I can't believe it's the end of another week... didn't I just get home from Oxford? How am I already packing for Belfast?! This week of classes has been very busy but good... work is starting to pick up, and as I start to get into a routine I feel like I'm actually going to school here. This was the first week where nothing out-of-the-ordinary happened, and I found it a little harder to be motivated school-wise, so I'm looking forward to getting away for a few days and taking my mind off of it so I can start new on Monday :).
I am still loving my American Drama class, though! I wake up on Thursday mornings looking forward to it. Today we covered Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams- big names in American Drama. We had a really interesting conversation about the American Dream- what is it, who is it for, and how has it changed? It was cool to talk about it in such an international setting- half of us are American, 4 students are Irish, and 1 is British. Sometimes I feel intimidated by everyone in the class- everyone speaks so eloquently and makes such interesting topics that I forget to contribute and just listen to everyone else! I am definitely getting better at it though- I have some background with Death of a Salesman from freshman year when I did a script analysis of it, so I felt better prepared for the conversation. I think I like the class because it's small, and we know each other by name. Most of my classes aren't like that here, and it's nice to have something that reminds me of classes from home, even if it is more challenging! I know my writing and analysis skills will improve from the class, which will be most useful for senior year.
This afternoon I started to seriously look at a calendar to plan some more trips- and was astonished by how little time I seem to have left! I know I've only been here a month, but if I look at it by weekend, I have a lot planned and the end of May doesn't seem far away at all. It was a little crazy today to look at a map of the world and say okay, where can I go? I just booked three days in Paris during my study week, where my roommate Nam and I will stay in a hostel together and go adventuring throughout the city, and then I'll take a train from Paris to Brussels to meet up with my NDA friends. I am still trying to figure out when I'll go to Cork to visit Danielle, when I'll get to Mayo to see my family, and when I'll go to Spain to visit my friends there. I have thought about going to Rome for Easter again (I was lucky enough to go with my family in high school), but I'm not sure where else to go! Who has suggestions? I'd love to hear them :).
Along with the rest of the world, I just watched President Mubarak's speech to the country and the world. I watched it on BBC, and I can't believe that the newsanchors are talking about what President Obama says-- I feel like I can't escape American media! They aren't saying anything about the British government's reaction, but are "waiting to see what Obama will say." I have found that America is mentioned so frequently- in most of my classes it's mentioned every class, even my Theatre in Ireland class. I am so very impressed by the Irish students' knowledge of American politics, and wish I was as worldly educated as they are!
So, off to the North tomorrow, then London next weekend! Let me know where else you think I should go-- I'm looking to go to places that are fairly inexpensive and aren't exactly #1 tourist destinations... I like to wander off the beaten path :). Of course I won't turn down anywhere that is a popular destination, but I want to hear suggestions!
I hope you are having a wonderful day wherever you are... thanks for reading!
Julia
No comments:
Post a Comment