Summary Of December 2011

Happy New Year !!

Sadly, I was unable to keep my promise of keeping up with blog for my entire study abroad experience. SO much has happened! December was definitely crunch time for coursework and getting the most out of my study abroad experience.

In the next few days/weeks, I hope to update everything that has happened to me in the past month... Right now, I am enjoying a winter break until January 24th.. where I will then be returning to Wellesley for the Spring semester! How exciting?!

Here are some of the topics that I hope to write about!!... :)
1) Summary of UCL Experience: Courses and Friends
2) Europe Trip with my sister from 12/17-12/31: Amsterdam > Brussels > Paris > Barcelona > Milan > Pisa > London
3) Thoughts and Feelings about London

Until Then? xoxo
Kristian

How Rude!

I am writing an entry because I just had to blog about what I witnessed today.

I had two computer science courses today and the most shocking thing I noticed was how rude students can be. For some reason in the UK universities, students can just talk during lectures, not listen during lectures, and simply disrespect the professor during the lecture.

At Wellesley, I feel that most students have an amount of respect where they wouldn't disrupt the class. But in the UK, students would talk, make outbursts, and obviously not learn from the lecturer. I dislike this type of classroom setting because it prevents those who want to learn from hearing the important things. Also this makes the lecturer annoyed and unwilling to go into depth about the material. I guess these are the reasons why the US university/college system still include grading marks such as participation. Or this type of respect for professors/lecturers only happen at Wellesley... I wouldn't know.

To understand all this, I can only believe that UK university students act in this rude way because their grades are solely dependent on one exam at the end of the year. They take all 8 courses' exams during their third term. Precisely, most people do not have to go to lectures and simply learn from the textbook. For me, I feel like lectures make you learn things outside of the textbook.

Another factor that could contribute to this rude behavior is most students feel like they already understand the material. In the field of computer science, I think there is a large fraction of people who think they are "know-it-alls" and try to out-smart everyone. They don't need these lectures because it's "easy." I just wish that those people would be understanding and considerate about those trying to learn in the classroom.

Overall, I feel sorry for the lecturers because I would hate being disrespected for wanting to teach about something I love and do for a living. This is simply what I have observed while studying in the UK... maybe my perceptions will change at the end of the course... but so far this is mainly seen in my courses without master students.

To add onto rude behavior, I know that there is a stereotype of Americans being rude... but I have to say that people in the UK are rude too. There were multiple times where I thought this, but I can't think about them now... hopefully I can refresh my memory soon.

Well then, until tomorrow! :)
Kristian

Start of the New Academic Year... Finally

This week is called "Induction Week" for the new undergraduates at UCL. The new students are welcomed to their departments and taught the ropes of being at UCL. In the UK, students have to apply directly into their department, aka major. In the life of a CS student, they have 7 out of the 8 courses chosen for them. So they only get to pick one elective, relating to CS or any other department at UCL.

I don't know if this model of learning is better or worse than the US system of "finding yourself" and "choosing your major later." There are those students who end of changing their minds and transferring into new departments. This leaves them to spend another year at UCL.

Coming from Wellesley, I find that this way of learning intimidating. I worry about having all the required prerequisites to take second and third year courses. I actually haven't fulfilled the basic requirements needed for the CS major at Wellesley. So I am a bit worried and stressed, but I am just going with it.

I've decided to take the following courses and hopefully I get approved to be in all of them. Another difference from Wellesley is that I have to submit the courses I want to take, then get approval by the department to register for the course. There is no way of knowing if you're officially registered for the course.

• CS Courses:
• COMP1002 Theory I
• COMP2009 Software Engineering and HCI
• COMP3080 Computer Graphics
• Art History
• HART1602 19th- and 20th-Century Art in London Collections II

I've been wanting to take an art history course! So I hope to take this course. What's even better is that classes will be taught at major museums such as the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, etc. Learning from the primary source is one of the best things about studying in Europe.

As for the CS courses, I'm taking Theory I in replacement of the CS231 Fundamental Algorithms course at Wellesley. Also for the CS major, there are one-200 level course and one-300 level course requirements. So I am taking the other two courses to fulfill those parts of the CS major. Of course, I am interested in the courses, aka "modules." I want to learn about how to be a software engineer and I want to learn how to make 3-D graphics on computers.

So right now, it is "induction week" and it's a waiting game for classes to start next week. I seriously can't wait for everything to get going... maybe I'll finally feel at peace and time will fly much faster.

xoxo,
Kristian


UK Tip for Studying Abroad #7: Don't travel through Ireland, Scotland, etc. when studying abroad in the UK.

• You won't get a student visitor visa from Britain and you will face problems in enrolling and registering yourself to officially become a student. 
• It will be a stressful process! 
• So travel straight to Heathrow or at least to a country that will make you go through customs when going to the UK. :)

Things That Happened A Billion Days A Go..

I have officially been in the UK for one whole week, but my body feels like it's been forever. So much has happened in the past few days, meeting people, experiencing new things, and adjusting to a new life.

One thing that I dislike the most about UCL is classes not starting until the first week of October. I feel so much pressure about studying for my courses in as little as 12 weeks. I still haven't finalized my course selection... but that is going to be another entry...

I finally am an official student at UCL! I have an id card and I am all set to go. The UCL campus is definitely unlike Wellesley. The layout of the campus is urban and similar to Harvard. The difference from Harvard is that the halls of residence are so far away. I have to walk 20 minutes to get to UCL and this is considered lucky in the UK.

After attending talks about budgeting, living in London, developing new study skills, and making a program of study, I learned so much more about UCL then before. UCL was the first university in the UK that accepted students on secular grounds and without regard to their sex. UCL has famous alumni such as Charles Darwin, all the members of Coldplay, and notably Christopher Nolan (director of Inception, etc.). I suppose I feel proud to be a part of this community from not only the famous alumni, but with all the people in the UCL community. 

I have met and chatted with UCL students from all over the world -- Germany, Norway, Slovenia, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, etc. UCL makes me realize how London can be international and how it is very different from the US. Wellesley has a large population on international students, but not compared to UCL (UCL is must bigger, so it has an advantage there).

As it is 1am in the UK, I'll leave you here... I have much more to update...!

-- My first pub quiz event

-- Visit to London's Chinatown

-- Open Roof Bus Tours

-- Shopping on Oxford Street, specifically Primark

And many tips! Most tips do not come from my own personal experience and are usually noted through observation of others. :)