Abroad in Baltimore #13
Courses & Catching-up
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Ah, there’s nothing like getting just a taste of freedom, a respite from work, a peek into what’s to come. This is all to say, that after returning from a glorious Thanksgiving break, the only thing that’s waiting for me now is homework and finals. Cue the holiday music.
To my credit, I did manage to get some homework done during the break, but I did actually want to make sure it was, well, a break for me. There’s only two more weeks left in the semester, and now that I’ve remembered what freedom felt like, the final stretch is looming quite large.
I always have such mixed feelings at the end of the semester, there’s excitement, but also a good bit of melancholy. I have such good memories from this semester, it’s going to be hard to let go. Just when I think I’m looking forward to being done with a certain class, I get pulled back in and have the time of my life.
Just the other week I thought I’d had my fill of oil painting, then our awesome TA came over and noticed I had been using the wrong brush for basically the entire class while carrying around the perfect brush and not using it. The. Entire. Semester. We both burst into laughter. Then the teacher came over and basically said, “Yeah, you should really just throw this brush out.” I tried out the new brush and was amazed by how much easier everything became. It was a lovely realization to have three weeks away from the end of the semester, I’m smiling just typing this.
My mother’s birthday was last week so in celebration, she and I went in search of some Indian food since we’ve haven’t had it in ages. Oh my god it was the most delightful restaurant experience I’ve had in a long time. We ordered a little bit of everything and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. At the end, they even treated us with a mini dessert I’d never even tried before, Gulab Jamun. It’s this little fried doughnut dipping in a sweet syrup and it was heavenly. I might have to see if I can recreate it at home so stay tuned (follow @pcacooks for more).
This week has been focused on doing my course shopping for the Spring semester and let me tell you, it’s been a blood bath. I sorely missed PCA’s smaller population when I checked the courses I wanted to enroll in and nearly half were already full! Luckily, we exchange students have the advantage of being able to not only waive prerequisites but also ask permission to be allowed into an already full class. But despite that, it’s still a bit of a struggle.
By the time you’re reading this my courses should be all settled, but right now my fellow exchange students and I are running around trying to sort things out. It’s such a gamble and I’ll breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over and done. I’ll be sure to fully appreciate PCA’s less competitive course registration when I return. Until then, wish me luck as I try to survive an academic version of the Hunger Games.