Courses and Horses!

So this week was our first week of classes. I made it through week 1! Actually, from the feeling I got about things, my classes won't be TOO bad. The University of Auckland is VERY different from Loyola College, but I think that I will get used to the way they do things here.

The most obvious difference is class size. At Loyola, our classes are never more than 25-30 people, and here my 4 classes have about 45, 90, 200 and 250 students in them. The size makes the coursework different too: I only have a couple of assignments for each course, so it's really up to me to keep up with the reading in between these few graded things. Not only are the classes much larger, but the university is about 10 times the size. Just walking around campus, I am baffled by how many people there are! There are just people everywhere - on the quad, in the computer labs, on the streets around campus, waiting for classes.

I am taking one math class, and 3 core classes (English, History and Theology). So far, I am really enjoying my math course, and it is definitely my favorite of the 3. I reserve the right to retract that statement down the line though, because this course is "team taught," meaning that the professor teaching it now is not our only professor for the course. Throughout the semester, there will be 3 different professors giving the lectures. (So even though I like this guy, I might not be so fond of the next 2.)

My English professor is just plain kooky. She seems nice enough, but her lecture was so all over the place that it couldn't really even be called a lecture. I wish you could read the notes I took in that class because they don't make sense even to me. She was very entertaining though, and since it's a 2 hour class, I'm hoping that at least her eccentricity will keep me from being bored!

For my history course, believe it or not I am taking US History. My reasoning behind this decision was that I was curious to see how the material would be presented in another country and what sort of a spin they would put on things. Since this is material that I have been exposed to repeatedly since grade school (obviously on various different levels), it is very interesting to see what a professor here chooses to focus on in a course that only lasts one semester. For many students in the class, this may be the first time that they are formally taught US History, and I am interested to see things from that kind of perspective. I actually felt slightly uncomfortable as an American in this course and I have a feeling that taking this abroad will strengthen my feelings of patriotism.

Finally, my theology course is called "Race and Culture in Practical Theology." It seems like the focus will be much more on the role of culture in New Zealand society than on any specific theology. A bunch of us Loyola students are in this course, but besides us, most of the people taking this course are older (in their 30's and 40's) and are studying to be ministers. There are also several different cultures represented among the students in this course, so that should prove interesting since the course focuses so heavily on this topic. While this is a 3 hour long class, an hour of it involves small group discussion, so I really don't think it will be too bad.

Anyway, enough about my classes! Just know that even though this might not be the impression you get from reading this, I DO take classes over here! I'll try to take some pictures of the actual campus sometime this week, but for now, some general Auckland pictures will have to do!

(An overall view, Albert Park, and the Skytower)

So yesterday, I had a fun day out at the horse races! It was the Auckland Cup, and the University sponsored a trip for the students to attend. It really was a great day out. We had beautiful weather. This is us walking through the parking lot at the racetrack.

We got all dressed up to go. Earlier this week, we tried to find hats to wear, but we didn't have any luck. Here's Kelly and I with Dana and Kim in our dresses before we left:

We had tables set up on the lawn, there was food and music, and we watched the races. I bet on 3 races, and only won once - a whopping $3.60. (But I only bet a total of $12 the whole day, so it's not like I was down a lot or betting my life savings!) It was just fun to pick your horses and cheer them on when they came around the tracks.

Kim was really lucky though! She won $41 yesterday. Here are Kelly and Kim, with Kim holding her winning tickets:
At one point, the starting gate was set up right near where we were sitting.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable day. I liked just being outside in the nice weather and being dressed up. I have to say that I felt very sophisticated!