Today marks a glorious day! (Okay, technically the glorious day happened four days ago. Just work with me.) Earlier in the semester, I had applied through CCIS (College Consortium for International Studies) to Kingston University in London. I experienced three of the most anxiety-ridden weeks of my life before finally getting an email saying...
...that they had accepted me as a student for next semester! Huzzah! I cannot adequately depict the glory of the happy dance I did when I opened the email, so here is Christian Bale doing something similar:
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| Judging by the thing over his suit, I'm assuming this is American Psycho. Can anyone confirm? I'm too scared... |
So, dear reader, this means that I will have plenty of pictures to post and stories to tell from good ole England. I arrive in late January and will be there until some time in May. If you have any suggestions regarding things to do, places I should visit, things you want me to take pictures of, and so on, please leave them in the comments! (I love comments!)
I am extremely excited to be a part of Kingston University in the coming months! Three cheers for England!
"England," you might say, "you mean the place with all the gross food, bad teeth, terrible weather, bulldog-lovers, and people who always say things like 'spiffy' and 'cheerio'?"
No. That's not right. England has far more to offer, as you shall see...
Now that the stereotypes are out of the way, let us focus on a few things we can thank England for and what England means to me. For writers, England had Arthur Conan Doyle, Shakespeare, and John Milton (to name the first three that come to mind). TV shows: Sherlock, The Office (yes, the U.K. had that first), and Monty Python's Flying Circus (again, only the first three to come to mind). Music: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Moody Blues. (Remember the rule of three. I know there are MANY more.) England is also very culturally rich and I cannot wait to dive in headfirst! I want to see and do everything I possibly can in the time I am there. If I am not tired from running around, exploring, and learning new things at the end of almost every day I will be disappointed in myself. I want to take advantage of the four months I will spend in England and make sure that I have plenty of photos and stories that I can share with you!
So where exactly will I be and what will I be doing in college? Well, here is a map of the Greater London area with the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames highlighted in green (courtesy of the official website of Kingston):
That's where I will be, at Kingston University. Here is a website for some fast facts about the school:
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/kingston
As for what I will be doing: taking classes and adventuring! It looks like I got into all of my first-choice classes, which is absolutely thrilling! I'll be taking British Life and Culture (the class for international students), an independent creative writing study, a songwriting class (which makes me nervous as I've never written a song, but it sounds fun), and Japanese I. Japanese language classes aren't available at MCLA, and I want to go back to Japan someday, so I figured that I should take the class at Kingston! If my schedule changes due to time conflicts, Kingston University offers many other courses that I would be happy to take. They have a wide variety of subjects that MCLA doesn't. I'll have access to great classes that I can't get here, which makes me a happy student. To top it off, Kingston is only a 25 minute train ride from the City of London.
I am already extremely excited about studying abroad! I've started making a mental list of places that I want to visit (which I should probably turn into a real list, as my memory isn't the best). Of course I am nervous as well, but the excitement helps balance the nerves. I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy England very, very much. I hope I do! (Really, though, how could I not? This is all so amazing!)
Now, I am afraid I must go finish a short paper that I have been putting off for a little while now. At least I'm staying on the same subject (England): the paper is an analysis of a monologue in John Milton's "A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle".
Now that the stereotypes are out of the way, let us focus on a few things we can thank England for and what England means to me. For writers, England had Arthur Conan Doyle, Shakespeare, and John Milton (to name the first three that come to mind). TV shows: Sherlock, The Office (yes, the U.K. had that first), and Monty Python's Flying Circus (again, only the first three to come to mind). Music: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Moody Blues. (Remember the rule of three. I know there are MANY more.) England is also very culturally rich and I cannot wait to dive in headfirst! I want to see and do everything I possibly can in the time I am there. If I am not tired from running around, exploring, and learning new things at the end of almost every day I will be disappointed in myself. I want to take advantage of the four months I will spend in England and make sure that I have plenty of photos and stories that I can share with you!
So where exactly will I be and what will I be doing in college? Well, here is a map of the Greater London area with the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames highlighted in green (courtesy of the official website of Kingston):
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/kingston
As for what I will be doing: taking classes and adventuring! It looks like I got into all of my first-choice classes, which is absolutely thrilling! I'll be taking British Life and Culture (the class for international students), an independent creative writing study, a songwriting class (which makes me nervous as I've never written a song, but it sounds fun), and Japanese I. Japanese language classes aren't available at MCLA, and I want to go back to Japan someday, so I figured that I should take the class at Kingston! If my schedule changes due to time conflicts, Kingston University offers many other courses that I would be happy to take. They have a wide variety of subjects that MCLA doesn't. I'll have access to great classes that I can't get here, which makes me a happy student. To top it off, Kingston is only a 25 minute train ride from the City of London.
I am already extremely excited about studying abroad! I've started making a mental list of places that I want to visit (which I should probably turn into a real list, as my memory isn't the best). Of course I am nervous as well, but the excitement helps balance the nerves. I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy England very, very much. I hope I do! (Really, though, how could I not? This is all so amazing!)
Now, I am afraid I must go finish a short paper that I have been putting off for a little while now. At least I'm staying on the same subject (England): the paper is an analysis of a monologue in John Milton's "A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle".
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| Oh, Milton. What a fine writer were. Good man! |
WooHoo! You already took the L-O-N-G trip over the Pacific Ocean so now it's time for a *shorter* trip over the Atlantic. Ah...Megan's 2013 London Adventure, coming soon to The Compass for all of us to enjoy. Just pay attention to "Look Right" written on the curbs. Traffic over there flows in the wrong direction...learned that crucial piece of info in Sydney. :) oxox AL ♥
ReplyDeleteYes, this plane ride will seem like nothing compared to Japan (which I am thankful for). London 2013 Adventure coming soon!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I'll get used to looking right very quickly. I'll make sure to watch what the people around me are doing!
And let us not forget that England is the home of our beloved, and often imitated, Alan Rickman.
ReplyDeletePS Yes, that dance is from American Psycho. (Now I'm scared all over again).Thankfully, you followed up with Sherlock.
ReplyDeleteOh, if I see Mr. Rickman I will be so happy. Even if it's from a distance. Haha!
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I decided to type "American Psycho Dance" into Youtube and it came up. I watched the scene up until he grabs the axe...even without violence he was creepy. He's so...happy...I had to watch a few cat videos to make myself feel better.