Bo Wang ’13 – I have been in London for about two months so far, and I pretty much enjoy my life here. I want to say thank you to Wabash that give me such a good chance to explore the education system in British.
Actually, my college, Queen Mary, University of London, runs quite differently compared with Wabash. First of all, I haven’t been assigned with any homework yet, which took me some time to get used to. I have two major courses and two distribution classes here, and one of them has a quiz or a unit test, nor do they have any homework to turn in. In Wabash, I am always doing my homework for most of my day, and there is quiz almost every week that I have to review my class notes every night in order to digest the knowledge in time. There is a boy living besides my room who is a local resident, and he told me that the fall semester could be divided into three small parts, and most of the British student only begin to study after the second part, which is around the Christmas.
They just concern with a “pass”, not the GPA in the U.S. I think their action and altitude then make sense because there is no exam or homework to push them to study in time. Besides, it is hard to catch your professor after lecture because they are always in a hurry to rush to the next classroom. And often their office hour is no more than two hours a week. In other time, their office door is always locked. None of those professors knew my name, and they don’t care. There is a lack of a communication of between the students and professors — the same problem that lies in those state universities in the U.S.
After education, I want to talk about my life in London. London is a great place for everything but study.
- One of Bo’s night time shots of London.
I have to admit this three month is the most colorful time in my life. You can do whatever you want to do in this city. Maybe you want to argue that New York City is also a choice in this purpose, however, London is much safer. I often carry my tripod and my Nikon DSLR camera to walk on the streets at night. I love to spend my night time alone, only with my camera. I have explored most part of this city on foot, with hundreds of pictures taken. I love the historic feeling that this city gives to me. The buildings in central part of London are all of hundreds of years in age, and they are so beautiful and graceful. I sometimes even have a delusion that I was going back by the time machine when I hang around Oxford circus or Regent Street, surrounded by those old buildings.
The price level is very high, because of the exchange rate. I can often hear the other students from the states complain about the expensive price of the food and transportation fee. A cup of Ben Jerry’s is about five pounds. A day’s tube fare could be around ten pounds.
As an international student, I feel lucky to study both in the US and in the UK. I thus have a deeper understanding why Chinese young students prefer the US. Because US have a much competitive and stressful education system which can give the student more during their study, both mentally and physically. On the other hand, UK is a better place to travel and spend the holiday.
