This is university

My German teacher has a lot of sayings. My favorite is, "This is university." I like this one because it can be used to mean so many different things. I'll give you a few examples.

If you....

... didn't do the required homework, "this is university" means that you need to get your act together and treat the class with a little respect.

... didn't do the optional homework, "this is university" means don't worry about it; it's up to you whether or not you do the optional homework.

... miss class, "this is university" means she doesn't need to hear your excuse. Whether you were sick, attending a funeral or recovering from a hard night of partying, she doesn't care. You can miss up to 20% of the classes for any reason or no reason. (Of course, if you miss one day over the 20% limit, you don't pass the course regardless of your grade.)

This expression became even more humorous to me yesterday. Last week we took our two final exams -- an oral exam on Wednesday and a written exam on Friday. But we still had class through today. We spent Monday reviewing the final exam and discussing some final points, but we were left with two full days of nothing to do. So what did we do? We went on a field trip. After all, this is university.

Yesterday we loaded up on the public transportation and headed to ORF, the local television studio. We saw several other groups of field-trippers -- mostly between the ages of 6 and 8. Even though I felt a little silly going on a field trip, I had a good time.

Today was the last of class and the plan was to go to a cafe for coffee and cake. I assume that that's what happened, but can't be sure since I didn't go to class today. Do you want to know why? Well, I don't have to tell you. This is university.