My modules!

BIOL 3101 Cellular Neuroscience
It's to fulfill my outside concentration criteria. So far so good, just that I'm already lost in lectures. Too many graphs, too many labs. One lab assignment each week, just handed in my 2nd one and the 3rd assignment is due next week. Good thing is that the lab class is small & the lecturers are very approachable and are willing to explain the chim chim concepts. small class size to lecturer ratio!

BIOL 3103 Sensory Physiology and Animal Behaviour
I was expecting something like the Bio modules I enjoyed last sem, but it turned out to be really technical and difficult. We are examining eye and vision to the microscopic level. & my research project: analysis of the funtional anatomy of the compound eye of honeybees. I was totally shocked when the lecturer, Jochen straightaway gave us 3 bees to kill and cut the eyes off. Shocking and tramautising to attempt to cut the antennae off the decapitated head when the antennae were still moving and the mouthpart gasping for air as it it were still alive. I guess it must be more tramautising for the bee. Other than that it was really cool as we have the chance to prepare the samples and cut slices of the eyes in the range of nanometers and take microscopic photographs of the eyes. 6 students to one lecturer for the research project & I love him maak maak! He's just so funny. Just today, I wanted to tell him that the camera ran out of memory space & he stared at me with a puzzled look and said " I what the bees? I love the bees???"

BIOL 3132 Field studies in Behavioural Ecology
Basically it's a research module and the 6 of us are working on the alarm calls of honeyeaters. Initially my favourite course, until we broken up into groups to discuss. Out of the 6 of us, 4 are locals, 1 African who stayed here for 7 years. I am having a hard time keeping up with the discussion coz they got so excited and talk really fast everytime, in addition to their hard to understand Aussie accent. To make things worse, I have no idea what species of birds they are talking about as everyone is so well-versed in zoology and they assumed I know the faunas they are talking about. but I think one of my groupmates know that I'm lost coz he always turn around and look at me with a very concerned look but yet said nothing at all. Went down to botanic garden with the lecturer and groupmates today. Did some trial playbacks of alarm calls. Really fun!

SCOM2001 Practical communication in Science
As a class, we have to organise a Science conference at the end of the semester. Not what I expected it to be and I felt that I learn nothing at all, though it's quite fun...

Finally made the decision to drop this module coz I 'm getting too stressed and tired and this is not what exchange is all about. I took really long to make this decision coz somehow it felt like I'm taking an easy way out. but oh wells, I'll enjoy till I get back to pick up the pieces. & I probably should tell Siva soon. Hmm.. it probably wont sound convincing to tell him that I'm stressed out and tired when my facebook pictures dont say soo.