The mumblings and musings of an English Literature student from the University of Warwick on a year abroad at the University of Connecticut, USA. The excitements, misunderstandings, confessions, confusions and adventures that are part and parcel of a year in a very foreign country.
"I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything." — Bill Bryson
It's that time of year. The Super Bowl. The eagerly anticipated championship of the National Football League. And yes, that's American Football. It's one of the biggest days in the American calendar despite not being an actual holiday. It is also the second day of the year when the most food is consumed!!! That's after Thanksgiving of course. With an average audience of 11 million people it's going to be big and so next Sunday my halls are organising a Super Bowl party with food, drink, a big screen and lots of (hopefully friendly) rivalry. This year sees the New England Patriots vs the New York Giants and so I am torn as to who I should support; I'm in New England but who doesn't love New York!?
I awoke yesterday morning to find my door scribbled with the following:
And then a few hours later...
So there's obviously rivalry on my corridor. The only answer is a vote. Who should I support in the NFL Super Bowl next weekend? The New England Patriots? Or the New York Giants? I'll let you guys decide...
So most people reading this blog will know me fairly well. You will know, even if just judging by the layout and design of my blog, that I like LOVE to read. I am studying English Literature purely because the concept of devoting 3 years of my life to reading books from all around the world was like a dream come true and too good an opportunity to miss.
People who know me a bit better will also know that I have slight OCD tendencies. I always have a bottle of hand sanitiser in my bag and I like everything to be ordered and in the correct place. Now if we are to combine these two character traits you will probably guess that my bookshelves are my pride and joy. My room is as close to a library as my tiny 5ft by 6ft room can get! I revel in the fact that I know exactly what books we have in the house and, with semi photographic memory, can tell you roughly where. My incredible (if I may say so myself) book collection is largely thanks to my lovely Aunt Helen who shares an equal passion for books and gobbles them up even quicker than I do. Every time we see her she comes laden with more books for our shelves. The last three years have marked the addition of roughly four or so new bookshelves to the house and we are in desperate need of more. We are rapidly running out of space - I love it!
So, with all this in mind you can begin to imagine my excitement and joy at the discovery of Goodreads.com. It's beyond amazing. A whole website where you can rate the books you've read and recommend books to friends and keep a list of all the books you've been meaning to read but never got around to. Hours of procrastination right there. You can arrange your books on different shelves and read reviews and write your own. There's hours of nerdy entertainment. You may have noticed my smart new widget on the left hand side of the page, courtesy of Goodreads.com - much smarter than my previous attempt at a reading list. Anyways I think you should all check out goodreads and have a good peruse of all the books you're missing out on. And please, please, please, if you have any good recommendations let me know!
My all time favourite books! We Need to Talk About Kevin, Perfume, Small Island, Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Life of Bees
Firstly, before I do anything, you must watch this video:
What you just witnessed are the comedy delights of Dave and Ethan, two guys who claim to know all there is to College Dating.... debatable I know!
Anyways as one of my New Years Resolutions was to make the most out of my time left here at UConn, on Thrusday night, Emily, Rachel and I went to the Student Union to see the first comedy act of the semester; the hilarious duo, Dave and Ethan. I'm not going to lie, I was scared that it would be an hour of my life which I would never get back. An hour which would be filled with unfunny, American humour. Oh how wrong I was. It was hilarious. H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S.
Dave and Ethan shot to fame (well semi-fame.. I hadn't heard of them!) when they posted a video on youtube and craigslist advertising themselves for a double date. They had hundreds of replies and after 200 or so double dates they now claim to know everything there is to know about dating - and have a few funny stories to tell in the process. They had such great charisma and stage presence and were not afraid to make complete and utter fools out of themselves, which of course they did. It was great. They enacted what to do to avoid bad dates (don't mention Herpes!) and what a good date entailed. There was cringeworthy and brilliant audience participation, role play, and singing and dancing- including some fantastic solos on the triangle. A packed full show.
If you get the chance I highly recommend you see them, and if you don't get the chance, then at least subscribe on youtube for a good giggle!
This week will mark the joyous occasion when I reach the 5,000 page view mark. This means that since the 25th August 2011 around 5,000 people have viewed my blogs - how cool is that?! Each week I can log in and see how many people are viewing it that day and where in the world they're viewing from. I've had readers in Spain and Germany, Jamaica, Russia and even Bangladesh. How they come across my blog I do not know, but what I do know is that people across the world have been privy to my mad rants and fantastical mumblings.
The problem though, is that it has become completely and utterly addictive. Towards the end of last semester I was obsessed with my blog stats checking up every day to see how many more people had read it and posting it on various peoples facebook walls with the hope that their friends would see it and the Musings would spread. But it got so bad that I found myself blogging about the most random and inconsequential things - so I apologise for those instances! My resolution for this year is quality not quantity. I will of course still try and blog as regularly as possible but only about those things that I find interesting. For example as excited as I am about the upcoming opening of the Dunkin Donuts in the Student Union, I will try and refrain from blogging about it!
Having said that, over Christmas my blog stats, of course, took a massive plummet as I only posted once or twice. So the battle has now begun to get it back up to its former glory: let the mad ramblings continue!
Yes that's right the time has come for a completely new set of classes. Farewell incredibly stressful Colonial Literature and so long Black American Writers. One thing that is utterly brilliant about the American system is the two semester layouts. Last semester I took four classes with four separate professors and alongside various essays throughout the term finished the last week with exams (sorry 'Finals'). That was the end of those classes. This semester I have thus started four entirely new courses with four entirely new professors and with the prospect of even more essays and exams - oh joy. However, it did mean that while my fellow Warwick students were writing daily updates on the 20 pages worth of essays they had to write I could enjoy the holidays (sorry vacation) work free. I had a vague idea of what books might be on the syllabus but there was no requirement to read them and so my holiday was in fact an actual holiday - go figure!
I could not think of any feasible reason why this is no longer the norm in England. It is ridiculous. While at UConn I have suffered 16 brutal weeks of solid work (with a week off for Thanksgiving). At the end I enjoyed a blissful break during which I could completely switch my brain off and frazzle it with girly chick flicks and appalling trashy novels which I should never admit to reading (Jodi Picoult you are secretly my idol!). In England you 'endure' 10 weeks (with a reading week of course*) of mind numbing lectures, brain killing nights out and then are burdened with work while your liver is recovering at home. I think people may have issues with paying 9 grand for that!**
Anyway's I will try and refrain from having another rant. My new courses this semester are fairly dull and predictable I'm afraid. I'm doing a Shakespeare class, a Victorian Lit class, a Women in Lit class and, to be a little bit different, a Shakespeare and film class. How boring, may be your first reaction, I'm sticking with the standard stuff, but I've never actually had the chance to study many of the classics and my Shakespeare knowledge is very limited! So this semester I fear I'm going to be overwhelmed by Shakespeare and am going to be turned into a hopeless Romantic by Austen and the Brontë's... just in time for Valentine's Day.. wink wink nudge nudge!
*A random week that most arts and humanities students are given off in the middle of the term to catch up on reading. Or, in other words, to catch up on sleep.
** Last year University tuition fees in England were raised from roughly £3,000 (~ $4,700) a year to £9,000 a year (~ $14,000)! Not. Cool.
So one of the things that I've decided to do this semester is get more involved. I'm very conscious of the fact that due to my aforementioned hatred of the cold, I will spend the next 15 weeks of my life cooped up in my room reading Shakespeare like the cool English student that I am. Well I am determined for that not to be the case. Today Rachel, Emily and I held are holding a meeting about what we're going to do this semester. We're hoping to go down to Washington D.C. and to Philadelphia and of course the Mall! I have also just taken a massive leap and booked flights to go to Texas in spring break. Yes you heard me, Emily and I are going to Texas, yeehaaa where hopefully we shall escape the cold and get some sun. Before that of course America is being invaded by my darling mother and four of her crazy friends: look out!
In terms of on campus entertainment Rachel took me along to what is called Late Night. A weekly event at Uconn Student Union in which the cafes and food stores are open until late and various activities are open to the students. It was packed. And Rachel informed me that last semester it had got even busier with people queueing outside in order to be there first for the activities. 'What activities are they so anxiously waiting for?' I can hear you say. Well, Friday nights agenda included: Karaoke. It was like the American Idol Auditions. Various people getting up and singing (or at least trying to) their hearts out - but without the sob story of course. Next up we have 'stuff your own felt pillow' and 'create your own message in a bottle'. Looking around I just could not believe that this was what 18/19 year olds were doing on a Friday night for fun. You would be VERY hard pushed to find anyone in England to do that. And just the thought of someone holding an event like Late Night at Warwick was enough to bring on hysterics!
It was at this point that I really started to miss the pub.
I know I've mentioned it before during last semesters count down to homecoming (Read about it here!) but you really cannot beat a good English pub and it is what America is missing. Now I'm not going to go on another rant about alcohol because I've done that plenty of times (like here!), but its the space that is missing. They are a vital part of any community that can be used by almost anyone. They range in shape and size and cater for different people and different needs. I definitely made the most of them this holiday meeting family for lunches and meeting friends in the evening. Pubs are an integral part of most English communities with nearly all villages, no matter how small, having one. Samuel Pepys even went so far as to describe pubs as being the heart of England. And who gave us pubs? Why the Romans of course! I couldn't refrain from giving you that little tidbit because "what have the Romans EVER done for us?"...
I have been back in UConn almost a week. It's a completely bizarre and surreal feeling because it almost feels that the Christmas holidays haven't occurred. I had the same feeling when I went back to England in December and UConn seemed like something of the distant past, another life. Now I am back in that life and oh my gosh it's a cold one!
My last few days in England were lovely, I (sadly) passed up the invitation to go up to Warwick, my home university, for a mad night or two (I'm sorry!!!) and instead relished home life. I slept in my own comfortable bed, went out for walks in the morning with my Mum and enjoyed the use of the kitchen, tv and the sofa. It was bliss. As the days wound down though it was also strange thinking of all the things that I was going to really miss. Obviously my friends and family but also the little things. Being able to walk into town just for the sake of it. Having the option of jumping on a train whenever I wanted to go and visit a friend. Goofing around with my sister in an attempt to escape doing the washing up. Relaxing on the sofa and playing silly games. Actually just the sofa! Although my bed acts for the majority of the time as a sofa on which I lounge about, read, watch films and occasionally do some work, it's just not the same. You just can't beat curling up on a big, comfy sofa with a blanket, a glass of wine and a good book. Or monging with your best friends and having hour long catch ups about everything that you've missed in each others lives for the past few months.
The first week back has been busy. I don't think I've quiet got over my jet lag as I still begin to wilt at about 9.30pm and then wake up stupidly early at around 7 am. Not cool. I've finally organised what classes I'm taken (you'll find out in a blog to come) and have unpacked and just about sorted my life out. It's been difficult launching myself back into the swing of working but, funnily enough, the weather has definitely helped. It is freezing. I say that, but people are constantly reminding me that it is only going to get colder, to which I genuinely have to refrain from having a minor break down accompanied by crying and hyperventilation - I don't cope well with the cold. I have done everything in my power to go outside as little as possible. This includes having brunch - only going outside for one meal rather than two: genius. As a result I have little better to do than stay inside and try and complete the copious amounts of reading I have to do. That and plan all the excitements that are to come this semester...
Last day in England with the Fam - hopefully it will be a bit warmer when I return!
This Christmas, while sipping champagne and munching on smoked salmon in true festive style, I was handed a small rectangular present from under the Christmas Tree. I tore off the red and gold Christmas Tree adorned wrapping paper and opened the gift from my parents. I instantly spotted the Amazon logo on the box and a massive (and maybe slightly apprehensive) smile came to my face. Guessed it? I am now a very proud owner of the latest Kindle. A few months ago I published a blog about whether or not I should invest in a kindle and I cannot believe that I ever debated it - best present ever! It took a bit of fiddling with the various buttons to get the hang of it and I was so nervous in case I didn't enjoy reading from it but now my kindle and I are permanently attached. Wherever I go, my kindle will not be far away!
My grandparents also treated me to a fabulous hot pink case so my perfectly sized and weighted kindle now looks very, very smart. The case even comes with a little elastic pocket which I can slip my hand into and thus balance my kindle in whatever way is comfortable. Although I am never going to rid myself of my glorious (and ridiculously extensive) book collection it is phenomenal how much easier it is reading on a kindle. Your arm and fingers don't get tired or cramped from balancing a book in a certain way and I can curl up in bed, protected against the English cold, and read in whatever position is comfortable and warm without the hassle of having to also try and balance a book.
There is one problem however. As long as I'm in wifi range I have unlimited access to whatever books I want. One click and I can buy a new book and have it wirelessly sent to my kindle. While I love this feature I don't think my bank account is going to feel quite the same way. So far I have been very good and have stuck to the timeless classics (Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, Tess of the D'Urbevilles etc) which are out of copyright and thus free but I know these will only last me so long. While electronic books are much cheaper than paperbacks I have never been one to spend a lot. I'm the type of book lover who will spend hours at the book stall at fetes and trawling through the tatty shelves of the local charity shops and eventually spend a fiver on 5 or so books with the happy thought that not only am I treating myself but I am also doing a Christian deed and giving to charity; it's a win win situation. I don't think I'm going to have quite the same consolation when I find myself buying on Amazon...
I have been very, very silent so I apologise. But, in my defence, the whole point of my blog is to tell you all about my travels in America and, well, I haven't really been having many of those recently! I am back in good ol' Blighty. It is cold, rainy, grey and very good to be back. Don't get me wrong I have loved my first semester but 17 weeks away from home is a very long time and the work load towards the end was completely and utterly exhausting.
Returning to England wasn't as much of a shock to the system as I was anticipating. I remember coming back across the Atlantic for the first time in 2005 after moving to Virginia . It was January, and I was about to start Boarding School. I had been in America for about 7 months and coming back was the strangest thing and something I will never forget. My home town of Salisbury, which had once been so familiar to me appeared alien and strange; everything seemed much smaller and more grey. I didn't get the same feeling returning this time... probably largely due to the fact that as soon as I was out of the airport and in the car I fell asleep - mid sentence apparently although I'm not entirely sure I believe my parents when the say that! I suppose being much older I'm also used to the changes and to some extent expect them.
I have now been back for just over two weeks and it's strange how distant UCONN seems; almost as though it never happened. Since I have been home I have been busy travelling around the South trying to catch up with as many people as possible, then it was of course Christmas and New Year and now I'm finally relaxing for my last few weeks at home making the most of the sofa, tv, yummy home cooked food, normal drinking age and not having to do my own laundry; *living the dream*!
I have a few tidbits from the hols I want to share with you but for now I'm off to the pub to enjoy it while I still can!
People who know me a bit better will also know that I have slight OCD tendencies. I always have a bottle of hand sanitiser in my bag and I like everything to be ordered and in the correct place. Now if we are to combine these two character traits you will probably guess that my bookshelves are my pride and joy. My room is as close to a library as my tiny 5ft by 6ft room can get! I revel in the fact that I know exactly what books we have in the house and, with semi photographic memory, can tell you roughly where. My incredible (if I may say so myself) book collection is largely thanks to my lovely Aunt Helen who shares an equal passion for books and gobbles them up even quicker than I do. Every time we see her she comes laden with more books for our shelves. The last three years have marked the addition of roughly four or so new bookshelves to the house and we are in desperate need of more. We are rapidly running out of space - I love it!
This week will mark the joyous occasion when I reach the 5,000 page view mark. This means that since the 25th August 2011 around 5,000 people have viewed my blogs - how cool is that?! Each week I can log in and see how many people are viewing it that day and where in the world they're viewing from. I've had readers in Spain and Germany, Jamaica, Russia and even Bangladesh. How they come across my blog I do not know, but what I do know is that people across the world have been privy to my mad rants and fantastical mumblings.
