longish update: school, vintage, cupcakes

It's almost the end of my first week of British education! All the classes seem interesting, and I really like how diverse my timetable is. On Mondays, I have a lecture on phonology and a seminar on creating poetry, Wednesdays is a phonology seminar, and Thursdays and Fridays I have one Irish seminar.

Almost everyone else in the phonology class have taken phonetics or something similar before and already know the terms we're using and can write IPA (phonetic alphabet), and I don't. It's a third-year class, though, so I'm not surprised. It just means that I have to learn some of it myself. Luckily I got this book at the English Society book sale today:

I don't need it for the class I'm taking, but it will give me the same information that everyone else already possesses. It's actually quite an interesting read anyway, so I'm glad I'll be able to keep the book.

The poetry class is something completely different. The teacher is a poet (though also a lecturer), like all the students as well, so it should be interesting at the very least. We're meant to write something every day, and every week we critique someone's poem in class. It'll be a bit scary, especially when I'm the one being reviewed, but I think I can do it. Already, I've done things I've never dared to do at home before.

I had my first Irish class today! There were only three of us, which actually made the atmosphere quite intimate and easy-going. The teacher is half-Finnish, but she said she doesn't speak any Finnish herself. Well, it's her loss ;)

What else have I been up to lately? Last weekend there was a vintage fair at the town hall, which was really cool!

I couldn't resist a few goodies... I also found a skirt and a pair of sunglasses.

I've also learnt a bit more about my surroundings and explored some places in Sheffield that I hadn't seen yet. I can find my way around pretty well already, which makes me feel more like a resident and less like a tourist. There's still so much to learn though! Crossing streets and telling coins apart have been some of the difficult things so far.

I've also done a couple more Give It a Go things: Irish dancing (fun!) and cupcake decorating.

Everyone got four cupcakes to work with! I've never done it before, so it was a lot of fun and somehow therapeutic.

(sorry about the product placement, it's not mine...)

It's been a long week and I feel quite worn out. Luckily I'll get to relax this weekend when I go to Oxford to visit Charlie until Monday morning! I'm really looking forward to that :)

Tällä viikolla alkoi varsinainen opiskelu ja on ollut mielenkiintoista! Fonologia on toistaiseksi vaikuttanut aika vaikealta, koska suurin osa kurssilaisista on jo opiskellut fonetiikkaa ja tuntee kaikki fonologian tunneilla käytetyt termit ja muut. Kurssin opettaja kuitenkin sanoi, että voisin opiskella joitain juttuja itsekseni, mikä sopiikin minulle hyvin. Löysin englannin ainejärjestön kirjakirppikseltä aika huokean kirjan, jota käytetään juuri sillä fonetiikan peruskurssilla, jonka muut ovat käyneet. Sitä voin sitten lueskella neljän tunnin bussimatkalla Oxfordiin lauantaina :) Town hallissa oli viime viikonloppuna vintage-myyjäiset, joilta tarttui mukaan muutamia kivoja. Tänään koristelin ensimmäistä kertaa elämässäni cupcakeja (en kyllä sano kuppikakuksi, vaikka mikä olisi) ja oli tosi kivaa!