Well folks I guess the whole study part of study abroad is officially underway here. These last few days of experiencing my first classes in London have been filled with mixed feelings about how classes are structured here across the pond. I've walked out of one class feeling like I've just been babied for three hours, to thinking wait am I supposed to teach myself this, to this class seems like it's actually going to be fun.
The class structure here definitely has its differences from what I am used to back home. All my classes meet only once a week for three hours and are for the most part divided between a lecture and seminar which is more discussion based.
My first class this week was my Personal and Professional Development class that correlates with my internship. The class does not seem like it will be too difficult as it is basically just about reflecting on what we are all learning at our respective internships. The class is all study abroad students so I didn't really feel like I was getting a true University experience on my first day with that class.
But Wednesday I definitely got a taste of what it is like in a regular class here. Hearing everyone sitting around me in my Advertising and Promotional Culture class speaking with a British accent seemed like a good sign to me. It started off with a normal lecture and then moved into the seminar. The seminar portion of the class was oddly just spent dividing up seminar paper topics amongst the class. My topic is "Advertising and the Media" which seems a little vague to me but I guess I'll have to make it work. When I looked through the syllabus I was surprised to find that there are only suggested readings for the course, not required textbooks, and the future lecture topics are mostly guest speakers coming in to talk about random topics related to advertising.
I was told before I left for London that the classes are more so about independent learning which I'm definitely finding to be true. I guess it's just one more thing to get used to.
Yesterday I had a long day of class from 10 - 6 (with a break in between of course). I started off my morning with Creative Writing in London. I've been particularly excited about this class as there are planned excursions and just the fact that I get to write about London.. I don't think it gets much better than that! My first assignment believe it or not is to ride the bus to the end of the line and back and write about my experience. I'm not exactly the most creative person so I'm hoping to learn a lot from this class. I then had my sociology class after that which I also think I'm really going to enjoy. The teacher was very engaging and just overall seems excited about what she's teaching.
Enough about classes! I've been able to squeeze some fun into this week too. Tuesday night my study abroad group and I went on a Jack the Ripper tour around the east side of London. It was really interesting hearing the history of the neighborhood and murders with some gross details in between. It was a little creepy coming back to an empty room that night so I may or may not have slept with the bathroom light on....
And I have to give a shout out to my friend Vethina who found last minute tickets online for the Broadway show Chicago last night. The tickets were only 15 pounds and the seats weren't bad at all. I had never seen the movie or show before and I absolutely loved it...and appreciated the irony of seeing Chicago....in London.
No comments:
Post a Comment