The Setup
I am really one of the lucky ones. Being the second child of the house going to the US, I wasn't all alone. My sister and my brother-in-law were really really helpful - and honestly did alot for me. They helped me thrift my entire side of the room in a single day.
All this in a single day - it is honestly all I need
So the apartment came with a built in heater - but not a cooler. So there's a fan for the hot summers and the heater for the cold cold winters. I don't think I'm capable of using my laptop on a desk without needing a monitor. Either I'm on the couch with my laptop on my lab, or I need it hooked up onto a monitor + keyboard + mouse.
Life at CU
Tbh, some would say I had none. I disagree! I just had a very - antisocial first semester. Before classes officially began, I HAD to check out the university itself. I went around the university a little - honestly just enjoying the view and grateful for being here.
These were really random photos I took with my phone - its insane how pretty it came out - This place is just too beautiful
The Semester
Now If I began talking about my semester and the courses I took, I really wouldn't stop. But if you're really bored, and want to hear me talk to you for days on days, call me :P. I'm going to avoid all the specifics, because I'm quite sure almost everyone would find these subjects extremely dull. I just cannot stop talking about how much I just LOVE them.
So, If you didn't already know, I'm a network engineering student. Network engineering = working of the internet + transport of data + communication + security and all that. Now, as simple as it may sound, it gets really complex...but imo, it's also really fun.
I spent MOST of my semester in the network lab. I expect to be spending even future semesters there. I absolutely LOVE the place. I have my own corner where I can just sit and spend my entire day. My routine would be getting coffee and sitting in my corner - working.
I absolutely LOVE LOVE this place, this lab will always have a special part in my heart
I've already spent multiple sleepless nights in this lab. I've also slept in the lab. All this already in my first semester. I'm both excited and scared to see what my coming semesters are going to offer. TBH, I felt I was putting in extra effort, because I genuinely enjoyed whatever I was working on. I always ended up putting in additional effort to understand what I was doing, and ensure I did it the right way.
Courses and Professors
What I said on my previous post - 16 years of Indian Education made me WANT to come to the US, I was telling the truth. I genuinely feel, I learnt and applied my learnings more in this ONE semester than I did during FOUR years of Undergrad. I absolutely loved what I worked on, and wanted to keep working on it. I've NEVER felt that way in my undergrad. Now that I think about it, Its kinda sad. But that really how indian education feels.
The professors play a MAJOR role in this. The assignments and the labs are structured so that, we're allowed to take our time to learn and apply them - and I quite literally mean apply them. We'd learn something theoritically and be doing the same thing practically like how it would be done in any corporate out in the real world.
Cisco Routers and Switches
Cisco IP Phones
So, there are two professors who took my courses for fall. They're also going to be taking my courses for spring 23. Prof. Jose Santos and Prof. Levi Perilgo. Honestly, the best of the best professors out there. (unbiased take - trust me)
Friends I made along the way
I managed to make some good friends. Only one I ended up hanging out alot with. And some - hi / bye friends. And some online friends(This mostly derives from me play LoL literally ALL the time i'm not at the lab). I also found out that - I suck at maintaining frienships. I don't normally do anything to "maintain" it. I just tend to assume that we'll remain friends. That's something I want to work on.
Think it was chocolate flavoured - Bubble Tea - I absolutely absolutely LOVEDD it
I ended up not going anywhere around colorado, but I love where I ended up.
My first snow
I love winters. I love the cold. I prefer it over hot sunny days. I'd NEVER experienced snow before. But I knew I'd LOVE it. And boy was I right, I loved playing in the snow. I was soo excited to see it snow, snowballs and all that. Surely next winter, I'm going to go skiing, ice-skating and all that.
SNOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
The End
I find it quite hard to believe I made myself write another. But I kinda enjoyed writing both of them. So maybe I'd write more in the future. Really excited to read these back after many years down the line.