Day 18: English major overload

My first week of classes is over and I would say things are a bit intense. It is kind of unnerving going into a class without a clear idea of the format or the way things are run. Their teaching structure is definatly very different from what I'm used to. This was the first time I really felt like a foreigner; I can't even imagine what it must be like for my roomates who don't even have english as a first language. Nevertheless I think my classes should be pretty interesting and totally doable. My London in Literature class and my Anthropology of Religion class in particular seem pretty cool. I wasn't worried about the workd load at all until I met with my English tutor on Thursday. One of the "perks" of being an English major at UCL is that you get your own personal tutor who you write your essays for and who is basically in charge of your evaluations. This is only done at UCL, Cambridge and Oxford still. My tutor is very nice but the pace of this semester is definatly going to be intense- I have a paper due in less then two weeks on Great Expectations, which I haven't even read yet! Needless to say I picked up a copy on my way home from the meeting and am desperatly plowing through it. I guess I can't complain, this is what I get for going to a top university. Still, I am definatly a little stressed.
Friday I had no class so I went to the Globe theater, the reproduction Shakespeare era theater on the Thames. It looks very odd with its thatched roof nestled in between an office building and the Tate modern. We saw Anthony and Cleopatra which I'd never read but enjoyed. Cleopatra was played by Frances Barber who was totally amazing. For six pounds you can play the part of a 17th century groundling (also known as a poor person). You get to stand at the foot of the stage, exposed to the elements and watch the show. You can literally lean against the stage and the actors will come within inches of you. In my case Caesar himself spilled his drink on my head. Quite an honor. The Globe is an open air theater and our experience was intensified by pouring rain. We were all soaked despite our rain ponchos. After three plus hours of standing in the rain we were all pretty exhausted.
I'm starting to get a feel for the way this semester is going to run and I think it's going to be pretty intense. Intense reading load, intense work load, intense sightseeing goals, socialization and basically little sleep. I am definatly up for it though and optimistic as ever!