So this will be quick, because we have to get back to the last few hours of celebration!
Alan's birthday celebration:
To start, we stayed up really really late to watch the 8PM (American time, EST) Syracuse football game to see UCONN lose to the awesomeness of the Orange. We didn't make it through the whole game. I mean, it started at 1AM here, so it was tough to stay up! In the morning, Alan and I made homemade fluffy pancakes and bacon. Then we had cake and presents. Cake being brownies because Alan doesn't really like cake, and presents being awesome! Aside from the raincoat, I found him some strawberry poptarts and a cute ladybug card :) Best part, I got tickets for us to go to the bonefire on November 5th! It's Guy Fawkes Day, but you aren't supposed to call it that. There's a bonefire, concert, fireworks, and fair! We are going with my friend Sophia and her boyfriend who'll be visiting! Lots of fun!! Alan also got a card from Lynne and a package from his parents! My parent's showed us his gift on Skype because the package was too expensive to send ($200). Crazy! After presents and cake, we watched Haven, our SciFi show and relaxed during the afternoon. We had a plan to go to the Botanical gardens, but we decided to make that an adventure for another weekend. Instead, I did some research about Disney and certain events it can cater to. I have found positive results. At about 4PM, Alan and I went catch a bus to get to the tram (equivalent to the T) and took an adventure to the mall of the area. Malls are still a new thing here, so its pretty well talked about. Not as big as some of them that we've been to, but quality. It's not just clothes stores and there's lots of fun stuff, like the LEGO store that we went to visit.
Best parts about Meadowhall (the mall) was that they are already putting up Christmas decorations/have stuff out to buy and are advertising for it! I guess they don't have that "after Thanksgiving day" benchmark like us ;) The other great part was dinner. We went to TIGF and it was great! The nachos were weird because they arranged them and the salsa wasn't actually salsa and they melted cheese onto them, but everything else was the way it was in America! We will be visiting again :)
When Alan and I came back on the tram, we made a quick ice cream pick up at the grocery store, but, we found a heaven in the grocery store. Its a Caribbean section with hot sauces and spices AND TING!!! That's the Caribbean grape fruitjuice like soda that we love and was sooooo cheap. In the Caribbean, its at least $1 per bottle, here, it was 3 can per pound. Pretty exciting. We got a bunch just in case it was a one time thing (you can never be sure with the way they stock things here).
Now, we are going to Skype with Alan's dad and watch a movie before bed. Tomorrow is a study day (as is my Monday). Alan might have a few days off soon, so we might travel to Glasglow for a long weekend soon!
Other than Alan's birthday, we've been pretty consistent in study and hang out with friends. I made new friends from other management programs and countries, so Rose will be proud! I actually spend time with them outside of class and have contact information for after this year. I got a letter from Amanda which I am rationing reading because we are penpals!
So most of my classes end in the 10th week of class, giving us the last two weeks time to prepare in tutorials for our final assessments. We are in week 5, which means the first semester is halfway done class-wise. We've been here for a month and a half, but it feels like forever with all the things we've done!
Lauren and Alan
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
October 10
Sorry for the delay, we've been really busy!
Alan and I have both finished classes for today. We were very successful participants by speaking in class and doing all of our readings ahead of time.
Today, I won a book. Our teacher had a guest lecture and I answered his question and got a book! It was exciting :)
Alan and I are looking to buy tickets for a football match for Sheffield United, which is the Red Sox of the UK. They have the oldest stadium and are the first team to coin 'united'.
Today in the mail Alan recieved his absentee ballot and I received my National Trust membership. It is a year long membership that lets you get into any of their sites of the English Heritage sites for free! And its really inexpensive and I got a whole packet of books and binoculars!
Last Saturday Alan and I went to a living museum with my classmates, Sophia and Dave, and our module director, Paul. We went to Abbeydale, which is a site of a watermill where they produced steel. It was really amazing! All the pictures are on facebook for what the buildings looked like. They had steam engines and were still producing some materials as demonstrations for blacksmithing. They also had historians who were giving tours dressed up as characters and would tell real stories they read about in the newspaper about criminal activities and what went on at the mill. It was an interesting approach to presentation. I also talked to a girl from the museum on how to use funding that they are receiving and so I'm now on a mailing list to receive information for volunteering and their conservation efforts!
In class this week, part of the assessment for my accounting and finance class is a group analysis of a company. When we were choosing groups, we first had to assess ourselves on our best skills out of several that we would need for the project. I was a commodity because I said that my best skill is writing :) Then, we chose groups and we had to have 1 person from each of the 6 categories of skills (except for the ones like me where there were only a few). I ended up grouping with my CHM classmates, the music students from Italy, and a CCI student from China. We are a strong team with a hard work ethic and a really interesting dynamic! We've already been planning things through email and have our first meeting tomorrow after lecture.
If I haven't explained this yet, my program is a dual program with the management school. Technically, I am based in archaeology, but for purposes of which classes I take, think of it as CCI (Creative and Cultural Industries) is the main group. There are about 50 students (very small and specialized sector so we get lots of attention!). Within CCI, there are three tracks. These tracks are music, archaeology, and general management. I am one of three in archaeology. I think there are twelve in music and everyone else is general CCI. All of our management based classes we share with this group of 50 and then the few archaeology classes are just the three of us. So my "home school" and my dissertation and research are based in archaeology even though my courses and majority of studies are in management. It brings it into a very interesting and very marketable for employment situation. I get to learn about tourism and other industries (and how they do things) as well as archaeology and I am taught by professionals within their expertise as well as anthropologists within the management school. It's really interesting.
Yesterday, when we were talking about food, I learned a lot about America. Apparently, much of our food isn't as global as I thought. Marshmallows, mac and cheese, pancakes and waffles, PB&J...these things are all commodities, if they have them or know what they are. There were a handful of stores across the UK that sold "American food." It's mostly now an online thing, but it's really exciting to see that I can find poptarts and spices to cook with somewhere (its VERY different here). Alan and I have stuck to fresh produce and our grains for the most part, so we are getting all the vitamins we need at least. I'm going to have to make mac and cheese fancy again soon.
For now, I'll make a list of foods that should be stocked for my arrival home :)
Foods Missed:
Dill pickles
Mac&Cheese
S'Mores
Pancakes
Waffles
Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Good New York Style Pizza
Cereal
Wegman's Special Multigrain Bread
Bacon
Five guys Cheeseburgers
Jelly beans
Gummy bears
Pop tarts
That's all Alan and I can think of for now.
Lauren and Alan
Alan and I have both finished classes for today. We were very successful participants by speaking in class and doing all of our readings ahead of time.
Today, I won a book. Our teacher had a guest lecture and I answered his question and got a book! It was exciting :)
Alan and I are looking to buy tickets for a football match for Sheffield United, which is the Red Sox of the UK. They have the oldest stadium and are the first team to coin 'united'.
Today in the mail Alan recieved his absentee ballot and I received my National Trust membership. It is a year long membership that lets you get into any of their sites of the English Heritage sites for free! And its really inexpensive and I got a whole packet of books and binoculars!
Last Saturday Alan and I went to a living museum with my classmates, Sophia and Dave, and our module director, Paul. We went to Abbeydale, which is a site of a watermill where they produced steel. It was really amazing! All the pictures are on facebook for what the buildings looked like. They had steam engines and were still producing some materials as demonstrations for blacksmithing. They also had historians who were giving tours dressed up as characters and would tell real stories they read about in the newspaper about criminal activities and what went on at the mill. It was an interesting approach to presentation. I also talked to a girl from the museum on how to use funding that they are receiving and so I'm now on a mailing list to receive information for volunteering and their conservation efforts!
In class this week, part of the assessment for my accounting and finance class is a group analysis of a company. When we were choosing groups, we first had to assess ourselves on our best skills out of several that we would need for the project. I was a commodity because I said that my best skill is writing :) Then, we chose groups and we had to have 1 person from each of the 6 categories of skills (except for the ones like me where there were only a few). I ended up grouping with my CHM classmates, the music students from Italy, and a CCI student from China. We are a strong team with a hard work ethic and a really interesting dynamic! We've already been planning things through email and have our first meeting tomorrow after lecture.
If I haven't explained this yet, my program is a dual program with the management school. Technically, I am based in archaeology, but for purposes of which classes I take, think of it as CCI (Creative and Cultural Industries) is the main group. There are about 50 students (very small and specialized sector so we get lots of attention!). Within CCI, there are three tracks. These tracks are music, archaeology, and general management. I am one of three in archaeology. I think there are twelve in music and everyone else is general CCI. All of our management based classes we share with this group of 50 and then the few archaeology classes are just the three of us. So my "home school" and my dissertation and research are based in archaeology even though my courses and majority of studies are in management. It brings it into a very interesting and very marketable for employment situation. I get to learn about tourism and other industries (and how they do things) as well as archaeology and I am taught by professionals within their expertise as well as anthropologists within the management school. It's really interesting.
Yesterday, when we were talking about food, I learned a lot about America. Apparently, much of our food isn't as global as I thought. Marshmallows, mac and cheese, pancakes and waffles, PB&J...these things are all commodities, if they have them or know what they are. There were a handful of stores across the UK that sold "American food." It's mostly now an online thing, but it's really exciting to see that I can find poptarts and spices to cook with somewhere (its VERY different here). Alan and I have stuck to fresh produce and our grains for the most part, so we are getting all the vitamins we need at least. I'm going to have to make mac and cheese fancy again soon.
For now, I'll make a list of foods that should be stocked for my arrival home :)
Foods Missed:
Dill pickles
Mac&Cheese
S'Mores
Pancakes
Waffles
Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Good New York Style Pizza
Cereal
Wegman's Special Multigrain Bread
Bacon
Five guys Cheeseburgers
Jelly beans
Gummy bears
Pop tarts
That's all Alan and I can think of for now.
Lauren and Alan
Friday, October 5, 2012
October 5
Lots of exciting things to report on!
-I have running shoes! Tomorrow Alan and I are going on a run. We've picked a circle route that is exactly one mile and mostly uphill. It'll be a really great way to get out of the apartment and take a break from all of our readings.
-CHRISTMAS MARKET!!!!! There huge here and we are going to one for the first week of our break! We'll go to the one in Sheffield of course, but there are a few bigger ones around the UK. We've chosen Birmingham because they partner with Frankfurt, so it'll be really fun! We are only staying three days, but we figured we could explore the city, explore the market, and hit a few museums (there's a living industrial museum that we are going to).
-Halloween! Sheffield does a festival at the end of October, so that'll be fun! They love festivals here :)
-Most museums are free, but for those that aren't, they are usually connected to the English Heritage or National Trust. So, Alan and I got a young membership for the year, which lets us go to places like Stonehedge or that museum in Birmingham for free. We've also gotten a National Student Union card, which just recognizes us as students all over the EU and UK, so we can get student discounts on hotels or airfare and trains, etc. Pretty nifty ideas.
-Today I met with my module director about dissertation ideas and some field trip ideas for the CHM students (as I am the graduate liaison for it). This weekend we are going to an industrial museum called Abbeydale and Kalem Island. We are hoping to plan a trip down to Oxford for the Pitt Rivers Museum and another archaeology museum. Not sure if it'll happen, but that'd be amazing if it did!
-After my meeting today, I went with Sophia (one of the other CHM students) to a gallery down by the city center while Alan finished up class. There was an exhibit of some of the fine wares that Sheffield produced (steel and crystal). It was a lot of fun!
-I am the Cultural Heritage Management Graduate Student Rep, which means I have to go to meetings with archaeology and the management school to give input on the program. We only meet a few times, but its really great and I'll get to learn a lot about management through it!
-In class, Alan has learned a lot about geology maps. I don't have anything too fun to report on for class, its all management stuff, which is good to learn, but not nearly as exciting to talk about :P
-We had our cleaning day for the apartment and everything is nice and shiny! We are going to make something fun for dinner soon!
Lauren and Alan
-I have running shoes! Tomorrow Alan and I are going on a run. We've picked a circle route that is exactly one mile and mostly uphill. It'll be a really great way to get out of the apartment and take a break from all of our readings.
-CHRISTMAS MARKET!!!!! There huge here and we are going to one for the first week of our break! We'll go to the one in Sheffield of course, but there are a few bigger ones around the UK. We've chosen Birmingham because they partner with Frankfurt, so it'll be really fun! We are only staying three days, but we figured we could explore the city, explore the market, and hit a few museums (there's a living industrial museum that we are going to).
-Halloween! Sheffield does a festival at the end of October, so that'll be fun! They love festivals here :)
-Most museums are free, but for those that aren't, they are usually connected to the English Heritage or National Trust. So, Alan and I got a young membership for the year, which lets us go to places like Stonehedge or that museum in Birmingham for free. We've also gotten a National Student Union card, which just recognizes us as students all over the EU and UK, so we can get student discounts on hotels or airfare and trains, etc. Pretty nifty ideas.
-Today I met with my module director about dissertation ideas and some field trip ideas for the CHM students (as I am the graduate liaison for it). This weekend we are going to an industrial museum called Abbeydale and Kalem Island. We are hoping to plan a trip down to Oxford for the Pitt Rivers Museum and another archaeology museum. Not sure if it'll happen, but that'd be amazing if it did!
-After my meeting today, I went with Sophia (one of the other CHM students) to a gallery down by the city center while Alan finished up class. There was an exhibit of some of the fine wares that Sheffield produced (steel and crystal). It was a lot of fun!
-I am the Cultural Heritage Management Graduate Student Rep, which means I have to go to meetings with archaeology and the management school to give input on the program. We only meet a few times, but its really great and I'll get to learn a lot about management through it!
-In class, Alan has learned a lot about geology maps. I don't have anything too fun to report on for class, its all management stuff, which is good to learn, but not nearly as exciting to talk about :P
-We had our cleaning day for the apartment and everything is nice and shiny! We are going to make something fun for dinner soon!
Lauren and Alan
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
October 2
Happy October! It's not quite the same celebration of fall here. Not so much cider or apples or spices, so we got some pumpkin seeds, have the apple crisp, and will bake so at least it smells like fall in here! The weather is perfect, though.
Apparently they don't trick or treat quite like us, either. But, there is a festival for Halloween the Sunday before. Alan and I are going! It's in the city centre.
Today we got groceries delivered quite successfully. We made whole wheat pasta and salad for dinner. Alan has informed me that he is now a fan of both broccoli (as long as its not by itself or in a casserole) AND minestrone soup. I am very proud of him :)
Also, I got him an early birthday present (approved by Alan)! After his first day out in the field all of Friday, he got quite soaked. Some of our walks were wet as well, so I came up with the idea to get him a nice raincoat. It has a quilted layer inside that can be removed (they're pretty warm, I have one in my raincoat), and it should reach passed his knees, so he won't get so wet. It comes in the mail on Thursday!
In class today, Alan had GIS. He learned the basics of archGIS and learned how to use the program like overlaying data and making maps and really cool stuff that will help him in the field and make him the best archaeologist in the world! I learned about how to make balance sheets and silly things like that (which I guess will be useful) and then had CCI (Creative and Cultural Industries) and we learned about neat things that Sheffield does to promote its culture and how industrial cities regenerate themselves. Festivals are also a very interesting topic here because some are created based on rationale (like farming), others are commemorative, and some are to promote culture and learning and tourism!
I've got to get back to studying (I'm currently reading Marketing, HRM, and some archaeology articles) and Alan is working on some grad school stuff.
Lauren and Alan
Apparently they don't trick or treat quite like us, either. But, there is a festival for Halloween the Sunday before. Alan and I are going! It's in the city centre.
Today we got groceries delivered quite successfully. We made whole wheat pasta and salad for dinner. Alan has informed me that he is now a fan of both broccoli (as long as its not by itself or in a casserole) AND minestrone soup. I am very proud of him :)
Also, I got him an early birthday present (approved by Alan)! After his first day out in the field all of Friday, he got quite soaked. Some of our walks were wet as well, so I came up with the idea to get him a nice raincoat. It has a quilted layer inside that can be removed (they're pretty warm, I have one in my raincoat), and it should reach passed his knees, so he won't get so wet. It comes in the mail on Thursday!
In class today, Alan had GIS. He learned the basics of archGIS and learned how to use the program like overlaying data and making maps and really cool stuff that will help him in the field and make him the best archaeologist in the world! I learned about how to make balance sheets and silly things like that (which I guess will be useful) and then had CCI (Creative and Cultural Industries) and we learned about neat things that Sheffield does to promote its culture and how industrial cities regenerate themselves. Festivals are also a very interesting topic here because some are created based on rationale (like farming), others are commemorative, and some are to promote culture and learning and tourism!
I've got to get back to studying (I'm currently reading Marketing, HRM, and some archaeology articles) and Alan is working on some grad school stuff.
Lauren and Alan
Sunday, September 30, 2012
September 30
Today was rainy in the afternoon, which was nice. It's always nice to see rain when you can stay inside. I like to keep the windows open and keep it cooler inside before it gets too cold to do that. It works nicely with our fuzzy blankets and warm tea.
Alan and I were very productive today. We've done a bunch of reading for class (I still have another weekend day left, but Alan had to get ready for class because he has one from 9-11 tomorrow). I also read some of my new UK version of JKR's book while Alan took a break to play some games. I also learned how to do a new braid, the double braids that the Kahleesi has in Game of Thrones.
Best part about today was that Alan and I made apple crisp, which makes the whole flat smell like warm cinnamon. It's very fall-like. If only it would snow..
Alan and I were very productive today. We've done a bunch of reading for class (I still have another weekend day left, but Alan had to get ready for class because he has one from 9-11 tomorrow). I also read some of my new UK version of JKR's book while Alan took a break to play some games. I also learned how to do a new braid, the double braids that the Kahleesi has in Game of Thrones.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
September
So, this is a little far behind, but I decided to give in to Alan and make a blog. I guess I'll go through September since we've been here and update everyone on what we've been up to!
Arrival:
September 10th. We officially left the country at 930PM on September 9th. Sometime early morning we arrived in Iceland. I want to go back there and stay for a few days on our way home because its a beautiful place. Anyways, shock to the system: it was 34F outside..it was cold! Syracuse/Boston was mid-90s and ungodly humid when we left. Can't say I didn't enjoy the cold.
When we got to the Manchester Airport in England it was raining. Glorious! Unfortunately its been quite sunny since. Alan and I had our first British food in the airport. We dared to get sandwiches, a lunch staple here. For some reason, they think that if there's no mayo (which I can't eat), there needs to be something else to keep the bread from getting mushy. They use a "reduced fat spread" or butter on every sandwich. Everything. From Alan's ham and cheese to my tomato and cheese (I wasn't all that daring to try the British version of Mexican chicken sandwiches). Then we had a nice long bus ride through the countryside to Sheffield.
Cool thing about England is that they don't really do highways. They have some roads like it that go through the countryside (which is amazing), but most of the time, you're traveling through villages and towns and cities. I wanted to sleep, because I was tired and my body thought it was 5AM, but it was too tempting to look at the amazing architecture that has made England my dream destination for nearly all my life.
International Student Orientation Week:
Alan and I signed up for this thing for international students to arrive a week before intro week (which is when you register the week before classes actually start, more on that after). We met a lot of interesting people from all over the world. Rose, you would have died from all the people you could've met! Alan and I went to a few of the seminars, walked all over the Sheffield city centre area and housing area and prepared for the day we could move into our first apartment together.
One of the fun things that they had planned for us was a trip to Chatsworth (http://www.chatsworth.org/). It's a ridiculous house. We didn't get a good photograph from outside, but if you look around the website, its pretty incredible. The inside is just ridiculous. Then, they had the entire backyard. There were at least three man-made ponds, a rockery (much bigger than Easton's), a waterfall (pictured behind us), and a hedge maze. Yeah. A hedge maze. Alan and I found the Tri-Wizard Cup there, too. We won!
Today:
Saturday is our lazy day. Today Alan and I did a glorious nothing. Well, we've read and done some cleaning. I did laundry (which takes all day because we have a washer/dryer combo and each cycle takes about 3 hours). We also tried the ASDA online groceries to compliment our normal Tesco and Eurospar quick stops for fresh produce. We're really awesome about eating lots of veggies and healthy breads, but we miss some of our American staples. Like dill pickles, cookie dough, and baking soda. ASDA is a little more variable because its online, so we were able to find some of our own cooking materials. Here, we've found that people shop for a few days and probably visit the grocery store 3-5 times a week. We are trying to stick to cooking for ourselves (much cheaper), which means stocking up on the essentials.
Another fun thing about England is that the Royal Mail is fantastic. I ordered all my books last Saturday. I have all of them, plus my JKR book today. That's 8 books on the cheapest shipping option there is. It's amazing! And we got Alan's extra desk chair in less than 24 hours of ordering it!
Now that I'll be updating regularly (as time permits), posts will be shorter. Feel free to comment or privately message me and if you want to skype, let me know! I go to bed by 10PM so that I can wake up around 7AM and get ready. We like to walk when its not raining, and that's about a 30 minute walk (2.5 miles) that everyone in university housing does, so we get ready early. It's also nice to get up and explore, even if most shops and school buildings don't open until late. Time is different here in England.
Cheers!
Lauren and Alan
Arrival:
September 10th. We officially left the country at 930PM on September 9th. Sometime early morning we arrived in Iceland. I want to go back there and stay for a few days on our way home because its a beautiful place. Anyways, shock to the system: it was 34F outside..it was cold! Syracuse/Boston was mid-90s and ungodly humid when we left. Can't say I didn't enjoy the cold.
When we got to the Manchester Airport in England it was raining. Glorious! Unfortunately its been quite sunny since. Alan and I had our first British food in the airport. We dared to get sandwiches, a lunch staple here. For some reason, they think that if there's no mayo (which I can't eat), there needs to be something else to keep the bread from getting mushy. They use a "reduced fat spread" or butter on every sandwich. Everything. From Alan's ham and cheese to my tomato and cheese (I wasn't all that daring to try the British version of Mexican chicken sandwiches). Then we had a nice long bus ride through the countryside to Sheffield.
Cool thing about England is that they don't really do highways. They have some roads like it that go through the countryside (which is amazing), but most of the time, you're traveling through villages and towns and cities. I wanted to sleep, because I was tired and my body thought it was 5AM, but it was too tempting to look at the amazing architecture that has made England my dream destination for nearly all my life.
International Student Orientation Week:
Alan and I signed up for this thing for international students to arrive a week before intro week (which is when you register the week before classes actually start, more on that after). We met a lot of interesting people from all over the world. Rose, you would have died from all the people you could've met! Alan and I went to a few of the seminars, walked all over the Sheffield city centre area and housing area and prepared for the day we could move into our first apartment together.
One of the fun things that they had planned for us was a trip to Chatsworth (http://www.chatsworth.org/). It's a ridiculous house. We didn't get a good photograph from outside, but if you look around the website, its pretty incredible. The inside is just ridiculous. Then, they had the entire backyard. There were at least three man-made ponds, a rockery (much bigger than Easton's), a waterfall (pictured behind us), and a hedge maze. Yeah. A hedge maze. Alan and I found the Tri-Wizard Cup there, too. We won!
Intro Week:
Intro week is when all the students register for the National Health Service with a school doctor if they want and register as a student for classes. In America, this is all done online. In England, we do everything in person. It was a lot of steps, very hard because we had to walk everywhere and not everyone knows where we should go for different things, and I'm very glad its behind us. Now, we have doctors and student cards that we can use to get into buildings and get really cheap bus fare!
Intro week is when all the students register for the National Health Service with a school doctor if they want and register as a student for classes. In America, this is all done online. In England, we do everything in person. It was a lot of steps, very hard because we had to walk everywhere and not everyone knows where we should go for different things, and I'm very glad its behind us. Now, we have doctors and student cards that we can use to get into buildings and get really cheap bus fare!
Fact about doctors here: since medicine is socialized (a fantastic idea), we get free healthcare for the next year and the school doctors are certified NHS (their national doctor standards) doctors. Also, all medicine is cheap. Pretty amazing!
view from the castle hilltop
the keep of the castle
a 14/15 century cathedral
Alan and I at the top of the castle
The cool field trip of this week was to the Peak District, which is a national park. It's really big. We hiked up mountains and went through villages of Neolithic origin. We saw a Roman fort, a castle, etc. Pretty cool. Very inspiring to the archaeologists. This is a picture of Alan and I at the castle (its on top of a hill) and you can see the countryside and village below. The other picture is from one side of the castle, the cliff. To get up, you have to go on the other side and do tons of switch backs to walk up. And of course, it rained on our second field trip as well, so we
Sept 24- The First Week of Class
Okay, so first you need to understand this timeline. From Sept 10-15 is international week. From Sept 15-23 is intro week, and then finally, on Sept 24, classes start. We have been in England for two weeks before we see the inside of a classroom.
Something that reminds me I'm not in America (because its really not that different, but then, it also is very different) is class. I have a four day weekend. I have class from Tuesday-Thursday, but they're really full days. Maybe 5 hours of class a week. But even so, they're shorter days than I had in undergrad. So it's strange. I feel like I have all this time open. My management courses have tutorials, but they're every other week (like discussion groups). Its much different teaching here and they don't really give homework, but I have lots of reading available to me and I'm going to every class and taking lots of notes and studying hard to get a good grade. My goal is to graduate with distinction, which is hard to do here. The grading system is different.
I'm also going to do an internship with a local museum. I've gotten a centralized topic idea for my dissertation. I am also going to join the archaeology departments journal if I can.
Alan has this really awesome class that takes him out into the field all day on Friday to look at landscapes and apply the themes he has been learning into practice. My classes are more focused on management and use of the materials, which is great, so I don't have to learn how to do accounting, but how to look for the information that will help me and learn to interpret and look for it. So we both have cool classes. This week was intro week for classes, so the further they get going, the more we will tell you!
Our final assignments (due sometime in January are 75% writing and the rest are tests, of essays. The writing is about 20-25 pages for each class. Alan has four, I have five.
Today:
Saturday is our lazy day. Today Alan and I did a glorious nothing. Well, we've read and done some cleaning. I did laundry (which takes all day because we have a washer/dryer combo and each cycle takes about 3 hours). We also tried the ASDA online groceries to compliment our normal Tesco and Eurospar quick stops for fresh produce. We're really awesome about eating lots of veggies and healthy breads, but we miss some of our American staples. Like dill pickles, cookie dough, and baking soda. ASDA is a little more variable because its online, so we were able to find some of our own cooking materials. Here, we've found that people shop for a few days and probably visit the grocery store 3-5 times a week. We are trying to stick to cooking for ourselves (much cheaper), which means stocking up on the essentials.
Another fun thing about England is that the Royal Mail is fantastic. I ordered all my books last Saturday. I have all of them, plus my JKR book today. That's 8 books on the cheapest shipping option there is. It's amazing! And we got Alan's extra desk chair in less than 24 hours of ordering it!
Now that I'll be updating regularly (as time permits), posts will be shorter. Feel free to comment or privately message me and if you want to skype, let me know! I go to bed by 10PM so that I can wake up around 7AM and get ready. We like to walk when its not raining, and that's about a 30 minute walk (2.5 miles) that everyone in university housing does, so we get ready early. It's also nice to get up and explore, even if most shops and school buildings don't open until late. Time is different here in England.
Cheers!
Lauren and Alan
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