When in CIMBA
Written by Hannah November 8, 2019
Hello everyone, it’s Hannah and I am back with another blog to talk to you guys about my daily life at CIMBA. Even though we’ve already been going for 6 weeks, I still feel like every day holds something different. Due to travel days and extra experiences like KT training and the LIFE program, we haven’t had a full week of “normal” classes.
One of the biggest difference I see between my home university and CIMBA is the length of classes. In Iowa, students typically choose lectures that are 50 minutes long paired with 1 hour and 15 minute discussions or lectures that are 3 hours long held once a week. Here at CIMBA, all classes are 1 hour and 50 minutes long, which isn’t the worst thing, but takes some getting used to. However, it’s 100% worth it when I remember the semester is only 12 weeks long and we get an insane amount of days off for travel.
Although the long classes seem dreadful at first, I find that I prefer this schedule because of all the other added benefits I get from studying here at CIMBA. While education is first and foremost the reason we’re here, there are so many things to do at CIMBA. From watching football games on Sunday night in our cozy Hawk room to making hilarious, midnight TikTok videos in the classrooms, there is never a dull night. Many students go to the sports café or play soccer, basketball, or volleyball in the gym. The RAs do an amazing job of organizing activities such as movie nights to keep everyone social.
Balancing my studying habits and time for fun has been a challenge. At times, it is difficult not to push aside studies and go to the sports café to socialize with the other Americans or talk to the Italians. There are about 15 minutes between classes and a half hour before and after lunch to get started on homework, as well as free time from 5:30 to 7:30 pm every day. There is also time for homework during free periods when you don’t have class. Since I value my social time and exercise time, I do my best to finish all homework and study during the day when I have breaks from class. After socializing for the night, I come back to the dorms and finish anything I may need to do for the next day.
Although classes are long, professors usually do not give out “busy work”. Therefore, homework is 100% bearable. I haven’t had to do any homework on my travel weekends thus far. Balancing your social and academic values can be difficult, but everyone here is having the same experience. The most important thing to remember is everyone allocates different amounts of time for different things and just because you want to spend more time on one or the other doesn’t make you a bad student. Enjoy your time abroad, but remember the main purpose of being here, which is school!
Hannah
Blogger: Hannah, University of Iowa
