I don't know about anyone else's programs, but Arcadia in Greece is no walk in the park when it comes to academics. I still have to work my butt off to get good grades in my classes. This past week was my mid-term week. I had two written mid-terms, one paper, and a very odd little project for our Greek seminar class.

I have to admit, the work load is not nearly what it is back at Bucknell, and the mid-term week was not nearly as crazy as it is back home. Not to insult any of my professors from home, but I took a mid-term this week that I actually enjoyed ... crazy, I know! It was in my Art History class and I felt like I did a good job, which I think is something I have never felt before. I am actually confident that my grade on the mid-term will be great!

Do I feel the same way about my Ancient Greek mid-term ... not so much. I'm pretty sure that one went down the gutter, but Christos (my Prof) is a pretty cool guy and he won't kill me over it. He'll probably try and find a way to help me improve because I think it's pretty obvious that I'm struggling in this particular class.

I got my mid-term paper back yesterday from my class Aegean in Prehistory and I got an A, which was awesome! It wasn't like I wasn't expecting a good grade, but it's always nice to see a big fat capital "A" on the last page of your paper. I feel like I really accomplish something when someone else recognizes the hard work and time I put into something. It's a good feeling.

All of my roommates have been studying like crazy for their Modern Greek mid-terms, but not me ... it's not because I have such a thorough grasp of language or anything ... my professors (because I have two sections taught by two different people) have decided to wait until April to give us our "mid-term" and then not give us a final - which is sweet. So, I won't have to worry about it when I have all sorts of other craziness going on at the same time.

Lastly, I have this project due today called "Mapping Athens" and it's for my Greek seminar class (which is a pain most of the time, but it's supposed to introduce us to the Athens tourists don't see). Basically, we have to recreate a map of Athens according to our own persuasions. Mine is a bunch of traces of pictures that I took all around Athens that are organized in order according to the place I took them in Athens ... so there isn't really a map involved, but our instructor is an artist by trade and likes it when people think outside the box. I think I should be fine.

I realize that talking about schoolwork is probably the most boring subject I could possibly choose, but it has literally controlled my life for the last two weeks ... but I'm on break for five days now and I'm heading to Rome. So don't worry ... lots more interesting blogs to come. I promise.