Week Two: Professional

Outside one of the buildings on campus

This week I saw an entirely different Ole Miss as students from all over appeared for the beginning of classes.  All of a sudden the sleepy town of Oxford came alive with the buzz of university students.  Campus was crowded, and there were plenty of people about to make sure we didn’t get too lost during our first week of classes.  

This week I have only attended three out of the four classes which I will be taking, as the fourth one is yet to be confirmed, yet already I have a ridiculous amount of work to be doing!  The three tutor’s whom I have met so far are incredibly friendly, organised and helpful.  They spent the first class going over our schedule for this semester, pointing out exactly what we would be learning each week, which readings we had to do and when each of our assignments were due.  I found this really helpful, as being in a class in a foreign country can be extremely daunting, whereas I now feel like I know exactly what I should be doing and when.

The content of our classes, seems pretty similar to what we would be learning at home, and I feel pretty confident that both myself and Sarah will be able to cope with the workload. Our week of alternative placement in a Special school back home will also be an asset as we are taking a class on Special Education, and the majority of students in it have had no experience at all.  I believe that Stranmillis has us well prepared for the classes we will take this semester, and that we actually know a lot more about teaching than we give ourselves credit for!

Basketball game

One main difference between here and Stranmillis is that we have to do exactly three hours of each class a week.  In some cases these three hours are split into three one hour classes, but unfortunately for us we have a three hour class from 4-7 instead.  These long late classes shocked me, but were actually a lot more bearable than I thought, as they are very interactive, and we are given the chance to both teach and learn from the American students and other International students.  I really believe that this semester I will learn a lot about teaching and about becoming a better teacher myself.

On a more personal level, I attended my first Basketball game this week, which despite my normal dislike for sports, I actually really enjoyed!  It felt great to become part of the Ole Miss community and join in with the Hotty Toddy cheer as we almost won the game.  Everyday Ole Miss becomes more and more like home, and I am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to experience all aspects of American life.

Myself, Sarah and Kathryn at the game

My First Week: Personal/ Cultural

My first week at the University of Mississippi, more commonly known as Ole Miss was an absolute whirlwind! I spent the first few days in a daze of slight homesickness, excitement and amazement!  As expected saying goodbye was never going to be easy, but after a few days Ole Miss already feels like home.  After a long and tiring trip we made it to Memphis where we spent our first night in a hotel.  On Tuesday we were collected by a shuttle bus and brought to University Trails which was to be our new home for the next four months.  It has to be said that in comparison to halls, these rooms were lovely, with double beds and slide wardrobes, and after a trip to Walmart they soon felt like home.

The next few days flew by as we attended orientation talks, completed all the different tasks we had to do, and ran around campus trying to get registered.  Thankfully we were constantly being helped by numerous American students, and staff who were willing to show us around campus or even drive us to places we needed to be.  The term “Southern Hospitality” is unbelievably true, as I have never experienced such kindness from strangers.  It makes me realise how much more we could do at home to help Erasmus and International students settle in, and I will definitely never forget how kind people were to me over here and how they helped me settle in.

As well as making many American friends, the first week has also been full of international bonding activities, and I have met people from all over the world.  I am living with two girls from Norway and a girl from Korea, and I have also became close friends with people from australia and many other countries.  It is amazing how many places and cultures are represented here, and I feel that I will learn a lot from each of my new friends as I study over here.

Lastly, despite being in the supposedly small town of Oxford, I couldn’t help but notice how big everything is!  The University is about 10 times the size of Stranmillis, with a massive building for every subject you could think of, a life size football stadium, and baseball stadium, and even a nursery on Campus.  The student’s Union also contains about 10 different fast food options, so it is guaranteed that I’ll never go hungry!  I was also absolutely amazed the first time I was in Walmart, as it too was massive, and sold just about everything you could think of, and in about five more different flavours than you could get at home.  It seem’s people were right when they said you could get anything you wanted in America, as I decided whether to buy peanut butter cheerios, caramel ones or the regular ones which I know I like!

The first week really has been an experience, and already I’m in love with the gorgeous town of Oxford, the American way of life, and I have made friends who I know I will remain friends with for a long time.  Now all thats left is to start classes next week, which should be interesting.