I'm so excited, the new Harry Potter film has it's premier today! The film I'm talking about is of course Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. This film is based loosly on the book Fantastic Beasts & where to find them which is a book in the Harry Potter library set. The book is a textbook used at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I think it's great of J.K Rowling to actually write some of the books that occur in the Harry Potter series. The Harry Potter library set includes Fantastic Beasts & where to find them, Quidditch through the ages and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Harry Potter is a phenomena, there are books, films, wands, clothes, candy and you can actually walk thorugh the Hogwarts express and go inside the Dursleys house at Harry Potter studios in London. There are a lot to see at the studio how they made the films, special effects and so much more. It's worth a visit if you happen to be walking by.

Back to the film Fantastic Beasts and where to find them, as I mentioned the premier is today, unfortunatley I won't be able to go on the premier but with a bit of luck I will see the film this weekend and then I will write a review of it. I expect a lot of this film, but then I think the Harry Potter films are great and they are my absolute favourite films ever made. I really admire Rowling's imagination and her ability to actualyl come up with this whole new world. A world where everyone can feel at home, there are characters to identify with no matter what age you are and there are something for everyone.

I write about Fifty Shades Darker the other day and now I have finished the last book in the trilogy. I'm actually surprised by the turn the novel took after the first novel. It's less about the sex and more about what is happening around the characters and the story is actually exciting. I haven't yet decided if I like the novels or not partly because of the similarity to Twilight and it is really difficult to separate the two when you read because there are so many events in the novel that are almost exact the same. Even how the characters are described is almost identical to Bella and Edward. How Edward is the most beutiful and perfect person in the world and Christian is described in the same way and Ana is described to be normal, mediocre and there is nothing special about her apperance.

The turn the novel takes in this novel is surprising, you kind of know in one way that Ana will get pregnant eventually, you get those feelings already in the second novel but you still know it will happen and Christian will freak. It's kind of their thing something happens and Christan freaks out and then they have make up sex. It's the same thing over and over again they always figure it out and have sex. Yes, the novel is an erotic novel but it would be nice with some change also, the story is very predictable even though the events are different the way they handle these events are the same and of course it escaletes in one way.

Since I didn't study yesterday the plans for today is to study a bit. At least I will read what I need to read for the seminar and try to finish my oral presentation. The seminar tomorrow is about the teaching practicum I had a few weeks ago and that means I don't have to read anything for that one :D I just have to bring my 9 page lesson plan. I will aslo try to squeeze in some gaming time with some friends and probably we'll play some terraria. It's a game similar to Minecraft. Other than that I don't have that much plans actually. If I have gotten a response from my teacher I might write on my position paper and try to figure out some good arguments. I'm writing about ethography and my focus is on how it should be a non-acceptable method for data collection. Well, more about that later.

When it comes to going abroad I'm waiting for confirmation of some courses. I sent a list to the person in charge for that on Friday, as soon as I hear from her I think I can write the application and academic statement and then I just have to wait. I actually added a univeristy in Australia in my list and removed San Francisco and replaced it with another university in North Carolina. I'm thinking of taking a look at university of Washington also and maybe apply there to.

Today I have had a day off from my studies, but on the other hand I was writing on my position paper at 4AM this morning and emailed my teacher about my thesis statement. I hate thesis statements, it's so difficult to come up with something good and something that works. I think I got it, or I have two different versions of the same statement, but I think I know which one I will use.

The plans for the evening is, as you already know, Full Moon Party. I've been looking for some inspiration for the UV color and I think I will paint some kind of mask and probably glue some rhinestinones to it to. The party starts at 10PM but I'm going to meet up with some friends at 9PM. 

There are a lot of universities in the US of which I have chosen four to which I will apply. The universities I have chosen are:

• San Francisco State
• University of Minnesota
• University of North Carolina
• Arizona State University

I don't really have any particular reason behind choosing these four universities. San Francisco was an example from one of my professors so I looked into that one but I'm not quite sure if I want to go there. I think it would be more fun to go to either Minnesota or North Carolina. Minnesota because I know nothing about that part of the US and North Carolina because of its location, it gives me the opportunity to visist Washington, New York and/ or Florida. After looking at these two places I wanted to have some warmer place to choose from to since Minnesota and North Carolina isn't maybe the two warmest states in the US and it can be rather cold in January, therefore, I picked Arizona. 

All four of these universities have courses I can take and North Carolina has far most courses to choose from so I actually think NC is at the top of my list at the moment. Well I still have a few weeks to decide but I have to start email the coordinator and get the courses accepted so that I will be allowed to transfer the credits when I get back home.

I haven't really decided yet if I will leave it at that or if I will take a look at universities in Australia and Canada to, we'll see about that.

This week we talked a bit about using drama in the classroom. Drama is a big part of literature and it is different from what students might usually read. But drama is so much more that just reading plays, drama can be done is so many different ways. A webpage we found and I think is very useful is this one: http://esldrama.weebly.com/

Using drama you can teach your students how to behave in different situations, about body language, how to respond in different kind of situations and so much more. Drama is not only about Shakespeare or some other old person. I believe you have to make drama fun in order for students to appreciate it. I don't mean that you shouldn't use Shakespear I mean that you have to do something with it, make the students act it out, rewrite it, make it modern. Make your students think about what the play is actually about and let them act out a scene or two. Or use something completely different, let the students act out a debate or interview with some famous authors they have to inpersonate. Drama can be used in many different ways and we should take advantages of it and not only do what it is easy but do what can be fun!

I have never really wanted to go to the US, it has never been my dream but still I'm going there to study. I don't like the American accent I prefer the British one and I use British English both when speaking and writing. So it would maybe be wiser of me to go to England to study and my university has a partner university in London so why don't I apply for that one?

Well, the main reason is because I've already been to England to study, I were in Oxford this summer for 1 month and studied English and explored the town, and it was amazing. The second reason of going to the US is because it's easier. When you are going abroad withing the EU you have to find somewhere to live by yourself, which can be really difficult when you don't know how it works in that country. If you then go somewhere outside of the EU the university takes care of that for you, they pick you up at the airport and you get all sorts of help. The third reason, is that I have never been to the US, which will make it and adventure and well lets face it, visiting the US is on everyones bucket list, right?

Well, to be honest my studies haven't gone tht good the last couple of days. I have had a lot on my mind and been very tired. So, instead of studying I've been working, which maybe isn't that bad when you think about it but since I have a lecture today and I haven't prepared for it.. yeah we'll see how that goes. We are supposed to work with transcripts I believe since we had to do a transcript in our study groups and bring a few copies to class today.

I'm actually not panicking that much about that I haven't read the chapters since I read the chapter in Denscombe a few weeks ago so I kind of know what it says and well Harmer we worked with A LOT last semester and I kind of know the whole book by heart by now >.< It's only the article that I haven't read and frankly the articles we are asked to read are really wierd and no one understands hte point with reading them since they rarely are connected to what we do. University in a nutshell?