First Week in York

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days! It's been pretty busy this week trying to get settled and organise all my classes and orient myself within a new city!

I've been spending a lot of time with some of the Erasmus students. We've gone into town a few times to go shopping for essentials (and clothes, shh) as well as explore the city of York. There have been a number of nice, sunny days, so I've taken some lovely pictures! We just wandered around and found things as we went, including York Minster, the Shambles, and plenty of quaint shops, street markets, pubs, and tea rooms. It really is such a lovely city and I love the atmosphere of the old streets and shops in city centre.

York Minster

Check out that clear sky!

The windows were gorgeous in the sunlight!

This pictures doesn't do justice to the way the light works in the space with the colours from the windows

Gargoyles! :-)

The back of the Minster from Dean's Park

I'd like to live here, thanks.

The Shambles

It's been really nice to get to know the Erasmus students because they're from all over Europe so I get to learn different perspectives and cultural background (and language practice!), but they're also going through the same process of settling into a new country and university that I am. They're also all closer to my age as well, and are really dedicated to their studies.

Last night was Erasmus Wine & Cheese, which was really lovely. Everyone was supposed to bring something from their home country (wine, cheese, chocolate, etc.). I brought some California wine (they have Gallo Family wines in the campus grocery store haha). So many people showed up! Far more than any of the other events I've been to so far! There were tons of French students (they were joking about how if you offer wine and cheese, they'll all come out of the woodwork), so I practiced listening to French a little bit. I had some very good cheese as well, and someone made the most delicious brownies of all time. They were still warm from the oven! The group I've spent the most time with is already making some tentative travel plans (Dublin for St. Patrick's Day?) and tonight we're going to see Les Miserables! So it's really great to have that social group around.

Our Erasmus Exploration Group: Mangus, Elsa, Chiara, Sylvia, Megan, Chantal, Emily, and myself (Outi is taking the picture, credit to her for this image!)

My flatmates are also quite lovely! The York accommodation system describe halls as having 8-12 people sharing a kitchen, but the halls in Le Page just kind of continue so that there are about three kitchens in one hall, so all 20-something people really just mesh together. And then the hall downstairs meshes in as well so in effect, I end up having nearly 40 flatmates in a sense! I haven't formally met all of them yet, but the ones I have are great fun, and they study different subjects so it's always fun to get to hear about other's academic woes :-p There are a number of history majors around though, which is nice because I have a lecture with a few of them! I feel bad because I haven't been doing much with them in the later part of the week because I've been ill and sleeping a lot and being a bit of a recluse due to that. But we have six months to get to know each other better!

I was feeling quite under the weather a few days this week, which isn't too surprising given that I'm traveling a lot, jetlagged, and exposed to all kinds of new germs and whatnot. But I'm feeling much better now, just in time for classes to start. My schedule has been completely sorted out, and I couldn't be happier with it! (Other than the commuting bit, which I'll get to later).

My schedule is:
Monday: Arabic Level 1 Seminar, 6:15- 8:14
Tuesdays: Childhood and Adolescence c. 1300-1600 Seminar, 2:15- 4:14
Wednesdays: Thinking Through History Lecture, 9:15- 10:14
Fridays: Artefact Analysis Practical, 11:15- 1:14

In the summer term, it will change for my final projects and exams period. The only thing that is stressing me out is that two of my courses are taught in King's Manor, which is right near York Minster within the city proper, not on campus. I'm used to being able to walk to class within five minutes at Wooster and crossing only one street to get there. Now I'll have to figure out a bus system and time my commute accordingly, or find a bike and figure out how to get there from campus on my own! And of course the bus with a route that stops right at King's Manor doesn't come by campus and heads off in a different direction entirely. But King's Manor is AMAZING!! As a history/archaeology/art history nerd, I'm so beyond excited to have my classes in a medieval complex.

The first time I tried to find it to have some paperwork signed, I got a bit lost and ended up in the Museum Gardens right behind the Manor, which are equally awesome. I took some pictures so you can all be jealous of where my classes are :-)

The ruins of St. Mary's Abbey 

The Yorkshire Museum

King's Manor, where my archaeology classes are

The building where my Medieval Studies classes are

Once you get inside, there's a courtyard and fountains and there are some original archways and such within the buildings themselves, and I just love it so much. So the commute will be worth it in the end haha.

I'm starting in on my hefty reading lists for my classes this week, so I've spent some quality time in the library the past few days! You only get about 2 contact hours per week per module (if it's a seminar or a practical, for lectures it's 1 hour), and the rest of the time you're meant to be reading and revising and studying away on your own from endless reading lists. We'll see how my first seminars go!