I just made baked squash with apples. Hopefully it tastes good?
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Writing
1. Sorry for not posting in, um, some long-ish amount of time. Almost two weeks? I usually start thinking, "Oh, I'll wait until a few interesting things happen and then I'll write about them all at once!" but then SO MANY THINGS happen and it's just too much and I just don't write about them at all.
2. I just finished reading Robinson Crusoe for 18th Century Writing. For a while, I enjoyed it. Then it just got so unbearably repetitive. I was reading it Sunday night and was literally nodding off. Which was partly because of all my London shenanigans, but I'd say a good 56% was because I was reading the same thing over and over again. And not like when you are tired and end up reading the same sentence or paragraph multiple times. Like when the author actually writes basically the exact same thing multiple times in a row. Which is just unnecessary, I think.
3. Which made me start thinking about writing in general, and why we have to read certain texts for class, and what is considered good (or great) literature and what's not, and why a novel like Robinson Crusoe is so respected in the literary sphere. Because honestly, and I may be missing something, I'm not that impressed with Robinson Crusoe. Now, I definitely believe there should be standards for literature, and I do think Robinson Crusoe falls within those standards, but. It made me think about standards, and then specifically within a university setting, on what grounds can anyone determine the quality of a creative writing piece.
4. Because I am writing a play for my Creative Writing Dissertation. And I met with my adviser the other week, and she told me I needed to work on my dialogue because it didn't sound quite natural, the way "real people" would speak. Well. I know that. I know I have a tendency to write with more heightened dialogue. But...don't most playwrights? Also, the dialogue I have so far was written very intentionally for the way it sounds, as well as what is being said. Plus she's not satisfied with my stage directions, which are minimal and allow room for interpretation (I like interpretation. I like giving people options.), which is fine, I'll fix that and write a ton of really detailed stage direction and it will help contribute to the 50 pages I need to complete by the end of the term. But I feel very much like I'm writing creatively with someone else's limitations and expectations, and I don't like it.
5. Also, I wrote a bunch of postcards and left just enough space on all of them for a normal sized 87p stamp. But apparently the post office ran out of those and won't have any until after Christmas (it takes over two months to get more stamps? what country am I in??) so I had to put half of the postcards in envelopes just to accommodate the ridiculously large stamps. Which defeats the purpose of a postcard as being something that doesn't require an envelope. OH WELL.
2. I just finished reading Robinson Crusoe for 18th Century Writing. For a while, I enjoyed it. Then it just got so unbearably repetitive. I was reading it Sunday night and was literally nodding off. Which was partly because of all my London shenanigans, but I'd say a good 56% was because I was reading the same thing over and over again. And not like when you are tired and end up reading the same sentence or paragraph multiple times. Like when the author actually writes basically the exact same thing multiple times in a row. Which is just unnecessary, I think.
3. Which made me start thinking about writing in general, and why we have to read certain texts for class, and what is considered good (or great) literature and what's not, and why a novel like Robinson Crusoe is so respected in the literary sphere. Because honestly, and I may be missing something, I'm not that impressed with Robinson Crusoe. Now, I definitely believe there should be standards for literature, and I do think Robinson Crusoe falls within those standards, but. It made me think about standards, and then specifically within a university setting, on what grounds can anyone determine the quality of a creative writing piece.
4. Because I am writing a play for my Creative Writing Dissertation. And I met with my adviser the other week, and she told me I needed to work on my dialogue because it didn't sound quite natural, the way "real people" would speak. Well. I know that. I know I have a tendency to write with more heightened dialogue. But...don't most playwrights? Also, the dialogue I have so far was written very intentionally for the way it sounds, as well as what is being said. Plus she's not satisfied with my stage directions, which are minimal and allow room for interpretation (I like interpretation. I like giving people options.), which is fine, I'll fix that and write a ton of really detailed stage direction and it will help contribute to the 50 pages I need to complete by the end of the term. But I feel very much like I'm writing creatively with someone else's limitations and expectations, and I don't like it.
5. Also, I wrote a bunch of postcards and left just enough space on all of them for a normal sized 87p stamp. But apparently the post office ran out of those and won't have any until after Christmas (it takes over two months to get more stamps? what country am I in??) so I had to put half of the postcards in envelopes just to accommodate the ridiculously large stamps. Which defeats the purpose of a postcard as being something that doesn't require an envelope. OH WELL.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
On Castles and Food and Things
Today is Wednesday which means I have been in Norwich for two. whole. weeks.
I know. I don't believe it either.
So much and so little has happened. Whitman and London both seem so far away, but I still feel like I haven't really even started classes yet. Which I think is due to the whole "have class only once a week but for multiple hours" way of learning over here. I spend so much time not on campus that the "study" part of the abroad experience seems to be lacking. (Am I complaining about this? Not sure.)
However, this does leave me with plenty of free time to do fun things like visit the Norwich Castle!
Some history: Norwich Castle was built by a bunch of Normans about 900 years ago. It has since been renovated, etc., and is now filled with lots of galleries and fun things to look at. If you visit an hour before closing, it only costs one pound to get in! So naturally that's what I did on Monday. The only downside to that was I didn't have access to the dungeon or battlement tours, but what can you do. I did get to see all this stuff though:
All in all, Monday was a pretty fun day. I don't even want to talk about Tuesday. Let's talk about food instead!
This is really the first time in my life I've ever had to make all of my meals for myself. As I'm learning to do that, I end up eating a lot of the same things. For instance, carrots and potatoes are relatively cheap in bulk, so I buy a lot and then sautee them with olive oil and pepper and put them in a wrap for dinner. Basically every night. Because it's easy. And also very tasty. Did I mention cheap? (After about five days of watching me eat exactly the same thing each night, Katie asked me if I was on a special diet haha.) Anyway, I'm currently in the middle of running out of food/still having enough where I don't really need to go shopping, so my eating habits haven't been quite normal the past couple days.
Also, we have a cleaning lady. Which is nice, but she's always cleaning the kitchen when I want to eat. This resulted in me eating a Snickers bar for brunch today. By the time she left, I really only had time to make some toast before dashing back to campus for my Creative Writing Dissertation introductory seminar. (And by dashing, I mean walking quickly to the bus stop and getting there right in time for the driver to change shifts and then waiting ten minutes for another driver to show up and then sitting on the bus for another five before he got the computer system all worked out. Buses. They're still a mystery to me.)
On my way back from campus, I stopped by Patisserie Valerie to buy a cupcake because today is Jeremy Howell's birthday, and also because everything in Patisserie Valerie is just confectionery perfection. To recap: Snickers, toast, cupcake.
But now for the happy ending! For those of you who are probably worried now about my eating habits (mom), I've joined the UEA VegBox Society. What this means is I can order a small, medium or large selection of organic vegetables from a local farm (http://www.facebook.com/arthursorganicdeliveries) at a fantastically decent price through UEA. I place an order on facebook, and the vegetables get delivered to campus on Wednesdays for pick-up. So today I got my first medium vegbox! Which means instead of eating just carrots and potatoes for dinner, I got to eat this!
I am currently a very satisfied and happy camper. And I'm sure you are to, now that you've read all about what I ate today.
I know. I don't believe it either.
So much and so little has happened. Whitman and London both seem so far away, but I still feel like I haven't really even started classes yet. Which I think is due to the whole "have class only once a week but for multiple hours" way of learning over here. I spend so much time not on campus that the "study" part of the abroad experience seems to be lacking. (Am I complaining about this? Not sure.)
However, this does leave me with plenty of free time to do fun things like visit the Norwich Castle!
Some history: Norwich Castle was built by a bunch of Normans about 900 years ago. It has since been renovated, etc., and is now filled with lots of galleries and fun things to look at. If you visit an hour before closing, it only costs one pound to get in! So naturally that's what I did on Monday. The only downside to that was I didn't have access to the dungeon or battlement tours, but what can you do. I did get to see all this stuff though:
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| The Castle Keep! |
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| Some shells. |
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| The largest tea pot IN THE WORLD. |
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| Pretty cool bird in the Natural History Gallery. |
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| This incredible glass piece in the modern art gallery that I wasn't supposed to take a picture of but couldn't resist. |
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| This fun dragon's head. |
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| Apparently what people used to look like back in the day. |
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| A suit of armor! |
All in all, Monday was a pretty fun day. I don't even want to talk about Tuesday. Let's talk about food instead!
This is really the first time in my life I've ever had to make all of my meals for myself. As I'm learning to do that, I end up eating a lot of the same things. For instance, carrots and potatoes are relatively cheap in bulk, so I buy a lot and then sautee them with olive oil and pepper and put them in a wrap for dinner. Basically every night. Because it's easy. And also very tasty. Did I mention cheap? (After about five days of watching me eat exactly the same thing each night, Katie asked me if I was on a special diet haha.) Anyway, I'm currently in the middle of running out of food/still having enough where I don't really need to go shopping, so my eating habits haven't been quite normal the past couple days.
Also, we have a cleaning lady. Which is nice, but she's always cleaning the kitchen when I want to eat. This resulted in me eating a Snickers bar for brunch today. By the time she left, I really only had time to make some toast before dashing back to campus for my Creative Writing Dissertation introductory seminar. (And by dashing, I mean walking quickly to the bus stop and getting there right in time for the driver to change shifts and then waiting ten minutes for another driver to show up and then sitting on the bus for another five before he got the computer system all worked out. Buses. They're still a mystery to me.)
On my way back from campus, I stopped by Patisserie Valerie to buy a cupcake because today is Jeremy Howell's birthday, and also because everything in Patisserie Valerie is just confectionery perfection. To recap: Snickers, toast, cupcake.
 |
| Here is a picture of me about to take a bite out of said cupcake. It was delicious, if you were wondering. |
But now for the happy ending! For those of you who are probably worried now about my eating habits (mom), I've joined the UEA VegBox Society. What this means is I can order a small, medium or large selection of organic vegetables from a local farm (http://www.facebook.com/arthursorganicdeliveries) at a fantastically decent price through UEA. I place an order on facebook, and the vegetables get delivered to campus on Wednesdays for pick-up. So today I got my first medium vegbox! Which means instead of eating just carrots and potatoes for dinner, I got to eat this!
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| With onions! And mushrooms! And corn! And BROCCOLI! |
I am currently a very satisfied and happy camper. And I'm sure you are to, now that you've read all about what I ate today.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
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.
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.
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.
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.
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| My camera decided to focus on the raindrops instead of the building. |
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| Courtyard in the rain! |
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| 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.
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| The Castle! On a sunny day, so I figured I'd better take advantage of it. |
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| 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.
Monday, September 24, 2012
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:
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. :)
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