One month down, and two months to go. This month has been focused on adjusting, to both the country and the school. The first week before classes began was used to get used to Mile End and explore London before academics began. This week was full of ups and downs. The things I had to adjust to were the rather small amount of items I could bring along, the use and cost of public transportation, and the small differences in food, culture, and city life. In the same way, these were all integral parts of being a study abroad student, and a new Londoner.
The first week of classes was different, because the class sizes were significantly larger than Rollins. The smallest course I have is Pharmaceutical chemistry with around 70 people. My other classes, Shakespeare and Intro to Probability are freshman beginning courses and have over 200 people. Since they are so large, I have seminar classes to break into smaller groups. England’s school system has slightly less hours a week, but significantly less homework and testing. I usually have one large assignment per class.
At Queen Mary, some ways to get involved include societies and sports clubs. I went to a “freshers” fair to scout out some interesting ones, including the Shakespeare society, math society, and the women’s Rugby team. So far, I have enjoyed these groups; all the socials conducted were a nice way to get acquainted with other students and cool places in the area. The Rugby team in particular has been super fun! We have practice on Mondays and socials and future games on Wednesdays.
This past weekend has been extra busy, because I had a special visitor from Rollins! My roommate from last year came to visit over her fall break so I had someone to be a tourist with. While she was here we went to the Globe, the British History Museum, Tower of London, the British Library, Baker Street, and the Harry Potter studio tour. I would highly recommend all of these to others visiting London. Overall, the first month has been pretty great, and I really enjoy the Queen Mary program.
