Yorkshire Dales | Day out in Malham Cove

Finally, a blog post after almost half a year of absence. So much has happened since the last entry which was on spending Christmas in Tromso, Norway (link). Let's see, mid-terms went by, then it was stressing over job applications and a huge chunk of the remaining term was committed to finishing up my dissertation and course-works. Finals came and now here I am about to graduate, moving on to another new chapter of life, employment (meh). Less of the boring stuff, this post will be dedicated to my Civil Habibis! These people are one of the reasons I've came this far in my degree and I owe it to them for keeping my sanity over these past few years!

This trip to Malham Cove was a great getaway after finishing our final exams and to top it off, we were blessed with an amazing weather! 

An early start as we made our way to the train station to catch the Leeds to Skipton train. After arriving at approximately 9:20am we then got on a van/bus to Malham village, the whole journey took about 45 minutes through country roads and beautiful landscapes. We were dropped off at the Malham Bucks Inn and started our walk heading towards the cove. As you can see from the images below, the sky was clear without any clouds in sight, there was a gentle breeze and a perfect temperature of 23 c. We couldn't ask for a better day! We walked along the foot path leading us to the foot of the cove, it was about a 20 minute walk, it took us a longer time because of our constant picture taking/ selfie breaks.  

The start of our walk to the foot of the cove

Approaching the cove

After a short break by the stream, we continued our walk up to the top of the cove through a path that led to rocky/ stone paved steps. The walk may take the wind out of you, especially if you're unfit due to other priorities i.e. trying to get through uni. But we all made it slow and surely and was awarded with fantastic views of Yorkshire Dales! 

The path that leads up to the top of the cove

On top of the cove

Damini called this view 'The xxxxxx'

After spending an hour or two chilling on the the grassy field getting some tan, we all started to get really hungry and decided to head back down to the village for some nice pub food! 

As we got down to the foot of the cove, we cooled off by soaking our tired legs in the icy cold water of the stream while we watched other visitors with their pet dogs splashing around in the water chasing the ducks who were waddling peacefully before their day was ruined by us intruders. 

While chilling by the stream we got a shock of our lives when a fighter jet flew really low and past the cove above us. I'd give anything to see the reactions on our faces when we heard the loud rumbling of the jet engines echoing through the hills and its shadow disappearing in a blink of an eye.  

Foot of the cove with a little stream running through

The squad

4 years isn't a long time, but as I reminisce to the beginning of travelling thousands of miles from home to Leeds, the first day of uni and meeting tons of new faces and just finding everything so bloody overwhelming! Through constant doubts and questioning my life purposes until this day, from my personal experience I really think engineering does that to you, at least for me. So much has happened in these few years and I can't help but feel grateful for the opportunity, for the struggles, new experiences and of course the wonderful people that I've met along the way.

The one thing that made me feel so empowered as a woman in engineering is being a part of the very few civil engineering ladies in the course and seeing so many of us taking up roles, outshining the lads in many aspects of our degree life! I feel proud and honoured to know these Habibis in particular and my prayer is that you gals go on to make an impact and excel in your personal life and future careers! 

XX

Alexis

Some useful information:

Bus 210 or 211 schedule (Skipton St. to Malham Bucks Inn )

Only 2 service run daily, 9:45 am and 12:55 pm 

Because of the limited service, we decided to get a taxi back from Malham Village to the Skipton Train St. which cost approximately 30£ on way. 

More on Malham Cove

Leeds Vibes | Jeremy Loops Gig |

This is such a late post, there's not much excuses. With the busy-ness of Uni work, exams and procrastination I finally am able to sit down and just rummage through my brain thinking back to this beautiful night in Leeds where I was able to enjoy one of my favourite artist perform!

Introducing Jeremy Hewitt or most commonly know for his stage name and every other social media platform as 'Jeremy Loops'. A South African singer and songwriter, I first came across while watching Ben Browns vlog (YouTuber). I checked out his music and fell in love with his modern upbeats and rhythmic folk inspired songs. One of the unique aspect that caught my attention was the fact that he mixes up his music with various forms of instruments including guitars, harmonicas, beat boxing among many others by looping thus 'Loops'.

Image not own by me.

To cut the long story short, the moment I knew he was coming to Leeds, I knew I had to go. And the day finally came, 14th of January, right after my horrible 3 hour exam, it was a great opportunity to just momentarily forget about how I screwed up the exam and just enjoy a night of good vibes and music.

The night started off with the opening and performance of several songs by Hannah Trigwell, an English singer and songwriter from Leeds. Her heartfelt music left the wooden floored dim hall with a chilled ambience.

Finally it was time for the main act. The lights went off, the spot light illuminates the stage as Jeremy Loops enters the scene busting out rhythms and beats on his harmonica. The crowd cheers on as his charismatic presence fills the stage. 

Throughout the night, he and the band sang crowd favourites from his Trading Change Album including the famous Down South, Mission to The Sun, Sinner, Only The Good Die Young among many others. 

It was a beautiful night, the crowd sang along, cheered and participated when given the chance. To be able to witness one of your favourite artist perform is truly an experience that I will never forget.
After his performance ended, leaving everyone hungry for more, we were told that the bar might be kicking us out as it was getting late into the night; slowly the once sold out filled hall was empty with only a few fans remaining. Which included me, I stuck around and met Jeremy Loops! He was nice, calm and a down to earth person who took his time to chat with the remainder of us. Bless him!

It was such a memorable night; and I've got tickets to his next show in August where this time he'll be performing at Stylus in the University of Leeds! This is not to be missed!

For more information on tour dates and what not:

Check out Jeremy Loops at

Jeremy Loops Website
Soundcloud
Facebook
YouTube

2015 Year in review

It's 01/01/2016 ! 

The New Year has arrived and all the anticipation and celebration of a new year and a new season will soon fade away. Life continues on and eventually some of us/ most of us will be too caught up in the busyness of our daily lives that we forget the little events/ memories and people we've come across that inevitably shaped us to be who we are.

I try to make it a point to reflect back on the past as a reminder of what I've experienced. It doesn't necessarily have to be life changing but I guess it's always good to just appreciate what I've got and to be grateful of the many opportunities that have come my way, Big or Small. 
* Or maybe I'm just procrastinating from studying for mid- terms 

Here's a review of my 2015~

1. Road Trip_Norway, Oslo- Bergen

Norway, words can't describe how beautiful this country is and how amazing it felt to be able to make a trip to this land full of richness and breathtaking landscapes.
The trip was made even special with the company that I had! A road trip from Oslo to Bergen where we drove through sketchy roads, sunny spells and mini blizzards.

Visit my blog post Norwegian Vibes for a more detailed entry of my experience
My travel video Norwegian Vibes | Road Trip

Ft. behind the scenes

The Crew

Our Trusty Companion Mr Polo

Travelling to Norway for 5 days was just a taster of what it has to offer and I can't wait for more adventures to this beautiful part of the world!
To be in the midst of nature and the elements of the surrounding makes it feel so surreal but somehow I feel more alive than ever before!

2. Building the mini Gherkin

As part of my 3rd year Civil Engineering module, we were given the option of choosing this 7 day construction field course after the end of term. Without any hesitation I jumped on the opportunity albeit daunting with the task ahead.
Few weeks before the field course were to commence, we went through the initial nitty gritty of pre-work that included choosing roles, work planning, team member meetings with supervisors etc. etc.

Then came the week of our field course with all our documents and permits approved/ signed off. The construction was underway. We had groups and sub-groups working on different tasks simultaneously. We were also blessed with sunny weather throughout the week which is rare in this country called E-N-G-L-A-N-D.
Each day we were up by 7am and worked all the way into evening or until our scheduled work was done. I think being out in the open and working as a team you just learn to SUCK IT UP and get on with work because given the time limit of just 5 and 1/2 days of completing our structure, it was nearly impossible.
Day by day we saw our structure taking form and finally the last day came when the crane lifted up our final piece (The Dome) in place and we were able to go into our Mini Gherkin and enjoy the view from up top.
Even though by the end of the week I was left with cuts( now scars still evident) and bruises as well as a bad cold as I look at what we've accomplished as a team in that short few days, I can't help but feel a sense of pride! Ultimately this experience gave me a whole new understanding and perspective of the industry i'm about to delve into.

It all started with a bare piece of land

The final hour before hand in of our project.

Lifting of the last structure Dome

3. LLLeeds club team

Throughout Spring - Summer I had the opportunity of playing Ultimate Frisbee with a local Leeds woman's club team! This was an amazing experience to play with so many amazing and talented Frisbee players. I was able to join and play in several Tours with the team. 

London Calling

4. Summer in South Korea 

As a university student, one of the best privilege I had was to represent the University of Leeds as an exchange student to Korea University, South Korea.I found myself flying 5000 miles from the UK to one of my must visit country South Korea. Long story short, I had the best time of my life there and wished I could've stayed longer!Highlights of people I met, places and my favorite cuisine- Korean Food

Summary of my trip and my picture blog  #KoreaVibes | Summer Highlights |Video Highlights #KoreaVibes | Summer in South Korea | 

These beautiful souls 

First Frisbee pickup in Seoul  with an amazing view

First Ultimate Frisbee Hat - Soongsil Hat (Team Kimchi) 

Photo credits: Oliver

Getting lost but treated with an amazing sunset

Graduating from the prestigious Korea University 

Arriving at Busan

Beautiful Sunset at Haeundae Beach

Lovely Seoul Frisbee People

Seafood goodness

BBQ Buffet

First time trying Cold Noodles 냉면 after Frisbee under the scorching sun 

My last meal: 육회비빔밥 Raw beef Bibimbap

I vowed to live and experience as much as I can

Lastly, my hopes for 2016.

'Less of What If's, More of Just Do It, Less of Maybe, More of Yes/ No'