Fourth Prep Class – March 25

We started class out with a practice quiz over major people/events in English history. I didn’t do so hot, which isn’t surprising since I haven’t started memorizing all the dates yet. Something I should probably start doing. I got a few of the correct answers, and was able to confidently say some things that DIDN’T happen on certain dates. For example, I knew Charles I ascended to the throne before 1660. I was excited that I knew that. I felt smart, haha.

After the “quiz” we moved on to the history lecture. We talked about 16 and 1700s. A fairly interesting time, lots of things happening. The black plague… the Great Fire, Isaac Newton, the first dictionary by Samuel Johnson, and of course King George III and the American colonies.

After the history lecture, we took a break and split up into our semester groups. Professor Hawkins gave us another quiz, but this one was just for fun. It tested our knowledge of English culture. I knew some of the answers easily, and others surprised me. For example:

What would the English say about Hitler?
A) Butcher
B) Madness
C) A guy that almost destroyed England
D) Not the nicest of guys.

The answer was D! What does that tell us about the English? They understate EVERYTHING. They aren’t fans of the extreme, so it’s important for us not to be too exuberant while we’re out and about. One of the other questions was:

About how many pints of alcohol does a person consume on average, per year? [I can’t remember the exact numbers, so I’ll estimate about where they were]
A) 100-200
B) approx. 400
C) approx 850
D) +1100

The answer? D!!! Can you believe it! That’s sooo much alcohol! It’s true that alcoholism is a major problem in the UK. As a BYU student, and as a member of the LDS church, I will NOT be trying the drinks in England. Water, milk, and soda for me!

Toward the end of the class period Dr. Evans came in and talked a bit more about center life. We will have chore rotations every two weeks to keep the center in tip top shape and all our classmates happy. For example, on kitchen duty the jobs include prepping dinner, setting the tables, doing dishes, etc.

Then we talked about packing. They told us to think like pioneers, only take the necessities and nothing more. We have 1.5ft of closet space, and one large drawer under our bed. The end. No more. SO, luggage that is easily compacted is good (I’m going to try borrowing my brother’s large duffel bag, big enough it could fit a body in it… not that that’s why I’d be using it… but I could… ANYWAY… so I’d only be taking clothes to get me through one week, and probably two pairs of shoes, one for walking, one for church. A towel too because the only towels they have there are old and threadbare. Then of course the necessary toiletries, unless you want to buy all new there, which I’d rather not do.

Finally, Dr. Evans told us about how much the typical student spends per semester. Somehow I don’t think I’m going to be within that range. I’ve already started talking with some other girls about a trip to Ireland one weekend. Ireland is another place that’s on my dream list of places to visit. Possibly a trip to Paris too, but we’ll see. That trip’s a bit more expensive.

So that’s what’s been happening this week! It sounds like Harry Potter is definitely on, so I’m thrilled about that. Everything else seems to be looking good too.  Happy Allison!

Third Prep Class - March 18

This class was one that I've really been looking forward to. We got our calendars!

After talking about the classes that were going to be offered and then the history lecture (on Renaissance England this time) we broke up into our semester groups and talked about what our class schedule would look like, and what the course calendar was for our trips and such.

A typical weekday:
8:00am Breakfast
8:30am Clean-Up
9:00am First class begins
Afternoon: Study, field assignments, exploration, etc.
4:45pm Gather for spiritual thought and prayer
5:00pm Dinner
6:00pm and on: Study, concert-going, theater, etc.

They wanted us to have an early dinner so that the rest of the evening could be spent out and about. There are so many productions I want to see, I'm excited that they're accommodating to that!

Class Schedule:
Monday:
9-11:10 English
11:20-12:30 History

Tuesday:
12:10-1:20 History

Wednesday:
Field Trips

Thursday:
9-11:10 English
11:20-12:30 History

Friday:
In London Field Trips

Saturday:
Free Day

Sunday:
Church


Okay... here's the best bit: Where we're going!
As you noticed, Wednesdays are our field trip days where we go out of London and travel across the country. These are the places we're planning to visit.

July 1: Bath
July 8: Cambridge (Just in time for Darwin's Anniversary Festival)
July 15: Canterbury/Dover
July 20th-24th: An extended trip to Edinburgh, Scotland and through the Lake District
July 29: Portsmouth/Chawton
August 5: Stratford (SHAKESPEARE!!!!)

Yep, so those are the basics of what we learned on the 18th. We also found out that we get a BYU London center backpack in the beginning of April if we have everything we need done. I'm basically there, so I'm looking forward to a new backpack! :P

Second Prep Class - March 11

I'm a little slow getting this up, but I've been super busy.

For this class we talked about the payments we need to make, the forms we need to fill out, the textbook for the class, and briefly about the classes that would be offered. Then we went on to the history lecture about Medieval England.

When we discussed the payments Dr. Paxman told us he thought he knew the final cost of the trip, but that it hadn’t been made official yet. We would be told the official final cost the following day. The final cost he had heard was correct, $4,600! The price range we were given for the trip cost was $4,700-$5,100, so it's below the low!! That makes me so happy! I like it when things turn out cheaper than you thought they would be. :-D So the following day I went in and paid the final balance so I’m all paid up and ready to hit the ground running!

When it came to the textbook there were some issues. We were told in the first class that the book would be available at the bookstore. I went in Thursday between classes to pick it up but alas, there were none. I asked at the information desk and was told that a shipment would be coming in probably on Monday, so I should check back then. That’s fine, I thought. I can get my book on Monday and have my reading all done by Wednesday… yeah… not so much.

I went in on Monday and the order hadn’t shown up. This time I was told, “umm, it would be a good idea to fill out a special order form so that we make sure we get one for you.” So I did that. On the down side I was forced to wait on regular shipping time, 3-5 business days. Great! I wouldn’t be able to get my book in time.

After that, I emailed my TA and explained my plight. She told me she was meeting with the directors later that day and would bring up the book shortage. So, on Wednesday when we had our class they asked how many people still didn’t have their books and about 2/3 of the class raised their hands. “Okay, well that’s a bit more than expected. We’ll push the reading deadline back. Catch up when you get your book.” Then someone in the back of the class said that they were able to pick up their book that morning in the bookstore. A shipment had come in. Cool! I thought. I’ll go get my book right after class.

I went to do that, and of course I had accidentally left my receipt at home. The guy was merciful on me and said he just needed to see my student ID. I gave it to him and he went back in search of my book. Well, my book wasn’t with that order. I could see the book I needed on the shelf behind the desk, but they were all reserved for other students! Gah! The guy gave me an apologetic look and another girl behind the desk was like, “oh, just give her one of those books. I doubt all seven people are going to be showing up in the next couple days to pick up their books, we’ll probably have the new order in by then," so the guy gave me a book! I feel bad for the person that now has to wait, but I appreciate the mercy of that guy! So in the following days I was able to get my reading done.

Toward the end of class we split up based on which semester we were going and Dr. Hawkins explained to us what places he would be discussing and quite possibly visiting (WOOT!). Here’s some of the ones I had time to write down:

Stonehenge
British Museum
Bath
Westminster Abbey
Windsor
Cambridge
The Globe Theater
Hampton Court
Regent’s Park
Bank of England
Buckingham Palace
Parliament
Imperial War Museum
Millennium Bridge

I’m so freakin’ excited! I think I say that a lot when I’m talking about study abroad, but it’s so true! Well, that was the basic rundown of what class was on the 11th. I’m learning a ton, probably because I’m a sponge when it comes to things about England. :P

First Prep Class

This evening was my first SA prep class! I have to admit that I’m really relieved that some of the other students seem as insanely excited as I am. I really think this trip is going to be fun and the girls, though I only met the ones around me briefly, seem really nice.

There was a lot of information given to us and there’s no way I’m going to copy it all down, but here’s a rundown of the basic topics we covered:

• Introductions.
• Basic program information (fees, basic what to bring, and what’s covered in our fees).
• Photo tour of the London center.
• Flight arrangements and travel to London.
• Handling money.
• What we need to do (assignments and such) for this prep class.
• Brief overview of dates and people in Roman and Anglo-Saxon England.
• Pilgrimages (what they are, mean to other people, and mean to us).

Between now and our departure there are a lot of things I need to get done, and I know I don’t know half of it yet. From today’s meeting, this is what I understand I need to get done probably a week or two before I leave:

• Notify my bank of travel plans.
• Get some cash in USD and some pounds (not a whole lot) before I leave the country.
• Get a credit card (other than Mastercard) to go along with my debit card.
• Get a plug adapter for my laptop.
• Reconfirm my tickets a day or two before.

Well, those are the basics of what was covered today. I’m still excited and actually can’t wait to start doing the reading homework for this class. I want to know as much about England as I can!

Here are some pictures of the London center (from the powerpoint they showed us today) so you can see where I'm going to be living!

This is what you see when you walk into the London center.



A sitting/study area to the right when you walk in.



More chairs! Aren't they lovely?



Lots of stairs. Thankfully I live south of campus, so I walk up 147 steps every day, almost always twice a day and sometimes three times. That's not counting the other stairs I walk up and down to get to my various classrooms. Yeah, I'm good with stairs.



This is THE classroom. I'm assuming there's only one, but it's apparently very high tech. So this is where I'll be having my classes.



Our laundry room. Yay! I'll be able to wash clothes!



The kitchen.



This is where we will have our meals.



A bedroom. Lot's of bunk beds, so we'll all kind of be on top of each other. No doubt we will get to know each other EXTREMELY well.



Another angle of the bedroom.



The bathroom.




So yeah, that's where I'll be living from June 23rd to August 10th, 2009! I'm super excited and can't wait to get to London!