It really is a great feeling to have absolutely nothing that I need to do on a Saturday afternoon. Klara and I spent the morning on campus, admiring squirrels and gueese, gathering pine cones, exploring the artwork we have all over the grounds, and visiting the huge toy giraffe at the university bookstore. And now I’m considering having a nap.
The only thing that is not entirely welcome about the end of the semester is that my Latin American course will be over. This was absolutely the best course of my entire teaching life. Curiously, it was also the least prepared of my courses. I decided to teach it pretty late, it’s not my area (I’m strictly Spain), there was no time to prepare, etc. I don’t usually spend a lot of time on prep because that’s what graduate school was for. But still I do a bit of preparation for every day of class.
With this course, however, I had spent exactly one day developing the syllabus, choosing the readings, and creating the tests. After that, I was done. And it turned out to be the best course ever. Of course, I obviously know the material extremely well and don’t need to look up dates, names or events before class.
I think I learned an important lesson with this experience.
Clarissa's Blog 
My Latin American course this time was one of the very worst and it is odd since I have taught a version of this syllabus before and had a great time. And I really need to plan courses such as to relax at the end of the semester.
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It’s very unpredictable. My intro to literature this semester is horrific. I’m counting minutes for it to end. But I taught the same course in the Fall, and it was great. Who knows why there’s such a difference.
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