open day, part deux
Millie Smalls - My Boy Lollipop-- Mark Twain
New review added
Before I start, I feel the need to bring to the attention of all despair users that I will now be reporting anyone who I suspect not to have commented on my blog. I've done so for everyone in my archive who hasn't yet commented. While this may seem harsh, the reason I joined despair was to receive and give comments as well as discover other people's websites, and that's what I'm guessing everyone else joined for! I really appreciate the comments that I do receive, however - thank you, guys!
If you receive a message on despair telling you that I've reported you for not commenting, when in fact you have, I'm really sorry, and thankyou for your comment! Simply contact me through despair and I'll have your warning removed. (If this sounds like a load of rubbish, I don't really understand the workings of the system much so I apologise.)
Meanwhile, in the second chapter of Sarah's Quest For Educational Bliss (i.e. trooping all over Blighty in, perhaps futile, search of the perfect uni) I visited soas on Monday morning. On my way there, I had to walk from Russell Square tube station to the campus past Tavistock Square Gardens (which looked very pretty, for a city park.) En route to the university, daydreaming about what lay ahead with the Dandy Warhols blaring through my earphones, a smell hit my nostrils that I can imagine could only previously be found in the deepest pits of Hell.
It was what nightmares are made of.
There, on the floor in front of me, festering in the early morning sunlight, was what must have been the most gargantuan pile of sick known unto mankind. I was terrified, I had nearly stepped on it. I became cold and clammy and thought I was going to pass out (bearing in mind, I'm an emetophobe.) I was beginning to feel queasy myself. I swear, it was taking up the entire width of the street and I actually had to leap over it to avoid getting any of it on my shoes.
Using my vom-detective logic I deduced that this must have come either from a tramp, or from an underage kid who'd not been allowed in a bar because of a lack of ID and had paid someone to buy them vodka so them and their sad little friends could go and drink it elsewhere (as these types of people are the only ones I can imagine who would get drunk in a park.) I sincerely hope that there was a legitimate excuse for the steaming heap of abomination on the pavement and that the culprit was actually feeling ill for other reasons than the mass consumption of alcohol (in which case I'd sympathise rather than think of them with revulsion)... but I don't have enough faith in humankind to think that's true!
Anyway, details of bodily functions aside, I got to soas' rather small campus and took a look around. I quite like that the campus was not that big, because I think in some ways this could result in somewhere fairly intimate and friendly - however, being that I don't fancy running into certain people who I know study there, it's not entirely a good thing (plus Nottingham University Park campus' 330-acre, sprawling wooded grounds were actually rather nice, so I don't think the size of the campus necessarily matters, nor does it influence my decision much.) The university itself was somewhat ugly - think 1970's office buildings and nothing but concrete. As a friend on deviantart quite rightly said, this shouldn't be my top priority but it's quite encouraging to work in a clean, good-looking environment - for me, at least. Although, being that this uni is in London, I suppose it's kinda stupid to expect that. The central location (literally walking distance from a lot of awesome places in the city) made up for the appearance of the buildings, but I'm still a bit unsure about the idea of studying in the city. Don't get me wrong, I love London, but I'd like to be a bit further away from home, in a cleaner area, where it's not quite so expensive to live. soas also seemed to lack a lot of basic student facilities on campus, which was a little disappointing.
What I found best about soas was definitely the people - and that, I think, is the most important aspect of a university, anyway. Everyone was extremely friendly, helpful and kind - not to mention, the student body and faculty alike were multicultural and diverse (and I'm a wholehearted supporter of the old adage, "variety is the spice of life!") I was even invited into a professor's office to talk to him about the Chinese Studies course, and he was really informative - and I was grateful that he took time out from his busy day to stop and chat to me about it. That made a brilliant impression on me.
The course seemed very impressive and thorough, but not entirely centred on the more contemporary aspects which I'm most intent on studying - however, I'll still be putting soas on my ucas form when I apply. It did have some very strong points about it.
| Update by Sali @ 10:09, Wed. September 19 2007 |
| archive | wishlist