Classes so far...

My first week of classes went well. I dropped the Poli Sci elective I was so excited about. I walked in, it was all American Middle East Studies graduate students wearing awkward ties and enjoying the sounds of their own oddly informed voices. That sounds terrible. Maybe it is just not what I was looking for...To be fair, it wasn’t everyone, but it was enough. I logged onto the registrars webpage and dropped the class while one of them droned on about how he was appalled Maronites were not on the list of minorities to be covered. So, I switched into the class I wanted to take anyway, Illegal Cities. I have two classes with the professor who teaches it- she had advised me to try and find another class so I could get some diversity of opinion my first semester. She is really smart and fun, though, so I would rather have her twice than torture myself with the others. Plus, it is more related to my field of study anyway. The class focuses on “illegal cities”- typically spaces developed outside of legal regulations or without centralized planning. Places were public services and access to infrastructure tends to be lacking. The first readings were really interesting, so I am looking forward to the rest of the class.