Work Hard, Play Hard

Athens at Night

Almost two months have already passed; the time seems to fly. The North East of the U.S. is currently experiencing one of its coldest winters. The “Siberian Express” crossed over the North pole and brought freezing cold and a swath of snow. Boston has seen more than 80 inches of snow this winter. The Bostonians even invented the questionable “Blizzard Challenge”: leaping out of window into snowbanks. Athens appears very beautiful in the snow and the sunshine, but I cannot await the spring anyway. 

The first Mid­Term exams are already written, and Spring Break is around the corner. The American academic system differs a lot from the German one. There is no module to take, you pick a class instead. The classes are not organized in seminars and lectures, like in Germany, but there is two to three sessions of a class per week. I really like the effectiveness of this system because you do not have only one session per week of a certain seminar or lecture. I am still very lucky with the classes that I chose. In the first place, I was totally overwhelmed what class to pick, since there is such a broad variety of subjects and diverse classes. Ohio University truly wins through its gorgeous Campus. Red brick buildings contrast to wintry landscape, and College Green is always occupied by squirrels, hiding behind trees and trashcans. Particularly interesting is how the campus emerged through the years of its bicentennial history. The campus buildings include all decades: the old founding buildings from the 19th century, Scripps Hall and Bentley Hall from the 1920s, and the outstanding Alden Library with its mid-century-modern architecture of the 1960s.

The longer I stay here, the more I fall in love with any kind of American snacks and candy. If it contains even the tiniest amount of peanut butter, I want it. The absence of a keen student cafeteria where I can go to have lunch is pushing my cooking skills to the limits, though. Only one thing, stay away from an abnormality called “German Style Brats”. Even if they are available at ALDI.

Alden Library

You will never get bored on campus. The opportunities for free time activities are endless. Since all services are included in the Tuition Fee, you are eligible to use the gym whenever you want, technically for free. In the Ping Recreation Center, you can get rid off the Wendy's burgers on your hips with every kind of equipment and services, from treadmills to yoga classes. 

During the week, the campus is the busiest place of the town, but on the weekends everybody heads out for Court Street. House parties are popular as well. Once I walked home on a Friday night, I passed a house with one of those hell­breaks­loose House Parties. The stereo was at a volume level that made the walls seem to vibrate and the front porch was dotted with empty Bud Light cans. Let me quote one of my American friends here: “This is Athens. We are used to work hard, and play hard.”