School Is Pretty Cool.

I am calling this a “semester abroad”, and border control let me into the country based on my university acceptance, so it’s probably appropriate if I say a few words about school on here.

Proof that I do do some schoolwork.  Sometimes.

First off, I’m studying English Literature, Language, and Linguistics at Salford Uni.  No, this isn’t film, but the school of English at Salford is the only school that has a relationship with Wayne State, so I had to choose courses from their offerings.  I am taking a class on postmodern literature (post-WWII to the 90s), a class on English Dialects and Dialectology, and a class on teaching English as a foreign language.  It’s cool for me, because I picked them solely because they sound interesting, so it’s basically all for fun.

Next, some vocabulary:  Your class ranking (freshman, sophomore, etc) is called level 4, level 5, or level 6, depending on what year you are (a bachelor’s degree is only three years here).  Courses here are called modules.  I’m in three modules this semester.  All of my classes have an hour (or two) of lecture once a week, followed by a one hour seminar once a week.  The seminar leaders are called tutors, and tutors can be the actual lecturer or a TA.  I have one TA-led and two lecturer-led seminars.  There are generally only two assignments in a module: a diagnostic project or paper, which is something like a midterm, and a final project/paper, generally followed by a final exam during finals week.    

Clifford Whitworth Library, where I sometimes go to read
materials for class.  I like to go early in the morning before
my classes when it's actually quiet, becuase during
the day it's a bit like Club UGL.

You may be doing the math in your head right now, and yes, you are correct.  I only have seven hours of class per week.  And yes, this is considered a full time schedule.  I have so much free time, it’s incredible.  I read an article in the school paper talking about how erasmus students should be careful with their eating habits because no one has time to eat and drink robustly, work off all the calories, go to class, and do all their schoolwork.  But I do.  All the jokes about Americans being lazy and stupid can stop right now because going to uni in the US is so much harder.  This is vacation.

I got an education on the school system in the UK this week.  First, I was explained the normal course of study you take to get a bachelor’s degree.  Primary school (elementary) is ages 5-10, much like ours, and is followed by secondary (middle + high school) ages 11-16.  At this point, a student can stop going to school and start working, or they can go on to sixth form, which many people call college.  This lasts two years and involves four courses of study before the student moves on to university.

Maxwell Building, where I take class
for 2 hours a week.

The most astounding thing I learned is that going to university in the UK costs the same no matter which university you go to.  I was dumbfounded.  The SAME PRICE???  You can go ANYWHERE?  Further, college costs a lot less over here.  Seriously, so much less.  They may not have dental care in their national health insurance, but the UK government understands how to make college a reasonable expense.

My classes are going really well.  Studying English literature is so different from everything I’ve been studying, but it’s nice to reading so much and to be writing essays again.  It’s all about grand ideas; a little lofty, but fun to learn about.  Dialects and Dialectology is really interesting, though I am the center of much attention because my American accent is so radically different from all of the English accents in the room.  I get a lot of questions on different American accents, which is really hard for me to explain because most of them have only subtle differences that in general only I can hear.  My class on teaching English is not my favorite.  

I know it may not seem like it, but I really do love studying when I actually do it.  I enjoy writing essays, doing research for projects, and generally staying on top of things.  So that’s what I’m doing tonight: actually studying.  One night, just me and my assignments.  Clear focus and extreme productivity.

This blog post was just a… er… study break.