I am very sorry for not posting in so long! Life got in the way. :) But that is no excuse so I will attempt to make this a nice, informative, long (but not too long and boring) post for you all.
Well, tomorrow will be the end of two full weeks of graduate classes! Which, in case you were wondering, officially means that I am a graduate student (not the two weeks part, just going to classes in general)! I'm not sure that has really sunk in with me yet, but I'm working on it. It also means that I am closing in on three full weeks since I arrived in London! It has been quite an emotional roller-coaster of a few weeks! On the one hand, I love it here and I love my classes (for the most part, but more on this in a minute). On the other hand, I am still having trouble with my internet in my room (latest news is that is may be my computer not their network, but frankly, I doubt it), I have already gotten a cold (darn British germs!), and I have definitely suffered from some homesickness. Just to reassure you all, I have never considered giving up, but I do miss you all! Really, I don't want to go home exactly, but I want you all to come here and be with me!
So I know you all want to hear (okay, read) about my classes! So, I will try to give you some highlights. Lectures happen once a week for 1-2 hours and most lectures are accompanied by a seminar class that is a much smaller group that may or may not be taught by the same person who does the lectures. Also, each course has a course convener, who may not lecture every week, but is in charge of the general format of the course. I have three main, assessed courses this term, plus two compulsory, but non-assessed courses that don't meet every week and don't have seminars attached to them. Just so you know, reading assignments are divided into core and further readings and one should do all of the core by class time and most of the further readings at least by the time of the exam which are all in the summer.
The first graduate class I had was EU435 which is the core class for our program and is on the History and Theory of European Integration. This was rather a rough class for me! I hadn't found the spot online where the readings were posted so (just this once!) I wasn't prepared for the lecture and it was on theories of European integration which I have never studied/learned before. The result was I felt so confused and overwhelmed at the end of the class! As it turned out, the teacher (not everyone here is a professor even if they have their doctorates) may have been able to make things a little clearer than she did, but until I started hearing about others' perceptions, I felt like I was the only one who didn't get it. It was a stressful day (which of course, made me feel more homesick).
The next day, Tuesday, was sooo much better! I had my first class with Dr. Herzog who is great (P.s. I know I have heard his name, but I don't know where-if you know will you let me know?!) The class is European Politics: Comparative Analysis, which just helps me cement the idea that the area I am excited about is comparative politics! Dr. Herzog is a great teacher, and I love the topics of the class. For example, this week the topic is electoral systems! Yay!! Actually, I am so crazy that I volunteered to do the first seminar class presentation this week on electoral systems. So, please permit me a short tangent. Since I am presenting in the first seminar (some seminars such as this one start on week two), Dr. Herzog meet with me individually to go over his expectations. This was a great meeting! I somehow managed to convince him that I am an expert on electoral systems (which I do know a fair amount about, but I have never thought of myself as an expert)! :-) So I prepared a presentation (Powerpoint with an outline for me to refer to) and sent it to him to see if he approved. He told me it was exactly what he wanted and it was great! Further, he asked if he could use my presentation in the other seminar! I was so proud! Okay, end tangent. Back to classes.
The other main course I have is Introduction to Quantitative Analysis. This class takes place in the Peacock Theater and it is just the teacher, me, and roughly 400 of my closest friends! It shatters all previous records for largest class I have ever had and made me miss F&M so much!! BUT, while I was expecting this to be a terribly boring two hours, I was happily surprised that the teacher was amazingly engaging despite the class size and quite funny! One of my friends commented that she connected better with all of us than some teachers connect with much smaller groups! So that is actually quite an enjoyable two hours each week.
So, that is a short(ish) update on classes. Let me try to give you a few more highlights of the past two weeks:
1.) In the second lecture of my History and Theory class (i.e. this past Monday), the teacher called me by my name in class AND complimented me on my answer to a question! This was a big deal for me because I believe I was the first person she called by name and it was great to feel like they were starting to get to know me.
2.) I already told you about the meeting with Dr. Herzog and the feedback he gave me on my presentation (we'll see if he actually likes my delivery tomorrow), but they were such highlights they are worth mentioning again.
3.) I have changed rooms which meant that after two weeks, I finally unpacked completely!! I forgot I brought some of that stuff! Unfortunately, my internet was not miraculously fixed with the change and the shower presents me with the previously unknown problem of not enough water and yet what does come out is in painful streams (hopefully that will get fixed soon)!
4.) I have made friends! Two in particular are great. Pooja from India and Anna from D.C. are very kind and I am enjoying getting to know them!
5.) I applied for a Parliamentary Internship!! Given that the job is supposed to start soon, the fact that I haven't heard anything makes me nervous, but I can apply for more in future and the career service person was impressed with my CV and cover letter so I tried my best!
6.) Oh, I also submitted a paper for publication! It was the paper I wrote about Duverger's Law and Britain for Professor Medvic's seminar. I have no idea if it will be published, but I tried. Thank you to Jan for telling me about the call for submissions!
7.) In my comparative class, I have noticed that there are several readings on the list that I have already done for either class or my own research and papers! I still reread them, but this makes me really proud of F&M! My professors who are reading this should be very proud that they prepare us well! Professor Medvic, we are doing some readings on cartel parties that look remarkably familiar, so thank you! And there are other familiar readings as well so thank you to Matt and Linda! And while I'm at it, having a basic knowledge of European 20th century history is great so thank you Professor Mitchell! Basically, thank you to anyone who had anything to do with my education at F&M (and I mean that sincerely)!
Okay. I know I have gone on for way too long and this is why I need to update you all more frequently! I'm working on it! But before I go, I want to leave you with some things I have learned either in the last two weeks or just generally in the course of my life...
Abbey's rules for life in London (and elsewhere):
1.) Facial tissue is not an area in which to attempt to skimp and save money! Go ahead, splurge on the name brand (for me that means Kleenex). Trust me, your nose will thank you (especially if you get a cold)!
2.) This is critical: make friends with people at reception desks (my new friend Caitlin is awesome), custodians, and food-handlers. These people are really great and can really help you out if you are kind to them. (Plus, you should just always try to be kind to others-it's a good rule on its own.)
3.) Always take your camera. I went towards Buckingham Palace to read and forgot about the Changing of the Guard. I ended up in a great place to watch one of the bands go by and I had my camera!
4.) Be patient, with others and with yourself. The transition to living here has been harder than I expected and my Dad gave me great advice to be patient with myself.
And one last Britishism before I go:
Quid: basically means Pound (as in the money). So instead of saying "10 Pounds" one might say "10 quid"
Well, that about covers it for me! I hope you enjoyed the update. And thanks for reading to the end! Love to all!
Cheers!
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