I go to class (sometimes).

Greetings again from jolly England!

So all the fun and games of induction (orientation for all you Americans) are generally over and now the real work begins. Classes started on Monday and even though I knew they were going to be different from classes in the U.S. it was still a little surprising. I had 4 classes on my schedule: Developmental Psychology, Economic and Consumer Psychology, Social and Cultural Explanations of Behavior and Constructing Sexuality. Even though that might seem like a normal sort of load, it's actually more than I am supposed to be taking. So I'm dropping Developmental Psychology for a number of reasons. For one, one of the lectures clashes with a workshop for ECP, also it's a follow up class from Year 1 Intro to Developmental of which I have not taken, it's much less interesting than the other psych classes I'm taking here and it's offered back in the states, so I can take it there. It also has an exam at the end of the course instead of just a paper so that's another reason to get axed.

Classes meet much less often here than back home. On Mondays I will generally (with a couple exceptions) have class from 10-11 and then from 3-5. On Tuesday I will either have class from 9:30-12 or 11-1 depending on if I am in a workshop or seminar for ECP. I have no class on Wednesday. Thursday I have class sometimes 10-11, sometimes 2-4, and always 5-6. And then I have no class on Friday. Good thing there is a study timetable online that tells you exactly what class you have that day and what time because otherwise, I would be horribly confused trying to remember where exactly I am supposed to be.

All of us American students are a little confused with what we're supposed to be doing with all this free time since we're in class only for about 5-10 hours a week instead of the 15+ we're used to. I suppose one can join clubs and societies, but even so, I doubt that would take up a huge amount of time. I'll be working with a professor, doing research with him, for around 10 hours a week so maybe that will make me feel more active. Whatever, I'll spend my time walking around the Downs with Rupert (whom I haven't found yet...the pet sheep that I am looking for). The International and Study Abroad Office is actually hosting a boudary walk tomorrow around campus to show the area around campus. I'm planning on heading over to do that, since I haven't yet taken the time to wander around past campus and or see anything not on the bus route from the uni (that's right, uni) to Brighton. I'm also not entirely sure if we have classes during the summer term or if we just use that time to study for exams and write papers. The full year students take all their exams/turn in all their papers in the summer regardless of when they took the course (either fall or spring term), so they might need the summer term to do all that work. I suppose we shall see.

Another thing about the educational system that is different is the reading schedule and mode of assessment. First of all, you don't have to buy textbooks (listen up Washu!), any textbook that you might need to get reading from is accessible in the library. You are encouraged to buy a course pack that has most of the required readings in them, which I did. But the £24 spent on course packs, even with the exchange rate, is much better than the $400+ usually spent at home. There are always a couple "essential" readings for that weeks class and then a huge long list of other readings you can peruse at your interest. I have a feeling, though, that most people only read those extra ones if they have pertinent information for a paper or an exam. Leading into papers and exams- these Brits have a lot riding on a single assessment. In my three classes, they each have a presentation that is worth about 20% and then about a 2000-4000 word essay worth 80% and that is it. No 10% for attendence, no exams worth 25% each. Basically you do well on this essay or else. Some of the classes have exams instead of papers worth the huge chunk of the grade but I'm not in any of those classes. Also the grading scale is not anything I am used to, so I'll have to figure that out eventually.

So yeah, that's most of the fun educational stuff. I'm starting to get to know the people on my floor better (sadly Americans instead of Brits, but they're really nice so it doesn't matter...plus we can all bitch about the pound together). The Brits have all arrived in full force, and it's nice to hear people and see people wandering around campus...it was pretty dead with just the group of about 100 new international students. I have yet to try real British food. Most of stuff that I've bought has been pretty good, but nothing that I would consider really different from home. They do have peanut butter! It generally tastes the same although there is kind of a small difference in consistency and flavor, but I don't care because peanut butter gets me through my education. I also haven't yet gone grocery shopping in earnest yet. I've gotten basics from the little shops on campus, but have not fully explored an English supermarket. Which means I haven't really done any sort of innovative cooking either. Oh well, it has only been a week. Eventually I fully plan on doing more than making sandwiches/pasta/cereal.

Also exciting: I bought tickets for two day trips. The first is on February 24th to Warwick Castle and the Cotswolds and the next is on March 1st to Bath and Stonehenge. Wooo!

Ta for now.