First Day

My first lecture, Introduction to Psychology, took place at 10:15am in a building far from the main campus. I successfully snagged a bus to get me there with plenty of time to spare. At 10:05 I decided to go in to get a good seat. Apparently everyone else had the same idea. I ended up in the back row. At first, the teacher had a microphone and I could hear without trouble. Then, he decided that he preferred to speak on the other side of the classroom from the mike. Understanding rapid-fire German is troublesome enough. Understanding rapid-fire German when you only hear half of it is considerably trickier. However, as he was mostly talking about the different directions a psychology student could take in their studies, it did not much matter.

He ended class early enough that I had time to ask how I could register. Exchange students do not have access to the same electronic registration program as ordinary ones. However, he rather unsympathetically explained that the class was full and that I could not participate. Honestly, I am a bit relieved. On the one hand, getting credit towards my German major and the cognition requirement for Mechanical Engineer in one class would have been nice. On the other hand, not having to fly from one side of the city to the other in half an hour (the only half hour I would have for lunch) will definitely make my life easier.

I did, however, manage to hop a bus to the Audi Max building where my next three classes would take place. Those three classes are Controls: Review, Controls: Lecture, Controls: Other Lecture. 1000 other students and I get to sit in the same lecture hall from 12:15 to 3:45 with 15 minute breaks in between "classes." This is not even the entirety of the class. On Thursdays, I have a 1:30 hour recitations, and Fridays offer a three hour tutorial on MATLAB and practical applications of what we learn. On the upside, if I get the material, attendance is not mandatory. If I don't get the material, I have plenty of opportunities to ask for help. On top of the classes, the professor and TAs have in person and electronic office hours every day. Seeing as I have to pass this class with flying colors to stand a chance of resolving my senior year schedule, I can use the help.

However, not only do I think I'll pass the class; I think I'll enjoy it as well. The lecture today started with the professor, Dr. Abel, riding in on a segway. He had a male and female student try it out. Neither had used one before, but within seconds they got the gist of it. Dr. Abel explained that the segway remained balanced by adjusting the wheel speed to compensate when the driver shifted his or her center of mass. This was a convenient segway (aren't I clever) to simple control loops.

I had had some exposure to controls through my Intro to Robotics class last year. It was incredibly basic, but also incredibly helpful today in establishing vocabulary. I knew what the simple diagram meant. As the professor explained in German, I had a point of reference to hold on to. The same held true as he wandered away from diagrams and into the Taylor Series and differential equations. I know what the equations represent. I just have to fit the German terms to the symbols.

All in all, the lectures went well. I did not entirely follow every last detail, but Dr. Abel speaks slowly and clearly enough that vocabulary is the primary hurdle. To overcome it, I'll have to study, a good habit to get into in any case.

Tonight, since my wrist still periodically twinged from yesterday's Gymnastics, I decided to skip the wheel workout and attend Salsa lessons instead. The Evangelical Student Community (ESG) hosts informal salsa lessons every Monday. The moves were manageable, the music fun, the partners pleasant. When we started getting into the Rueda, things really picked up. I feel somewhat more justified in the slice of marble pound cake another student shared with me.

Here is a link to a Rueda video. We kept to the first few moves, but I look forward to learning some of the others!


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