It was so Israeli when I started grad school, as a real student with courses taught only in Hebrew. It is so American, however, that I don't have courses on Sunday this semester. I am preparing for my second week, and I couldn't be happier. It is a lot of fun being a full-time student and taking courses in Hebrew. Just sitting in a course and understanding it makes me feel really accomplished, and I have a light enough schedule that I don't feel overwhelmed. I am taking a statistics course, a course on animal behavior, and the final level of ulpan (Hebrew language learning). For the most part, my classes are interesting and engaging.
The statistics course is my least favorite, but there is a mutual dread from my fellow classmates, and many of them study in my department. I am sure we will have a number of study sessions together and friendships will form while commiserating. Animal Behavior is great; the professor is in our department and has been very considerate about the language challenge. Not only is the textbook for his class in English but also all of his PowerPoint slides are in English. He has also offered to go over any parts of the lectures that I don't understand. So far understanding hasn't been a problem, but it was nice to have such a warm reception on the first day of class. My last course is ulpan, and I think it will be my most demanding. For all three of my courses, the only grade that counts is the final exam. In the first two, there is only a final exam--no midterms or homework--and in ulpan there are assignments, quizzes, presentations, and projects, but because this is the last level, if I don't get at least a 75% on the final exam, I need to retake the course.
The semester has started out quickly but solidly, and I am excited to be back in school. I have also had a lot of time in the lab and have caught up from the summer. Hopefully I will keep progressing with my research and find a solid balance between lab-work and course-work.
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