January 31-February 1st
On Thursday morning I slept in as I did not have class until 1 o'clock. Even though I hadn't looked for my class' building, I somehow was able to find a short-cut to it by going through some alleys (on campus) and following my gut instinct. My lecture was in a room that had church pews for seats. Basically, this meant my notebook was placed sideways and that I had to write in cursive (otherwise there was no way I would have been able to guess what I had been writing down). Luckily this lecture was on Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, which I have already studied, so I didn't take too many notes, as I already knew most of what was being talked about (and I'll never be marked on knowing it anyway).
After class I made my way on the outskirts of the city to hunt down all the used bookshops. I had looked online the night before for a good shop to go to. Somehow, my eternal compass was on, or whatever you want to call it. I found my way to The Amnesty Bookshop. I was even asked by some random Brit if I knew where the train station was (they quickly realized I didn't when they heard my accent).
The Amnesty Bookshop is now one of my favourite used bookshops of all time. There weren't that many books to look at (they were quite lacking), but they had a great deal on where it was 2 fiction books for a pound, and like all the books are a pound each. I found 2 of the books I needed for school there (picture below), as well, since Macbeth is a play, I had to find another fiction book (basically a free book), so I chose one from Amy Tan, who is a well known author, and one I have never read a book from before.
I still hadn't found all of my books (I had about 9 or so I was looking for), so I continued on in that area of town. I was sort of exploring too. I went in to a couple of Marie Curies (like value villages but tiny) and then I went to Waterstones, which is an actual bookstore, and it itself was lacking.
Then, because I was in the area, I checked out the Grainger Market (to post pictures another day). There was a used bookstore in there, but it was all harlequin type romance and crime/thriller novels. I did like walking around though. There was a lot of great food options (for good deals) and some interesting looking shops.
I went back into the mall after, as I was getting very hungry. I couldn't find anything fast food that I wanted, so I headed to Five Guys and got myself dinner there instead. I nearly went to Nandos, but it didn't look open.
I got a text from one of my flatmates while I was out, basically just to add me to their Facebook group chat. At least now I know they know I'm there and I have a way of communicating with them. I also was able to see their Facebook profiles, so that way I'm pre-aware of who should be in our flat and who should probably not.
I would have liked to relax after eating my dinner, but I had loads to read for my upcoming seminars. In fact I've got loads to read, more than I've ever had for english courses. It's a bit annoying as I'm having to turn down potential group hang-outs, but I can't get behind.
Today I had an early morning seminar (9am) that I just made it to on time. I missed breakfast, but it was good I went as more study groups were formed (ugh - don't even get me started on those). This class was the one I'd had the lecture the day before, so even though I'd barely prepared, other than re-reading a free version online of canto 1, I was able to participate in the seminar by drawing on my previous knowledge of Spenser. In that class we were supposed to listen to the audio telling that is on YouTube, but the audio wasn't working (according to the tech guy, the amp was fried). Keep note of that.
After class I went to this cafe on campus to try and configure my kobo so I could have some of the readings available on a secondary device. It took a really long time. I would have done it at my flat, but I'm only allowed two devices at a time (and 2 guest). My kobo is already hooked up to eduram, so connecting it to the internet was simple, it was the downloading and viewing of files that is a pain. There's no issue of space, however the issue is that my kobo is old, and hasn't been used properly in over 2 years. I'm still trying to update all the applications so that they function. Had to switch between two internet browsers to access my student files.
Once I was satisfied, I headed over to the student union building to get a few things. The first was something to write on/use for when I take notes for my Performance and Now course, where I have to record observations during live stage productions. The small notebooks I brought from back home would not work without a desk. I was going to get a clipboard thingy, but I haven't seen lined loose-leaf paper anywhere, so I went with what I'd seen all my British course-mates use. It's basically just a pad of paper, but everyone uses them. Also, A4 paper is used normally, which is weird to me. Everything seems too long.
I also grabbed a sandwich for lunch and some Jelly Babies (my favourite British treat). I then ate my lunch in the SU building, while I read more of my assigned readings.
My next seminar was for The Victorians, where we talked about age ideology. My professor mentioned how he went to school in Buffalo (how on earth has he never heard of the Rideau Canal???), also he easily remembered my name as it was the first he signed off on his list (I wasn't sitting on an end of the table, nor am I near the top of the class list). It seems wherever I go, big or small school, my professors (or teachers, as they call them here) will know who I am.
Straight after that class I had my first play viewing for the course I had mentioned needing a paper pad for earlier. The building it was in was marvellous (again I'll take some photos of it - I was late for class so I couldn't dawdle). However, as we were sitting there waiting for the pre-recorded video version of Billy Elliot to start, we found out the audio wasn't working. However, we couldn't just move onto other things as this whole class was dedicated to watching the recording. So, we got up and headed out into the snow.
Oh yes, it had snowed today. All my international friends were freaking out (meanwhile all I could think of was how little it was). On my way in to school there was a cute little snowman someone had built, but on my way back, he'd melted away.
Back to transferring buildings. So, we get to the second classroom. Some time passes, our professor calls the tech people, and then we move again, this time to the room next door. As we're moving, I notice 50 pence on the ground, so I pick it up and then follow the rest of the class. While I'm getting myself settled for the third time I noticed my water bottle was missing. Whenever I bend over it tends to fall out of it's pocket, so I went back to the other class, and lo and behold, there it was, balanced perfectly in the edge of a chair, in the creepiest and most ghostly fashion.
A whole hour had passed since we'd originally sat down to watch the recording. We'd moved from a ballroom to a tiny high school classroom. Some people actually left before we started, because they just didn't have the time for it.
It was a good play. Not my favourite, but enjoyable to watch.
After it was done, most of us leaving during the final dance, I headed straight home. Once back I had a lot of planning to do. Some of my friends from exchange were planning a trip in two weeks to York. So, I had to get my 16-25 railcard setup (basically I pay 30 pounds, but get 1/3 off rail tickets, so it ends up giving me a deal). I quickly booked the same time slots as my friends so we'd be able to take the train together. Then, I had to figure out my train to London for the QI taping I was going to. I was able to find a decent time to get me there, but finding a train to get me home was difficult.
The show's recording was to end at approximately 21:45, but there were no trains running until the next morning to Newcastle. I could have paid a bit more and taken a train to another city and waited there at the wee hours of the morning for 4 hours and then gotten to Newcastle. I didn't really want to do that as I did have a class to get to the next day. I then looked into hostels and airbnbs as well as hotels. However, the idea of staying at a hostel for like 6-7 hours just seemed a waste of money, unless I had planned to explore more of London.
That's when I finally looked into bussing home. I had to take the train there because it was faster, but I forgot I could have single tickets. Luckily there was a bus leaving at the 23 hour mark, so I had time to grab some food before getting on the bus, and maybe even seeing a few things near the bus station. It also was half the price of the train ticket. So I saved a lot of money by choosing not to take the train back and not to stay at a hostel. It will be an overnight bus, but I imagine since it's mid-week in winter there won't be a lot of people on board, so I might get a row to myself.
Now I've got to get back to reading some Dickens. I've got to finish one of his shortest works (a measly 500 pages), as well as finish book 1 of the Faerie Queene. I have other smaller readings to try and fit in. My weekend won't be all readings though. I have plans for both Saturday and Sunday, so look forward to that. There should be more pictures to come as well!
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