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)

A Walk in the Park

Today I found (with the help of my good friend Kelsey) the most beautiful park. Just away from the busy shopping centre, I made my way to the other side of the Thames River and to Canbury Gardens. It was an enormous park and with today's stunning weather, the place was picture perfect. As I was walking along the bank of the Thames, I did a little bit of people watching. Since it was such a sunny day, families and couples took the opportunity to have picnics in the park, a young man spread out near the bank for an afternoon nap, and children were prancing around the grounds playing tag and football. I am already planning a trip back.

A walk along the Thames

Then, tonight I saw Anna Karenina with my friends. Since I've worked at a Cinema for over 4 years I felt so compelled to go and see what the cinema was like here. This cinema was HUGE! Other than being a larger facility than the ones I've worked in, it was basically the same. Until I got to the concession stand. I always compare concession stands when going to new theatres after having worked in one for so long. I like to just catch the differences in product, price, and even the people they have to deal with. Now, I went out on a Saturday night and at my home theatre, the concession line would have been very long, but here it seemed only a handful of people were getting concessions. It seemed it a bit strange to me, but it did give me a chance to glance over what they offered for concessions. Besides the typical popcorn and soda, there was an enormous collection of candy. I think I'm really going to like the cinema here!