Class Number 1: Issues In Photo History
- This is the one class that I was not sure what to expect from. The course description was dense and mindless but I really wanted to take a photography class so, here I am. There are two of my really good friends from my apartment complex that are in the class as well. Hannah is a really amazing little blond girl from Idaho and Austin is... well, he's Austin and he's from Chico too. We all sat together in the front and somehow there was a girl brave enough to sit in the last seat at our table with us. Hey name is Jayde and she is from the Gold Coast originally. She was super nice to talk to! She is really into photography and is currently majoring in media arts. She says that she is trying to get into surf photography, which sounds totally awesome. We talked for 15 or 20 minutes and realized that it was WAY past the time class should have started. We decided to wait until a half hour past before we left. Right as we went to get up, our teacher bounded into the room. Let me explain this guy to you... think, Gene Wilder (from Willy Wonka) in appearance and Michael Cera in awkwardness. This guy is AWESOME. He stumbled over a few sentences trying to redeem himself for being late and THEN sent us away for another half hour so he could get his stuff! It was awesome! I was laughing about it the whole half hour before we actually had class. So, we got coffee and headed back to see what was going on and he was another 15 minutes late! I couldn't believe it. He handed out the class syllabus, we went over a bunch of admin. stuff, and then got a little into the course content. It turns out this class is basically a History of Photography class! I am so excited! It is going to be really amazing to learn more about where cameras come from and how the technology has changed as well as the themes of photography over time. Combine that with this quirky professor and BAM! Awesome class.
Class Number 2: Psychology of the Health Sciences
- This class was probably my most interestingly stimulating of the 4 I am taking, for a few different reason. First of all, it is a first year class, so everyone there is about 18 and just entered Uni. It's their first semester right now, so a lot of them looked extremely nervous but were very friendly and I think happy to talk to and relate with the people next to them. Second, this class is in a HUGE auditorium. Way bigger than any of the ones at Chico. There have got to be 300 people in this class. The third thing I found particularly interesting is the emphasis the teacher has made on how disgusting it is that the US is #1 in wealth and #24 in health care. The ENTIRE lecture was about how that is even possible or why that may be and let me tell you, they had NO shame in their answers. "They're fat!' "Bad lifestyle choices!" "Money means everything!" "Stress from greedy!" I don't think any of them new there was an American around! haha! It was all very true and very honest, but it all seemed a bit harsh and premeditated. I was surprised in a way, but it didn't phase me. :) The class itself sounds very cool. We are talking about how psychology plays a role in the medical world, further than just clinical depression and such. Topics include why people will sometimes be paralyzed but have no physical cause and how people die of a 'broken heart'. It seems really interesting and really relevant to a lot of other fields. I am excited to learn and continue being hated by this class.
Class Number 3: Lifespan Development in Psychology
- This class is definatly going to be the most challenging. We got to class, did 15 minutes of admin. stuff, and then dove right into a HUGE lecture. It is a third year class, which is where I am currently at technically, but the way they run things is a lot different here than in the US. As a third year, I am fully responsible for knowing everything I have learned over the past 2 years and to not ask about them in lectures. If I have a question, I make a note and go back later to figure it out on my own. We have a research report paper due in 6 weeks that has to be 2500 words to 3000 words in a format I have never even heard of as well as multiple chapter readings a week and online quizzes. This is more American styled, but a lot harder than the Chico State classes I have taken so far. I am really excited because instead of just child development chapters, there are chapters on development as an adult all the way up until we die. I have never learned anything about that so it is going to be really enlightening, just very hard to get through with a great grade.
Class Number 4: Rock Art in the 21st Century
- Unfortunately, this class has nothing to do with art posters or rock and roll. But what it is about seems just as amazing. We are going to be studying Rock Art of the aborigine tribes from around the world. We will learn how to analyze it, label it, read into it, and even make some of our own. We don't have any tests, just some really fantastic assignments. The class also holds an emphasis on the progression of art over time (from caves to the Louvre). The teacher is AWESOME. He's an older guy that reminds me of my 7th grade science teacher Mr. Fox. He has got a lot of really quirky Rock Art jokes, which are hilarious in their own right. He is always traveling around in helicopters and climbing rock faces and going in and out of different countries to explore their rocky areas in search of art. To me, he's like a modern day Indiana Jones. I kid you not, he showed a picture of him repelling from a helicopter onto a rock shelf over a thousand foot drop into the rain forest. And he's like, 60 year old. He is a total bad ass. He was very very nice as well. He said our final project is a creative arts assignment because he believes that art is under appreciated on all levels and that writing assessments don't do people justice to their true potential. He has a great mind set and the class is really unique to anything I have ever taken before so I am really stoked on it.
That's basically it so far. I have some fun plans for the weekend I hope but I am not feeling too hot. I want to take a lot of pictures this weekend. I may be going to Brisbane tonight and spending the night there with Brittney and Tiffany. That would be wildly fun I think. They like to have me around because as many of you know, I have a motherly tendency that usually keeps everyone safe in face of social dangers (they let me know how mommy-ish I can be). Besides that, I hope I can do something really awesome this weekend. I am craving a mini adventure.
So, I've got my brains. Now all I need is a heart, the nerve, a home...
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