White, Part 2

I’d mentioned in a previous post which classes I am taking this semester, but I didn’t talk about them much, mostly because they hadn’t really started yet. Now that we’ve been going for a month or so, I can put down some thoughts.
Statistics: I took stats before, back at BCC, but it was without Calculus, so the department here won’t accept it. It’s probably better that I retake it anyways, I got through the math ok, but I didn’t understand much of what I was doing. Stats is an important part of Econ, so I should have a more solid handle on it. It’s not tough so far, but I need to stay sharp, as I’m fairly sure it will become tougher.
Micro: Intermediate Micro is a lot of work. The instructor I have is known for being tough, and she gives out HUGE problem sets. (5+ hours of work to complete). One thing I’m realizing is that I actually don’t care much for large segments of Econ, they’re a bit too theoretical. I’ve been told though that once you get past the prereqs, the Econ electives are more fun, and easier.
Chinese II: I like Chinese, but I don’t like the program here. Too much drilling, not enough time focusing on the things I’d like to focus on. (The book we’re using is old, from Mao’s era, and I don’t care to memorize the characters for ‘Soviet Union’, or ‘party cadre’) However, they’ve been willing to let me modify a few things, so they’re trying to be accommodating, which I appreciate.
Frontiers of Science: This class has been fairly cool so far, workload is easy, lecture topics have been a bit boring, but they’re going to do nanotechnology later in the semester, and I’m looking forward to that. Although my discussion section instructor has an issue with me leaving class 10-15 min early, which I think is nonsense, but I’m not going to go into a rant on attendance policies and all the things that are wrong with them. *muttering under breath … ‘Freaking Bolsheviks’ …*
Music Hum: This class, which covers the history of music in the west, has actually been pretty cool. I finally understand what the Baroque period is, when the great classical composers lived, and so on. Plus we’ve listened to some GREAT music. We’re going to go see an opera in about a month, I’ll be sure to post it when we do. The first three subjects chew up the most of my time, the last two are fairly easy. One of the difficulties I’ve discovered is that I’m busy enough going to class, recitation, turning in assignments that I sometimes don’t have much time to just think. To sit down and learn, think about & absorb material. Which is a problem. But I think I’ve finally gotten a feel for how I need to budget my time, so I believe this will improve.