Classes

My first week of classes is done and it has just confirmed to me how much I am going to love this semester.  All of my classes are a more hands-on approach than in America; very little lecture.  In Britain you are not assigned or given required reading, instead you are given a list of books as a guide.  From there it is your own job to gain as much or as little knowledge about any topic that is discussed in class.  Reading the newspaper and keeping up on current events is pretty much a given here I am learning.  I am curious to see if I am going to like this learning style better or not.  I think it will give me more freedom to focus on the areas that interest me. 

My art class takes place at a different museum, gallery, or architectural place in London every single class, which is very exciting to me!  I am sure I will see so much more than I would have seen otherwise.  I also learned today a bit about the British history and that the country’s official title is the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’, yes these three countries are technically all one.  The flag also actually has an interesting religious meaning behind it.  It is 3 different crosses combined together and each one represents a saint of England (St. George), Scotland (St. Andrew), and Ireland (St. Patrick).  Scotland and England are also one monarchy, but yet they have two different legal systems, school practices, etc.  They are basically just stuck together and called the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’.  I have always wondered about all of this in the past and I was very intrigued while learning the answer today!  I hope some of you are as well!

This weekend I am going to be out of town on a little weekend getaway, so I will not post again until I get back either Sunday night or Monday morning.  Check back then for some exciting stories and many pictures!!!

Cheers!   -Brittany

P.S. - Computer paper here is at least 1 inch longer than in the US and it is just plain white space.  Nothing is printed on it; the margins are just much larger here.  It is driving me crazy because the papers are sticking out of my folder and there is so much excess space!  (And of course it is a waste of trees!)