United Springdom

“You alright, yeah?” is a typical greeting among British youth. I hope you are alright indeed, and I apologize for the posting silence. As finals are now done, I have been travelling around the UK, and seeing things that I have always dreamed of.

I returned from Switzerland and Germany (a ten-day trip) on the Queen’s birthday. It was really a fitting day to fly back. During my time in Europe, on the continent, I was homesick…or rather, home-base sick, for the UK. Upon landing, I vowed to myself that I would dedicate the rest of my time abroad this semester to seeing the UK and all that it has to offer!

To celebrate our return to England, my friends and I went to Cambridge. Like Oxford, Cambridge is a university town, but with much more open space. The highlight of our day was our punting boat ride down the river Cam, which weaves its way past the various college campuses!

Cambridge

Just two days later was one of Britain’s biggest holidays: May Day! The first of May is a Bank Holiday, but more importantly, the cermonial start of Spring! Kingston had its very own May Day festival called “May Merrie”. The local park green was completely transformed into a fairground, with rides, games, booths, puppet shows, and a jousting competition. I honestly forgot I was just right around the corner from my flat!

MayDay

My favorite part of the day was seeing a real “Punch and Judy” puppet show. “Punch and Judy” originated in the 17th century and is the oldest puppet show in Britain still performed today. The main character, Mr. Punch, is a naughty man who beats his family members and the local police officer with a giant stick. Despite the violent nature of the show, “Punch and Judy” has retained its popularity for over three centuries.

The following week, my friend Niki and I attended the “Punch and Judy Festival” in London’s Covent Garden, where over ten puppet booths were set up at a time, running numerous shows at once. Different models of Mr. Punch and the other characters graced the various stages, each putting their own spin on the classic storyline.

More UK Springtime adventures to come!

STUDY abroad?

Victoria University

Barely over 3 weeks left here in New Zealand, classes just finished yesterday, and
I’m finally blogging something about Victoria University! To confirm
the curiosity of those of you wondering whether or not I do actually
attend university here, I do! As a matter of fact, I am enrolled in
three courses here (called, “papers”). There are four victoria
University campuses throughout the city of Wellington, two of which I
attend. Though I live a 5 minute walk from Pipitea campus, which is
primarily Law and Commerce, I take classes up hill at Kelburn (the
main Uni campus) and at Te Aro, which I walk 25-30 minutes through
the city to get to.

Each course here is worth slightly more than classes at home as far
as points/credits go, and therefore a minimum of 3 classes will
enroll you as a full time student. However, the classes require a
bit more work, as there are three hours/week of class time per paper
and another extra hour of the week allotted to a mandatory tutorial.

Most classes require students to buy “Notes” which is basically all
of the readings photo copied and binded together in one big book,
cutting down the number of books necessary to be purchased.

One of the classes that I’m enrolled in, and my favorite, is Maori
123, Culture and Society. Funny enough, a vast majority of the class
consists of study abroad students, and a few kiwis (many of them
Maori). In the class, we’ve basically learned the background of the
indigenous culture of this small South Pacific country, and the
di/progression of it throughout the past centuries. It’s been an
incredible way to understand much of the atmosphere of this country,
and a great way to involve myself with some Maori traditions with at
least a little understanding of their background, passions and
beliefs. I would highly recommend a Maori class of some kind to
anybody studying abroad over here in New Zealand!

I’m officially done with Uni on June 16th- my last final exam, and then I have 10 days left to find some more adventures before I join the rest of you back home for summer… What’s everybody up to, anyway?

See you all soon :o)