Introduction to Exeter

First full day in Exeter - complete.

Today functioned as an introduction to the school and the city, which was a great transition from the social London program to the academic portion at the university. Though we arrived yesterday, most of us were too exhausted to do any exploring. They did, however, welcome us with an excellent barbecue. Something that was really foreign to me was chatting with professors over alcoholic drinks - something that rarely occurs in the States!

Hanging around at the BBQ

The weather was beautiful!

We also received our welcome packets and ID cards yesterday, which made me feel official.

Today started off with an introductory presentation to present an overview of how classes at the summer school will be taught and what they expect from us as students. It was held in the Forum, which is a brand new building on campus that was opened by Her Majesty the Queen just last year. More impressive to the students, however, were the purple and pink lecture chairs that swiveled 360 degrees. 

After that presentation, we split up according to academic track to go on a tour of campus. I really liked being able to see who I'll be learning with before we actually begin classes tomorrow, and it seems like we'll have an awesome group. Campus itself is a pretty good size, over 300 acres, and extremely hilly - I am going to have amazing legs by the time I leave! It's also incredibly beautiful, and I can't believe that people get to live here nine months out of the year. 

View from my dorm, Holland Hall

One of many very old trees on campus

One of Exeter's ponds

There's so much vegetation and green space on campus that the university is actually a registered botanical garden.  Administration has also recently invested millions into the campus, so many of the buildings are either brand new or recently renovated. All in all, I think everyone in our group was impressed. 

After the campus tour, we took a break for lunch at one of the many places to eat on campus. We chose the Terrace Café, which is in the Students' Guild. I got made to order stir fry, which was delicious, and found out that Coke has been literally calling people by name to buy their product in the UK.

They got me.

After lunch, it was time for our tour of the actual city of Exeter. Even though the city is quite big, it still manages to have a small-town feel in some areas. Streets vary from being narrow and pedestrian to resembling more of a typical downtown metropolitan area. Also not far is the quay, where you can go canoeing on the river. 

One end of the road to the quay

The quay, with a peek at the river

A street in Princesshay, the shopping district

There are key points in Exeter for both the religious and the nerdy. There is of course the well-known Exeter Cathedral, which was unfortunately under construction today.

Inscription on the walkway to the cathedral

Exeter Cathedral

For the nerdy, some original Harry Potter locations are in Exeter. J.K. Rowling graduated from the University of Exeter and so drew her inspiration for some places from the city - it's definitely a great place to spark creativity!

Gandy Street, inspiration for Diagon Alley

People also say that The Firehouse, a pub in Exeter that's frequented often by students, was the inspiration for The Leaky Cauldron. I didn't snap a picture, but we'll be headed there before our time here is done!

I explored the city a bit more after the tour with two girls from Denmark (Stine and Anna), a girl from France (Juliette), a guy from China (Harold), and another American from New Jersey (Bryan). We ducked into a bookstore and I was able to pick up The Cuckoo's Calling, J.K. Rowling's new book under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It's much cheaper to buy hardback books here than it is in the States!

My souvenirs for the day

In a few minutes I'll be going with a group to check out The Imperial pub, which is apparently quite famous. I'm excited to see it! Our visit will be brief, though - classes start tomorrow morning, and with them the academic portion officially begins. Let the international exchange of ideas begin!