A Star from Mosul

It's been about two weeks since college and studying started..

At first my classmates were acting like strangers getting me really angry at them.. then *my dear Christian classmate finally started coming to college and upon complaining about the others' behavior to him, they immediately got back to normal and started acting like before..!
One thing that really upsets me about them is that they seem to consider lying to the prof. as a very normal, and very necessary thing. Also anybody who opposes them would be a traitor and a self-centered person. Now this is not the case with everyone, but the others don't act against it.

In general, and though I don't have enough experience to judge the year, I'd like to think that this year will be as enjoyable as my first year... Last year I had lost most of the fun by worrying and exaggerating things. This year I'm getting a bit careless when it comes to how I do in quizzes or how tidy my homework looks, also I'm trying to take it easy when I do not understand the lecture..

The subjects I like the most so far are:
*Microprocessors: The prof. is amazing.. Many people have a charming smile but none smiles so generously. My attention is divided between enjoying the smile and listening to him so competently explaining the lecture, which I really enjoy.
*DSP: The lecturer is a female, an amazing woman: intelligent, elegant, confident and beautiful. The material is enjoyable, it seems.. very similar to another I've taken last year, which I enjoyed very much.
*Control: The prof. is very capable and competent but tends to make us feel like little helpless incapable thingies that can't do a single thing! He's a challenge. I still like him though. The material looks enjoyable but older students say it gets really tough.
*Digital Communications: we still haven't taken enough lectures to judge the material or the lecturer but I am hoping it would be nice.

The remaining two subjects fall as victims to the incompetence of their lecturers who both tend to write a lot on the blackboard and do very little of explaining, I wish one of the other knowledgeable professors would attend one lecture of these and see how they go.
I understand that many of our competent staff have left the country.. but we're going to be the staff one day and it wouldn't be pretty if that's the way we're going to learn.
Now these are only two subjects so I'm not very pessimistic.. but I'm not optimistic either, at all.

Oh, and I almost forgot, there's lab, which seems to be easier than last year.. I can't stop smiling during the experiment!

On another note, I've gained 3 kilos since last year and have decided to maintain this weight.. finally! My appetite has gotten much better as I started taking multi-vitamins and minerals, with dad's consent of course. Also I'm sleeping much better (thanks to allergy pills), my classroom is in the ground floor, and most of the days we finish the lectures by 1:30 PM. In short, college life has gotten much easier than last year.


*Few days before college started, violent coward acts were committed towards the Christian people in Mosul causing many to leave the city.. At the beginning of this week some of the Christian students and employees in the university started coming back to college.

Labels: college

It's been a long time since I last wrote. Ramadan is over, it was a month that I devoted mostly to praying and reading.. the day was very short because of all the things I had to do. We went to the mosque occasionally and I had much to think about and didn't have the urge to write.

During Ramadan few of my friends had very hard circumstances that they're still suffering from. My friend's brother got kidnapped, was returned afterwards but now he's left outside Iraq to be sure of his safety. Another friend is living in a very gloomy atmosphere after the death of her cousin and the serious sickness of his brother. I am very bad at dealing with such situations and have no idea how to make any of them feel better which makes me feel quite helpless.

Then came Eid.. This Eid was very refreshing since for the past two years we didn't get to visit many houses as we usually do because we had grandpa (God's mercy be on him) and grandma (who's moved to the UAE and is enjoying her time now) at our house and were a main attraction of visitors rather than visiting people ourselves. Also, we had new friends to visit, those we have made in our trip to Turkey, and it was fun to see them again and talk about the journey and what's after.

This Monday was the first day of my new year as a junior is college. See how fast time goes! I was excited and fully charged to start the new year. I have forgotten so much of what I've studied in the past two years and would like to get it back!

We spent the first day chatting and congratulating the professors and our friends on Eid.. catching up with what's happened and observing the changes the vacation has made. We didn't take any lessons, and were told to come and get our books on Wednesday.
I didn't go to college today, because judging by the look of things yesterday we will only be wasting our time and have nothing done. Tomorrow I'll get my books.. I can't wait!

The male students got me really bothered yesterday, acting as if they don't even know us. Only two, maybe three, bothered to say hello!
This year is going to be my first in college without my cousin and his friends who have graduated. It feels a bit lonely already :(

We have a new building for our dept. (Communication engineering department) this year. The college started with one building and is slowly expanding to four buildings (one for each department and one for the deanery and administration) and we're only short by one now which I expect will be ready by next year. I love the new building, it's mostly blue (my favorite color) and is still very clean. Some of my friends think it's depressing and feels like a hospital, but I like it.

I still haven't met our professors who will be teaching us this year. That's my main concern, because seniors' talking about few wasn't very promising and I've had a bad experience with our new Eng. Analysis professor last year, which I really don't want to repeat.

Labels: college