My Chevening Month: Highlights of April

It’s hard to believe that eight months have passed already.

The month of April started on a great note with a warm gathering of Chevening Scholars at the University of Bristol for #CheveningConference18, followed by much higher temperature (especially after the ‘Beast from the East’ we had last month).

The Conference was on the following theme: ‘Lead the change: Inspiring change in a globalised world’, welcoming 150 scholars from all around the UK.

One of my key takeaways from the conference was the uplifting speech by Matthew Lodge, Minister and Ambassador of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to UNESCO.

‘Be unapologetic about who you are, where you come from and what you have achieved.’ Those are some of this words that I will carry with me forever.

Following the conference, Chevening Scholar Pinki from Lesotho and I decided to explored Bristol and both fell in love with the vibrant city that it is, from street art to its coloured houses.

One of the highlight of my SMA month was my HOST visit to the small town of Farnham in the county of Surrey. I have been lucky to enjoy a truly British experience with a lovely lady called Annette. As a true food lover, I was happy to taste for the first time a British casserole and a ‘bread and butter pudding’ that Annette had prepared for me. I also able to share with her my own culture and show her some pictures of Côte d’Ivoire. It was a break worth taking from the ‘library life’.

As part of my Chevening journey, I have the opportunity to wear different hats: I am a part-time volunteer with the Guildford Shooting Star Chase Shop, and an international student ambassador. I am proud to be the first Ivorian to be part of the international recruitment team. At one the latest events, organised on our beautiful campus, I had the opportunity to meet the President and Vice Chancellor of the University: Professor Max Lu. I was happy to tell him that there were 11 Chevening Scholars from all over the world on his campus.

Speaking of Chevening Scholars at the University, I was delighted to see Pwint Win from Myanmar as she invited me to taste ‘mote-hin-kar’, a traditional fish soup from her country, on the last Saturday of the month of April. Meeting the best and brightest from all around the world, along with discovering new cultures, has been an amazing part of my Chevening journey.

Last but not least, one of the things I love about studying at the University of Surrey is the proximity to London. The fact that I am a train ride away allows me to regularly explore and experience the city’s historic attractions.

Did you know that there are more than 2,500 museums in the UK, with over 200 in London?  I recently visited the British Museum and the Imperial War Museum and I intend to visit as many others as possible.

We are five months away from the end of our Chevening journey, and there is still time to enjoy all that the UK has to offer.

I am truly grateful for the journey, the lessons learned, the challenges met, and the connections made.