch a play at Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Courtyard theatre.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is located to the north of Lancaster. Actually, it is in Scotland, another country but still under the United Kingdom. It is a very famous old city. It is registered as UNESCO historical city. It is very famous for Edinburgh Castle, you should visit it. But remember, it is far northern than Lancaster, don’t forget to bring a thick coat!

Watching football matches

If you like football very much, welcome to the land of football. Watching football live in the stadium feels like your dream come true. I realise that Lancaster is quite far away from central England, but don’t worry there are some Premier League football clubs near to Lancaster, including world most famous football club, Manchester United. Manchester United and Manchester City are located in Manchester, about 1 hour away by train. Bolton Wanderers is in Bolton, halfway to Manchester, about 30 minutes. Blackpool FC is in Blackpool, and there are direct buses from the university to Blackpool. Liverpool FC and Everton FC are located in Liverpool. Liverpool is about 90 minutes from Lancaster. So, watching football matches also can be your weekend break!

So, just prepare carefully and enjoy your weekend breaks! : )

By Haikal B. Anggoro

“I can’t live without music!” Have you ever heard or said that statement? The average person can survive three minutes without air, three days without water, and forty days without food. How long can you survive without music?

With music being such a staple in youth culture, it seems that every person has a “soundtrack to their life.” Today, it is very common for us to see people of all ages carrying MP3 players even when travelling short distances.

Has it become an addiction? Have they become musicoholic??

The answer to whether or not music can affect a person’s behaviour is not a simple matter of a yes or no answer.

Nowadays, listening to an MP3 player is extremely easy to do and you can find people listening to music, learning new languages through MP3 recordings, etc. Consequently, teenagers in precise, will be able to come up with thousands of reasons why they absolutely need an MP3 player.

image by FabianReichert

You can listen to music while you study, travel to and from school, when you exercise, as the music for your alarm clock, before you go to sleep to relax, and the list goes on. Personally, after observing a host of people who got an MP3 player recently, I noticed that the majority of them stopped talking to their friends or acquaintances when they are listening to their mp3 players and this seems to lower their level of socializing.

This might also affect their studies, since they might be tempted to play games on their MP3 player or to listen to music while they study. Some researchers say that listening to music while you study helps you remember better, but it depends on the type of music they listen to, of course.

If I were to relate this to myself, I will have to say that I was a music addict myself; I pretty much behaved the way most musicoholics did; it really does cause isolation, affects studies and it may even cause ear damage. Of course, like everything music has its pros and cons. It is crucial for us to avoid letting the cons get to us and affect our lives.

by Betül

Who is she? And why shall I read all this?

Yes, I absolutely agree! Before we to start our friendship you should find the reason to trust me.

Let me introduce myself, so we can become friends.

As I mentioned before, my name is Alexandra and I am Bulgarian. Why am I in Britain? Let me try to explain.

To be honest I am not a kind of perfect child in my family – and my family is not perfect, that they still do not see me as a genius. As a good parents: my father saw me as a successful business-lady working for a well-known company, and mother wanted to create someone outstanding from me. However, their little daughter was a normal child: attending school, playing violin, drawing and playing hockey with boys. At 14 I decided that it is time of changing and I finally started to work on myself for my future career. I started to try myself in different areas : art , music, history , in general I started from what were most interesting for me at that moment . It was successful. When i become 15 my father suggested me to study abroad as a perspective to gain new skills and new experience in order to utilize these skills in my country. But I rejected this proposal, suggesting, it is still my father’s dream, not mine!

Yes, in some ways, I disappointed my family. But I still was waiting for this moment of my own inspiration and a moment of mature actions. Someone famous (and I think very clever) said: “…a true hero is not the one who establishes justice on purpose, in order to be recognised, but the one who can not do otherwise!”

So I did not want to be a fake hero.

May 2008, I told my family that I applied for foundation program in Lancaster University and this is one of my individual decision. Now i am studying in the library of Lancaster University. And the only thing I can say to you that this is one of my first independent and individual decision, and one of the best!

It is also an excellent way for students to understand the value of money and to learn that hard work pays off. Hence, every movement needs money to support whatever the campaign is going to need.

I believe that by now, we should all be aware of the fund raising activity that has been started by LUISC in order to help raise money for the Study Group Charity, Building Futures. In specific, the money will be used to help build a school in the Southwest of China, particularly in the area affected by the earthquake in May last year. Almost a year has passed from this incidence; that’s true.

Yet, within this time interval, don’t you think that those children still carry the scars it bought? Don’t you think that the feeling of desperation has escalated?? Clearly, things have been very tough for them for quite a while now. You know how sometimes you think it can’t get worse but it does? Oh yes does it ever!! Everyday seems to be either an up-hill struggle or has a “hanging on by your eyelashes” kind of a feel to it.

Thus, as you will understand, this is a tremendous task. I take on that we all have to support them in the favor of the work they are doing for those who are in need – as support is our social responsibility.

The amount of charity does not really matter. What matters is our taking part in such a crucial event and planting a smile on the faces of some kids. We can make a vital difference in someone’s life merely by doing the simplest things.

Centre Head... with beard... for now!

And speaking of planting a smile, I believe that if we prosper in collecting 1000 pounds, apart from living the elation of lending a hand to others, seeing Martin shave off his beard especially for the first time in 40 grand years is, worth it. Don’t you think?? =)

For this to become a reality, I anticipate that we all do whatever we can to make this project happen. After all, education is the best tool to unlock the vicious & self-perpetuating cycle of hunger and poverty.

So guys, let’s roll up our sleeves and climb the support mountain together!!

• Help build a school in the Southwest of China

I was asked to take part in the online blogging & was more than happy to write to the website every month. Likewise, I hope you’ll be happy to read my writings.
Let me make a start by telling a bit about myself.
I come from Turkey and back then, I was second year Business Management but then I decided that I needed a dramatic change in my life. So I decided to resume my education in England – precisely in Lancaster University. I am currently in the foundation year of Law and Social Studies. I didn’t just “decide” and it happened. Applying this decision was as hard as taking it but then I had a go & here I am.

This is a very new experience for me; it’s the first time I sail for new horizons, alone.

When studying in Turkey, I lived in a house but now I live on campus. Living on campus is pretty enjoyable. It’s a good way to experience college life, teaches you to be more responsible as you are alone, increases social life & accessibility to the school is easier.

Though, it was quiet hard at the beginning – but then, nothing is a piece of cake from the very start.
When one is in an environment he’s never been to before, it’s a good idea to mingle with people and participate in social events. For instance last Friday, a group of us went to Morecambe. Despite the dullness of the weather, I enjoyed the sea and the atmosphere as a whole. Some of us went bowling while the rest of us played a Laser Quest. To sum up, it was a pleasant change.

All in all, it’s a very good environment for studying or living. You’re not isolated from town, which is around ten minutes away.

They say first impressions last, mine surely did.