As usual, I'm taking 19 credits this semester. For most students this means taking six classes, one of which is four credits, such as a Biology lab. However, for me this means 21 hours of class time, only 19 of which I get credit for. I'll get into that later though.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, my first class is GE 204-02: Intermediate German II. Dr. Ernst is fantastic and hilarious. Last year, there were only a few people in our German I class and for the most part the group is still together. So we all sit on the left side of the room in the same seats we've had for four semesters. Dr. Ernst knows how to teach German very well and how to keep it fun at the same time, so I look forward to German class each day, even if it is the first one. I should mention too that Dr. Ernst is a genius. He amazed us one day telling us about a code from around 1500 AD that no one had been able to break until he sat down one weekend with pencil and paper and figured it out. But he's also extremely humble and wouldn't have even told us the story if one of the students hadn't seen it online and asked about it.

My second class is RS 218-01: Apocalyptic Literature. I only have Apocalyptic Literature on Mondays and Fridays and the class is an Honors class. There's more reading required but we are delving deeper into some pretty cool literature both inside and outside the canon of the Christian Bible. I'm really looking forward to this class. Fr. Tom Hart is a great teacher and a very knowledgeable one.

After Apocalyptic Literature, I have PS 100-03: Principles of American Politics with Dr. James Harrigan. This class might be my favorite one. Dr. Harrigan is one of the toughest graders at St. Vincent College and he doesn't mess around. But his class is pure Socratic method. We have to read so many pages of text before class and at class we simply sit and discuss the meaning of the text. It's fantastic. It is simple to beauty of liberal arts at work.

Monday night wraps up with MU 180-01: Vocal Ensemble. I guess I exaggerated when I said I had 21 hours of class time for 19 credits because one could hardly call the Vocal Ensemble night-class 3 hours of class. In fact, usually it's only two hours and they go by fast. Mr. Tom Octave is our director and the class is not much more than a professional choir practice. I hesitate to call it a choir practice since it is much more than a simple choir, but let the word suffice. This year, the ensemble is singing in several engagements here at school and in Pittsburgh. I forget the details on all our performances at the time, but I'll write more about them as they approach.

This blog is already stretching pretty long and I've only reached Monday night. Actually, I only have three more classes to go, but I think I'll have to same them for another entry.