Ok, so you're all tuning in, wondering what insight, if any you might be able to get out of this site on the study-abroad "experience." Well, I guess I'll give you a little taste of it. So far in a week and a bit, I've noticed a few differences between British Universities and what we in America just call College.

So starteth the list:

Registering for Classes:
America: Fifteen minute procedure undertaken from a personal computer in one's dorm room.
Britain: Three to four hour long procedure, not including a two-hour lunch break or time spent waiting to see your advisor. It consists of a visit to the registrar to let them know that you REALLY ARE going to take classes at their school, and you aren't just living in their dorms for nothing. After this, they mail you the card that has the number on it that you need to do everything else. So now you wait three days. At this point, classes have already started, btw. Now, you need to go to see your advisor, or "director of studies," which is a fancy way to say "advisor." This person clicks a few buttons on their computer, and viola, you're registered for classes, kind of. You see, because its not over, the computer system isn't going to inform the various departments that you're taking classes in of your matriculation, you have to go to each and every one of them and fill out a form for each class you want to take.

Academic Departments:
America: All classes on english language literature are in the English Department. All sociology classes in the sociology department, and all history in the history department.
Britain: All classes on English language literature could be in just about any department, but some might be in the English Lit. department. All sociology courses have their own very special department. There is no History department... well there is, but it only teaches Economic History, if you want Scottish History, thats a separate department. The offices for these splinter departments are as far away from each other as possible, because they want to make sure that you can't bother them all in one day.

Engineering:
America: Wanna see an engineer? Go ahead and knock on his door. He's the guy hunched over a pile of books on friday night, contemplating suicide. He's pale because he never goes out. Sometimes he drinks a beer while doing homework, but most of the time, it gets in his way.
Britain: There's plenty of time to build stuff later, I guess. Engineers, like everyone else go to the pub every night. Like there American counterparts, they don't sleep much. Unlike their American counterparts, 40 is a passing grade (without the curve!) and they could really go for a couple pints of Guinness.

Drinking:
America: Not for nothing, but American students singlehandedly finance their local alcohol vendors' flamboyant lifestyles. However, most drinking takes place on the weekends. With Hump Day, Thirsty Thursdays, and Margarita Mondays a common, but still a special occurrence.
Britain: I said it above. Every night. Without fail, a British student will go out and drink. They don't always get drunk though. Which begs the question: What's the point of alcohol anyway? Who wants to stay up late and be sober. Thanks guys, but in America its far more respectable to show up to class hung-over than it is to be dead tired from "socializing."

Not that I'm saying people don't get fucked up on weeknights here, though. They do, and its just as funny.

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There might be a part 2 to this, because I'm bound to get writer's block eventually.

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