And so it begins (my quest for knowledge, that is).

Classes started yesterday. Unfortunately, Monday morning arrived a bit later than it was supposed to, and I had failed to plan ahead for the labyrinth I was to encounter upon entering the college buildings. By the time I discovered where my first lecture was, I was 40 minutes late (out of an hour-long class), and was too embarrassed to enter.

I finally realized, however, that upon entering the building, nearly everyone (even the Brits) proceeds to the reception desk, where students are to quote the room number they are looking for, and are promptly discharged by the clerks to their proper destination. This discovery has made finding the rest of my classes infinitely easier.

My first class, Subjects of Desire in Medieval Religious Writings, is fascinating so far. Luckily the lectures and seminars are taught by the same professor in this instance, so I was able to catch up for the lecture I missed, and no harm done. This week, we will be reading St. Augustine's Confessions, which promises to be a very interesting work (from the five paragraphs I have read so far). :)

Elizabethan Shakespeare is, so far, the most challenging of my courses. We covered a very extensive amount of the historical and cultural context of Shakespeare's plays today, delving into the War of the Roses, the family trees of the Yorks and Lancasters, and the ascension of the Tudor kings. However, the professors, Sonia and Gordon, are both very friendly. Sonia is a slightly intimidating, fast-paced woman whose accent I cannot place, though it is decidedly not British; while Gordon is a frumpy, bumbling, spectacled middle-aged man who is quite British, and the easiest person in the world to approach and learn from.

History of English is a bit dry so far (to be expected, perhaps), but I am operating under the assumption that it will become more interesting as we get into the meat of the course, and the origins of the English language.