Thursday, January 23, 2014

Liverpool, Studies and Culture Shock

Hi All!

Last week was filled with meetings and orientations for the international students. We learned about the British culture, got an idea for how our classes (here they are called modules) would be, and learned more about the university. Tuesday we took a trip to Liverpool with a member of the international office. It's about 5 pounds round trip and a 25 minute train ride. I have to say it may be one of my new favorite cities. It's historic buildings mixed in with modern day shopping and night life makes for the perfect balance of old and new. It is a large city, but most major landmarks seem to be within walking distance.  I can't wait to go back and explore the vast Liverpool One shopping center :)

The culture shock is a little more than I expected but still not too bad. Yes I probably stand out and Yes people probably stare a little bit longer, but I still feel welcomed and a part of the student culture. It is actually harder to understand the British accent than I was expecting. Not everyone speaks all "Posh" like you see in the movies. It's interesting to hear all of the variations in the accents depending on what part of England they are from. Also, there are many different words they use for everyday things and lots of slang (this will have to be a whole blog by itself.)

Classes started this week. I am lucky to only have class on Wednesday and Thursday, which gives me a nice long weekend to travel. All of my classes are lectures, with two of them having a seminar every other week. The lectures are around 60 people, and last 2-3 hours (thankfully they give us a break in the middle) and the seminars are around 10 people, where we discuss the material more in depth, ask questions, etc..

In each module, I have 1 paper and 1 project/exam. This is your whole grade. I am not sure if I agree with this measurement of our progress, but I understand why they choose this way. We are expected to turn up (their version of "show up") to each class and we are not bribed with points for attendance. There are no easy assignments or take home quizzes to easily boost our grade.  With this being said, their grading scale is much different. Anything over a 40/100 is considered passing. Anything over a 70 is something to be very proud of. Their reasoning is that there is always room for improvement, no one assignment is perfect. This is hard to understand, our whole American schooling career has been aimed at earning a 100%. I respect and enjoy that they know we are not perfect and don't expect us to be.

Here, the tutors (their word for professor) expect you to do work on your own and critically think about the material. I really enjoy how we are given the freedom to criticize and question the material we are learning, and not believe every theory we read. It is different and slightly intimidating to know that papers we are assigned are broad, without much direction. In America, we are so used to specific, step by step directions that being able to make choices on our own is scary but such an incredibly necessary life skill.

(I'm no photographer so bare with me)


         St. Georges Hall- This is a beautiful building on Lime Street where many people get married and concerts are held.


                                                            The Walker Art Gallery
 My favorite stop of the Liverpool trip. The Cavern Club is where The Beatles got their claim to fame. Unfortunately, it is much smaller than it was when The Beatles were there because they sold part of their building (before The Beatles made it big and they realized how much history was in the small pub.)



Next Post: My day trip to York!