Grad School part 1

About two years ago, I decided it was time to think about furthering my education. After much debating, researching, and one failed application, I settled on the University of Auckland to pursue a Master's in Music: Musicology degree. Getting a focus back to academic writing in order to complete the application requirements took some doing but I managed it, submitting things in the midst of the Mary Poppins show last year. Due to everything else going on at the same, once the application was in it became a bit of out-of-sight-out-of-mind. It was, consequently, a nice surprise when I got an acceptance letter from the University.

My acceptance was not yet to begin the Master's program, but I was advised if I spent this year completing a post-grad certificate in Musicology, I would then be eligible to begin the Master's work next year. The end result of much questioning was that I had to complete 5 lecture courses this year, plus two small research projects.

So.....off I go to Auckland! Five years ago when I moved to New Zealand I landed in Auckland and only lasted about 3 days before feeling I'd had enough of the big city and decided to head South to what would (at the time unknown to me) become my new home.
From the end of February until 31 May, I lived in Auckland and put myself through the mentally draining task of taking 5 university courses while working mostly full-time. The trade-off was the University agreed I could move back to New Plymouth to complete the research projects from home (yay!).

So....what was it like to go back to school in a foreign country as an adult?

Well. Where do I begin?

It was not so bad, in retrospect. But there were some curve balls, and I certainly felt out of my league in some ways.
First, I had to re-adjust to university speak, academic writing, and research practices. I have done it all before, but it had been awhile.
Second, figuring out how to get around campus, and who you needed to know, and where the best study spots were. This took a bit of doing, and I was thankful to make a good friend who was truly a blessing in keeping me sane and taking me under her wing to navigate school life.

I had thought that after living in New Zealand for so long, I would have figured out all the important slang/jargon/odd phrases, etc. But I quickly learned that university life in New Zealand has its own version of this. In fact, something I found most interesting was the implied understanding, or lack thereof, in professors' expectations depending on where they were from. I had one English professor, two Kiwi professors, and one American professors. I found when given assignments or feedback from the American professor, I knew exactly what was intended. I found with the others, it was not always so clear, and yet my Kiwi classmates were experiencing the opposite. I did find, however, that when it comes to presentations, I had that nailed, and rumour around campus has it that Americans students tend to excel in this area due to American university expectations (go us!).

More to come, but so you don't get bored I will give you this in stages :)
Check back in a few days for the curveball that caused me the most pain!