Living London: First Week of Classes: Realizations, Reflections, and Resolutions

Hello Everyone!

Warning: This is a long post.

First off I want to say that syllabus week (what the first week of classes is known as to us college students) is NOT the same in London as it is in SJU. I already have a fair amount of assigned reading....I even did some reading for a class on Tuesday morning before even attending my first class of the semester, but I'll have to get use to reading if I want to stay on track. I don't mean to seem like I'm complaining in any way - I am a History major and English minor - I knew what I was signing up for. Aside from discovering I will be reading everything you can think of in regards to London this semester there were also some sad realizations this week. I also had time to reflect and some Study Abroad resolutions.

Monday: We got up bright and early (6 AM to be exact) to get ourselves ready so we could be at Birkbeck at 9 AM so they could copy our passports and put us in the system. In doing so we could officially begin classes at Birkbeck and be registered as international students. There are seven of us living at the house in Notting Hill who are studying at Birkbeck: myself, Marisa, Beth, Liz P, Kali, Andrew and John. After our passport paperwork was taken care of Beth and Andrew headed for class while the rest of us headed back home because we don't have classes on Mondays.
*Sad realization #1: Let me preface this realization by saying before leaving for London I checked my student profile that said my schedule had been changed and a class I thought was to be on thursdays from 2-5 got moved to Mondays 6-9pm. Thankfully, on Monday, we learned that this was not the case....the class was still on Thursdays 2-5 except for the last week of classes. During that week is when the class would be held on Monday evening 6-9pm. Anyone wanna guess what that Monday's date is?! That's right --- sad realization number -- the ONLY Monday I will have class this semester is Monday night, the 26th of March. As you all know, March 26th is my 21st birthday, naturally this would happen. Oh well I guess we'll just have to have celebrations after class......
We also found out our first final will be on Thursday, March 29th --- the last week of classes will be a busy week indeed.
After sorting all that out we returned home and I took a 3 hour nap even though I got 8 hours sleep the night before (I guess I was tired). Marisa, Liz P, Liz S, and I allowed ourselves to have a "veg-out" kind of day where we were really lazy and did absolutely nothing. It was during this vegging-out time that I discovered sad realization #2.
*Sad realization #2: Leavesden Studios, the location where all eight of the Harry Potter films were filmed, opens its doors to public tours starting March 31st, 2012. Tickets are sold out until April 14th. I leave to return to the USA April 7th....fail. That's all I have to say about that. But like my Dad suggested I'll keep my eyes and hears open - who knows maybe something could happen.
Though it was a very lazy Monday I very much enjoyed it. It was nice to have some time to relax and watch Friends (of course) with my house mates and myself organized for my classes.
Moving on to the "happy times" of Monday we went back to Birkbeck from 6-8 to be formally welcomed as members of the "London Semester Program." The program is specifically desgined for American students studying at Birkbeck. A down side can be seen in that all our classes are only with Americans but our professors know this and encourage us to go out and meet people and have suggested great day trips to take, etc. Plus all of classes involve "field-trips" almost every other week where we use London, the city itself, as our classroom and can actually SEE what we're learning about.
Finally, Monday was Princess Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge's (the former Kate Middleton) 30th Birthday. So when we arrived back from Birkbeck my house mates and some friends also studying in London had a little birthday party for Kate before the rest of the lot when out for more intense celebrations. I stayed in to get myself ready for classes the next day.

Tuesday: I woke up early and went to campus with my friends that had morning classes. I took the time to register my computer with Birkbeck and check out the library. At the induction meeting Monday night they gave all of us a really informative booklet of all the resources we have at Birkbeck plus the syllabi for all of our classes. Each syllabus noted the books we would need and gave reading lists along with a week-by-week outline for the course. So, with syllabus in hand, I got a few books from the library on the suggested reading list for my one class entitled, London in Literature, 1837-1984. After checking the books out I did a little background reading. An academic difference I have noticed (and it is a difference we were warned about and told to get use to) is that when a professor offers a "suggested reading list" it really means that all the books listed should be read.
After meeting Marisa and Kali for lunch, Kali and I headed to class (we are taking London in Literature together). Our professor, Jeremy Worman, is a very relaxed English man who is very accomplished in the London Literature world. He has had many of his reviews and writing works published, he most recently got his 1st novel published. I feel as though this class will be my favorite. I can't wait to read the classics and go on the field trips that are set up for us.
After class Marisa, Kali, and I headed home. We ate dinner before a few of us decided to head out for a drink. We went to a club called "Roxy" for happy hour but there was literally no one there. After having a drink we stopped for some food at McDonald's. After that I was tired and decided to head back and go to bed.

Wednesday: Beth, Marisa and I all are in the same class on Wednesday mornings, "Modern Theater and the London Stage." There's only six students in the class still it seems like it will be a lot of fun. Our professor, Sara, had us play some ice breakers to learn each others names. We also preformed an activity where we put a water bottle at a point on the ground. A makeshift line was set up away from the water bottle. We had to stand behind the line, stare at the water bottle for a time, then close our eyes and walk forward, then stop and kneel down when we thought we were at the spot where the water bottle was and pick it up. Sounds hard right? Only Beth was able to stop at the right spot during the first trial run (strategy kind of girl). During our second attempts our professor told us to not use our brain and merely trust ourselves that we knew where the water bottle was. This worked for all of us the second time around. The activity was a means of showing us how strategy and trust are crucial for anyone involved in theater. Each week we are assigned a play to read and be prepared to discuss in class. Our first class was spent learning and discussing the history of the theater in London. For next week we are to have read, "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen. This play is seen by many as the play that started the modern theater age and the theater and shows we have come to know. The play is very interesting so far. It is ground breaking for, at the time of its release, it was seen as scandalous. The play challenges the Victorian norms and ideals that were held during that time.
After class Marisa, Beth, and I ate lunch, that we all packed, in the cafe part of the main student building. When we were finished Beth decided to stay on campus while Marisa and I went to Waterstone's Bookstore to see what books we could purchase there for our classes. We then decided to see if there was another way to get home on the tube. After "getting lost", we saw it more as exploring, we got home and relaxed. We ate dinner and watched TV before going to bed. Very low key kind of night.

Thursday: Thursdays are my long days. I have two classes on Thursday. My first class is called London: the Growth of a Modern World City. Marisa and Andrew are also in this class. Our professor is originally from LA but has lived in London since 1979. His accent was a welcomed one and he is very understanding in realizing we are here not only to learned but to experience living in London as well. I'm looking forward to the field trips for this class. After about an hour of lecture we set off on our first field trip of Bloomsbury. Birkbeck College is located in the Bloomsbury part of London, still owned to this day by the family: the Dukes of Bedford. We learned of the history of the area and many of our classrooms are in the former homes and meeting places of "The Bloomsbury Group": great minds of writing, philosophy, economics, and other intellectuals and artists. All of them challenged society and social ideals during the first half of the 20th century. Noted people in the "The Bloomsbury Group" are writer, Virginia Wolf, her husband, Leonard Wolf, John Maynard Keynes and others. Our professor also took us around the other campuses that are part of the University of London (Birkbeck College is apart of the University of London).
*Happy realization #1 - It is fascinating to realize all the history that surrounds us in London. The history extends back to the time of the Romans, it is a kind of living history we, sadly, just don't have in the states.
After class Marisa and I went to the Farmer's Market that is held on campus every Thursday. At the market there are a great deal of food vendors. I plan on getting a sandwich there next week but this week, since I packed my lunch, I only allowed myself to get a Demi baggete. Marisa and I met Liz P and Essete for lunch in the main student center at Birkbeck before Liz, Marisa and I went to our second class of the day (and last class of the week). Our final class of the week is called Modern British Society since 1945 and is taught by a British man named Michael J. Fox -- I'm not kidding. He has been teaching the course for 15 years. Beth, John, Andrew, Liz, Marisa and I are all in this class together along with a few kids from Stonehill and Clark.
After class we all hung around campus as we had a meet and greet with our professors from 6-8. At the meet and greet they provided beer, wine, and some snacks. It was truly a unique experience drinking and chatting with your professors but during this time Marisa, Kali and I became best friends with Michael J. Fox and Jeremy. I spent some time taking with Jeremy about publishing and he said he'd be happy to look over my writings and discuss how I could get into the world of publishing so I'm very excited.
Marisa, Kali, and I were the last students to leave at 7:30. We headed home and I had cereal for dinner before heading out with Liz P, Essete, Beth, and Andrew to a club called "The Road House." We met up with some of Liz's friends from school. It was a lot of fun. The club had a live band and played good music and there seemed to be a lot of Americans there. After a fun night we headed home and went to sleep.

Friday: As per usual we all slept until 10:30. Marisa and I decided we wanted to find out where the US embassy was. Turns out it not far from where we live (it's a few stops before the stop we get off at for school on the Tube). After being denied access in (unless we had a meeting) we walked around the square and took some pictures. It was interesting to see all the American statues and the embassy is truly huge with all the state flags at front; obnoxious, check (but that's us). We also saw on the map nearby that the National Ukrainian Cathedral was about a block and half away so naturally we had to go. After seeing the church from the outside we stopped in to this cute cafe place next door called "Allan's" for tea time. We had wonderful hot drinks and slices of cake (and even received orange tea - SO good - and a slice of banana cake for free - we think it's because he saw us taking pictures of our treats and thought we were bloggers - which is true)! After tea time I headed home for some reading and Marisa headed to Birkbeck to use their free wi-fi (a huge help for us)! Currently I'm waiting for Marisa to return so we can eat dinner. Then we might watch a movie and relax. We plan on taking a day trip to HORSHAM, UK tomorrow and I can't wait.

London continues to be wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.