Settling in

I've just watched 3 hours of TV straight. The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, the season 3 premiere of Lost (!!!) and the series premiere of some show called The Nine.

It's Wednesday night, ie all my papers and assignments have been handed in for the week.

It's a curious feeling; Wednesday nights feel like Friday nights to me, like I've no more work to do for the week (lab work doesn't really count). The Sunday to Tuesdays are a killer though. But anyways TV was good, it's been a while since I've just sat in front of the TV and watched whatever came, and in the USA we can watch the shows as they're released (as opposed to downloading it a week later...I remember the frantic wait when 24 episodes would show in the states, but only be available in the UK some days later...all of the 24 junkies asking everyday "is it out yet?!").

And I've just realised that my midterms are at the end of the month. Was just discussing them with my coursemate also from Cambridge (Cambridge in this blog will always refer to the original one in the UK; back then ), I'd be studying 2 months before. But now the midterms seem like just another assignment; grades don't really matter to graduate students. It's a curious and liberating feeling; I go into classes with no pressure at all, and still wanting to do well, but more for learning's sake rather than grades? What's more interesting is that many undergraduates take the same classes we do, and THEY are incredibly anxious for their GPAs, many wanting to go to medical school after. In one of my tutorial sessions, there's 1 engineering graduate student, 18 undergraduates, and me. And I'm the one content to lie back and relax.

But it's not that classes aren't interesting; I wouldn't have taken the Mathematics for Biologists class if grades did matter, seeing as how I'm struggling with the maths, and part of it is Matlab programming which I'm totally new at. Learning for learning's sake.

Anyways, halfway through the TV session, I realised I was actually feeling at home, and maybe I've settled in nicely to being a student here. As I said, it's not like Cambridge UK, where the medieval gates and spires just hit you in the face and you step straight into a fairytale. It's more subtle, and I don't know when the transition was, but I now identify myself as a Harvard student.

And even while I was typing the word "Harvard", I paused. Hesitant. As a friend who's just graduated from Harvard alludes to in her own writings (yes you), it comes with a complex series of emotions. You're definitely proud to have gotten in here, but somehow also mollified that others would find out, kind of like coming out of the closet, or admitting that in fact you DO like McDonalds (but worse). And in being hesitant of (or even slightly ashamed about admitting) the fact, I wonder if it also smells of a hint of pretentiousness. I hope not.

One of the entires in The Guide to Harvard Lingo: "The H-bomb"
- One drops the H-bomb by admitting to be a Harvard student in a conversation. Though sometimes used to strategically impress people on the outside, it more often refers to the downside of admitting to a Harvard affiliation, ie it typically kills the conversation.

- Also an edgy student magazine about sex.

Hmmm.

I can see, right now, most readers googling "H-bomb".

Still deciding whether to buy a Harvard sweater; this will be the only place on earth I can wear it.

And back to the TV session; feeling more at home and relaxed, you then are able to venture forth and explore the place. Last Saturday was kayaking on the Charles River; wider and thus a much nicer place to be on the water, but not as scenic as the River Cam. Pleasant nonetheless, in keeping with the tone of the place.

Brought back memories of rowing. One thing I'll do is to learn sailing; we've to pay for lessons here though, unlike that other university just down by the river.

Check out the sky.

The finger in the upper left corner is a bummer, I know.





There's a long weekend coming up; I'm hoping to explore Boston proper, and get some new clothes...there's also a hike in a reservation on Saturday, might go for that too. Lots of chemistry labs are having their open houses to attract students these weeks, and that means free food, always important to a graduate student. All in all, Harvard's giving off a nice buzz.