Easy or No? 8/31/2014-9/11/2014

Readings after readings is all I see when I look at all of the syllabus's for my classes this week.  Its not like I haven't read before, but this is on a whole different level.  I guess my high school french teacher was not lying when European schools are tougher than traditional schools.  These first  2 weeks of classes have got me excited for what knowledge awaits me this semester and as well as potential struggles my rise. Based on looking ahead in the class schedules and listening to the assignments I am getting this soon, a lot of my weakness's as a student are going to be tested.  The first day it all seemed that it was going to be real chill for my first classes History of Ancient Rome and Italy and Ancient Greek Civilization, but what I have learned through the past few classes is that if you want to critically learn about the subject you need to read extra besides the reading you are given because the Professor spends extra time on slides to really tell you all of the information on the slides so sometimes we get behind.  These subjects are so interesting the problem is that it seems forever to get through the beginnings of the class before we get to the good stuff.  These origins are so boring to me mostly because I learned about people such as the Phoenicians a while ago and its like it is still in my head, hopefully on this 3rd week of classes we can finally start talking about som new stuff for me.

One class I was and still am very excited for is my History and Politics of the Middle East course, my teacher is just really awesome and has so much insight on the topic. Dr. Pejman is the right person to be teaching this subject because he is Iranian himself so when we are talking about political Islam and the fall of the Ottoman and Persian Empires at the end of World War I it is just simply amazing because not only does he have the scholarly background but he has the cultural background for the subject and that is something that is in all of the classes I am in.  All of the teachers here have a cultural background..

The next class I am taking is Western European Politics and in reality it is more like European Politics.  This is going to be more difficult than expected after this second week of classes. To give you all of those reasons why short is sweet is because European Politics is a whole messed system because the continent as a whole is divided by religious and politic beliefs, which has resulted in Europe to have eight main political parties that separate Europe from cooperation.  This is what is going to be a challenge this semester because as an American because I am used to a two party system struggling for power under a federal democratic system where in Europe it is based on a 8 party system in a democratic society that is different all across Europe.

My last class which can also be arguably one of my favorites is called Moles, Spies, and Terrorists and this is actually an Intelligence Studies class.  In case you do not know what Intelligence is it is basically the title of the class plus the bureaucratic systems we see in the world such as the CIA in the USA and MI5 and MI6 in the UK.  All of which is a good class to take especially with the current development in the Middle East with ISIS.  The only problem with this is we are not "required" to read the readings since their are too many books and the Professor did not want us to purchase any. So I am just worried for when it comes down to the papers and the test will I be ready.

Overall European classes are relatively engaging and I can say that I am having my most exciting and educated semester at John Cabot because it is covering my career path in International Relations which is something that I couldn't due back at my home school Millikin, because their has been a lack of international relations courses in the Political Science department which is something my former Professor and Mentor Bobbi Gentry changed before she left Millikin.  But in recent events the classes have now been going down and being more focused in domestic studies and public affairs.  So this semester at John Cabot is the most exciting in what I feel is the greatest semester of my college career and yes it may be hard and I may have higher expectations here but in the end I am loving everything I learn here and I can not wait to see how this material develops me as a professional and most importantly as a person.