Hmm..is it just me who's blogging? I apologise for 2 continous posts; I thought there would be more entries by the time I come back.
And here we are, getting ready to go back to uni. Almost 3 months went by in the blink of an eye. I still cannot come to the realisation that I'm a second year student now. I still feel so first year!!
Anyways, I just needed to wish good luck to all those who are coming back to uni and also to all the newcomers with their fresh new year in this uni. There's no year without any small problems, so I hope you get them kicked out of the way and enjoy uni.
Big thanks to all those who commented on my blogs, it's been great.
Till next time
Me.
It's been 1 and a half months in India and 1 more to go.
To be honest, coming here made me realize how much I took my life in Australia for granted. Life here is chaotic:
You step out of your house and you see a whole new world. The sound of loud horns every second, creaky buses that lean onto one side due to the weight of its crushed passengers, heavy smoke rising into the bright blue sky.
You step out of your house with some money (or lots), by the time you reach home your pockets are empty. Let your imagination go wild.
I see huge mansions, expensive cars and yet wonder why people complain of umemployment or poverty. Where's all the money going?
In my free time, I think about my uni life - it's so freakin' amazing!!
However, there is something that brings me to India. The happiness when you see your relatives after a long time. The sense of belonging where you can speak your own language to everyone. (by the way, I still prefer speaking english)
The bottom line is - I miss uni. Almost 2 months ago, I was eager to come here, now I'm eager to go back to my wonderful life in Australia.
Hope your holiday is going good.
On a side note, going to India ain't that bad. There are some things that you get to see only in India. Trust me.
Till next time
Well, the results have come in, and I have officially passed first year. I originally had a long, very detailed blow-by-blow essay on each and every aspect of the transition from high school to university, but reviewing the draft just now, I realised it was overly wordy, completely pretentious, and filled with trite, largely meaningless platitudes. So, with a few pangs of pain (I spent hours writing it) I have deleted it and resolved to write something much shorter, but Of Substance (TM).
This year in summary
This year, I have
- moved more than 5000 km from home
- learned to navigate the abysmal, abysmal public transport system of Melbourne
- been accosted by pirates in O-week
- learned to fresher dance
- discovered Max Brenner's, Koko Black, and Brunetti's
- discovered the considerably less impressive tacky Westernised sushi
- started lessons with a new clarinet teacher
- watched and laughed at people who put woollen blankets in the laundry machines
- felt the full karmic retribution of the above after accidentally shrinking half my pants in the dryer
- really been very stressed at certain points
- considered dropping law, switching degrees, switching universities
- gotten over it and carried on with current degree
- been elected unopposed to Secretary of the Music Students' Society
- finally managed to run a whole lap around Prince's Park
- spent many hours playing clarinet in a small room with white padded walls
- smuggled a LOT of nuttella out of the country (It's a lot cheaper over here, and my mother insisted on me taking advantage of the bargains)
- caught all manner of communicable diseases from college
- realised that in Australia, a thong is actually a pair of flip-flops, and not a pair of underwear
- spent far too much money
- watched a lot of concerts
- gone to parties
- bought new stuff for the clarinet
- learned that people actually still play harpsichord and that the instrument isn't obsolete yet
- joined: UNICEF Club, Chocolate Lover's Society, African Drumming Club, Dancesport Club, JCH Historical Society, SALP, MSS, volunteer tutoring
- actually showed up at: SALP, MSS, volunteer tutoring, JCH Historical Society
- founded: JCH Choir
- accidentally frozen my bank account
- unfroze it again
- learned all about the 17th-century Florentine camerata and its influence on monody
- learned all about the distribution of legislative power between the States and the Commonwealth
- learned absolutely nothing at all about non-delegable duties.
- gotten the worst grades ever in my life
- gotten the best grades ever in my life
- changed my mind several times on what I want to do with my life
- been to protest marches, guest lectures, public debates, formal dinners, and plays.
- spent a lot of time alone at home
- had an awesome year!
Things I would like to say to future first years
1. Don't kill yourself over deciding what course to study at university. I ended up in law for pretty much one reason only: my parents didn't want me to be on welfare for the rest of my life. And I went in pretty much determined to hate it. Except I didn't end up hating it (well, actually, that's not strictly true. I resent the amount of work, and I resent the fact that if I took straight music I'd have straight H1s, but that is not hate). It grew on me. So much that I might actually seriously consider being a lawyer or doing something law related as a career now. If I had to do it all over again, I probably still would have picked something different. But I'm happy where I am. First years, pick what you love. But if that doesn't work out, don't sweat it. It won't make or break your university experience.
2. You have to actively seek out things you want here. This is a large university. It's multiple times the size of your high school. For some of my friends, it was multiple times the size of their home towns. It's also highly decentralized. The Law School, Student Union, and the Physics Department are going to have completely different events, different social networks, and different classes. They will have no idea what the other is doing, and in plenty of cases no-one's going to know you exist either. If you want to enter a competition, attend a guest lecture, join a club, whatever, you need to keep an eye on all the opportunities yourself.
3. Join all the clubs that catch your eye, and that you can afford at the clubs and societies fair, and if you can't afford them, just sign up to their mailing lists for free. You probably won't turn up to most of them, but it's easier to get them all when they're in the same place than it is trying to track them down later and finding out that their email address is five years out of date.
4. Now is better than later. Start your own club now. Do your assignment now. Run for election of your faculty student society now. Trust me, this will make your life easier in the long run.
5. Never pay full-price for any form of entertainment. They all have student discounts.
6. Rest assured, unless you're a psychopath, you will make friends. If you are a psychopath, there are enough students in this school for you to be able to find other psychopaths to hang out with.
7. Don't wash wool blankets. You'll regret it.
So, I am back in Hong Kong, and first year is all over *sheds tear*. Anyway. I am rather strapped for cash, this year has not been kind on the wallet, and there are numerous things I have to buy in order to advance my education/job prospects in future (several of them being new instruments. Ah, music. Not only does it pay a pittance, it also costs a lot of money to break into the market). Therefore, I am searching for a job.
The problem, however, with searching for a job in Hong Kong is that a) the exchange rate between HKD and AUSD is not very good, so anything I earn over here will be worth nothing once converted into Aussie dollars, and b) Hong Kong jobs pay much less than Australian ones anyway. We have no minimum wage over here, and absolutely no conception of anything remotely like a welfare state (there are barely any labour restrictions - minimum length of full-pay maternity leave is six weeks here, vs a year in Australia, but also no tax unless you're really rich and even then you only pay 15% max), so there are massive wage differentials - the top end earn a lot, the bottom end earn very little (generally this is mirrored with a large differential in the cost of living, so if you know all the places where you can buy cheap things you get along alright unless you need health care in which case you're screwed). I remember before coming to Australia I was really excited at being able to get a job at a publishing company that paid the equivalent of three Australian dollars an hour; jobs such as the ones in retail in Melbourne that paid double-digits would probably have killed me from shock.
So anyway. I have mailed my resume to about 8 or 9 different places. The highest hourly rate I get off these (generally clerical work - I don't speak Cantonese so retail which pays slightly (but not much) better is shut off to me) is about seven dollars an hour, and that would be an absolutely FANTASTIC salary for a summer job.
Actually, I did find one job advert for a temporary legal secretary that pays the equivalent of 24 dollars an hour, but it asks for 10 years or more of legal experience. I applied anyway because I think the recruiter is a bit out of touch with reality -- if you had ten years of legal experience, you'd be looking for work as a barrister, not a clerk. Or at very least a permanent legal secretary so you'd get health insurance and benefits - what kind of person with ten years experience in a law firm looks for a temporary clerical job during an economic boom?
Y'know, if I didn't have to pay additional rent to stay in JCH over the summer, I would really be missing Melbourne and its minimum wage laws right now.
Oh well.
In other news, the food back home is excellent as per always. I love how you can eat out all the time in Hong Kong for almost nothing. Hooray for $1 congee and $7 sushi lunchboxes (vaguely authentic sushi too, not the weird stuff with teriyaki chicken and avocado and chilli sauce in it - Chinese-made Japanese food is horrifically bastardised, but at least it actually contains raw fish - why do Australian fast-food sushi places always insist on cooking the tuna? I'm sorry, sushi with canned tuna is just plain wrong)
I was overjoyed when I walked out of the Chemistry exam. I knew I screwed up the paper so badly but at least a pass was guaranteed.
After one long year, I've gotten to love this uni a bit more, met a couple more friends, had a few somersaults in study and social life and, perhaps, realized that the comfortable world I have been enjoying will soon depart (an inevitable consequence of the natural functions of things, I guess). Three years is really short - seeing how one full year has gone in the blink of an eye.
I like Melbourne Uni in many ways, but there are certain (minimal) things it does not get quite right. I won't labour on this point because the university is changing - the driving force being the introduction of the Melbourne Model. I am not sure about the end results but I like the new model at least (due to the educational rationale behind this dramatic, controversial decision). All in all, we still have 10 years to observe the fruits it'll bring.
As a Science student, I definitely love my Science Faculty, and their Departments. The new Chemistry Learning Centre, for instance, is an example of the 'learning style of the future' or at least an experiment that's worth everyone's time.
The only thing I don't like is the first year Physics lab, which was consistently out of phase with the lecture times. It's an equipment availability issue and will change next year, as I was promised. On the bright side, the materials covered in the course were awesome and I coud not ask for more. The three feedback tests in each semester really helped me assess my understanding of the concepts and perhaps, plan my study more effectively.
As far as my social network goes, I met quite a lot of people, most of whom I never saw again. I managed to find a group and stuck to them. At the very least, I didn't have to be alone every lunch time. It's a funny thing about uni: you talk to this person in every lecture but never see him/her out of class. It happened to me in every subject. I suppose I should do something about this next year.
Well, that's it from me. I haven't been very active in this blog but I did come back here again and again to read people's thoughts.
Good luck to those who are still having exams (doubt you'll be reading this), and have a wonderful break, everyone. I know I have lots of things to catch up with this summer. =P
Cheers,
Things I really like about uni:
- I can hand out at the pub with friends before and after class
- Meeting new friends! Which I was originally a bit worried about.
- South Lawn
- The toilet graffiti! I love the ones on the walls in the basement and on the 1st level of the Baillieu the best.
- Studying interesting subjects, and not being restricted in the subjects I get to choose.
- Being able to skip class without any repercussion, what a change from high school.
- Lygon St
- Brunswick St (the Vegie Bar and the 2nd hand book store across the road from it are my favourite spots).
- Being able to pick whether I do exams or not.
- Being at uni only 2 days was good because I got to work a lot, but I think next semester I'll just aim to make it 3, because I do love uni!
- My creative writing tutes (we got food in them)
- The union Lounge
- The student computing center in Union House, I always got a comp!
- Being close to the city center.
Things I wasn't too hot about:
- The 50 minute bus ride it takes me to get in
- Having to wear different clothes each day.There was a plus about having a uniform at school.
- As much as I liked my subjects, assessment is still a drag.
- Meeting people once, having a chat and never seeing them again.
- Having to go into uni to hand in my essays.
- being the butt of many jokes about arts students.
- Not being the smartest person in the class, because most people at Melbourne were the smartest people in their class. But being surrounded by some brilliant people is pretty awesome.
All in all, a great year. Uni is awesome.
Enjoy your holidays everyone and thanks for reading!
So yay, I finished my last essay today!
Thanks to everyone for telling me how to borrow from other unis, especially rick who sent me an email - a big help!
I checked the website and it said that the library opened at 10 but the annexe didn't open til 1. So not realising that the annexe was just about the entire library except the foyer I headed out to Monash on Sunday morning because I had to work at 12. And because all the books were behind locked doors I didn't end up being able to get any - how annoying!
But again, on the plus side, I am finished!
So for now, I am off to celebrate quietly by watching a movie because I have to work early tomorrow morning.
Thanks again for the comments!
Some of the good stuff that I can recall:
- We actually started on a bit of food science this semester. And that felt good after all the basic chem and bio we did before.
- No assignments at all!! How good is that?
- A fine timetable because I get mornings off on 2 days.
- The union elections; first time I see all the campaigning. In my school, we had a different method.
-I discovered a sensor in the copland theatre where if u put your hand in front of it, the lights go off!! I need to apologize because I didn’t know what it was and later found it out when it actually worked.
- Lots of wonderful videos that I enjoyed in my bio lecture. Truly amazing.
- For some reason, one of my economics lecture is held in the law building. My god, I just love the chairs (just like in those big offices, also lets you sit upright, good for the posture) and the tables and the whole setup of the lecture theatres there. I envy you, law students!
- Apart from my faculty computer labs and the computers in the balilieu library, my new haunt is the biology computer labs. No crowding, do what you want on the net at peace.
- All those e-mails requesting to swap classes amused me with some almost pleading and even ready to offer drinks and food.
- Selling my first semester textbooks was fun! I did it through textbook exchange, a wonderful site.
- ‘Prosh week’ – I enjoyed the sudden interruptions during the lectures.
- We tried a new technology during one of our chem tutes called touch-response. It was just like those tv shows where they ask for the audience’s opinion and the audience have a keypad and they press their answer and it was directly send to the main computer. Similarly, multiple-choice questions were put up and we had to press our answer. It was fun since that was the first time I did that.
- This semester, I had the first chance to get into the biology pracs in Redmond Barry building. As a result, I had a tiny confusion about the test at the end of the prac. I was given the answer scan sheet and was waiting for the questions to be distributed. And waiting. And waiting. I noticed that the others in front of me already got their questions. I looked around and there were 2 others in the same situation as me. Then one of them turn the answer sheet over and there are the questions! I had a small foolish laugh to myself, turned the sheet over and began on the questions.
- I had a very nice chem demonstrator this semester. Very friendly. At the end of our last prac, he gave all of us chocolates. That was very sweet.
Some of the not-so-good stuff:
- I got the first small suspension of my life. I learnt a lesson from it.
- I had one of the worse starts to the day – missed my bus to the train station, which in turn made me miss my train, walked the long way to the station, hopped on the wrong tram to uni. I never believed in ‘having a bad day’; now I do. However, I did get to class on time. Phew!
- Prosh week; I didn’t like the ‘stripping’ part.
- I tasted sushi for the first time and I hate it. Please don’t ask why. I know everyone loves them but I just don’t.
- What’s with all those spam e-mails during the spring break? Seriously, I am still confused!
Anyway, writing this blog was fun too.
In 2 weeks, I'm heading off overseas and that is something I simply cannot wait for. Good luck with the exam results, guys! And have fun.
Till next time
I'm so close to the finish line I can almost taste it! But alas, one essay to go, which turns out to be the one I'm having the most difficulty with.
It's frustrating because I really enjoyed the subject (China Since Mao), but it has a different structure to all the other ones I've done. For example, the lecturer gives us a list of books we can use forr research but we are STRONGLY advised not to use any other sources. So no internet (gasp!), no other books or journal articles. In some ways this is good because it narrows down the reading we have to do, but unfortunately just about all the books are out of the Baillieu! I managed to get one on Wednesday and am now in the process of begging Monash friends to let me use their cards to borrow out books from Clayton. Does anyone know if we have an inter-uni borrowing system?
So I'm all ready to start researching and writing and I've set aside the time but can't get my hangs on anything.
On another note, Arrested Development is an awesome show!
Allright, the exams have already begun and my annoyance has started simultaneously. I am really disappointed at the fact that on top of the stress and nervousness during exams, there has to be some events to annoy me.
- Talk about right place and right time! Exam on a public holiday? Check. Train timetable changing to the weekend timetable with no express trains like on weekdays? Check. No trams going to the Royal Exhibition Building until 10 am? Check. (Exam begins at 9:15 am) And thus, walk? Check. What a great start to my exams!! Another classic situation of having uni on a public holiday.
- Mobile phones ringing in the hall. I wonder what these people were doing when they were waiting outside and making sure they have got everything. I don't get it - turning mobile phones is one the biggest rule and how could you forget that? C' mon, we aren't that big forgetters! Maybe you came in late and you forgot. Allright, still you must be thinking if you have ticked the checklist off. Looks like some don't. To add fuel to the fire, no one knows who's phone it is!! So, it goes on and on. And on. And on. One advice - if you really want that much attention and people staring at you, go ahead.
- You know, I have always had the feeling that students are this uni are smart. Or atleast sensible. But I realized some are not. I have noticed some students simply take their seat and begin reading rightaway. Hey, I would like to do that too, but have you heard this specific time called 'READING TIME'? In case you didn't know, that's when you START READING. It might not be a big deal but it annoys me. Atleast follow the rules in that hall, please!
- Just when you thought you could begin writing and ace through all, comes the ROCKING TABLE. With the table swaying from side to side as you write, it makes a sound. And that is annoying. So when I get such a table, I have to push it to one side, hold it like that and write. Not that hard; I am used to it now. It is sad to see some students ignore the sound and the swaying and continue writing. That sound of loud ticking is annoying.
- This is not annoying but I just feel for those who are unable to complete what they are writing and have some last minute scribbling after writing time. Without organising time, we have no choice, do we?
- Just a random question. Why do some keep the water bottle ON the table? It would be much better if it was kept on the floor. The last thing you need it tripping that bottle couple of times, which makes noise or spilling of water (if the cap is loose).
One more exam to go and I am free. I apologise for using the word 'annoy' a lot of times.
Till next time
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