Rant

Generally speaking, I'm really glad that I went to a four-year college before starting the CIA. For one thing, Vassar was the traditional (and wonderful) college experience that I would have missed out on if I had gone straight to culinary school, because as much as the administration here refers to Greystone as a "college environment," it's really not very collegiate at all. And secondly, it's great that I got the rough college transition thing out of the way four years ago because it has allowed me to settle into Greystone without any homesickness or unease or complication. This is more than I can say for my friends, most of whom are 18 years old and fresh out of high school. Even my roommate, though she is the same age as me and has also graduated from college, is living away from home for the first time ever. I'm so glad that Vassar forced me to experience all of this and get over it before moving here, because it has allowed me to focus all of my thoughts and energy on my studies instead of my "transition."

But I'm starting to get the feeling that the CIA doesn't value previous college experiences as much as I do, because they have enrolled me in a class called "First Year Seminar." It is absolutely, without a doubt, the biggest waste of time I have ever seen. First of all, the point of the class is to get people accustomed to college life and teach them how to perform academically at a college level. Never mind that over half of us have completed at least some college in the past, and a few of my classmates are over forty years old.
It also happens to be the most patronizing and embarrassingly simple class I have ever sat through. Never have I felt more condescended to than in the hour and a half I spent listening to our teacher today. The professor spent almost 20 minutes explaining to us how to read a textbook. And then, because she assumed we still didn't understand, she felt the need to demonstrate by borrowing someone's textbook and reading aloud. For ten excruciating minutes. It was so useless that it actually made me angry. I can't believe I'm paying thousands of dollars to learn from a teacher who thinks it groundbreaking to say things like, "It might help you learn if you take notes during lectures," or "I think the best way to be successful is for you to attend your classes." I'm pretty sure I learned better study skills than this in second grade.
I just think it's completely ridiculous that I already have a Bachelor's degree and I still have to sit through a 15-week "what to expect as you begin college" course. Especially when it's taught by a woman who clearly assumes we're all stupid. Ugh.

But, in happier news, the rest of my courses are going pretty well. They've mostly been demo and sit-down classes so far this week, but we'll be baking in the kitchen for the entire day on Thursday and Friday. I can't wait!
My social life is coming together too. I've found myself a good group of friends (4 other girls in my class), and tonight we went out for ice cream after dinner and then got together in my room to watch a Christmas special on TV while we did our homework. I might be going into San Francisco this weekend with my roommate if we don't have too much homework. I'll keep you posted :)