Papers Have Started

It has been my second week in NZ and my first week of lectures at UC. 

Let me tell you a little about my papers.  I am taking a geology course about hazard management.  So far, this has been my favorite paper.  It is interesting taking it here in CHCH because we are able to use what has happened here with the earthquakes as examples.  My next paper I am taking is personality psychology.  Right now, it is interesting but we are still going over some of the introduction things.   There is also a lab component to this paper; I am excited to start it.  My third paper is math, It is Logic, Automata, and Computability.  Right now, I am not really enjoying this paper but I think it will improve soon.  For this paper, we have a tutorial, which is where we get to work on problems.  My last paper is CHCH101.  I am still unsure what I am going to be doing for this paper.  I am going to do a service project in these coming up weeks.  From what I could tell about the paper the point is that the goal is to help us learn about ourselves and how we affect a community by helping them out.

One of the big differences between UC and Bates is the lecture size.  My geol and psyc lectures are really big (like a couple hundred).  This means that the professor does not know who I am or care if I show up to lecture.  My maths class is simply but not nearly as big but during lecture the professor just lectures to us and we take notes.  The idea for that class is that the tutorial will be the time we get to make sure we understand the information. 

This week I did not get up to too much because papers have officially started.  One afternoon I took a walk around campus and surrounding areas.  I found this short path by the river that was nice to walk around.

One morning when I woke up before the sun I saw a really pretty sunrise out the window.

 On Tuesday morning, I went to clubs day.  This was a lot less intimidating then the clubs fair at Bates. I ended up signing up for the University of Canterbury Canoe Club (UCCC) and the Ultimate Frisbee club(UCUC).  I am excited for the UCCC to start (right after the mid semester break) because it is going to be a great way to see some pretty scenery.  Today (Sunday) I went to a UCUC practice and that was a lot of fun.  It was fun to be playing again and just to get some exercise. 

The night of Wednesday the 13^th/the morning of Thursday the 14^th Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out.  I was not able to see it at midnight because the tickets were sold out but I was still able to see it before everyone in the USA got to.  I went Thursday night and saw it in 3D.  I thought it was good but not perfect.  I did go dressed up because that is fun to do. 

On Friday I went to this dinner hosted my Operation Friendship.  It is a group of families from around CHCH that take groups of international students to their house and host a dinner for them.  It was nice and not just because I did not have to cook. I really enjoyed interacting with local families.  It was also nice to be around such a range of people, from little kids, through college students, to adults.  It was a lot of fun and the good was great.

This week has been fun and I am excited to continue with my papers.  Until next week have fun.