Wow, that long eh?

I didn't mean to take such a long break between posts! Wow!
Well, if that's any indication of how school is going right now...

Since my last post I had a Thanksgiving break (much needed and enjoyed) and returned home to get my Greek midterm back. While I was so positive I nailed it, I was still very happy to see the proof: 88%
Not in the 90's as I'd hoped, but ever-so-close.

Latin has been difficult for me, as usual, but I spent about 8 hours last weekend on just Latin. I was dead tired by the end of it, but I hope it paid off! Professor #7 was kind enough to give me a little extension on the assignment due last week, so I feel better about the effort I put into it. The midterm is on the 26th, so I've still got some time, but we're heading into more topics that I've previously covered, so that's a relief.

As for class today, well, I didn't go. I emailed my assignment and am getting the notes from a classmate. I just keep going from hot to cold to hot to cold, but I don't have fever so it doesn't make sense. I also have a head full of stuffing and feel queasy a lot. I went to bed at 9:30 last night...here's hoping this passes soon!

A little bit of Latin

Our Latin professor was away for a conference, so Friday and today we're having a substitute - professor #4! It was nice to have her as a teacher again...I find I actually really enjoy her style. I do like professor #7, but there's a familiarity with professor #4 that I missed. As an added plus, we covered something in class that'd I'd done at Carleton, so I feel better about Latin this week.

My Greek midterm is this Thursday. After the quiz on Friday I'm feeling pretty anxious about this. Thankfully I took my vocab and paradigm cards on my crazy 3.5 hour bus trip this weekened. Enough said on that topic, but at least it was helpful.

I've decided I'd like to look into books on inscriptions and short forms for Latin and Greek - like the kinds you'd find on monuments and pottery etc. I think those would be invaluable resources to have and I think I'd find the languages a bit more interesting.

A little of this, a little of that

What I can't quite understand about these classmates of mine, is why they spend so much time fighting with the professor over things they're not likely to have an impact upon...say, oh, the way the professor chooses to mark! If she is used to marking in that manner, live with it and stop looking for ways to improve your odds at a better mark through less work.

Appropriately enough, both my classes are plagued with senseless commenters. Was university always like this?

I feel quite bad for a girl who just picked up our Greek class today...that's a heap of information to have missed! Silently I was thankful that we didn't do a refresher for her though, nor was anyone asked to help bring her up to speed - it appears she knows someone in the class anyway. Man, what horrid course selection is that on her part. Poor thing.

I'm happy to report that I received a 5.5/5 on my Greek quiz. I'm on a little Greek roll....or should that be a dolmathakia...hee hee...

So to recap where I'm at...
Greek: feeling good about the alphabet, pronunciation, accents and getting started on the first declension. No feelings of dread, nothing I can't handle. Looking forward to the thinning of the class next semester and possibly building a new peer group, since, you know, everyone I did my BA with is gone!
Latin: feeling not-so-hot here, feels like some major concepts may have flown over my head in previous classes and I'm having trouble picking up the pieces. In all honesty, I would benefit from some more structure in my study...I might have to buy myself an egg timer and set out allotments each day of what I should cover.

dull pain

This week (ok, so I've only had two days) has been total hell from a personal perspective. I haven't had a break from these headaches, but I'm hoping with recent rain things might start to look up. As a result, however, I've had little energy to do much else than sit on the couch or lie on the bed. I don't even feel hungry. My senstivity to light is pretty high right now too, so all in all, not a great deal of progress around here.

I did, however, get my Greek homework done and had the drills completed (last week!) in advance of class today. I walked in to class while professor #2 was discussing me: our class has a Facebook group and he was mentioning that I'd posted a picture and had started the discussion board. Not exactly a great day to be even a tad late...oh well. He seemed happy I'd gotten things rolling online.

Latin is alright. I still think I'm making it harder for myself than it has to be. When I look at Wheelock, I become confused and muddled. But when I read a full piece of text, like from the 38 Latin Stories, I am able to do far better. Context is key for me it would seem. I feel bad for professor #7. I don't think the class is cutting her much slack and I really thought that as this is Latin III they would be far more interested. They're just not. I suppose I might not have been at their stage of the game either, but then, I didn't take Latin III. I kind of want to shake them and show them what bad things can happen if they don't make the effort now! (enter ghost of undergraduate past!!)

Now I think I'm going to grab a cupcake and resume moping around complaining inwardly about this headache (yes Dad, I did take something for it).

Latin III and the impossible silence

I have mixed feelings about Latin. It has become like a rotten child that I'm stuck babysitting. I can't stand it, but at the same time, I really want to love it and cherish it...even if it appears to be out to get me at times. Thankfully, a number of my fellow new classmates seem to feel the same way. There was an eerie silence when professor #7 asked how far they'd gotten in the text book. Everyone downplayed their knowledge (fine by me, I could use a refresher!) and we moved back three chapters. Professor #7 is brand new and I like her already. She seems to have a lot of patience as well, a plus!

The mark breakdown isn't as forgiving as Greek, but with my new part-time status (yes, that was in question - apparently they expected full time tuition paid for a part time course load....tricksy university!) should alleviate some stress where marks are concerned.

This weekend will be spent in relative solitude focusing on Latin. I have to get my vocab straight since class left me struggling with silly words that I've let escape.

So far I've avoided any feelings of doom or fear. I do, however, think I need to stock up on aromatherapy candles!

Fridays are the only day when I have two classes - both Greek and Latin. Remember how I did all that Greek homework to prep for class? Well, as expected, we didn't get anywhere near it in our 1.5 hours. So now I'm well ahead for Tuesday. Great, I guess. Ha ha. Totally my luck.
I have a nasty 1.5 hour break between my two classes on Fridays. I'm hoping I can use this time at the gym, not in doing Latin homework - I'd really rather have that done in advance. Doing homework in a rush has always been bad for me.

In all, first week down. Both courses attended and no real crises to report. Job well done!