Just over a month left…

Well I’ve been gone for just over 80 days now and I’m just getting my first real break in about… 80 days.  I haven’t even had a real weekend in about two weeks!  So if you can imagine, I don’t know what to do with all this free time!  Mostly I’ve been sleeping until about 2-3pm and staying up just as late in the am.

But its really nice, I think the whole school needed a break, especially us engineering kids.  We just finished a week long super intensive lab where in the span of 9 days, on top of our other classes, we were charged with creating a fully prototyped, commercially viable product which we had to present to an audience of our peers and faculty.  It was really awesome and I learned a ton, but 2 weeks of super late nights is a little wearing!  Our product was very successful and the whole lab was such a success that the school is hiring a patent lawyer to look over all the projects so that maybe we could patent some of them!  Wouldn’t that be cool, to leave first semester of freshman year with a couple of patents under your belt!?!

The week before all this was filled with engineering as well because I was part of a team of 11 students who were working on modifying a pedal car to race in an event on the Corniche.  It was a lot of work, and again a lot of late nights, because we didn’t get the actual car until 2 weeks before the race, and then we didn’t get any tools until a week before the race!  (oh the fun of a brand new university!)  But we pulled it together and we raced very successfully!  We placed 4th out of over 20 entries!  In our first year!  Next year, we’re going to dominate.  You can check out some pictures at the NYUAD website.

Well, other than that, school’s been going very well, despite the very high workload.  We’re still trying to get some basic things like student government and music ensembles off the ground but its coming along.  Many people are taking a chance this break to travel around the region (or Europe – its close enough!) so its quiet around the tower.  It rained last week!  Probably less than an inch but it was more than enough to get most of the school out of their beds at 11:30pm to come dance in the streets.  You never really know how much you can miss simple precipitation…  I can’t wait to see all the snow back in MN, so make sure it doesn’t all melt!  Until next time!

Bi-monthly update!

So I realized I haven’t written for a while (3 weeks oops!) And so I figured it was definitely time to catch everyone up!

Basically, the energy hasn’t decreased since last time I wrote, but I think that I’m getting used to it.  And I’m compensating by napping hard and often.  I mean, with the heat you could probably just call it a siesta.  But the people and classes here are really fun and interesting.

We just finished with mid-quarter testing, so that’s a big load off of our shoulders (although I didn’t have that hard of a time with it), and so this weekend has been relatively relaxed.  I only have to edit one paper by tomorrow and read two books by Tuesday.  But that’s not too bad.

I think I’ve finally settled into a routine of sorts which is helping me portion out my work which is leaving me at a relatively low stress rate.  Every weekday (Sun-Thurs) at 8am I have Foundations of Science, then on Mondays and Wednesdays I have Calculus, on Sunday I have Human Voice writing workshop, Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Voice Seminar, and on Thursdays as well I have Engineering Foundations.  So far we have not really started going to/using the labs because the lab professor was receiving an award in NY one week and the other FoS professors determined that the student body was too stressed and could use a break a.k.a. no lab, and the next week we had mid-terms.  This means that I generally have the entire afternoon and evening to myself, friends and homework.  Which works out!  I usually can parcel out my work so that there isn’t too much at once, which leads to my low stress life.  High energy, low stress.

Well that was until I received my first real writing assignment.  Which was the most stressful moment yet, in the workload sense.  I had to write a sonic essay about well… voice, and the discussion between my interior and exterior voices and based on other readings which we had done.  Basically compared to normal writing prompts which I’ve received in the past, this was the most vague and abstract thing I’ve ever had to do.  It made me unhappy, uncomfortable, and a little stressed, which I later realized is exactly what college writing assignments are supposed to do.  So I’m happy to report that I have successfully learned something, what it is, I’m not sure, but I know how to deal with odd writing prompts now.

So besides that slight bump, life has been good.  Although speaking of bumps, I did catch an elbow to the cheekbone today in flag football practice, but I think the small cut looks pretty awesome so its all good.  Football has been really good fun and really good exercise, and we’re looking for our first NYUAD football win tomorrow night!  The first NYUAD sports victory came this week when our Basketball team won a close game 48-44 over a team of Filipino men, and then our Dragonboat team won their division at the all Abu Dhabi races (which is very impressive) so the football team is looking to keep up the trend.

Oh my!  There is so much to tell!  Now that I’ve finally settled in here (mostly), I am starting to have to come to terms with some of the things that go along with living in this country and society.  Most of them have to deal with labor issues in the country, namely the fact that immigrant labor here borders on indentured servitude in some places and that most people have zero rights.  This may sound surprising considering that most people would think that the religious laws would be most controversial, but considering my lifestyle, I really don’t mind the regulations on alcohol, sex, drugs and public appearance.  But most concerning part for me is how do I live in a building built by people who had no health insurance, fair wages, or societal status.  Its something I’ve been thinking about and I still don’t have an answer but I’ve only been here 6 weeks, I’ll give it more time.

Well, I hope everyone everywhere else is doing great and I will try to write again soon.  I think I’ll have to start delving into the specifics of this place soon, so if you’re really curious about something, leave me a comment (I will check them more often) and you’ll see what I think.  A bientot!

Limbo...

Today I finished my first week of classes ever at NYUAD and all I can say is Thank God its THURSDAY!  that's right, Thursday's the new Friday here, and right now, I am really appreciating that.  Well I have been since 1:30 which is when I got back to my dorm/apartment and fell asleep until just about now.  I hope that gives some idea of how high energy this place is.  

I feel like soon weekends will become largely devoted to homework considering the coursework that everyone is taking.  I myself have been attending the equivalent of 5.5 different courses, or 5 different courses as I have been existing in a state of limbo between 2 classes - Calculus and Econ - because things are still getting settled here.   In addition I just today got all of my required books for each of my classes (except Calculus and Econ!) after visiting the bookstore 3 different times for that exact purpose.  My total book expense is over $1,000 (4 000 dhs) and it will climb as I figure out whether or not I will be taking Calculus or Intro to Economic Thinking. 

So even though this was only the first week of class, it has definitely set the stage for a rigorous semester and year!  My science course meets daily during the week and has a weekly 5 hour lab component as well, so I'm just thinking about the immense amount of information to be delivered in those sessions.  And on the other end of the spectrum I am taking a half-course called Engineering Foundations: Design & Innovation which only meets once a week and in which the idea is to set the stage for what being an engineer is all about.  In our first class today, we were required to advertise ourselves as a product to the others in the room, and then work in groups to give a presentation on what an NYUAD engineering graduate will look like.  Now that at first didn't sound that fun but the amazing people who attend here made it very exciting.  In addition, this class has set itself apart from others in that the homework and problems in this class are purposefully not specific to encourage us to break from patterns and learn to recognize constraints even when they aren't explicitly defined.  So under the gun, in 10 minutes, our group decided that the NYUAD engineering graduate should resemble the child of Jackie Chan and Dr. House wearing Jackie's famous super tuxedo as well.  I was most worried about this class because of its uncertainty in what I could read about it but if it continues like this it will quickly become my favorite and maybe even cement my commitment to being an engineer.  

This is contrasted to Calculus, Econ, and Science where this week has been mostly dull lectures which are review to me.  I know they will pick up and I will also only be picking up 2/3 of them but in that dept. this week was simply routine establishing.

Speaking of routines, I have been attempting to add things into my routine while it is still being developed so I can start some good habits!  So:  I am from now on going to cut my pop intake to one a day, I will workout every morning (this has been thwarted by an evil alarm clock so far), and I want to eat breakfast every day.  So there, you all know it, and if I don't keep it up I'll feel bad.

Well I think that's all I've got for now.  If anyone has any special questions please just comment.  (comments also make me feel popular).  I'll write again soon!

Update!

Sorry for the delay. As you can imagine, these last few days have been very busy for me.  I have gone to Paris, seen the best sights, left Paris, come here to Abu Dhabi, checked into my dorm room, and have begun a very rigorous orientation program and just now I've found the time to let everyone know what's up.

So where to start... Well I think the beginning is generally a really good place, so: leaving for Paris.

Leaving home I thought wasn't very hard for me.  I really couldn't wait to go and the taxi couldn't get to our house fast enough, and as my family can attest to, I was bouncing around looking for things to do so I would calm down.  this was for several reasons, partly i think because i have been in my house all summer and I was ready for a change of scenery, but mostly because of the exciting adventure I was about to begin!  I was off to college in Abu Dhabi after a weekend vacation in my favorite place in the world, Paris!

So we were off, and as usual, airports were stressful, but we arrived in Paris with no extra unplanned events or incidents and started our first day there fresh off the plane at around 8-9 in the morning.  We decided that we needed to try to stay awake and mobile to get used to the time zone, which is something I think worked, so we went to the L'Arc du Triomphe and the Louvre and enjoyed the great view from the top of the arc and La Jaconde at the Louvre.  The next day we visited Ile de la Cite and Notre Dame and walked back through the Jardin de Touleries.  And in the following days, we visited La Musee D'Orsay, Versailles, and Sacre-Coeur among several other stops, and we spent a good 3-4 hours in the Eiffel Tower.  I have to say that I have never seen anything that compares to the Royal Gardens at Versailles and nothing as meaningful as the tributes and memorials in the Pantheon.  i also came to revere Sacre-Coeur even more than Notre Dame for its sheer beauty and elegance.  But alas, all good things must end, although what has happened after this wonderful trip has been no less exciting either!

To be honest, I'm not sure if I even have comprehended being here at NYUAD yet but I'll try my best to articulate the story.  Well first of all, the arrival in Abu Dhabi was definitely much more stressful than Charles de Gaulle in Paris since this was my first time there and it has a completely different atmosphere than anything I've felt.  thankfully, the university had arranged for all students to be met by someone at the airport to streamline us students through and ensure there were no problems with passports or anything.  But it was a bit tense when our airport assistant told us that she had only been notified of MY arrival and not that of my family and that there might not have been transportation arranged for all of us, leaving us waiting for our baggage wondering what was next.  but thankfully NYUAD came through and their representative was waiting at the exits waiting for us with not one, but 2 vehicles, who escorted us quickly to our hotel, the Hilton Abu Dhabi, which is quite the place I might add.

We spent the next day and a half relaxing in the rooms, venturing out only to realize that it was much to hot to be outside for swimming, and to visit the famous Marina Mall for a moment just to check it out.  Indeed, it is hot here, it is a heat only describable as my Physics teacher would say as Damn Hot.  During the day, it reaches 110 F and at night the sea breeze rolls in giving the air 80% humidity.  this I have found is akin to a full-body submersion into a hot tub with all your clothes on.  In addition, the sun is somehow brighter here and sunglasses are absolutely necessary nearly everywhere just to see.  Yes, the weather is treacherous, but I'm told it gets better so I'll make it through.

Anyways, due to Ramadan, many places are closed and eating and drinking and many other things are now taboo in public during the day.  Many stores' hours are quite unusual, they'll open from 10-1 then reopen at 8 at night often into the early morning hours as people celebrate the breaking of the fast with family and friends.  It is quite an amazing time to be thrust into this culture and I am getting more and more anxious, along with the whole city, for the end of the month of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid.  Which I've heard described as Christmas with more partying.  So i can't wait.

Now along the timeline... I have now spent 2 nights in my dorm.  I have met all of my roommates, who come here like me from around the world.  I have still only partially figured out the layout of the Residence Hall, Sama tower, which is quite a confusing place, and I find myself facing the wrong direction or waiting for the wrong elevator quite often.  But I'm getting the hang of it.  Last night we had the first official meeting of the Class of 2014 and it was quite an event!  Several speakers and a great feast after the call to prayer and the fast were broken were topped off by amazing lighting and glitchy mics which eventually led to a 10 minute generator failure.  But food tastes the same in the light as it does in the dark so it was no real problem.  We were all so exhausted or excited to care or critique much of anything.

Today on the other hand, was a bit of a reality check.  After most of us had been up late for the past two nights and many were jetlagged (not myself, I was just tired from the excitement) we began our orientation with a full day of getting talked at about topics ranging from who our deans are to local laws and customs (so we don't accidentally seriously offend anyone) which culminated in lots of droopy-eyed 18 year-olds from around the world siting at tables in a large tent writing letters to themselves for later.  I would bet those are not going to be the best pieces of writing that anyone had written.

But now, I am getting ready to go to another dinner and another exciting breaking of the fast before telling my family, who is still in Abu Dhabi, good bye for 4 months afterwards.  As you may be able to tell, there is really too much to tell, and my mind and body are not truly able to do this experience justice at the moment.  I hope all is well wherever you are reading this and I hope to write more coherently soon!

Saint Paul Today, Paris Tomorrow!

Well here I am, finally all packed and ready to go get on a plane this afternoon.  Let me tell you, packing was not easy, and it was just as stressful as I thought it would be to simplify my life into 3 suitcases and 2 carry-ons (It does feel a little better knowing that my life takes up 3 suitcases and not 2...).  But I'm better now and its just the waiting that's killing me.  Especially since most of my closest friends have all packed up and tearfully departed themselves.  Leaving myself (and some others who have it much worse in that they aren't leaving for a while yet) to sit around in anticipation of what I see and hear from them.

So I guess I am really getting very excited about leaving, but in many ways it hasn't clicked yet.  Packing brought reality closer but I'm still in this sort of emotional limbo, caught between fear, anxiety, excitement, and stir-craziness, and it might not be for a whole other day when we touch down in Paris that I finally get it that I'm off to college in the craziest place in the world!

Whenever it "clicks", I know I'm just going to be jumping for joy and excitement.  I am not afraid.  This is not naivety, I know what I'm doing for the most part, but because the opportunity far outweighs the risk, there is no reason to be fearful.  Sure I'm worried, about littler things like making friends and decorating my room, but there is no great fear.

I know some people have a problem with fear.  They fear the unknown, the foreign, the strange, when really I see opportunity in those things.  I think that to be afraid like that would lead to a sad and sheltered life, away from the world's true beauty.  America has been a machine of diversity for a long time and it has made me sad to see those who close themselves off and decide to be afraid even today.  Fear is the root of many of our problems in the USA: the financial crisis has turned into a recession because of people's fears, there is only an argument about health care because people are afraid of the government, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are direct results of an entire nation being afraid.  Now, some of this may be justified, but I personally would like a break, and I am excited to get one.

I am getting anxious to see what the world looks like on the other side.  I want to know everything about everything.  Well almost, statistics and biology still seem pretty BS to me.  But everything else!  I mean, really, look at the world and your life, ask yourself what's stopping you from doing the same?  I mean, Saint Paul today, Paris tomorrow, Abu Dhabi next week... who knows where I will go?  but the future is uncertain for EVERYONE! the trick, I think, is to embrace it, let it go where it takes you, but don't be afraid to do something amazing.

Packing...

This week has presented an interesting predicament for me;  my desire to depart has been steadily growing, but my motivation to do anything, like pack, has fallen off a cliff and died.  In addition, my friends and classmates are leaving left and right, which is not necessarily sad, but has definitely brought the reality of leaving to my door.

I have now helped two of my closest friends pack up their belongings and load up their cars, experiences which were sad, hard, and mildly stressful, as they brought upon me the realization that my life the way I know it is going to end on August 29th.  And while this might seem to be a piece of motivation, so far, it has been the opposite, as I am now despairing over the idea that I have to pack my life into two suitcases.  I mean, I'm not a materialistic person, I don't mind not having things around me, but the idea that many of the objects which describe me or meaningful to me can be put into a box is repulsive.  Its an issue of perspective, the idea that the things we choose to symbolize us when we're not around can be reduced to a box in the attic or a suitcase or two.

So, for whatever reason, these sentiments have been barring me from making any progress on packing outside of a packing list, which I even refrained from until outside pressures made me cy excitement rising, that I can and will do SOMETHING today about packing.  It will be sad, but I can do it.  Besides, if I can't PACK, how will I ever survive the next 4 years?  Well, thank you my friends who have shown me perspective and now strength, I've got to get to my suitcases now.

T-minus: 9 Days to Departure!

As I get closer to leaving, and life is getting a little more hectic, I thought I'd give the lo-down on the events in my life that I have found to be blog-worthy.  Firstly, and most importantly, I have been accepted into the inaugural class of New York University Abu Dhabi, which means that I will be spending most of my next 4 years in the United Arab Emirates and other locations around the globe.  This sort of college experience will be the first of its kind as I go off to study abroad, and abroad from abroad, for the entirety of my college education (I will have the opportunity to study abroad in New York City if I please!).

So, in part, this blog is to describe what its like to be a 4-year international student in a country that is not the US, and also in part so that those back home and afar can share in my adventures.  As many have told me, my experience will be entirely unique and once-in-a-lifetime, and I hope to share it with the whole world, since really, what fun is an adventure if there's no one to hear about it?

My goal is to write such that any reader can take part in my experiences as they happen, and that anyone can learn something from anything that I have learnt.  I undoubtedly will have my whole world flipped upside-down, shaken, then repositioned at an entirely new angle - more than once - and, as it happens, and as my views change or solidify, I will do my best to record what it is like to become a world citizen.

I dearly hope that I will come out of this a changed and improved person.  Someone who more than ever, respects all people, loves all of life, and wants to make the world better for everyone and everything.  I believe the seeds of all of these ideas are what won me admission into what will without a doubt become one of the premier learning institutions in the world, and it was the promise of a perfect environment to cultivate and grow my seeds that sold me on this adventure.

Besides, 7,500 miles isn't that far!  Its way closer than any other life-bearing world that we know about, so why not travel around and discover what humanity has to offer?  College is meant to be life-changing and radical, and I believe that I am pursuing that idea to the max.  Thank you to everyone who has helped me to this point, and wish me luck as I dive into the world!