Classes started again this past Monday and it’s hard to believe I’m already in my second - and last semester in England. It’s scary to think how fast time has flown by since last spring. I remember the day I got accepted to study abroad - the day before my birthday, and by far the best birthday present I’ve ever received. I love Leicester, and I love England. When I went to Finland for Christmas, I missed England more than I’ve ever missed America. I have five and a half months left here…I’ve almost been here half my time. I never want it to end! When people ask me if I like going to school here, I say I never want to go home. Not that I don’t miss home, but I just love it here. Things are so different here - not better, but different, and I’ve gotten so used to them. It’s interesting to find out what the new study abroaders think is interesting/cool here because I realize what I’ve begun to overlook since I’ve been here so long. I could easily live in England in the future.
Classes
Mondays I have my Renaissance Drama Seminar at noon. I don’t know anyone in the class, and it’s on Shakespeare and his Contemporaries, so it’s pretty difficult since I haven’t read much Shakespeare, or any other Renaissance plays, really. I also have my Medieval Literature lecture on Mondays at 1pm. It’s similar to Old English…..enough said.
Tuesdays I have a Postwar to Postmodern Literature Lecture at noon. It might be interesting, but I think it may be quite difficult, too, because post-modern lit is really frustrating to me as far as I can tell at this point. I also have a seminar for Medieval Lit at 4pm, and I really like my seminar group! And my professor is pretty fit (in the super intelligent way). hahaha always a plus. I then have another lecture for Medieval Lit, so two solid hours of Med. Lit…just like my two solid hours on Mondays of Old English…oh boy.
Wednesdays I have no classes - again.
Thursdays I have a seminar for Postwar to Postmodern Literature at 10am. It is my only class of the day. It’s going to suck getting up for class and then having nothing to do the rest of the day. AND it’s an intimidating seminar. The professor is really nice, but she definitely is going to be demanding in the work that we do.
Fridays I have a lecture for Renaissance Drama at 10am. Another one I don’t think I’ll be making it to all the time since they post everything online anyway. I then have a film screening/lecture for Postwar to Postmodern from 2-4 and then an overlapping film screening/lecture from 3-5 for Renaissance Drama. I’ll have to choose which one I’ll go to…
Anyway, that is it for now. I have a ton of work to do for this week - I have to read Richard 3 by Monday at noon, some Middle English stuff by Tuesday at 4, and The Lonely Londoners by Thursday at 10. OHHH the life of an English major….
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I’m so ready for my exam to be done so I can put OLD ENGLISH behind me. I’m very interested in it from all this studying - no sarcasm - but I’m tired of it now. Cramming so much OE into 8 days is terrible! Anyway test is the day after tomorrow and I’m revising with a friend tomorrow so I think the exam will go smoothly if I can find the building it’s in after all haha.
The new study abroaders arrive in Leicester on Wednesday and I am so excited about it! I can’t wait to show the new people all the things I love in Leicester/England :)
I have spent 8 hours studying today. Believe it or not, I only spent about 5 minutes total on Facebook. I did research and translations and readings and writing and memorizing and I think I know quite a lot about ‘The Life of St Aethelthryth’ and ‘Sermo Lupi ad Anglos’….sounds thrilling, I know. You should read the essay I turned in yesterday entitled ‘Masculinity: Literature’s Presentation of the Relationship of Males with Females’….even more exciting than Old English which is just unbelievable. Luckily next Wednesday, 26 January 2011, I WILL BE DONE WITH OLD ENGLISH. YESSSSS that’ll be a happy day. It’ll be about as happy as I was leaving the hospital after 5 days in it. THAT happy.
And now my good friend, Mike Amico, whom is going back to California tomorrow, has just walked into my bedroom with two bottles of red wine, to which I turn to happily. And therefore, this post is done.
The sun in England is incredibly deceiving.
In California, when the sun shines, it’s USUALLY warm. (95% of the time)
In England, if the sun is shining, it doesn’t mean it’s warm…even if it’s warm on my back as it comes in through the window while I’m sit at my desk typing this.
I went for a run this morning…after three minutes I couldn’t feel my fingers. After three minutes and ten seconds I couldn’t breathe through my nose. Blehhhhhhh
I miss California sun purely because it doesn’t deceive me!
If the sun is going to shine is should at least provide a BIT of warmth! In my opinion that is :)
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My second night in Finland - It was about 4pm when this photo was taken - Alisa and I took Tarmo and Mamu for a walk on the lake behind her family’s house. It was my first time ever walking on a frozen lake - and it was -15ºC, so it was absolutely FREEZING.
Earlier that day we drove up to her house in Varkaus from Helsinki, which is about a 3-4 hour drive. I arrived the night before, and she and her uncle picked me up from the airport and we spent the night at her dad’s parent’s house just outside Helsinki. There was a TON of snow in Helsinki…and the entire drive up to Varkaus was a winter wonderland - towering trees caked in pure white snow line the little two lane highway. It’s absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful!
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The wall in my roooom