Foreign Nostalgia

Whilst living abroad, going home can almost feel foreign at times— as contradictory as that sounds. Having lived in the US, France and now Germany for the past 2 years now, I've become accustomed to and have enjoyed living my daily life immersed in cultures and languages that are different to my own

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However, whenever I return home there's something about rainy tea-filled afternoons, the 'mind-the-gap' London Underground lady, black cabs and the leafy green suburbs of Greater London that seem both very familiar, but very different. A unique blend of foreign nostalgia. The classic expat's oxymoron. 

After returning to the bright, city lights of London recently, I obviously became an complete tourist :)  Above is a photo that I took of the London skyline, which includes one of my favourite places in London, St Paul's Cathedral. 

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed, is you.” ― Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

-Nikita

Meeting Chris Hadfield - An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

He spent 5 months living aboard the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting the Earth and inspiring millions of us on the beauty, awe and wonder of space. Sharing YouTube videos, tweets and Facebook updates of everyday Earth routines performed in space (my favourite is here), stunning ISS-eye view photographs of the world below him, and recording modified David Bowie song 'Space Oddity' , Chris Hadfield has touched the minds and hearts of individuals across the planet. His down to earth nature in combination with his social media outreach skills have taken the world by storm. 

Soon enough, he has become the world's most popular astronaut and today I had the chance to meet him in person at a book signing event in London for 'An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth'. It was great to see so many people immersed in the pages of his book whilst in the queue. I even bumped into a few friendly faces from the International Space University(ISU) and chatted to people who were interested in joining the space industry and told them all about ISU,  it definitely is the place to go if you want to work in space regardless of your background.

Admittedly, I did get super nervous when I was near enough to hear his distinctly Canadian accent and see his infamous moustache, however once I was face to face with the legendary space man his immediate interest in who I was and what I was all about took me by pleasant surprise. I found myself babbling about my love of space to the one person I have looked up to all year and he even light heartedly agreed with me, as an astronaut should!

"My family and I love space"

"So do I!" 

Good one Chris :)

If you would like to meet Chris Hadfield and get your copy of 'An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth' signed by the man himself, be sure to check out his book tour dates here.

-Nikita 

It's My Birthday!

It's the last hour of my birthday and of course I had to share it with the most important creative space that I have, my blog! However much fun Taylor Swift makes being 22 sound like it is (and it was), turning 23 has been a weekend full of my favourite people, food and places. The perfect combination :) 

I thought I'd share a few snippets of my birthday with you in this small insight into my life as a space graduate in London. Hope you've all enjoyed your weekend wherever in the world you may be. Can't wait to share more space, science and travel posts with you soon, here's to another year of space adventures to come.

- Nikita

Nikita's News

We're well and truly into Autumn here in the UK and the time I usually spend starting a new academic year has now been replaced by time spent planning my time in 2014! Turning 23 next week, I'm now back in London with a few ideas up my sleeve for what the year ahead may hold. One of these is the newly released daily, online newspaper that goes by the name of Nikita's News (I'm a sucker for alliteration). It has a nifty way of sourcing my favourite online posts via twitter into one beautiful place for you to read easily and conveniently, allowing me to select and edit daily content as I please. Covering sources from my favourite astronaut Cmdr Chris Hadfield, to the life-changing International Space University and my favourite writer & comedian Mindy Kaling, Nikita's News has a range of information for everybody to enjoy. Whether you want an update from the European Space Agency (ESA), the magazine I've just begun writing for Space Safety Magazine, inspirational businesswoman and role model Sheryl Sandberg or even from little old me via my twitter account Nikita_, then Nikita's News is the place to be!

Take a look for yourself at: http://paper.li/Nikita_/1380979535

Don't forget to hit that subscribe button :)

-Nikita

p.s I've been asked if I can really make apple pie from scratch. Find out soon whether I can invent the universe/my cooking skills and make Carl Sagan proud!