Well I certainly wasn't being lazy at all the last few months. Taking classes have always been a challenge for me. I like spending time in the laboratory doing things people have never done before rather than spending time with the pencil and paper deriving equations and solving problems thousands of people had derived and solved before... but I understand, this is something everybody has to go through.
At KAUST, when we first arrived and attended the orientation program, there were so many changes to the programs of study and other things in general, such as:
- I was dropped at my apartment and found out that I'd have to share the apartment with two other girls. They had said we would all get single housing, but apparently the construction wasn't completed yet, so us single MS students had to share the family housing.
- We would have to complete the MS program within 12 months, not 1.5 years.
- The minimum credit for each semester is 12, not 9. That means 4 grad level courses each semester. Just because KAUST is a new university doesn't mean the classes aren't as hard as classes in universities in the States, Europe, Singapore, etc., because those are where the professors/lecturers came from.
- No annual free trip home.
Well, when I came, I knew that I really really wanted to do research. Because, after all, that's what KAUST aims for, right? A research university. I found out that most chemical engineering professors here are doing Membrane Science and Technology. There are few others who do Catalysis, but the Center isn't quite ready yet, I think. Well, the Membrane Center is also still in progress... like most things are at KAUST.
Anyway, I knew that I would only have 1.5 years at most to do an MS with Thesis at KAUST, and I'm an experimental kind of person, which means I depend a lot on my luck when doing my project. So, in case I got unlucky, I wanted to start right away. I was lucky there's a group I can join and do (directed) research in... but see, doing research and taking 4 grad level courses equal to no life. And no blog post. :(
This semester, I'm taking:
- AMCS 201 -- We reviewed ODE, then learned about PDE and Green's Function... I've always been not so good with Math so this class has been challenging.
- CBE 201 -- Thermodynamics... the classical stuff has been alright as I've taken Thermo in undergrad and had a really good professor and really good TAs, but now we're learning the statistical stuff, too.... *shudder
- CBE 202 -- Transport Phenomena. Well, since I (or we, it's more like the whole class) got yelled a lot by Prof. CJR, I was never fond of this subject. I know the importance of transport though, and I wish I could love it... Anyways, let's say it's been so so (because it's so, so hard) but I think things are looking up because I'm doing the project now and Winny and I are trying to do COMSOL! Yay. I miss this program. We've spent hours familiarizing ourselves again with the program because the last time we opened it was in 2008.
- CBE 336 -- Membrane Science and Technology. KAUST is probably one of the few universities in the world that has a membrane class, and it's because there are so many membrane people here. I like this class a lot, but I just got my midterm back and I was disappointed with myself for not doing better on that midterm... again, I blame the ADD. I had not studied enough. I thought the midterm was the week after! Only like 2 days before the midterm I realized that the midterm was that week. :(
With all those courses and starting up a research project (I think it's gonna be about mesoporous silica, by the way), I've had little time to do fun stuff, or I'm just really bad at time management because clearly there are people who can take sailing lessons and scuba diving trips on this campus. When I first arrived I had thought of picking up golf but the only time I ever came to the golf course was during orientation. I clearly need to do better than this.
I also used to go to the campus gym near the diner, but few weeks ago, things changed there. There was no more staff (pretty much just the receptionists), the lights were dimmer (or was it just my feeling?), there were no hairdryers or towels provided (kinda important when going to the gym in between classes!). So I bought a dumbbell and rolled out my yoga mat (in the space I had in my room ever since they took away my queen-size mattress and replaced it with a single bed) and pumped my gym ball, but clearly that wasn't enough because I didn't feel my clothes getting looser. :(
Anyways. it's not that things at KAUST are bad. We have a Grad Student Council who are working really hard and as a result, we've got our yearly plane ticket and we can stay for 18 months, taking 9 credits minimum per semester. That's a really good start!
So maybe, next semester, when I'm taking just 3 classes, hopefully I can post more stuff in a more timely manner? InshaAllah.
P.S. Btw the reason why I'm able to spend some time typing stuff now is because it's Eid al-Adha break now in Saudi Arabia. I'm planning to go to Lebanon for 3 days. I went to Jordan for the Eid-al Fitr break but I haven't post anything on that... so hopefully soon. :)
