The Studying Bit

Well, Its that time of year - studying. Preparing for exams is much different in the UK than it was in the US. Instead of having quizzes, tests, essays, and presentations due throughout my courses, nearly everything is due at the end of my course (with the exception of two essays). I knew some of this stuff was coming, and I don't really consider myself a procrastinator, but suddenly it seems like I don't have enough time to complete it all. Granted, I will be leaving in December in order to arrive back to CMU in time for the Spring semester, whereas my British classmates will have a 'revision period' from about mid-December to mid-January, when assessments are actually due. I will be turning mine in early of course.

Some courses have the typical exam and are finished in December. For example, next week I have a written exam in Spanish 3 and the following week I have an oral exam for that class. Likewise, I have a final exam for my British Life and Culture course in two weeks and a final presentation due this week. For my other two courses, I have to turn in final assessments, which are like portfolios of all the things I've done this semester. My assessments will mostly consist of exercises I've done in class but will have needed to revise throughout the semester, a couple of creative writing pieces, two critical reflections essays, and forms and essays that I've worked on throughout the course as well. I'm a bit nervous that everything gets turned in at the same time. This means, I must have kept track of each bit of paper I've done in class, but also that I have no idea how well I'm doing in the class or how my professor tends to mark his or her papers. This is much different from the US where a student can track his or her progress throughout the course by the grades he or she received on all class assignments.  Here's hoping for the best!

Study and education is quite different in the UK as I've come to realize. As mentioned earlier, little to no coursework is done throughout the semester, rather students are expected to create portfolios of their work for the end of the course. Some courses may even be a year long and the assessment is not turned in for the duration of the course. Also, classes are generally much more laid back. My professors have short presentations prepared for the class, possibly a handout or two, and classes meet between one and two hours a week. There is often the lecture and then the 'seminar' or 'tutorial' where students meet for a short period of time to discuss what was gone over in class. The majority of schoolwork is expected to be done outside of lectures. Professors do not delve into topics at the level they might in the US. Independent study is expected of students if they want to do well in the course. At CMU, when I went to the library for research, it was often for a paper topic or a specific lesson from the class, at Kingston my research has been more holistically focused on the course topic.

Education in the UK took a lot to get used to at first, since it is so independently-minded. It may be a matter of preference for the student how he or she prefers to study. I've found that I really like the US method of learning as compared to the UK. American universities tend to promote a 'well-rounded' student whereas university in the United Kingdom is more focused on producing 'experts in a given field.' Once a student has chosen his or her course of study in the UK, they will rarely focus on any other topics besides the one they have chosen. If a student is studying English, he or she would not take courses in Science or Math. However, in American university, a student is expected to have some knowledge of each study. Therefore, a student majoring in English will have taken a number of Science and Math courses in order to graduate. I think both methods have good and bad to them.

The British system is beginning to make more sense to me, and I think I could potentially choose a Masters course in the UK (only a year long course). It is quite different to what I have grown up with however. To any American students thinking of studying in the UK, I recommend you are aware of the education differences and prepare yourself for more independent study. It really is a great experience!

I can't believe I only have three weeks left in the UK and only two weeks left of uni. The time has gone by incredibly fast. I've learned a lot of valuable things so far and met some really great people. It will be difficult to say good bye.    

The Red Carpet

A lot of this week has been a blur due to a major lack of sleep. After arriving home from Dublin, I had to unpack my bags and then pack and get ready for an overnight stay in Leicester Square. My friend Kelly and I waited over 24 hours to see the Breaking Dawn Part 2 premiere in London. 

Kelly and I finally in our place at the premiere

When we first arrived, we joined a short queue next to the Raddison Hotel. We just missed the 500 cut-off point, so we didn't get wristbands or tickets. We still had a pretty good spot in line. After a couple of hours though they had us move behind designated barriers. Everyone rushed to get in front of one another so our 'spots' and ticktet numbers were useless at that point. Kelly and I still got really great places in line though. And this is where we had to camp out overnight. We were given about five feet of space to spread out. There was a short stone wall we could sit on, but it was uneven, cold, and really uncomfortable. The only thing I brought with me besides many, many layers was a thin blanket. That night, I did not sleep. Even with all of the layers that I was wearing, the night became so cold, I was begging for morning. At 5am McDonalds opened, so I had some hot cocoa and felt much better. Soon after we all got moved into one of two different 'pens.' Yes, we were put in pens. The put over 100 of us in each pen. Once we got settled in our spot. I went and sat in McDonalds for about four hours. When I came back to the pen, we were all standing again and we remained standing for the rest of the night, so about another eight hours. 

The waiting bit was pretty unpleasant, but it wasn't horrible either. Some of the people I met were incredibly nice, and I may even see some of them again. Some of the people I was waiting with were less friendly. A lot of bickering took place and even people chanting to kick someone else out of the pen. At least I had Kelly with me!

Once the event finally started it was about 5:30pm the next day. The red carpet was laid out and I got pretty excited. Working at a cinema has actually made me very curious about movie premieres. I've only seen one before and it was a very small scale red carpet event. The Breaking Dawn premiere was MUCH larger than the first premiere I've seen. I was a bit overwhelmed by the enormous crowd and the number of media present. They soon announced that Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner were on the red carpet and a few girls around me started crying with excitement. Kelly and I had a really good spot, second row at about the middle of the red carpet. I sat on a railing and took photos for my friend, and Kelly was able to get all of the actor's autographs. 

At the end of the event, I was beyond exhausted and ready to go home. It had been over 48 hours since I slept, and it had been even longer since I'd been in my own bed. I'm really happy that I got to witness a major movie premiere. It was definitely an experience I will remember, but it's also an experience I don't think I will ever do again. I certainly wouldn't camp out to see a premiere, but I'm still happy that I saw a real red carpet event in a major city.

My Irish Weekend

This past weekend has been the absolute craziest of my life, and mostly in a good way! 
I went to Dublin and then saw the Breaking Dawn Part 2 movie premiere. 

My friend Tonya and I left for Dublin late on Friday night and arrived there about midnight in the Dublin Airport. I had the unfortunate experience in which my eardrum popped while the plane was descending. Let me tell you, that is NOT pleasant. 

We arrived at our hostel, Abraham House, fairly easily. It's just a short walk from O'Connell Street. Even though it was late, Tonya and I decided we wanted to go out and see the city. We found a late night rock bar and each had a beer while listening to the 80s hair metal blare from the overhead speakers. It was such a nice little pub actually, I wish I could remember the name of it.

Our stay in the hostel was pleasant. It was my first experience in a hostel, but it was tidy and the staff was friendly. The next morning we went down for breakfast which was cereal and toast, my typical breakfast. Then we decided to spend the day shopping. The first mall we went to, The Irish life Shopping Mall, had only one store. Everything else seemed to have gone out of business. This might possibly be because of the number of Penney's and Carrolls around town. This is where Tonya and I bought all of our souveniers. Carrolls is an irish souvenier shop, and Penny's is Dublin's Primark. We did pretty well shopping-wise.

Trinity College Campus

The next day we we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral. We had to wait about 30 minutes to get into the cathedral, and then it was quite small. After seeing Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Patrick's seemed a bit dull. Next we went to tour Dublin castle, only to discover it wasn't much of a castle, and the only tour was for the state apartments, which we chose not to tour. Next, we made our way to Trinity College, which was very pretty. The best part of Trinity College though was seeing the Book of Kells. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of this amazing exhibit.

On Monday, we toured the Guinness Storehouse and the Old Jameson Distillery. This was the best day by far. We had our first taste of Guiness and I had a Jameson and Ginger, which I'd been craving for some time. It was really cool to see how each beer and whiskey is made for its special flavor. The tours were really well put together and entertaining as well.

Each night, Tonya and I went out for drinks as well. We both love ciders so we discovered Bulmers, a delicious Irish cider. We had to make our way to the Temple Bar, a famed tourist location. The bar was SO packed. We could hardly move through the crowd and the drinks were quite pricey. At least I can say I've been there! The best pub was Madigans, where Tonya and I tried traditional lamb stew. It was SO good. Possibly the best meal of life. seriously. I had it with a pint of Smithwick's as well. Amazing.

My free Guinness Sample!

I really enjoyed Dublin, but at the same time I missed Kingston a lot while I was there. The flight home was much smoother, but as soon as I arrived home I had to unpack and repack my bag for an overnight stay in Leicester Square. The final Twilight film, Breaking Dawn part 2, premiered there, so my friend Kelly and I camped out on the concrete with about 1,000 Twilight fans to watch the celebraties walk the red carpet. I will post about that soon!!

Bittersweet

Sorry to post another blog post immediately after my previous one, but I am SO far behind on my blogging. I hope you will still read both and not get too bored.

Beautiful moustache

After our shenanigans at the Hippodrome in Kingston, Kristi and I had to rush to meet our parents at the London Zoo the next morning. It wasn't peak season for the animals and it was quite cold at the zoo. Therefore, it wasn't the best zoo experience I've had BUT it did have the best seahorses I have ever seen. They were moving about and nicely visible. Often, the seahorses are hidden behind bright lights, jets of bubbles, or tall grasses. I was fascinated by the amazing sea creatures! The next greatest thing at the zoo was a monkey with the best grown mustache I think I've ever seen. It was seriously impressive.

After the zoo, my family and I browsed Camden Market. The booths were small and a lot carried the same items, but it was cool to be at a market and experience the bartering they do there. Camden Town was unbelievably crowded that day. We actually had to queue about twenty minutes just to get back on the tube!!

Kristi getting a tour of my house. And not wanting to leave again.

The last day my family was visiting I decided to take them all to Kingston to see where I've been living the past few months. We had to wait nearly an hour for a bus to my house which was a major disappointment when I wanted to show my parents the best time in my current home. We finally made it to Cosy Cottage, where I am staying and I gave them a quick tour before we headed back into town for a bit of shopping at the Bentall Centre. I showed my sister my favorite shops, but mostly my family was all shopped out. We went for dinner at the Kings Tun because I just had to show my family my favorite pub. The Kings Tun has good-priced food and drinks and I always have a good time there. We all had drinks, and sat in the pub for a good hour before ordering food. My friends Cat and Matt showed up at the 'Tun' to join us for a late dinner and dessert. 

My parents went back to the hotel to sleep before their early flight, but Kristi stayed back with me for a short bit so we could hang out with Cat and Matt as a little 'going away' event. We watched a movie at my place and had a chill night before Kristi took an eight hour flight back to Michigan.

It was so great to spend my Enrichment Week with my family! I was sad to see them go, but I knew in six short weeks I would be home for Christmas and I would get to see them all again. 

Castles to Cruises to Cheese

For the fifth and sixth days of my half-term break. My family and I visited Windsor Castle, took a River City Cruise on the Thames River, and toured Tower Bridge.

Ready to explore the castle!

On November first, we visited Windsor Castle. Finding our way to Windsor was a mighty

challenge. Ironically, it was quite close. The castle was actually so much larger than I expected it to be. I know it was a castle, but they really are so much bigger outside fairytale books. Besides being a bit chilly, we had beautiful weather that day and  were able to capture some really awesome pictures. The Castle was the most unique experience. We walked on the cobblestone paths and into the state apartments which are the intricately designed yet incredibly grand rooms such as the King and Queens reception rooms, and the dinning room. They were so ornate and beautiful. We even saw the dolls house, an enormous dolls house complete with a jewels room (made with real miniature jewels). We arrived home early after the castle, but the family and I really needed it. It was already a long week!

On the next day of half term, we went on a River City Cruise and toured Tower Bridge. My friend Matt met up with my family and I in Central London that day. The river cruise was nice. We went early and had the afternoon sun on us during the thirty-minute ride. We were able to get unobstructed views of a lot of the major architectures of London, and we even had a speaker guide us through the history and significance of many of the landmarks. The boat dropped us very near to the tower bridge entrance, so we went up and toured the beautiful bridge that day as well. Kristi, Matt, and I decided to take the stairs instead of the lift and it was a great workout getting to the top of the bridge. The bridge exhibition showed a lot of photographs of famous bridges. This was cool for a few photographs, but it got boring pretty quickly actually. The best part of this was the view. It was slightly obstructed by the beams of the bridge structure, but, if angled correctly, we could get some nice panoramic pictures of Central London. My favorite part of the tower bridge exhibition was seeing the steam engine at the end of the tour. I can't recall ever seeing a steam engine as large as that (to lift the drawbridge).

Matt, Kristi, My dad, and I happy to go on a cruise! A river cruise anyway.

The view of Tower Bridge from the Thames

After we did our bit of touristing in Central London, Kristi, Matt and I went back to Kingston so I could take me sister out and show her a bit of how I spend my weekends in Kingston. We went to the club Hippodrome. It was Big Cheese night, which means the DJ plays a lot of classic favorites and he even takes requests. My sister and I jammed to Barbie Girl, The Spice Girls, McFly, and a lot more great music.  

Busy, Busy, Busy

Half-term Day 4:

On top of St. Paul's Cathedral

On the fourth day of Half term (October 31st) my family and I had tickets to tour Leavesden Studios, where pieces of the Harry Potter films were shot. Our tour wasn't until late, so we decided to tour St. Pauls Cathedral first. 

St. Pauls was stunning! The cathedral was very open and bright (due to crystal windows rather than stained glass ones). We had a tour guide show us around the cathedral and he did a very good job with his audience. Our guide showed us the different chapels and memorial statues. I liked best the choir chamber with the organ. A stained glass window was opposite the large organ and it was quite beautiful. Next our guide took us to the crypts and showed us the graves of famous architects, writers, painters, etc. The crypts were cool, but it was so hot down there I got sleepy. I almost didn't want to climb the stairs to the whispering gallery, but my parents convinced me to do so. I climbed over 200 steps to the whispering gallery, the first balcony on the huge cathedral dome. It was so cool to see the dome's paintings up close and to look down at the people in the chapel. I wanted to go even higher!! My sister and I climbed to the next balcony outside and got some good views, but the railing was so high, it was really poor for photos. We then climbed up the narrow stairs and had to duck and squeeze ourselves into small passageways going up to the topmost balcony of the dome. It was really windy, but the view was spectacular and we were able to get some really great shots. After walking back down all those stairs, I thought I would be sore and tired, but I really felt great! I would certainly do that again. 

A Magnificent view!

After St. Paul's Cathedral, we made our way to Leavesden Studios It took us over an hour to get to the studios and it was dark by the time we arrived. We started out in the gift shop awaiting our tour, but I was itching to get started, so we snuck in with an earlier group. The Harry Potter Studios was amazing! We toured the great hall first and made our way out to view the different sets. We saw the wigs and costumes of the characters along with different sets such as Hagrid's Hut, the potions room, Umbridge's office (VERY pink), and my favorite - the burrow, where we could even control things around the house electronically. Next we made our way outdoors and saw the Knight bus, Weasley's flying car, and the Dursley's house. We even got to try some butterbeer, which I LOVED! Too bad its not widely sold. Next we went into the creature room, and this was my favorite room of all. This room displayed all the heads and animatronics used for the different creatures used in the films. The giant Aragog was hanging from the ceiling and I saw the basilisk skeleton as well. I especially liked seeing Buckbeak, the hippogriff. The animatronics were going as well, so I got to see him move! Another fascinating thing was the werewolf which Lupin turned into. It was originally designed as a pack strapped on to the actors back and the wolf head hovering overhead. The boots designed as the wolves feet were extremely angled and looked uncomfortable. I find this behind-the-scenes stuff fascinating!!

The Burrow

Kristi and I in Weasley's flying car

And  now, since were going on about how busy I've been. This past Tuesday night (November 6th) I went to see the musical Wicked. I had only an inkling what the musical was about, so I made sure I had no expectations going in to see  it. I'm SO glad I did see it though. It was the most amazing performance I've ever witnessed. The singing and acting was great. And the musical itself was brilliant. I hope everyone gets a chance to see this at some point. Its funny and heart-breaking at the same time. Such a great musical! 

Shop 'Til You Drop

Half Term: Day 3

On the third day of half term I decided to take my family shopping. I knew my dad wouldn't be terribly interested in shopping, but I just had to show my mom and especially my sister some of the really great shops in London. We shopped up and down Oxford streeet, a bit on Regent street, and then we made our way to Harrods. First, Kristi and I spend two full hours shopping in Primark. The recently opened location on Oxford street is much larger and much more organized than the Primark in Kingston. On Regent street we visited Hamley's, the large toy store. By large I mean it had five levels, actually make that six, there was a lower ground floor too! The crowds in Hamley's were so thick all I could do to get from one place to the next was shuffle my feet. I think I stepped on a lot of heels, but that's the nature of Christmas shopping in London!! After Hamley's, my family and I hopped the tube over to Knightsbridge to shop at Harrods. Harrods is a 7 level store. I don't really know how to describe it well other than the word 'fancy'. Harrods sells incredibly nice things. It's a great place to find gifts for people too. My mom and I spent a large quantity of time looking at the crystal and china. It was a long day and all of our feet were hurting and our arms were full of shopping bags on the tube ride home. The small hotel room actually seemed very welcoming that night. Kristi and I had the chance to relax at the bar before heading to bed. A friend came to visit us at the hotel, so I enjoyed a Strongbow cider - my favorite, and Kristi had a Smirnoff Ice. 

Abbey's and Dungeons

Day 2 of Half Term:

The family and I ready for another day in Central London

My family and I woke up a bit later than anticipated. Well, it was around 8:00, but we had a lot planned for the day, so it was a late start for us. It was good for my family to get some real sleep though after their long flight. We went down for a continental breakfast, and there were so many options of food. It had been a while since I'd had a proper breakfast, so I especially appreciated the break from cereal and toast. Sausages and eggs were available every morning, and I enjoyed the cooked food as much as I could.

After breakfast, we took the long trek to Central London to tour Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. First we went to Westminster Abbey. We waited about a half hour to get inside, but it was breath-taking upon first entering. We were given audio guides and I was elated when I heard Jeremy Irons as our tour guide. I thought that was really great! The audio guides were incredibly helpful as well. Each area of the Abbey had a numbered marker that related to our audio guides and would play the correct track. There was so much information in the audio guide. It was nice to have a history to all the beautiful architecture we were seeing. The abbey was so beautiful and so full of history, I recommend a tour to anyone who is visiting London. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, so this really is something you ought to do if you can. There is nothing like it!

Looking on the lawn at Westminster Abbey

overlooking the Tower of London

After touring Westminster Abbey, we decided to tour the Tower of London. We spent nearly three hours touring the tower, and we didn't even see it all! It is huge! The place is a wonderful maze of old stone, staircases, towers, dungeons, and even jewels. I had so much fun on this tour. It started to get dark, so we had to call it a night, but not before we visited the crown jewels. The room is kept dark and the jewels on display are under lights which really help them sparkle! It was really stunning to see the crowns and scepters on display like they were. Again, no pictures allowed, so this is something every person has to go see for himself. My family and I visited the crown jewels shop before leaving where anyone could buy minuscule replicas of the crown jewels, but even the tiny ones are quite pricey. I ended up buying myself  a decorative teapot with a cup and saucer! By the time we left the tower, it was quite dark, so we picked a place nearby to eat before heading home. 

The Tower of London

We were all still tired, but Kristi (my twin sister) and I chose to meet up with some friends to watch the latest Bond movie, Skyfall. The film was amazing! It was the first James Bond film I've seen, but it seemed fitting to watch it in England, especially after I just recently visited many of the recognizable sites in the film. It was a good night out with good people, and the end of a really fantastic day.