First day of classes

Today was my first official day of lectures, and it went well! Education over here certainly is different. The total number of contact hours that I have in a week is between eight and nine, whereas in the states I was averaging about twelve per semester or so. They really seem to focus on independent study, and they expect you to pursue your own research of more specific topics that interest you that will not be covered heavily in class. And I can't even emphasize how important the readings are! I spent more time in the past week getting this week's readings done than I will spend in class...and I know that is definitely the norm.

I am excited for the challenge, though. I just feel that my undergraduate career didn't challenge me too much. Things came easily to me then, and I didn't have to study often. I graduated a year early, with high honors. It definitely will not be easy this time around, and I look forward to that! I'm ready to be challenged.

Tomorrow I have one class (both lecture and seminar) - Public Policy Economics and Analysis. I'm then done for the week until Friday! That should be interesting. I'm sure Wednesdays and Thursdays will end up being biiig reading and revising days. Katelyn and I are still on the hunt for our perfect study hangout. We're going to work on that this week.

In other, non-school related news, I finally took some initiative and bought a jacket. I just couldn't find anything that really caught my eye. I wanted a raincoat, since it doesn't get frigidly cold here most of the time...but I couldn't find anything waist length, or even above-the-knee length. Fail. Then I kind of started looking and pea coats and trench coats. But then I decided I really needed a hood, because I HATE using an umbrella in an area where a million other people are using umbrellas. That is just asking to have your eye poked out. So I switched my focus and finally found a suitable jacket at Dorothy Perkins...and it sure didn't hurt that they offer a 20% student discount and free shipping on online orders! Done. Plus, the one I chose will be good for both fall and winter, so that's a plus.

It's weird, but sometimes Mondays put me in a very good mood. It's like you get a fresh start, and a new chance to allow yourself to have a good week!