Classes...still waiting.

When we first got here classes were supposed to start on the 15th of September, but after arriving in Dar we caught word that they weren’t starting until the 29th. I was a little bummed, but that gave us an extra two weeks of travel, and I really can’t complain about that.

I had been told by students who had previously gone on this program that no one really shows up for the first two weeks of class, including sometimes the professors. I’ve learned since being here that this is because you don’t actually register for classes until after they have started.

The theory is that for the first week or so you just go to a bunch of different classes and figure out which ones you do and don’t want so that by the time registration roles around you can register for the classes that you will actually be taking… In theory this almost makes sense to me, but it doesn’t quite pan out as smoothly.

So when the 29th rolled around none of us were really expecting a whole lot to change but we thought that we would try going to classes anyway. Nothing.

The first problem is that I don’t have definite time tables (class schedules) for any of my classes – so I don’t actually know which, of the list of courses that I’m interested in, are actually being offered this semester – let alone when or where they are being offered. So we went from department to department and basically the whole Faculty of Fine Arts and Social Sciences told us that they wouldn’t have time tables out until next Monday.

Sooooo we’ll see what this week brings! If I start class this Monday I will have just over 2 months until I have to take the final and pack up to go home – a little scary but its all part of the experience!