Here's your weekly dose of Kiwi Slang: "keen" means the same thing as "down". As in, "Are you down to go to the movies tonight?" or, "I'm going to the party, are you down?". So if someone says they're going to get lunch and asks you if you're keen, they're asking if you want to join. You can also combine it with our Kiwi Slang lesson from my last post: if someone asks you if you're keen to play badminton, you can respond, "Keen as!". Happy first week of Uni! After 3 months of winter (and partially summer) break it's finally time to put my thinking cap back on. I can sense that it's going to be a struggle in a place as beautiful as New Zealand. How can I lock myself indoors to do my homework when there are so many great places outside to explore?! For my first day of Uni there was a double rainbow outside my bedroom window arching over the City Campus (that has to be a sign that it's going to be a good semester, right?). When I chose where I wanted to study abroad, I tried to pick a school and location that were completely different from my home University of Providence College in the city of Providence, Rhode Island. I was traveling across the world to experience new things, so I didn't want to choose the same school setting in the same type of place to make it seem like I never left my comfort zone. I wanted to experience something completely new and different and that included the University. I think I did a pretty good job at picking the polar opposite of Providence College. Back home at PC, my morning walk to class consists of me rolling out of bed at 8:20AM, throwing on some clothes, and walking across a short length of grass on the secluded campus to get to class by 8:30 looking somewhat presentable. The earliest possible class at the University of Auckland is 8AM and l'm lucky enough to have 3 of them per week. After my first 8AM class of the semester, I considered starting to drink coffee (those of you who know me well know that I've never tried coffee and refuse to drink it because I think Americans drink way too much of it and way spend too much money on it, and I'd rather not get addicted to caffeine). My morning walk to class at the University of Auckland is more like a pre-class morning workout: I emerge from my room in a zombie-like state at 7:25 in the morning, greet my flatmate Jordan in the kitchen (or at least who I think is Jordan from what I can see through the crust in my eyes), get dressed, pack my lunch for the day, leave the flat no later than 7:45, cross a highway, climb up a giant hill steeper than some of the mountains I've climbed, walk down some busy city streets, and arrive at my class by 8AM with a thick layer of sweat on my face. I leave the apartment feeling put-together, and by the time I get to class I feel like I need a shower. It's a process, but its not all bad: at the end of this semester I'm going to have some WICKED nice, toned legs. While both Providence College and the University of Auckland are located in big cities, PC has an isolated campus in the city while at Auckland Uni, the campus IS the city. The most annoying part of this change is having to wait at crosswalks for traffic to pass. I have to set aside 5 minutes in the morning just to get across the busy highway that's a 2 minute walk from my apartment. I'm guilty of jaywalking every morning as I climb the hill- I'd much rather cross quickly when there's a break in the line of traffic than have to sit at the top of the hill waiting for the light to turn green- especially if I'm running late. But the busy highway crosswalk is the one that I absolutely cannot avoid because the traffic never stops and there's no other way up to the University. I just have to accept defeat and wait at the light for 5 minutes. (Side note: in addition to taking forever to turn green, the time allocated to cross is also incredibly short. So if you're approaching the light from far away and see the little green man appear, you do what I call "the student scramble"- a brisk jog to the crosswalk so you can make it there before the light turns red again and you have to wait another 5 minutes. If you listen closely you can hear those students mutter an expletive before the commence their panicked trot.) One thing you don't think about until you experience it is what side of the street people walk on. In New Zealand, we drive on the left side of the road which means people also walk on the left side of the road. Even the entrances to buildings are on the left rather than the right. I have to constantly remind myself when I walk up the stairs to stay to the left. If you're looking to single yourself out as an American, the easiest way to do that is to walk on the right side of the sidewalk right into the crowd of students on their way to class. Campus is much smaller than I originally thought it would be, but that's mostly because I only have class on the City Campus. There are 6 different campuses, plus multiple other University sites, making Auckland Uni much larger than PC. I'm confined to the City Campus which I'd say is approximately the same size as PC. There are only 6 major universities in New Zealand and they're all public with government-subsidized tuition. University tuition is only about $8,000 a year in New Zealand compared to $60,000 a year at Providence College and most other private schools in the United States. But since tuition is a lot less, you pay upfront for things like printing, food, library fines, and club memberships (in the US you pay for clubs sneakily as part of your tuition- I paid $25 to join the Auckland University Tramping Club **PSA: tramping = hiking**).
Something PC and UoA have in common is they both have on-campus bars. The difference in drinking age just means that there are more University-sponsored events at the University of Auckland that allow drinking and have alcohol available for purchase. McPhail's at PC is a more casual on-campus bar where professors have Friday afternoon happy hour and Seniors get casual drinks with their friends. There isn't much heavy drinking or partying that goes on in McPhail's. Many students will perform there, and it's become a tradition for juniors to go there to have their first legal drink when they turn 21. Shadows at UoA is pretty much an on-campus club with a DJ where students feel comfortable drinking heavily and dancing. The bars have 2 very different atmospheres: PC being a small Catholic school with a campus that is simultaneously home and school, people don't feel comfortable letting loose in the on-campus bar. Those who want to drink heavily prefer to do so in their rooms or at off-campus bars where they don't feel restricted by security. There are bouncers in and around the bar at UoA, but since students don't live directly on campus, they are much more carefree. At Providence College we have around 4,800 total students (including Undergraduate and Graduate), but the University of Auckland has about 8x as many students. Their total enrollment is around 42,000 which includes Undergraduate, Graduate, and Post-Graduate PHD students. With this many students it's no wonder why it's such a hassle getting to campus and walking around the city on school days. Most people have longer commutes to campus than I do and have to use either a bike, a car, a motor scooter, or a bus and leave home long before their first class to get to school on time. This makes car and foot traffic pretty much non-stop until the school day ends. Surprisingly, even though Auckland Uni is so big, I've still managed to run into familiar faces on campus whether it's someone from my study abroad program, someone from class, or someone I've met through my roommates. It is, however, much easier to hide: I can go a whole day walking from class to class unknown and unnoticed without having to interact with anyone. At PC, I can't go anywhere without seeing someone I know which makes it hard to get work done because I always end up talking to a friend- it's a good problem to have. Even if I don't know someone, I recognize their face and I could probably tell you their major or who they're friends with just from seeing them around campus. In contrast, Auckland Uni is a sea of unfamiliar people- if I stick to a routine I see some familiar faces, but for the most part it feels like I'm around new people each day.
The weirdest adjustment for me at the University of Auckland is having lecturers rather than professors and calling them by their first names. A big school needs a lot of teaching staff, so not every teacher has their PHD or has achieved full professor status; thus, we refer to them all as "lecturers". We also have Tutorials associated with some classes which are essentially like Providence College Seminars where we discuss in smaller groups what we've learned and put the lecture material into practice. Tutors are usually Auckland Uni students who are working on getting a Graduate degree in that field and are hired to help out with courses in their field of study. We refer to them by their first names as well. In the beginning, I was too afraid to call my Ecology lecturer Caroline, so every time I had a question I would just say, "excuse me," until she looked at me and then I'd ask my question. It took time and hearing other students do it too for me to gather up the courage to call her by her name and adjust to the new normal. Even now it still freaks me out- I've spent 20 years being formal and respectful with my teachers and now I'm expected to start addressing them like they're my BFF Jill? Even though we refer to lecturers informally, our correspondence with them and their academic expectations of us are still just as formal and serious. As you'd expect at a University of 42,000 people, class size is HUGE: I have between 200-300 students in each of my 4 classes. I attend class in GIANT lecture halls with stadium seating where the lecturer speaks into a microphone. You sit in long rows and you can't get out of your seat without making everyone else in your row get up. All the lectures are recorded: since class size is so large, it's less work to record every lecture than having to speak with everyone who's missed a lecture for illness or otherwise (especially for first-year students who haven't made many friends that they can get notes from yet). That being said, you *technically* don't have to show up to class because you can just download the lecture recording and slides online and listen/watch them at home (but I'm a giant nerd who likes to stay on top of my work so I show up to all my classes anyway- I am guilty of missing one or two classes due to stress, but I always make up my work promptly.) Just for comparison, the biggest class I've had at PC was my General Biology class with 60 people, the smallest was Honors Writing with 7, and the average is somewhere around 20. Needless to say, it's a big jump and a bit of a shock for me. The change isn't bad, it's just different and I have to adapt to my new classroom environment. Each class at the University of Auckland is worth 15 points (equivalent to 4 US credits) so I'm only taking 4 classes: Introduction to Programming (the Computer Science requirement for my Math major- which here is called "Maths"), Geography of the Human Environment, Introduction to Pacific Studies, and (what originally was New Zealand Ecology and Conservation but is now) Introduction to Ethics. Geography of the Human Environment is my 8AM class- 8AM is ROUGH and you can tell I really love this class because I didn't switch out of it. One thing that stood out to me on the first day of classes was that a majority of those in my Pacific Studies class were Pacific students. Gen Eds aren't as numerous as they are at PC, so if you're in a Pacific Studies intro class you're either a Pacific Studies Major or an exchange student like myself. I was the minority, and at first I felt like people would look at me weird for being there but then I remembered they're there to learn just like I am. However, they have a cultural background and knowledge that I don't have, so it's important that I know my place in the classroom and just listen to those around me. I think more non-Pacific (palangi) people should join the class to learn about the Pacific and it's multitude of island nations, languages, and cultures. I've only been in the class for 2.5 months and I feel like I've been exposed to a world of new cultural knowledge and perspectives that I never would have known existed if I hadn't taken Pacific Studies. On another note, I'm one of the few girls, and Caucasians, in my Computer Science class. The majority of students at Auckland Uni (39%) are Asian, which is evident in this class. Before the semester began, I was SO excited to take New Zealand Ecology and Conservation. In my mind it was going to be about conservation and environmental issues in a New Zealand context. I seem to have forgotten about the "Ecology" part. About 2 weeks into the course after we finished an "awesome as" intro about New Zealand's formation/connection to the ancient supercontinent Gondwana, a field trip, and a Statistics lesson which spoke to my Math major self, the class turned into lectures about rivers and phytoplankton and estuaries and I realized Ecology was not what I enjoyed learning about and I needed to get out of the class... fast. Unfortunately, this realization came on the evening of the last day to drop classes. Trying to get switched out of Ecology was the most difficult, long, and stressful process I've ever been through at University- I learned first-hand the downsides of attending a large school. I didn't really know who to talk to about switching out of the class, so I had to run around campus talking to anyone who could possibly help me. When I spoke to one person, they sent me to talk to another person on the other side of campus. I tried switching into 4 different classes and in each case I had to figure out who was in charge and contact them. There are multiple faculties/schools and each faculty has different levels of administration that are in charge of different students, so I never knew who to go to until I located the department on campus and asked around. Nobody really seemed to care if my problem was fixed because I was just another jellybean in the jar. I counted, but only as a number and a statistic. It made me miss Providence College and thankful that the faculty at PC care so much about us and dedicate so much time to giving us individual attention. Thankfully, I was able to find a class (Introduction to Ethics) that fit in my timetable and wiggled my way into the course 3 weeks late. I had 6 lectures to catch up on and an $120 NZD late enrollment fee to pay, but anything was better than being stuck in Ecology. If I have to count one more periwinkle or throw a quadrat to calculate the percentage cover of barnacles, I might spontaneously combust. If I had known what I know now then, I would've enrolled into the IFSA-Butler Community & Culture course from the beginning- but hindsight is 20/20. Needless to say, I've since dropped my Evolutionary Biology & Ecology minor. To make sure that students have a voice amidst the masses, there is an organization on campus, separate from the University, called AUSA (Auckland University Student Association) that advocates for students. Their concern is students' interests/well-being, and if there's an issue on campus they help to rectify it. In the first week of the semester, each course at the University of Auckland elects Class Rep(s) (representatives) to serve as the voice or voices for that class. If there's any concern about the professor or coursework, classmates refer to their Class Reps who have 2 required meetings with staff during the semester. It's their way of ensuring that all grievances are heard in such a large environment. AUSA also hosts student events and has a house right in the center of campus that looks very much like a frat house. Within the classroom, there are a bunch of small differences from what I'm used to. First, New Zealanders write the date differently: the day comes before the month so April 25th 2018 is written 25/04/18. I only use their date format on official papers because a 20-year-old habit is hard to break, and it isn't worth trying to break the habit if it's only going to last a few months. Second, they have a different paper length: instead of 8x11 computer paper, they have size A4 which is noticeably longer. Third, they have a different grading system: the range of number scores that get you an A, B, C, etc. is larger. In order to pass you need a 50% and an 80% is an A-. Don't be fooled- this doesn't mean that it's any easier to get an A. Fourth, several words have slightly different spellings that I've noticed as I've taken notes in lecture or written essays on Microsoft word using New Zealand English. Here are a few examples: center--> centre, practice--> practise, defense--> defence, any word that ends in "ize" or "ization" changes to "ise" or "isation" (for example, civilization--> civilisation), and any word that ends in "or" that makes the "oar" sound generally ends in "our" (for example, labor--> labour). Fifth, in Dr. Donohoe fashion, the letter "Z" is not pronounced "zee" it's pronounced "zed". Last but definitely not least, THEY DON'T USE THE OXFORD COMMA... EVER! Every typed sheet of paper I've been given has excluded the Oxford comma in necessary cases. It's something I just can't get used to- it's grammar blasphemy!
By the end of my first day of class, I was Uni roadkill. After collapsing on my bed, accepting defeat, taking a nap, and taking medication for my massive headache, Lizzie and I took a sunset hike up Mount Eden. Fresh air and beautiful views are the perfect cure for any first-day-of-school woes. Balancing schoolwork and adventuring is going to be difficult, but I'm ready for the challenge.
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