It is great to take a break every once in a while and take in the beauty of a city and the landscape. One of the most beautiful places to go in Cambridge is along the Backs (the backside some of the more famous colleges of the University of Cambridge).
Cambridge football practice complex
Part of the reason I wanted to study abroad for an entire year was so that I could completely immerse myself into English culture. One aspect of that culture is the education system. When you study at the Study Center, you take classes at the center with a variety of different professors. There is, however, the option to take an English or History course at the local community college, Anglia Ruskin University. This is something that I have chosen to do both of the semesters that I have studied here, and I am very glad that I have.
Taking classes at Anglia Ruskin gives you the opportunity to see what school is like in a different country. For my English classes, in general, we meet only once a week for two hours. The professors (or tutors, as they call them here) are laid back. Your final grade is determined completely by your final paper, project, or exam. This means that all reading, learning, and writing, is up to the student. It’s a very different style than the ones that I am used to at Valpo, and a welcome change of pace.
Being at the Study Center is great. It’s nice to know everyone, and REALLY nice to only have to walk across the house to go to class. But sometimes, I miss the feeling of being on a college campus. I miss passing people trekking across the lawns and waving to them, and I miss being a part of a larger community. Taking classes at Anglia really has helped me to feel more at home and like I’m still in college. I get to walk to classrooms, and sit behind an actual desk or table, and learn in an actual classroom instead of a room in a house.
Taking a class at Anglia Ruskin also allows you to make new friends, ones that you may not have otherwise made in Cambridge. Being friends with people that are familiar with the English culture is really interesting and enlightening, because they have a lot of different perspectives on life. This can also be said for the professors at Anglia Ruskin. Oftentimes, they have assumptions about America and Americans that you may have never thought of before, and it makes you think a little differently.
I would absolutely recommend taking a class at Anglia Ruskin if you were to stay at the Cambridge Study Center. It is a great way to immerse yourself in a different culture and get to know new people, and I am very grateful to have the opportunity to do so. And, if nothing else, it gives me the chance to walk through the town early in the morning and watch the snow fall on the River Cam, which always makes for a good day.
Snow on the way to class
Snow in the park on the way to Anglia Ruskin
It has been snowing here in Cambridge. On the radio station, the locals are talking about massive travel headaches in this “snow apocalypse.” So far less than an inch has been reported.
When you go abroad, everyone will tell you to travel as much as you can and see as many things as you can, because you never know when you’re going to get another opportunity like this. Meeting new people and seeing new places helps you grow as an individual, and gives you a completely new perspective of the world. While I agree that these things are essential to a Study Abroad experience, I would also argue that it is also incredibly important to create a community with the people you are studying with. Creating a community with the other Valpo students with me has really made my study abroad experience that much more fun.
This weekend was an example of this. After everyone went to Scotland last weekend, we all decided that this weekend was going to be a stay-at-home weekend with fun activities planned for each day. Friday was the first day of the weekend, which we called “Baking Day.” As you may have already guessed, Friday contained a lot of baking. In total, we had two kinds of cookies, two kinds of cake, one bread, and one Rice Krispie treat batch, with some Baked Alaska still to come. Everyone had a blast making our favorite treats, and no one complained about having more sweets in the house.
Emily Pauline, Jessica Kok, Sarah Pruitt, and Emily Meredyk on “Baking Day”
Saturday was “Game Day,” and the director Matt Ringenberg came over with all kinds of games for us to play together for the afternoon. Half of the group played some kind of game with trains and a board, while the rest of us played Carcassonne. For those who haven’t played it before, it’s basically a game of building cities in a medieval kind of setting. It was very fun, and I had a great time figuring out how to build a town.
Another part of building a community in Cambridge is also about participating in things in and around Cambridge. For example, a small group of us have recently started going to Quiz Night on Sunday nights at Sir Isaac Newton’s pub. Last week, our group came in last out of ten teams, so we got to pick one of the topics for tomorrow night’s quiz night– Major League Baseball–and we’ve been studying up on our baseball history to get ready. So our last big event of the weekend will be Quiz Night.
It’s nice that when I am not traveling, I have a group of people that I am close with that I can hang out with and spend time with. It has really made a difference getting to know everyone, and building these friendships and spending time with all of these other Valpo students has really enhanced my Study Abroad experience.
After Edinburgh, I had the chance to go further north on January 25th to Perth, which is on the southeastern edge of the Scottish Highlands. It was a cute, little town nestled in the rolling hills. Sometimes you have to get outside the city to see what life is really like in a foreign country.
Perth, Scotland
Perth, Scotland
Firth of Forth leading out to the North Sea
This past weekend we travelled north to the capitol of Scotland!
One of the greatest things about studying abroad for a year is that I have so much time to do the things that I want to do. I can pick and choose the things that I want to do, and take my time seeing them. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do that when the group took their first trip to London. I went along on Friday, and I have to say that it was nice to already have a sense of the city before I got there. I didn’t have to struggle with the Tube and using an oyster card, and I got to watch other people experience London for the first time, which was pretty cool.
Tower of London
One of the reasons I was so excited to go along on Friday was because the group went to see the Tower of London. I had never seen the Tower before, and had always really wanted to go. I love exploring old castles, and it especially cool to see the Tower because of how many important events occurred there. We saw the Crown Jewels, the green where Anne Boleyn was executed, and the tower where the two princes were supposedly murdered by their uncle, Richard III. Being inside and walking around the Tower made me feel that much more connected to history, and like I was a part of it.
The Imperial War Museum, London
I was also really excited for our day in London because we visited the Imperial War Museum. This museum had all kinds of exhibits from different wars that Great Britain has participated in. I am both horrified and fascinated with the events of the Holocaust, and I appreciated the work that was put into the Holocaust exhibit. Since we are celebrating the hundred years since World War I, the museum had an excellent exhibit about things from World War I. Overall, I was quite impressed with the work put into this museum, and would love to spend more time there.
“Wicked” at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
But the best part of the day came at the end of the night when we all went to see “Wicked” at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. For those who don’t know, “Wicked” is the story of the Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz.” I had never seen “Wicked” before, but I have been dying to see it ever since it started running. I’m a huge fan of Idina Menzel, who played Elphaba in the original cast, and I was thrilled that I got to see this musical that she was once in.
My anticipation and the expectations I had for the play were blown out of the water. I am not ashamed to say that there were times that I cried during the play. It was wonderfully put on and right after it ended, I wanted to see it again. My favorite part was at the end of the first act when Elphaba sings “Defying Gravity.” I literally felt weightless during that song. I love the way that music can move you so much, and because of that, I would absolutely recommend seeing “Wicked” to everyone.
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend, and I’m really glad I went along to London with everyone on Friday. I’m really excited about this new group in Cambridge, and for all of the trips we’re going to take together and all the memories we’ll make!
This past weekend we visited London. It’s such an amazing city! Where else can you find medieval castles intermingling with skyscrapers?
The Market Square in Cambridge, UK – built originally by the Vikings
The River Cam (Cam-Bridge)
Hello everyone! For those of you who don’t know, I am studying abroad for the entire 2014-2015 school year in Cambridge, and I’m back blogging again! I had a wonderful Christmas break in Cambridge, but I am really excited to get back into a routine with classes again.
As the title indicates, a new year and new semester have begun. The new Study Center group arrived last Thursday, and they have been getting settled and getting to know Cambridge for the past couple of days. It’s fun to watch people discover new things in the town. It was also a good conversation starter between the group and myself. If they had any questions about where to eat, where to shop, or anything of that nature, I could answer them.
On Friday, everyone took a guided tour of Cambridge. While everyone was taking their tour, I decided to take a tour of my own. I walked around the market, down past King’s College and Queen’s College, and then walked around the backs of the colleges. It was a gorgeous day and the sun was shining. Walking around on my own reminded me of why I chose to study here, and how even though I’m not new in town like the rest of the group is, I can still enjoy all of the culture and history I have around me.
The back of King’s College Chapel
The River Cam from the Clare College bridge
On Friday evening after their arrival, we went to see a pantomime (or panto, as they call it) of “Aladdin” at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. A panto is the British slapstick comedy play. They only run for a few months out of every year, so we were lucky to get to see one. These kinds of shows almost always feature a man in drag, and include a lot of audience participation. For example, the audience knows that when a character says, “Oh, no he didn’t!”, they yell back, “Oh, yes he did!”, and they boo and hiss at the villain. It also featured many songs pulled from all sorts of genres, including, “One Way or Another” and “Roar.”
Cambridge Arts Theatre presents “Aladdin”
For the most part, I think everyone enjoyed the play, and I know I thought it was funny. It was different from the Disney version of Aladdin we have come to know and love, with the setting in Peking, China, and Aladdin living with his mother and brother and running a laundromat. The night after the play, we all gathered around the TV to watch the “real” Disney version of Aladdin together.
Our next adventure is London this weekend, where we will have a chance to see the Tower of London and the play “Wicked,” which are two things that are on my bucket list. I can’t wait to travel with this group and spend some time in one of the greatest cities in Europe!
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