First Full Weeks of Classes

Today is Friday, my favorite day! For the first time in my entire life, I do not have class on Fridays which mean every week is a four day week! This means that I have a lot more time to find really interesting things to be doing and more time to figure stuff out for myself.

This week was out first week of classes at CIEE. I am in four classess there -- a grammar class, a conversation class, a phonetics class, and a writing workshop sort of class requires for students taking university classes. Suprisingly, our grammar class is great because we have a really energetic lady. Although it isn't especially challenging, I am finally learning and understanding all those little grammatical nuances you learned in 8th grade when you weren't actually paying attention. For the first time, someone has been able to explain those little odds and ends to me in a way that really makes sense to me!

I also like my conversation class, and the workshop will definitely help me through my university class, which I think is going to be History of the City, which my dad would think is hilarious. Even though I think I am so different from him, I always end up being interested in the things that he loves.

The only class that was a little tricky was our phonetics class. Even after two classes, I pretty much have no idea what is going on. There are four other people in the class, and we are all sort of in the dark. I bought the textbook yesterday, which I think is going to help a lot, but geez oh man. I think part of the reason we are all confused is because the professor is actually a speech therapist, not a teacher. As a result, our learning styles and her teaching styles are a little bit disjointed, but I am sure things will improve with time.

Overall, my classes are not difficult at all, especially by Beloit standards. I am actually very happy about this. My grammar class is very useful, and I learn a lot in it. Conversation is fun, and phonetics will really help me out. My university class will require some serious effort, so for now its nice to just relax.