So Much White Space

Every semester I make my class schedule in excel. By the end there is hardly any white space left because it is full of 18 credits of class, hours and hours of lab time, weekly meetings for RA, Biology club, Yearbook, etc. This semester is completely different. My classes start later and end earlier than ever before. I'm only taking 12 credits and I have basically zero commitments. This is the opposite of what I am used to. "I'm going to be so bored!" I thought. So far I have really enjoyed sleeping in. Waking up BEFORE your alarm goes off is the best feeling ever. No matter how much rest I get, History class always puts me to sleep. History is my least favorite subject (hence the fact I put it off until senior year). The professor I have is interesting and likes to talk mostly about the Bible and not much else. Since he doesn't lecture about the text book, I actually have to READ it (75% of the exam is from the text book). That is almost more boring than class. The day gets much better though. Cross-cultural semester class is basically all the study abroad students from America getting together and talking about Lithuanian history, culture shock, stereotypes,living in a different country, etc. Each class is completely different from the others so it is hard to explain. Probably the most exciting class I am taking is Lithuanian. My professor is Lithuanian (obviously) and really has a passion for teaching the language. Most students will take this course, unless they already speak it of course, so my class has people from all over Europe in it. It is interesting to think that Lithuanian is the 3rd or 4th language they are learning! So a Russian speaking person is in an English speaking class that is teaching Lithuania. I can't even imagine. Anyway, she makes the class really fun and we speak and repeat a lot of the language in class. Maybe about 5% of the class is spoken in English, the rest of the time the teacher is speaking Lithuanian, so we pick it up quite fast.  On Tuesdays I have Human Development, because it was the closest thing to Biology they offered haha. The course focuses on the psychological development from conception to death. This is the only class I have in which I am the only American, so that is different. Even the teacher is Lithuanian. I don't really feel too out of place, until people start having conversations in their native language and I can't contribute or even understand. Everyone in the university has passed an English exam, and all classes are held in English. Sometimes it is definitely hard to understand certain accents, but so far it hasn't been a hindering factor. If we break off into small discussion groups, I will often hear other languages spoken, because it is easier for them and more natural. My Conflict Studies course is another very interesting one. It is only once a week, but there is a lot of reading and assignments during the week. We basically discuss and define conflict, peace, violence, resolution, and everything in between. It is a fairly new field for the university setting, and it is growing in popularity. Most of the conflicts we discuss are about countries, so it is really neat to have a whole room full of different countries! So many different backgrounds, cultures, and viewpoints makes for some great discussions and new realizations. Although it is challenging, I am glad I chose that course. The class setting in general isn't that much different from what I am used to other than the diversity of the people. The professors use smartboards, power point, and youtube just like in America. The reading load and assignments are also similar, so nothing too shocking. They use a website called Moodle to post lecture notes, assignments, and readings for the week. I wish Waynesburg used that instead of the shared folders. Speaking of folders, they don't have folders here like they do in the States. We were told not to bring folders, because they have different size paper here (A4), so I planned on buying them here. THEY DON'T HAVE THEM. They have these file box looking things, and a portfolio looking thing, but no simple folder to slide your papers in. I am basically going nuts with all these papers and nowhere to put them. Most of their notebooks are graph paper too. Anyway, that's my classroom experience so far. I'll give you an update after midterms or something to see if things have changed.