I can now conclude that each of my three reading-based courses has over 100 pages of reading per week, for a total of over 300 pages of reading per week. This is in addition to the hour (at least) of homework for Arabic that I have every day. That's alot of homework. And I don't care if alot isn't a real word and is only something to be used when speaking of a parking lot.

My Brain Hurts

I've just returned from having class from 4:15-8:05, and I'm starving! Though admittedly not nearly as hungry as those who had to duck out in the middle of class to break their fast. Ramadan kareem to those applicable. I thought that the comparative politics class was going to be boring given the professor in charge, but then at the very last minute, the original professor made it back into the US. He is one of the most engaging professors I have ever come across, on par with the instructor for the Gulf Financial Markets course. I have come to the final decision to stick with the Comparative Politics class and the Politics of the Gulf class, taking the finance class next fall. My concentration is still tba, though I will say that a) Comparative Politics is key to political economy (a research subject near and dear to my heart) and b) Comparative Politics is a requirement for the politics concentration, so I have been advised to take it now in case I need it for graduation. I did, thankfully, get into the Politics of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf class (a fantastic small seminar for graduate students only) , which has the bonus of a Super Secret Mystery Guest Professor for half the semester. I'm probably not supposed to say who it is so let's just say that I now have more wasta than all of you combined.

School Daze

Wandering around my leafy campus with its Gothic style buildings, I can almost pretend that I attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That is, if Hogwarts had a graduate program. My nine-year-old sister already made the imaginative leap into fact after viewing the older buildings for herself. "Look! There's Hogwarts!" she exclaimed every time she saw the distinctive Gothic spires from various points around town. However, no matter how many chapters of the Harry Potter series that I read in Arabic, I will not magically transform into a witch, nor will my courses begin to resemble, "International Magical Cooperation: Theory and Practice," or "Trade in Magical Goods."

I will instead take two hours of Arabic every weekday from 9:15 am, a three hour mandatory seminar for new students every Friday afternoon that explores the study of the Arab world through five varied disciplines, and ____________? My other two courses are still up in the air. Perhaps Comparative Politics of the Middle East, followed by the Politics of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Or Beyond Oil: Gulf Financial Markets paired with Economic Development in the Arab World. Or some combination of the two. My course schedule depends partly on space available in the classes and my choice of disciplinary focus for the program, be it politics or economics. I wish there were enough time in the program to do both. I thought that I had finally decided on politics, and then I attended the first lecture of the Beyond Oil: Gulf Financial Markets course. I have never had so much fun in a class. Ever. It seems illegal to have that much in a class. You would think that my proclamation at the very top of this blog that Arab economic development indicators are among my favorite things would be a clue...

We shall see if I am able to secure the aid and permissions of all of the relevant advisers before the end of the add/drop deadline on Wednesday.