My School That Looks Like A Castle

Classes started this week at Royal Holloway (late in the year, I know) and I've had to make the transition rather quickly from being on holiday to being a full-time student once again. My program's title is Victorian Literature, Culture, and Art and this term my courses are Victorian London and the 19th Century Novel. Next semester I will have two new courses focusing more on the artistic movements of the period. While I have had a bit of a time getting used to the seemingly unending amounts of reading (Victorian novels are notoriously long winded), I only have classes on Thursdays and Fridays so I have a fair amount of free time to read. It also helps that when I do go to campus I am greeted with one of the loveliest buildings that I have had to pleasure of seeing. Royal Holloway is a campus with an imposing Victorian era structure called the Founders Building that dominates the rest of the campus. It has two grassy quads and they are frequently full of students lounging about on them talking, smoking, or studying.

Founders Building

Royal Holloway was opened in 1886 by Queen Victoria and was originally an all women's college. While the rest of the campus now has a more modern feel, each time I arrive on campus I am in awe of how beautiful Founders truly is. What a perfect place to study Victorian literature, huh? 

I have been enjoying my courses very much so far and my teachers are fantastic. They are discussion based classes which is right up my alley and the two hour class goes flying by. There are a few pubs near by Royal Holloway (one is never very far from a pub in England) and the closest one to campus is called "The Monkey's Forehead" or more affectionately known as "Monkey's." A few friends and I hung out there a few days ago and had a really nice time sitting out on the terrace. It has been very hot here lately (high 70's to low 80's) and in a land of no air conditioning the only nice time to be outside is at night. 

Nikki and I at Monkey's

Though I do spend most of my time reading novels like David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, or Little Dorrit, occasionally I need to pop out and get a bit of fresh air. Conveniently my house is only 5 minutes walk from Windsor Great Park, a large wooded park that spans from Englefield Green all the way to Windsor ( distance that would take 4 hours to walk). I've been there several times to hike and it feels like I've plopped myself right back into the lakes' country in Minnesota. There are loads of lakes, dense forest, and hiking paths as well as paved paths for an easier go. It is an oasis in a busy world and I enjoy getting lost in it. 

Windsor Great Park

Totem pole given to the Queen from Canada

Actual Roman Ruins Taken from Libya in the Park

I love that I have places that I can go to indulge every sort of whim that I have; London for the big city environment, Egham and Staines for practical shopping, and Windsor Park for an idyllic retreat into nature. Life is slower here and I am still getting used to living in such a small town, but with that gives me a greater appreciation for the connections that I have made and the people that I have met.