Well,
we’re well on our way through October. The leaves are still just beginning to
change, the tourists are everywhere, and the weather is getting nippy. Once
again there are moments I am in my dorm room and my toes are numb from cold
(there’s a vent in my room that looks like it should be a heater, but they’ve
never turned it on). Still, I’m comfortable here. The other day I was walking
back after a long day of classes to find that, for a few blissful seconds just
as I reached the corner of the Quad, everything was completely silent. I just
stopped and stood there a few seconds to soak it in. And then, of course, the
shuttle came wheezing and rumbling by, and the moment was gone. But it was nice
while it lasted.
October
also means midterm season. It’s not really that we all have a wave of midterms
in the middle of the semester and then again during finals period. Some classes
don’t have midterms at all; they have essays or projects. Other classes have
three or four ‘midterms’ – that is, tests in the middle of the term – so
there’s usually a starting point for the midterm wave, but not really an ending
point until reading period starts.
On
my end there isn’t really a wave of midterms. Physics has three take-home
exams, the first of which we’ve already done. (As a side note, I and a couple
friends are starting a study group in Physics, which should prove very
helpful.) Philosophy has three papers, one of which we’ve already done and are
now editing to turn in again (they give feedback and then average the two
grades to help us figure out how to write a philosophy paper). ROTC has tests
and essays, one of each of which we’ve already turned in. In Arabic we have a
test every two weeks, so I took the second one last Friday. Finally, in Hebrew,
we have an essay due next week – an extended paper – that I think everyone
forgot about until I remembered something about a midterm assignment and looked
it up yesterday.
It
was kind of scary to notice that we had an essay due next week, but luckily,
I’ve already read two novels in Hebrew for fun, so I’m planning on just writing
my essay on one of those. If everything goes well, and I can use the outline I
planned out yesterday, I think it will be a good paper, one I’m interested in.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
The
only worry is that writing this paper will take up a good chunk of the
three-day-weekend I recently found out I had. Of all the non-controversial
holidays Harvard could choose from, they decided to let us out of classes for
Columbus Day. I suspect this is solely so that a large portion of the student
body can protest that we celebrate this holiday at all, but I’m not
complaining; we all need a break. Perhaps they just thought we needed a holiday
on this particular week of the year.
I
am certainly looking forward to the holiday; I’ll need to do some planning to
put it to good use doing all the things I’ve wanted to do all semester but
haven’t had time for. My Sabbath’s have been a great help in that respect,
though. Last Saturday I managed to finish a short story, read quite a bit on
the history of Europe, and of course, catch up on Bones. It amazes me, when I
think about it, that I could not do any work for an entire day every week and
not be any more stressed out than I am. In any case, though, I would gladly
trade an increased workload the rest of the week for the tension-draining
effects of a day of rest.
Speaking
of rest, I think I’ve about rested my ankle long enough. Despite the physical
trainer’s advice, I’ve found my ankle more stable recently – I’ve stopped
wearing the brace, and I haven’t had any problems – and I had to jog across
Harvard Yard to catch a shuttle the other night, and it didn’t cause me any
discomfort. So hopefully I’ll be able to start jogging again soon. Now I just
have to find the time.
And
speaking of time, I should get going. Oh – one more thing: the care package my
mother sent me about two weeks ago finally arrived, full of everything from
Arabic notes to Ramen! I hope everyone has a lovely week, and whether you
celebrate it or not, happy Columbus Day!
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