Stratford Upon Avon

End of November

It has been said that the founder of Avon Cosmetics named the company accordingly after being inspired by the scenic Stratford-Upon-Avon in England - which is most commonly known as the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

Stratford is about 20 minutes from Warwick Uni and it was my last touristy adventure before FINALS time. So much to see, but so little time. It was a cold and rainy in Stratford during our visit, but the town was very festive and decorated. Despite the dreary conditions, the town was pretty, but I am sure it would be much prettier during the Spring or Summer.

We only visited the Shakespeare house, you could visit about 5 or 6 different houses - if you ask me visiting all of them would be a bit too much and a bit boring. At Shakespeares' house there was a mini-museum exhibit about Shakespeare's time in Stratford. Also they tried to show how life was in Stratford during Shakespeare' time - for example how a typical bedroom looked. The gardens were drab and pretty sad looking, but again maybe better in Spring or Summer. Overall, I was not impressed with the Shakespeare house exhibit.

However, the city was charming and had a few nice restaurants besides the usual pubs.

Photo 1 - entrance to Shakespeare's house
Photo 2 - front view
Photo 3 - me at the back of the house
Photo 4 - festive Stratford

Question from a Reader - England vs Great Britain

Reader Question:
"I always thought that the words England and Great Britain meant the same thing. But I just overhead something last week...someone said that GB includes England, Ireland, and
maybe Scotland. Can you confirm this? It would be much appreciated."

I asked a British cohort mate to help clarify:

"England is just one of the countries that make up Great Britain. Great Britain is the actual island we're sitting on and its outliers. The UK is Great Britain and Northern Ireland combined.

See if this Wikipedia def helps:

Great Britain is no longer a country, but simply an island in the United Kingdom. Politically, "Great Britain" describes the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, and therefore also includes a number of outlying islands such as the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides, and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland, but does not include other outlying islands such as the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

The UK became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1922 following the independence of five-sixths of Ireland as first the Irish Free State, a Dominion of the then British Commonwealth, and then later as an independent republic outside the British Commonwealth as the Republic of Ireland."

and the Results are in...

Midterm grades are officially in., and there is good news and bad news.

The grading system is quite different than what I am used to and it's hard to really assess performance. I am not sure if this is Warwick MBA grading or if grades are usually given in this manner here in England. I will investigate.

The usual grading scale:
90% (A) - 80 (B) - 70 (C) - 60 (D) - 50% and below FAIL

Warwick MBA scale:
70% and above = distinction
50% = pass

So we see the disparity here at 50% - Failing to me = passing here.

The good news is that I passed all the midterms - they were only worth 20%...but still it was my first set of MBA exams. And even received a distinction or two. Exciting.

The bad news is that I have to take FINALS in THREE weeks. Man, how time flies.

Post Midterm Celebration pics:

Being "American"

Outside of the U.S., everyone has their stereotypes of Americans and an idea of what the typical American is like. The stereotypes are sometimes funny, given the size of the country – how can we all be the same?

I was told that I was a "token" American. I ask myself - how do you define a "token" American? The way we speak, the way we act? What we wear? Defined by what is shown on MTV or other American TV sitcoms?

I definitely do not sound or act like someone from down south Texas or no man's land North Dakota. And I DO NOT wear cowboy boots...I prefer my Kenneth Cole's! I love music from around the world and watch films from around the world. I speak almost three languages...well, okay I've studied 2 additional languages! I have a Midwest Chicago accent - which is a very mild accent in the US - what would someone who speaks with the heavy Boston accent or the southern drawl be tagged as?

All in all -- If I were the "token" American, I wouldn't be in this international MBA program where I have to live outside of my comfort zone in 3 different countries in 1 year.

I think it is fair to assume that many countries are similar to the US - one country, many regions and cities with many different communities of people who may be quite different from one another.

Is there really such thing as a "token" American or a "token" Brit? We all have our different customs and grew up with our own cultures - does partaking in these customs and cultures make us token?

Oxford

10/13

Visited Oxford home of the famous Oxford University Press (the largest university press in the world) and University of Oxford (the oldest University in the English-speaking world).

I am currently obsessed with these books from the Oxford University Press: http://www.oup.co.uk/general/vsi/
I have purchased almost a dozen. Read in my spare time, perhaps??

It was very pretty city with a bustling city center a mix of students, tourists and locals. Very nice to walk around and visit the different "colleges" - the University has 39 colleges. The "college" concept is is different than what I had originally thought - i.e. College of Business...but rather a college is really a house of residence. Think Harry Potter and the different houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin.

According to Wikki:
These colleges are not only houses of residence, but have substantial responsibility for the teaching of undergraduates. Generally tutorials (the main method of teaching in Oxford) and classes are the responsibility of colleges, while lectures, examinations, laboratories and the central library are run by the university.

Photo 1 - city center
Photo 2 - symbol of Oxford