Cambridge Score

After much anxiety and nail-biting, the three essays I wrote for Cambridge have found their way back to me!  Can you say psych?!

I had no idea what to expect on these papers because, well… this is Cambridge, one of the most prestigious colleges in the world.  I’ve always been confident in my writing abilities but I had no idea how my work would play with the big dogs. 

So I grabbed my essays, and could barely make it up the stairs before dying to find out what scores graced my pages.  The first one I picked up was the one for my Lives of Romantics class, my William Blake paper.  The comments were quite praising and the number below- 62%!  This may look like a bad score to Americans, but the Cambridge grading system is different.  62 percent in Cambridge is borderline B+/A- in Cambridge!  It’s an upper-second score!

Relief (and excitement!) swept over me as I picked up my next one which was on Alice in Wonderland for my Children in Literature course.  Not as good with a 50% which is like a C.  But still passing!  I actually did the most planning for this paper in comparison to the other two, so I’m a little surprised it’s this low. But that’s ok! Any who…

The last essay was the one for my 20th Century Plays/Playwrights on Tom Stoppard.  The essay that I nearly didn’t finish let alone turn in because my laptop died on the plane ride (and it was due a half hour after landing).  Plus it was written during my week in Ireland so I worried about it not being as good because of distractions… but guess what? 63% = A-! My best essay of the three? Surprising? You bet your A. 

About an hour after I reveled in my grades, I realized that these were grades based on Cambridge standards which are higher than average… And I did a little jig.  To think, I am completely capable of rolling with the big dogs of Cambridge University!  Isn’t that just perfectly thrilling?  Well, I certainly think so

Well, my lunch break is over but I had to blog this huge achievement!

 

As time goes by…

Ok… one week left of Cambridge term 2.  What the hey?  I’m just barely getting used to the new people and friends that I have met and the classes that I’m taking.  To think I’m almost done kind of scares me! 

Sorry, I haven’t been updating… My only excuse is that I’ve been having too much fun seeing things, going to class, writing essays, and hanging with friends with the little time I have left here.  I’m actually writing this while waiting for a friend to finish reading something for a half hour.  We decided to help the linguistics department with a thesis they are working on. 

I can’t even remember the last thing I posted here! That’s quite sad… I think it was last weekend. 

Term two has been very fun.  Unlike term 1, where you had to just attend classes and expect to meet friends via them and the lectures, term 2 has had a couple people who arranged large get togethers so everyone can meet and greet!  It’s been amazing!  I’ve made some really incredible friends (not just in term 2, but still) in just one week.  And my classes this time are quite good. My first, Short Story, is very interesting. We read short stories and discuss them in class.  It is not unlike my classes at the U, so it’s not too bad.  My third class is History Everywhere: Landscapes of England.  Won’t lie–it’s really boring.  Not at all what I expected. Cool professor but the subject matter is snore-worthy.  But we did go on a walk through Cambridge on Friday so he could show us the different landscapes of the city. 

Now my third class, Key 20th Century Plays and Playrights.  Hands down, my favorite course all summer!  The professor is seriously darling, and he’s been a director and actor for much of his life while also teaching.  He’s so enthusiastic!  We get to read from play scripts and watch clips of plays of the playrights we study.  I’ve yet to have a boring class with him!  This is the only class I’m writing an essay for. Still trying to decide which playright to assess… it’s a toss up between Alan Ayckburn and Harold Pinter.  We’re discussing Pinter tomorrow so maybe that will help me decide! 

Over the weekend, I went to Stratford Upon Avon once again and saw Shakespeare’s As You Like It. And I must say it was monumentally better than Julius Caesar!  The seats I had this time around were much better and the show was much more engaging.  Saw Mary Warden’s farm and that was quite cool, then I saw Shakespeare’s grave.  All in all a good excursion!  Unlike Warwick on Sunday.  I was sorely disappointed.  It has been said that Warwick is the most medieval castle in England.  Yeah, I’m sure it was a millenia ago!  Any history that that castle used to have seemed to be completely stripped from it.  It was basically like a castle disney land kind of thing.  A kiddie play ground castle.  From what I saw of the shows, they weren’t half bad.  I quite liked the trebuchet and eagle demonstrations!  The castle could have been stunning if it weren’t dripping with commercialism.  I want to see a real, honest to God castle that is still true to it’s roots and hasn’t been turned into a theme park.

I’ve also been planning my trip to Ireland!  Now I finally feel like I know what I want to do… Should be a fun trip!  Going to London on Friday and staying until Sunday morning when I fly out for Eire… I missed out on the British Library so I’m dying to see it. I may do another London walk as well as a send off and since I love them so much!  Then I got invited to dinner by a friend from term 2 whose going to London as well for Saturday night. Yay for friends!

I have a feeling my friend will be done here (same one that invited me to dinner) in a minute so I should probably wrap this up. 

Cheers!

 

Third Week Already?

I thought that when you were in a new place, time went by slowly so you could absorb more of everything.  Such was the case during my first week in London and the first couple days in Cambridge.  So not the case anymore!  I’m amazed at how fast time has flown by here.  Our third week has just begun… meaning term 1 only has two weeks left.  Two weeks left to see my friends that aren’t staying for term 2.  And two weeks (technically three) to finish my two essays.

Classes have been fairly interesting!  Surprisingly, some of the poems seemed oddly familiar to me while I read them.  Last Thursday, I discovered that I had in fact read a few of these writers this past year in my Literary History class.  Weird huh?  Starting to gather information for my essay topics.  While in Oxford yesterday, I actually learned a couple things that could help with one of them!

Oh yes… The excursions.  Saturday was my first excursion with the program.  I was quite glad to go back to London again, though this time I made a point to avoid the tube by any means possible–which meant a whole lot of walking.  Luckily it was a beautiful day, so I didn’t mind.  Trafalgar Square was a must for me to see just because it’s my favorite place in London (plus there was a new monument).  Came at it from a different direction so it was cool to see it from that perspective.  From there, I traveled south and across the Westminster Bridge to the London Eye.  What a cool ride!  It seriously is the best view of the city!  Felt like I could see to the sea… Haha, not really.  I just wanted to say that.  After that, it was back across the bridge and even more south to the Tate Britain gallery which was gorgeous of course.  Had more modern works than I have seen thus far.  Glad I went to see it.  From there, I didn’t want to cross the insanity that horded on the Westminster bridge, so I crossed the Lambeth bridge instead and found myself in Lambeth which almost seemed like the slums of London in a sense. Very interesting to walk around, seeing a different side of London.  Found a nice Italian restaurant for lunch then it was off to the Old Vic to see Winter’s Tale.

Winters Tale was directed by Sam Mendes (Kate Winslet’s husband, and the director of American Beauty & Revolutionary Road) and I must say I was quite impressed with it.  It was very well put on and the acting was incredibly seamless and natural.  Good show all around!  I particularly liked the musician character whose name is a loss for me now…

Upon returning to my college, I was feeling a little homesick (it was bound to happen!) so I watched Charly for a taste of my hometown.  Plus it’s one of my favorite movies, strangely enough.

Yesterday was a day I was unexpectedly anxious for.  The excursion was Oxford for the day.  The rival for Cambridge!  The cities are so imposingly different that I was kind of taken aback when we arrived there.  Much more industrialized than Cambridge.  I climbed the 99 stairs of the Carfax tower for a nice view of the city, had a walking tour with the Cambridge group which was quite informative and we got to enter Merton College, and saw quite a bit of the city when I got lost.  Luckily, a nice old man pointed me in the right direction (the people here are incredibly nice!).  But I really wanted to see the Ashmolean Museum!  It was closed so I was really bummed… It was supposed to be the best in Oxford.  Went inside The Virgin of St. Mary’s Chapel, I believe it was called, and it was very beautiful.  Then for the pinnacle of my Oxford trip: Christ’s Church and College.  This was where the Harry Potter films (1 and 2) were filmed for the Great Hall and the staircase leading up to it.  And while walking around it, I recognized several other places that were featured in the film (I swear, only HP freaks like me would have noticed!).  Stopped in the gift shop and found some beautiful things to buy (not spoiling the surprise for my mom) then I had to book it back to the meeting location so the bus wouldn’t leave me behind!  The running actually felt quite nice especially because it was raining.  All in all, I don’t think Oxford liked me very much what with having the Bodleian Library and Ashmolean Museum closed (curse Sundays!) the awful rain that filled much of the day, and the number of times I got lost in it’s labyrinthian streets.  But it was a pretty good day for seeing it, I guess!  Though to be honest, I prefer Cambridge!  Weird… I love London and Cambridge (opposite ends of the size spectrum) but didn’t like the middle ground that was Oxford as much.  Is that weird?

Onto some friends I’ve made.  I’ve learned that the Selwyn Bar is a great place to meet people!  I think I’m going back tonight because a guy named Rob invited me to his birthday celebration on Friday.  What is insane is the diversity of people here!  I feel like I’ve met at least one person from half of Europe and Asia!  It’s very cool… I hang out with the Utah girls (the Mews) quite often and lately I have found another group to chill with that live in my college, including several girls and a couple guys.  Met even more guys at the Selwyn Bar… It really is the central place for students here at night!  Lots of fun with cheaper drinks.  There’s a surprising amount of people from Hong Kong though! It’s kinda crazy… They all seem to like my golden hair, haha. It’s great fun meeting everyone.

Oh! I almost forgot… The Mews and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last wednesday!  It was so good!  Very funny, much more light-hearted than the last movie and it was a good prep for the last installations.  There were a couple things that completely didn’t agree with facts from the books (Greyback flying? He’s not a Death Eater in the books!).  Still enjoyable.  Then I introduced the girls to a really chill restaurant that I found on one of my many explorations of the Cambridge city center called Revolution.  Really good food with a pretty price tag and a chill atmosphere.  Last night, I heard there was a club floor so I’ll definitely have to check that out!

The Mews and i also did a guided punting tour along the Cam last week.  It was quite fun!  Our guide was funny… Then on Friday (our day off from class), a good friend from Holland and another from Connecticut went into the city and saw the King’s Chapel (absolutely gorgeous!) and grabbed a cup of warmness in a nearby cafe.  That night we all met up and went to Selwyn Bar again where I met some very interesting guys.  One looks a lot like a friend from home, like scarily alike.  It kind of freaks me out!  They are pretty much the same height (six and a half feet) and have very similar facial features and hair color.  Body type is really alike too.  It’s just weird!

Coming next (most likely tomorrow) will be my review of chocolates here.  Let me just say that I am completely ruined… The sweets (as well as pasta and pizza) here is so much better than at home!  British chocolatiers will have to send me boxes of chocolate when I get home so I don’t feel deprived with America’s shoddy chocolate. Haha, maybe not but still I can dream right?

Take care everyone!

 

A Cambridge Beginning

Cambridge is remarkably beautiful… The air even smells beautifully clean!  The colleges that I have seen so far are quite pretty as well… The garden at my college is gorgeous, and I even found the staircase that you see in the header above.  Not as green as I expected, but some people have said that is because of the summer warmth.  Hard to believe that seeing how on and off raining it has been.  Pretty sure all of the greenery around here has been subjected to plenty of water to stay green!  Haha, I’m not really sure how it works over here.

Before coming here, it was fairly easy to figure out where I needed to go for the market and elsewhere in town.  Little did I realize that it wouldn’t take me very long to get from my college to the center of town!  I mean no disrespect when I say this… but Cambridge is tiny!  A small college town in every sense of the word.  There is, however, a lovely little shopping street that has cute stores.  Nothing by London’s standards, but there nonetheless.

I’ve yet to try many of the restaurants.  I’ve tried the Anchor (a pub) and a pasty shop—both were quite tasty!  I wanted to try the college Buttery for dinner last night, and let me say—It’s not worth it!  Sure the food tasted ok, but for that price, I could have gotten a Chicken Sandwich with a salad and a Pimms from the Anchor which would have filled me up considerably more and been more pleasing to eat.

Ok, now onto my classes…  My first class of the day is “Lives of English Romantics: Wordsworth, Blake, Keats, etc.”  The professor is quite interesting!  He has memorized a lot of poems, and demonstrates this every class period by spouting off poems that are not in our books and by other writers.  It’s really remarkable.  Sweet guy too, really nice.  After my first class, we all go to Lady Mitchell Hall for our Plenary lectures done by a different person each day!  Nothing too exciting yet, but there are several that I’m looking forward to.

My last two classes of the day are actually taught by the same professor… And it is a very good thing that he keeps it interesting!  The classes are “Off with their heads! Children in Literature from the Tempest to Alice in Wonderland” and “Passion in English Literature and Film: Austen to the Brief Encounter.”  It’s hard not to enjoy these two immensely!  Lots of reading but it’s very worth it.  Of my classes, I’m only taking two for credit: English Romantics and Children in Literature.  What I’ll have to do is write an essay for each of those classes on one of the questions that the professor has put in place related to our subjects.  Haven’t decided on which ones I want to do yet, but I’ve narrowed it down some.  Hopefully, I’ll have made a decision by Monday.

Despite all this, I must say one thing: It is unbelievably difficult to not compare my Cambridge college experience to my other outer college experience: Berklee College of Music.  In Berklee, I had a roommate (well, for at least half of the program).  Here, I have my own room which I love!  Although it can get a little lonely sometimes.  At Berklee, there were over 600 students from around the world.  It was easy to get to know people and make friends because of the numerous and various classes, along with being obligated to have the meal plan where you could make new acquaintances over a meal.  Plus, all the students were fairly close together all the time.  Here at Cambridge, there are only about 1,000 in the summer programs of which I have only seen a small number in my classes because there are only about 250 participants in Term 1.  The students are much more widespread and in different colleges though.  For cheapness sake (also so I wouldn’t have to eat things I know I wouldn’t like), I opted out of the meal plan so I don’t get that group of people to really meet with every day this time around.  Cambridge is a small college town with not that much to do honestly, and Berklee was in the bustle of Boston where you can always find someone or something to keep you entertained while you weren’t studying.  And of course, the subject matter of Cambridge and Berklee varies a lot!  Music and now Literature.  That and the intensity of the Cambridge program is monumentally greater.  So far, I’m really liking the Cambridge program even though I’m much better suited to a big city environment (I don’t think I can express how excited I am to return to London this Saturday!)

Since I don’t have the meal plan, there is a mini-fridge in my room as well as a tea making station.  Makes it easy to make my oatmeal is well!  I’ve been to the super market in town a couple times already to pick up some easily made food that I can store in my room.  I heard that they didn’t have peanut butter here, so I brought my own from home! At the market yesterday, however, we found a couple jars of peanut butter. But I am happy that I have my favorite kind of peanut butter at least.

But I must say the saddest part of the Cambridge program is that I’m not really allowed into a music practice room.  However, I did find out that two of my classes take place in the practice room… *laughs maliciously*  I figure I can just stay after my last class of the day to sing.  I think the piano is locked, but I’ll take a look today and hope that isn’t true!  In the dorms, the walls aren’t very thick and I’m sure I’m already driving my neighbors crazy by singing during the day (that is if they are even in there!).  I need someplace I can really sing, man!  It’s such a crucial part of my life that I can’t exactly give up just because I’m out of the country on an educational adventure!

There are a couple things in Cambridge that I plan to do over the next few weeks:

• Punt across the River Cam.
• See and study in every library I can get into (Unfortunately, the main library requires a lengthy process in which I’d have to get permission from my teacher for having a distinct reason for going in, then I’d have to talk to the program director… so I may have to look at it from the outside only)
• See Harry Potter at the nearby Cinema (which seems like its on the other side of town but realistically it’s only a fifteen minute walk away maximum!)

I almost forgot!  On most of the weekends, there are excursions arranged by the program that students can go on.  I’m going to see a couple Shakespeare plays at Stratford Upon Avon and in London, Oxford, and to see several castles as well!  Those should be quite fun… you know, get out of the city and see more of England.  And go back to London!  Haha…

It’s really weird… Even though I’m around people from all over the globe, my thoughts are starting to turn British on me!  They have an accent and so when I speak normally it’s quite a jolt hearing my American accent in comparison to my British thoughts.

Pictures of my dorm and of my travels in the Cambridge town will be in the Cambridge Pictures link on the right (if they are not there yet, don’t panic… it takes a while for them to upload anywhere. Just come back in a few hours and it should be there!)

That’s it for now! Ta-ta!