Anyways, back to the computer class...This was an introduction to C programming course, with mainly freshmen in the class. The class was held in the Western Gateway Building (WGB), and thankfully the room was the first one I saw when I entered. The room and everything appeared normal, and the professor was very nice. I could understand him just as if he was teaching in the US. The only bad part of this class was the material....
The story goes like this. Let's pretend that a computer's language is like many criss crossing railroad tracks that has switches that can be either 0 or 1. To get the train from one destination to another, you can flip the switch and change the tracks with 0 or 1. This all made sense to me, but what didn't make sense was when we added up the paths. Apparently in computer science 1+1 is 10....not 2..... For the next 30 minutes I tried to wrap my brain around this but realized I can't....This is why I will remain forever tech unsavvy, but that is perfectly okay with me. I will always have biology! :)
Much to my relief, Jason realized this class does not count as any credit for him since he's taken it already so we didn't have to take it anymore! PHEW!
The next class on the list was structural biochemistry. One weird thing about classes here is that they are in 1 or 2 hour blocks just like at home, but there is not much of a passing period to get to your next class. This is because in Ireland, most students study only one concentration instead of having a more liberal arts focus of a little of this a little of that such as kids in the states. This means that most students have class in the same building, therefore if class ends 3 minutes before the next class is supposed to start, it wasn't a big deal. However, structural biochemistry ended up being very far away from WGB, so Jason and I had to half speedwalk to the Kane building, which we got lost halfway there since we could see the building but not a clear path to get there.
We arrived 5 minutes late to the structural biochemistry class. When we entered, it seemed like the entire lecture hall turned around to look at us. Looking in desperation for any two adjacent open seats, we scrambled to get ready for class without disturbing others. The professor was still introducing the course and was just about to begin by the time we arrived, luckily for us. We started with amino (pronounced ah-mine-no) acids and their structures from amino acid to peptides to polypeptides. The professor also pronounced methyl groups as mee-thyl groups with a long e sound. Both Jason and I found this to be hilarious as we finished organic chemistry with a professor at UCSD that was very angry with students when they mispronounced chemical groups.
After the biochemistry class, my sense of normalcy was restored from the abrupt glass-shattering computer class earlier in the morning. We ran a few errands on campus afterwards, then headed home for an easy night in.
I hope that my classes work out and that I will do well in them! There is a myth on campus that if one steps on the school seal printed on the tile floor in the main quad, that person will become either pregnant or fail their classes. Fortunately I haven't stepped on it since I have become aware of this...though I can't be too sure before they told me. Personally I don't count it if I did step on it ;)
The next few pictures were taken around campus. The greenery pictures were taken on walks that were on the edges of campus that eventually led to the main campus. There are also some pictures of cafe serendipidy- me and Jason's favorite cafe to go to when we are in the area!
This is one of my favorite views from campus. So gorgeous. I am lucky to have found such a wonderfully beautiful campus!
This is Jason's favorite dish- seafood chowder! It was so choked full of 3 varieties of fish and the chowder was a very light cream that was absolutely delicious. It comes with a slice of whole grain Irish soda bread with .... BUTTER! :)
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