A new semester means a new mix of fun and learning...

I can't believe we're back here in Ann Arbor and beginning a new semester! It's so nice to be back here with all of my new friends, catching up.

So a new semester means new classes. After exactly one week of classes, I picked an awesome selection. First, I'm in statistics 35o, which is introductory stats. The nicest part of this is that half of my hall is taking this class, and we've already been busy sharing books, working together on homework, and just talking about what we like and don't like about the class. My professor is really interesting, and I love the smaller lab sections where we have an opportunity to use the computers to analyze the statistics.

Then, I'm in cultural anthropology 101, and my professor is crazy! Every morning when I walk into lecture, he's playing some kind of song with the word Anthropology in the title, and he always has some fascinating story to complement whatever definition he is teaching us. My discussion section is also nice. For every big lecture, there is a smaller discussion class of normally about 20 students. My discussion, though, has only 15 kids! Every Wednesday we meet and discuss either the book we've read (an ethnography of crack dealers) or some other aspect of anthropology that we all found interesting.

My next class is Great Books 192, a continuation of the Honors English classes that it is recommended that we take. I'm not sure I ever mentioned this, but my discussion leader (which we have twice a week) was a former member of the KGB (aka the Russian Mafia) and he always has crazy stories to tell, whether it deals with his adventures in Germany, his schooling in Russia, or just how much he dislikes local companies in Ann Arbor. For the first time in my life, I can proudly admit I have yet to fall asleep in his class, a true testament to how interesting he makes the class (I loathe English).

Last but not least is my favorite class, History 196: Deadly Disease in US Culture. It's a first year seminar (the Uof M offers over 75 of these seminars which are taught by a professor in class sizes of 20 or less) that looks at epidemics. Yesterday we read about smallpox and when the Europeans came over to convert the natives, then debated from the perspective of the natives (that maybe they should convert in order to stop the disease, or revert back to old rituals and maybe reverse the onset of the disease), and then from the Europeans (that the missionaries were not doing their best to convert the natives, as well as the guilt from recognizing smallpox and never informing the natives). Now, normally I'm not a fan of history (I'm defnitely a science girl), but class was so fascinating that I cannot wait until my next class!

The craziest part of my semester is that I know somebody in every single one of my classes. Whereas last semester I walked in and knew nobody, I've slowly made enough friends that even without planning, I've found people to hang with during discussion and lecture. Granted, I'm really excited to make new friends and get to know some acquaintances better, but it's exciting to think that in a school of 40,000+ students, the campus is still small in the sense that you've never out there alone on your own.

This week has also been a blast because it's "syllabus week", so while there's some assignments, it's a pretty light load of work. That means my friends and I have been able to hang out, work out, and just have a good time together before we have to start buckling down pretty hard. My friends and I are taking a Hip-Hop class through UMove, which is the department of kinesiology, and it's really fun and different. Even though we're not the best, we still have a blast because we're together. It's also a great opportunity to get a workout in a fun way. We're also on a mini-soccer team for intramurals which starts next week, and even if we lose every game, at least it'll be fun to play together.

As always, I'll keep you informed on classes, activities, sports, and the general happenings of dorm life! (I promise it's way more interesting and fun than it may seem...the food is even edible1)

Until next time,

Sam