Survived the first week as an LSHTM postgrad student, yaay!

Hi. My head is filled with voices and chatter. When I was on the tube this evening, I wanted to be home soon to sit in front of my laptop and try to untangle them one by one by writing about it in this blog. 

However, right now, I don't know where to start; my brain starts overcomplicating everything, worrying that I wouldn't be able to make good paragraphs, and deliver my messy voice inside this head to a blog post. But I know I need to write this. 

So, here it goes. 

It's been 19 days since I arrived at 19 Glasgow Road, London. The first week was heaven: school hadn't started yet, plenty of time to spend with my own self, the sun was still out, so the temperature wasn't too chilly yet. I finally stepped out of this house on Day Two (still struggling with jet lag at this point) to do some grocery shopping. Third day, I tried my tube route to the campus, and fourth day (or was it five?) I went to Kak Citra's house to drop off the butternut (is kemiri a butternut in English?)

Week 2 was the welcoming week at the university. I was overwhelmed by all the new names and faces, the information overload (about school), and the sheer amount of socialising. However, this was a super fun week, my programme even had a field trip to Reading. We walked along the River Thames, played games, stayed there for a night, and had good meals and conversation. I instantly loved my programme directors (hi, Hannah, Simon, Daniel!). 

MSc Public Health for Global Practice, 2025-26 Cohort

Goring-on-Thames, Reading

Week 3 was when my class started. I learned that my classes always run from Monday morning (9.30 am) and right through the evening (5.30 pm). This is a bit different from the other MSc programmes. There are so many assignments and reading materials, and also group presentations. So far, I'm enjoying Extended Epidemiology and Health Policy: Process and Power (this class is a bit intimidating, though). Health Economics is also interesting. That leaves two other modules: Statistics and Principles for Social Research. I'm still figuring out how I feel about those two. Maybe by the end of the term, I'll write about the modules again. 

Other than five modules, there are 3 other sessions in a week for my cohort only, MSc Public Health for Global Practice. In these sessions, students do the seminar, and we discuss things about global health and global practice.

To cap off this first week of classes, Putri and I hit up Eat Tokyo in Soho (after we went to Primark and Uniqlo, haha). The sushi was so so tasty and the bento was perfect!

A corner in London, at night

As we walked toward Tottenham Court Road station, Putri said, "It still feels surreal that we're living in London, ya kak."

Indeed, Put. It really does. 

New student card!

Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm living my dream, going to the LSHTM and pursuing my postgraduate study. But the beauty of this surreal moment is that it's real, and it's just the beginning of everything. Week 3 was a reminder that this dream requires hard work - a lot of assignments, sleepless nights, and tons of presentations. I'm excited and a little bit terrified, to be honest. And it's still a little chaotic in here (my head), but I guess that's what happens when you step out of your comfort zone, when you trade your mundane and quiet life for a postgrad education, abroad. 

Sat, 4 October 2025

19 Glasgow Rd