A bit about the actual school for once...
Class time
There are two classes being offered during this little summer semester. Originally there was going to be four including an intro Italian class and another history class. As it is, we have an Art History class (which I am taking for a History credit) and a Senior Seminar for the Liberal Arts Major. I am sitting in on both classes and doing all the school work for both (though technically I am not at present getting credit for either but that can hopefully be resolved later). There are three other people who are doing the same and all of us occasionally get this kinda deer in the headlights, zombie-like look when there is a lot of homework due for both classes.
The Art History class is being taught much more like a normal class than one might suppose during a study abroad (or so I’ve been led to think). We have proper reading assignments, a quiz, a small paper, a long research paper and presentations and such. It is a pretty cool class really, especially for someone like me who has never taken an Art history class which focuses (obviously) on the history we can gather and confirm from art rather than from simple textual interface. Dr. Costello has a clear passion for the class and she does a lot to make it interesting and to not only teach about the subject but having us actually learn and remember (which of course is largely helped by being able to see some of the stuff in person). She geeks out right alongside us as we go to the different places and while it is a bit of work to keep up in the class properly, it is a lot of fun.
Dr. Behr’s class is an entirely different animal. Each class has a format of a one-hour writing assignment and then two hours lecture/discussion about the readings. I could summarize by saying that it is a bit of a grander philosophy class but it doesn’t only deal with simple philosophers but also with other sources like religious mythology (of a few religions) and imaginative stories (like Candide). Some of the readings are a bit extensive and tough (which made the day that we had all of Candide due at the same time as a two page paper for Dr. Costello’s class a bit rough). The worst part for me though is having to reread some of these damn philosophers that I hate ever so much. Like Aquinas. I hate Aquinas. For many reasons. And I had to read even more of him than I’ve had to in the past. And Aristotle. He needs to go away too. I mean, sure, it gives be a bit of an edge and the ability to relax slightly since I’m going over largely familiar works but…ew. Meanwhile, Dr. Behr is pretty funny about all of it. He asks all the questions and the leading statements and such (and mocks my disdain for the philosophers and simplistic summaries of their idiocy). All in all, it is interesting.
Keys
The campus at St. John’s is obviously fairly small since it is designed largely just for study abroad students (though it does house quite a few universities at any given moment). The building houses both the classrooms and the dormitories. As such, there is much traffic on the inside and little going in and out and they try to keep it as secure as possible so the stupid little Americans can feel safe from the Evils of Italy and don’t get lost (or something). Whatever the reason, what it truly equates to is that there are a lot of locked doors. The door to get inside. The doors to our rooms. The door to get to the area that has our rooms. And there are keys for the kitchens and the laundry room (which they close after a certain point since we also have a bunch of priests and stuff that live here too).
And keys are all well and good…except these aren’t proper keys. When I’m led into the dorm and led through the maze, all the doors were opened by people coming the other direction so when Dr. Costello gives me the key, I am at a loss as to what to do with it. Because the key is just this oblong round disk thing that is about an inch and a half in diameter and maybe a centimeter wide (how is that for mixing measurement systems?) with a red dot in the middle of one side and a long hole on the designedly designated top of the circle. I looked at it with a “Wtf?...Huh?” sort of face before Brandon (as is typical) came to my rescue and showed me how to use it. See, the red dot is a button which activates the electric key and lock and lets shit open. Not really intuitive. (And the door handles, locks, weirdness is equally strange but harder to describe but there was something of a learning curve there let me tell you).
So we all have these little keys. Several people put them on the ugly bright orange lanyards that CEPA gave us and wear them around that way (some around the neck some times in pockets, etc.). Some put them on a keyring and used it that way. Personally, it is just about the right size to fit into that little fifth pocket in the jeans so it goes there typically. If not, it gets stashed in the bra when I’m wandering around campus (which is surprisingly easier than most other alternatives let me tell you) or in my purse when we go on outings. Strangely, I have not lost the key ever or wandered off without it. The only time I got locked out of the room was when the wind blew the door shut behind me after I’d taken one step out of the room to talk to someone. (Derick on the other hand gets locked out of his room at least daily and Camille occasionally when she goes to take a shower and Macy frequently because I think the gremlins just like to steal it from her). Any which way, I think we will all be glad to be rid of them. Because, as Natalia said, its annoying to have to be able to remember to bring your key with you when you need to go to the bathroom.
Money Grubbing Machinery
There are quite a few coin operated machines on campus which cause their own mixtures of joy and consternation. I’ve already mentioned that doing laundry costs money here. It sucks and the machines suck and generally I try to avoid it at all costs. However, occasionally it is stupidly necessary. Like washing sheets and blue jeans and towels and other clothes that are harder to clean thoroughly in a smaller less designed scale. (Yay sinks and showers!) However, the rat bastard machines like to eat your money and laugh at you for trying. One of the machines (which apparently everyone but me knew about) takes 2 euro coins as 50 cents. So in an attempt to get my laundry done, it ate 3 euros. And then when I manged to beg 2 euros out of someone to dry my clothes, they didn’t get dry. (there is a little form to fill out but I’ve yet to get my money back from doing so).
On top of that, there are vending machines for food stuffs. This is actually pretty cool since the soda’s they vend are actually very reasonably priced and quite a bit cheaper than you’d see on the street. However, they stock it only occasionally and really don’t fill it up. They only put a few cans in at a time and there are a lot of people here really. And all of the machine are a bit messed up. The regular soda machine on the second floor will only vend water and fanta. The machine beside it that vends all the above isn’t taking coins. the two machines down stairs give change when they shouldn’t (if they have anything in them) and never in the same way. The only machines that seem to function regularly are the coffee/tea/hot chocolate machines which most of the people seem to live on. I’m fairly sure some of my class mate are going to suffer pretty bad withdrawal when we leave.