The B I G Nerd
Having completed my first week of school, I figure its time for an update about it. First, let me say that I LOVE SCHOOL. I'm taking three classes, plus seminars and other various activities, and its all great. I come home after class in the best mood - excited about being in Brussels and learning all this new stuff. So, what stuff exactly? The classes are: State, Market & Society, International Relations Theory, and History of International Conflict. Dr. Wiener teaches the theory class and he makes every statement seem profound and thoughtful. He has the clearest pronounciation and best speaking ability of anyone I've ever met. He's probably 6'4" and rides a Harley. The history class is taught by Dr. Palo, a 60 year old Italian guy born and bred in NYC. You know when you come across people who are doing exactly what they are meant to be doing? He definitely is. Passionate, super-knowledgeable and entertaining as heck. I completely forgot to take notes during class (along with everybody else), I was just too captivated by what he was saying. In the 50 minutes of his class, I learned at least five things about WWII that I was never taught in the U.S. school system. I don't mean that as a criticism of America, its just really interesting to learn things from a different perspective. The third class, State, Market & Society, is the toughest. I have never studied Economics, so this theoretical approach is difficult for me. I decided to take it because I think I should know something about classical political economy, as it is an integral part of the study of international relations, and all of Western society really. But it is going to take major effort to get through. Lots of Karl Marx to read...

Speaking of reading, there are hundreds of pages of reading each week for each class, plus preparing for seminar discussions and researching and writing essays. I love it all. I wake up every morning ready to read more, absorb more. I find myself thinking about theories or paper topics all the time. And its only the beginning of the second week!
~K