May and graduation with my BA came faster than even I had imagined, and my 4 months of summer work flew by even more quickly. I made several friends over the course of the summer, but I was not sad to leave the workaday world behind and head off to another foreign country to continue my education.

This autumn, my days will grow shorter than ever before in my life, as I'm now settled down in England. So far, the country (minus the food) suits me just fine, and the people have been incredibly welcoming. Though I've only been here a few weeks, I feel quite at home and already have made some friends.

The graduate school life is suiting me well, and I am glad that I had such a hefty dose of independent study the last year of my BA to prepare me for this year: we are meant to prepare 8 hours for every meeting in our classes, and I frequenty spend longer than that. But the postgraduate (aka graduate in American English) seminars and visiting speakers are fascinating, the courses are generally well-run, and I'm immersed in a wonderfully international community that allows me to speak German and French several times a week even while I study Polish and Russian.

As the months wear on, I'll need to find a focus for my MA thesis and for my PhD proposal. Both are incredibly important, as the former decides 1/3 of my finishing score and the latter determines whether I win funding for the next 3 years. But I'm excited and optimistic and ready to work hard.

I'm enjoying life and glad that I have found good flatmates, a wonderful landlord, and a house in a good neighbourhood. I have a half-hour walk to uni every day, which is a good time to collect my thoughts and get some exercise that is built into my schedule. (It also, of course, provides plenty of opportunity to enjoy the lovely English weather!)

I won't be traveling as much this year as I did when I was in Germany, as I have many, many more hours of preparation to do each week and have already gotten fairly involved in activities in Brum. Travel in the UK is also significantly more expensive (as is life in general) than in Germany, which encourages me to be frugal and enjoy the local life more. I am incredibly grateful to all the people who have already helped me feel at home and anticipate the coming years with joy. God truly continues to bless my life.

I hope you are all well and happy wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Take care and God bless!