For the most part the overall journey to London was one of the least stressful travel experiences that I have had. A major part of this easy-going trip was that I wasn’t traveling by myself but with a friend. Along with this bonus we didn’t have a layover or any connecting flights to catch. It was one flight all the way through to Heathrow and then an airport collection shuttle service took us to Queen Mary University. The airport collection was extremely helpful because we didn’t have to figure out on our own how to get to the campus but simply hopped on a coach that dropped us off right at the QMUL doorstep. Similarly, unpacking was a breeze, seeing as I didn’t have nearly as much as I normally would when moving into the dorms at Rollins. The first week was then spent finding where our classes were located and exploring some of London when we could. So far my friends and I traveled to see the London Eye and were able to see Big Ben and Parliament across the Thames River at the same time and have future plans to go see more of London throughout the semester.
Before we knew it classes were starting. Teaching and learning here in London are slightly different from how things are taught and learned in the US. Education is a lot more independent studies based. The teacher lectures in class for two or three hours straight, depending on your module, and then our homework is to do the reading for the next class. And since class is held only once a week we are given that entire week to get the reading done. Another aspect in education that is different is that there are no “homework assignments” given. Over the course of the entire semester I will only have to write a total of two papers for each of my classes, I am not given little assignments every week to complete, only the readings to do be done before class. Unlike lecturers at many universities in America, the professors here do not give out pop quizzes to make sure that the readings are getting done. Instead there is a sort of trust put in the students that they are actually doing the required articles and chapters, there is no questioning on the part of the teacher that insinuates that they do not think the readings are actually being read. Not having to do little tasks for homework is refreshing in a way and I enjoy the readings that are assigned weekly.