Basic Film Production - Back to the basics of film!

I thought I would tell you about each of my classes at KU in more detail - the highlights, the stressful parts and the overall journey of the courses themselves.


As I said before, I took Basic Film Production which was taught by Professor Small. I took the class hoping it would give me an introduction to film production, including working collaboratively to make a short film.

Bell and Howell 70

This wasn't what the class was about.

The basic part didn't mean easy (like I had hoped), it meant back to the basics of film. We learned how to use a 1930s camera, 16mm film and how to edit using a splice. Basically we learned how people made films in the olden days by doing it ourselves.


Having no experience in photography myself made the class especially difficult, especially as there were many ways that things could go wrong or you could make a mistake with. We had to take special care as the equipment we were using was ancient (probably from the 30s) and it was very expensive and difficult to replace.

Professor Small had an unusual grading system. He had an 'A' option and 'B' option which meant you had to make 2 films to get an A. Even if you sat the exam and did well in it and/or if you're first film was good - it was impossible to get an A unless you made two films. At first this seemed fair because working in film or media industries means you have to meet deadlines. But after undertaking the course this was actually very difficult - especially as aspects of the course were time consuming. Things were slightly more difficult for me as an exchange student because I was still adjusting to living the US in general and this created problems for me in this course.

First we had to learn how to use the camera- which is very difficult (at least it is for me). The cameras we used were not like analogue or digital cameras you could just switch on. We had to learn how to load the film into it (which got easier with practice) and it was important to do this correctly, otherwise we could damage the film and waste it. We had to learn how to set exposure with a light meter (which could very easily go wrong) and we had to learn about the focal lengths of the lens and how to set this correctly (otherwise the picture would be blurry). Although professional photographers probably use this on a day-to-day basis - most digital cameras do these things for you and you only have to fix the lighting conditions. With 16mm film, you didn't know whether you did it right until you're film was processed - and this took a lot of time.

First we had to order the film. That wasn't too bad as we were told which film to purchase, but it took a while to be delivered. Then when I finally had it I had to book the camera equipment. This actually wasn't too difficult either. However, as I couldn't drive or have a car I couldn't get around easily with the camera. Thankfully, a guy in my class suggested that we film on the same day and offered to drive me around.

Being naive, I trusted that he was doing me a favour and took the offer. Little did I know I was about to be betrayed (whether it was intentional or not). The weekend came and we agreed to film. I waited to be picked up from Jayhawker Towers. Fifteen minutes passed and he still hadn't came. So I phoned him.

No response.

Half an hour passed and still no sign of him. I phoned again. No response. I phoned and phoned and phoned but he didn't answer. I didn't know what was going on. I assumed that if he couldn't take me anymore that he would have let me know. So I went upstairs to check my email. My inbox was empty. He just never showed up without an apology or reason...

...until around 9pm that night. He told me that he had been drinking the night before and that he was sleeping because he was hungover, so that's why he didn't answer his phone and so he apologised. Although I was pissed off, I forgave him and asked him if he could take me tomorrow instead. He said, "Yeah, of course! I still want to help you out and you can help me out with mine."

I should have known by then not to trust him but he seemed like he genuinely wanted to do it with me like we agreed, so I waited for him again the next day. Of course -  he didn't show up. I was so annoyed and extremely stressed out. If I could have got my filming done on that weekend then I wouldn't have ended up so far behind!

My roommates didn't seem to get why I was so pissed off the situation. I planned to do my filming on Mass St to film traffic lights, so they asked why I didn't just get the bus. I explained because the equipment was old and expensive that I didn't want to carry it on the bus, plus I needed a buddy to look after it while I was filming and it made sense to do it with someone from the class. None of them offered to help me, but then again - I didn't ask. I didn't want to drag them with me if they didn't want to go and most of them had other arrangements and studying to do by this point. So I basically grovelled on Facebook that I was fucked.

Thankfully, Cheryl seen the grovelling and offered to help me - including driving me around Mass St and helping me out in general. It was really unexpected and I was so happy when she offered. Eventually I managed to get my filming done just in time because of her!

At home I'm pretty independent and have always been self-reliant. Of course I like to take help if someone offers but I don't necessarily like to ask for it. In the States, I learned that if you need help - you have to ask for it. Americans generally will try and help you out if they can and ask for nothing back. I always felt that back home, people will only help if there's something in it for them and if you give them a favour in return.

This is the ethic I've always followed, if someone helps me out I have to do something for them. But in this situation, I knew there wasn't much I could offer in return which is why I didn't ask my roommates to help me. Also, it made sense to do it with my classmate and I could help him with his film too.

Oh well, it got done in the end - thanks to Cheryl. Filming was only half the battle. Then we had to send off our film for processing. This would have been okay if I was more familiar with the US Post Office system at this point. In the UK, if you stick a 1st class stamp on it you can send it anywhere in Britain. However, as this was a package, I needed several stamps on it to be sent to Massachusetts.

My film ended up being sent back to Oldfather Studios and I had to resend it again, which delayed the film processing. Then when it got back, we had to spend a lot of our free time editing it. This took for ages as we had to learn how to use the splice and viewer and editing itself takes a while. I finished the film with only a couple of weeks left at the end of the course, in which we had to make our second film. I spent so much time on the first film that I knew I would never be able to get the 2nd film done. Perhaps if the 2nd film had been a group project then we could have done it. Only the graduate students in the class managed to do the 2nd film, which meant everyone in the class either got a B, C or failed.

Professor Small decided to give me a B-. Thanks for that Small!

If the teaching assistant, Julie Pitzer, hadn't been in the class - I wouldn't have passed the class at all. It was only after she explained how to use the equipment that the class understood what was going on. Small just assumes that we know what he's talking about before he's even taught us anything. Small liked me though, even though he couldn't understand me. I think its because his mother was Scottish - which he told me randomly several times.

Although the class was challenging, there were good times to be experienced. At first I didn't like Small because I didn't get him. But the more I got used to him the funnier he became (usually when he wasn't trying). One time he randomly jumped on his desk. It was so bizarre that it was just funny. He always ate a banana because he had Attention Deficit Disorder. He always closed his eyes when he explained something and one time when we was showing us how to shoot movement he pretended his banana was a gun and kicked over the bin. I was in stitches because any time something crazy happened it was completely random.

I remember one time I was in Oldfather Studios and the walls had just been painted white (although they were already white). Which is fair enough, except there were no wet paint signs. So a guy in my class learnt on the wall and got paint all over his clothes. I felt so sorry for him but had to laugh at the stupidity of the situation. Why didn't they tell anyone the paint was wet??? Crazy stuff!

Would I recommend anyone at KU to take this class?? I'd say you're best to avoid it if you can. Unless you like Professor Small and like a challenge...and Julie Pitzer's the assistant...and if you want to work on your own...and if you want to learn how films were made in the olden days. Don't take it if you want a class thats relevant to the digital age of film and technology.

Find out more about my International Women Filmmakers class next week! Comments/questions are always welcome!

First couple of classes...

So I had Basic Film Production and International Women Filmmakers earlier in the week. I should of had Basic Screenwriting as well, but missed the 1st class because I was ill...

I ended up going to my first Basic Screenwriting class the following week. Although before that, I had my other class - Documentary Film and Video.

I've never really been a huge fan of documentaries, which may sound odd considering I took that class, but oh well. However, I decided to take the class in the hopes that it would broaden my film taste and engage my interest in films that I would never have watched before I became a film student. Plus I had seen really good documentaries before like, "Rich, Famous and Homeless" (UK, 2009) and I hoped we would see more inspirational films.

That didn't happen.

Instead I sat there - bored - watching the most boring documentaries you could imagine. Of course, that might be because that class was also taught by Prof. Small.

He started the class by putting on a documentary called the "Powers of Ten" (US, 1968) which is one of his favourites. I suppose it was quite interesting, but the drawl from Small made it boring. It didn't help that he spoke to the class with his back to us.

That first class gave us the best idea of what to expect from Prof. Small. His teaching assistant, Rich Housh, ran about after him - doing most of the work; there were no lecture notes and/or slideshows (I doubt Small has ever been near a computer) and Small usually delivered lectures incoherently, taking forever to explain a simple point. I know I'm being harsh but I have specific reasons to dislike that class - which almost failed me when it wasn't my fault (I shall explain the story in another post). I just expected better considering I paid so much to move abroad and study there.

It wasn't all bad though. My screenwriting class made up for the documentary class which I hated. It was taught by Professor Willmott, who I can honestly say is one of the best teachers/lecturers I have ever had.

Not only was Willmott one of the most funniest and nicest guy ever, but he had experience writing screenplays for both independent and Hollywood films. Apparently he is more well-known in the US for his mockumentary film, "CSA: The Confederate States of America" (US, 2004) which explores what might have happened if the Confederates (southern states) had won the American Civil War. I found the film on YouTube and watched it (something I didn't ever admit to him seeing as I technically didn't pay to see it - whoops)! It was pretty good, I would recommend it - some of it was pretty shocking.

So I arrived for the first class - late. I was really embarrased but Willmott was cool about it, he just handed me a syllabus seeing as I didn't get it in the first class. Basically he was telling us about the basic formula for writing a screenplay and asked the class what their ideas were. Some people had really cool ideas, I actually felt a bit intimidated. Some people had ideas with potential, but needed tweaking to be a bit more interesting/conventional. Willmott's advice was always really helpful and he never dismissed anyone's ideas - no matter how ridiculous they were. Although he did try and suggest we do things differently if he thought the ideas wouldn't work for the purpose of the class - which was to write the first act of a feature length screenplay.

I didn't have any ideas for my own screenplay yet as I missed the first class, but tried to contribute by making suggestions for others in the class who told us their ideas. I didn't try and change their ideas or anything but suggested they convey the story from another point of view or whatever, as we were encouraged to by Willmott. The idea is that someone else might help you think about your story in more depth or a different way and so you can use their ideas to improve your story/screenplay.

I was really flattered because whenever I made a suggestion, Prof Willmott seemed to like them, like he thought I had the right idea about it.  It made me feel more confident about my writing. Of course he disagreed sometimes, but it was amazing to hear his opinions as he is a professional writer. I ended up coming up with my story in that first class...although I didn't want to share it until I had thought about it some more.

I left that class feeling really good about it. It didn't even feel like a class, I enjoyed it so much. After it I kept thinking of ways to improve my story and give it more depth. Willmott is an amazing guy and a great teacher. That class was the one that made me decide I'd like to become a writer.

This is an overview of how my first classes went. Over the next couple of weeks I'll tell you about my classes in more depth. Next Monday, I'll begin by telling you all about Basic Film Production - the best bits and the stressful times! Become a follower or check out the blog and find out how they were!

Who's this foreigner? Oh yeah its me!

I remember my first day of class quite clearly...

My very first class was Basic Film Production with Professor Ed. Small. It was nothing at all like I expected...

Professor Small is quite eccentric to say the least. He is no doubt a fascinating man with an interesting past, but I suppose you could say he was set in his ways. As I looked around, I noticed that there weren't a lot us taking the class and that I was the only girl. Prof. Small read out the roster (that's what they call the register in the US), telling us to raise our hand if our name hadn't been called.

So he called out names...I sat there cringing, knowing I would probably have to correct him when he read out mine (which still happens in Scotland as much as it does in the States). Funnily enough, he didn't call out my name. So I raised my hand. He looked at me like I was a weirdo. Then after a couple of minutes he asked me why I had my hand up. I was told him, "You didn't call out my name."

At first he didn't hear me so he was like, "What?"...I should probably note that this was a response I got a lot from Professor Small. He either couldn't hear me or understand what I was saying. Usually it was the latter. So after telling him my name about six times and spelling it out, he eventually wrote it down on his register (or the roster as the Americans call it). I was so embarrased, especially as some of the guys were laughing and smirking about it. So I suppose you could say I didn't get off to the best start. 

Most of the time Professor Small spoke I had no idea what he was on about. I actually found him quite hard to understand myself because he mumbled a lot and took a while to make a point. I remember in that first class  he explained that for this course we would not be using digital film cameras or computer editing - but real 16mm film. Having never done photography before I was a bit worried, especially when he told us that it would be difficult without a background in photography. He also added that we would be working individually and that for group production we should take the video production course. 

I did think about changing to video production in the first place but couldnt because it clashed with Basic Screenwriting, which I really wanted to give a chance. So I stuck with Basic Film as it was approved by my Overseas Advisor at Stirling Uni.

To be honest, I left the class feeling dissapointed as I expected to be working in groups and using Final Cut Pro software and it sounded hard. Plus, I wasn't sure that knowing how using a wind-up camera and 16mm film would be relevant in the digital age of film...but there you are. However, I felt determined to impress him and decided to give it a try. The course did give me a broader understanding of how film works and it was really interesting to learn how they made films in the old days.

My next class, which was on the same day, was International Women Filmmakers which was taught by a woman called Professor Catherine Preston. She was a lovely woman and the course sounded very interesting as she explained that we would be analysing films made by women from around the world.

Although she was a very nice woman the first class was...interesting to say the least. At the beginning she told us that she specialised in visual communication and so took a picture of us so she could get a better sense of who we were. It was a bit embarrasing but not so bad as everyone was doing it. Then after she went over all the introductory part of the course we watched a film called, "Filming Desire" by Marie Mandy. 

The film was a particularly interesting one...it was about how women directors film sex scenes in comparison to male directors. I knew it would have sexual content but I didn't realise it would be so graphic! I wasn't offended by it or anything but it was really awkward sitting in a class full of people I didn't know and watching a stranger getting wanked off (or 'jacked off' for you american peeps) and a guy peeing on a naked girl etc. It was pretty explicit.

"Well this class certainly won't be boring!" is what I thought when it ended...

Find out how my other classes went on Monday by becoming a follower of the blog! Comments/questions are always welcome!

We Caught the Swine!

When I told my friends at home that I caught the Swine Flu most of them seemed to think it was funny!

The swine flu pandemic took place a couple of months before I moved to the States with only several cases being reported in the UK in the comparison to the US. Just our luck that we would catch it while studying abroad!

Basically, we got home on the Sunday night. The next day I had my first two classes, including my Basic Film Production class and International Women Filmmakers. I still wasn't too sure of where I was going or how the buses worked so it took me half an hour to get to my classes at Oldfather Studios! Doesn't help when the uni is built on a hill and you have to walk.

I'll save the stories of my first week of class for another time.

My last class, however, finished at 7pm (its not unusual in the States to have a classes either really early at 8am or finish til late like 9pm). That day I noticed I was developing a cough, I was sneezing a lot and I had a really runny nose. Plus - I wasn't sure if it had been the way I was sleeping - but my joints were starting to get sore (although it didn't feel too bad - like it felt like the pain would go away in a couple of hours). The symptoms got worse as the day went on, so by the time my class was finished and made my way home,  I was exhausted.

At this point (still August) the evenings in Lawrence were still pretty warm and light outside - so I wasn't too worried about walking home alone. That was before I found out about the serial rapist. I did get lost which got me a bit stressed out as I wasn't feeling well....

As I was walking home though, my phone rang. It was my roommate, she said we had stuff to discuss when I got home.

I wondered what was up - was she okay? Had I done something wrong?

When I got home my roommates were sitting together in the living room. It had turned out that the frat guy whose RV we slept in at the Lake...had caught the swine flu! My roommate suspected she had it too because she hadn't been feeling well since the day before and we all had slept in the RV. 

I must admit I did panic a bit. As far as I remember I tried not to overreact when she told me but I think it might have shown that I was worried. I felt really bad for her and hoped she would be okay - but I was concerned because I'm asthmatic. I had a really bad asthma attack when I was four years old and was hospitalised for a week where I couldn't breathe. The whole swine flu hype was still happening at the time and as far as we knew - it was worse if you had asthma.

So basically we decided to discuss our living arrangements. My roommate said she could either move out and live somewhere else temporarily or we could move out temporarily until she recovered. I was already feeling some of the symptoms and thought it would be pointless to move out. I didn't think it was necessary for her to move out either and our other roommates weren't bothered. So we stayed where we were, although my roommate moved into the living room to sleep instead.

I decided that if I still felt bad the next day I would go to the doctor and get tested - I had to get up early anyways to go to my first screenwriting class. Through the night I was coughing quite bad. Then when I woke up I had a horrible headache, couldn't stop sneezing and felt poor in general. So I went to the Watkins Health Centre.

Going to the health centre was a little scary. I was exhausted by the time I got there - it was only a 10 minute walk. As soon as I walked in there were people wearing masks and there was hand sanitiser everywhere. I felt it would be better to wear a mask myself in case I did have it - especially for other people's safety. So I waited with several other people, also wearing masks who suspected that they had it too. 

So I spoke to the doctor and she was really nice about it. I gave her some general information about my asthma and she gave me some breathing tests and asked me about the symptoms. I had them all except the sore throat and fever, which were the more worrisome ones according to her. She said that if my roommate had it then I probably did too but that it hadn't affected me too badly and that I could still go to classes - because its contagious before symptoms show. So basically she wasn't sure that I definitely had it but assumed I did because my roommate was diagnosed with it. She prescribed me an inhaler to help with my breathing and advised me to take Ibuprofen or Tylenol to help ease the cold symptoms. To be honest - I just felt as though I had a cold.

When I came out of her office I bumped into another of my roommates, she seemed a lot more ill than me and it turned out she had it too!

As I only had that one class early in the morning, I decided to skip it to go to the health centre. I thought that would be best in case I did have it, but I took her advice and went to class the next day. I didn't have any other classes that day. When I got home I felt bad because my roommate (who had originally been diagnosed) was lying on the couch and felt really ill. Unlike me - she had all the symptoms including a sore throat and high tempearture. She couldn't move for exhaustion.

My other roommate who I bumped into at the health centre came home soon after me...she was just as bad. I felt bad complaining and going on about my asthma when my two roommates were in a worse state than me. There wasn't much we could do except let them rest until they started feeling better. 

Funnily enough, our other roommate never caught the swine. She must have a really strong immune system - she did eat very healthily, besides the occasional bowl of cereal...

Besides being ill - find out how my first week of classes went by checking out the blog next Monday!

Road Trip! (Part 2) - Lake of the Ozarks

Quite a few of us went to the camping trip at the lake.

It was a long journey...So luckily for us the frat guy took his RV! It was the coolest thing ever - it had a bedroom, toilet, table and chairs all on four wheels...pretty astonishing (well, for me it was)! 

The RV

As there were a lot of us going, two of the other guys from the frat house went and took their cars and a couple of tents...we had a lot of stuff to bring with us! The journey was long and I spent a lot of it reflecting on how lucky I was. Here I was in the States - I had only been there a couple of weeks and already I was travelling with a great group of people. Time to get drunk!


When we eventually got there it was pitch black...I was still pretty excited but a little bit worried. We were in what seemed like the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night - it was dark, quiet and a little eerie, it felt a bit like something out of a horror movie ('Jeepers Creepers' comes to mind)...But the guy from the RV Park came out and got us - so we found the others who had got there before us.


Lucky for us they had already started a fire. They already had drinks, so they offered us one too. It was really cool but I hate creepy crawlies and there were flies everywhere so I couldn't get comfortable. I was petrified that there would be spiders - my worst fear. So we sat by the fire and relaxed for the first night.


The next day was a great one. A lot the guys wanted to go fishing in the morning so we went to this place with a ton of boats. We didn't actually take the boat out the dock, but we sat in it for a little bit. Some of the group were up for swimming while the others weren't. I was split in the middle...I wanted to go for a swim but was scared to do it in the lake...eventually I plucked up the courage and jamp straight into the water! It was freezing - but quite refreshing in the hot sun.


Some people left but a couple of us stayed nearby - so I soaked up the sun while we were waiting. A family on another boat came over and spoke to us. They were from the area and they were curious where we were from...they got a bit excited when they found out I was from Scotland and the guy I was with from England. Then our ride arrived...

The 'beach'

We went to a different part of the lake - which looked more like a holiday resort rather than a campsite. It was beautiful - there was a manmade beach with sand and a restaurant/bar nearby. So finally I could sit out in the sun properly and attempt to tan, plus go for a swim! Which is what I did...even when some of the others went fishing later in the afternoon.


That night we decided to cook a barbeque...with some alcohol for the night. One of the English guys ended making most of it with the French girl...it was like they were our parents. We played a couple of drinking games...(well, we were in the ‘game room’) like ‘Kings Cup’ and ‘I never’ – but not beer pong. Which is weird now I look back...why didn’t we play that?? Oh well.


It was a fun night. The next day we went home, but not before me and the Swedish girl had done a bit of sunbathing at the pool on the campsite...and off we went.


The ride home seemed much longer than the ride in. It didn’t help that most the others were sleeping...I can’t sleep when travelling – I very rarely do it. So I tried to keep our driver company with some chat (frat boy).

I felt sorry for him because he was clearly exhausted and seemed to be suffering from a very bad cough...


What was to come from that cough, we would find out when we got home.

Read about it on Monday by becoming a follower of the blog! Feel free to ask questions...

Road Trip! (Part 1) - Kansas City

Within the first two weeks of living in the States I could finally scream - 'Roaaad Triippp!' as we took a day trip to Kansas City...

What can I say?? Both trips were amazing!!


Kansas City took about either an hour (or 2) to get there. When we finally did I got so excited...Lawrence is a nice town but it doesn't have any industrial buildings like a typical city. Kansas City on the other hand - does!


We drove through the city and saw the J.C Nichols Fountain...(which I didn't know about until right now as I just looked it up) and some other sights...that was most memorable though. We took a trip to the Nelson-Atkins Museum over in the Missouri side of the city. Kansas City (KC) is a city which lies on the state line of Kansas and Missouri, pretty cool that there are two states in one city! It was absolutely beautiful - the art museum and the weather.

We had lunch there and it was all pretty posh and had a look around. Although an alarm went off at some point and we all froze in shock - but it turned out to be a mistake! Was pretty exciting though...


After our trip to the museum we had a look around the shops in the city...including American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, American Eagle Outfitters and Victoria's Secret (which was my first of several visits there).


The frat boy who I first met in the previous week (and who exchanged numbers with my roommate) was the one who took us away for the day to KC. Although he was originally from Los Angeles, he had grown up in there. So we went to his house to hang out afterwards.


His house was massive! It wasn't even one of the biggest ones in the area...and his family were lovely! His mum was friendly and offered us all a drink (non-alcoholic of course) and his dad was pretty funny. We met his youngest sister who was the cutest little four-year old and his other younger sister who was a stunning sixteen year old.


We hung out in his basement and chilled out. We talked about different things like what we'd like to do while living here and the places we wanted to see. As it was the other Scottish girls, a Swedish girl and an English guy on the trip - most of us mentioned that we wanted to go travelling...


We went home that day to intense thunder and lightning...I swear I think it almost hit the ground. But after about an hour or so of that it cleared up almost right away (it did that a lot in Kansas). We went to Chipotle when we got back - our first time there (for us foreign students) and relaxed. It had been a lovely day out.


Find out about my second road trip to the lake by becoming a follower of the blog! Feel free to ask questions!

Hawk Week

You would think that after the orientation week that we would start classes. Nope, that didn't happen...because we had Hawk Week!

Hawk Week is basically the equivalent of Freshers Week for the American students at KU. I can't remember much from the week...

Although I remember we went to an event called 'Night on the Hill', which was kinda like a fayre...there were different stalls and tons of people out and about - plus sober dancing...(well we assumed they were sober). Afterwards we headed to a gig on Daisy Hill (I think that's what it was called) but I had no idea who was playing. I suppose it doesn't matter so much now as we didn't get in!

Earlier in the week I enrolled in my classes. I had a meeting with the Study Abroad Office who helped me out with it. Before I headed to the US, they emailed me for my course selections. I emailed them with the following options:

- Basic Film Production

- Basic Screenwriting

- Documentary Film and Video

- International Women Filmmakers

When I met with them I was told that all the classes were still available and that I'd be able to still go ahead with them if I wanted. I had considered changing film production to video production as the video one sounded like it would be more suitable. However, it clashed with the screenwriting class which I really wanted to take, so I stuck with my original choices. I don't regret this because at KU I had the best screenwriting teacher - Professor Kevin Willmott.

Traditions Night

Another memorable part of Hawk Week was 'Traditions Night' at Memorial Stadium. I think we showed up late - but we got the general idea once we got there. The legendary Jayhawk and Baby Jay were there (KU mascots) plus the cheerleaders. I can't remember if any of the sports teams were there or the marching band but they might have been - we probably missed it. 

It was pretty cool though! We learned the whole 'Rock Chalk! Jayhawk!' chant. I should probably explain that a Jayhawk is a cross between a Blue Jay and a Sparrow Hawk - made up for KU. I think it has something more to do with Kansas' history...

The Jayhawk! (Obtained from MarkRoland.com)

We went to more parties at the fraternity house. We ended up becoming friends with a few of the guys there. We played water pong at one of the guys' apartment (it was the middle of the day and we didn't feel like drinking)...He took us out for a day out in Kansas City! 

So we didn't spend the full week of Hawk Week at KU or Kansas. We spent the day in Kansas City during the week and went to Lake of the Ozarks at the weekend! Find out the trips went by becoming a follower or checking out the blog next Monday...

The 1st Frat Party...

We had only been at KU for about a week and we managed to go to our first frat party!

Basically some of the Australian/English guys we already met had went out to explore the campus (at night) and met a couple of frat guys! So they invited them to one of their parties and we then got invited too...so we decided to go.

Some of the other exchange students that we met from the 'Wild West' party on Wednesday came round to our flat while we got ready and we all went down together.


I was so excited I wouldn't shut up about it. What would it be like?

Beer Pong!

My only experience of a frat party was watching it in a teen comedy film like, "American Pie: Beta House" and "Old School". I wondered if they were really as crazy as the movies made them out to be. I wondered whether they would have red cups...


They did! They were everywhere..in the hands of frat boys, littered on the floor, stacked on tables, placed triangularly on each side of a long table while guys tried to throw a little white ball into them. Later found out this was actually a drinking game called Beer Pong! I think most of us exchange students were pretty excited to see those red cups in action...


The fraternity house we went to was the Jewish fraternity! We nervously approached them in case they decided they didn't want us there - but it turned out they were a really friendly bunch of guys! One of them shook all of our hands as we went into the house and they let us drink their beer for free! They also had the legendary jungle juice which had a combination of liquor, fruit and Everclear - which I thought was screen-wash...so I only had one. Then there was rumours that it ended up being laced with pills so definitely avoided it after that.


The frat party was cool but a little awkward seeing as we didn't know anyone. I remember standing when this guy told me I looked bored. I was like I'm not its just a bit awkward and then he was like, "Where are you from?"...So then I told them and pointed and said that we're all exchange students. So then he was like, "Are you all Scottish?" and I was like, "No but we are, and those girls are English and she's from Sweden and she's German and this guy is from Australia". He got so excited about the Australian,


"I wana go hug him that's so cool!' he exclaimed. I was like "Me too!"

So talking to him some more I found out that he was originally from Los Angeles but grew up in Kansas. Some of the other guys I spoke to were from Chicago, Seattle and Kansas - it was pretty cool!

End of the Frat Party...

After the frat party we went to a house party down the road. It was pretty random now that I look back, I duno how we even ended up down there but they invited us in and gave us more free beer. One of the other Australian guys did the whole drink beer from the tap upside down over the keg...was pretty funny.


My roommate got the frat guy's number. Only two of them had a mobile at this point, me and my other roommate had to get a cell phone. I'm glad she got his number because he helped us out a lot the first couple of weeks...


I think the alcohol helped break the ice to be honest. The group meetings and orientation week were good but after that night I felt a lot more comfortable with the other international students.


I forgot to mention on my last post that the next day I saw a sorority house do their initiation (at least that's what I think it was)...It was really weird. They were all dressed up in dresses and boots and they all walked out into formation. Then they sang a song and did little dance moves, the song was pretty funny. They went into harmony and sang like an octave higher and then lower and one minute it was slow and then really fast. Then they all walked back inside with their hands behind their backs...it was pretty creepy. I saw them doing this several times when I was at KU as their house was accross from Jayhawk Towers!

Check out the blog next Monday and find out about Hawk Week - when the KU students officially started. Comments/questions are always welcome! Thanks for reading...

Jayhawker Towers! Getting Settled...

It was our first weekend, we had moved into Jayhawker Towers and started getting settled...

On  Saturday an event had been organised where families were donating old furniture and homely items to us international kids. We tried to get there as early as possible. My roommate emphasised that we grab one essential item - a television set. 

It was really funny when I look back - she had us all organised and divised a plan for us to go for separate types of stuff. It was pretty effective because it meant we didn't duplicate items. 

Some amazing people donated couches which was great as it would save us buying them. Of course, this made them a popular choice and they weren't light enough to just grab and run with like everything else. So for these, we had to put down our name and then they would be drawn from a hat. All of us put down our name and hoped for the best. Luckily, my name got called out for one of them! (Although it was part of a weird corner sofa)...My flatmate got another one! Hers was a pretty half-decent 3-seater...

We came back with a couch, an armchair (kinda), tv set, a table to put it on, some glasses and some other stuff.

Also that morning while this was going on, families were taking some of the students for a tour of Lawrence. I didn't bother going because Cheryl had already shown me around, although I think a couple of my roommates went.

I can't remember what else happened that day - although we ordered our first Indian that night. It was nice but not as good as it is in the UK.

I think the day seemed to go slowly and drag because we went to our very first frat party the night before! To find out how it went check out the blog on Monday!

Hello Kansas! International Orientation Week (Day 4)

Today was the last day of the orientation week (not really a week if its only four days though, eh?)...

However, today was our last day and Hashinger Halls and the night we moved to Jayhawker Towers!

The day before we found out who our roommates would be. To our mutual surprise, me and the Scottish girls found out that we would be roommates together! I wasn't sure whether to be glad or dissappointed by this and I think they felt the same way. To be honest - I felt both! I was dissappointed that my roommates weren't American or from somewhere else because it meant I wouldn't meet new people (by living with them) but then I was glad to be with the Scottish girls because we were from a similar cultural background and I had already met them and knew they were nice! Although we all agreed that this meant we should make an extra effort to make other friends.

Nothing particularly memorable happened earlier that day. Although I did go to a meeting about staying legal on my visa as I had a J-1 type. I had to ensure that I had taken over 12 units, not to take paid employment unless it was for KU and ensure that I follow the law generally I think. Also, if we wanted to leave the US to take a trip somewhere, then we had to make sure that our visa stated that we could enter the US multiple times within the time period and that we got our DS 2019 form signed by the International Office at KU.

After meeting some new people from places including France, Germany, Canada, Sweden, England and Australia - a group of us went down to Mass St for dinner together. I think we went to a place called Joe Schmoes...after about an hour trying to decide.

The interesting part was when the waiter came and asked us what drinks we wanted. We were silent, wondering whether one of us would risk ordering an alcoholic drink - until one of the English guys turned round and ordered a Sprite. After that we all ordered soft drinks to be on the safe side.

The dinner was good and the chat was friendly. But we knew as soon as we got back we would have to finally move out of Hashinger.

I can't remember if it was because I hadn't prepared earlier in the day, but I remember moving out was stressful. Especially as over 100 students were doing it at once and none of our suitcases were small. I remember struggling to get it all downstairs at first, because they were heavy. Then when they were finally down, I had to leave them all in the foyer to sign out and check in to Jayhawker Towers.

It was so frustrating, it was late and I just wanted to move in already! Two of my roommates (who hadn't came for dinner) already had moved in and seen the apartment. They said it was pretty basic but looked nice. They also mentioned that it was completely empty! 

Finally, I got checked in and our cases got driven down to the apartment for us. They were right, there was absolutely nothing in the apartment except from two beds and two desks in each bedroom. When we had finally all moved in and were ready we sat on the living room floor together. Now we had to decide who became roommates with whom.

I can't remember how exactly we managed to decide who shared with whom, although I remember flipping coins and then doing numbers several times. I think the numbers decided. Although I wouldn't have minded sharing with any of them, I was quite pleased with my roommate chosen because she seemed pretty neat and tidy, like me! Also we were both film students so we had that in common which was cool.

Finally I had moved in to Jayhawk Towers, Tower B on the 6th floor. Now we had time to get settled and explore for ourselves. Find out how my first day in Jayhawk Towers went by checking out the blog tommorow!

Hello Kansas! International Orientation Week (Day 3)

The next day of the orientation week had arrived...

This was one of the most memorable days of the week for two reasons:

1) Had my blood test at the Watkins Health Center

2) Officially got my KUID card!

I knew I would have to get a blood test but I wasn't looking forward to it (I mean no-one was)...I remember having to wait in three queues (oh wait, I mean lines) before I could actually get it done. However, when it finally did happen it wasn't as bad as I'd imagined. For me its never that bad as long as I look in the other direction. Seeing the needle pierce through the skin is the bit that freaks me out. Feeling the needle is uncomfortable but not sore as long as you don't tense up your arm (the thought of that makes me shiver!) or think about it too much.

The KUID card was more of a surprise. The orientation booklet made it out like you only went to  find out how to get a card and how it works. So I didn't bother putting on make up or fixing my hair that day (as I thought its gonna end up a mess anyways seeing as its so hot outside)...But of course, that's when we got the ID card and so I had to get my picture taken while looking like a hot mess! Of course, as expected my pic in the ID card was hideous. I wore a blue top with thin straps and a bright pink bra with thick straps (which was a stupid idea in any case) and you could see it in the photo!

The other Scottish girls were the smart ones. I went down by myself so I already got mines looking a mess, but it turned out you could get it at any point after 3.30pm that day! So they managed to get theirs after making more of an effort when they had spare time (which is what I should've done!)...

Anyways, so it was done now. At least I had a card, no point worrying about the photo...

That night another party was organised for us - our last free meal of the week! One of the girls I met had a really good time because she finally seen a cowboy (which was one of her goals while living in America). By this point we met a lot of other people including a lovely Canadian girl and some girls from Germany. Becuase the Scottish girls had met people in their orientation groups, we all met each other and got to know more people which was really cool! At that party I met them properly.

Did I mention the party was outdoors?

It was quite a good night, sitting on the grass with a BBQ and salad which had been made for us and chilling with the people we met. Although I got bitten to fuck. I was covered in mosquito and chigger bites - it looked disgusting and was really uncomfortable. I think bugs just like my blood...it always seems like I get bitten more than everyone else. It looked like I had chicken pox the next day!

Everyone was so friendly to each other. I remember one of the guys saying that by the time he left Kansas he'd end up having a permanent smile on his face. Everyone really made an effort - no matter which country we were from...it was really refreshing!

The next day we had to move out of Hashinger Halls because we were living on campus. So that night we decided to go to Walmart for the first time to buy stuff for our flat...turns out almost every other international student had the same idea and decided to leave it all to last minute. 

I still can't believe how huge Walmart is...and its cheapness! Although I think products were so much cheaper because its Kansas. I managed to get a ton of stuff - including a comforter and pillows, lamp etc for about $50 - I honestly couldn't believe it...

Okay so we managed to get most of the stuff we needed. Getting home though was a nightmare! 

So many students, all with pillows and blankets and toilet roll and other stuff that takes up a lot of space. I just stood there thinking how the hell are we gona get on the bus! Most of us ended up standing, a bit difficult carrying a bunch of stuff and going up and down hills on a bus...We got home in the end though.

Find out how moving day went by checking out the blog tomorrow!

Hello Kansas - International Orientation Week (Day 2)

So the first day of the orientation week came and went...

The next day was made up of meetings mainly. The first one was about cultural adjustment...I didn't bother going because it was at 9am and didn't feel it was essential but those who did go said it was aimed primarily at the students from the Non-English speaking countries. Apparently American girls can flirt but it means they don't want to have sex with you. Lesson learned.

However, I did go to the meeting about paying for KU, which was pretty important as I found out how to pay for my fees online - its a really good system. You're enrollment card could pay for your food/meal plans, as well as be used as a library card and access your apartment building. Only one problem - we didn't have our cards yet!

Not much happened that was particularly exciting that day...well not from what I can remember. That's the problem with reminiscing you see.

However, that night we were given a free dinner, courtesy of Commerce Bank! Rather than have dinner in Downtown, we had food from the Kansas Union which was served to all the international students. It was served in a massive room with tons of round tables. It was a really good layout to socialise with other exchange students we hadn't met before. Although we Scottish girls stuck together, we shared a table with an Australian guy and a pair of twins - from Denmark! We had good banter and later on - we became friends with them.

After the meal, a 'Scavenger Hunt' was arranged for us. Should be fun, or so we thought...I can't even remember what we were supposed to find. I just remember being really enthusiastic at first and then being bored. However, it was a great opportunity to meet more people.

 I remember it was the first time I spoke to a couple of the English girls. Having seeing them around I kind of recognised their faces, but this time we properly introduced ourselves. One of the girls was pretty chatty and I learned that she went to the University of Kent. She was with a French girl who seemed pretty shy. They were both really nice. 

The hunt was a great way to explore the campus and meet more of the other students. After that day we began to recognise more faces and make more friends outside of the ones we already had...

Find out how the next day went tomorrow!

Hello Kansas - International Orientation Week (Day 1)

The International Orientation Week was an interesting one...

The week mainly consisted of group meetings and information sessions - hence helping us international students get settled.

In our smaller groups I got split up from the Scottish girls and the other people I had already met. I was put in the 'Tornadoes' group! One of the other girls I met was in the 'Stairs' group..."This can't be a real group," she joked. We laughed...it did seem like a bit of a weird concept. Everyone else was in groups that were named in reference to Kansas and KU. It was like they had ran out of more obvious references like 'Tornadoes' and 'Jayhawks' that they came up with 'Steps'. Turns out though...KU does have a lot of stairs! Kansas is a pretty flat state, but they decide to build the University of Kansas on a hill so you have to walk up and down hills to get to classes. Convenient.

The good thing about the hills though were the views! You could see almost the whole university from the Hashinger Halls of residence. Beautiful place.

However, the hills were a bit of a nuisance when walking around campus in 100F heat. Which we did when we had our first official Campus Tour. I met a girl from Ghana who was really nice. She had lived in the States for a couple of years and so her English was perfect - although she did have difficulty understanding me with the accent and everything. Nearly most of my group had difficulty understanding me as they were mainly Asian. The tour was cool was absolutely exhausting with the heat and the hills! 

Hill yes...it was.

Then I had my first visit to the Kansas Union for an intro-meeting. I could not believe it was a student's union. Not only did it have five floors - it had a bowling alley, food court with a pizza hut, its own bookstore, a newsagent, smoothie place (which I went to a lot), coffee shop and then lots of conference/meeting rooms. I could not believe it! Stirling Union has a couple of pubs, restaurant and...that's about it I think.

The introduction meeting was rather interesting...they did the obvious stuff and explained the orientation week etc. But then they asked us all to stand up when our country was called out...I was curious whether they would say Scotland or Britain, but it turns out they divided all the British countries. There were tons of students from China. England had a good few. One girl from Ireland and one girl from Sweden. As soon as they called out Scotland I stood up like the proud Scot I am...it turned out there was only four of us - me and the girls I had already met. Then the KU Student Volunteers sang the Rock Chalk Chant...I think we were all a bit creeped out, it sounded a bit like a death march. (I'm only joking it was a pretty cool tune).

That night we had our first visit to Downtown Lawrence on Massachusetts St as we got a free dinner sponsored by US Bank. Me and the Scottish girls stuck together...there were a lot of options of places to eat so we tried to decide. In the end we went to El Mezcal - a Mexican place with humungous portions. None of us could finish it. 

The sun was setting and we chilled out with our free food, it was a lovely night. As you do, the conversation turned to alcohol. None of us were 21 at the time and we wondered whether we'd be able to get it. The waiters at the restaurant were very nice, realized we were foreign and asked where we were from. We were also asked what language we speak in Scotland.

It was pretty funny, but it was the first of a stupid series of questions I would get asked whilst living in the US. It was funny at first but soon it got really irritating...

Find out how the rest of the Orientation Week went by checking out the blog tomorrow!

Hello Kansas! - The Powers Family (Part 2)

Staying at Cheryl's for the first night was a great beginning to my year abroad...

Her house was very comfortable after a long day of travelling. I ended up waking up at 3am with the time difference...so my first full day was a really long one.

When I had been showered and was ready, I found that Cheryl had already made breakfast! Hot freshly baked muffins - they were amazing! (My mum never bakes so it was kind of a big deal lol)

I met Cheryl's husband Dick that morning also. He was also lovely like his wife and daughter. They decided to give Simon and me a tour of Lawrence and of KU!

The sun was splitting the trees and it was roasting hot! It was so exciting to see all of Lawrence and then see KU before we'd even checked in. Mass St looked like a cool, quirky part of town and then there was KU - I could not believe how massive it was!

Stirling Uni is absolutely tiny compared to any university I've seen/studied in America. KU not only has tons of different buildings, but most of them are huge! Don't get me started on the Sorrority and Fraternity houses - man they are big! They look exactly like the ones you see in the films, like old fashioned mansions with the Greek letters. I was so excited when I seen them!

We went past one sorrority house and there were a bunch of girls outside. Cheryl said they were probably doing their initiation. I couldn't believe it - I really felt like I was in Legally Blonde or something (even though that's set in California but oh well).

A Sorrority House, huge eh?

Later in the day we packed up our stuff at Cheryl's and got ready to check in to KU. Cheryl helped us both with it and I'm really glad she did because it was all a bit overwhelming. Basically, there were hundreds of foreign students, like me, who were all trying to register/check in and figure out what we were supposed to be doing. With Cheryl it made the process a whole lot easier.

Then she helped us both move in to our rooms with our bags. Interestingly, a lot of the other exchange students had families with them, helping them move in - which of whom, I assume had signed up for the family transportation program like me. I think it definitely helped having that bit of support with us.

Then I met Tori, who was to be my temporary roommate at Hashinger Hall for the orientation week until I moved in to Jayhawker Towers. She was a graduate student, 24 years old and from China and I think we both had difficulty understanding each other - although she was lovely. She had already met some of the other Chinese students and seeing that I was alone, they invited me to sit with them at dinner which was nice of them. So we went down to dinner and we ate.

I remember seeing a pretty blonde girl and we caught each others eye. She was alone. Seeing an empty seat next to me, she came over and asked if she could sit with us. We were all like, of course! No-one left each other out, everyone was friendly and made an effort. So she sat next to us. I found out she was Swedish, but her English was very good. So we chatted a lot and I was happy to find that she was really friendly.

Then I remember seeing another blonde girl at the salad bar. She looked really familiar although I didn't know her, I wondered if she was a student from Stirling. Later on I found her and asked if she was Scottish - and she was! She was the first Scottish girl I'd met and she was from Glasgow, like me. I also spoke to another guy who was from England, but studied in Edinburgh - so he could tell I was Scottish right away.

Later on, I found out that the blonde girl from Sweden and the Scottish girl were roommates - it was a really weird but cool coincidence as we could all relate to each other in some way. Then later on, I met two other Stirling students from the north of Scotland - which was really cool! One of the girls I knew from my course (although not very well) and the other I hadn't met before - although they knew each other. 

Although the whole point of the experience is to meet new people from different cultures and backgrounds, it was nice to meet other Scottish girls as they were outgoing and friendly. No-one could understand my accent and it was starting to make me feel a bit homesick - until I met them.

The first day was tiring, but had been a great start. I had met people and was ready to meet more and learn about the other stuff I was gonna have to take care of. The International Orientation Week had begun. 

To find out how it went, become a follower of the blog or check it out on Monday! Comments/questions are always welcome!