Wake me up when it's all over, when I'm wiser and I'm older.

Well, I've finally made it through my second week of term, and I felt like I should probably post something. First, I should probably explain how classes work here (since I'm posting this on a Friday at noon and American classes happen every day). I'm taking three classes this term: Victorian Extremes (Mondays, 11a-1p), On Location in the Lakes (Tuesday, 4-6p), and Research Methodology (every other Wednesday, 1-3p or 1:30-3:30p, depending on the week). I adore my Victorian Extremes seminar. I honestly wish that all of my sems could be that engaging and interesting! And my professor is really cool. Her research interests are in biblical literature as literature and in literature. I won't have her for anything next term, but I'm seriously hoping that I can still stay in contact with her and maybe possibly work together on something because that would just be amazing! Seriously, I wish that all of my professors ever had been as amazing as Jo is. I also have her for Research Methodology, so that's exciting.

AND I've finally made some British friends! I was afraid that I would only hang out with Americans again, like last time, but the nice thing about having more than just one person in your class is that you get to meet other people - and meet them, I have done! These guys are great, and they've been so welcoming to me. They make me want to stay. Despite how miserable I sometimes feel and how intimidated I am by the other students in my class (seriously, how is everyone so much smarter?!) and how shit I feel about walking to class in the rain, I can honestly say that I would stay here just for them. Here's to hoping that we become good friends, because I could see this being a start to something amazing.

Also, I don't know why, but when it rains here, I tend to slip for no reason. I've got great treads on my shoes, but that doesn't seem to matter. If there's even a hint of rain? Nope, nope, nope. And since it's England... there's rain. It's not bad right now (actually, it's supposed to rain every day this week, but we've had two clear days in a row - of course, on days when I don't need to leave the house), but as it starts to get colder, it gets more windy (about 30mph walking back from class the other day). And my feet just don't want to stay on the ground! It's quite frustrating, as I've got eight weeks to go of class. So we'll see how this pans out. It would totally suck to fail out of my Masters because I fell so much that I just decided not to go to class. I know that that sounds super lame, but my anxiety gets overwhelming to the point that it paralyses me, and that is a distinct possibility. I know that if I can make it through this term and the first part of next, I'll be totally fine. But it just means that I might need to do my PhD elsewhere.

Anyway, last weekend was really rough for me because I had to read a book for my Extremes course (Chesterton's The Club of Queer Trades - delightful, witty, and short!), a 454-page novel for a book review, and then I had to actually write the book review, after which, I had to read and prepare a presentation for my On Location course. I didn't finish the reading for it because I was so fucking tired of reading at that point. This weekend, I have to read and prepare a presentation on the 499-page Villette (which I'm actually really excited about!), but then I have more On Location chapter readings to do (not so exciting). But since I had Research this week, I won't have it next week, which means a five-day weekend! (Read: 5 days to prepare for the next set of readings.)

Last Friday, I went into Lancaster and saw the castle and such, which was a lot of fun. My flatmates and I just went around and explored and then we came back for curry night! I got to try Strongbow with blackcurrant, which was AMAZING and made me question why bars in the US couldn't just have Strongbow on tap because it was so good. Curry night was also awesome. For £5.99 (a little under $10), you get a heaping plate of curry and some rice. There were three options for curry, so we asked to have a bit of each. It was very, very good! I love our college bar - it's nice and comfy, and it's a great place to relax and maybe watch a World Cup football match... which I did on Tuesday (GO ENGLAND!).

Anyway, I'd better get back to reading. Tomorrow night, I'm going to some industrial techno thing with a friend, and then I have my presentation on Monday, class on Tuesday, and then I'm going to the Blackpool Zoo on Wednesday (weather permitting). SO PSYCHED.

By the way, feel free to send me mail. I'm definitely feeling lonely and I miss home so much, but I'm convincing myself every single day that once I really get into my coursework, I'll feel better. Here's to hoping.

To send me mail, address the envelope:

Bethany Dahlstrom
Graduate College
Alexandra Park
Lancaster University
Lancaster LA2 0PF
United Kingdom

It should cost about $1.20, and I should get the letter in about a week :)

Love to everyone back home and please, please stay in touch. Miss you all.