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| A few of us with our new adopted friend, Briana, in Killin, Scotland |
Then, there's the BYU Cambridge students. Talk about helpful in every way. They have given us tours of the town and libraries (today's was definitely a big help--the University Library is an insane place), tips, and have put their pride and dignity aside to sit with us BYU students as we talk about things that are hardly intellectual. Hey, we gotta blow off some steam somehow... But seriously, it's been great to have them around.
Additionally, there's the students from other schools. It has been an awesome experience to meet students that are from Berkeley, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. There have been also people that I have met that are from various places in the Middle East. And seriously, everyone is so dang nice, as well as funny. There's one guy I met in particular that I don't know very well, but every time I see him, he's saying something hilarious. It makes me smile. In my mind, I always assumed that those that were studious kept more to themselves, but it has been refreshing to see that all of the students here seem to love being social as well as throw themselves into their work. I love the balance.
And lastly, there are the professors and teachers. In my Spooks and Spies class, there is one lecturer that swears and yells and tries to make the class as entertaining as possible for us, and really, it is. I laugh and smile when he (tastefully) swears to make a point and I love how down to earth he is. There isn't a superiority factor here, which I love. I suppose in my other classes, lecturer to student relation isn't as relaxed, but I love just sitting around in the Spooks and Spies and Travel Writing seminars and speaking freely. It makes me wish that American universities set up their classes the same way.
Oh, Cambridge, how I love you.
This is great. I love how much fun you're having! And it is awesome that everyone there is so cool and down to earth. It makes me a little less nervous to go to grad school. How do they run the classes there? How are they different from the states? I'm intrigued. Do you want to teach in England now? Is it hard to teach there with an American degree? And I'm so glad you updated your blog.
ReplyDeleteHaha. I have no clue about getting hired. All I know is that Chase, one of the graduate students here, says its really hard to be hired by an American university if you get a phD at Cambridge, since it's shorter and more research based. American universities make you take longer and teach seminars to make sure you can be a good teacher. So... I'd love to do a masters in the UK and then a phD back in the states. We'll see about teaching after that. Maybe, with a lot of work, I could get hired at a university over here some day. And classes... well they are divided into seminars and lectures. Lectures there is little to no speaking on the part of the students. However, when you come to seminar, you better be prepared to speak and have the readings down pat. So that's a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm sure grad school will still be a beast. Haha. But having cool people around at least will make it fun :)