The Art of Research...or visa versa

I realize that my blogs make it seem like all I do is go gallivanting around the UK, but be assured fellow students - I, too, have homework. Luckily not as much as I do at home, since figuring out a new system (which includes processes like submitting assignments to a register rather than in class, running around to 4 different campus locations and libraries, no office hours, very little guidance and even less feedback, etc.) is work enough.

Rather than posting a picture of this less-than-glamorous part of my life abroad, I will briefly describe today's series of events. Pam and I took the Tube to North Campus to check out some books for an art paper we have coming up. After that, we went to class across the street, which entailed a "workshop" on what "good essay writing" means, a five minute meeting w/ the professor to go over our comparison/contrast papers, and lots of waiting (accompanied by complaining about how confused we all were).

After class we hopped back on the Tube (which involved one transfer stop and one "oops, we got off at the wrong place") to City Campus and found our way to the art building, which the professor instructed us had better resources than the other 4 libraries. Then came the highlight of my day: Pam and I were both sitting between rows of books on the third floor reading about Impressionism, Romanticism, and Rococo for our papers when we hit gold. "Here there's a bunch of stuff about how Renoir was highly influenced by Fragonard!" said Pam, reading from her ten-pound book. "And I just found out that Monet had studied Turner's oil painting technique and his use of color!" said I from behind my ten-pound book. Again, the highlight of my day.

Apart from doing laundry, which is just about done. In another half an hour, my clean laundry will be strung from the clotheslines Pam and I installed to save money on not having to use the dryers. Again, I love my roommate.