Pip Pip, Cheerio, and all that other stuff

            Greetings from across the pond everybody! Well, it's been quite a crazy week so far. I ended up leaving from Little Rock last Saturday and flew through Dallas (DFW) and Chicago (O'Hare) and finally landed in Machester early Sunday morning (or around midnight Little Rock time). The whole situation is still kind of weird to me, and I don't think that it has fully hit me yet that I am in England. This will be the first time that I have been away from home for this long, but I know that it will be a good experience overall. Seeing that I am new to this blogging thing, it took me a while to get the whole thing together so sorry for the long post. I'll try to keep it short. I've also noticed that, even though it's only been a few days, I've started to pick up some of the British mannerisms, so I apologize in advance, haha
           So where to begin...well, like I said before, my flight landed early Sunday morning. Once we got through immigration, we were picked up by Dale, one of the student mentors from the university, and loaded up our luggage to see our new home. Manchester is about 45 minutes away from the city of Chester, which would make you think that the drive in between the two cities would be tedious, but for a sleep deprived American, it was amazing. The country side of England is gorgeous, filled with green mountains, cottages, old farms, and sheep...lots and lots of sheep. Once we got to the uni (British talk for university) we got to meet Sam who is the international mom for our stay. Her and Sophia helped get us to our accommodations and took us to 1 of 5 local Tesco's (British Target). We were able to get food, bedding, and anything we needed for a fairly cheap price.
          After Tesco's, me and a few of the other international kids walked around the City Center which was brilliant. Chester and the city center is the perfect combination of new and old ways of life. The 2 mile wall that surrounds the city has been standing for a little over 2000 years, and has been under the control of the British and the Roman's since 70 A.D, which is incredible to think about. Some of the buildings  It's funny to think that an ancient wall that once protected kings and soldiers from many historical battles and enemies, now protects grocery stores, pubs, and a Disney store (along with other modern stores).
           Seeing that I am studying Communications, I was originally placed at Chester's sister campus Warrington which is another 35 minutes from Chester. Once there, I got to meet my neighbors who helped me get to know more about life in England. They were very welcoming, and I learned a lot more about British culture. On the second night at Warrington, me and the neighbors went to a local pub about 5 minutes outside of Warrington. It was one of the higher end areas and had amazingly good food. I ended up getting something called Gammon Steak which is pretty much fancy fried ham with pineapple. Pretty great stuff.
        The next day, all of us had to get our classes worked out. I talked to the head of the media department and we realized that I would be better suited at the Chester campus and that it would be possible to commute between Warrington and Chester. Talking to the teachers and staff has been pretty hilarious because every time I have stopped by to talk to them, I've been offered a cup of tea. No joke. So after enjoying a good cup of tea, I packed my bags and moved over to Chester with the other international kids. I had my first class yesterday which was Power, Persuasion, and the Media. It was actually a really interesting experience. For a few moments in class, I felt like a sociologist because I was able to just observe and analyze their form of education.
       The class was similar to that of a Hendrix class. It was a small class of about 5 people. I wasn't sure if that was due to people skipping, or if it is just that small to begin with. Our professor was actually really funny, and used a lot of British terms and phrases that flew completely over my head. One thing that I did catch was that at Chester, the teachers are more focused on the feedback and what you've learned rather than your final grade. Instead of knocking points off of an assignment starting from 100, they start from 0 and keep adding points based on the work you've done. From what I understand, a 70 = A, 60 = B, 50= C, etc. Supposedly, it is impossible to get an 80 or 90 for some reason for both international and British students, so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the year's grading goes. Oh yea! Classes don't go by semester's at Chester either.
            At Chester, you have 3 years in college and your classes last for a year. You have 3 major assignments scattered throughout the year as well. There aren't any tests or quizes either. So it was pretty surprising to me to hear that my next assignment isn't due until the middle of March. Since class ended, the international kids have gone bowling, had an international food fest, and next week are supposed to be going to North Wales. I'm pretty excited about the year and for this whole experience.
        Anyway, I think I'll end here. Another thing I've learned while here is that I will never complain about Hendrix internet again. The wifi lasts maybe 5 minutes if you are lucky, but at least it's better than none so can't be too picky. Anyway, I  hope you all enjoyed the first post!

Cheers,
Marvin