Busy…

We’re now in the 8th week of the term, which is usually the busiest time of the term. Projects are piling up, and finals are fast approaching. While the course load is heavy, there are also quite a few things to look forward to at this time of the year: the weather is currently fantastic, with warm temperatures, sunny skies, and blooming flowers and trees; Spring Concert (which is this weekend); and summer break, which is fast approaching. Additionally, our course registration for the fall term was this week and I’m currently in the middle of our spring soccer season, which is lots of fun.

This term, I have two final exams and a final project. While this seems pretty standard, this term is unique for me, since my Software Design class doesn’t have anything for finals week, but my Econometrics class has both a final project and exam. Although we don’t have a final for Software Design, we are currently in the middle of working on a large project, which has been taking up a lot of my time this week. Our assignment is to create a website, allow users to search for various things, and return information from a database that matches search queries. It is quite an open-ended assignment, and I’ve enjoyed it a lot even though it has been frustrating at times. Prior to this assignment, I had never used HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or SQL, so I’ve certainly been able to learn a lot.

As mentioned prior, we signed up for classes this week, and I will be taking Programming Languages, Astronomy, and Chinese Literacy. This will be a drastically different schedule compared to terms in the past, but I’m really looking forward to it. While Programming Languages is a standard computer science course, I’ve yet to take a science class or a language class at Carleton, so I’m sure next term will feel quite different. As with most science classes, Astronomy comes with a lab component, so I will be spend Wednesday nights in Goodsell Observatory, which I’m especially excited for.

The class I am most intrigued by, however, is Chinese Literacy. I never imagined such a course would exist, and it never had never crossed my mind to search the Chinese department for courses. But I’m certainly glad I did, because the course seems like a perfect fit: it is a class designed to teach Mandarin speakers with no literacy skills how to read and write. One of my bigger regrets from my childhood was that I did not make more of an effort to learn to read and write Mandarin, although I could speak well. When I got to Carleton, I didn’t want to take regular Chinese classes; I would have to start in the introductory courses due to my lack of reading/writing ability, but what I had already learned to speak would be at a far higher level than the depths of the course. So, Chinese Literacy should be the perfect class for me. I will learn critical skills, and hope to apply them when I study abroad in Asia next year.

That’s all for now. Have a great week everyone!

Alvin is a west coast kid at heart (coming from San Jose, California), but is excited to start many adventures here in Minnesota. He plays for the soccer team here at Carleton and loves exercise. If he’s not on the soccer field, in the gym, or out on a bike ride during his free time, he can be found in one of the lounges playing Exploding Kittens, or in the music building playing piano. He is a potential economics major with an interest in computer science and mathematics. Meet the other bloggers!