``````````````````````````````````````
My Journey to Leeds:
Getting to Leeds wasn't the most smooth sailing I've ever had. Or should I say train ride. It started out just fine. I managed to get all of my heavy luggage to King's Cross Station without a hitch and even took a picture at Platform 9 3/4! They even had the scarves from each of the houses in the Harry Potter series. As you can tell, I chose Gryffindor. :)
Step 1: Fast walk all the way down to our cabin like mad men (and women).
Step 2: Shuffle everyone onto the train.
Step 3: Find places to safely store our luggage.
Step 4: Figure out seating arrangements.
Step 5: Unload the train 15 minutes later.
I know what you're thinking. Why did you have to unload the train? Sadly, an announcement from the train conductor informed us that a person had been hit by a train further down the line. I was shocked: that was not how I imagined my first train ride would turn out.
After getting everyone back out of the train, we then had to wait for about an hour, give or take, until they announced the next available train to Leeds. Another mad dash commenced, but this time it was a lot more organized since we had figured out how to fit all of us and our luggage onto the train. I'm pretty sure all of us were relieved when our second train took off.
The journey to Leeds from that point on was an easy one. The train ride was comfortable and relaxing. Alyssa and I even met another girl in our group going to Leeds named Gaby, who you will be seeing more of on this blog in my English adventures (stay tuned for my next post). There were some amazing views as we traveled across the beautiful, green countryside that I had to take pictures of:
After snapping some photos, I took a much needed nap on the train. There's something about car rides, train rides, etc. that always lulls me to sleep... :)
And before we knew it, we were arriving at Leeds and splitting off to take taxis to our accommodations.
``````````````````````````````````````
Life in Leeds:
Weather:
I was expecting the cold and especially the rain.
Wind? Not so much.
And I'm not talking about a breeze or anything. The wind here is pretty powerful, so much so that there is no use trying to use an umbrella when it's raining. Umbrellas just can't win against English winds. I've had my umbrella flip inside out several times since I've been here, much to the amusement of the locals. And Alyssa.
As I'm typing this, the wind is roaring outside. My umbrella wouldn't last 5 seconds.
Wind aside, I am doing well with the cold, regardless of my affinity for cooler weather. I am very glad that I have a good wool coat, however. With a layer or two under it, the cold can't touch me. And fleece-lined tights/leggings underneath my jeans help keep my legs warm as well. Sometimes, I actually get too warm as I'm walking to and from campus and especially when I go into (any) buildings. But it's better than the opposite.
I'm still not liking the rain factor. I definitely miss California weather, as it is so much more predictable than the weather in England. Alyssa and I, during our first week in Leeds, got caught in a sudden downpour (wind included) on our way to a Study Abroad Welcome Social. Of course, I only had my umbrella to protect my head. Even with a hood, it wouldn't have done much good with the wind-rain combo pelting our faces. Luckily, we were able to seek shelter at Gaby's place to wait out the worst of the downpour, but not before Alyssa's umbrella malfunctioned. For the few seconds in between the umbrella malfunction and her seeking refuge under mine, Alyssa looked like she stepped in a shower for a couple of seconds. Thankfully, my umbrella held up as we huddled behind it, pushing against the oncoming wind and rain. We waited for about 15 minutes until the storm calmed down enough to make a dash for the event site. Before heading back out again, I borrowed Alyssa's scarf to make a makeshift hood to provide myself with some protection against Mother Nature. Here's my lovely picture documentation:
Courses (aka: Modules):
I was expecting my professors to be a lot more strict and matter-of-fact than back in America, but this hasn't been the case at all. They are similar to the professors I have back home (minus the accents), and you can tell that all of them are passionate about what they are teaching. They also seem very approachable and helpful, as I was thinking that I would be intimidated if I needed to ask them questions or for help.
Studying is very independent here, as is reflected by the lack of lecture time per week. With the exception of one class, my "modules" are all an hour long (but in reality are 50 minutes) and meet once a week. (The class that is an exception meets twice a week for an hour each, but this seems to be because it starts halfway through the semester.) I was also very scared for the infamous "reading lists," which are long lists of articles or textbooks that are created by the professors for their classes. I learned that students are supposed to decipher these lists and pick out the most important readings for their preparations for their finals. It turns out, at least for my classes, that these lists are more for if you are either having trouble grasping a concept or want to learn more about a subject discussed in lecture. My professors only expecting us to read the items that they tell us to read or "recommend" (which really means required). I can't tell you how much of a relief that is!
Testing is another dissimilarity between the American and British education. Whereas in America you typically have various quizzes and midterm(s) to gauge how you are progressing in a class before the final, classes here usually just have one final at the end of the semester that is worth 100% of your grade. Gulp. Another variant of this is one or two essays and/or a final. Still gulping. This part of academic life abroad scares me, since I'm used to the safety net that midterms provide, no matter how aggravating they might be at the time. Hopefully all goes well.
Daily Life:
A major difference between American and English universities is the mode of transportation. Mainly, you walk. Everywhere. I walk to and from campus, which is a 20-30 minute walk both ways. (15 minutes if you're super power walking). For the first couple of weeks, my legs and feet tired quickly. In the past week though, I've already noticed that I have endurance that I didn't have previously. I see it as my cardio time!
If people don't walk, they either bike to campus or take the bus. Unfortunately, bus passes for a semester are expensive, so I'm going to stick to walking. Besides, I'm liking all of the walking anyways. :)
The topic of walking segues to my next observation. There's a perk that I took for granted when you live in California: our easy access to food. It is so much easier to get your groceries at home than it is here, simply because of transportation. In California, we have our cars to transport all of our groceries back home and don't even think twice about it. In Leeds, most students don't have cars. So what is a Cali girl to do? Alyssa found out that many of the grocery stores deliver your groceries to your door. Even after one delivery the other day, I already know that this will be a lifesaver for me this semester, as it's going to free up much more of my day. (A grocery shopping trip can take 2 hours due to walking time.)
Another thing I am happy about is the fact that the peanut butter out here is totally fine! I heard so many people saying that the peanut butter here doesn't taste good, and seeing that I had no room for a big jar of Skippy peanut butter, I was fearing what I would do without it. Thankfully, the problem seems to be the lack of sugar added to the peanut butter on this side of the Atlantic. The peanut butter I currently have is made up of 90% peanuts (although it can be up to 95% in other brands). And since I pile on the peanut butter in my sandwiches, I can taste a lot more of the flavor than others typically might. Either way, I am relieved that peanut butter sandwiches will still be a staple in my diet while I'm abroad. :) Here's what one of the brands I've used looks like:
 |
| Only I would take pictures of peanut butter... |
 |
| I wish they sold bigger jars out here though. :( |
I hope you enjoyed this post, although it wasn't quite as exciting as the last one. I also didn't have as many pictures. But I will make up for that in my next post, which is about my first day trip in England! Until next time! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment