Yay for Friday

Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday and Wednesday were largely unproductive. Due to the late arrival Monday night I didn't get to bed until around 2am. Because of this I made the decision to skip classes on Tuesday. I wasn't really equipped to handle 6 hours of classes on not enough sleep. I'm really bad at skipping classes because I feel guilty all day, but I really did need the sleep and the notes were posted online. So hopefully that won't have an impact on anything. But I really didn't accomplish anything on Tuesday, which was mostly alright with me.

Wednesday was already class free, so no issues there. I went grocery shopping and caught up on notes for my classes. Other than that, also a pretty unproductive day.

Thursday

Had class in the morning, wasn't really looking forward to it. I'd unfortunately gotten into a "I don't want to attend class" slump. But got myself up and over to the CS building, meeting my dreaded foe: the hill. Class today was a workshop instead of the usual lecture. We had to construct models of an Online Banking system using a specific modeling language. My group was using BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation). I like the idea of group work, but it always seems to fall flat in practice. I always seem to get put in a group where only myself and one or two other people contribute, while the rest sit passively. That always frustrates me, as I seek the exchange of knowledge that a group of people can offer, and I don't simply want to do all the work. I also ended up having to present it with one other guy, as nobody else would stand up. They all kind of just looked at me to do it, until the other guy belatedly stood up. I'm not a fan of impromptu presentations, but I knew what I was talking about so it wasn't too bad.

On a more positive note: the weather here is absolutely beautiful. 38°F and Sunny! The river has completely melted, so that's mildly interesting. It was startling earlier, as before I left for the weekend it was still frozen over. So returning to a free flowing river was a surprise.

I'm not sure that I like having such a big gap between my two classes, but there's not much to be done about it. Crypto Lab this week was run by the TA, since our main teacher was travelling. I honestly could've gone without attending, we didn't really do anything worth-while. It was mostly more practice of the concepts covered in last week's lecture (We didn't have lecture this week as Monday was a holiday).

Friday

Oh Friday, sweet Friday. How I've longed for your arrival. It was an absolutely perfect day. It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky and around 40°F all morning and afternoon.

First class up was Cloud Computing lab. It mostly went well, I almost felt bad for asking the lab instructor so many questions, but as I was unsure of some of the syntax for working with the terminal in Linux I had no other choice. (I did Google first, but I wasn't finding exactly what I needed). The previous labs had instructions written out in more detail, so I didn't have any problems. But with this lab there were a few things left unsaid. Nonetheless I managed, and the instructor was very helpful. It's an interesting experience to use the terminal for absolutely everything. I'm used to my windows GUI, I guess I was spoiled. It's great practice though, and there's something satisfying about it.

Once again, finished lab early and had about 45 minutes to kill. Obviously the only option was to go back to the cafe for another round of coffee and cake. My only justification is that I burn it off when going back up Lossi Street (aka Hill of Doom). This time I tried out the tiramisu, which was absolutely incredible.

After I'd eaten and relaxed, I headed back to the CS building for my next class. Coding Theory practice was again, primarily focusing on polynomials over finite fields. Except we talked more on dividing polynomials. It's odd and somewhat difficult to shift my conceptual understanding of mathematics. We redefine basic methods based on the constraints of finite fields, but these methods are just similar enough to what I'd general consider division that I sometimes get confused when trying to prove them.

Most of my educational learning in mathematics has been a strict "this does this because reasons". We don't really have to prove why something works, we're just told it does. I can generally follow the logic behind proofs when I see them, but coming up with them...proves difficult. (I can no longer resist making puns.) I hope to overcome this through practice, as the professor does ask us to do proofs on the homework. But we'll see how that turns out.

After class I headed back to the dorm. I felt very peaceful and happy the entire way. I was finished with classes for the week, which is always a nice feeling. Passing by the Tartu Music Hall (which I do every day on my way to and from classes) I had the pleasure of hearing someone practicing the Cello. This, of course, brought back a wave of (happy) nostalgia for the years I spent playing the violin and viola. I honestly miss playing my instruments and being part of an Orchestra. I'm unsure if I'll ever have the time/money to pursue it again, but for the time being I look back on those years with joy. Plus it's nice to see that there's a strong musical presence in Tartu, even if I cannot be a part of it.

I also ran into Sarah, talked to her for a few minutes as we made our way down Lossi street. I always enjoy running into friends while I'm out and about, makes me feel more comfortable being somewhere. (This was something I really missed from Charleston, as I usually couldn't go to class without seeing at least one person I knew, or stopping for a quick chat.) After Sarah and I parted ways, I stopped by the multimedia shop to print out some HW, and then walked the rest of the way to the dorm.

People say that time runs slowly in Tartu, and I'm inclined to agree with them. There's a sort of...feeling about this place. Nobody appears to be in a rush and it's very calm and collected. (Except for the drivers, I maintain that they are absolutely bonkers.) It drains the stress away and provides me with peace when I'm just outside walking. It doesn't move slow in a way that drags along, it just lacks the rushed feeling that Charleston sometimes has. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy the hustle and bustle of Charleston and similar cities, but it's nice here. The city is so charming that I can't help but fall in love with it. I'd never want to live here, but I've finally become completely comfortable with my stay here. I'm in a position where I feel that I can get the most out of this experience, and I'm glad that I chose to study here. I can only hope that I'll continue to be pleased!