We teachers were invited today to give a talk (in English) at the Regional Library in Vladimir about the American college and university system. Three of us went, and we represented three very different universities (Ohio State University, Bates College, and the University of South Alabama). We gave an overview of each institution and talked about student life, athletics, cost (a big surprise to Russians was that state universities cost money--they're basically free in Russia), and what it is generally like to be a student at an American university. About 20 people showed up for this talk, and I think most of them understood most of what we said. There were a few people who know English very well, and they asked some good questions. 

Russian universities generally don't allow students to choose their own classes, so our listeners were interested to know that we basically have the freedom to take whatever courses interest us. I can't imagine myself enjoying being told what courses I had to take, and perusing the course catalog and scheduling classes was one of my favorite parts of college. If I had been told that I had to take this class, this class, and that class, I would never have stumbled across city and regional planning--which became my major--,and I most certainly wouldn't have had time to take all the Russian classes that I did. Academics and armchair quarterbacks can argue about the merits and pitfalls of our system of higher education, but the freedom it gives students to indulge in weird classes (boxing is without a doubt in my top five favorite classes I took in college) and to follow their interests is certainly one of its best features.