Assalama from Tunisia!

I dont have much time here, and i am really fighting with these french keyboards, theyre stupid.

In short, wow!

Tunisia is a beautiful place that is packed with culture. Food, ancient history, stunning landscapes that words really cannot express. Unfortunately, pictures will have tro wait until I get back as internet is very sparse (this is the first place ive seen to offer it).

So far my few days here have consisted of seeing Tunis (the capital), Hammamet (near Nabeul), and Sousse. I am catching a bus to Douz (near Tozeur) today on the edge of the Saharah desert, and will be getting a camel and taking off, I dont know exactly what I will be doing ( do i ever?) but it really doesnt matter.

k, gotta run, I will be sure to post the next time i get a chance, which might not be until I return to Jolly ol england on wednesday.

Even more from London

So Ive been here in England for almost a week now. So far, I really like it. Its a very nice country, and London really is a world class city. I could do without the wind and rain, however.

The last couple days I was alone for most of it as Dionne had some family stuff to do, as yesterday was Mothers Day here (only the Brits do it in March, I dont know why). Saturday night I checked out the infamous London indie music scene. I researched a bit online where the old school clubs are at, and made my way down. I must, say, I was blown away. The music was fantastic, very different, but just well done. So all in all, the scene lived up to its name.

I also got a chance to see some of the great markets here in London. We went to a couple, but I think Camden Market was my favourite. It had a great feel to it, with TONS of stuff, and lots of food. If anyone is ever in London, its a must for good shopping.

I fly outta here tomorrow for Tunisia, I cant wait. Its gonna be a good week for me. I got a whole bunch of good info from Tunisian friends in Germany, as well as the Toursim Tunisia place here in London. Actually, speaking of Germans, I think I have met a new batch every day here, theyre EVERYWHERE in London. Actually, it was pretty strange, at one of the clubs I went to on Saturday, I was chilling and enjoying a beer before the bands started and I heard German next to me, so naturally I started to Deutsch it up with them, and turns out they were both from Stuttgart! weird.

Another thing, Ive been reading alot lately. Ive been considering stealing the idea from darryl's blog and have a book section in my index here, but that will have to wait until I get back, until then, I started reading Dan Brown's (da Vinci Code) new book, Angels and Demons. Its similar to the da Vinci code in style and pace (which was good), but theres some good science/religion issues that are brought up. For anyone who knows me, Im interested in this and I think my opinions are almost directly represented here in the book. Its a good one, so if you happen to see it at a used book store for cheap, be sure to pick it up.

I also just finished another book, 'A Different Universe: Reinventing Physics from the Bottom Down' by Robert B. Laughlin. This wasnt bad. Laughlin won the '98 Nobel Physics Prize and has some interesting ideas on where we stand science-wise. He talks alot about a new age of science and culture, the age of emergence. For anyone who loves the word 'synergy', this comes into play rather nicely. He argues that instead of looking deeper and deeper for the mysteries of the universe, we need to start looking at the emergent properties that occur all the time around us. I could go on, but then I would have to write the book myself.

ok, this is getting long. I need to get some English breakfast in me.

More form England

Ive spent the last couple days running around the country a bit. Dionne had a busy day Thursday, so I figured I would go out and see Stonehenge. I took a train to Salisbury, found a quaint B&B to stay at, and took a bus to Stonehenge. It really is an amazing sight. Its really odd, however, as they really are just a bunch of ginormous stones in the middle of nowhere. They are an awesome sight though, mostly due to the mystery surrounding them.

I proceeded to spend that night looking for a real downhome British Pub in which I can interact with some locals. I found one, and had a great night. I really like the pub culture, its very comfortable and warm. I got schooled by the barkeep on the temperature of the beers, and the locals were interested in what I was doing in their pub. It was definitely off the beaten path, and was not part of the standard Tourist thing in Salisbury, but it was pleasant. I stumbled out there with a nice and slightly intoxicated smile on my face.
One of my favourite parts of the city was my walk along the Avon River into town. The B&B was a bit outside of town, so it made for a very peaceful stroll. Its a really nice town, and I encourage anyone in the area to spend a day there.

well, Im back in London, and we will be checking out some good markets today, I need to get a few odds and ends before I take off to Tunisia on Tuesday. Im really hoping to see some of the famous London music scene tonight. I know Dionne has some other family stuff to do tonight, so I will be adventuring into some music clubs tonight. One of the dudes I met at the pub in Salisbury is from London, and gave me some good names to check out. I will let ya know how I liked it.

And for now, I actually ate this... it was kinda a drunknen dare by the barkeep, I have a rule to try everything once, so I devoured it. It wasnt as bad as it looks, but a pickled egg is a pickled egg...

London Update

Im back, I had a good day of seeing the sights of London. This one to the left is a good one capturing all the Cheezy Tourism in London, the Eye in the background, Big Ben, and of course a double decker bus.

Overall, Ive had a good time so far, Im off to Salisbury tomorrow for a night to see Stonehenge, I will definitely post pics of that once I get there.

For the first time, Im keeping a little travel journal. It started out as a book of important info that comes up (train times, etc) but Ive been jotting down quick notes and ideas that Ive had. For London, here are my first thoughts...

1. British Food is really bland and gross. The stereotype is true. I dont get how all these other European countries can have such refined and delicious culinary culture, but England is definitely an exception.

2. The architecture here is really impressive. there is of course, normal run down buildings like all big cities, but the older stuff is really impresssive.

3. Camera's EVERYWHERE. I feel like Im being watched by someone whenever I take a piss. I know this is meant for security, etc. but... I just dont think they really do much. there were still the terror bombings, etc. I dont know, maybe it has reduced crime, I shouldnt say anything I dont know much about, but its a creepy feeling, thats for sure.

4. In general, it seems like London is so DENSE. Its like they just kept building more and more stuff in the same place as time went on. The roads are all over the place, as is the public transportation system. the Tube is ok, as far as subways go. For some reason, Im always curious about the public transportation system in different cities I go. I think it says alot about the place if they have figured out a way to get people around efficiently and effectively.

Im going to write another post with pictures. The blogger interface is really frustrating to use... i just uploaded three pics, waited a good 5 minutes to upoload everything only to have nothing happen here.

in London

hey hey

I got into London yesterday night, I found my way to Dionnes and we hit the hay early to get a jump on today. she has some stuff to take care of, so Im checking out some of London on my own. Before I leave I have to see the cheezy tourism things, like Fish n Chips (already took my rides on the double deckers and the 'Tube' ), get a picture with the guards at buckingham palace, etc.

I think Im going to go take a trip to Salisbury tomorrow and see Stonehenge, Ive always wanted to check it out.

k, cant stay long, internet is expensive here. I'll be posting with some pictures as soon as I get a chance.

More already?

I was gonna save this post till tomorrow, but its either this, or clean my room, so its clear which option I am choosing.

In my last post, I hinted that there was alot going on in my life right now, although I only mentioned my thoughts on the oral exams here... so here's whats up, right now.

I got a job today, its a part time student job here on campus. I'll be building circuits for the Physics department here. They need a few things done, and really, all the hard parts are finished, they just need someone who can solder to assemble everything, this I can do. It's always helpful to get a job in your department at school to see whats going on, as well as meet all the people who make up the faculty. As much as I dont like it, networking is really important in life, and theres never a better time than the present to meet new peeps.

I also mentioned a week or so ago that I am going travelling. I leave Germany on MArch 21, heading to London to meet up with Dionne, one of the lovely chocolate sugars from Whitey and the Caucasians. She's getting her MSc there and since my flight to Tunisia leaves from London, I chose to go a few days early and catch up with her. So I then fly to Tunisia, get lost for a week, then head back to London, chill with Dionne a bit more and meet up with Sarah from Eng Phys at Mac. She's coming to Europe right as I am in London, so I think we are going to travel as a trio and make it back to Stuttgart, via. Amsterdam and maybe Paris.

After I get back, I will begin to move my apartment to this awesome student-run, hippy commune-like residence here on campus, I need to take some pics and post them, its a rad place. They said I will move in around May, but I will see if its possible for me to move in a couple weeks early. Moving days are always the worst, and I will need some time to get my shit organized, as I dont think I get the furnishings that I am provided as of now. Thus, I will have to splurge on a cheap bed, dresser, desk, etc. Hopefully, I can find something decent from IKEA for not too much.

So around the end of April, Andrea (another Canadian) is coming to Europe and will be crashing with me for a bit. We will be definitely travelling, although to where is still up in the air, I have a few good ideas, and if get the defininte word from her soon, I can start making some reservations. So we should be oot-'n-aboot for a week or so. School also starts around then too, so I have to be careful as to how much school I miss, but whatever, Im a masters student, its a pretty chillax life.

yuppers, so those are my plans over the next month or so. It will be pretty hectic but exciting. Ive missed out on some good trips already due to school (most of my international friends here are all on exchange, which is totally different from what Im doing... My school actually counts, they get to piss around as much as they please and it really doesnt matter, in the end). If anyone has been to Tunisia, I would love some travel tips, good unknown places to see, etc. Im not much for tours and the like, but I know there is an art to sneaking on day tours with some groups, we'll see if it is successful.

k, Im out. Thats it for me for a day or so here...

Been a While

k, its been some time since I last blogged, sorry to all or anyone who is reading this. I've been all up with exams these last few weeks. I am now free and lovin it. I have about 6 weeks off till the next term starts....so what will I be doing? First I have some comments on how DIFFERENT the testing system is here as compared to what I'm used to.

Now, not all programs are as different as mine. For the most part, undergrads have large classes with written exams just like us. Even most other masters programs here are for the most part, identical. For some reason, however, the Masters Physics program here decided to be a bit different. So I mentioned a while back that all my exams are oral. What the heck does that mean?

My oral exams were short, sweet, and stressful. They were, on average, about 40 minutes long, and consisted of myself, the prof, and a TA. The TA says absolutely nothing, and Im still unsure as to his/her role in the process, but they seem to be essential. The prof gets to ask me whatever he wants, and then decides at the end what my mark should be. This raises many concerns from us hailing from a system that is geared to be standardized and equal across the board, and in theory, this sounds perfect, although we all know that our system does not really test how well you understand the material either. I found our NA system (at least in the Science world, which is all I know from North American post-secondary), there was so much emphasis on doing 'types' of problems. We would need to understand the general concepts, but our determinig mark rested upon whether we recognized problems and knew the method of solving them. Moreover, if we made a mistake, it was often much more costly than a simple arithmetic error, as it would destroy everything else you wrote, and would often result in a really bad mark, depending on where in the solution the error was.

With the oral exams, all that is emphasized is the big ideas, which I have always seemed to excel at (BBC personality test rated me as a Big Thinker, so I guess it fits). Also, in the odd case that an oral exam is problem based (as it was with my math exam), I liked having the prof there becasue he is not looking to see what stupid errors you make. If he sees that something small is wrong, he'll tell you right away. This is great. They only cared about whether I knew the method, the ideas, behind solving it, the details are unimportant (as they are in real life...we would have time to check our work, fix errors, and look up anything we didnt know exactly how to solve).

Im starting to ramble, for this I apologize, but I have a few weeks of thoughts built up here and am trying to get them out as clear as I know how.

So the good part of the oral exam, you dont need to memorize much, almost nothing in fact. But there is definitely a bad side to it. 1) Your mark is totally determined by how well you impressed the prof with your infinite wisdom on the topic. 2) The questions are so quick, there is no time to sit and really think about what you are going to answer. I found I would just blurt out the first thing in my head, and hope it was right. 3) Since the profs are free to ask you anything from the course, they can quickly tell where you are lacking, and have no problem continuing to see where your understanding stops...this is awful... and 4) If you do say something wrong, the profs are on your ass faster than filth on a mud wrestler.

This last point is what really got to me. Growing accustomed to having time to consider what I am going to write and how I will answer, I dont have that luxury now. I have to be totally certain of everything I say, or correct any errors as fast as possible to avoid the raping of the angry prof. This makes the event rather stressful, so good thing it is only 40 minutes.

k, this is long enough, but those are my thoughts on having an oral based examination. After having been through the Gauntlet here examination wise, I think I prefer the oral way, although there are definite disadvantages.

And as for marks, I seemed to have completely reversed my expectations for the courses, the one I thought I would smoke... didnt do so hot. The one I thought I would bomb, turns out to be my best mark. All in all Im sitting at an average of 2.2 (about a B). I'll take it!

I have more things to say about my life (much more, infact), although I will save it for another time, this is getting to be epic...