the experience. an introduction.

i will be studying abroad in birmingham, england for the 2010-2011 academic year. i am beyond excited! a few details about the experience you may, or may not know..more to come!

this programme is set up through the university of minnesota duluth and has been going on for over 30 years now. i will be traveling with a group of about 35 students from umd.  we are all in love.  we will live, study, and travel together.  my new family.  while in birm i will be living with four lovely flatmates.  two from the programme and two attending the university of birmingham.  the other two students could be from anywhere around the world.  i know one is from england, and i have yet to get to meet the other flatmate.  the other two flat mates, however, are two deeeelightful friends from umd. to put it simply, i love them. more about tara & claire in a later post :)

during the fall semester i will be enrolled in 16 credits while at the university.  this is considered full time.  and let me tell you, the courses i will be taking are wonderful!  i just can't wait to start school.  below you will find my schedule while in birm. its like i'm not even going to school. but in a good way ;)

all courses will be taught by a mix of professors from the university of birmingham and the university of minnesota duluth.  this makes the study in england programme slightly different than most study abroad opportunities.  my drawing course and astronomy course will be taught by umd professors, otherwise the others will be taught by british faculty.  exciting!

while abroad i will be able to work up to 20 hours with my student visa. i am hoping for a coffee shop or pub.  however, i know there is a catering company that anxiously awaits the arrival of students to birm.  this job would be a little bit more flexible than most, annnnnd sometimes free food is also offered to sweeten the deal.  more on this when the job search is on!

i will be departing minneapolis on september 20th and arriving in birmingham at 7AM. oh boi. we will go through hours of orientation, then bed time.  school in england will not start until october 4th.  this leaves a few weeks to get orientated to my new home and the people around me.  i cannot wait for the journey ahead.  a great escape.

i guess i should start packing.. ;)