University Life.

Helllooo Kelburn!

   So, school. That’s what I’m here for right? I know I’ve mentioned it from time to time, but I don’t think I’ve talked about it too much. It’s a lot different than the States, but it’s also really similar. I’ll try to explain it the best I can!

   Most students take 3 or 4 classes, or papers, as they call them. I have 2 lectures that are 50 minutes long, and one that is 1 hour 50 minutes. Each lecture has an accompanying tutorial/lab (if it’s science), which is similar to the lecture, but with less people. There are several different tutorial times to accommodate everyone’s schedule. Some lectures have hundreds of people, so tutorials make it easier to ask questions and collaborate with other students. Language classes have a tutorial and an audio-visual session. So you end up spending a lot of time each week at lectures, tutorials, labs, AV classes, and whatever else they have that I don’t know about.

   I’m taking Spanish, Topics in Environmental Science, and Photographics. The Spanish class is intermediate level, so it’s not too hard for me since I’ve been studying Spanish since high school. Besides the lecture, I also have a Spanish tutorial and AV class, as I mentioned. There are quizzes every other week in lecture, and AV tests every month. The lecture is meant to be instructional, the tutorial is more geared towards speaking with other students, and in the AV class we watch videos and hear native speakers. There are big written exams in lecture, and there will be a final oral exam as well. It’s not as much work as it sounds like! It’s actually a lot of fun.

   My Environmental Science class is by far the most interesting, but also the most difficult. There is the course coordinator (there is one for every class) who is present at each lecture, but there are also guest lecturers that teach us material within their fields. We’ll have the same lecturer for a few class periods, but then it will switch. It’s hard to be taught by so many different people with different methods and teaching styles. They also teach us completely different material. They tend to be experts in their fields, so sometimes it’s hard for them to ‘dumb things down’ enough for us students to understand. However, this varied course material keeps it interesting, and we are learning about stuff I really care about. There is a 2 hour 50 minute lab period, but we mainly use that for extending lecture or doing some group work. We've had one exam so far, and we'll have one more at the end of the course. There’s not too much work associated with the course - only a few assignments so far. My kind of workload!

   Photographics is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. It’s not hard, but it takes time. There is the 1 hour 50 minute lecture, then an hour and a half long tutorial each week. In lecture, we learn about techniques, history, and famous photographers. There are a lot of people in lecture! In tutorials, we talk about our projects in particular and how our work is going. There are only about 20 people in tutorials. I think tutorials are such a good idea, given the class size of most lectures. It’s so helpful to be able to talk to other students in small groups, or tutors individually. We have three major projects during the semester, each worth 30% of our total grade (yikes!). We also have weekly tasks that are quick and teach us techniques and skills. It's a lot of work, but it's fun.

   There are multiple Victoria University campuses around Wellington, and I have lectures on two of them. The Kelburn campus is straight up the hill (fun walk) and the Te Aro campus is near Cuba Street (luckily flat ground). Two days a week, I have classes on both campuses. It takes me 20 minutes to walk up to Kelburn, 20 minutes to walk over to Te Aro, and 30 minutes to walk home at the end of the day. If my legs aren’t in shape by the time I’m done here, I’ll be upset!

Some other things about Victoria:

• Lecturers have accents. Some are American, some are Kiwi, some are Russian and barely understandable. I can usually understand all my lecturers, but sometimes I get a little lost!
• There are SO many students. Everywhere. It’s overwhelming. It’s also strange for me to walk through the halls, see hundreds of people, and not recognize any of them.
• People sleep at uni. I mean, they bring pillows and blankets and sleep. Some people discreetly nap on the couches but some go all out!
• There are at least 10 places to buy food on campus, and they are all outrageously expensive.
• You have at least 3 people you can talk to about your class: the course coordinator, the lecturer, and the tutor. This is so helpful, because chances are at least one of them is free or will answer your email quickly.
• Campus is big. Well, it's all condensed on Kelburn Parade, but there are a lot of buildings and a lot of floors in each building. I have 10 minutes between classes, and this is barely enough time to get from one end of campus to the other!

I get to see this lovely view on my walk home from Kelburn!