Hey everyone!
Welcome back to part two of my physics abroad blog! With one session done I still cannot believe that I only have four weeks left of physics and of Brighton. I am coming back to the program older and wiser (well at least I like to believe so!) and hopefully prepared for the upcoming four weeks. We'll see how it goes! Anyways here is what I have been up to since my last entry:
After our final, we had a five day break. The break was wonderful and exactly what I needed. It was just the right amount of time to recover from four very intense weeks of physics and to mentally prepare for the next four. Because the break is so long a lot of students decide to travel because during those five days we having nothing physics related to do-- such a freeing feeling! My friends and I headed to Barcelona for our break and it was amazing, but I know that other students visited Greece, Amsterdam, Paris and a bunch of other places so if you are worried that you will only see England during your program, do not fret, this break provides the perfect opportunity for you to explore Europe a bit more!
When break was over, coming back to school almost felt like coming home and it was very comforting to be back in my own room with my own bathroom rather than staying in hostels. We eased back into school life with a short week. We only had a three days of class with one lab and one workshop. However, right off the bat we dove back into physics, and it became clear that this second session would be dealing more with abstract concepts rather than straight mathematical and logical concepts like we tackled in the first half. Think magnetic and electric fields with lots of right hand rule movements.
I also found out that after session one all of your Assistant Tutors (AT's) rotate. This means that for workshop and lab I was now working with completely new people. In addition, my old professor now switches off lecturing with another professor. I personally like switching things up because it allows for new teaching methods and a new perspective on physics, however I know some students were a bit bummed to leave their first session AT and professor. But that's just a testament to how great they are!
As the week progressed, it was pretty easy to get back into the swing of things. My schedule did not change so lecture was still in the morning with lab and workshop in the afternoon. There were a few small changes to the way we worked in lab, but for the most part I was able to fall back into my routine from session one. It was nice having the first session experience under my belt because I knew the tricks of the trade, so to speak. For example, I knew that I had five classes before the midterm so I had to pay attention right from the beginning, which is different that at home because usually you have five weeks before a midterm so if you take your time to ease into a class it really isn't the end of the world. But it was also small things like knowing they have powered chocolate you can sprinkle on top of your coffee to give a bit more sweetness. Mmmm. Like I said before, I came back feeling as if I had been here for years rather than weeks.
It wasn't until Wednesday (when I finally began unpacking from my trip) that I realized I had no money on me. Granted I had my debit card, but if my grandpa has taught me one thing it was to always have some cash, especially in Brighton where some places are cash only or have a minimum charge on cards and even more so when you are out of clothes and have to do laundry.
The nice thing about my schedule and having a four hour break in the middle of my day is that it is enough time for me to take spontaneous trips to Brighton whenever physics becomes too much and I need a little break. So on Wednesday my friend Marissa and I hopped on the train and headed into Brighton for a little exploring and to get money because I was running severely low on clothes.
Welcome back to part two of my physics abroad blog! With one session done I still cannot believe that I only have four weeks left of physics and of Brighton. I am coming back to the program older and wiser (well at least I like to believe so!) and hopefully prepared for the upcoming four weeks. We'll see how it goes! Anyways here is what I have been up to since my last entry:
After our final, we had a five day break. The break was wonderful and exactly what I needed. It was just the right amount of time to recover from four very intense weeks of physics and to mentally prepare for the next four. Because the break is so long a lot of students decide to travel because during those five days we having nothing physics related to do-- such a freeing feeling! My friends and I headed to Barcelona for our break and it was amazing, but I know that other students visited Greece, Amsterdam, Paris and a bunch of other places so if you are worried that you will only see England during your program, do not fret, this break provides the perfect opportunity for you to explore Europe a bit more!
When break was over, coming back to school almost felt like coming home and it was very comforting to be back in my own room with my own bathroom rather than staying in hostels. We eased back into school life with a short week. We only had a three days of class with one lab and one workshop. However, right off the bat we dove back into physics, and it became clear that this second session would be dealing more with abstract concepts rather than straight mathematical and logical concepts like we tackled in the first half. Think magnetic and electric fields with lots of right hand rule movements.
I also found out that after session one all of your Assistant Tutors (AT's) rotate. This means that for workshop and lab I was now working with completely new people. In addition, my old professor now switches off lecturing with another professor. I personally like switching things up because it allows for new teaching methods and a new perspective on physics, however I know some students were a bit bummed to leave their first session AT and professor. But that's just a testament to how great they are!
As the week progressed, it was pretty easy to get back into the swing of things. My schedule did not change so lecture was still in the morning with lab and workshop in the afternoon. There were a few small changes to the way we worked in lab, but for the most part I was able to fall back into my routine from session one. It was nice having the first session experience under my belt because I knew the tricks of the trade, so to speak. For example, I knew that I had five classes before the midterm so I had to pay attention right from the beginning, which is different that at home because usually you have five weeks before a midterm so if you take your time to ease into a class it really isn't the end of the world. But it was also small things like knowing they have powered chocolate you can sprinkle on top of your coffee to give a bit more sweetness. Mmmm. Like I said before, I came back feeling as if I had been here for years rather than weeks.
It wasn't until Wednesday (when I finally began unpacking from my trip) that I realized I had no money on me. Granted I had my debit card, but if my grandpa has taught me one thing it was to always have some cash, especially in Brighton where some places are cash only or have a minimum charge on cards and even more so when you are out of clothes and have to do laundry.
The nice thing about my schedule and having a four hour break in the middle of my day is that it is enough time for me to take spontaneous trips to Brighton whenever physics becomes too much and I need a little break. So on Wednesday my friend Marissa and I hopped on the train and headed into Brighton for a little exploring and to get money because I was running severely low on clothes.
Once in Brighton, we headed to pier and walked around. It's crazy I still am finding things I have never seen before even after five weeks and countless trips to Brighton. Walking around we stumbled upon this street with a bunch of street art. Marissa personally really enjoyed the Paul Frank wall, but I took a liking to this very inspirational penguin (see below).
I'll leave it up to you to decide which one is better.
While our trip was short, we considered it a success because we got to see a little bit more of Brighton and I finally had money to do laundry! We hopped on the train back and we were back on campus with plenty of time before our afternoon class.
The week ended with the realization that our midterm was fast approaching. But before we let the stress of midterms take over a big group of us got together Thursday night and had what we called a "fam game night". We played some card games and Catchphrase while eating brie and something called cracker bread. We weren't really sure what it was, but it was good and cheap so everyone was happy. And alright I admit I may have also stopped at the Co-op and grabbed some ice cream, but in my defense it was on sale so I basically had to. Game night was really fun and I got to hear all about everyone's travels over the long weekend.
And that was week five at Sussex University! It was the perfect start to session two. Next week is the midterm and before I know it, it will be the final. I'm hoping to make the most of my last three weeks here and squeeze in my last few adventures before I have to say goodbye.
Can't wait to see what next week will bring! See you next time!
Veronica
The week ended with the realization that our midterm was fast approaching. But before we let the stress of midterms take over a big group of us got together Thursday night and had what we called a "fam game night". We played some card games and Catchphrase while eating brie and something called cracker bread. We weren't really sure what it was, but it was good and cheap so everyone was happy. And alright I admit I may have also stopped at the Co-op and grabbed some ice cream, but in my defense it was on sale so I basically had to. Game night was really fun and I got to hear all about everyone's travels over the long weekend.
And that was week five at Sussex University! It was the perfect start to session two. Next week is the midterm and before I know it, it will be the final. I'm hoping to make the most of my last three weeks here and squeeze in my last few adventures before I have to say goodbye.
Can't wait to see what next week will bring! See you next time!
Veronica