This week is a down week for my travels. Because I had a paper due this week, I decided to spend some quality time at the library instead of exploring England. I thought I’d share a little bit about my typical week here in Exeter, because studying abroad isn’t all about the travel!
Here’s what a typical school week looks like for me while studying abroad:
Monday
Mondays are easier days for since I only have one class and it’s only 1 hour long. Classes meet twice a week over here, for a 2-hour session and a 1-hour session. I wake up around 8am to get some work done before my 11am class, Beyond Plath: Modern American Women Poets. Class is pretty far away from my flat so I usually grab a coffee while I’m up the hill and try to get some work done.
Fun fact about England: no one goes out on weekends! Monday nights are a lot more lively than they are at home but since I have a rough Tuesday course-load I tend to spend the night holed up with my books or attending a screening for my film class.
Tuesday
Tuesdays are the only day I have two classes, but luckily they’re both one hour sessions. While this may seem like a light load to those of you back in the US, in the UK its unusual for third year students of literature. I always get really sympathetic glances when I inform my classmates that I have another lecture in the afternoon!
Because my lectures are an hour apart, I grab lunch in the cafeteria. There are plenty of unhealthy options but I really like the salad bar! They always have several types of chicken and fruit to give variety to my salad.
Tuesday nights I have a tv party with another study abroad student. We’re both addicted to ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars, so we have a little party every week to watch it.
Wednesday
My most challenging class has its two-hour meeting on Wednesdays. Cityscapes is a film course taught within the English Department but it is completely different from any course I’ve taken back at home. There is a whole other vocabulary to the class and I often feel lost. I spend most of my morning trying to puzzle through the readings for this class.
Wednesday nights are the most fun! The phone plan Kenyon got us is with Orange mobile and Orange has a deal with the UK cinemas. We get two tickets for the price of one, every Wednesday! Last week we saw Paul and this week it was The Adjustment Bureau.
Thursday
As boring as it sounds, Thursday mornings are reserved for grocery runs. The flat that I live in is what the Brits call “self-catered” meaning that we have a kitchen and provide our own meals. Usually I pick up easy things, like chicken and eggs, as well as a few fun items like fajita mix.
My Kenyon Seminar meets from 3-6pm so it eats up a lot of my afternoon. This class is one of the most relaxed that I’ve ever taken, I think due to its year-long structure. We all traveled overseas together and have formed a unique bond that allows us to be much more free during class discussions—no intimidation here!
After class, some friends and I usually meet up to hang out. Sometimes we head down to a pub to watch a friend sing or to eat. Thursday is a big club night in Exeter but this means the clubs are too crowded to have any fun—the lines to get in often go down the street.
Friday
I often start a weekend trip on Friday since I don’t have class. When I’m at home I take the time to do laundry, write letters home or catch up on schoolwork. The library is oddly busy over the weekend making Friday the ideal time to get work done. Friday nights I sometimes hang out with my flatmates and catch up on their lives.
I leave this afternoon on a class trip to Stratford-upon-Avon so next week’s post will be filled with more travel adventures!