A New Semester Begins!

Here is a little taste of what my classes at KU are like, compared to classes at UNT…

Similarities:

• Spoken lectures accompanied by a PowerPoint slideshow
• Classrooms with tables, chairs, a whiteboard, a podium, and a projector
• Each class has a TA to assist the professor with grading, handouts, etc.
• Students taking notes in notebooks, on laptops, or on printed copies of the PowerPoint
• Students drinking coffee, juice, etc. during class
• Students playing on their phones during class, either subtly or obviously
• Students falling asleep during class

No comment on whether I participate in any of these student activities… 😉

Differences:

• English is not the professors’ native language (however, all my professors are at the very least adequate in their English language skills, which is great and admirable!)
• The majority of the students in each class are Korean, with the remaining ten percent being exchange students from various countries.
• The TA always arrives at the class before the professor, and proceeds to set up the PowerPoint/projector for them
• Though students sometimes drink coffee etc. during class, I have yet to see anyone eat anything during class…
• Nobody ever wears sweats or PJs to class, many students “dress up” a little for class
• Professors will send all of their required readings for the semester to a local copy shop (online articles, chapters picked out of various textbooks), where they are compiled, printed, and bound together in a packet, which sells for around $18 on average
• If the professors require a certain textbook rather than a packet, the price of the (NEW) book is unlikely to be more than $15-50 in the campus bookstore (Calum got ALL of his textbooks for about $150!!)
• The first week is about “shopping for classes”…professors do not give out homework that is due during the next two weeks because they know many students will drop the class and others will add it

Yep…that’s basically all that there is to say! I have had to drop one of my classes, and I am in the process of picking up another to replace it. I’ve spoken to a few people in each class, and made a couple of new friends. I’m interested to see how things play out during the rest of the semester!

Other thoughts from the first week of class…

On Sunday night I went to dinner and shopping with a group of girls (also international students) in the Hongdae neighborhood. Hongdae is an area known for its nightlife, and is extremely popular with college students (there are several universities nearby). The girls and I had delicious Korean-style BBQ chicken for dinner, supplemented with street food of course! We enjoyed several different street performances (dancing, rapping, singing). The majority of our shopping was done at local boutiques and stalls that line the streets.

One fashion trend that I noticed is the use of American cartoon characters on clothing and accessories. Some of the most popular characters used are Mickey/Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Bart Simpson, and Whinnie the Pooh. Keep in mind, these clothing items are made for adults, not kids, and they are meant to be fashion statements (as opposed to PJs or loungewear). I personally don’t feel I could pull off a cartoon cardigan, but I saw several Korean teens and twenty-somethings looking quite cute in these outfits! I can only speculate on the copyright laws (or lack of…?) that govern the use of these characters…

The atmosphere in Hongdae is amazing. Though many people go there to visit clubs and bars, many others go to enjoy the streets. One interesting feature is a playground/park with a jungle gym covered in graffiti…it seems that only musicians, never children, play there. On Sunday night I was unprepared to spend adequate time enjoying all the sights, but next time I will be ready! I look forward to visiting Hongdae many more times while in Seoul.

Lots of love from Seoul,

Maddie

My small piece about classes!

My first class is Fluid Mechanics. It is the study of water viscosity, flow through pipes and dams to give a few examples. My professor Joong Hoon Kim is kind of a fun guy and makes the class very interesting by making it relatable to the real world. His English is near perfect and funny enough he actually studied at the University of Texas at Austin!

My second class, Mechanics of Materials is good as well. It is the study of Materials that have a stress put on them but don’t move. My professor Yun-Jae Kim is also very good at English and is a nice guy. He also studied in America at Michigan and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The class is a recap of statics so far but should be interesting once we get into it.

My third class is Thermodynamics. The study of heat transfer which applies to almost all engineering systems. The professor Suk Goo Yoon is again, very good at English and has a funny personality. He always tries to get the class involved and makes fun of himself. He also has really cool concepts that I enjoy learning about. It’s a pretty fun class.

Fourth and finally, Dynamics. It is the study of objects in motion and the forces that act on them. This professor Shinsuk Park is probably the least fun. He is fine at his job and has great English but is kind of monotone and rambles. Seems hard to pick up on what he deems important. But, it should be fine.

My last class is a lab but I haven’t been to it yet. First day should be tomorrow and I hope it is good!

That’s all for me, I’m loving school here so far!

-Calum