Melancholic Derivations

July 24, 2004

It's strange. The entire week has come and gone. Days here seem to fly by in a twinkle of an eye and I'm not sure whether that's such a good thing to be. I don't really know where to begin and so I'll start with Monday. Of course. Monday.

We had a Sociology lecture and tutorial on Monday although I must say the lecturer reminds me of a particular teacher I had in secondary school. Neat, systematic and strict, Kirsten McLean takes no nonsense from us and expects none. Then there was my tutor, Jack Roberts. He's a really nice guy and from the onset, he made it clear to us that we had to speak up in order to have fun in the tutorial. Of course. Speaking up. Now that's been a challenge. I've done it of course but in doing so, find myself feeling really self-conscious. You see, in Singapore where English is not the main staple language, I consider my spoken and written English to be in the upper echelons. Over here, it's not quite so similar. English is a staple here and I sometimes find myself embarassed to speak with a Singaporean slang or am simply afraid that the Caucasians don't understand me. I'm trying and learning but it is going to take some time. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

Tuesday and I had Psychology lectures and Linguistics tutorials and lectures. Psychology is really beginning to interest me even more. We had a lesson in social psychology and the effect on humans that crowds have. Interesting and enlightening really. I am going to enjoy this so much! Linguistics was rather interesting as well. You see, for the first time in my life, I have encountered someone with a slang which I am unable to decipher. Usually, if a Caucasian came up to me and spoke with a German slang, I'd be able to tell. French slang, and I'd be able to tell. American, Australian, British etc. My lecturer, Anna Margetts, has no slang! Yes, it is really quite fascinating although that's not the most fascinating thing about this woman. Anna actually constructed an entire written language for a tribe in Papua New Guinea. That's like 'wow'. I was blown off my chair when I heard it and I'm sure you'd be too ; if you knew the complexities and intrinsic details that go into our everyday speech.

Wednesday and there was Communication Studies. Daniel Black reminds me of a particular character in 'Alias' known as Julian Sark(sp?). Nothing much to say about him although I did enjoy his last question in which he asked whether a urinal placed in a museum and signed off by a prominent artist could be considered Art. Go figure.

Thursday was hectic. There was a Communication Studies tutorial in the morning followed by Sociology and Linguistics lectures. I managed to use the time between these lectures to catch up on some readings indicated by Kirsten McLean, my Sociology lecturer. And I think I'm beginning to enjoy the Monash library. It's really quiet, comfortable and there's a cafe in the basement. How convenient can it get?

Friday was light because I only had a lecture in the morning although I did utilise the free afternoon to plan my essay which is due in a month. And through this week, something I've realised is that University is quite unlike what you get in JC or secondary school. In here, they expect you to show initiative, to get what you want out of the tutors and to plan your own studying times and schedules. It's an eye-opener but it will surely be something to hold onto in the future working world.

Weekend's finally here and I'm relaxing for abit. One thing good about this place? When they say it's the weekend, it certainly sounds like it.

Traveller fell apart at 5:48 PM


	Now Spinning Heroes Theme - Heroes Soundtrack The Protagonist joel \| content \| driven \| focused \| motive-oriented \| cynical \| analytical \| God-fearing \| jaded \| Frequent Reads Ben Christie Christine Davina Eugene Jasmine Jeremy Jo-ann Kay-Lene Mac Tammy Vivek Past Rants January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 Tap My Shoulder		July 24, 2004 It's strange. The entire week has come and gone. Days here seem to fly by in a twinkle of an eye and I'm not sure whether that's such a good thing to be. I don't really know where to begin and so I'll start with Monday. Of course. Monday. We had a Sociology lecture and tutorial on Monday although I must say the lecturer reminds me of a particular teacher I had in secondary school. Neat, systematic and strict, Kirsten McLean takes no nonsense from us and expects none. Then there was my tutor, Jack Roberts. He's a really nice guy and from the onset, he made it clear to us that we had to speak up in order to have fun in the tutorial. Of course. Speaking up. Now that's been a challenge. I've done it of course but in doing so, find myself feeling really self-conscious. You see, in Singapore where English is not the main staple language, I consider my spoken and written English to be in the upper echelons. Over here, it's not quite so similar. English is a staple here and I sometimes find myself embarassed to speak with a Singaporean slang or am simply afraid that the Caucasians don't understand me. I'm trying and learning but it is going to take some time. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. Tuesday and I had Psychology lectures and Linguistics tutorials and lectures. Psychology is really beginning to interest me even more. We had a lesson in social psychology and the effect on humans that crowds have. Interesting and enlightening really. I am going to enjoy this so much! Linguistics was rather interesting as well. You see, for the first time in my life, I have encountered someone with a slang which I am unable to decipher. Usually, if a Caucasian came up to me and spoke with a German slang, I'd be able to tell. French slang, and I'd be able to tell. American, Australian, British etc. My lecturer, Anna Margetts, has no slang! Yes, it is really quite fascinating although that's not the most fascinating thing about this woman. Anna actually constructed an entire written language for a tribe in Papua New Guinea. That's like 'wow'. I was blown off my chair when I heard it and I'm sure you'd be too ; if you knew the complexities and intrinsic details that go into our everyday speech. Wednesday and there was Communication Studies. Daniel Black reminds me of a particular character in 'Alias' known as Julian Sark(sp?). Nothing much to say about him although I did enjoy his last question in which he asked whether a urinal placed in a museum and signed off by a prominent artist could be considered Art. Go figure. Thursday was hectic. There was a Communication Studies tutorial in the morning followed by Sociology and Linguistics lectures. I managed to use the time between these lectures to catch up on some readings indicated by Kirsten McLean, my Sociology lecturer. And I think I'm beginning to enjoy the Monash library. It's really quiet, comfortable and there's a cafe in the basement. How convenient can it get? Friday was light because I only had a lecture in the morning although I did utilise the free afternoon to plan my essay which is due in a month. And through this week, something I've realised is that University is quite unlike what you get in JC or secondary school. In here, they expect you to show initiative, to get what you want out of the tutors and to plan your own studying times and schedules. It's an eye-opener but it will surely be something to hold onto in the future working world. Weekend's finally here and I'm relaxing for abit. One thing good about this place? When they say it's the weekend, it certainly sounds like it. Traveller fell apart at 5:48 PM