While procrastinating my studying.....

This week I take my final exam in my Food Industry class, a class which has been challenging, enlightening, and is the reason I stare at my computer for 3 days straight taking notes from the powerpoints. So, while I take a break, some thoughts on comparing European and American school systems.

In ecological terms, American students are generalists. We take two years worth of general education classes, in the most random subjects, on the most random topics, with the intention that we will be well rounded students. We also spend about 4 years getting our Bachelors, take a year off, and maybe go to grad school, often going straight to college from high school (if you grew up in the community I did, this is not an option, but a requirement. Otherwise, you are perceived as not doing anything with your life).

Europeans, however, are specialists. Most Danes take a few years break after gymnasium (an intense version of high school), waiting until they absolutely know what they want to study at university. Once in, studies are very specialized, and most stay five years, for the three year bachelors-two year master's degree. Also, the Danish government pays for students to go to school. My friends get stipends from the government just to study. I don't even get a scholarship.

My brain is a generalist. My major is a generalist. The Environmental Studies dept at UCSC has taught me the most random things, in topics not quite related to each other, so studying in the Faculty of Life at Kobenhavn University is challenging, because I don't have detailed knowledge and background. I signed up for a class on Biological Control of Pests for the next block because I'd taken a class on Integrated Pest Management and thought I would be prepared. But looking at the syllabus, I'm terrified. I don't know details about insects and chemicals. I know basic concepts of agroecology, and effects of pesticides in the environment. And I am not going to be a specialist in my field, at least not yet. Even my extracurriculars at Santa Cruz have no direct relation to each other or my studies (ocean advocacy internship and grant allocating while taking classes that involve food and agriculture. And hopefully teaching a class on Ecology and Religion through ESLP).

My major has taught me that everything is connected. For example, in my Environmental Policy class, I applied knowledge learned in Biogeochemistry and Agroecology to think about policies that would control nitrogenous fertilizer. And in Copenhagen, it is most refreshing to learn about the food industry from mainstream scholars and business men so I can learn what it is actually like, as opposed to the idealist Banana slugs who want to "F***ing change the system, man!!" (me included of course).

And so ends my persapitation, persapitating being a wonderful word Heather taught me that means doing something you have to do to avoid something you REALLY have to do. And I had to write this entry, right? ;-)