This was the first week of actual Economics gradschool-level (i.e. non-review) classes. The schedule isn't bad, actually. Mon-Thurs we have class 10-11:30am, then lunch break, then class 1-2:30pm. On Mondays & Wednesdays it's Math & Econometrics; on Tuesdays and Thursdays it's Microeconomics & Macroeconomics. Then on Tuesday and Thursday evenings we have two tutorials : 5-6pm & 6-7pm, all of which were either cancelled or very short this past week.
So nerves are quivering a little more this week than they have been the past several weeks. I've survived without many scratches or bruises, though. There was one heart quaking occurrence this week, though. It happened so quickly... I was going in to one of the school's washrooms and I placed my lunch bag on a shelf in the washroom (outside the stalls), and as I was turning towards the stall I heard a rolling sound and looked back just in time to realize the bag wasn't well centered and my beautiful favourite mug that I'd painted with my dear and very distant friend - Andrew - was mid-air and on it's way to the hard floor and then in an uncountable number of pieces... And I froze in disbelief... I didn't know what to do, it's like I couldn't believe it! Well what else was there to do. There's not much more alarming and shocking to the heart than a treasured mug full of memories crashing and turning into loud shards right before your eyes... and that was my second such experience since my leaving Victoria (for experience #1 see my first entry, in August). I got out three long pieces of paper towel and wrapped up the shards carefully and gingerly. I've decided I'm going to make an art piece out of it to go on my all-too-bare walls... when I have the time... 3-D art...
We got an assignment from each of our classes for the week, and we were told we'd be getting one per class per week for almost every remaining week of the semester. So assignments here I come! Today a bunch of us are meeting at school to go over things, so that should be helpful.
What else? On Friday I had my first three tutorial classes. That means I stand in front of a class of about 25 undergraduate students at a time (3 times on Friday) for about 50min. each time and do examples and run discussions on topics they've covered in class. We'll see how things go. This week we graduate students were told we wouldn't have to cover any actual material in the first class. My first class was full of engineers taking Econ as an elective. Interestingly, the second tutorial class had hardly any engineers and a lot of varied people - lots of business students, same with the third class, which also included a few students from Vancouver (no conflict of interest, I promise, but it was soothing to know they came from close to my home home). So the first class was fine and I let them go early after getting each of them to introduce themselves and also introducing myself and my tutorial. The second class, however, was a completely different story. I got to the room early (because it was right beside the classroom of my first tutorial and I'd let them out early). And one of the girls - before we started - asked me a question about something in her notes. I couldn't exactly figure out what she was talking about (she had a thick accent and her notes were very incomplete because apparently the professor for whom I am a TA (teacher assistant) goes very fast). So a couple of minutes later someone showed me in the textbook what the notes were about and then I was able to figure it out. But then I got BOMBARDED with questions from the second group of students. Where the first group had been quiet and a little shy - nervous even, perhaps - the second was rowdy and chatty. The third group was somewhere in between.
I had worn heels on Friday in order to try and achieve authority through increased height. I'm not sure it was entirely effective, but it was effective in giving me terrible foot cramps and calf cramps. My friend Zina who takes all the same first year Econ classes with us but is actually doing a PhD in Finance (she's in the faculty of Business) invited me to the Faculty of Business grad students reception which started at 3 (just a bit before my last tutorial finished). I ended up having to sit on a ledge eating yummilicious food 'cause I couldn't bear the pain or fatigue of standing on my heels any longer. I met one professor who had just moved to London after having lived in Victoria for 3 years ~ that was very interesting! Also, I saw a guy I'd seen during that seminar of lectures on how to be a good TA (the lecture during which I had asked how to come up with a good discussion topic when you're trying to teach functions and graphs...) His name's Matt and he's from Germany. Zina and I started talking to him and he said he's going to let us know about a salsa dancing club that his friend runs at the university, so that could be fun... we'll see how much time we have to keep our noses out of books in the next little while.
I guess that's most of my highlights for this week... there's been many hours of grumbling over assignments, but I think most of them are on the verge of being done. Oh! I watched a movie last night: "Coco avant Chanel." It's okay. I wouldn't recommend it, not my favourite Audrey Tautou movie. Also, Blockbuster's is a frickin' ripoff. Movies are far too expensive to rent there and I spite them for it.
Alright that's all for now! Off I go to try and finish the last of my assignments!
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