Late Nights... Early Deadlines

I have decided to once again crawl out from beneath by books (and bedsheets) to post another update at stupid-o-clock in the morning. Gotta love university sleeping schedules.

Week 7. Term 2. How depressing.

I have really been trying to make this term stretch. I've tried waking up early, having less naps, taking more strolls, and generally trying to enjoy all things English, but time has yet to feel like it is slowing. With only this term left of "real school", it certainly does feel like it has all blown past me once again. The reading weeks for philosophy are upon me, as well as their accompanying and soon approaching deadlines, and I am trying my hardest to get as many of them done before I bid welcome to some visitors from the states in less than two weeks. I was sitting in the Learning Zone this afternoon, which is more or less a library with no books; or the most high tech and comfortable study area you can have indoors, studying with some friends when I suddenly felt one of my first real pangs of "holy crap, I'm not going to be here much longer". Sucks I tell you. For all prospective study abroad-ers, if at all possible, go for the full year option. One term is NO WHERE NEAR ENOUGH. I cannot stress this enough.

Aside from that bit of moaning, I want to revert to some more pleasant trains of though that have been occupying me since my last update.

Tuesday's suck. Classes from 9-5 and two half-hour breaks. Yuck. Word of advice, if you happen to be stricken with such a class schedule, I have discovered that a pint in between classes, rather than going home, is BY FAR the best option. Find a buddy and play some pool as well. Make it a good time, every time. Reap the benefits of never being too far away from a cozy pub.

Saturday WINS. If you don't go out on Friday, get up at a reasonable time (leave your curtains open), head into town with a mate, grab some good and hearty Weatherspoon's breakfast for cheap, then head into the open air market. Grab yourself some fresh, local veggies, meat, cheeses, and depending how weak you are for tantalizing smells, perhaps an early lunch. Head round the high street and check out the reduced garb for some possible outfits for next nights clubbing. Pay a visit to the oriental food shop by the bus station and pick up ingredients for a tasty, easy, and absurdly cheap meal. Amble back to the bus station and get some work done at home, whether it be homework, housework, or cooking. If you have time, get yourself down to the gym and play some squash, workout, swim or whatever you prefer. After all that is said and done, have some friends round for a bit of dinner, pre-party banter and then get lost to the club. Party it up, take loads of pictures (I mean loads), laugh, sing, dance, and then catch the free coach home. Find your way to Sultan's of Lancaster, sort yourself out with some chips and cheese, then leisurely stroll back home to make a satisfied collapse onto the bed. Like I said, Saturday WINS.

Take advantage of the day trips that the university is constantly advertising, by the way. They are cheap, convenient, and completely worth it. We are heading to Ripon next weekend, home of the Wensleydale Cheese Factory (Wallace and Gromit!) amongst other beautiful sights and history.

That said, I think I have done enough damage to my body's circadian rhythms. Good night all.

Work, play, work, sleep. Rinse and repeat.

Finally managed to dig myself out of some reading to post something else for you, whoever you are.

Half-way through the Lent term already? This is ridiculous. Last term went fast for sure, but this is just silly. In the education side of things, I definitely feel more confident in the studying habit arena, but the fact that there are no exams or coursework until the end of the term or the beginning of the next is seriously screwing with my status quo that I had grown to endure in the states. I know this must seem like a whole bunch of the same story here folks, but it really is an important change that takes some adjusting. My advice kids, especially if you are doing humanities in England, is to make sure that you nail that "additional recommended readings" as much as you can (in-between facebook, youtube, and twitter sessions of course). They really rip you to shreds if you just spurt the same conclusions as what you have been reading and not brought anything new to the table from your own reflection. Also, and this is kind of obvious; don't be late for classes. They schedule the timetable around your ability to make it to classes, and it really does harm your understanding of the subject if you don't go.

Recently, I've been making an effort to try and keep a decent level of fitness here by going to the gym regularly. Telling you though, that is one thing from UMaine that I really do miss. Honestly, the place looks like somewhere that Rocky would have trained (I'm talking Rocky 1 here, not when he got rich in the later ones!). I'm not intending to bash Lancaster Uni here by any means, but I am glad, for future sakes, that a new Sports centre will be here in two years... On a positive note, I have seen an improvement in my health as well as my concentration while studying. So, don't neglect your body, even if it means bench pressing a rather heavy log at an ancient gym.

Something I realized that I have mistakenly left out of my posts here has been that of food, and more specifically, tips on how to stay fed without breaking the bank. Unlike the systems of food halls and similar concepts in the states, here they expect you to be much more self-reliant. All of the accommodation have kitchens where all types of gastronomic experimentation take place (try fish fingers with plain pasta and ketchup, a delicacy from my flatmate Anders!). So, here's my method:

Learn to plan for meals for up to 6 days the week ahead. Trust me, this will save you many a cash consuming trip to the local corner store or town.

ASDA online shopping. ASDA is the much more hip UK sister of Wal-Mart, which delivers for a small fee right to your college of residence. Set aside a day of the week to sit down and shop for the week ahead. Want to be extra helpful? Get some of your flatmates in on it and have it all come at once!

Stay away from eating a heavily processed meal more than 4 times a week. This includes things like frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, and other frozen meals. Even a burger made from scratch is miles better than one from a vendor or a box. TRY to eat vegetables. Seriously. You feel so much better and function like you should. Plus, veggies are cheaper than meat.

Learn to cook for yourself. A truly invaluable skill that is truly self-rewarding.

Finally, share food, but make sure you are not being too charitable. Your flatmates will gladly compensate you in some useful way or another. You get paid in drinks usually, which turns out to be a pretty sweet deal in the end.

On the lighter side of things, I will be racing mountain bikes with the LU Cycle Club in the middle of March in Scotland! Needless to say, I am really pumped. :-) Still making new acquaintances and friends every week, a few of the newer ones are actually from the states! There is nothing that makes you feel more at home than fatefully bumping into your fellow country peeps, try and keep an ear out for them.

That's it for me this week, enjoy, and I'll be back soon! Below is a picture of some homemade pizza that we had and shared last week, just to drive home the home cooking lecture I just gave!;-)