New Years in Frankfurt
Author: Ryan Rau | Majors: Computer Science and German
The new year got off to a rocky start as COVID cases continued to worsen and I was forced into a lockdown as a positive COVID case was found in my flat. As classes started back up after the holiday break was over, it became clear that plenty of others were impacted. In my first week back to class all the two in person classes I had, went virtual. Additionally, half of my classes were canceled for that first week. Not exactly what I was expecting, but at this point nothing is a surprise.
When compared to the U of A, I noticed that TUD had many more means for professors to reach students with information about class cancelations or a class switching online. I had a problem during this first week back, trying to figure out if my class was actually canceled or if the zoom link had changed and I just missed the notification in one of the 5+ places I could have received it. That said, I recommend anyone studying abroad to get familiar with whatever means your professor has to communicate with the class. Trying to figure out the system when you’re potentially missing class is not a fun way to start your Monday off.
After the first couple weeks of craziness everything settled down and went back to a more normal state. Classes were held, albeit solely online, but I no longer had to deal with last minute cancelations and confusion. With the semester coming to an end, classes started wrapping up content and talking about the exam. I still have a bit more time before finals, but I can already tell that they will be completely different than what I’m used to. I originally thought that having 4 years of university under my belt would have me ready for anything but I’m starting to have my doubts. The biggest worry is the vagueness of the exam format and what topics will be the most important. Since most of my classes only consist of one test for the complete grade, it’s really an all or nothing situation and the vagueness of the professors does not help mitigate any of that stress. I believe part of the problem is that a couple of the classes I’m taking are completely new with new professors that the local students don’t even know what to expect from them. I think if I knew about this, I might have chosen some better-known courses from tenured professors. Probably would have made this point in the semester a bit less stressful, but who knows maybe I’m worried about nothing.
With only two more months left of my stay, I still have a list of places still needing to be visited. Once finals are over, I plan on making some progress on that list but until then, I’ll be hitting the books getting ready for these finals.