Warwick University student Rosaleen Kyle is spending a year in Santa Barbara, California as part of her degree in American Studies.

Rosaleen says life in the United States is very different - from the students and their attitude to life and school, to the education itself.

I woke up this morning to bright hot sunshine and clear blue skies, pretty much as I have every morning since I moved to California for the year.

In the middle of January I was sun bathing in my bikini on the beach and after buying my first pair of flip flops since I was five, I haven't taken them off.

That was only the beginning of my entry into the twilight zone - and that is not an exaggeration.

My typical day starts at 0830 as I drag myself out of bed for breakfast before peddling off to class on my bike.

This place is bike city, everything is connected by bike paths and everyone has one.

I've managed to crash mine twice which I think is probably the average around here.

Chaos

There are over 18,000 students registered and we all get out of class at the same time, so you can imagine the chaos.

Whatever anyone says about going to university, it is a big change and going to one abroad is an even bigger one.

I'm 22 years old, which makes me four years older than the four girls I live with, and most of the other students in my residence.

I haven't shared a room in six years, and the last time I had to hide alcohol I was 16 and my parents knew anyway.

The nearest student from my home university is at Berkeley, and the majority are in South America lazing on white beaches.

Butterflies

I arrived here with my parents, a load of clothes I've never worn and a bucket full of butterflies in my stomach.

I've now been here six months and I've only just finally figured out where everything is.

My friends are mainly other British students here at my residences and other exchange students at Santa Barbara.

This is one thing I hadn't planned on - Iswore that I would make lots of American friends and take the mick out of the amount of times they said "like" in a sentence - no this is not just a Hollywood teen wannabe invention.

As it is I ended up with the people I have most in common with, although I do have one best friend who is American, and you couldn't find someone who more embodies everything that is America.

Cowboy spurs

He's tall, good-looking, listens to country music, owns a cowboy hat and - wait for it - cowboy boots and spurs.

He has a bright red truck, about a hundred American flags, believes that America is the greatest country in the world and that it is still possible to achieve the American dream. You just gotta love them!

Classes here took a little getting used to, and I'm still not sure which system is harder.

I was told before I left that as a humanities student I would find the work easier than if I had been a science or engineering student.

For the most part that has turned out to be true.

Top marks

I now get nothing under 85% and normally my marks stay in the 90s, whereas at home I struggle to get 65% in my best work.

All the work we have to do is clearly set out, there is a tendency towards short answers and multiple choice and last quarter I was told what was going to be on every quiz, mid-term and final exam that I had.

How could anyone go wrong with this much help?

At the same time the pace here is very much faster.

We choose different courses each quarter - a quarter consists of 10 weeks with an extra week for exams at the end.

I'm lucky I can get away with only three courses per quarter.

A lot of people I know have to taken five just to make sure they graduate within four years.

I take a Spanish class in which I have four quizzes a quarter, a mid-term in week six and a final in week 10.

Hard work

The pace for these classes is very fast, and if you fall behind, you might not catch up. I work hard from the moment I start the quarter right up to the day it ends.

Yet overall I think I still worked harder in my second year at Warwick than I do here.

I guess in the end I wouldn't change this year for anything. I've discovered a completely different culture you just cannot see in a two week vacation.

It has its ups and downs like everything but I know I'll go back to England with a greater understanding about this country than can be gained merely from reading history books.

---

In my view provides space for those involved in education to reflect on how it is going from their perspective. The views expressed here are personal.

If you have something to say, send a brief outline to [email protected].