The matin appartient a ceux qui se levent tot!

So many of you must have received your offer of admission by now! Congratulations! Now it’s time to think about the next step, that is… registration process!

If you decide to pick Brock and come here in September (and you should :D), you will soon realize that you get to pick your classes yourself and make your own schedule!

So I feel it is my duty to give you some tips to make the process a bit easier for you! If you do it right, you’ll end up with a schedule fit to your likings!

Obviously, even though you have some latitude in what class you want to join, each department and program have their own requirements, and there are some mandatory courses. I would advise you to get rid of these as soon as possible by taking them in your first few years, there is nothing worse than being stuck in your fourth year with utterly uninteresting classes (as these required course often seem to be…) So manage this right. The key is to mix required classes with electives and context credits that interest you, the school year goes by very fast when you like your classes, and even though you can’t like everything, you can still make the most of it and have a schedule that suits you.

Managing your own schedule also means that, for the most part, you get to decide when you want your classes. You know yourself, and some of you are morning people, others not, so take that in consideration… there is absolutely no point in taking an 8am class if you very well know that you will miss most of them because waking up in the morning is not your thing! Classes at Brock run from 8am up till 10pm, so you have a wide range to choose from!

Just so my words are not mis-interpreted, 8am classes are a pain, but they are necessary sometimes, and you cannot wiggle your way around… my only advice for these is… Suck it up and go! You don’t want to be wasting the money you paid by missing too many class!

If you are not sure of which class would be best for you, or how you should manage your schedule around mandatory classes, ask an academic adviser! There are at least on for each department, and their job is to assist you in the registration process, so make full use of their help, they are very available through phone, email or in person! You can find their contact info on the Brock website.

Watch for deadlines! There is nothing worse than wanting to take a course and realize that it is full by the time you finally decide to register! So follow the schedule on the Brock website, be aware of when registration open (I will try my best to keep you updated on that) and sign on your account as soon as it opens to register! This is surely the best way to have the best schedule!

 

Alright, this should already give you a sense of the registration process. If you have any question, please let me know and I will try to address them as best as I can!

 

PS: for the title… my keyboard has no accent, so forgive the misspelling!

By the way, it means “the morning belongs to those who wake up early”

Spring Open House, Sunday March 6th 2010

Tomorrow is… Open House!!!

To all of you interested in knowing more about Brock, you can have it all in one day! You will get to tour the school, the residences, and each faculty will be represented by staff and students, ready and pumped up to show you the best of Brock and answer all your questions!!!

If you have received your letter of admission already, you will also have the possibility to register for Smart Start for this summer as well as confirm your residence application!!!

If you are interested in Political Science, a mock seminar will be organized from 3 to 4pm. This will consist in going into a classroom to watch students debate and discuss topics that will be put forth by two of our best Professor, Leah Bradshaw and Prof Hamilton. If you decide to go see it, you will get to understand what exactly seminars are all about! If you have attended on of my tours, you know how much I value my seminars, and if you come on Sunday, you will get to understand why!

I am not familiar with what other faculties have organized, but as program of the day will be given to you upon arrival.

There will also be a contest to win either Brock gears, or better yet…. A free half credit tuition! Entering the contest if of course free, so you have nothing to lose at giving it a shot!

Finally, Sunday is supposed to be a gorgeous and warm day here in St Catharines, the best you could have hoped for to fully enjoy our wonderful campus!

Soooo I hope to see you all there!!!!

Because being independant also means GETTING A JOB!

Everyone who’s ever had a job know how it feels to finally reach payday… when your account has an unusually large balance, or when you nonchalantly check the mail, find an envelope for you, open it, and find your paycheck inside!

But to experience that feeling… well you need to have a job!

Looking for a job is not something I enjoy, it is a long and worrisome process, especially if you depend on it for a living… Nonetheless, it is essential, and I will try to give you some info as to where you should be looking to work on campus.

 

Of course, the first place that comes to my mind is the Career Services. Located in the Matheson Learning Commons, they will help you building a strong resume and cover letter. You may also want to attend one of their numerous interview skills workshops. If you have all these ready, they can still be a precious help online.  If you go to this webpage http://www.brocku.ca/expplus/jobs/ , you will find many job offers (both on and off-campus) along with a short description and contact information.

 

Other options really are only relevant depending on how many hours you are willing to commit.

For example, the Student Development Center offer tutoring positions. Those are very easy to get, tutors are needed in almost every field of study, and all you need is either a proof of experience (for instance, when I was a French tutor, all I had to do was prove my ability to speak and write in French), or simply passing a course with a good average is often enough to be accepted as a tutor. If you are interested, feel free to check out http://www.brocku.ca/sdc/learning/tutor.php , you will find contact info if you have more specific questions. As a tutor, your hours depend on your arrangements with your tutees. The same goes with the salary, the SDC recommends to charge between $10 and $20 per hour. The number of tutees you will have really depends on demand; therefore tutoring should be seen more as extra cash than an actual pay job.

The Sushi did it!

The scene starts on a bright and sunny February morning. Once out of the haziness of the previous night, the only thing left to do, or so it seems, is to find a nice place to go for… Lunch!

Now what’s best for lunch than… ALL YOU CAN EAT Sushi!!!!!

Downtown St Catharines has countless number of eatery and restaurants, but today, it’s all about sushi. I know there are more than one place to get sushi, but since my first year I have grown fond of one in specific, right next to the bus terminal. They have quite a large menu (mind you I am no sushi savvy, I just strongly enjoy the stuff!) and are quick on service. If you order enough, they put the sushi on a big boat made of wood, it looks great on your table!

Needless to say that for a starving student, all you can eat buffet are a deadly heaven… First, it’s just like the magic kingdom, the boat, the sushi, soy sauce…Wasabi! a mix of flavors in the mouth! Avocado sushi, crispy… Mango? Yes! Mango! cheese and avocado… so many so good! Almost overwhelming!

And then comes the last order… the argument…

- “We must finish, one each and we’re done!”

- “But I can’t eat anymore, I had to much!”

Eventually the last piece is swallowed, and you and your friends are sitting, eyes closed, trying to make sense of what just happened…

What a great moment! The walk back to the bus terminal is not easy, but a satisfied and comfortable silence sets in, you enjoy the sun. Some music in one of your ears gives your feet the pace. Half an hour until the bus. You and your friends walk to the back of the building,  sit down on the bench and bath in the sun. Slowly, the conversation resumes, you feel full and content. A meal like you haven’t had in long time, and won’t have again for a while. And it’s just as good, because too much sushi kill the sushi, just like with everything, what makes it so special and amazing is the rarity of it!

You know you enjoyed the sushi as far as your stomach could stretch, your taste buds have had a great time. It’s time to head home, regroup, and come up with the next phase of the plan… How about a drink?!

“Roman, but why did you choose Brock?”

About every time I meet someone new, and they find out I am an international student, one question inescapably follows: Why did you come to Brock?

The answer is actually quite simple, and might not make much sense for local students, but for anyone who finds oneself in the situation of applying to a university in another country, it will echo like a turkey gobbling in a large empty room!

You see, the way university works, from application to graduation, through registration and program requirements is very complex in comparison to the French system I was used to… So of course, in order to follow the process in due form, multiple emails and phone calls followed my registration to Brock… Now you have to imagine a French kid, with English skills about as good as those of a 3 year old, trying not only to speak, but also to understand some academic jargon through the statics of a telephone!

 

Well why did I come to Brock, of all the universities in Ontario? It was the most responsive and understanding of all! They took the patience to email me the registration process to the last detail; they answered all my questions articulating their words as well as they could to the very last…

 

So of course, when the time came to pick among my various offers… Brock was already high on my preference list… they had established themselves in my mind as a tolerant, understanding, and extremely nice institution, always ready to help!

Needless to say, this was a huge relief and it definitely pushed my ultimate decision on their side!

 

And here I am… at Brock University. I have successfully reached my third year, and still to this day… they are always willing to help me anytime I try to figure out the unintelligible official procedure!

McMUN? Yes!!! Brock attended!

Two weeks ago, I had the chance to go to Montreal to participate in McGill Model UN! It was the first time ever that Brock University sent out a delegation to this international event.

I had the chance to sit in DISEC (Disarmament and International Security Committee) as a representative of Vanuatu, a small archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean.

 

Of course, because this was Brock’s first year attending this Model UN, our impact was rather small if not insignificant, especially when facing those highly prepared universities coming from all over North America, and even Venezuela… Nonetheless, it has motivated all of us to take on the challenge for the years to come!

For any of you who have never attended a model UN conference, I will try to explain what it is as best as I can.

Each school delegation represents a country and sits in the different committees just like during real United Nations conferences. The goal is then to come to an agreement with the rest of the world to pass resolutions on a wide range of topics. For instance, in DISEC, we had three topics to debate: Water related conflicts, Cyber terrorism, and the Militarization of space. We then start debates and discussions on which way should the negotiation go. Countries associate with their usual allies, and all try to work together to present the best resolution, which is then submitted to a vote.

 Obviously, a lot of background knowledge and preparation is required to be able to keep up with the debate, but just the experience of being there, watching and listening to the process is already amazing!!!

Needless to say that all the work accomplished there has no real value in itself, but it gives you a great appreciation of the complexity of an international organization of the size of the UN (it can’t really get any bigger anyway…)

 

All in all… we have great hopes to have started a yearly tradition for political science student at Brock! I will be sure to be part of the whole trip next year, and I hope to hear about “Brock University Kicking Ass at McMUN” for years to come!!!!

 

Poli 1p92 - Power and Freedom in the New Millenium

At last! Here comes a short description of the first PoliSci class i have taken at Brock:

Poli 1p92 could be considered as an introduction to Political Philosophy/Theory!

In this course, you will get to read and learn about various ideological currents, from capitalism to fascism, through communism and anarchy among others… It is an excellent introduction to many of the topics you will be studying in your later years. Being only a half credit, it only lasts for a semester, allowing you to complete your first year credit with another class of your choice.

It is of course not a mandatory class, but it gives a great overview of political science in general. You also have seminars for this class in which you will engage the texts, debate and discuss the various topics. It allows you to form a basic knowledge and opinion on political matters which you will find valuable for the following years.

Even if you do not plan to major in Political Science, but have a genuine interest for it, this course will give you a lot of what you are expecting.

To sum up, I owe a lot of my political knowledge to this class, and more than once have I used notes, and memories from Poli 1p92 to help me out in my later classes!

For more information, refer to  http://www.brocku.ca/webcal/2009/undergrad/poli.html#sec13

Failed attempt to describe PoliSci - Or the business of University Life!

Something went horribly wrong in this blog! The issue needs to be addressed at once!

You see, I am a political science student, I have so far talked about some of the classes I took, yet… nothing about PoliSci classes! I feel that I am riding on the edge of decency, and the only way to remedy to the situation seems obvious enough…

So there it is:

 

My very first polisci class was Poli 1p92, unlike many other of my fellow political scientists, I never nor ever will I take Poli 1f90. There are no negatives I could put forth about that class, all the people who told me about it seemed to have enjoyed it! So why wouldn’t I take it you may ask? Well because I only need one full polisci first year credit, and poli 1p92 being one half, I will take another first year half credit later.

Hmm… this is getting highly confusing, for that reason, I will put polisci aside for a while to quickly explain those strange codes we like to use to refer to our classes.

 

‘Poli’, as you may have understood, stand for Political Science

The ‘1’ means that it is a first year class, for example now that I am in my third year, most of my classes are numbered Poli 3(and the rest of the code).

Now the most important part is the ‘p’ and the ‘f’. The ‘p’ means you are taking a half credit, the class lasts one semester. The ‘f’ stand for full-credit, meaning that your class will last the entire year.

Each year, you are allowed to take a maximum of 6 credits (though most students usually take 5 as it represents the normal number to graduate in 4 years. Simple math applies here: a degree is 20 credits, 20 divided by 4 equal 5, meaning 5 credits a year will give you a diploma in 4 years.

There are more complications to that system, but this is the standard program, and it is the one I follow, so for the sake of not confusing everyone, I will leave it at that. If you want more info about all that, feel free to comment on this posting, and I will try to either give more details, or redirect you to the Brock University website with all the information.

Buuut… It is getting late, and I have a lot of things to do! University is all fun and games, but sometimes, work and time constraints creep up on you (rather unexpectedly might I add)… At that point, it still is fun and games, but at a very different pace! But heh! it’s part of the University Package I signed up for!

PS: I promise I WILL talk about the above mentioned Poli 1p92 as soon as my schedule clears up!

Psyc 1F90

Psychology class seems to be the new cool place to go!

We are all interested in knowing the ways of the mind, but some of us just want to do that part-time, and that’s fine too!

You don’t have to major in psychology to take at least the first year class called Psyc 1F90 and discover the joys of the brain, the craziness of thoughts and the wonders of sleeping cycles (among many other things). I took it in my first year as an elective, and never regretted it. Prof Mitterer (at least it was him when i took the class) is obviously passionate about psych and a very interesting teacher to see. He is nationally reknown as one of the best lecturer in the country. During his classes, he uses videos, audio files, lots of pictures and of course talks a lot! He has many things to say, and anyone who is interested in psychology will love to listen to him!

Seminars mostly consist in discussions of readings, many reports and stories of psychological disorder, all interesting and very easy to read.

Another cool part is the research participation! You will be required to participate in a research study, not as the researcher, but as the ‘researched’! It’s a lot of fun, especially if you know how to pick your studies. The Brock psychology department provides you with a database and descriptions of studies happening at or around the school!

All in all, Psyc 1F90 is the largest class on campus, split in 2 lectures and a countless number of seminars. Everyone hears about the psych exams stress of the midterm in december and finals in april, but they are not that bad, besides, with all the other assignments to hand-in throughout the year, your exam grade is not that decisive of your final grade!

So if that sounds like something you might be interested in taking, by all mean go ahead, you will learn a lot!

 For more informations, please check out http://www.brocku.ca/webcal/2009/undergrad/PSYC.html#PSYC_1F90

A Little Taste of (my) Home

It’s January, and we are once again back in class… “Hi! Nice to see you again, how was your break?” start many of my conversations, with one or two belated “Happy New Year!” in between. My answer is… “Very nice, I went home for three weeks” Now for those of you who don’t follow (and I wouldn’t doubt a second that you are one of them…) my home happens to be seven and a half hours flight away form our lovely Brock University; France that is.

The view from my house

I come from the French-Alps, in the mountainous corner of eastern France, right below Switzerland, and next to Italy. Geneva, Switzerland, is only half an hour away and Milan, Italy, is a three hours drive. My tiny village of about 2000 happy dwellers I have for a home is called Villaz, pronounce ‘veel-as’.

  

This would be my house.

Annecy, pronounce ‘ann-see’, is the closest city, about the size of St Catharines. Like many cities in France, Annecy has its old churches, its small castles, its medieval-looking streets, its lakes, and so on…

Annecy and its Lake, not such a sunny day

It is almost entirely surrounded by mountains, some higher, some smaller, and my dad being a hiking-guide, my childhood was hikes in summer and ski in winter! Then I got older, and since I was not forced into it, I preferred the effort of climbing for that of lying still on the beach, and swim in the lake. I also gave up the early morning wake-up calls for a wild day on the slopes and replaced them by sleep-in mornings, afternoon with friends and lazy evenings.

The view from my front porch (at sunset)

Villaz is a nice place to be a kid. It is highly possible that when my family moved in, in 1994, the ratio cow-people might have favored the cows! (It has changed since, probably more than I would have liked…). That meant more fields to run around, more woods to build tree houses, and playing the ‘oh-so many’ games kids are able to invent that my young adult mind has somehow forgotten. But soon, you grow tired of these childish-game, you become too cool for the real outdoor fun, or the sleepless nights of walking around the village with friends. Annecy seems more attractive, more people, more places to go. The many grown-up stuffs to do (the two blog taboos don’t allow me for more specificity) and other pre-teen dating duties are screaming your name. Villaz then becomes the ugly, boring and mean-spirited town you suddenly imagine it to be.

Annecy is your future! High-School is there… they have bars there! They have the movie theaters and a giant park! They have the beach, they have the restaurants and the fast foods, the mall, and they have the independence Villaz didn’t give you. And of course soon, the unreality of The Mall grows on you, and you become one of the many zombie-shopper that crawl the malls every-days… When you finally snap-out of it and regain your common sense, you leave the mall but you find very little to replace and fully kick the addiction with… You realize Annecy is a nice city, but maybe 15 years was enough, and it’s time to go somewhere else!

 

There you have it, starting with the intention to show you my home, I got talking, and here we are, describing everyone’s (or almost) childhood! But what the hell, we can all relate!

The Lake of Annecy

Annecy is a very touristic place now, for better or worse. Because its nice medieval look attracts tourists like bees to flowers, the city knows how to take care of itself, clean and shiny. When going into the old parts of town, you can see canals with swans, flowers (lots and everywhere), and very nice little cafes and bars. Unfortunately for those leaving there, the touristic obsession had the casualty of changing the whole picture, and fixing it to fit the postcard format… In sum, it looks very nice but highly fake/fabricated… Of course my point of view is biased, and all my friends who visited thoroughly enjoyed the place!

Les Vieilles Prisons in Annecy, La Vieille Ville

 Now I am going to stop the description here, and maybe add up a couple more pictures, with descriptions for the avid travelers who may happen to visit this page once in a while. Truth is, it is hard to talk about home finding the narrow narrative path between travel agency (travel guide at least) and ranting over flashbacks from childhood…