Daniel Okret, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Post #2: Life in Madison (go Badgers!)
Hi again,
Since I got in Madison I have been very busy! On the first weeks there are many introductory activities and events for the new students. This is a great opportunity to get to know what the university has to offer next to academics. I joined the Hoofers Sailing Club and became an instructor there. They have the biggest college fleet with over 100 hulls! The club organizes socials every Friday in an ideal setting to meet interesting people. Being an instructor is very fun and was an ideal student job due to its flexibility.
One of the activities that I enjoyed very much were camping trips. I went camping several times. There are many nice camping spots near Madison. The only downside is that they can only be reached by car. The most special camping trip I did was to Nicolet National Forrest, which is a four hour drive to the north. We stayed at a camping spot near Anvil Lake. During this trip we visited a small town festival in Phelps. This was one of the most American experiences I had so far!
Another fun thing that I got to be part of is Rush. This is the period where fraternities and sororities organize many nice activities to attract their new students. The activities vary from group studying with pizza to parties and from sport day’s to film night’s. It was like being in one of those American college movies!
Madison has a very good athletic program. As many of you may know, American Football is a very important part of college life in the US! Almost every university has its own team and are very proud of it. Wisconsin has the Badgers, which is an excellent team! I watched the first game on the TV, and did not understand why everyone was so excited about it. The game was kind of boring, with only 13 minutes of actual football during three and a half hours. The rest is mostly commercials and discussing scores of other games that did not interest me.
However, after watching a game at Camp Randall (their football stadium) I finally got it! The energy in the stadium is hard to describe, but even not being a football fan it is hard not to get intoxicated by it! When there is football going on, everyone is completely focused on and supporting the players. The marching band and cheerleaders provide the necessary entertainment while there is no actual football going on. So there is a constant flow of cheering, singing and dancing. I recommend going to as many games as possible!
Of course that even with such a busy agenda there still is serious studying going on. The courses here are not necessarily harder than at the TU Delft, but they have more compulsory parts. Most of the courses I attend have a weekly homework assignment that amounts from 15 to 25 percent of the final grade, and some courses even have participation counting for 10 percent. Therefore, it is important to stay on top of the studies and be sure to participate during lectures and office hours.
That’s all for now folks!
Cheers
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