First Week of Classes

I've officially been at Harlaxton for a week now! I am still getting lost on my way to the library and the dining hall, but I'm getting the hang of the place. The first weekend was so amazing and overwhelming. Everything is so fancy and ornate, and there's so much to explore. It was easy to forget that Harlaxton wasn't just a vacation-- it's also a school. Monday's 8:30am lecture came as a rude awakening for some of the students.

I'm taking it easy this semester, giving myself some slack and only taking 12 credit hours so I have a chance to breathe and enjoy the experience instead of stress about school. However, being an English major, I still ended up with 9 books. Go figure.

The British Experiences class is 8:30-10:40am on Mondays and Wednesdays. The lectures are set up to go in chronological order of England's history, beginning with ancient Britain, then the Roman invasions, and then the Angles, Saxons, vikings, so on and so forth. In just two lectures I've learned so much! I've also realized that I only have a very basic and very poor understanding of how complicated the UK's history really is. I know I'm going to learn a lot in this class (if I can stay awake! It's a good thing the cafeteria has coffee).

I'm also taking a class that focuses on Shakespeare, and I'm nerdy enough to be really excited for it. We're reading a total of 12 plays this semester (WOW) starting with Macbeth. This weekend is our London weekend, and in our first class of Shakespeare, the professor handed out tickets to see Macbeth in the Globe Theater while we're in the city! Later in the semester, we're also going to see a production of Cymbeline when we visit Stratford.

My last class is called "Masterpieces of British Literature" which will include more Shakespeare, Beowulf, the Canterbury Tales, Robinson Crusoe, and more. I have the same professor for both English classes, and I know it's going to be a great semester. He really knows what he's talking about! Our classroom also doubles as a great hall of sorts, so there's huge vaulted ceilings, amazing fireplaces, paintings, and huge windows. There's also a grand piano in the room, so the professor has decided to play us music before class, and it is incredible what this man can do!

I've always been lame enough to really enjoy school, but this takes my love of learning to a whole new level. I can't wait to get further into my classes.

Sorry there wasn't any pictures in this post, but I'm sure my last post made up for the deficit in this one. In a few hours I'll be heading down to London for the weekend, and I just can't tell you how excited I am! I'll report back on Monday to tell you how it went.

xoxo-- Annie