Questions, Comments, Concerns and Amusing Anecdotes

First, let's all let out a collective sigh of relief that I'm finally posting again. Next, I'd like to point out that something that's special or exciting is so, in part because it doesn't happen every day.

Much like my blog.

If my blog became part of your morning routine, it'd be just that--routine. I want these few minutes we share in cyberspace together to be meaningful and insightful. But above all, I'd like you to feel like reading this blog was better than actually doing what you know you should've been doing instead of reading this blog. Especially those of you reading this on company time. You know who you are.

Wow, all that pretension has left me physically and emotionally drained. While I recharge the proverbial batteries, enjoy this intermission brought to you by laughing baby









Now that that's over we can all get on with our lives.

I wanted to do something a little different with this post. I've sort of settled in to a routine here, especially now that classes have started. There's really not too much to report on that wouldn't create mass amounts of Déjà vu for any of you who have spent any amount of time (probably company time) reading one of my earlier posts. But, now that I've been here for an entire month (Today is my one month anniversary with England and we're already living together. Moving kind of fast, right?) I've had some time to sort of adjust to the people, the city and the accent; enough at least to comment on some things I find interesting/cool/neat-o/any other annoying adjective you can think of. Without further adieu, this is my list of Questions, Comments, Concerns and Amusing Anecdotes:

• Yes, they really do drive on the wrong side of the road. This could have the potential to be dangerous crossing busy streets in the center city. Luckily, painted on the road at nearly every crosswalk are the words "LOOK LEFT" or "LOOK RIGHT." Yes, in all caps. Screaming at you from the pavement
• Groceries don't last nearly as long as they do in the States and for that, I'm thankful. The food is severely lacking in the preservatives that allow your bread to sit in the cupboard for 2 weeks while you're vacationing in Bali, come home and make lunch for the kiddos for the next 5 days. As a result, I feel healthier. I have to go to the grocery store more often, but it's a small price to pay. Which leads me to my next point:
• The groceries are by and large cheaper here than in the States. Even considering the conversion rate (it's bad... take my word for it), I can buy the same amount of groceries for probably 30-40% less than back home
• Brighton is a really trendy, fashion-forward city. Sometimes I feel like I don't fit in because I'm not nearly as fashionable as the rest of the city
• In every class I've been in, I've been nervous to talk in front of everyone for the first time. Right when I open my mouth I can feel dozens of pairs of eyeballs burning a hole through my face because of my accent. Once we all get over the initial shock of me being an American, it's smooth sailing
• Europe is much more in-tune with America than America is with Europe
• The Brits love Obama
• A city the size of Brighton in America wouldn't have nearly the amount or quality of public transport
• The English love a good rally/demonstration/protest
• Students seem to have much more of a voice in the UK's University system than students would in the US
• England is very dog-friendly: dogs on public transportation, dogs in stores, dogs in university lecture halls
• Media in general is far less censored. Imagine my surprise opening up a newspaper and seeing a topless woman. I had to check the front to make sure it wasn't a Playboy.... nope, it's a newspaper all right. Come to find out, Page 3 is an "institution in Britain" as one of my British classmates informed me
• I know more Brits that have been to America than Americans that have been to the UK. And trust me, I know far more Americans than I do Brits
• I sometimes find myself thinking with a British accent. I wouldn't dare try to put one on, though. It sounds pretentious trying to fake an accent. Like they don't know that you're trying to put one on, anyways.
• I feel out of touch with news in the US. I don't see much TV and honestly don't check internet-based news resources that often.

I'm really running out of things to say here. If there's something you were hoping I'd mention that I failed to, then feel free to keep it to yourself because this is NOT a democracy.

Just kidding, let me know what you want to hear about I'll do my best to make your dreams become reality.

Play it Cool, Stay in School

I know I haven't updated in a week or so but I hope you can find it in your heart of hearts to forgive me. The last few days, in stark contrast to the few days before them, have been rather busy! School officially started on Monday and I can already tell I will come to dread Mondays. Not only does Monday signify the end of the weekend, I am in class for almost 6 hours. That's a lot of sitting and listening.
The class structure in England I'm already finding to be different than in the US. At home, for the most part every class meets for 75 minutes twice a week with little exception (unless it's a lab or night class). Here, my shortest class meets an hour and a half once a week, and my longest class meets for 3 hours straight once a week. Generally the classes will have required seminars that are pretty similar to what the name suggests. A tutor (UK phrasing for professor) will lead a seminar or tutor group which is a sort of follow up to the lectures. So in the lecture is when the lecture happens (thank you, Captain Obvious) and the seminar is where the lecture is discussed. I don't know how I'm going to like it, but we'll see. The jury's still out on that one.

Finding classes proved to be quite challenging as well. Before coming here, I had a list of 10 courses pre-approved by departments at UNCC that I'd then get to chose from once I arrived in Brighton. Only 2 of the 10 classes are classes I'm actually taking right now. For whatever reason be it scheduling conflict, a full roster or the class simply not being offered, I was only to actually enroll in 2. NCAA and other institutional requirements necessitate my taking a minimum of 4 classes to maintain full-time status. So, as much as I'd like to be here taking 2 classes, it's just not possible. That meant I had to get in touch with faculty back home in order to re-pre-approve (yes, I just made that up and no, I'm not proud of it) classes. As I mentioned in my very first post, the faculty at UNCC have been incredibly supportive, understanding and accommodating without exception. It has been much less of a challenge for me to coordinate with professors from home than for some of my contemporaries in Brighton. And for that I'm very thankful.

So with that all settled, I'm sure you're about to fall out of your chair waiting for me to tell you what classes I'm taking. After checking with my legal team we decided I can't be liable for any injuries resulting from the suspense-evoking nature of my writing, so I'm just going to go ahead and tell you.
War, Conflict and Modernity is my first and last class of every week. The lecture is Monday mornings and the seminar takes place mid-morning on Fridays. Once the professor walked into the class with his dog, I knew it was going to be a good class. The material is right up my alley as well. It's a blend of political philosophy and history with a shot of terrorism/war studies just to keep you on your toes. If there's a class I wouldn't mind waking up early for, it's this one.
Also on Mondays is Theorizing the Social World. This is a social theory class (no kidding!) that I haven't formed an opinion about. The professor is brilliant. She's scottish and has a wonderful sense of humor so if nothing else, she'll keep me laughing.
Tuesdays are dedicated to the world of Social Psychology. This might be the opposite of my social theory class. The professor is a hair more vanilla and the material a smidge more interesting.
Wednesdays are my free days, though I'd trade Wednesdays for Fridays any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Global Social Policy is my 3 hour class on Thursday mornings and I can see myself enjoying this one as well.

Once it's all said and done, I'm about as happy with my classes as could be reasonably expected. It definitely could be worse. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Outside of the real reason I'm here (it is called STUDY abroad, afterall), we took a trip to Hastings last Saturday. Stops included Beachy Head and Battle Abbey, the site of the last successful invasion of England circa 1066. Quite an interesting feeling visiting a site that has history dating back hundreds of years before the United States was a twinkle in the eye of the world.

Beachy Head near Eastbourne. That's the English Channel, so on the other side of that water is France

The sort of rounded cliffs in the distance are called the Seven Sisters.

Beachy Head is the 3rd most popular suicide spot in the world. Pleasant, huh?

Zoe and Mary

All of this land is protected and can't be developed

The Long Man of Wilmington

The field in the middle is where the battle of Hastings took place in 1066. The building in the background is the Battle Abbey built by William the Conqueror 4 years later as a sort of repentance for the blood shed during the invasion.

And the obligatory blog-ending YouTube video (not a music video this time):