On Saturday it was 70 degrees Fahrenheit (~21 degrees Celsius). Today is Tuesday. And today the temperature is 14 degrees Fahrenheit (~-10 degrees Celsius).

That’s a BIG difference.

• The cars… BIG cars. Big engines. Beautiful sound. (yes I don’t care for pollution.)
• The fuel price (gas (what we call ‘Benzine’) is 4 times as cheap).
• Driving on the left side is allowed.
• Passing on the right is allowed.
• Motorcyclists don’t need to wear helmets.
• Refills on drinks! (and on a lot of sides too).
• Driving from 16.
• The friendly people over here.
• The tipping in restaurants which makes the waiters and waitresses a lot more friendly.
• Flavors in the store. SO many.
• (also a flavor, but it’s SO important:) Maple syrup!
• Guns are allowed. Over here you still have the right to protect your property. We gave that up long ago in Belgium.
• Everybody here is American in the first place. And then they are Christian / muslim / whatever…
• The school system (I wrote about that in my previous post).
• The government is not ‘Big Brother’ over here.

Let me elaborate on the last one: A lot of Americans do think that their government is Big Brother, while compared to what we have in Belgium, theirs is really not that worse. We’ve got social security which some people think is good (I don’t) since a lot of people have to pay for somebody else’s disease (like when they need new lungs because of cancer).

Also the government over here did not sign the Kyoto protocol, they don’t ask ridiculous taxes on gas / electricity / … that is really a cash cow in Belgium. And on the cars: over here you pay insurance and some taxes. In Belgium those IDIOTS ask taxes based on your engine’s cc (2.0 liter, 2.5 liter …). Just sad.

While every medal has it’s downside: here are the ones I discovered:

• There is no mandatory car checkup each year.
• Drinking age is 21.
• McCain is not president.

Here are some of the things why I think the USA is a better environment for studying in university as compared to a Belgian one. I’ve done some thinking on this for a while, so I thought I might share it with you

Things that are better:

1. Classes are smaller (on this campus).
2. There is a lot more to do on campus
3. You can pick your own classes instead of a defined set of classes, where 30% is a time filler.
4. Classes don’t take 24 hours a week (they do take that much in total).

Let me elaborate on that:

1. Classes are a lot more expensive over here, so only the really interested students are in class over here. Complaining that people with less money can’t send their kids to school are pointless, since the really good students get scholarships. So if they are really interested they will get their tuition paid.
2. Campus over here is a life on it’s own. A lot of students live on campus, there is always something to do (and I don’t mean partying by that).
3. You have to take a big % on your major, and a small % on your minors. So you still can choose what you like, while that is a lot more limited in Belgium.
4. You talk in class about a subject, you don’t do tasks in class, you do the task at home.

And extra note on number 1.: I know a lot of people in Belgium (and over here too) think that everybody should get the possibility to study. Well imagine a class full of students, where the first 2 rows wants to BE in that class, the third row just choose Computer Science because it’s the future, and the last row just playing Counter-Strike.

Since it’s that cheap to do the year again they don’t care (and thus ruining the class for everybody). Been there, done that, never got the T-shirt. The American system IS better.

And after all there are downsides, one of ‘m is (it actually depends on the teacher over here):

1. You don’t get 2nd changes if you fail an exam. While the Belgians get that.

It’s about 29F over here (=~ –1.66666667 Celsius) which is pretty nice. Since there is no wind it feels great!

I’m now in my AI class, which is really cool (what’s why this post is so short, I’m paying attention!)

(that’s the title)

(that’s the only thing I have)

(yet…)

It’s a cool topic though, I find a lot of useful stuff on the internet!

Update! (Finally)!

We did a lot of tiny fun stuff, not worth talking about, gym, eating, sleeping, the regular stuff.

Yesterday Yorick, Joe & I went to see Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which was pretty good. Nice screen effects

Today Joe & I went to the Topeka Gun show. Like a 2nd hand market for guns! Held a P90, a Desert Eagle, a M1911, Uzi, Micro Uzi, AK47, Romanian Dragunov (forgot the name).

A lot of fun

I also bought a webcam yesterday, with autofocus (which is pretty neat for this tiny thing ).

I’ll try to post more often, but I do a lot of small stuff so I tend to forget my blog. Sorry

Today we had a required second orientation course in the International House over here, where a couple of persons welcomed us, presented a group, and stuff like that.

Heidi also did a presentation on American Culture, we are already learning!

At 04.20p.m. Joe picked me up to go to the movies. We went to see Defiance. (which takes up to March 4th to get released in Belgium…)

Great movie about World War II, and Daniel Craig sure played really well as the camp leader, though his appearance in Bond makes it a bit weird at first. The movie is packed with action, and there is a really good story as the backbone.

After the movies Joe and his friend JP (who also went with us to the movies) went out to Red Robin, and we ate some really great hamburger over there! And we concluded the evening by playing Rock Band at Joe’s. Great evening!

Thanks Joe for picking me up! Thanks JP for the dinner!

I love the American Culture. Friendliest people I’ve ever seen!!!

Well well I was awake and heard Yorick taking a shower.

After a while I heard a loud noise and a scream. He dropped the 1 liter soap on his toe!

And after 10 minutes he exited the bathroom, and went to his room. Locked door… He locked the door from the inside!

Poor guy!

PS: I got him a secondary key from the kiosk over here

Well today was a very busy day. Heidi made us attend an orientation about the rules on our F-1 status (Visa), we can’t work, where to go in case of emergency and stuff like that, basics actually.

When that was done we visited the library where the librarian showed us around, on how to use the category system, microfilms, microfiches.

And here is the best part: After the library tour there was PIZZA in the International house! GOOD pizza! Had a great lunch with Yorick, Paulette, Beza, and Sandra (from Austria).

Because of the bad weather (really cold!) the campus tour was replaced by a small tour (I don’t remember anything about it actually), and when we got back we were obliged to take a Tuberculosis skin test. So if my arm shows red in the next 2 days: TROUBLE! But I am healthy I know.

In 30 minutes Paulette and Beza (maybe Sandra) will come and eat the rest of the pizza I ‘borrowed permanently’

See y’all later!

Since we are foreign students over here we have to prove our English level!

So on Tuesday we had to be present at the class at 08.30 a.m. for the test.

It was a very long, easy listening, and reading test, with some texts and some grammar. I passed all 3 tests, so I don’t have to attend any English classes over here.

In the evening there was some dinner with the foreign students in the International House on the campus, really great! Had a very good time!

Thanks to Vicky from over here (she’s the secretary from the International House) for preparing the plates and being that kind to us!

An hour after dinner Joe took Yorick, Beza (Ethiopia), Paullette (Mexico) and me (Mars) to a bar to watch the K-State game! Very nice, and the chicken wings were good too!

This was our Tuesday, I’ll keep you up to date!