Uni has started

My schedule is pretty empty to begin with and this week since there are no tutorials I haven't had much class. I didn't go in Monday or Wednesday at all. On Tuesday I had Green Engineering which seems pretty tough and I already have an essay due next week! (up to 3000 words on defining green engineering). So I've been feverishly working on that, but it seems like it's all a waste since it's only worth 5%! Well one thing I have realizes is that I've been out of school for way too long. They don't tell you when you go on PEY that you will come back and not remember a single thing related to your degree! I also had Australian Sport in Culture class on Tuesday. And that was really cool - we'll be going on a number of field trips and get to know what the Australian sport culture is all about. Most of the people in that class are American international students but it seems like it'll be a fun class.

Then today (Thursday) I went to the first Plant Design class and our prof gave us our groups. I'm in Jemma's group which is really cool and the others seem really nice. We have to design a sulphuric acid plant! I noticed a lot of people in Chemical engineering, it seems, are International students, and now I'm one of them! Many are from the Asian countries and I believe I'm the only Canadian :D

One thing I felt when I was sitting in that first class is something I've never felt before and I'm sure many students feel it if they come from another country. I felt like I didn't want to talk, because I knew that as soon as I did and they heard my "accent" they would know I'm different. It was quite intimidating... along with the subject material that just went over my head and that fact that some of the students already had a rapport with the professor and each other. It made me realize that whether English is your first language or not, your speech says a lot about you. And at that moment, I didn't want them to know I was different. I just wanted to blend in and avoid creating attention to myself and to do that, I had to keep quite.

This whole experience of being at school as an International student also made me think... when was the last time I gave a helping hand to a new student in my class. You experience feelings of isolation and loneliness and even the smallest smile or question like "Where are you from?" or "What is your name?" makes the biggest difference. I can at least understand their language and speak it.... I can't imagine doing this and English being only your second language.

It's tougher than I thought it would be. But also a very good experience, it's already changing the way I perceive the world around me.

Another thing I've experienced is Australians saying "Are you from the US?" or apologizing because they can't tell the difference in our accents. I wonder if I would be able to tell the difference. I assume I could, at the very least 4 times out of 5 make a correct guess. I'm not quite sure if that offends me yet... it seems that the people I've met here don't have a very good perception of American students and I don't think they are welcomed here in some circles with open arms to say the least. And I'd understand why... to be honest, they come in large groups, most being loud, obnoxious and annoying (of course there are exceptions) but I don't want to be associated or lumped into that group. So whenever an Aussie says they can't tell the difference, I just say "It's alright, I can't quite tell the difference between an Australian accent and a British one." But I think that offends them but I certainly don't mean too... it is hard to tell in some cases. :p