Posts by Rik van der Vossen
Rik van der Vossen, University of Pittsburgh, Post #3: Finals week
Hi!
The weeks here are flying by and next week is actually finals week. That means that last week we had our last lectures of the semester. The semester is a little shorter here than we are used to back in Delft. But that means that after this stressful week I got some time to relax until I have to start my classes in Delft in February.
Since we had to take so many quizzes and hand in homework every week most of our grade has already been determined, and I think I’m in pretty good shape. This makes this last week a little bit more relaxed, but the pressure is still on. People make long days here and the library is open 24 hours. Pulling all-nighters is not for me but you see a lot of people collapsing over their books if you go in there now.
After the last finals on Saturday people start packing immediately. Everybody who lives in the dorms has to leave their room clean and tidy the next day and the University closes until January. I will have a farewell party with all the people I met here and after that I’m on my way to NYC and will travel around a bit before going back to the Netherlands in January. I will write my last post next week to tell you guys how my finals went and what my general impression was about this semester in the US.
Rik
Rik van der Vossen, University of Pittsburgh, Post #2: Student life
Dear reader,
As promised this entry will be about my classes here and the different area’s in Pittsburgh. I’m taking bio engineering classes here to complete my minor and so far it has been very different from applied physics. The courses are less fundamental and more tailored to dealing with problems you’ll face in your career as a Bio engineer. The work these engineers do is closely related to healthcare. For one of the courses, called artificial organs, we actually have to visit a hospital and we get to witness an open heart surgery in the OR, quite an experience! There is a lot of homework in each course, so the final exam will only make up 25% of your final grade. This means that you really have to keep up with all the assignments and homework deadlines, even more than I’m used to in Delft.
There is still enough time to enjoy the city, though. Pittsburgh has some nice neighborhoods besides Oakland where the campus is located. The strip district is famous for its many restaurants and ethnic supermarkets, and a nice place to spend an afternoon in the weekends. Pittsburgh also boasts an area which has one of the highest bar densities in the US according to some locals and luckily I get to enjoy that as well.
Last weekend was Halloweekend, which meant dressing up in a costume and going to a lot of parties. It is very comparable to the Dutch carnaval and I really enjoyed going out with my friends and meeting a ton of new people. That’s it for now.
Rik van der Vossen, University of Pittsburgh, Post #1: First impression of Pittsburgh
Dear reader,
As a student from the TU Delft I get to spend a semester abroad at an US university. I wanted to try something different from my major which is Applied Physics and Global E3 gave me the opportunity to both go abroad and try another discipline. I chose to study Bio-engineering at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and will give you a first impression of my experience in the United States so far.
The University is located in the middle of a busy neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh, called Oakland. The area directly adjoining the campus is really nice, as you can enjoy all of the city with relative ease. I chose to live off campus since the on campus housing that was offered to me was expensive and had very limited privacy. It was a bit difficult to find a place for only one semester, but in the end it worked out.
The life of most students revolves around campus, which is a really cool place. There is a ton of stuff you can do and the amenities are endless. During the week most students are devoted to going to classes and working out. The evenings are spent at one of the almost 400 student clubs. But in the weekend there is time to relax and have a little fun. Since the drinking age is 21 most students go to house parties instead of bars. Most parties are in the neighborhood Oakland, which is next to the campus, that is where most bars who cater students are located as well.
In the weekend I spend my time going to the football games, or going away for the weekend on a short trip. So far I’ve visited the Niagara falls, Toronto, Lake Erie and spent a weekend in West-Virginia. In the next post I will elaborate about my classes and the other neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.
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