Today, I Spoke

Hi Everyone
This week has been crazier than usual so I didn't have as much time to post but I finally managed to have time today!  This week is my first full week of all my seminars and lectures in the same week so I had a bunch of readings to do to prepare. Some of the readings topics were*:
- Pacifism in France
- Balinese cockfighting (Yes there were penis jokes included. Yes they were terrible and corny and I giggled at all of them.)
- Symbolism of Cat Massacres in post-revolutionary France. Yup...Cat. Massacres.
- How to write a Literature Review

*I'd like to take this time to remind you that this coursework will contribute to my Master's Degree.

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In my Conflicts in European History class I actually participated!  I rarely ever participate in classes so this was pretty big doings for me. Well, actually the lecturer made us wear name tags and he called on me. But I still spoke! And I had apparently interpreted a concept in the reading incorrectly so that went over really well for my self-confidence.  Although no one laughed so I suppose it could have been worse. Anyway, I participated another time too and I got it right that time so I redeemed myself and I felt better.

I also learned how the grading system works in the UK. I've created a chart to show the comparison between the grading (marking) scales of the UK and US which are both scored out of 100.

Grade (Mark)	US	Grade (Mark)	UK
10 - 50	You’re kidding right? Get out of class. Or learn to read. Whichever comes first.	10-30	You’re kidding right? Get out of class. Or learn to read. Whichever comes first.
		40	There was obviously no effort put into studying or researching for the assignment
		50	Average attempt. Work harder next time.
60	There was obviously no effort put into studying or researching for the assignment.	60	Good job. A bit more effort and you’ll do even better!
70	Average attempt. Work harder next time.	70	Excellent work! You put a lot of time and thought into completing the assignment and it shows in your excellent work!
80	Good job. A bit more effort and you’ll do even better!	80	You’re a genius. This work should be published in academic journals.  How is it that you’re only a student?
90	Excellent work! You put a lot of time and thought into completing the assignment!	90	Revolutionary work that will forever change the field for which it was written.  People will be using this work as a reference for decades to come!
100	You did everything right! You’re awesome!	100	You are a genius. Or were actually present during the historical event. This score is impossible to attain so you must have magical powers to have earned such a score.

So after the disillusionment settled, I realized that there were still MANY differences about school and life in general in the UK that I have yet to understand or experience.  I learned from a classmate that receiving 80's, 90's and 100's are virtually unheard of in undergraduate or postgraduate work.  Glad I learned this now before submitting my 4,000 word essays and having a mental breakdown.

That's it for last week unfortunately. I know it's not as entertaining as other posts but... HALLOWEEN is coming up this week so you KNOW there's gonna be hilarious stories from this weekend.

Alsooo, I'd like to give a special shout out to Doyle who will be our first friend visitor to Newcastle!!!

Also x2: Here's a video of my brother's pet snake eating a mouse:

xoxo
Becstar