Apologies for not having done this sooner, but here is my first post from Durham, NC. This last month (still can't quite believe its been that long!) has been crazy.
As I'm sure you've all heard, the States uses the "Socratic" method of teaching, ie they don't lecture, but rather ask the students questions in a way that is supposed to bring the point of their material out. What this means is that you have hundreds and hundreds of pages of reading to do for each class every week, and are expected to be able to speak intelligently and in an in-depth 
manner about all the material you've stayed up until 3 'o clock in the morning reading in front of all your class mates. The teachers all have seating plans for the classes so that they can see where you are sitting, and will randomly look up and say "Miss Eberhard, what happened in the cases of X v Y?". This is then followed by a 10 minute grilling on your opinion on the material. Terrifying!
manner about all the material you've stayed up until 3 'o clock in the morning reading in front of all your class mates. The teachers all have seating plans for the classes so that they can see where you are sitting, and will randomly look up and say "Miss Eberhard, what happened in the cases of X v Y?". This is then followed by a 10 minute grilling on your opinion on the material. Terrifying! The pictures on the left are of the law school and the Chapel, which I walk past on my way to class everyday. The university is super pretty, if only in a super manicured sort of way. Luckily, the mildly alienating perfection of the main campus is diluted by the not-so-pretty residence I am living in, which looks a lot like council housing in the UK kitted with 1980's office furniture.
The town I'm in cannot really be described as anything other than boring and colloquial, try as I have to find its good points. Somehow, I had thought that despite it being in the heart of hillbilly North Carolina, it would have a kind of student-inspired quirkiness to it. Apparently not.
To counteract the boringness of Durham, I have obsessively been googling bands and making travel plans: Will be travelling up to DC to see Rachel on the 6th October, followed byNY where I'll be staying with Matt for a dew days. Have booked tickets to see the National there in NY seeing as how the concert here sold out. Am also going to see Of Montreal next weekend in the neighbouring town, Chapel Hill, and Spoon a little later in the year.
1 comment:
Fantasties! It all sounds (and looks) exciting...
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