Student Activities Blogs

Andrea Lama

Warwick-UConn Venn Diagram

January 19, 2009

It’s been half a month here in England, and I’ve lots to tell. First off, I’ve accomplished one of my goals: eating fish and chips. They are amazing, if you like fish and chips, that is, but sadly I have yet to eat a crumpet, and due to the ridiculous exchange rate and overall higher prices of food here in the UK, it looks like I’m going to have to wait a little longer for that indulgence. Second: I never thought I’d say this, but I miss PeopleSoft. Despite how much I hated it at UConn, it is much easier than the system this school uses. Instead of a simple point-and-click online system, the way to sign up for classes is to go on the timetable, work out your schedule, try to sign up for them online, go to the department, see if they are full, get the department to sign off on it, choose a method of assessment, either essay or exam, try to sign up online for your choice, go back to the department, see if that way is acceptable, get them to sign it, and then, you can attend class. Phew! No thanks, I’d rather have the computer do it all for me.

Another difference here is the classes and text books. While books are just as expensive (if not more, thanks to the exchange rate), here students only attend class once a week. I have eight hours of class time TOTAL each week. Not per class, in all. The rest of the week, students are expected to read on their own and keep up with current publications and journals on the subject. While it’s convenient for those who like to study on their own time, it can be difficult for those who are easily distracted by Facebook, CNN, email, games, etc. Needless to say, I’m in the unfortunate latter category. But, with some self discipline, I’m sure I can get the hang of it.

As far as Student Activities goes here at this University, it is really different than UConn. It is strange to see some things sponsored by the University that UConn would frown upon, but local customs and laws call for different rules and different events on campus. The people on my floor and I have formed a team for The Quiz, which is like a weekly trivia contest hosted by various student orgs on campus for charity. Go ahead, laugh it up, but we’ve won a couple of them, and it’s actually really fun, and for charity. Hurray for useless knowledge going towards a good cause! Also, this school hosts a lot more trips than UConn does. Granted, there isn’t much of interest around good ol’ Storrs, but this University always has busses and transportation running to Stratford-upon-Avon (yup, Shakespeare!), Oxford, Manchester, Bath, and even Dublin! Hopefully my super busy class schedule will allow me to go on lots of these trips.

The Warwick Arts Centre is like our Student Union, in that it has cafes, a movie theatre, an art gallery, lecture halls, shops, and even a music store! Here, they have a Student Union as well, but it consists of a fusion restaurant, a bank, a café, two pubs, a discothèque, and ATMs. Needless to say, things are a little bit different here. One, however, amazingly exciting difference is that they have Cadbury Crème Eggs all year round! I’ve gotten into this bad habit of eating my weight in them about every….day, but I’ll miss them when I go back, so I must appreciate them while I’m here. Right? Speaking of appreciation, here is another difference. Instead of every student paying for a gym membership and a student activity fee like at UConn, here, students pay to join a club or organization, and pay for the gym if they want to use it. I am rather fond of this system, since I pay for the gym at UConn and have gone maybe…once…during a WOW tour. While I think every student should join an organization at UConn, especially since the Student Involvement office has so many great things to offer (like HOLDUP!) and works so hard to make sure EVERY student has a great involvement experience, having a pay-as-you-go system makes college a little more affordable if you don’t have to pay for what you aren’t using.

But, regardless of these little differences, I do miss UConn. I miss the pits of mud we call “grass,” the busy intersections that, out of fear, make me relive my life and sometimes my lunch when I try to cross them, and the convenience of the dining halls. I’ll never complain about Putnam or McMahon again after I’ve had to cook meals (if you can call them “meals”) for myself for the next 5.5 months.

Next week, me and the people on my floor (did I mention that the floors here are co-ed? Well, so are the bathrooms…not sure how I feel about it) plan to go catch a Shakespeare play in Stratford, which should be an amazing experience. The best part about the small number of performances I’ve seen here are the real British accents. They make Hamlet’s soliloquy seem more intense, if that is even possible.

Until next time: HOLDUP!, enjoy your first meeting of the semester, and UConn, enjoy the new President of the country, the cold, and the sunshine.