It's been quite a while since I've written anything (personal things that is) other than the usual essays I wrote for my International Relations course in September and the occasional essays on the weekly tests and exams in my Microeconomics class this month.
What's university life like? Was it what I had expected? Is it better than high school? These are questions I've been asked oh so many times and haven't been able to answer due to the little free time I have on my hands.
My university unlike others is truly unique. Where to begin?! Schiller International University in Heidelberg has this monthly course schedule where each month you have one class, unless your GPA is higher than 3.0. A class is 2 hours and 45 mins long, and usually begin at 9am, noon, 3pm or 6pm. It is situated in the most expensive district in the city, one of the most expensive streets in Germany.
In the same building you have the dorms that have just over 30 rooms (double and single)which are on the top floor. Dorm life is like no other. I have a room to myself; really small with a bed, table, cupboard, and a mini bar for food. Down the hall is the Male bathroom. We have one shower and one toilet for roughly 20 guys. The kitchen is well furnished, but isn't taken care of by the students. Every time someone cooks something, they leave their dirty dishes behind and expect another person to clean it up for them, creating a model version of the leaning tower of pizza in Schiller. This to me is utterly disgusting.
Most of the students here are well over 18; in their 20's. You would think that they are mature and act like their age, but this isn't true for the majority. And because of these people your whole perception of university life changes, and the whole idea of "finally out of high school" is crushed, for one main reason: you are still in high school.
The thought of being in high school for another 4 years is terrifying and tiresome! Looking around at the different groups of people that live in the dorms and the others in the school, you begin to realise that more than half of them do not act like adults. Who am I to say this? I am after all only 18. BUT...sadly, it's true. An aspect of my university that reminds me of AISA (my high school) is the small amount of students. In AISA we had just over 100 students in our high school, here we are maybe around 90 or maybe 100, who knows?! Having such a small number of students in the entire school, and me knowing almost all of them, makes it really easy for things to go around. On top of that drama is something that is seen everyday. Everywhere you look, there is something going on that you don't want to be part of, but whether you like it or not, you have to. Being friends with everyone here, especially those that are most influential, makes it very difficult to pick sides during times of crisis. That's one thing that's different from my high school; I used to be able to sit back and relax, watch everything that's going on around me as if I was watching a movie; but here that is not possible!
Four months have gone by, winter has come, and in less than 2 weeks I'll be on a plane home for the holidays. I won't lie I do miss home! I can't stand living in a room that has paper thin walls, and using a bathroom that 20 others use too. I'm tired of all the drama, gossip, and hate that's going around. Although it may sound like i despise the school, I did enjoy my first semester here, but now knowing how it is, I'm not sure I'll enjoy the second semester...unless I find an apartment. And this is exactly what I'm going to do, this will be my next quest!
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