Martina Gardeva (Bulgaria)

I am Martina Gardeva from Bulgaria studying MSc Tourism Management and Marketing. Ever wondered what a typical school day for a postgraduate student looks like? It’s not all about studying and spending countless hours in the library like you may think (don’t tell my teachers!). Here is how a regular Wednesday looks like for me.

Energizing the day

I get up at around 9:00 am, have my hot cup of coffee (best part of the day!), make something quick to eat for breakfast (it is, after all, the most important meal of the day), play my music playlist, and start getting ready for school. I have Research Methods from 9:00 to 11:00 am, which will help me write my dissertation in the summer. After that, my classes are over for the day and I am free to do whatever I want. Sounds great, right?

Fitness, fun and friends

As a former tennis player, I am used to being very active, so I normally spend about one to two hours at the gym on Talbot Campus. Sometimes I just work out by myself, and other times I sign up for some of the many fitness classes that SportBU provides – Yoga, Pilates, Spinning, HIIT, etc. This not only helps me stay in shape, but it is also an excellent way to meet more people and make new friends.

A nutritious afternoon

After I’m done at the gym, I normally go home and cook myself a nice and healthy lunch. Cooking a nutritious meal is good both for the wallet and the body. This is the time when I usually read my lecture notes and spend a few hours doing my homework and reading. As master students, we spend a lot of time self-studying.

Relaxing with friends

Late afternoon, if the weather is good (yes, in Bournemouth it’s sunny most of the time!), I meet up with some friends and we head to my favourite part of town – the beach. We take photos (I just love my Nikon camera), chat, and finish with some nice chocolate ice cream at Sprinkles Gelato…yummy! On rainy days, I highly recommend going to the Odeon Cinema or simply go shopping with your best friends. If you go during the middle of the week, there is nobody in the stores!

In the evening, I either go out for dinner with my roommates or we just enjoy a “ladies movie night” at home – a Gossip Girl marathon is all you need! Sometimes, we decide to treat ourselves with a nice home-cooked dinner (and brownies!) and we spend hours in the kitchen together.

This is pretty much how a Wednesday looks like for me… No matter how much free time you have, my advice is to always find something that makes you happy and just enjoy it as much as you can and as often as you can!  Lighten up, enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don’t get worked up about things out of your control.

By Martina Gardeva, Bulgaria, MSc Tourism Management and Marketing, 2017/18