Austen in Uni-Land

Well I made it through my first week of classes at Uni! And even though things operate differently over here, and there are definitely some things I need to adjust to academically, class is still class (though, here they call classes “modules”). 

It’s been yet another week of discovery and pretending like I know what I’m doing while silently freaking out internally. For one thing, there are way more buildings here than at Wellesley, and whoever designed them had a…unique understanding of architecture. Sure there are some lovely old stone and brick buildings inscribed with Latin phrases and enclosed in wrought iron gates, but do I have classes in any of these buildings? Of course not. I have a few classes in “houses”, which are renovated row houses near campus. They were incredibly difficult to find at first because it looks as though someone just lives there, not like it is filled with classrooms, and they University signs are small and far away from the sidewalk, so it’s all a big guessing game really. 

It was in one of these houses that I had my very first ever class at Leeds, my Medieval European Literature lecture. Of course I was freaking out about being late to this class, so I left like 45 minutes early (which meant that I only had like 15-20 minutes to find my classroom in the labyrinthine campus after the 30 or so minute walk from my residence). I wandered around for a bit before finding the house, and then it took a few minutes of walking up and down several stairwells and a pair of kindly students who took pity on me before I found the lecture room. My lecture professor was entertaining though. He insists on being called by his first name, Alaric, insists that no one can give a wrong answer, wore Birkenstock sandals, and used the word “groovy” in every second sentence during class. It was wonderful. I had to read several poems in Middle English without any modern translation this week, though, which was an adventure in and of itself, but it’s a first level course so it should be a nice introduction to Medieval Literature. We’ve already starting our first major text in the seminar, the Nibelungenlied, a Medieval German epic that I’m quite enjoying—there are a lot of noble, yet not very bright knights, and numberless “adorable” ladies, each more gorgeous than any ever seen before ever. 

I usually have a few hours of break in between my classes, between 1-2 hours usually. It’s nice to have a little reprieve, but it’s also sort of annoying since I live so far away and I can’t really go back to my dorm and hang out in between classes like I do at Wellesley where everything is 10 minutes from each other. I usually find a quiet spot outside to eat my packed lunch (I’m perfecting my roast beef sandwich), and then go to the library to do some reading. 

I have a few classes in this one huge building, called Roger Stevens, which I swear was designed by blind architecture. For one thing, the building is hideous. Something out of late 70s architecture, all bare concrete and exposed pipes…it’s unpleasant. This building is full of lecture theaters, and the most confusing thing is that on your schedule, the room may be “lecture theater 2, 7.02” which means floor 7. However, the bewilderment comes in when you start going up the stairs and realize that floor 7 is actually the floor that you enter on…which, of course, makes no sense at all. The only floors that you can access (at least according to the elevator buttons) are floors 7-12. I mean, what? This isn’t the only building on campus with a wonky level system, though, there are a few where you enter on level 11, or other strange numbers. Even just the normal level system here took some adjustment: here the floor you enter is usually “Level G” and the next floor up is “Level 1”, unlike in the US where the ground floor is usually “Level 1”. 

Anyways, in this crazy, nonsensical building I have 2 lectures, one for a Cultural History of Japan, and one for the Philosophy of Religion. Both of these classes seem really interesting! The Japanese history class seems like the least intensive so far, and full of really interesting information. I was attracted to it because it listed Haruki Murakami in the syllabus, whom I love! My philosophy class seems like it’s going to be a little tough, not so much in terms of the work load, but in terms of the content. I’ve never taken a formal philosophy class before and I’ve only ever read snippets of philosophy in different contexts. Let’s just say it’s a little over my head. But! My philosophy lecturer is American! In the lecture on Friday I answered a question (apparently I was the only person in a room of 150 people who knew who Mark Twain was…?), and he gleefully said, “Correct! And you’re not from around here, either!” After class we briefly chatted about where in the states we were from and how I was adjusting, and he’d even heard of Wellesley, which is rare even in the US! 

Aside from these classes, I’m also taking a Cultural History course, which studies the major developments in culture throughout European and American history. Our first lecture was one of my longer ones, lasting about 2 hours, and covered the basics of what “culture” was exactly and what it meant to study the concept and history of culture. It seems like it will be a very thought provoking class. Oddly enough for this coming week, we’re focusing on the Enlightenment and the development of freedom, equality, and democracy, so we had to read the US Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I feel a little like I’m back in middle school or high school, listening to School House Rock and learning about the Amendments and the powers of the 3 branches, it’s been that long since I’ve really looked at these documents and discusses them academically. And, of course, I’m the only American in my seminar, so I’ll end up having to fill everyone in with a little history lesson. 

It’s strangely comforting though, encountering these small scraps of home over here. Now that the realities and rigors of school are setting in (there is a lot of reading, and they actually take attendance here! It’s quite strict…), and the honeymoon period is fading away, I’m starting to miss home a little more. Little things are starting to nag at me, no matter how much fun I’m having meeting new people and having adventures with my friends, I can feel this wistful nostalgia for home, for Wellesley, for the US welling up at the edge of my vision. Maybe that’s what I’ll work through in my next blog post. 

All complaints and poignancy aside, I had a pretty good first week! It’s definitely more strict here, and the Brits certainly don’t hold your hand the way American college do, but I’m looking forward to trying out some new subjects and figuring out how to learn like the English. It’s certainly going to be an interesting semester, I can tell you that.