Settling In

Whoa, the last week has been hectic. So many new names to remember, so many ways of the UCSD student to get used to, and so many decisions made in terms of settling in and getting involved with the happenings in and around campus. On Sunday, I moved into International House, one of the newest, savviest and most socially-adept hostels at UCSD. Together with two other NZers who have my back at I-House: Mohit, fellow bioengineer from Auckland and Alice, the most outgoing Kiwi girl you could imagine, we represent the land of the long white cloud. Bronwyn is another Kiwi girl who came in this quarter, living off-campus. International House residents are a great mix of friendly people. 50% of us are American and 50% are international. The perfect mix, in my opinion. The apartments are single-sex, and there are three main buildings - Kathmandu (where I stay), Cuzco and Asante. My roommates are: Toby (American), Dennis (American-Filipino) and Francesco (Chilean party-boy). There have been a few parties already at I-House so far (unsurprisingly one in our flat), and although it feels as though part of me is 16 again (the drinking age is 21 here), it is only a small barrier to having just as much fun (if you know what I mean).
Lectures began on Monday and the first week has just rocketed past. What I have noticed is that lectures are strikingly similar to those in Auckland, but since the quarterly system is implemented here, the lecture material goes very, very fast. People work unbelievably hard here too, as everyone does their readings and seems to be actively involved a lot more during discussions. UCSD is currently ranked as the 7th best public university in the States, 2nd best in bioengineering and 1st in neuroscience. Seeing that my major is bioengineering, and that I am also taking a neuro class, I better put my work hat on firmly before I start falling behind after a mere one week.

Because the campus is so damn big, skateboards, bikes and even scooters are quite the common means for expedited travel from location to location. Loyalty is a biggie here, as many people own a UCSD hoodie, use UCSD labelled folders, books and even mugs. I am always surprised by the next UCSD labelled item I find. For meals, I get to choose from a variety of cafes on campus, and I pay by using my pre-charged meal card. However, prices here (especially food) are more expensive than back at home.

Common and interesting linguistic disparities I have found so far are:

Litres of petrol (NZ) = Gallons of gas (US)
Paper (NZ) = Class (US)
Assignment (NZ) = Paper (US)...confusing!
"Shall we cruise?" (NZ) = "Shall we bounce?" (US)
"I'm up for it" (NZ) = "I'm down for it" (US)...funny that
Boot (NZ) = Trunk (US)
Queue (NZ) = Line (US)
Cutlery (NZ) = Silverware (US)
Pie (NZ) = Pie (US)...just the different kind

My personal favourite: I looked seemingly un-co as I literally repeated the word "rubbish bin" 5 times to someone before she understood it as "trash can". Haha to that. Not to mention, they don't have dairies here! (But they do have 7 Elevens).