Blog Post Prompt 7

Class during our study abroad trip differs tremendously from our classes at home. First of all, it's fun. This may be due to the fact that it is a bit more laid back and informal, or the fact that it is mostly discussion and participation based. At home I feel like a lot of our classes are lecture based, and tend to be boring. During a certain Phonics class last quarter I found myself constantly looking at my watch, and begging for the class to be over. This class with Ruth Benander is interesting. I constantly find myself learning new things about literature or even vocabulary. Ruth uses so many words that I have never heard of in my life, I have to stop her and be like "huh? What did you just say?" Now, I am even starting to use some of the new vocabulary that I have been picking up. I feel so much more intelligent.

In addition to my new vocabulary knowledge I have learned a great deal more about literature (as I stated previously). I think that being in Europe and traveling to all of these relevant places concerning the text, has just made that much more excited about reading them. For instance, at home I would never have read Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, or Sherlock Holmes on my own. And to be honest, had I never read these texts I truly feel that I would have been missing out on some remarkable things. I am like completely obsessed with Jane Eyre. I don't think that anyone at home who knows me would have anticipated that I would have become enchanted with that particular text. Whats more is that I honestly don't know if anyone at home would truly understand my new found fascination. I also actually like reading Sherlock Holmes, I'm not the biggest fan of the television show, but I like the text all the same. The fact that I read the text will actually come in handy, when I go see the movie this fall (I will have the background knowledge).

I think that this study abroad experience has made things a great deal more interesting. I am honestly fascinated by a lot of our text. (Excluding Byron of course, except for the fact that I did actually like the poems that we read of his in class yesterday). The most important thing that I feel that I have gained from this course is a true appreciation of classic literature. I have also learned a great deal about the time periods that the literature was written in, and this knowledge has helped me to understand the texts even further. I have also gained a new found appreciation for the role that landscape plays in a text. Before this trip, I thought more of landscape/setting as just a backdrop; but now I see it as almost an additional character in the story. Sometimes, it can even be the most important character. This appreciation would not have occurred had we not had such in depth conversations regarding setting or had we not traveled to the Moors.

Blog Post Prompt 5

In terms of my daily routine I have noticed that the orders of my days have changed a great deal since arriving in Europe. At Harlaxton breakfast is served from 7:30 to 8:30 every day, when we first arrived I went to breakfast regularly. This was due to the fact that we had class directly after breakfast. However, after awhile we opted to move class to the afternoons and sometimes the evenings. This move prompted me to sleep in. An opportunity that at home I rarely get, since I usual have to get up with my three year old. The change in class schedules actual persuaded us to stay up later, this means either going to the pub, or staying in and watching movies (i.e. Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and of course more episodes of the BBC's Robin Hood). Since we were staying up later, we obviously began to sleep later. I shocked myself when I rolled over one morning and the clock said 11am! I can't remember the last time that I slept that late!

If we are at Harlaxton, after waking up, I may go to breakfast (if it's early enough) or I may take a shower. Then at some point in the day we usually have class and lunch and dinner. The big difference in daily routine at Harlaxton is that I do not have to cook or clean anything, and I do not have to get anyone else ready for the day. This is a bit weird for me. I had completely forgotten how little time it actually takes just me to get ready. We I schedule out how much time it will take me to get ready to go I usually give myself too much time, and I am ready way earlier than everyone else.

If we are staying somewhere else (i.e. a hostel etc) things tend to change based on our plans for the day. For example, when we stayed at Haworth we got up got dressed, and went and ate breakfast before beginning our treacherous nine mile hike/climb into the Moors. There was no showering involved, we all made a pact not to shower there, because we couldn't fit towels or other shower supplies into our bags. Not showering is also something that is a little bit out of the norm for me, I mean I usually shower once a day. When we made this pact we had no anticipated the mounds and mounds of sheep poop that were completely covering the Moors...ew is all I have to say concerning that.

In Rome, Lauren and I did things pretty standard. We showered in the morning and ate breakfast (the coffee at our hotel tasted like bacon, the implications of that continue to marvel me). However, after walking around Rome all day we felt disgusting and again in need of a shower before we felt acceptable to go to dinner.

This brings me to another dramatic change from the norm, my level of physical activity. At home most of my physical activity comes from running after my three year old. We go to the park, the Children's Museum, Kings Island, and the pool. This usually summarizes my level of outdoor activity. However, on this trip we are constantly outside and constantly moving. We pretty much walk everywhere. This combined with the fact that our rooms are on the fifth floor results in a great work out. And to spite what you may think, I actually kind of like hiking and climbing and just exploring whats around me. So much so that when I get home, I may look for a place to go hiking/exploring. In addition, I like taking the stairs up to my room. This is not really a new development, because I tend to take the stairs at school when given any choice in the matter.

At home the things that I take for granted in terms of my daily routine, is that I have my own shower, my own bathroom, and more than one towel at my disposal. I also take for granted my level of privacy, and the fact that at home I can take a bubble bath. I have really missed being able to do that here, due to the fact that after hiking and attempting to keep up with "ninja Ruth" we all tend to be a bit sore at the end of the day.

These changes in routine have led me to consider a lot regarding my routine at home. There are definitely some changes that I may make at home regarding my outdoor activities especially. I also might miss someone else cooking and cleaning up once I get home!