Hi everyone!
Welcome back to my blog. Week 6 has come to a close and I just had the realization that I now only have seven days of class left. Seven days of physics and then I will be done forever. |t almost doesn't seem real. But I am getting ahead of myself. I still have two weeks left and tons more experiences to be had. Here is a recap of my week six at Sussex University:
Like my title says this week was midterm week. Midterm week is just like any other week except that on Friday you go to take a test. So Monday through Thursday was very much just like any other week. I went to lecture, library, workshop/ lab, home to study and then repeat. What's nice about how this program is set up is that you only have five lectures you have to learn for the midterm. Granted these lectures cover a lot of material, but it isn't so much where you feel overwhelmed. They also set it up so that you stop learning material you will be tested on three days before the test (unlike some classes back home where you are learning up to the day before the test) which gives you ample time to understand the material and ask any questions you may have.
This time around I had learned through trial and error just how to study for this midterm. I reread notes, looked over problem sets, and did problems in the book. Also on Thursday there were two help desk sessions in-between my lecture and lab so I was able to go and have all my questions answered. I also took advantage of the discussion board posted on the Sussex student page. This is very similar to what we have back at school where students can post questions and teachers can respond so that everyone can see the answers. I have never used one before, but after this week I have realized how helpful they are. I was able to understand a few concepts just by going on and looking at other student's posts. Because I knew how to prepare this time around, the midterm was not as bad and I was able to improve my score from last session.
My friends and I had big plans for after the midterm, but once it was over everyone just went back and slept, trying to make up for all the sleep deprivation that occurred during the week. After a four hour nap period we all decided to head into Brighton for dinner and to and celebrate surviving another round of midterms. Marissa and I decided to head back to our small, all-you-can-eat home-cooked buffet, and it was just as delicious as before. After we headed over to Sprinkles because did you really complete a midterm if you don't celebrate by eating some ridiculously unhealthy crepe topped with gelato? I don't think so.
On Saturday we all decided to sleep in. Sleep in to me means around 10 or 11, however I ended up sleeping to 2pm, and I only woke up because everyone started texting me wondering where I was. So Saturday I got a late start, but I headed into Brighton regardless. I grabbed some afternoon tea from Blackbird Tea Rooms and this time I ordered the full afternoon tea with little desserts and finger sandwiches. Looking at the whole thing you wouldn't expect it to fill you up, but I left stuffed and I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day.
After tea, I headed over to Brighton Books. My friends and I decided that we were going to start a book club to keep us busy after the program when we were traveling. Everyone was required to bring one book to read and then we would all just rotate. I ended up finding two books I couldn't choose between so I bought both for 10 pounds! What a deal!
By the time I was done with that it was already 6pm and a lot of places were beginning to close up, so I headed back to Sussex. My plan was just to lounge around and possibly catch up on my Netflix (you know because I had such an exhausting day), but then Marissa texted me and asking if I wanted to go on a sunset hike with her. Nothing sounded more perfect, so I headed out. Because it was a sunset hike and we didn't want to end up too far from campus when it got dark, we just walked around right behind our dorms. We walked up a hill and at the very top you could see the sunset on one side and all of Sussex on the other. It was very peaceful and a great ending to a relaxing day.
Welcome back to my blog. Week 6 has come to a close and I just had the realization that I now only have seven days of class left. Seven days of physics and then I will be done forever. |t almost doesn't seem real. But I am getting ahead of myself. I still have two weeks left and tons more experiences to be had. Here is a recap of my week six at Sussex University:
Like my title says this week was midterm week. Midterm week is just like any other week except that on Friday you go to take a test. So Monday through Thursday was very much just like any other week. I went to lecture, library, workshop/ lab, home to study and then repeat. What's nice about how this program is set up is that you only have five lectures you have to learn for the midterm. Granted these lectures cover a lot of material, but it isn't so much where you feel overwhelmed. They also set it up so that you stop learning material you will be tested on three days before the test (unlike some classes back home where you are learning up to the day before the test) which gives you ample time to understand the material and ask any questions you may have.
This time around I had learned through trial and error just how to study for this midterm. I reread notes, looked over problem sets, and did problems in the book. Also on Thursday there were two help desk sessions in-between my lecture and lab so I was able to go and have all my questions answered. I also took advantage of the discussion board posted on the Sussex student page. This is very similar to what we have back at school where students can post questions and teachers can respond so that everyone can see the answers. I have never used one before, but after this week I have realized how helpful they are. I was able to understand a few concepts just by going on and looking at other student's posts. Because I knew how to prepare this time around, the midterm was not as bad and I was able to improve my score from last session.
My friends and I had big plans for after the midterm, but once it was over everyone just went back and slept, trying to make up for all the sleep deprivation that occurred during the week. After a four hour nap period we all decided to head into Brighton for dinner and to and celebrate surviving another round of midterms. Marissa and I decided to head back to our small, all-you-can-eat home-cooked buffet, and it was just as delicious as before. After we headed over to Sprinkles because did you really complete a midterm if you don't celebrate by eating some ridiculously unhealthy crepe topped with gelato? I don't think so.
On Saturday we all decided to sleep in. Sleep in to me means around 10 or 11, however I ended up sleeping to 2pm, and I only woke up because everyone started texting me wondering where I was. So Saturday I got a late start, but I headed into Brighton regardless. I grabbed some afternoon tea from Blackbird Tea Rooms and this time I ordered the full afternoon tea with little desserts and finger sandwiches. Looking at the whole thing you wouldn't expect it to fill you up, but I left stuffed and I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day.
After tea, I headed over to Brighton Books. My friends and I decided that we were going to start a book club to keep us busy after the program when we were traveling. Everyone was required to bring one book to read and then we would all just rotate. I ended up finding two books I couldn't choose between so I bought both for 10 pounds! What a deal!
By the time I was done with that it was already 6pm and a lot of places were beginning to close up, so I headed back to Sussex. My plan was just to lounge around and possibly catch up on my Netflix (you know because I had such an exhausting day), but then Marissa texted me and asking if I wanted to go on a sunset hike with her. Nothing sounded more perfect, so I headed out. Because it was a sunset hike and we didn't want to end up too far from campus when it got dark, we just walked around right behind our dorms. We walked up a hill and at the very top you could see the sunset on one side and all of Sussex on the other. It was very peaceful and a great ending to a relaxing day.
The next day Courtney and I woke up early and went to church at the tiny church in Falmer (there is a picture of it on my first blog post). I kid you not there were probably twenty people, including us, in the church and every pew was filled. Everyone immediately knew we weren't regulars so after they invited us for tea and coffee in the school down the street. It ended up just being us and four older people drinking coffee and exchanging stories. One man was telling me about how he had landed in Normandy the day before D-day, and how now at the ripe age of 95 he goes skydiving. He was quite upset that he had to go with someone else and explained that his insurance wouldn't cover him to jump alone. Shocker, I know. That morning was so quaint and picturesque it felt like something out of a movie.
It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day so later Marissa and I went on another hike this time to Stanmer House (the picture at the top is the view from Stanmer), which is basically just over the hill we had walked the previous night. When we got there everyone was having picnic so we made a mental note to come back the following weekend and join in the festivities. As we were exploring the surrounding area we came across a tire swing, and when you see a tire swing you can't just pass it up. So we swung, explored, and hiked the rest of the day until it was time to come back and prepare for the next week of physics.
So recap: my week may have been a bit stressful because of the midterm, but the weekend was relaxed and everything I needed to recuperate. This next week is what I call the in-between week because you're done with the midterm, and it's a little to early to begin studying for the final so you are a little stuck. But I am sure I will find ways to keep busy!
Until next time!
Veronica
Until next time!
Veronica