Module Recap

I don't have classes on Fridays, so I figured this was as good a time as any to update about the start of class this week. I had two classes on Wednesday and two yesterday, both with several hours in between that allow me to explore the campus and surrounding towns. While this might become a problem in the future (too much time on my hands with a bookstore nearby...), I truly relished the opportunity this past week.

I have my earliest class on Wednesdays at nine. Now, I had a nine o'clock class last semester, too, and it wasn't that bad. It was in the same building, so I just had to wake up in time to go upstairs. Not so at Kingston. I have to take the bus to the campus everyday, allowing for leeway time in case the first bus is full. Therefore, I had to wake up at 7 and catch the bus a little after 8. It wasn't bad this week, but it could become problematic as the semester goes on. It also doesn't help that my nine o'clock class is covering Shakespeare; who wants to decipher old English at nine in the morning? Oh well, I digress from my true point.

All last week, the study abroad orientators had warned us about not expecting to make British friends in class right away. I expected this, because it's usually the same in America; it takes a couple weeks to get talking and getting to know your classmates. I found this was the opposite case in my Shakespeare course--excuse me, module. I was introduced to everyone before the professor even showed up, encouraged to sit between two of the girls during the lecture, and invited out to lunch with a group after class. Everyone was so friendly and accomodating! It was rather exciting, and I had stories to tell at my British Life and Culture module later that afternoon, which was for Study Abroad students.

Yesterday commenced in a rather interesting manner, though I suppose for some it would be considered trivial. In getting ready for my 11 o'clock class, I looked outside to see a red fox exploring the back garden! The picture's not that great, but you can still see him by the bush there. This was the second fox I've seen in a little over a week, and just served as another reminder that I'm not in Michigan anymore.

Anyway, my early class yesterday was the one I'm most excited about: 19th Century English Novel. That's the subject that I'm most interested in, particularly because we'll be reading Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, one of my favorite books. The class hasn't really started reading yet, so yesterday's lecture was commonplace and a bit boring, but I'm hoping it will get better when we start discussing the books. The professor seemed really nice and excited about her subject, though she had the annoying tendency of giving away the endings of the books we'll be reading. I haven't read them yet! I don't want to know what to expect! The mystery's half the fun!

I was both amused and disappointed that roughly half the class was comprised of American study abroad students that I'd already met. America was taking over! On the one hand, it was nice to recognize new friends and be able to sit with them. On the other hand, half the experience of studying in a new country is meeting the native students, and it makes it rather hard to do so when you're sitting among a clique of Americans. I'll write more later about this subject when I've got more to say.

One thing that most surprised me about this literature module was the lask of papers that we'll have to write during the semester. As both an English major and an honors student, I'm used to writing or working on a paper of some sort every week. That's not the case here. There's more of an emphasis on ideas and critical thinking, rather than busywork. For this course, I only have to write two 750 word responses and one 1500 word essay in the course of the entire semester. Oddly, that's going to take some getting used to.

The module that I've been most concerned about is my French course. I only took one semester in college, and I wasn't sure how this would compare to a semester in England. After yesterday, however, I'm feeling a lot more confident. I was able to understand and keep up with the lesson, and there were only a few words that were new to me. Furthermore, I was not the student who seemed the worst off. Another American student in the class was in the same boat than I was, and I don't think her previous semester was half as thorough as mine was. In addition, I found the professor to be both engaging and agreeable. After class, we actually had a somewhat lengthy conversation about the book I was reading (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte) and the comparisons between American and English language classes. All in all, the content of the course itself proved to be a relief to me.

And that's that, really. At least concerning my courses thus far. Today is Friday and, as I said, I don't have any classes today, so I'm mostly spending the day writing, reading, updating my blog, and catching up with the American TV shows that I missed this week. I finally found a website that's working for me. I knew I was getting desperate when I tried to watch an episode via Skype yesterday, helped by one of my best friends, Sarah. Not only did the time difference make it difficult, but the sound and picture were not ideal. Consequently, I'm glad that another option has proved plausible today.

Well, I'm fresh out of update news right now, but I promise to update when I have more. I honestly don't know my plans for the rest of today, but tomorrow I'm heading into London again for a Photo Frenzy scavenger hunt. On Sunday, my house mate Rebecca and I are planning on catching a movie down at the cinema in Kingston. It's called The Secret of Moonacre, it's a British film that just opened today, it's been advertised everywhere, and it also stars one of my favorite actors, Ioan Gruffudd! If it's any good, I'll let you know.