As I walked out of Marylebone Hall, I hold my breath through the cloud of hazy smoke that is always hovering over the steps of reception--though not allowed to smoke inside the Marylebone campus, students congregate around the door puffing second hand smoke into my lungs. But it soon passes, as I continue down Marylebone Road--the main thoroughfare of a pretty thriving business district. Being passed up by 40-year-old businessmen in suits and briefcases in tow is now typical--apparently I don't walk fast enough. As I cross the street to walk down curved Park Crescent's sidewalk that circum-navigates Regent Park, I see children, some walking in groups, others holding a parent's hand, all dressed in neat and prestine green uniforms. Ties knotted haphazardly around the little boys' necks; tights all ascew and bunched at the ankles of the girls. Dora the Explorer and Bob the Builder stand out as beakons of Americana across their backpacks. Turning onto Portland street, I dodge traffic as I try to make my way across the road. Even though the pavement tells me "look left" or "look right" at intersections, I somehow always forget and just run. Soon Portland veers left into Regent Street. Passing by some construction (I never can seem to get away from those pesky orange construction barrels...) I duck into a Starbucks for some tea. A bit of familiarity before my very first class felt nice. I finally reached the Regent Campus building, a very fancy and old structure, complete with revolving doors and marbled staircase. My class is on the "upper third" floor, meaning I take the lift to the third floor and then climb stairs. Once I found my classroom, I grasped the low-hanging doorknob and swung through the door. Taking a seat in the middle of the classroom, I introduced myself to those who were already there. A few moments later, my professor walks in--a short, balding man of no more than 40 wearing very nice black shoes (guys here were REALLY nice shoes...America should take some tips. haha). "Welcome to Modernism," he said. "I'm not going to tell you what modernism is, this class isn't about that because quite frankly, there is no definition. Instead, we are going to experience modernism and through that experience, come to know modernism. It'll be a difficult class, so speak up and make yourself heard. I know you all have opinions, so you might as well share them. Now, let's get started." Yup, I'm going to like it here.
After this pretty wonderful start to my morning, I discovered my new favorite lunch food that I WILL eat every Monday now--mozzerella, tomato, and pesto panini--basically heaven on earth. I ate on the steps of a gorgeous church, feeling a bit like the "feed the birds" lady from Mary Poppins--not in the "I'm poor donate money to me" way, but in the "I'm enjoying this spot in this place in time" sort of way. Then I headed over to my American Dreams Lit. class in a different building down the road a bit further. We are to read a book a week, but three of them I've already read and the rest of the list I've heard of but never had the chance to read. So I'm excited for those discussions. It'll be interesting to see the British perspective of our literature.
In both my classes, I found a few people to sit and talk with, which is always nice. I always hated when everyone is dead silent in a new classroom for a new class on the first day of lessons.
After my two classes were over (each were 2 hours long), I came back to my flat where I was met by Reena, one of my flatmates. I spent the rest of my day with her, running some errands and talking. It was a nice relaxing afternoon.
Tomorrow I have back-to-back Critical Theory...my seminar (small class size) in the morning and its corresponding lecture (just that, a huge lecture hall) in the afternoon. Though this only occurs every other week, I am not sure if I'll like listening about the same topic for 4 hours all in a row. But we'll see how it goes.
Day one of classes--I'd say an overall success.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Fire Alarm
8:30 a.m. this morning--I am still sleeping soundly. Then, the fire alarm goes off. Each room has one in the middle of the ceiling. It lets out a piercing beep that starts off soft then increases in volume and flashes a red light all around the room. I nearly fell out of bed, it startled me so badly! But it only was on for about a minute then stopped. So I just stayed in bed, intent on going back to sleep. But no no no. 5 minutes later, it sounds again. I hear all the doors in my flat open and close so I grab my key card and head out as well. After talking with my flatmates, we decided that it wasn't worth going to our fire "meeting spot" three blocks away from our hall in our pajamas and stand in the rain. So we all went back to sleep. Turns out, we don't need to go to any meeting spot, which is good. But, this fire alarm drill occurs EVERY THURSDAY at 8:30 a.m. Really? A little unnecessary in my opinion. But, I guess for the next 9 months, all my Thursday will greet me with a marvelous fire alarm. If there ever really is a fire on Thursday at 8:30 in the morning, no one will get up. It's like the halls of residence that cried wolf. But oh well. Another lovely quirk for my flat.
Sidenote: I haven't discovered how to post pictures on here yet, so in the meantime, I have put up pictures of my room on my facebook group page.
Now let's back up a bit.
I had my orientation on Monday. It went rather smoothly, acquired all my necessary things for classes and whatnot. I did not realize this, but there are approximately 500 international student from all over the world all in my same study abroad program. That is quite a lot of people! Especially since we were taking on a small tour of the main campus. I felt like I was on my 8th grade trip to Washington D.C., trying to follow the tour guide with the bright yellow umbrella. But aside from the fact that it was a really long meeting, I did enjoy meeting other study abroad students. The following day I had registration for my classes. I, unfortunately, got slight lost. The street the office is located on isn't a full block long, so you have to cut across a few streets to get to it--it is kinda tucked in the middle of a block. And my map wasn't detailed enough to show with streets cut across. So after wandering around and asking two people, I eventually made my way to the office with only 5 mintues of my appointment time left. But luckily, when I walked I was told that the study abroad advisors were running late themselves--I actually turned out to be 20 minutes early! In those 20 minutes, I just waited in the waiting room and talked with everyone else who was waiting. After my meeting, a few of us who had been waiting the longest decided to go out to breakfast. Tea is served with everything it seems--but I don't mind. I like it alot. At home, I usually drink it black and really strong. But here it's customary to add in about 1/4 of milk and sugar, so it 's actually really sweet. I now like it both ways. The rest of that day and yesterday I spent getting the necessities I couldn't bring with me, like dishes, hairdryer, alarm clock, etc. It takes a while to do shopping like that since I walk to all the stores and carry everything back with me. But I like walking, so I don't mind.
My evenings I have spent going to "Freshers Week" events, which have been pretty fun. There is a student union bar located in a conjoined building to my flat where most of these events take place.
My classes are on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, which isn't a bad schedule at all. And I like all my classes, which are below:
London Theatre in Performance--I get to watch, review, and study plays here in the West End. :)
Reading the American Dream--I want to see how the British interpret our literature.
Critical Perspectives for Literature, Criticism, and Culture--Basically critical theory. It's a year-long course and I'm expecting it to be on the harder side. But I'm still looking forward to it.
Modernism and the Early 20th Century: I haven't taken a class on modernism yet, so it sounds new and interesting. This is also a year-long course.
Tonight I am going to the study abroad team's Boat Party on the Thames. From what my ticket says, I'll be going on a boat cruise on the River Thames--it's the study abroad team's way of welcoming all the international students. It should be a lot of fun, as long as the rain doesn't get too bad this evening. London really truly is rainy...but it seems to suit the city well. The rain clouds are really pretty from my flat window.
Sidenote: I haven't discovered how to post pictures on here yet, so in the meantime, I have put up pictures of my room on my facebook group page.
Now let's back up a bit.
I had my orientation on Monday. It went rather smoothly, acquired all my necessary things for classes and whatnot. I did not realize this, but there are approximately 500 international student from all over the world all in my same study abroad program. That is quite a lot of people! Especially since we were taking on a small tour of the main campus. I felt like I was on my 8th grade trip to Washington D.C., trying to follow the tour guide with the bright yellow umbrella. But aside from the fact that it was a really long meeting, I did enjoy meeting other study abroad students. The following day I had registration for my classes. I, unfortunately, got slight lost. The street the office is located on isn't a full block long, so you have to cut across a few streets to get to it--it is kinda tucked in the middle of a block. And my map wasn't detailed enough to show with streets cut across. So after wandering around and asking two people, I eventually made my way to the office with only 5 mintues of my appointment time left. But luckily, when I walked I was told that the study abroad advisors were running late themselves--I actually turned out to be 20 minutes early! In those 20 minutes, I just waited in the waiting room and talked with everyone else who was waiting. After my meeting, a few of us who had been waiting the longest decided to go out to breakfast. Tea is served with everything it seems--but I don't mind. I like it alot. At home, I usually drink it black and really strong. But here it's customary to add in about 1/4 of milk and sugar, so it 's actually really sweet. I now like it both ways. The rest of that day and yesterday I spent getting the necessities I couldn't bring with me, like dishes, hairdryer, alarm clock, etc. It takes a while to do shopping like that since I walk to all the stores and carry everything back with me. But I like walking, so I don't mind.
My evenings I have spent going to "Freshers Week" events, which have been pretty fun. There is a student union bar located in a conjoined building to my flat where most of these events take place.
My classes are on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, which isn't a bad schedule at all. And I like all my classes, which are below:
London Theatre in Performance--I get to watch, review, and study plays here in the West End. :)
Reading the American Dream--I want to see how the British interpret our literature.
Critical Perspectives for Literature, Criticism, and Culture--Basically critical theory. It's a year-long course and I'm expecting it to be on the harder side. But I'm still looking forward to it.
Modernism and the Early 20th Century: I haven't taken a class on modernism yet, so it sounds new and interesting. This is also a year-long course.
Tonight I am going to the study abroad team's Boat Party on the Thames. From what my ticket says, I'll be going on a boat cruise on the River Thames--it's the study abroad team's way of welcoming all the international students. It should be a lot of fun, as long as the rain doesn't get too bad this evening. London really truly is rainy...but it seems to suit the city well. The rain clouds are really pretty from my flat window.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
First Day in the City
Despite my insane nervousness all day Saturday, once I boarded the plane last night, I felt rather calm. Since my stomach had finally ceased doing gymnastic-inspired flips, I glanced around the plane to see who I would be sitting by for the next 8 hours. The woman sitting next to me started talking to me before I even had a chance to sit down. She had this flaming red hair, cat-eye glasses, and a raspy, drawl-y voice. In a matter of moments, she volunteered her entire life story. She's from Arizona, going to London to meet up with her husband, who's already there on business. She loves traveling and has made a lot of trips with her husband and family. A self-proclaimed fidgeter, I knew she and I were very compatible seat-mates. Across the isle was a family of 5--the mom and dad were trying to wrangle their three sons, all under the age of 7, into their seats. I had a suspicion they might be noisy the entire time. But the as soon as we started to take off, I instantly forgot about them. Taking off is my favorite part of a flight--all pressed back again the seat, the increasing wind whipping by competing with my lone iPod earbud. Soon comes that fainy light-headed feeling, then that little "pop" of instant relief. Then I looked out the window and saw all the city lights, some glaring off the wings. Funny how those skinny tin-y airplane arms hold up the entire plane. Then a yelp from the boys brought me back into the cabin. "Yay! Alright! Woohoo!" And all I could think was "My sentiments exactly"!
The rest of the flight was long, boring, and for the most part sleep-less. Enter this morning, and the incredibly long line to get through arrivals...the line that I did not have to wait in but did so anyways. Why? Because I did not see that there was a special "first time students" line at the FAR end of check in, the sign to which was blocked by a pole. But luckily, the woman who sat next to me on the plane, saw me in the long line and told me to switch. I only got semi-lost at baggage claim, waiting at the wrong carousel for about 15 minutes before realizing that the sign I was standing under was just the over-all directions sign, not the sign for the carousel. After that, I found my luggage, met up with the people from Westminster who were supposed to greet me, and took a taxi to my hall of residence.
After I no longer had the assistance of my mom, the cart from the airport, or the taxi driver to help me lug my three wheel-y suitcases and computer case across London, I managed to half pull, half kick my bags into the halls of residence reception area. There I met a very kind father of a student who was going to Marylebone too--it is her first year at Westmisnter too. They helped me carry the rest of my things to the lobby, where I checked in and found out that my room is on the top floor....that's the 20th floor to be precise...and was promptly told that the elevators had been on the fritz all day. Naturally. However, I was lucky and got to take the elevator once before it completely broke down. So I didn't have to carry my bags up 20 flights of stairs, but I did climb up and down a total of 3 times today for various reasons. Unexpected European work-out routine....check.
After I plopped all my things in my room, I did some exploring. I discovered that the kitchen is the place to be, apparently, because there I met all of my flatmates throughout the day. So I spent time with them, talking, getting groceries, having dinner, etc. That was nice. But by 6 p.m. London time, I was completely exhausted, having only had about 2 hours of not-so-restful sleep in the last 24 hours. So I decided to unpack and turn in relatively early since tomorrow I need to be up and at my orientation by 8:45 a.m., and it's a 25 minute walk away. Oh, how I now miss the roll-out-of-bed-and-into-jeans habit for the 2 minute commute to S.A.C. already.
And now here I am, posting all this before my computer battery dies. (My power cord is three-pronged, my converter plug only accepts two prongs, needless to say, I need to find a new converter plug tomorrow.)
I took pictures of my room, but I will have to post them later. So until then, good afternoon (your time) to everyone at home!
The rest of the flight was long, boring, and for the most part sleep-less. Enter this morning, and the incredibly long line to get through arrivals...the line that I did not have to wait in but did so anyways. Why? Because I did not see that there was a special "first time students" line at the FAR end of check in, the sign to which was blocked by a pole. But luckily, the woman who sat next to me on the plane, saw me in the long line and told me to switch. I only got semi-lost at baggage claim, waiting at the wrong carousel for about 15 minutes before realizing that the sign I was standing under was just the over-all directions sign, not the sign for the carousel. After that, I found my luggage, met up with the people from Westminster who were supposed to greet me, and took a taxi to my hall of residence.
After I no longer had the assistance of my mom, the cart from the airport, or the taxi driver to help me lug my three wheel-y suitcases and computer case across London, I managed to half pull, half kick my bags into the halls of residence reception area. There I met a very kind father of a student who was going to Marylebone too--it is her first year at Westmisnter too. They helped me carry the rest of my things to the lobby, where I checked in and found out that my room is on the top floor....that's the 20th floor to be precise...and was promptly told that the elevators had been on the fritz all day. Naturally. However, I was lucky and got to take the elevator once before it completely broke down. So I didn't have to carry my bags up 20 flights of stairs, but I did climb up and down a total of 3 times today for various reasons. Unexpected European work-out routine....check.
After I plopped all my things in my room, I did some exploring. I discovered that the kitchen is the place to be, apparently, because there I met all of my flatmates throughout the day. So I spent time with them, talking, getting groceries, having dinner, etc. That was nice. But by 6 p.m. London time, I was completely exhausted, having only had about 2 hours of not-so-restful sleep in the last 24 hours. So I decided to unpack and turn in relatively early since tomorrow I need to be up and at my orientation by 8:45 a.m., and it's a 25 minute walk away. Oh, how I now miss the roll-out-of-bed-and-into-jeans habit for the 2 minute commute to S.A.C. already.
And now here I am, posting all this before my computer battery dies. (My power cord is three-pronged, my converter plug only accepts two prongs, needless to say, I need to find a new converter plug tomorrow.)
I took pictures of my room, but I will have to post them later. So until then, good afternoon (your time) to everyone at home!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
First, a Toast...
To My Family and Friends,
It is now Wednesday, three more days until I leave for London. And this is the very first entry of my study abroad blog. Though one of it's purposes is to allow me to document and experience my year abroad through writing, it's driving motivation is to stay connected with everyone at home while I am in London.
I have never used this website before-there are so many options for everything! Me being indecisive, I expect it'll take some time and fiddling around before I get it to where I want it. But for now, this is how it looks.
My goal is to post fairly regularly and often, pictures included. If you'd like to check in and see what I'm up to, this is where it'll all be.
So Mom, Dad, Ben, and all other related and supportive Zinks and family, my lovely Phi Sig sisters, and those from Alma and at home, this blog is for you.
It is now Wednesday, three more days until I leave for London. And this is the very first entry of my study abroad blog. Though one of it's purposes is to allow me to document and experience my year abroad through writing, it's driving motivation is to stay connected with everyone at home while I am in London.
I have never used this website before-there are so many options for everything! Me being indecisive, I expect it'll take some time and fiddling around before I get it to where I want it. But for now, this is how it looks.
My goal is to post fairly regularly and often, pictures included. If you'd like to check in and see what I'm up to, this is where it'll all be.
So Mom, Dad, Ben, and all other related and supportive Zinks and family, my lovely Phi Sig sisters, and those from Alma and at home, this blog is for you.
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