I'd been mistaken

CentreTerm has turned out to be quite different from what I'd predicted. Before the term began, I expected the shorter, more consolidated term to be just that: the standard class setup I was used to, condensed into a shorter period of time. After the first couple of days in the term though, I realized I'd been mistaken. I enrolled in the class "Kentucky Folk Music," which focuses on the music's tradition through examining ballads, country, bluegrass, and more genres and by learning about specific instruments significant to Kentucky's musical heritage.

The class does involve some of the standard lecture, but we spend much of our time listening to Kentucky musicians perform for us. Guests such as Sarah Wood, John Harrod, Carla Gover, Brett Ratcliff, and the band "Kentucky Wild Horse" visit campus to play for the class, and also to give talks on material related to our subject matter. So, rather than sitting idly in a chair for several hours, we get a chance to explore the subject by interacting with people who are actually part of the history we're learning about.

Some would think that having only one class over the course of a month would make for a fairly relaxed term, but the professors manage to keep us busy. Because we attend class for three hours a day, we basically cover what would be a week's worth of material in a regular term in one day of CentreTerm. Accordingly, we have to cover a week's worth of reading outside of the classroom in a day. The reading is interesting and sometimes even fun, but it does take up a good amount of time. So, instead of taking time off where we only deal with one class, we intensely focus our efforts on one specific topic.

Though the class is time consuming, I've managed to keep up my personal activities outside of the classroom. I still get a chance to go to church, make use of the workout facilities in Sutcliffe, go to basketball games to watch my girlfriend play, and to just hang out with my friends. I like the rhythm of life CentreTerm creates, but I do look forward to refocusing my study back on religion, the major I want to pursue, in the spring.