classes begin!

The summer academy has ended and the semester has officially begun. Prior to arrival, I was not sure what my classes would be like. My home university is very small, so most of my classes there are small discussion courses where you really get to know your professor and fellow classmates. My summer academy course was similar to this: about fifteen students, lots of participation, and a good relationship with my professor. Since the University of Mannheim is a larger institution, I expected the class sizes to be larger and the courses to be more lecture-based, rather than seminars. I also expected there to be more self-teaching, since the classes only meet once a week.

I have now completed my first week of classes, and they were a little different than I expected. My first class was a lecture with about 30 students, and was more or less what I expected. The professor lectured for the entire class and the students took notes. There was very little class participation. My other courses, however, were seminars, so there were fewer students and more discussion as a group. I felt at home in these classes because the structure is what I am used to. While I was expecting to be learning out of a textbook, none of my classes so far have required one. Instead, we read articles each week that are posted online by our professors. This is also very similar to most of my classes at home. I suspect it may be because political science as a field relies a lot on current events and up-to-date information. I like my classes so far, but I have a lot more free time than I expected because they only meet once a week. That means that most days I can sleep in, and my time is a lot less structured than at home. I think this will be a challenge for me, because I will have to figure out how to organize my time and motivate myself to do work on my own.

This weekend I took a trip to Berlin to visit my grandparents. I have been to Berlin before, but never on my own. This was my first time traveling alone in Germany. I took the ICE train from the Mannheim Hauptbahnhof to Berlin, and found that it was fairly easy and straightforward. The ICE trains are also much nicer than the trains I have taken in the U.S., and they have nice dining cars and free Wi-Fi. While I was on the train I got to see a lot of the German countryside, which is very beautiful. I also got to practice my German with people on the train, at restaurants, and at the hotel. Altogether I had a very good trip and am currently planning a trip to Prague and Budapest for the end of September. For this trip I am going to travel mostly by bus and stay in youth hostels, which I have never done before. I am very excited to visit new cities and experience the culture there.

Photos from Berlin: