Thursday, September 1, 2011

Confusion Reigns: The Beginning of Classes!

If you couldn't tell by the title (*ahem, ahem*), classes have officially started!!  It has been fun/interesting/amusing/tiring getting to know a little more about the classes and the professors who teach them.  Now, I haven't had all 5 classes-one of them only meets on Monday evenings-but as for the other four, I think I have a pretty good feel for what the rest of the semester is going to be like.

My very first class was History of Civilization I.  My professor, who I had previously heard amazing things about, is just as good as I had heard.  Since the class is at 8 am, almost anything is funny, which is good because his jokes are rather silly.  But I think that's his point.  He encouraged us to bring in coffee, tea, or any other beverage that would help us stay awake, because, as he said, he needed help to stay awake during class as well.  He had brought coffee, and he joked that he "put the intravenous thing on in the morning to get him going".... sound familiar to any members of my family?? ;)  He also uses the best voices when he's quoting people.  I have mixed reactions about the class itself- it sounds very similar to World History I that I took in junior year..... complete with "identify and give the importance on every single person, place, or event on the test!"  Nevertheless, it should be an entertaining class.

Count of books I had to buy after class: 1

I have 5 hours between the end of Civ and the beginning of Mass Media...... this one's gonna be interesting.  The book that we're using sounds absolutely fascinating - it's something that I would read on my own!!  The course is all about Media and the Church today, how we can use journalism, internet, phone, TV, and radio communications to spread the Truth.  The one thing I learned in my first class is that turning the lights off and showing a powerpoint in a very dark room is difficult.  I think everyone came very close to dozing off at one point or another.  I managed to start awake, but the brightness, or lack thereof, was not helping me in that effort.

Count of books I had to buy after class: 2
Total Number of Extra Books Needed, Not Listed Online: 3

That was the end of my classes on Tuesday.  I spent my "free time" copying all my assignments, including exam dates, into my calendar.  It was a tedious process, but I'm glad I got it done now when I actually have that kind of time.

This morning I had Poetry.  All I can say about the professor is that he was interesting.  (Related Side note: I have a Sister in my Poetry class!  I thought that was rather neat.  Anywho.....) Said Sister commented before the Professor came in, "I was looking through this book [a book of poems that the professor wrote] and found this one..." and she proceeded to read it to us.  Here is the poem, for your enjoyment:

Pentecost
Who is this Holy Spirit?
And what is He doing in the eggplant?

Yes, that is the poem.  No, I didn't leave something out.  That's Pentecost in its entirety.  I am so confused..... I really hope we go over this one in class, because I want to know why this professor even asked why the Holy Spirit is in the eggplant.  I mean, why would the Holy Spirit be there?  Did the professor have some deep insight about the Holy Spirit and eggplant?  I am very curious about this particular poem.  And other than the fact that the course material is pretty much the same as all the poetry we read in senior English, including the different literary time periods and authors, it should be an interesting class.

Count of books I had to buy after this class: None, thank goodness!!

I had another 5 hour break in between Poetry and French.  Now, as I mentioned before, I tested into Intermediate French I, or French 201.  I was excited- I not only am able to take other classes instead of Elementary French, but I can also learn some higher lever French things.

Oh, boy.  I had no idea what I was in for.

My teacher is French.  Like, he not only speaks French, but he's from France.  He spoke literally 6 words in English the entire hour and fifteen minutes.  Do you know how mentally exhausting it is to listen to fluent French for 1.25 hours??  And he wasn't speaking slowly so we could translate, either.  It was full-on conversation speed French.  As I walked out of class, no-about 20 minutes into class- I had a pounding headache.  Thankfully, because of my amazing high school French teacher, I was able to understand all but 2 sentences of what he said.  Not thankfully, those two sentences were our homework.  So, as we were dismissed, we all ran into the hallway and consulted with each other.  "He said we had how many pages to read?"  "3 pages to read."  "No, 3 pages for a quiz."  "He definitely said it was a test." "A 10-question test?  Naw, it was a quiz."  We finally figured it out (there's a 10 question multiple-choice "test" on Monday.... it's a quiz, though.).  The fact that our heads were all aching didn't help.  *le sigh*  Shoot!  I'm even adding French articles to my English!!  This isn't a good sign....

So, basically, after that silly French class, I couldn't do anything for a while.  In other words, I wanted ice cream.  But in order to eat ice cream, one must eat one's dinner.  So I ate my dinner, went to get ice cream, only to find out that it was all gone.  Sadness ensued.  Shortly, the ice cream was replenished, and I was able to have my little bowl of ice cream with a sprinkle of heath bar on top.  *happiness*  (or should that be #happiness ... I am totally not used to hashtags.)


Count of books I had to buy after class: 1-3. I'm not really sure- I couldn't quite make out what he was saying....
Total Number of Extra Books Needed, Not Listed Online: At least 4, possibly 5 or 6


OH!!  And probably the highlight of my day was getting to Skype with my brother and 6 nieces and nephews.  :)  And to speak with my sister on the phone (and brother-on-law, but that was even more brief.  Like, 32 seconds brief).

Well, I'm off to bed.  I've got my 8 am class tomorrow...... time to break out the tea!!

2 comments:

  1. Haha sounds normal. College = Confusion. You're right - once you develop a routine it won't seem so confuzzling!!
    (yay for ice cream with Heath bar! *High five*)

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