Classes

First Week of Classes

 I’m so confused about the German university system that it is not even funny. I had my first class on Monday, which at the time I thought went ok. It all went downhill from there. During my ethics course, I was told by my professor that there was a online site with all the readings posted on it. I asked him and other people in my class more than once how to find this place and no one was particularly helpful. Instead I went to library to see if I could copy my readings from the actual books and emailed my Mentor to see if she could help me find this particular webpage. The library was a success (after many trials and errors) and I set about trying to read my assignment. All in all I felt pretty good about myself on Tuesday afternoon

 

It took awhile for Carla to email me back because she said that there were multiple websites that the departments used to post readings and such. She wasn’t sure which one I needed so she couldn’t help me until I figured that out. I once again emailed my Professor asking him for help (he gave me the name of the site for once actually. Why he didn’t put this on his Syllabus I have no idea) and I figured out how to register for the site. Today I was able to finally access it and I had a panic attack. On the website he listed questions for the essays we are supposed to write. In class, I thought I heard that I had to write three and we could pick which ones we wanted to do. Well today I started second guessing myself and I wondered if perhaps I heard something wrong and that we were supposed to do one for each reading. I don’t even know how long the essays are supposed to be. I started to freak out because what if I have an essay due tomorrow and I have nothing to show for it. I can’t email him because he wouldn’t even get until tomorrow anyway. I’m so scared that I’m already messing up and I’m going to fail everything. I wrote short answers to all the questions in German to show him just in case but I know it won’t be good enough if an essay is due tomorrow. I don’t want him to think I’m lazy; I’m trying so hard but I just can’t seem to be able to figure anything out in the time I’m supposed to. I’m in way over my head and I haven’t even told you about my other theology class

 

My World Religion course is a Vorlesung, which means a straight lecture. I go to it on Thursday to find that my class is filled with really old people; most of them were between 60-70 years old. I wondered if I signed up for some adult education class until I saw a couple people my age walk in.  So the teacher gave us all an outline and began to talk about the subject matter. He spoke way to fast and I cold only understand a few things. I gave up half way through. I went home and translated the outline more thoroughly and I understood more but I was panicking because I didn’t think I could physically do this course. I emailed one of my RS teachers back home to see if I can be put in the World Religions course next semester; it was full so she put me on the waitlist. So now I think I have to take this course here because I need it to graduate and I’m not sure it is offered in the spring. I don’t know what to do….I’m beginning to wonder why I even thought I could do this.  I haven’t been homesick as of yet but right now all I want to do is go home. At least in the States everything makes sense.