Third Entry – Classes Start

Another week down. It feels like a lot has happened these last seven days; probably because classes started and my free time has decreased. I did not go into my classes with many expectations since I had heard quite a few different accounts of what they were like. My first and only class on Monday was cancelled due to a Tube strike. Thousands of Londoners were displaced and many others were unable to make it into the city. This made the streets busy and the people frenzied. It wasn’t much of a bother to me since I enjoy people watching and walk everywhere anyway. Tuesdays are free of classes, which gives me a chance to take care of errands and do more exploring, of which I absolutely adore. The rest of the week was basically uneventful; more classes and attempting to completely understand the British higher education system (or at least the University College London system).  There are more differences than I was expecting. For one, as an affiliate (study abroad) student, I was unable to sign up for classes until last weekend. Once I signed up I had to wait for an advisor to confirm my choices. Until that happened, I was technically not on any of the class lists. Ultimately this was not a big deal and the lecturers (professors and teachers) were understanding of my situation. It did turn out, however, that one of my classes was not going to work out because of a scheduling conflict. This meant that I would have to choose another course and wait for confirmation again. Waiting on an advisor to look over my selections is a new concept to me and took this entire week to understand. Another big difference is the way the modules (courses) are set up. Some modules have very little homework and are lecture-heavy while some only consist of essays. For the lecture-based modules, there are no tests or quizzes spread throughout the duration of the course and only have one major examination at the very end of the semester. Two of mine have exams worth 90% of the grade. If that’s not intimidating, I don’t know what is. Those are just a couple of the main differences that I came across this first week. All in all, these are not impossible to grasp but will take some time to get used to. The modules that I am taking are: Astrophysical Processes: Nebulae to Stars, Lasers and Modern Optics, 17th- and 18th- Century Art in London, and History of Parliament.

On another note, I had the opportunity to visit two great attractions in London this weekend; The Tower of London and The British Museum. Saturday morning I woke up early, met three of my good friends, and made my way to the Tower of London by way of double-decker. After a twenty-or-so minute ride and a ten minute walk, we turned a corner to see the beautifully old structure, standing strong, surrounded by the new architecture of the 20th century. It was actually breathtaking. We couldn’t wait to enter the gates; to explore this historical time capsule but to also get out of the chilling wind. I loved seeing the rooms where kings and queens had resided, nefarious acts were committed, and where the Crown Jewels were displayed. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole tour but my favorite part had to be, and still is, the Crown Jewels. They are, as you would imagine, beautifully ornate and much better in person. The collection consists of ornamental swords, maces, cloaks, and dinnerware. There were also scepters, orbs, and crowns of course. All of these were decorated with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, gold, and silver. The building where they are kept is constantly guarded very closely by members of the Royal Military. You will recognize the guards by their unique headpieces. We had a lot of fun walking the grounds.

Today was grey and rainy so a visit to The British Museum was a perfect way to get out, yet stay dry. I believe many people in London had this same idea. It was incredible to walk among the famous artifacts I have learned about and read about my whole life. Standing in front of towering statues from ancient Egypt is a humbling experience. Being in the museum invokes feelings of brevity; you feel small surrounded by thousands of years of history. I don’t think I saw more than half of the museum, and even what I did see was not as in depth as it could have been. I could spend days there and still miss some of the exhibits. That is what’s so great about having free admission. I don’t feel like I have to see everything in one go. I can return as many times as I would like, and believe me, I will be back. It has been another great week here in London. I can’t exactly say what next week will bring but I am excited to find out.

Ta ta.

~Kaitlin