The view from the inside is different.

I always thought college was so cerebral, the classrooms filled with deep thinkers engaged in, well, deep thoughts. What a surprise to find them filled with kids just trying to fulfill their General Ed requirements so they can progress to their chosen fields of employment. But I digress. Let me begin with my drive to school, one I am of course familiar with after 6 weeks of class this summer. Fall is not summer. The access street to my building's parking lot was, well, a parking lot. I escaped the parade and parked behind Wolf's Coffee, a block away, an escape I found when attending night school there. That meant I got to stand at the crosswalk in my khaki Dockers and sweet little black sweater with all the girls in their raggedy jeans and sweatshirts. Once again, I had lost my manual. Then we all ran the gauntlet of all these old men (even older than I!) in their natty pinstripes passing out the New Testament to all takers, so we could be well armed with the antidote to all that dreaded intelligence and knowledge we were seeking. They all had that vacant, benevolent expression tinged with fanaticism. Very scary guys. I found my first classroom, right around the corner from my former one. Loved the teacher, Monte, perfect name for him. He was the quintessential college prof, hair just a little too long, scuffy beard, a bit on the Pillsbury Doughboy side, wearing cords and a sweater vest. He is passionate about political science, and even I felt somewhat inspired. He had a nifty way of taking roll, by having us fill out recipe cards that included our hobbies and favorite movies (Brazil, a Terry Gilliam wet dream). He read them out, and we all got to know each other, a really good idea. Homework was the first two chapters of the text. And my other Monday/Wednesday class was philosophy 5, critical thinking, conducted by Joel, another fireplug of a guy, more tonsured (well, he's mostly bald) and he wore a sportscoat that had seen many semesters. His method of taking roll was to pair us up and have us introduce each other, another ice breaker. I got to profile Gina, who is related to a famous opera singer, and works on Henry 2, the county's search and rescue helicopter. I told her I often waved at her on the weekly visits to our town on the edge of the world, where visiting people were always driving off the cliffs or into the redwoods. Homework was one chapter of the text, and a narrative argument by Mark Twain. Oh, and everyone in Joel's class was there because of the GE requirement, except me. I love to write, and all our assignments are papers, some that will be done in collaboration with others. I'm not very good at that, so maybe this is what I need to learn. I finished my first day in the bookstore, where I was able to finally shell out $122 for my abnormal psych text (I had the money, they just didn't have the book till yesterday). Lucky me. Anyway, I love both these classes, surprise. Politics are not my cup of tea, usually. Now I will learn all there is to know about our government, and it looks like not all of it will be complimentary. Good to know. I don't have very many compliments for it myself.