It's been fun to hear from lots of you on email this morning, and lots of people have asked questions, so I thought I'd just post a run-down of what my weeks will be like this semester.
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have four classes in short succession. This means I get up before the crack of dawn and run all over the campus all day. I eat breakfast at 7:15 if I'm early enough, grab a sack lunch, and then head to 8:00 religion, 9:00 German, and then have a 20 minute break for chapel, which takes place every day and is a time to sing two (usually) lovely hymns and hear Scripture read and practice my critical thinking and gleaning skills as I listen to the occasional brief devotional message. It's a great island and I'll be doing that every day. After chapel is ear training followed by enough time to run through errands, eat lunch, blow my nose again, and discover that the health office takes a greedy two hour lunch break. :) Then it's back to voice class (MW) or organ lesson with Dr. Ferguson "Ferg" (F), followed by an hour break before choir rehearsal. (Yes, I made freshman girls' choir, and it's going to be amazing. It's just over 100 girls and our director is amazing.) After choir I practice for just over two hours and then get to dinner just before the caferia closes. Then it's homework and relaxing.
Four times this semester my Monday will be even crazier, since I will be playing for chapel. I may try to find someone stuck on Thursday rotation with a crazy Thursday schedule and switch.
Tuesday and Thursday, happily, are a little different. I have one class after chapel and lunch--music theory--and then organ practice late in the afternoon. I'll make up for the busy MWF schedule by practicing closer to 3.5 or 4 hours on these days. Thursday nights after dinner is studio class, where the entire studio of organists meet for something of a repertoire and group instruction session with both Ferg and Dr. Rodland. Tuesday & Thursday give me time for homework, housekeeping, and business things.
Saturday is for homework, sleeping in, catching up, practicing, and then at 4:00 I work a wearying 4-hour shift in the cafeteria. Sunday, of course, is a lovely, restful day. I look around me at everyone else who spends Sunday doing homework and I pity them for what they are missing out on.
The best part of this first year for me is sitting every day in class with Steve Amundson, my theory and ear training professor. He is so good at what he does, a kind man, very organized, very funny, and strongly reminds me of Eric Nelson. He's been teaching here since his early 20s, so he knows the drill.
I am very hopeful that next semester I won't have both an 8 and a 9 a.m. class. It's going to be a struggle for me this semester, but who knows, maybe I'll become a morning person again.
German class was better today, just scattered and haphazard. (But then, so is our textbook!) Not my learning style, for sure. I left homework for two clsses on my desk this morning--that's another thing I'm having trouble adjusting to. Religion was even more frustrating this morning. Fortunately, I got first pick of the five study groups because my birthday was the closest to today. :) Of source crit, form crit, lit crit, feminist perspectives, and Jewish perspectives I got a place in the lit crit study group. We are examining Genesis 22. I am not looking forward to this project but I'm sure I will learn a lot from it. (But likely not what my professor intends me to learn!)
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have four classes in short succession. This means I get up before the crack of dawn and run all over the campus all day. I eat breakfast at 7:15 if I'm early enough, grab a sack lunch, and then head to 8:00 religion, 9:00 German, and then have a 20 minute break for chapel, which takes place every day and is a time to sing two (usually) lovely hymns and hear Scripture read and practice my critical thinking and gleaning skills as I listen to the occasional brief devotional message. It's a great island and I'll be doing that every day. After chapel is ear training followed by enough time to run through errands, eat lunch, blow my nose again, and discover that the health office takes a greedy two hour lunch break. :) Then it's back to voice class (MW) or organ lesson with Dr. Ferguson "Ferg" (F), followed by an hour break before choir rehearsal. (Yes, I made freshman girls' choir, and it's going to be amazing. It's just over 100 girls and our director is amazing.) After choir I practice for just over two hours and then get to dinner just before the caferia closes. Then it's homework and relaxing.
Four times this semester my Monday will be even crazier, since I will be playing for chapel. I may try to find someone stuck on Thursday rotation with a crazy Thursday schedule and switch.
Tuesday and Thursday, happily, are a little different. I have one class after chapel and lunch--music theory--and then organ practice late in the afternoon. I'll make up for the busy MWF schedule by practicing closer to 3.5 or 4 hours on these days. Thursday nights after dinner is studio class, where the entire studio of organists meet for something of a repertoire and group instruction session with both Ferg and Dr. Rodland. Tuesday & Thursday give me time for homework, housekeeping, and business things.
Saturday is for homework, sleeping in, catching up, practicing, and then at 4:00 I work a wearying 4-hour shift in the cafeteria. Sunday, of course, is a lovely, restful day. I look around me at everyone else who spends Sunday doing homework and I pity them for what they are missing out on.
The best part of this first year for me is sitting every day in class with Steve Amundson, my theory and ear training professor. He is so good at what he does, a kind man, very organized, very funny, and strongly reminds me of Eric Nelson. He's been teaching here since his early 20s, so he knows the drill.
I am very hopeful that next semester I won't have both an 8 and a 9 a.m. class. It's going to be a struggle for me this semester, but who knows, maybe I'll become a morning person again.
German class was better today, just scattered and haphazard. (But then, so is our textbook!) Not my learning style, for sure. I left homework for two clsses on my desk this morning--that's another thing I'm having trouble adjusting to. Religion was even more frustrating this morning. Fortunately, I got first pick of the five study groups because my birthday was the closest to today. :) Of source crit, form crit, lit crit, feminist perspectives, and Jewish perspectives I got a place in the lit crit study group. We are examining Genesis 22. I am not looking forward to this project but I'm sure I will learn a lot from it. (But likely not what my professor intends me to learn!)
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