Classes and such

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Hey everyone,

So this has been the first week of classes. Yes, i realize that i have been in the country for much longer than that.

My class schedule is awesome. That is one thing i have been great at, scheduling classes. I have no monday class and tuesday class doesnt start until 5; if i ever wanted to take a long weekend- i am all set. I have one class wednesday and two on thursday and friday.

Since my only collegiate experience in the classroom has been at Grand Valley, i kind of assumed everyone did the same thing. Wow, i was wrong. Here, you have to sign up for the lecture and a tutorial. The lectures host about 100 students and the tutorials much smaller; 15ish depending on the class.

Some other difference btwn GV and here...
-Classes here can have almost 200 students. At GV, i have never been in a class with more than 35 students. Sitting in a lecture hall that can fit 200 is a little daunting. Sitting closer is extremely beneficial when the prof writes with minuscule handwriting.
-Printing is free at GV. Here is costs $.10 a page. Kind of a problem when profs are asking their students to print out 15 page lectures for every week
-Almost every building is connected here. A huge plus when it hasnt stopped raining in close to 40 hours. At GV, you end up looking like you went for a swim
-this one i think all of my friends from home will cry along with me on. at colleges in the states, the first week of classes are a joke. Students have actually dubbed these days "national syllabus day". Not here. On day 1, you dive right into the material. Back at GV, a pen wasnt even needed until the second week. Here, you cant survive without a notebook on the first day.
-classrooms here do not have electrical outlets so i cant bring my laptop for the long classes

The classes i am taking...
Tourism: policy planning and development (i havent been to this class yet b/c it was cancelled on tuesday.)
Finance: Insurance and risk management: boring. boring. boring.
Marketing: promotions management (this is my first real marketing class. i am uber excited about it too. i think i am going to learn a lot with this class)
Math: Calculus and algebra (If you have seen the movie "Mean Girls", there is a scene where Lindsey Lohan says that she loves math b.c it is the same in every language. She was wrong. I do realize that is has been almost four years since i have taken a math class, but i know that the formulas that i used and the ones that the prof are using are a little different. This class is probably going to be the hardest one i have)

I have still seen a kangaroo every day since i have been here. I was walking to class the other day and making my way along the boardwalk. (there is only one way to get from the apartments to the Uni, and that is a 100m long, 1m wide wooden bridge through a wetland/marsh/wildlife preserve). I notice a jumping Roo making its way towards the bridge at a fairly quick clip. Well the thing stops, literally, right next to the bridge. Well the group in front of me stops and waits for the big guy to move. After a few minutes i try walking by the group and then past the Roo. One of the guys grabs me by the arm and tells me not to try it. Three girls behind me walk past with no problem. So i try to walk past again, and the guy grabs me again. He explains that Roos dont mind girls, but they will kick the guys. I decide that waiting is probably the best bet. The Roo eventually goes on his merry way. But how cool would it have been if i had been late to class? I could have used a kangaroo as an excuse!

A group of us went hiking on saturday. 568m mountain. I was the only one who went all the way up to the summit. This was b/c at about halfway up, there wasn't a path anymore. It tuned into actual rock climbing. The worst part about it was that i was sweating and having a hard time getting up; and this 60 year old guy just walks right on by me like its no big deal. The parts where i was hanging on with arms; he was walking! I couldnt believe it.

Randomness:
It has been raining for almost 40 straight hours. I was out today and saw a sidewalk that was flooded up to my shins.

I found a great Aussie wine. Wyndham Estate. I have tried the cabernet sauvignon (Bin 444, 2005) and the merlot (Bin 999, 2007). I highly suggest the cab.

I am already used to people driving on the left side of the road. This might be a problem when i return to the states.

Course textbooks are way too expensive; regardless of what country you are in.

Pictures coming soon!

Hope all is well back in the states. Thanks for reading!

thanks much,
malcolm

[e-mail]

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