What I've Learned in College (Like say NO to Shark Fin Soup)

Well here I am about two weeks away from completing my first semester at the University of California, Berkeley. Sounds so grandiose when you say it like that, but I guess it actually is. You'll be glad to know (I presume) that I am absolutely loving it here. I'm surrounded by unbelievably knowledgeable peers and truly inspiring teachers. Everyone here has something to say and has different knowledge about different things and they are always ready to share this knowledge. And the greatest part is that all conversations here have substance and you walk away learning something new or gaining a new perspective. Like just now as I was walking back to my dorm from class, I overheard a discussion on how fusion music is only fusion music because of corporate producers who created the idea of "genre" and how in Beethoven's time there was no such thing... This place  just has so much intellect and knowledge to offer.
Let me start off by telling you a bit about my classes. My history of capitalism class has been so mind-broadening and informative. My teacher (or rather "professor"), a young quirky woman, is rather inspiring and has taught me a great deal. For example, did you know the introduction of the banana  into our daily diet (fairly recently actually) was a means to a capitalistic end. I also now know how the 2008 financial crisis came about and the significance of the tupperware industry, as well as the difference in value of greasy beaver fur and nongreasy.
In my comparative literature class we have discussed everything from sexuality and homosexuality, to memory and social order. My skinny little male french professor (who's sexuality I continue to question) has opened up my mind to different dimensions of thinking. I can now say I have completed five volumes of Proust, with its endless sentences and rather confusing, out of order, disturbed trains of thought. I have also come to discover that Virginia Woolf is not quite my cup of tea.
In my Peace and Conflict studies class I have learned that not going to war is not a solution to war because sometimes that causes more tensions and more problems. With mock simulations (where I was Germany), I have learned about different ways peace can be attained, if it is actually attainable and about international intervention in sovereign states. I have also learned never to eat shark fin soup (they kill the whole shark for just the fin!!) and that the Internet actually has a physical presence (hidden in a windowless building somewhere in Florida and Los Angeles). I've learned all about piracy in Somalia and African theories of peace and justice, and Islam, Buddhism, warlordism, and most importantly, the laws of war (yes those exist... kind of).
But of all I have learned, what my greatest lesson has been is that the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know and want to know. I am left with more and more questions.
I have noticed as I write this that the pronoun "I" has been quite repetitive. Well college is a time of the "I" and figuring yourself out and who you are, what you stand for, and who you want to become. Nevertheless, I (there it is again) have learned a great deal about others, with different cultures and religions, from all parts of the world. I have learned the correct pronunciations of the word "Pakistan" and "karaoke" (a highly mispronounced word). I have learned that people can (or rather, will), indeed, smoke weed in class while class is going. I have come to realize that befriending homeless people can be rather, well, harmless and sharing your snacks with them is okay (really, it's not going to kill you). But I have also learned that they can intoxicatedly follow you to your building or get arrested for exposing themselves in your courtyard (ha...).
I'm in the final stretch of 1/8th of my college career. Quite exciting (sort of?).
Well as I have chosen to write a 10-12 page paper in lieu of a final exam for my history class, I must now research Starbucks and expose its capitalistic ways. After that I will write an 8 page paper on the Armenian genocide and the denial of its factually proven existence.
I'm quite excited. Seriously.
PS There is a freeze warning for the Bay Area tonight to tomorrow so in case I turn into a popsicle, it's been a pleasure...
Have a splendid, intellectually stimulating day!
Signing off
SH