China Schedule

Daily Routine - I had class 5 days a week in China, so from Monday to Friday, my routine never really changed:

- 6:00 AM (dead serious) wake up, review characters and listening files, ate breakfast if I had time
- 8:25 AM - 11:30 AM Morning classes
- 11:30 AM - 12:00 noon Lunch in the cafeteria until I started getting tired of it
- 12:00 noon - 2:00 PM Afternoon classes with the possibility of resting for half an hour
- 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Did something to sustain my livelihood (haircut, grocery shopping, stocking up on water and toilet paper, etc.)
- 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Straight up homework time
- 6:00 PM - Dinner
- 7/8:00 PM - Review the new vocab for the next day at least once more
- 9:00 PM - 12:00 midnight Blogging

Class Schedule:

 MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
8:25 AM - 9:30 AMLectureLectureLectureLectureLecture
9:40 AM - 10:30 AMDrill - 1Drill - 1Drill - 1Drill - 1Drill - 1
  10:40 AM - 11:30 AMDrill - 2Drill - 2Drill - 2Drill - 2Drill - 2
  12:30 PM - 3:20 PMAfternoon SessionsAfternoon Sessions Afternoon SessionsAfternoon Sessions
12:30 PM - 3:20 PM  Language Practicum  

Class Descriptions:

Lecture: Joint reading of previous night's text, short listening/writing quiz, basic review of the previous nights text, and introduction of new grammar and vocab.

Drill - 1: Review/reinforce new vocab, grammar, and sentence patterns.

Drill - 2: Small group discussions, interviews and short oral reports, listening comprehension practice, and movies/cartoons.

Afternoon Sessions: One-on-One or One-on-Two language tutoring.

Language Practicum: Trips to restaurants and/ or local parks, learning Chinese culture, e.g. wrapping dumplings, etc.

Grading:

Attendance - 6%, Class performance - 14%, Listening quizzes - 10%, Homework - 15%, Weekly exam - 15%, Mid-term exam - 20%, Final exam - 25%.

Scotland Schedule

Daily Routine

No need to make a short story long. In Scotland, I had class 4 hours a week. That's actually the norm for all 3rd and 4th year students - two 2 hour classes per week. Most weekends were spent traveling, and on weekdays that I didn't have to catch up on any reading, I either golfed, again did something to sustain my livelihood (haircut, grocery shopping, etc.), or went to the gym. Outside of golf, my life wasn't necessarily as easy as it looked (although I still had it pretty good). The conversion rate was horrible at the time, so whereas in China I can eat like a king for $5, in Scotland, I was happy if I could buy half a sandwich with the same amount. Not to mention, although extremely new and clean, my dorm was out in the middle of nowhere so walking to class, the library, or the grocery store could easily take 45 minutes one way.

Class Schedule

 MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM  

Anthropology

1 hour lecture/ PowerPoint; 1 hour small class discussion

  
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM   

Anthropology Practicum

Museum trips, basket weaving, movies, etc.

 
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM   

Medieval History

1 hour lecture/ PowerPoint; 1 hour student presentations and class discussion

 

Grading:

- Medieval History

Two 12,000 word research essays, one 20 minute oral presentation (including Powerpoint, handout for class, and your own personal notes) - 40%, one 3 hour final exam - 60%.

- Anthropology

One 12,000 word research essay - 50%, on 3 hour final exam - 50%.

A few things to keep in mind about the work load at St. Andrews. Although it seems like I had no work, writing 12,000 words (for me at that time) took almost a week. You're given much more independence at a school like St. Andrews, but that means it's up to you to go to the library, read the sources given to you by your professor, analyze it and condense it into a coherent paper. It's not like Holy Cross, where if I was late passing something in or needed excessive amounts of help, my professors were very forgiving. At St. Andrews (yes, your professors help you there too) if you didn't get your work in on time, that was that. Basically, during the 3 or 4 weeks during the semester when I had a paper or presentation due, that consumed all my time that week. The other 8 or 9 weeks, I was out living the dream.