Thursday, October 1st. A Day as an International Student from the Czech Republic.

Everyone has some song or tune that one absolutely hates. In my case it is the “Opening” by iPhone because it is the tune of my alarm clock. Today, Thursday, October 1st, the alarm clock wake me up at 7:15 am.

Like everyday, after I get off the bed, I take a morning shower and I brush my teeth. One of the advantages of morning showers is that it helps me to transition from being sleepy to fully thinking and functioning. Also, a shower is a place where I think about the day, what I will be dealing with and for what things like tests, hockey games, interviews or presentations I should prepare. The first class is at 9:30 a.m., so I have fairly a lot of time to dress, prepare for school and review some academic materials if I am having an assessment that day.

Vitamin shake nutrition label
Every day I drink a vitamin shake.

Next up is breakfast! I love breakfast because I am a morning person. I love the feeling that the whole day is in front of me. Also, I think that Phelps Dining Hall server the best food during breakfast in regards of freshness, quality and health.

My first class is at 9:30 a.m. in Lubbers Hall, which is literally 30 seconds from the Phelps Dining Hall, so  I start eat breakfast about when the clock hits 8:30 a.m. It is really nice to have a breakfast for 1 hour, but as you will get to know my day better, later in the post, this one hour of breakfast is my oasis of calm in the whole day.

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Breakfast with friends

IMG_07639:30 a.m. = English 101. As an international student, the process of learning English never ends, despite the fact that I lived in the United States for five years before enrolling into Hope College. Currently, in the English class we are working on the comparison/contrast essay. Since, I studied at private boarding school before, I know well how to write compassion/contrasts essay, but practice makes perfect!

English class
English class

After the English class, which ends at 10:50 a.m., I and my friend Christian went to the Martha Miller Center to sign up for the Chicago Trip on Saturday, October 3. My next class is at 1:30 p.m., so I have about 2½ hours for myself, but not really. Since I am part of the Hope College men’s hockey team, I have to keep myself in shape, especially when the first game is in 8 days. I workout or run every day just for myself. Today the weather is truly spectacular, so I went for 30-minute run consisting of shorter sprints. After I came back, I took a quick shower and I start to review for a Philosophy Quiz at 1:30 p.m. This took me from 11:50 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Lunch was next at 12:45 p.m.

Lunch in Phelps Dining Hall

Followed up by Philosophy class in the Chapel at 1:30 p.m.

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Philosophy class in the Chapel
Deep thinking during Philosophy class with a help from Socrates.

The class ends at 2:50 p.m., and right after I go back to my room to drop off my stuff. At 3:00 p.m. I have a meeting with my advisor about declaring a major next semester. We do not speak for very long because at 4:00 p.m. I have another meeting at Holland Rescue Mission in regards of 18 hours of community service. The 18 hours of community service is not mandatory for regular freshmen at Hope College, but I am part of the Phelps Scholars Program which requires the 18 hours of community service during my first semester at Hope. The Holland Rescue Mission is located about 15 minutes away by walk from the school campus, which is not far, but I have to leave in advance.

Map to Holland Rescue Mission
Holland Rescue Mission

At 4:50 p.m. I arrive back on campus and I go to my room to do my homework until 6:00 p.m. Right after, I go to dinner. On Thursdays, Hope College hockey team has late practices, so I have to eat something light and healthy.

At 6:45, we are heading to the Ice Edge Hockey Arena in Holland. The practice starts at 8:00 p.m., but we are having a Powerpoint presentation about the systems, power-plays and power-kills prior the actual skate. At exactly 8:00 p.m. I am hitting the ice for 90 minutes of high pace practice. After the practice, some of the players are continuing to Applebee´s for second dinner and I join them for this time.

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Applebee’s with some hockey guys.

Around 10:45 pm, we are leaving Applebee’s and returning to Hope College. Most of the players still have to do a lot of work before they go to bed and I am not an exception.

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One song to describe this picture: Never Ending Story by Limahl

I do not waste time and I walk to Library, to get an early start on my Philosophy Essay, which is due on Friday, October 9th.

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Library at night.

Just about midnight, I complete the first two and the half paragraphs of the essay, so I come back to my room and I finish my assignments that I started in the afternoon. I quickly take a shower, brush my teeth and go to bed in:

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12:59 pm. 

Before I fall a sleep, I write few tweets about my day and set my alarm clock for 7:00 a.m., so in 6 hours. I am pretty exhausted, so I fall asleep quickly.

That is only one day of my life, and actually this Thursday is one of the easier days I had so far.

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2 Comments

  1. Hello Kubíčku, your article is good, only that I am worried you work too hard, until 1 a.m.. It’s horrible. I hope you had enough power and energy to get up for school in the morning 🙂 🙂 Father and David

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