As my
first semester of university has finally come to an end, I have now some time
to reflect.
After
the last really stressful weeks I can finally enjoy a big break and relax a little bit. Of
course, towards the end of the break I do have to study and get prepared for
next semester. There are two exams in March which I didn´t took in my first
semester, because otherwise it would have been far too stressful. And that´s
maybe the most important thing I learned at university: it can get extremely
difficult and stressful at times! I would say that I am an ambitious person,
but sometimes I am snowed under with work (Yes, everybody knows that feeling
:D). Then I do not know what to do next and get really really nervous…
I
experienced a big difference between school and university. At school,
everything was well organised and prepared. There was homework and I knew
exactly how and what to study for my next test. Except for Maths which was
never one of my favourite subjects… Unfortunately our teacher wasn´t able explain
in a clearful way which made it quite challenging to understand what he was
talking about. Not to mention to prepare oneself for the tests… Maybe that´s
one of the reasons why I decided not to study something technical at
university. My choice was to study Transcultural Communication which I do not
regret since I love languages (especially my mother tongue German).
Towards the
start of the semester, I didn´t know what to expect. But I was curious to learn
something new and to broaden my mind. Except for English, German and
Italian classes I also had lectures like "Einführung in die Transkulturelle
Kommunikation" or "Linguistische Aspekte der Transkulturellen Kommunikation". In these lectures everything was
about communication, culture and transculturation which was definitely
worthwhile. I really did enjoy all of my language classes, because I learned so
much I didn´t know about, such as the country, people and the way people live
and life in general.
Another
big thing is to be organised. As I have already mentioned, going to school was
a lot easier because of the organisation and preparation already done by the
teachers. At university you no longer have teachers who write the dates of
assignments on the blackboard and remind you all the time. I experienced that I
have to be aware of my assignments and other important dates. There are cut off
dates for changing the subject for example…
The two
final weeks of the first semester were definitely the most stressful ones
because of the many exams and the preparation for them. During the whole
semester there wasn´t a day I didn´t study anything or did some homework for my
classes. Nevertheless, it was nothing compared to the last few weeks. At some
days I couldn´t go outside to do some sports because there wasn´t any time left
because I had to study that much. But I knew that it would be well worth it in
the end though.
This
semester I have also met all kinds of different people. At school I nearly knew
all of the students, whereas at university there isn´t a day I don´t see new
faces. People here are at all ages and at all different points of success in
their life, which makes the conversations more interesting I have with them. I
like talking to them and hear other points of view about a specific topic. To
my mind, there is always something you can learn from other people.
So, my first
semester of university is done now! It was probably nothing I´ve ever
experienced, but worthwhile. To wrap up, I can definitely say that I have
learned a lot these past few months. I´m looking forward to next semester and
the new challenges and adventures it will bring!
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