London: day twenty-two

The past few consecutive nights of no more than five hours of sleep are starting to catch up to me a bit. I am getting knots in my shoulders, as I always do when stress increases and sleep becomes scarce. Also, in the mornings, due to the excessive walking, on the way to IES my shins become really quite painful – especially when I am in a hurry to class (when in a rush, the pain has made my eyes water once or twice). I really need to figure out a way to stretch them out in the morning before I have to make the walk. Because after that initial morning walk, they get plenty stretched out and then I am fine during the day. However, overnight, my legs get stiff and sore and that’s what makes the morning walk so difficult. So many of my joints pop in the morning when I am initially up. Hopefully, as the time goes, I will get more used to it and it won’t hurt quite so bad. I’ve also just been a little sluggish these past few days from the lack of sleep.

But still, I am here. And am still loving the hell out of London. So if this is what it has to be, I’ll willingly take it.

I had my British Youth Culture class today, and I think I have determined that this is my least favorite professor. He can be rather rude, very pretentious, and sometimes rather crude for a man his age. However, I am interested in the class still. Unfortunately though it is a little different than what I expected. Admittedly, I expected that we would discuss more bands that I would actually be familiar with – Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and so on. However, in his book and in class, our professor focuses far more on the Beatles, the Who, David Bowie, the Animals, and many other bands that I only know by name or reputation. And he frequently ties these to current pop bands and artists, such as Lady Gaga (for the Bowie influence), whom I am almost equally unfamiliar with. I suppose the bands he is covering more so are more-so considered to be the “revolutionaries,” but it’s just that I expected to actually be familiar with at least some of them. But all that I do have background knowledge on are regularly glossed over. And even though I absolutely respect bands like the Beatles, the Who, David Bowie, etc. for everything they’ve done and accomplished and the differences they’ve made, honestly, I still don’t like listening to their music. It’s just a style that I find myself unable to sit down and listen to, and it does not catch my interest. The opportunity to learn about the influences of these bands and especially the culture surrounding them, IS interesting though, and I have found it fascinating despite my unfamiliarity. I also did enjoy the film we had to watch for today’s class; the one by The Who, called Quadrophenia. It was interesting, and I look forward to some of the other films we will be watching.

After class, I had two hours, during which I briefly stopped at Costa (basically the British Starbucks – even though they also have actual Starbucks too), for a coffee and a small thing to eat, and then went back to NIDO briefly. At three I made my way to City University for my first day of classes there. Because I was early, I wandered around the building for a while until I eventually got myself lost and had to ask reception to point me in the direction of my classroom. As I sat outside, waiting to be let in, I was surprised by how many people were coming and gathering around the door. As it turns out, going into the class, it was discovered that we were in quite a large lecture hall suited for about 150 people or so; and by the start of class, it had mostly filled up. It is a BIG class; definitely the largest one I’ve had in my whole college career. And the professor is really quiet so it is difficult to hear her in the huge lecture hall. However, apart from being a little nervous, I have already found the class to be interesting – I am taking an introductory level psychology class called “Biological Approaches to Mind and Behavior.” I have always been interested in psychology, however, I am unfortunately aware that it is not something I could ever pursue a major in, and definitely not a career in – but I have always been fascinated by it regardless. This particular class, however, also includes quite a deal of biology – specifically looking at the nervous system. So lots of memorization will be in store for me over the next semester, that’s for sure. Science is not my strong suite, mostly because the amount of math that is included, so I am hoping that I will be able to do well in this particular course. However, I am a little nervous as I have not taken a science course in a long, long time, and never one at the collegiate level; so I am unsure of what to expect exactly.

After class, I went by the grocery store on my way back and picked up some more dinner options – in other words, something OTHER THAN peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Tonight I had a grilled cheese sandwich… *facepalm*  I know, I know, my inability and lack of motivation to cook is deplorable...