It's Not Spam, I Swear

0th (or Naughth-I think) week is coming to an end and Monday will be the official start of term. It's been a surprisingly hectic week, yet sometimes simply filled with busy nothings. I've spent a lot of time over at the Education Department, which is very conveniently located 10 minutes from my flat. It's a largeish area, with lecture rooms and seminar rooms, a common room, a library, a few computer labs, and a garden. It's in a lovely red brick building. It's going to be a good place to spend a year.

I've also met with the other students doing my strand, and my tutors for the course. There are 12 people studying Higher Education, 5 of whom are from China, 4 from the states, and 1 each from Canada, Turjikistan, and Austria. We have two tutors, on of whom is English and the other German. It's a rather eclectic mix. But they all seem to be good people and some of the research questions proposed are fasinating (Things like: who applies to elite schools and why? Do Oxford tutorials teach critical thinking? What is the value of higher education?)

When not at the department, or not reading (always there will be reading), I've been caught up in "Freshers Week," or in the case of Green, "Freshers Fortnight." Basically, it's a series of events for new students, or Freshers, to help you get to know you college, the university, each other and join clubs. With all of the reading/classes/errands during the day and Freshers Week events at night, 0th week has been an exercise in burning the candle at both ends. Thankfully, it ends soon, but so far it's been a fantastic expierence and a good way to meet people.

Lastly, I've been getting to know Green College--where things are, who the people are, etc. Some cool features include fantastic gardens, tennis courts, a common room with fantastic views and free coffee/tea, and finally our own private former observatory, where we can get great views of the city. It's not quite the same as having a lake, like Megan has, but it's pretty good.

And yes, apparently Blogger thought this was all spam. But its not. I swear.