I'm halfway through the second week of "summer term," which is really not a phrase I think should exist. It's very deceiving. Personally, I got back from my trip feeling revived and really wanting to experience more of Brighton and life on campus in general, especially now that the weather is great (apart from the occasional rainy day - it wouldn't be Britain without them!). I realized that there were still a lot of things I hadn't gotten a chance to do - going to certain clubs and restaurants, singing karaoke at a pub and at an open mic night on campus - that I definitely wanted to do before I left. I knew that people would have work, but I figured that the phrase "work hard, play hard" would come in handy.
The problem is just that, however - everyone has work. A lot of it. Sussex somehow decided that it was a good idea to have 99% of assessments during summer term, and for the British students this includes assessments from courses they took in the fall. One of my flatmates has six exams in June. Making social plans is proving much more difficult because everyone has different assessments and different schedules, so it seems on any night of the week you'll encounter a friend saying, "I'VE BEEN IN THE LIBRARY ALL DAY BUT I STILL CAN'T GO OUT AAAHHH!" It's rather depressing. And people are going to start going home in May. I just really hope that I can cross off all of the things on my to-do list, and I don't want to do them alone. I don't want to feel like this experience passed me by in many ways. I think I'm going to make a list of all the clubs and restaurants I want to go to and other things I want to do and post it in the kitchen so that my flatmates and I can make plans together.
On a lighter note, I went to Isle of Wight on Saturday and it was lovely. Brighton is a popular vacation spot, but it really only feels beachy when you're at the beach itself. Isle of Wight felt like a beach resort on the entire island, with the quintessential fudge and postcard shops, outdoor cafes/tea rooms, and a relaxed, breezy feel in the air. The only unfortunate part was climbing up and across some hills to get the view of the whole island. It was pretty, but incredibly windy and a long walk, so I was exhausted and not really paying attention to the view by the end. It would be nice if panoramic views didn't always involve climbing. We also lucked out weather-wise - it was raining when I got up, which almost prevented me from going, but I'm glad I decided to risk it because it stopped raining as soon as we boarded the bus and didn't rain for the rest of the day.
As you probably guessed, I also have lots of work during summer term. I've been working on a 4,000-word essay (they only do word count here, so I've tried to wean myself from page numbers, but if you're wondering that's about 11-12 pages double-spaced) that's due on the 18th so that I can relax when my parents are here (and because I have a 3,000-word essay due three days after that which I haven't started writing... but I've been researching, at least! one at a time!). Before I started writing this I was up to 3500 words without a conclusion. yay!
Yes, as I mentioned, my parents are coming this weekend! Actually, their flight leaves the U.S. at 8:00 tonight, so they'll be in London tomorrow morning. ACCENT, the company that does programs for all of the Wash U students studying in and around London, is hosting a "farewell dinner" for all of us on Friday night, so I'll either go with my parents after that or on Saturday morning. We have tickets to see Romeo & Juliet at the Globe on Saturday night, and on Sunday we're going to Stratford-upon-Avon. Then they'll come back with me to Brighton for a few days. I CANNOT wait. This is the longest I've gone without going home or seeing my parents. As much as I love traveling and my independence, there's also something really comforting about familiarity, and nothing is more familiar than home.
All right, back to the grindstone. Friday, come quickly please!
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