Putting the "Study" in Study Abroad

So, as I'm sitting in the LRC (that's the library), I recognized how busy I've been this week and that I ought to share it with my readers. Also, I had to fight to get this spot in the LRC, so get ready, it's going to be a long post. I'm not moving from this spot.

Starting September 24th I had my first week of classes. Whew! Week one is finished. I actually can't believe how fast it went. My classes are great. I really do enjoy them. There is a lot of independent work involved whereas I'm much more used to taking home assignments and studying for quizzes. My classes here at Kingston University have revolved around my personal studies of the subject. I've already got a wonderful stack of library books on my desk. The strangest thing about my classes though, is that I don't meet every week. At my home university, I would meet with my class two to three times a week, but here, some of my lectures only meet twice a month. Don't worry, I'm still learning loads. For one of my classes, English Literature at Work, I am scheduled to work 22 hours this semester transcribing the letters of Iris Murdoch as well as meet twice a month with a personal tutor and a peer advising group. Another one of my classes, British Life and Culture, consists of a two-hour weekly lecture and a seminar every other week to talk about what we've gone over in class. I'm very excited for this module because we will be talking about everything from the monarchy to British film. Also, and this is the best part, this class involves several field trips around Europe. Next up is Bath and Stonehenge! What better way to discover England than to explore it! My last class this week was The Editors Craft. This is probably the main reason I chose to study at Kingston University. I saw that this class was offered and decided that I needed to be here for it. This class meets at 9am every Friday. While I'm not excited about the early hour, I have already been enjoying the class. We did a short writing exercise and a participation exercise. Also, my reading for the course involves, The Penguin Writers Manual and Revising Prose. Is it strange that I'm excited about this? I have my first Spanish class today as well. I'm a bit nervous about this one. Studying Spanish in Britain? I wonder how it will be different.

Besides going to classes I have kept myself insanely busy. I have joined the ladies football club, the dance club, the cinema appreciation society, and Kingston's Volunteering. 

Football has been such a blast! I've only gone to two training sessions, but I love the team and I mostly just missed playing. It's been way too long. Of course, now my body is completely out of shape for the sport. No worries though, I plan on conditioning myself back into it. I just have to wait a day for the feeling to get back to my legs. Last night's training was a lot of sprinting. Another club I joined is the dance team. It's been a while since I've danced as well, and I certainly made a fool of myself at the first session. While doing a pirouette across the floor, I didn't spot myself and tumbled to the floor. It was pretty embarrassing, but my instructor was so lively and nice that I was having too much fun to care. I'm definitely going back. It's another great way to stay in shape too, and meet new people. Football is on Mondays, jazz is on Thursday's, so Friday I take it easy with the Cinema Appreciation Society. Really all we do is show up and watch a movie, but I love film and I definitely want to experience some British film while I'm here. We watched Human Traffic last Friday,and I have to say I really liked it. This week, we're watching a Wes Anderson film. I am ecstatic. I love Wes Anderson!! Finally, I'm signed up to do some volunteering. I will probably be working at a couple of marathon's and other sporting events just helping out. I miss volunteering with Zeta Theta Pi, the local service sorority at Central Michigan University. I figured I should support them and volunteer in England.

As you can see, I've kept quite busy this week. When I'm not in class, studying, or playing sports, I'm usually out shopping with the girls, getting a cold drink at the pub, or a nice tea or coffee at the cafe. There is always something to do in Kingston! Sometimes I forget that I don't really live here. Has it only been three weeks?

(sorry, no pictures this time)