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.