Istanbul

Pictures from Turkey are up! However, I have yet to put up captions and such. This time, I will just post a picture blog. It figures that I am crazy busy at the end of vacation. I suppose I should do homework...
___________________________________________________
This week I may go to the Cully Jazz Festival with Marie, Yvonne, Gil, Leticia, Claire, and Sharon. It's free at night, and it's the perfect venue because they open the wine caves and have food (probably in some form of molten cheese), local wine, good music, and fun.
___________________________________________________
Then, in a few weeks I am going to the Caravan Palace concert with Yvonne. Abby might be visiting during that week as well.
___________________________________________________
Lots to look forward to this month!

That math class

I have decided that it is imperative that I take this Mathematical Logic course. After having read the book in English, I have a semblance of understanding, and I understood more of the material when the professor actually was here this week to teach the course...which leads to the next reason why I feel compelled to continue the class. He walks into the room with his motorcycle helmet, leather jacket, and carbon fiber hard-case backback, and I almost fall over on the floor laughing. My math teacher is a motorhead. A tall, bald guy with an ear piercing, tight jeans, and a six-pack. That will teach me not to judge mathematicians. Next time I see a muscly guy wearing a surfer t-shirt, I will wonder if he knows how to make a decomposition tree for a well-formed formula.

A day's improvement

It's amazing how a nice view can truly transform the day. Mansoureh and I went for a jog around the lakeside, and it was absolutely beautiful...with the golden sunset and the whispering willows and the craggy beaches. There was a nice trail that took us through wooded areas, eventually leading to chairs and racecars made from tree stumps. There were picnic tables and even a few restaurants along the path, and the weather was a perfect 65 degrees or so with very little wind or humidity. I definitely have to take pictures of this location next time. France was visible just across the lake, and at night, the city of Evian was lit up like a Christmas tree.

In addition to this wonderful respite from studying, I actually enjoyed my Thermodynamics course today. I was a little confused with the lecture, but I read the book in English, and I learned quite a bit - I also found that most of the information was a review! Thus, I managed to complete my exercises and take helpful notes to prepare for the next lecture. I, therefore, believe to have had a productive and enjoyable day. I am slowly beginning to understand this new system, and I have seen an immediate improvement in my attitude towards studies.

It just gets better...?

Today I found out that I love polymers and I hate math. Okay, hate is a rather strong word; I am terrible at understanding math when it is taught in another language. So is the disappointment of my college life. I hope this doesn't mean instant failure, because I would really like to continue taking a four hour block of logic once a week, but I don't see how the exam will be feasible if I can't comprehend the simplest exercise on our homework sheet, nor do I understand the solution. I thought that a good start would involve borrowing a book in English. I did that. Now the true test - see if I can translate successfully any or all of the words that came out of our TA's mouth. "On vera." (We will see.)

The next disappointment of the day...orchestra auditions. It doesn't help when you are first on the list and have no idea what to expect. Then, you walk into a room with about TEN JUDGES and you start to freak out a little. It doesn't help that the stand is way too low, you don't understand the guy when he says "Nice to meet you," you have to repeat the name of your piece, you have a bad start, and you have a complete panic attack and play way too fast. Of course, they never tell you that they have limited space, but they do tell you to wait until the end of the violins to find out if you made it. I was one of two out of 10 violinists who received bad news...I was in the lower 20%! Sad day. So, the other guy and I joked about how we, fortunately, don't have to take 2 1/2 hours every Wednesday to devote to rehearsal. It is still disconcerting.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? I'm sure you're wondering. Well, there is, actually. I found out that bike insurance is only about $5; that is the first cheap thing that Switzerland has to offer! Thus, if I get a bike this weekend, I will only have to worry about the hundreds of dollars it costs to get a bike second-hand. Maybe that was more of a mixed blessing.