According to Iowa State’s study abroad Web page, one reason to study abroad is that it will “Put some spark in your studies!” If by “spark” they mean short circuit and re-wire, then yes, this could be an accurate statement.

When I started my academic adventure in Ireland, I conquered orientation and was shuffled into a room full of booths and tables, with eager-eyed professors salivating at potential pupils.

Registration was akin to a county fair – “Step right up, History of the Vikings, for only five credits, will explain the mystery and myths of the Norsemen!”

This is great, I thought, no class caps or online registration. Iowa State’s technology totally removes the thrill of course exploration.

Enthralled with the system, I signed up for credits I knew would transfer back sans grade, or subjects too interesting to pass up.

Breakfast in hand, I raced to my first lecture at 11 a.m., ready to encounter the “spark” of this new academic system. Two minutes before the hour, however, I was greeted with a sparsely populated classroom, realizing that being timely was definitely an American thing. Fifteen minutes of small talk later, the bulk of students trickled in and class began.

Tuesday, my enthusiasm waned as I experienced a Celtic culture lecture perched on a windowsill, in lieu of a desk. Apparently, I wasn’t the only person who thought hearing ancient Viking stories sounded exciting.

“Tomorrow we shall attempt to gain a new classroom,” warbled my 4-foot-9-inch professor, “and for those of you without handouts, I may have a secret stash in the back.”

A grade-mongering perfectionist, I asked my Anglo-Irish literature lecturer what it took to get an “A” in her course.

Accustomed to American questions, she explained the academic system in Ireland is different, with first-class honors cut off at 70 percent, second-class honors at 50 percent and third-class honors at 45 percent.

At first glance, this grading is a dream, but it’s not quite that easy. Each student starts out with zero percent and must claw his or her way up to success.

“Only an individual with complete mastery of a subject, such as a professor, would be able to understand 100 percent of the course subject,” she continued. “It is quite good if an undergraduate student can capture 50 percent in a semester of learning.”

Clearly, I am going to have to hit the Boole Library to grasp 50 percent of all there is to know about Anglo-Irish literature. True to its academic standards, however, the library is open longest from 8:30 a.m. until 9:45 p.m., only four days a week, and completely closed on Sunday, because no one would study on such a wonderful weekend day.

As the semester tumbles along, I realize class attendance is a mere suggestion, with no pesky attendance points or assignments to drag students to class. Lecturers provide intensive book lists and articles for the intellectually curious.

Simply put, my Irish education truly is individually motivated.

Academically, my semester will consist of seven papers, two quizzes and four tests, which I discovered through my miraculous creation of a written schedule for each class, based upon verbal instructions. I think I’ll call it a syllabus and sell it on the black market to other confused American students.

E-mailing fellow ISU students, I discover that this load isn’t so foreign. My friends Kellie and Dana simply condense my semester’s work into a weekly endeavor. By this point, they would have completed eight semesters’ worth of Irish assignments.

While my scholastic situation seems a delightful cakewalk, it pains me to admit I miss the structure of Iowa State.

Although continuous assessment may be obnoxious, and class registration less than inviting, these annoyances force us to think about our academic decisions and plan for the future.

Online registration and RANs are a nuisance, but they never leave a person on a windowsill. Tedious assignments also oblige us to take a good hard look at subjects which we may not engage individually – subjects which, when fully explored, we may become interested in and passionate about.

Attendance points, well, they still are worthless, but I never said the American way was perfect.

Thus, the title of “study” abroad does not have to be deceptive, but it definitely takes a great deal of self-efficacy to hit the books without external motivation.

And given that my entire assessment will be based upon one test, and an occasional paper per course, this semester may prove more “shocking” than anything. Perhaps the “sparky” academic description by the study abroad office wasn’t so far off after all.

– Julie Young is a senior in psychology from Indianola. She is studying in Cork, Ireland, this semester.