Week Two!

It's been a pretty good week, I must say. I've started my classes, met some new people, had a bit of fun. My study abroad adventure is finally starting to take off!

Courses here are very different from Whitman. For 18th Century Writing, I have a one hour lecture on Wednesday mornings in which no one - absolutely no one - talks except the professor. There's about 80 people in the lecture. The lecture is followed by a two hour seminar later in the week, with about 25 people, which is supposed to be discussion based. There were times at Whitman when I felt fifty minutes was definitely not enough time to cover all the material for the day, but oh boy is two hours just a little too much. I absolutely love the content, though. I'm very excited about everything we have to read, and I can feel my English Major-ness resurfacing.

My second course is currently Early English Drama, which is a THREE hours seminar once a week, no lecture. Surprisingly enough, that was more bearable. However, I'm trying to switch into a different course, possibly Children's Lit or Nonsense Writing (which both sound so much more fun, right?!). I'll let you know how that works out.

Creative Writing meets Wednesday...and then never again. I don't get it either. But I guess the module "aims to encourage independent and the initiation and development of new creative material in a way that provides a grounding in the disciplines necessary both for postgraduate research and the professional practice of writing." I have the options of composing a 60 page play, a 6000 word short story, or a collection of poems. I think, since I'm already working on some plays to submit for the One Acts, I'm going to try my hand at writing short stories again. I cannot tell you how excited I am for this.

Apart from starting classes, this week has been mostly about settling in. On the whole, I love the building I'm living in. Taking the bus to and from campus is becoming less and less of a hassle each time, and I like being right next to the city center. Everything's within walking distance. The other night I went to see Anna Karenina with some friends (yes, I have friends! also, it's a visually stunning film, go see it! when it's released in the states, I mean.), and I gave myself fifteen minutes to walk to the theatre because I didn't quite know where it was. It took me two. Ok, maybe three. But you see my point. And it's nice to not have to worry about taking the bus back to campus after I've been out really late.

Have I mentioned my jet lag has finally set in? I haven't been able to go to bed before 3am all week. Except Tuesday night, because I needed to wake up at 7. So I went to bed at 1:30. So good at sleeping.

Anyway, here are some photos of Mary Chapman.

My camera decided to focus on the raindrops instead of the building.

Courtyard in the rain!

Courtyard in the sun!

Aaaaaand, some pictures of Norwich. I haven't taken many pictures yet, but I'm hoping to explore the city a bit on Monday and Tuesday (because I don't have class yay!) and go picture crazy.

The Castle! On a sunny day, so I figured I'd better take advantage of it. 

A building next to Tesco...I'll walk by it tomorrow and see what it's actually called...

Other things that happened this week:
1. I finally did laundry! About 85% of the clothing I brought with me is currently strewn about my room air-drying. But at least it is clean!
2. Ended up in a group photo at this club called Tau. Of people I did not know at all. If I ever find the photo, I'm posting it, because I'm sure it is great.
3. Figured out it takes approximately 35 minutes to get from campus to the train station. So I can officially book my train ticket to London for 4pm October 12!!

I'm not entirely sure the best way to end these posts. Thanks for reading? Have a good day?

Eh. I'll figure it out eventually.

Welcome to my blog! Oh, and England.

I've never had a blog before. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it. But if you want to read my ramblings and look at some pictures I've taken and generally feel like you're caught up on my life, then you're in the right place!

I've been in England for almost two weeks. I spent the first week in London, but I won't tire you with all the wonderful details. Instead, a quick summary: while I was in London, I...
1. walked everywhere! I think the most walking I did in one day was 8 hours. But it's definitely the best way to see the city.
2. had a bizarre encounter with a junkie in Camden Market.
3. had my first drink at a delightful pub called the Windsor Castle. Discovered I'm very fond of gin and tonics.
4. saw two amazing plays, Simon Stephens' Morning and Will Eno's Thom Pain (based on nothing).
5. went to m&m world and found out that my m&m color is yellow because, "You are someone's sunshine today - and everyday!"
6. spent not enough time there.
7. was very, very happy.

Here are some of my favorite pictures (not found on facebook).

 


Since then, I've been in Norwich. It's a pretty quick train ride, under 2 hours, and probably would have been more pleasant if I hadn't missed the train I was originally supposed to be on. (Absolutely not my fault, by the way.) After I checked in on campus (very different from Whitman, but I like it so far), I moved into Mary Chapman Court, the only off-campus housing, approximately a half-hour bus ride from UEA. My flat was completely empty, so I spent the first night unpacking and doing this:

There's a lot of corkboard left to cover, but I've already collected a few new things in Norwich, so hopefully in three months it will be full! 

Thursday I managed to find my way to the bus stop and back on campus for an international student dinner. Friday and Saturday I went to orientation, met some very nice people who I will hopefully run into again at some point, and wrote down all my classes, homework assignments and events that are happening the next three months. And yesterday people finally moved into my flat!

I'm living with Katie, Alex, Henry and Danielle - all "freshers," as they're called here. They all seem great. Katie and Danielle are very sweet, Henry tells the funniest stories, and Alex is letting me borrow his mug for tea until I buy my own. They're already talking about celebrating an extravagant Halloween just for me (it's not as big of a deal over here) as well as having a giant Thanksgiving dinner. And they're very excited that I'm American, which is just so odd but also quite enjoyable. 

My first class is on Wednesday, and I'm definitely ready to get started. I feel like I've been in a sort-of limbo (thanks for the word, Molly!) the past few days, with nothing much happening and feeling as though my study abroad experience hasn't truly begun yet. I'm hoping this will change by the end of the week. 

Well. I'm going to go make dinner now. I already had my pre-dinner snack of biscuits and jam when I started writing this (thank goodness for free "welcome to UEA" food!). Here, I took a picture just for you!

Also Henry and Alex are going to make me tea! They're so lovely. I'll try to post pictures and updates somewhat regularly, so keep an eye out. :)