So I've had 3 days of class at this point and it's obvious that SSE Riga was a very good choice for STUDY abroad. The students at the school are all smart, and there's not near the level of slacking I notice in the United States. Grades here are taken seriously by almost everyone, and that makes it a very fun atmosphere to study in. The first class I am taking is Managerial Economics. Everyone I spoke to said that the professor was one of the most boring at the school, and that my professor for Macroeconomics is the best one. However, I find the lectures in Managerial Economics to be much more bearable than some of the classes I've taken back home, and the material we are learning is much more application based than just conceptual based (for example, I've had classes where I've studied the idea of different costing systems, but in this course we actually go through how to do each one). Class is from 9:15-11:00 each day with a 10 minute break at 10. This makes the class seem much shorter than what I'm used to. I'll have class Monday-Friday every week, and on certain days (tomorrow for example), I have an extended lecture until 2:15.
After the lecture, we are always given 2-3 problems to work on that are graded for credit and due before the end of the day. The grading system here is much different and much more difficult than back home. For example, until the tests, all of the assignments are graded on a pass/fail basis. So when you are given two problems, missing just one of them will end in a failing grade on the assignment (you are allowed to fix your work and resubmit it though, which may be for partial or full credit - I don't know). I'm not sure how much each assignment counts for the total grade, but I'm guessing that it is somewhere around half. My goal is just to pass each assignment to make sure that I am doing well in the course. As it goes on and the assignments accumulate, I will speak to the professor to get a definite idea on how the grades are split up. As far as classes go, I am very pleased with the amount I've been learning and the level of material I've covered.
Another thing about assignments is that we are randomly assigned a group member to complete all of the homework with. Mine is another exchange student named Akzhan from Kazakhstan. She knows English well and works well with me so I'm not worried about the assignments. She is also one of the other students I have met who live in the dorms. More students have moved in, and I have become friends with some of the other exchange students and the other students who live here. On my floor there is Gerard from Lithuania (who I spent New Years with), Oleg from Estonia (not an exchange student), Valentin from Germany (exchange), Ivan from France (exchange), and Ilias from Kyrgyzstan (also exchange). Most of the girls we know live on the first floor, including 3 exchange students and one student from Latvia. Valentin is the student I was in contact with before I came here, and he, Ivan, and I are interested in finding a flat together. As for life in Riga, I have been to a few more places around the school and eaten some terrific Russian food, but I haven't been to Old Town all week due to being at school and living so far away. However, I am excited to see what the weekend brings and I will most likely hang out with more students I have met in class, both those who live in the dorms and those in flats. I'll be back with a new post and I'm sure new things to share in a few days.
P.S. I apologize for any typos, as I did not reread this post before I sent it.
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