Week 2: Adjustments, Cats, and a Whole Lot of Learning
The (real) fiend caught red handed. [id: a cat looking at the viewer near stolen meat it took from the dorm's fridge. end id] | A picture taken by a passerby dorm-mate
Oh gosh, I’ve spent like 300 MAD on a delivery and only later realized that it might have been a big waste of money. I’ve never cooked for myself before! Back when I was in prep school (prépa), I never cooked! Last week, I barely ate... mostly survived on tuna boxes for lunch, bread and oil for breakfasts... and no dinner... and bananas too. So, I decided to turn it around and go shop for some veggies with delivery, and now I feel kind of sad. I could have gotten the same stuff for half the price if I’d just gone by myself or asked my family for help. Feeling dumb about it, honestly. I've been tracking my expenses to keep them in check, but I just realized 98% of my money is going to food... The other 2% went to cheap hangers and three notebooks. Having no cafeteria at school is tough.
Then there's laundry... last week, I tried washing my clothes with bleach—and yep, I ruined two of my favorite shirts, including the green slime ghost John Egbert one. I feel even dumber now. I guess you can be school-smart and still be a dumbass when it comes to these things. But, I think I should give myself a bit of credit. It's okay to mess up. It’s all new to me, and unlike school tests, you don't get time to study for these life tests. You learn through the tests. And honestly, I’m just grateful the damage wasn’t worse. Like today—while I wasn’t looking, a cat came by and took a bit of my salad! I couldn't get mad at her, though. She probably smelled the nice boiled egg. So instead, I gave her a little pat on the head and played with her after eating. I just can’t get mad at cats!
This week has been a bit overwhelming. It’s only the second week of school, but I’m adapting the best I can. Thankfully, my reflexes from prep school—studying after class, reviewing notes, prepping Anki cards, and doing exercises—are paying off. Some classes are better than others. I breeze through graph theory and probabilities (because math, duh, and I love that), but new subjects like Computer Architecture and C language have been harder. The first Computer Architecture class was super tough, but the second one wasn’t so bad. It reminds me of not understanding a single thing in Engineering Science back in prep school after coming from Natural Science and Medical School prep. And C language... well, new things are always hard. Apparently, it's easy to learn but hard to master—guess I’ll find out soon enough!
I haven’t had much time to chat with my family, and I miss them. I’ve been so busy with all the new information and adjustments that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But I should give them a call soon; it would be nice to catch up.
I’m grateful, though, that I’ve been able to keep in touch with my friend from school despite the long distance. They’re awesome and have been keeping me company through all this.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention—I’ve been leading a group project on “La Communication Verbale” this week, and I’m so happy with how it turned out! There are three of us, and everyone gave it their best. I’m really proud of my team. To be honest, I kept surprising myself throughout the process. I’ve realized that I’m pretty good at bridging cultural gaps and leading a project to completion. And working on the presentation design in Canva? A TREAT. Graphic design might just be my new passion, honestly.
Wow, writing this out makes me realize how much happened this week—and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I even got a proofreader for my Homestuck Epilogues translation (yay!!!), and secretly, I’m working on a podcast!!!