Study Abroad

It's taken me a few weeks to settle in to life in London and so I'm just now starting this blog, which will document my adventures while studying abroad. I am hoping that this blog will help to connect all my family and friends back home to me and keep you all updated on my life here. Feel free to comment and ask questions and I'll try to update as much as I can!
I'm going to start from the beginning and after a few posts, should get everyone up to speed! First, I'm going to give a little background...

I am studying at the University of Westminster in London for the 2008-2009 academic year. I am planning to use this year abroad to learn about other cultures, experience life in a city, be taught by "tutors" with radically different perspectives than those in America, and best of all- to travel. After working all summer to have enough money to live in London (one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in!), I am ready for the adventure of a lifetime!

The UK educational system for Universities is very different than I am used to, and I will attempt to explain it. I start my Semester 1 classes on October 6th and they go until December 12th. Most of the classes will only have a few actual assignments throughout that period of time and then an exam in May of the next year. Very different than our system of midterms and finals! Then in January, I will select four new classes/modules to take and then those will go from January 19-March 27. Then, students get a Spring Break that consists of 3 weeks. That seems exciting, but really, most students are vigorously studying for most of that time. Exams begin immediately after the break and go for a few weeks. All exams end by May 15 and the next month is used for grading the exams and other assessments. This system is so different than ours, and I am hoping that I will have enough diligence to do well in it! I'm sure that I will.

Another wonderful thing about studying in Europe is the connection countries have with one another. It is so easy and sometimes cheap! to fly to Dublin for the weekend or go to Paris for a few days. I am hoping to utilize the wonderful European transportation systems to travel as many places as my wallet lets me!

With all the excitement I have for this year abroad, I can't mask my nerves. I am incredibly nervous to be so far from my family and friends and to take classes in a system so unlike the one I am used to. So many questions fill my head, but I know that this experience is going to shape my life and my mind in an incredibly rewarding way that I can't get anywhere else.