The start of tutorials

Well, quick update for those faithful followers of mine. :)

Tutorials started this past week! While this realization sent most students into a stress-filled tizzy, I had the fortune or misfortune of having the library I needed access to closed over the weekend, which meant there was nothing I could do but sit back and relax and enjoy the last chords of freedom. :) Yep, this weekend I did my laundry (because I had two nightmarish dreams about not having anything clean to wear), cleaned my room (which, of course became messy in about 2 minutes after I finished because I have about 4 square feet of floor space), drank some tea, at a picnic lunch in the park (and was actually WARM when the sun was shining), hung out with friends, and caught up on 30 Rock (much to the jealousy of said friends).

Now that I've been here for almost a month and a half, there are some things about the States that I'm really starting to miss. Like having people smile at you when you smile while walking down the street! I feel like everyone is pointedly avoiding eye contact, which makes me pretty sad. That, and toilet seat covers. As a child, i hated them- but absence makes the heart grow fonder, ya know? Another thing: hamburger helper and pasta-roni and ground turkey. Roommates, you know that these are staples in my diet! Another thing, T9 texting on phones. Using ABC is a hassle! Being able to check out books from the library, being able to predict the weather when you walk out of the house, and milk-based pasta sauces (when I get back, don't even try to put a tomato sauce in front of me for a while!) Most important thing I miss though- having pants that fit. The combination of walking about 10 miles a day + not eating as much pasta as normal + not being able to dry my jeans in a dryer has made my pants quite baggy. I miss fitting jeans... haha.

Anyways, back to the subject of this blog- my tutorials! I'm looking forward to my primary tutorial, but I'm sure its going to kick my butt! Its on International Development with a special (additional, might I add) emphasis on Labour. My tutor is also a woman, which I am pretty excited about. Since the econ department at APU is so small, i've never had a woman econ prof. I wasn't expecting to have one at Oxford either, in such a male-dominated profession and subject area. But, she works at the International Development research institute, so I feel like this will be a really good experience for me. Now, let me elaborate a little on how much it is going to kick my butt. The course is a pre-designed course on International Development, but in order for me to graduate on time, I needed to take Labour or Environmental econ. I told her this and she said the only way we could make it work is to add on additional labour readings. So, I agreed! 25 additional books, here I come! My secondary tutorial is with a younger woman who is working on her doctorate. We're doing a tutorial that examines themes of good vs. evil and choice vs. free will in the context of fantasy fiction literature. Not jealous yet? Let me enlighten you a little more :) This week I'm reading That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis. Then Ill read The Lord of the Rings, T.H. White (Sword in the Stone, anyone?), Susan Cooper who wrote The Dark is Rising Series, and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. I am SO excited about this one! It's nice to have some different types of homework to work on, for once.