Well. Yesterday (first day of classes) was interesting. Of the six classes for which I originally registered, one of which being a zero-credit sports class, two have been cancelled and one more will probably fall by the wayside. My dream of taking only classes that fulfill Georgetown credits and thus returning to campus liberated from the SFS core curriculum died pretty hard when I tried taking Philosophy, History, Theology, and two STIA classes in Spanish. The International Students advisors told me, pretty directly, that it was not a good idea. I won´t bore you with the details, since it involves a lot of railing against the ridiculously strict requirements of the SFS Deans and self-pity. Here´s the latest update:
- Environmental Economics is a go. Tom is also in that class, and happens to be an International Political Economy major, and is ergo the built-in tutor. (Hi Tom!)
- Soil and Soil Conservation is three hours long. Somehow this escaped my initial observations. We started classes on a Wednesday, and it only happens on Mondays, so I haven´t actually been to this class yet. Soils are AWESOME, so fingers crossed.
Soil.
- Scuba Diving. Not for Georgetown credits, only life credits. There was a tense moment when I thought I´d have to drop it to take an alternate Theology, but the professor was completely unintelligible and so that was thankfully nipped in the bud. Haven´t been to this class either.
- Latin American Thought (Pensamiento Latinoamericano) is like the freshman Pro-Seminar I took (taught by former Ambassador Chris Dodd, brilliant yet soul crushing) only in rapid-fire Spanish. The professor makes a lot of pop culture references that I just can´t follow. I´m loathe to drop it though, since it is the one remaining class that will for-sure fulfill a Georgetown philosophy requirement.
- Security in the Middle East is quite legit. I´ve been told by a very, very patient USFQ student that the professor is great and most of the readings are in English (though that doesn´t help the fact that the four essays, debate, and class presentation will be in Spanish). If I can´t count is as a History requirement, however, it will be very hard to justify keeping this class. But I want to.
- And finally, the runt of the litter, Áreas Protegidas (protected areas), from what I can tell a pretty chill ecology class with a lot of class trips. (Whoo, class trips!) It focuses on Ecuador, and would potentially count as something related to STIA. Although at this point, I´ve come to terms with the fact that I really won´t be able to fulfill five who classes of credits. If the class is good, I´ll keep it; if not, Basics of Pastries, here we come!
...Of course, none of these courses will count towards the overall GPA. But they will all show up, grades included, on the final transcript. I.e., not enough incentive to kill oneself for an A, but consequences enough to feel really bad about yourself if you do horribly. Gahhhh....
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