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Honestly, this has been the worst week I've had since I've been here and tomorrow (Thursday) is going to be longest day of the week, complete with having a 6-page research paper due as well as a final exam for my grammar and composition course, with another 5-page essay due the day after. And then there's the small fact that "tomorrow" is actually "today" since I'm sitting in the University Library at 4:30 a.m. waiting for the city trams to start running again. I'm here with friends so it's not that bad, plus I get to admire the illogical way in which the Germans organized their books while learning all about German, British, and American war time propaganda from 1914-1918. But I'm not complaining. Does it sound like I'm complaining? 'Cuz I'm not!
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| Random watercolor person whom I pity. I know the pain she's going through... I know it well. |
I suppose I brought this upon myself, what with my poor time management skills and all, but I consider this to be a learning experience. It takes more time than I thought it would to pick a research topic, gather information from various sources in various languages, translate said sources (when necessary), formulate a coherent and semi-intelligent sounding thesis in German, think of what I want to say in the body of the paper in English, then translate to German, keeping in mind that some things will not translate the way I want them to. And yes Mom, I actually read through my sources, not just the first and last chapters :)
So after having just finished my first official German research paper, I feel like I can finally call myself a student at a German University! Up until now it's just been a few worksheets here, a couple of reading assignments there, and an oral presentation or two. All of which I suppose are hard work in their own right, but it just doesn't quite compare to the stress of writing a formal paper. With footnotes! I guess it wasn't too bad for the humanities kids, but for someone who hasn't written a non-technical paper since high school, it was rather anstrengend (stressful on the mind/body). However, I've learned my lesson and I'll be ready to tackle the next essay that comes my way!
Hopefully my next post will be more about the wonders of Deutschland and less about my failures as a student! :)
Not a failure my child, simply a continual learning of life's lessons. Start preparations as soon as you get the assignment. Don't unnecessarily stress yourself. It was stressful just reading your post, but I was laughing also. This sounds soooo... familiar. : ) Go forth and conquer!!!
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