Beach Boys

On December 2nd I took a bus to Newark and a train to New Brunswick. It took 2 hours. Why did I do it? Well because I had a $30 ticket to see the Beach Boys and John Stamos (Uncle Jesse in Full House) live. What a night! I waited in the cold for two hours (thats what happens to people who arrive early), spent 30 minutes in an overcrowded lobby, and 40 minutes in the seats waiting for the concert to start but the second they came on stage none of that mattered anymore...it was AMAZING!! They even had John Stamos perform Forever just like on Full House. I got a bit worried at the end when they did their 'goodnights' and walked off stage because the two songs I had been looking forward to the most hadnt been done. Then boom they came back onstage and belted out 'Little Saint Nick' and 'Kokomo'. Man what a perfect ending! After that I made my way back to the train station only to find out that the train left at the same time the concert ended so I spent an hour reading my new book in the cold, left there at 11.30pm and caught the last bus back to Caldwell (at 12.20am) which meant I got home at 1.30am....like I said what a night!!

Rotary talks

November and December has been a busy month for Rotary talks with 3 more clubs visited adn a much more refined presentation ready for the next 11. I did have another club lined up but that has been rescheduled twice already. I am really enjoying getting around to different clubs and meeting new Rotarians. Its great fun. I already have another 2 presentations in line for February.

Drama drama

Well after getting past the terror of the possibility that my arm problems might end my ABA career before it started and that it might require surgery or an early return trip home things seemed to be looking up. That lasted at most...3 days. On the Friday night of Thanksgiving weekend  I opened up my Caldwell email account and found it inundated with emails about a letter (that I hadn't yet received) from the US government to the international students of Caldwell College stating that the college had lost its SEVIS status (meaning they were no longer certified to have international students) and that we had until January 30th to either transfer to a new college or leave the country. To be honest it seemed like a bit of a joke and we were being told not to worry because 'it doesnt affect our status'. By Monday it was all too real. My letter arrived, more emails had gone round that outlined the seriousness of the situation and we had a meeting with the President (Nancy) and some of the administration. You could here the emotion in their voices as they told us that they were doing everything in their power to fix the problem even having the New Jersey senator petition on the college's behalf. Basically what had happened was that the woman in charge of the international students' affairs didnt complete and file a report to the government that she had had 6 months (and two windows of opportunity to appeal) to complete (and didnt tell anyone at the college about it - so no one even knew there was a report until we (the students) started getting letters). We were told that if by some chance we couldnt stay at Caldwell (ie the government refused to recertify the college) then they would do everything in their power to get us transferred to a new college and that anyone with 9 or fewer credits left before they can graduate should arrange to do them over the winter break. Apparently my story was used as one of the case studies the college presented to the government. It was a very intense few days with the international students getting very worried, the administration working very long hours and the student body asking for international students' stories and organising prayer groups and meeting to express how much they loved the international students. After a bit of a freak out on Monday I decided that seen as there was nothing I could do but wait and trust that whatever the outcome the college would take care of us so there was really no point in stressing out at least for the first week anyway. In fact I spent most of the week making jokes about it because it was just easier to deal with it that way than to dwell on it and act like its the end of the world. On Thursday the dam broke and good news came flooding in. We had our certification back (though theres still a semesters worth of hoops for the college to jump through) and we can all stay but no new international students can come into the college until at least next fall. Talk about a cloud lifted off the college...and me.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a really interesting cultural experience that I was fortunate enough to share with a really nice couple (who I know through Rotary) and their family. As I was on fish feeding duty at the center for the 5 day weekend I met Christie (my hostess) at 3pm at the center adn we headed to her home. Over the next 3 hours another 12 people arrived for our 6pm dinner even though they were meant to be there at 3 like me (a lot of very late people!). During that time we ate an interesting array of hor d'ourves and played a couple of rounds of Taboo (until that fell apart at the seams as family games can do). Taboo is a game where you have to get your team to guess a word on a card but you cant use the 5 associated words that are also on the card. It's not easy especially when you dont speak American. OK so the main event - dinner. Let's see....we had turkey (obviously), sweet potato biscuits, mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted beets, roast sweet corn, cranberry relish and almond squash (really loved this). It was very tasty but I am not a fan of cranberries - too tart. The turkey was very tender but to be honest Id definitely prefer chicken any day. Dessert was several types of gelato, cherry pie, pecan pie and some kind of cake but I didnt end up eating any dessert because I had way too much to eat for my main meal. After that I headed back to college. On Saturday I went back into Newark to the Prudential Center but this time it was to see the New Jersey Devils get beaten (Boo!) by the New York Islanders (ice hockey). Still not a fan of Newark - today at the bus stop a man was going around asking people if they wanted/had dropped a cell phone that he was carrying around and he had a handle of what looked like a knife sticking out of his back pocket. Starting to see why I only go to the train station in Newark and nowhere else normally. I also spent the Thanksgiving weekend (Friday in particular) shopping online for Black Friday deals buying mum's Christmas presents...I love shopping...especially when its not my money!

Arm troubles

For quite some time I have been having difficulty with one of the fundamental parts of ABA - lifting the kids beacuse I have irritated the elbow that I broke nearly 10 years ago. Something that really concerned me because Sharon said that if I couldnt do that then I wouldnt be able to work with kids in the long run. She was very understanding though, having a undergrad with me whenever I was working with one of the kids so that they could lift them back into their chairs when necessary and I could still work with them. Originally she was going to take me off the kids I was working with and train me on two that dont need to be lifted at all but she felt I was doing such a good job with my little 3 year old boy in particular that she decided on the undergrads instead. So on the 21st of November I went to see a specialist and get xrays done. I found out that during my original accident I had torn some cartilidge in my wrist which hasnt healed and has been aggravated into carpal tunnel. Now I have a wrist splint and 100mg of voltaren a day. It has helped but my arm is still sore and the elbow spasms occasionally which isnt fun. Having the support of the splint has helped me a lot with lifting the kids...just in time too because the kids have started cottoning on to the fact that I couldnt do it and it was starting to create problems during our sessions (so Ive been able to show them I can and things are good once more). I still have difficulty but things are finally improving.

Ecumenical Meeting

On the 22nd of November I was picked up at 10.45am by two members of the Rotary club - Bob and Janet a very nice, interesting couple who gave me the history of Thanksgiving and informed me that George Washington was in fact the 8th (or 9th) president because there were a bunch of 1 year presidents of the United States of Congress Assembled (or something like that) before him. Once we arrived at the Ecumenical lunch we set up the banner and the check in spot which I manned with Christie and Geetha. I was lucky that I only had to check in the special guests (who didnt have to pay) rather than the Rotarians (many who did). The lunch was OK - foodwise. The 3 speakers - a local Rabbi, the pastor of the United Methodist Church, and the Reverend of the new Greek Orthodox Church. One story that they told and I really loved was about a Native American youth who was telling his elder that when he gets a new thing he is very thankful but almost straight away he is resentful over not having the next new thing. He wanted to know if the elder ever felt that way and how he dealt with it. The elder said he did and they were like two wolves inside him that fought constantly. The youth asked 'which one wins?' and the elder replied 'The one I feed'. After the meeting we packed up and headed home and I went off to class. Another lovely day with the Rotary Club of the Caldwells.

First trip to Newark

The weekend before Thanksgiving I went to Newark for the first time (if you dont count the train station and airport) to see Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream which told the stories of Cinderella, Tangled and the Princess and the Frog. It was very well done but something that I would only do once. Didnt enjoy leaving as the bus stop was further away than I thought (10-15 mins walk), I missed the bus so had a 30 min wait and even though I left at 5pm it was already pretty dork and Newark is very unnerving even with the sun up. There was some huge procession commerating a marriage or death or something (it was all in Spanish and sounded mournful even though they were carrying a couple of dolls that looked like a bride and groom) that was being escorted by the cops so I stuck close to it until I got to my bus stop. Having the cops near by made me feel much more secure.

Weekend Relief

Lately I have started making a point of going away somewhere every weekend. It all started one Sunday when I headed into NYC to see the 3pm showing of Sister Act on Broadway - WOW! It was really great, totally recommend it. It was hilarious and the music was great. The following weekend I spent a Saturday in NYC with Tim and a friend of theirs who was visiting from Mexico. We took the open top bus up to Central Park and then downtown to the World Trade Center site which we were hoping to visit but apparently you have to get tickets online beforehand so instead we walked part way along the Brooklyn Bridge after having a deli lunch (an experience in and of itself). The deli was crazy busy. The bathroom was down two flights of stairs and it was very hard to work out where you order, where you pay and where you collect your food. Not really the kind of place I want to return to. After the bridge Tim and I caught a taxi back to Port Authority while Tim's friend carried on on the bus. Tim headed back to Caldwell and I tripped around to different stores scoping out the buying options before Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). The next day was spent shopping at Target with Nancy and the following sunday I took a drive to Brandon Beach with Sue, collected some bits from their beach house, took a stroll along the boardwalk and had some pretty decent Italian (there seems to be a tendency towards over saucing food over here).

photos

The photos of the downed trees by the Blattners house have now been added to my photos (link is on the left hand side of the page), enjoy.

The freak storm of Oct '11

We made it! OK I guess I should back track a bit for those readers out there who has no idea what we made it through...here goes...
On Saturday sometime in the morning it started snowing (highly unusual for October (even in the North-eastern states) by 2pm the ground was well covered and the snow was falling heavily still. At 4pm the power to my residence hall went down and the battery powered generator managed to last for all of 10-20 mins before we were completely without power or internet. At 6pm we had an emergency meeting and were informed that within the next 20 mins we had to leave our rooms for the night and either camp out in the student center or head off to another hall (and for those who could...go home). I called Tim and was lucky enough to get an invite to come and stay at the Blattners for the night. I trekked out to the student center to get there just as they were shutting down after they lost power again and with it the ability to cook. I grabbed a take-out meal and took a slightly unnerving walk through the woods (the trees were creaking and cracking) over to Tim and Nancys. Theyd lost power at 6pm so we had dinner by candlelight and then sat talking in the dark listening to tree limbs crashing down, a couple hit the house (one earlier on had smashed their patio table) thankfully no limbs ended up in the house but as a precaution we all took a couch and slept downstairs. At 11 or so a tree crash down in the driveway just missing the house and Tims car. At midnight the house alarm started screaming that it was low on battery and it was Tim to the rescue spending about 10 mins getting that sorted out.
Come morning and the whole campus was still without power and we were down to one residence hall with back up power, classes for Monday were cancelled and resident students were being told that if they could go home they should go home. We still had no power, heat, or internet and the landline had officially gone down. We packed the things Nancy wanted saved from the fridge and freezer into ice filled chilly bins. By the afternoon Tim had a generator up and running and one of the guys from the college had hot wired the heating system to the generator so we could get some heat. The snow was melting off the trees but not the ground and the guys came to assess the trees that had come down overnight. Nancy discovered a crack in the ceiling in their room thankfully the only damage that falling tree limbs had caused to the house. That night Tim hooked the laptop (we had internet but the campus server was still down), a couple of lights and TV so we spent the evening with a few of the comforts of a modern life. At midnight the power came back on to the house greeting us with the hall light coming on (we were sleeping upstairs now that the trees were much safer) and the alarm screaming again (Tim to the resuce once more).
Monday morning I settled in to a day of study and Nancy and Tim spent the day going to meetings working out what was going on with the campus and whether we were going to be opening on Tuesday - campus was closed for Tuesday day classes. In the afternoon the tree guys came and cleared the tree in the driveway but not the one propped against the house, and we were still running the heat off the generator has the hot wiring hadnt been undone yet (it was sorted out after dinner). We had dinner over at the student center which was back up and cooking (the day before students had pizza and sandwiches delivered to the dorm because the kitchen was still without power). We had one group of trick or treaters who braved the snow to celebrate Halloween and I watched House for the first time in ages. Very late Monday night I got internet access back but Nancy and Tim still dont have it (thats how Im posting this blog...go figure).
Tuesday the sun is out the snow is melting and the roads are being cleared (there were trees down over the main roads, power lines had come down and things were generally a mess). Im going to Rotary with Tim today and after noon Ill be able to get back into my room and now I have to finish off my readings and assignment because the campus has been opened for evening classes (not that I mind at least now theres no reason why I should have to reschedule my meeting with my practicum advisor so that I can get things sorted out there.
It has been an adventureous weekend and Im so thankful that I was able to come and stay with Tim and Nancy. Nancy is a wonderful cook - we were treated to pork chops, french toast, blueberry pancakes, bacon, turkey tomato and noodle soup, chilli, grilled cheese sandwiches, ham & cheese scrambled eggs...yum. Anyway the power is back and things are back to normal and I have the internet back (which was really the main thing for me...I lost my connection back home and that was probably the hardest part...though it wouldve been a lot worse if Id been staying in the student center or one of the dorms believe me). Photos of the snow and trees will be up soon so that you can all see just how exciting our weekend was.

most wonderful gift

I just received the most wonderful gift today. Not only did a very lovely woman who volunteers at the ABA center reach out to me and offer me rides and escape from campus occasionally after reading that article but today (after a conversation we had on friday) she brought me around some bits and pieces so i can do cooking and baking. According to my roommate I looked as excited as a kid in a candy shop. Now I have a kitchen and I can use it! Now I just have to get to the supermarket and get some bits and pieces to cook so that I can start using it!!

Washington DC

Well classes are busy as always but I managed to sneak away for the long weekend and take a trip to the nations capital and what a worthwhile trip it was. I LOVE DC. I spent Friday studying and took the train to DC on Saturday afternoon. Took the metro to my hostel and was questioning the decision for a moment...run down building in a run down neighbour but apparently looks can be deceiving because it was actually pretty comfortable and the people there were nice (Plus I saved money by agreeing to having a third person stay in my 2 bed dorm room).
I had booked a 48 hour ticket on a hop on hop off bus and when i went to get the tickets the next morning i was informed that i had managed to save over $40 which was great..definitely going to book over the internet again when I decide to take one of those next. Anyway there was a marathon on in the city center so the only bus service was the national cathedral and georgetown circuit. Went up to the top deck and ended up having to move down while we were detoured because of low branches and as i was the last one to come down the bus driver took off while i was still walking down the stairs..needless to say i have a few bruises that i didnt have before i got to DC.
The bus trip was pretty good we saw the cathedral and i was hoping to go up and do the gargoyle tour (they have a gargoyle shaped like darth vader) but it was closed off because of the quake that hit there at the end of august. Went to Georgetown Cupcakes at Lisa's suggestion and it was a major wait but totally worth it the cupcakes were devine....chocolate, vanilla and their signature red velvet. Yum yum yum yum yum! Anyway eventually managed to find the bus again (DC has something against marking tourist bus stops) and headed back to the mall and went to the old post office pavilion and up the tower which had a great view of the city. After that I went to the American History museum to see the original star spangled banner and dorothy's ruby slippers and then it was off to the supermarket and back to my hostel for more study.
Day 3 (or 2 if you dont count the day i arrived) this morning i walked down to the crime and punishment museum where i checked out the exhibits and did the top detective challenge which wasnt as interesting as i thought it was going to be. I got myself an NCIS hat and when i was walking to the white house a guy surprised me by putting his hands up and going i give up! Talk about your random events. So i did the photos at the white house and managed to find some DC charms and had some photos taken in a mock up of the oval office and the press room in the white house which was pretty cool. Next stop was lunch and then off to Arlington Cemetery where i got to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier which was very interesting but not something ill be doing again. It took 15-20 minutes. Unfortunately I wound up finishing there half an hour before they closed but the bus never showed up even though it was still meant to be running for another 90 minutes. After half an hour I gave up and took the metro to the local mall where I got some dinner and had a look around before heading back to the hostel for more study.
My last day was spent with a very heavy backpack shopping in the morning (i managed to get most of my Xmas presents so I was very pleased) and walking around the memorials and monuments at the mall (Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, Martin Luther King, Vietnam, Korea, WWII and Washington) and Capitol Hill. Really interesting finally getting to see the sights that I have seen on TV and in the movies. Went to the Museum of Natural History and watched an IMAX movie on white water rafting in the Grand Canyon not at all what I thought it was going to be....wished Id gotten there half an hour earlier so I could have seen the tornado one instead but oh well. Then it was off to Union Station via the metro and on to the train to write my assignment and make my way back to Caldwell. Got back to the dorm around 9.30pm very tired but after a really great trip.

article in the jersey tomato press

Had a great lunch yesterday with some very interesting women and finally got to see the article about me in the jersey tomato press (the link is under 'my article' on the left hand side of my blog page). Had a crisis management training day today which was a lot of laughs. We have a really great group of people working at the ABA center and we all get along really well. However sometimes its hard to see the professional line when your professors shift from being professors to colleagues and back again. Thankfully everyone has a great sense of humour and so far professionalism hasn't been too great a challenge for me. My grades finally dropped by half a mark tonight which gave me an 'opportunity to learn' (we dont make mistakes in our programme only create opportunities to learn) but it hasnt affected my GPA so Im not worried, in fact it feels kind of nice to know that I can make "mistakes" in this programme and its not the end of the world. Anyway that is all for now and here is the article link (for anyone who cant find it on the blog site itself) http://caldwells.thejerseytomatopress.com/stories/From-New-Zealand-to-Caldwells-Rotary-Club-of-the-Caldwells-Serves-Community,8398?content_source=&category_id=&search_filter=rotary&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=&sub_type=stories&town_id=&page=

First Rotary Presentation

So I did my first Rotary presentation today and it went pretty well...everyone enjoyed it and I traded a banner and gave out some of my kiwi pins which they all loved. I was asked today whether New Zealanders have sense of humours and my host counsellor Tim informed straight away that he "didnt know about New Zealanders but this one certainly does". Guess Im making an impression on them. I gave them a quick run down on my weekend in Boston and then started my presentation which intended up being more of a discussion than a presentation as I was getting questions and comments all the way through. It was still good and everyone was paying attention but unfortunately i didnt get all the way through it so they missed out on some of the NZ details and my little video clip of the haka but theres always another time Im sure. Either way I have now been asked to come and talk to a middle school and have another lunch invite. Im also on the list of people going to attend UN (united nations) day in NYC on the 5th of November which will be great. Apparently the Rotary international president will probably be attending and there will be some people from the UN as well as a chance to see some of the Ambassadorial scholars I met over the weekend again.
I also received my article today which was really good and if it ends up being added to the paper's website I will link it on here for you all to read.

Boston/inbound scholar orientation

So I have just returned (as in yesterday) from 4 days in Massachusetts which was great. I went by train to Boston and spent half a day there. However part of that day involved making my way to the airport to meet Veronica an outbound scholar from Texas (i was 15 minutes late and very worried that id miss her but fate went our way). We went to the Cheers pub for dinner and had a great time getting to know each other before heading out on the metro for 30 mins to meet our ride to Boxborough Holiday Inn for the orientation. We ended up being roommates which was great and we settled in to our hotel room (very nice). Next morning it was an early start as breakfast and registration was at 7.30 (but they werent ready so we just milled around and got to know Dominic an inbound scholar from Germany now based in NYC). Orientation kicked off at 10am and aside from the suprise of having to get up and introduce ourselves to 70+ people things went pretty smoothly. I found out that I wasnt the only scholar having a hard time with the way the American college system works with studies being so thoroughly guided by the professors and I also learned that I am not the only scholar in my district. In fact we have an outbound heading to Lebanon who lives virtually 5 minutes away from me! Saturday was a very long day heading well into the night as the group who organised the orientation were officially farewelling their founder with a lovely dinner and some interesting skits and things. We had several very important people at the dinner including former Presidents and Vice Presidents of Rotary International. We ended the evening at 11pm (there was a wedding going on and everyone figured sleep would be impossible until that ended at 11) and hit the hay so we would be all ready to start again at 7.30 the next morning.
Sunday I got caught out and had to do a skit (i got the easy one so it wasnt so bad) which went well and i lead a rush of people to check out before the day officially started so that we werent all caught in a line when the orientation was over at 12. Veronica and I caught a ride back into Boston to my hostel where the woman mistakely thought we were both going to be staying so Veronica ended up getting a free lunch which was nice. We did part of the freedom trail before parting ways and promising to keep in touch. After that I found a shoe sale and invested in a very cheap pair of designer boots which i have been assured will see me through an North eastern US winter (time will tell). Then it was back to my hostel to get some study done so that I didnt end up getting my first F when I returned to college on Tuesday.
Monday and it was check out early with every intention of finishing the freedom trail only to end up getting caught in a down pour so it was off to pick up a few pressies and then i booked myself on a duck tour (a land/water tour carried out in an old WWII vessel designed for both the land and sea) which went past the sites I had missed the day before. As fate would have it the weather cleared once the tour started but I still got to see most of the things i wanted to see and even managed to catch some photos of them as we sped past. Then it was a quick rush to go and collect my gear and get to the train to head back to Newark and then a run from the train to the bus stop so I could get back to college in time for tea and class.
I made some great new friends and discovered a city that I love and cant wait to visit again.

photos

For anyone who hasnt found these yet here are my photos https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos

Great day

Not a lot to write really but had a great day at practicum so figured theres no harm writing about. We were short staffed so it was a case of sink or swim today as there werent enough trainers for me to be shadowed but I managed. It was really great and I definitely remember why I love ABA so much...in fact days like today completely make up for the dull readings we get sometimes and going over the same basic information again and again. Days like today are definitely why I came all this way.

And to make a great day better I have some paid work on Thursday (YES! I might be able to travel for my 5 day weekend after all) and quite likely a nice parcel of work hours for the next two weeks as well. I was starting to worry that I wasn't going to get any but it was just a case of the start of a new semester and mixed messages. All sorted now and things are all systems go.

Speaking of go better head off for dinner before class starts in 40 mins.

one month later....opps

OK well i know its been a month but apparently life gets crazy. It feels like not a lot has been going on and yet Ive been here a month and all Ive been doing really is study and more study. Classes are good...still going over the basics but this week the new stuff kicks off. So far I have managed to keep my grades at a ... satisfactory level so as far as classes go Im feeling pretty right. Practicum has been pretty crazy we move from one child to the next every hour which coupled with only being at the center 10 hours a week has made picking up on everything a bit of a struggle. However, last week I feel like I started really breaking through the fog. I had a tantruming four year old and I managed to work through it working as her therapist instead of just the observer for a change and was even OK when the trainer left us alone for half an hour. It was great!
Unfortunately havent had as many opportunites to get outside the college since I got here but I did manage to pull off a day trip to New York City last weekend which was an ... interesting and very tiring experience. There really is nothing like standing 70 storeys above the ground and looking out over NYC. However, it wasn't as enjoyable as Id hoped but I think that was mostly a planning and timing thing....I spent 7 hours walking around 12 square blocks because I didnt have a decent map to feel safe enough to stray further from the bus station and I wasnt going to be in the city long enough to justify a bus/subway day pass.
Not a lot going on with Rotary so far but its picking up slowly which is great. I was really excited because we have the street fair next weekend which is the clubs biggest fundraiser for the year. Sadly Im going to miss it because I have to go to Rotary Orientation is Massechuesetts that weekend as its the only one close enough to us for me to take a train rather than having to fly. It should be good though, a chance to meet some of the other scholars in the north eastern states anyway. Plus i get a day and a half to explore Boston which Ive been wanting to do since I arrived here. (Better still the club kindly offered to pay for my train tickets and the orientation fee which is a great help).
Last Saturday I got to attend the district's Presidents Ball (a really nifty excuse to get dressed up, have really cheap/free drinks and celebrate the new club presidents in the district. It was great fun we had a table of people from our club (who have now dubbed me 'Miss New Zealand') who were very keen to embarrass me (they'll have to try harder) and get me joining them in drinking and dancing. I really got to know some of the club members a lot better I even have a lunch date with one of the wonderful ladies at the club, Christy, and the woman in charge of the End Polio program for the district, Karien. Its really nice to have so many new contacts and I have managed to get a couple more presentations lined up.
What else? I got a call this week for an interview regarding the ABA center, my scholarship and Rotary which I had to write a small piece for and get photos taken for this afternoon which will be in the paper on Wednesday....quite keen to see what has been writen. This Tuesday I have my first inbound presentation which will be pretty cool...hopefully they can all understand my accent OK. I've already schooled a few of them about New Zealand and everything....by the time Im done there isnt going to a Rotarian left in Caldwell (and hopefully the surrounding towns) who doesnt know where New Zealand is and roughly where the main cities are.
Right well that is enough of an update for now...I will try and get better at updating everyone...hopefully in the next week or so there will be a lot more to report and it might even get reported.

First class of the semester

WOW...that is literally the only way to describe my first class. The lecturer is truly brilliant. He is my course advisors mentor and she really wasnt kidding when she told us just how great this guy is or that he will shake up our very ideas and beliefs regarding psychology, learning and behaviour. In one class he told us that everything I have learnt and done in the past 6 years relating to cognitive psychology was in fact behaviourism as cognitive psychology (to him) is nothing more than a myth. Basically everything we do is due to the interaction we have with the environment and our past and present experiences. The future doesnt exist. It was a really interesting class. I was starting to feel a bit bad though as he'd ask us questions and I was feeling like the only person answering them though I am hoping that the others will start to answer more as they get used to the subject matter. We are still waiting on our syllabus but it sounds as though we will have 2 exams and possibly a paper to complete for this class which shouldnt be too bad. Anyway off to bed as tomorrow is an early start and start into my practicum for most of the day plus another class in the late afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow I will get an opportunity to talk further with Dr Sharon Reeve regarding my study plan for the remainder of my degree.

Hurricane Irene - the next day

Well the weather has completely calmed down once again and you would almost never know we had had a down graded hurricane through the area. However I went for a walk this morning only to discover that sections of the main road just in front of the college have been closed due to downed trees and there are a few areas on campus where trees have fallen down. Aside from that and a little silt on the side of the road in some areas as well as a very dirty looking creek everything is normal and no damage to the buildings have occurred. There are men here working on clearing away the fallen trees and have been all morning. Hopefully they dont have too much more to do. Classes start today and Im very excited. The dining hall has opened properly now as they have all their required licences and things so the chefs are cooking on premises and producing a lot of different food options which is great. The trains in the state are still not running as New Jersey itself took a fair battering from the hurricane but the buses are on the move and it shouldn't be long before everything is back to business as usual.

Hurricane Irene

Well the Hurricane hit Caldwell at around 2am but thankfully we weren't hit too badly here. It lasted roughly 6-7 hours and came with torrential rain and very high winds. It sounded like a whistling and booming but I dont think there was any thunder or lightning. To the best of my knowledge there is no damage on campus and the college will be open for classes tomorrow. We are still not meant to go outside though the rain has stopped the wind is still relatively strong (at least compared to what little wind we've had since I arrived here). Lunch was left for us in the lounge downstairs so lunch and dinner is sandwiches. Its still sweltering hot but the wind is certainly helping lower the temperatures. There have been several sirens and the likes going off on and off all day though aside from what sounded like a fire engine (on one occasion) I do not know what they were in aid of or whether they were related to the weather. All in all in has been a thankfully uneventful night and I managed to sleep through most of it. Most importantly we weren't evacuated and we still have power and water.

moving day

Cannot wait until today is over and done with so that maybe this place will finally quieten down again. No more trucks going around after midnight and lawnmowers going over the same piece of lawn every single morning as soon as the sun comes up. About to lose alot of space in our room now as Stacey doesnt want to keep the bunk beds. I have no idea where her bed is going to go and to be honest Im not concerned as long as it doesnt require too much effort. Especially as she wont even be here to get it sorted out anyway. Apparently my practicum hours have increased to 7 hours in two days for next week but I dont know if that is a mistake or because its only a short week. I have started looking over the requirements for my first Rotary report because I doubt Im going to be having much more free time once class starts. On the plus side I always have Tuesday lunchtimes free in case Rotary invites me along to a meeting. Still dont know what I need to have with me here but it looks like all the cleaning equipment and toilet paper and things is up to us to supply. Seems to be a rather interesting system anyway. We now have a pink floor lamp sitting in the room (Im hoping itll end up in a corner rather than anywhere too obvious. Cant wait for classes to get started and things to start happening as right now there isnt a lot going on around the place for those of us who are already settled in and with the storm on its way its not worth trying to go anywhere either.

batten down the hatchs

had graduate orientation tonight learnt how the ABA program was going to turn us into the best behavioural analysts we can be. Very scary and daunting but really exciting regardless. The college has started cancelling orientation activities for the weekend and classes may be cancelled for Monday as well as we await for Hurricane Irene to hit. We have back up generators in all of the halls and food is going to be delivered to us so we dont have to walk across campus for meals while the weather is bad. Tomorrow should be OK so might have to head down to the supermarket to stock up a bit. My roommate is moving her gear in tomorrow and then moving in after the weekend (weather dependent). Shes in ABA as well so might make studying a bit easier anyway. Going to meet with Sharon Reeve on Monday to set my schedule for the rest of my degree. Sounds like my work load will be relatively heavy but definitely going to be well worthwhile. Really looking forward to starting classes and getting my course outlines so I know what the semester is going to be like.

The end of Orientation

Well Im all signed up for my practicum and will soon have my schedule for classes. I have just learnt that next weekend is a long weekend (four days) so its off to DC for me (at least that is the current favourite choice) I have decided that New York may be a day thing and then go on from there but I wont spend the whole 4 days there as its only $15 return to get there from here and takes 50 mins each way so it will be an easy day trip whenever I feel like it/can afford to go. I have officially unpacked and my room now looks like someone elses as everything is in a very exact place. If anyone walked in here right now and didnt know me their first thought would be OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). We have had rain and thunder today and yet it still manages to be excessively hot (its apparently 28 degrees) Im actually starting to miss the snow and cold of home. These temperatures (so Im told) will be kindly sticking around for about 2 weeks but then fall will kick in and it'll start to cool off thankfully. (No doubt in a few months Ill be on here complaining about the cold and snow but what can I say Im just like that). I spoke to a woman at the disability services and academic tutoring center on campus today and may very well have a job lined up tutoring psychology basics and helping disabled students with note-taking and exam time. Apparently it is very well paid - $10/hr. Money is money so Im happy with whatever I can get. I am also considering taking an off site practicum/internship next semester though it will depend on how things go at the center this semester (if I love it there then Ill just take an offsite internship over the summer or do a 50/50 deal as the offsite internships are actually paid and very well apparently). It will also depend on what work I get over the semester. I am slowly working out my class schedule for the next 4 semesters and might have to either drop a class this semester or get a prerequisite dropped for next semester so that I have enough credits to retain my F1 (VISA) status. At this stage it works out at 8 credits total with the classes I want to take but I have to have 9 so Im going to talk to my course advisor tonight at grad orientation and see if she has any suggestions. When  I met with her yesterday we discussed the best electives for me to take so that I will be prepared for setting up an ABA practice at home and we have found 3 classes that will be exactly what I need. I am hoping that through taking to her and the other faculty I will be able to get a great understanding of what it would take to set something up back home and what qualifications and knowledge I would need to ultimately have for it. Also some help with designing a workshop for parents, teachers and professionals/employers associated with ASD so that I can reach as many people as possible when I return. So far things are looking very promising and Im really enjoying my time here.

The college I love

Had dinner at Tim (my host councellor) and Nancy Blattner's last night really delicious meal and a lovely couple. Had a great time. Today I was given a tour around the ABA center which is going to be my home for the duration of my studies (not literally but Ill be working there 10 hours a week this semester and more as my time here goes on). Got my phone working now so it doesnt click constantly when the ringer is turned on. Going to be getting my new textbooks soon and have met one of my lecturers already. Also getting my schedule for the ABA center organised tomorrow and hopefully will meet with the person in charge of the disability services on campus so I can earn some money while Im here. Im currently working on keeping my Fridays free so that I can have long weekends to see some of the sights around I also want to try and keep work away from lunchtimes so I can get my Rotary presentations sorted without too much chopping and changing. Fingers crossed it will all work out OK.

Caldwell College

Got to Newark airport and through to meet Tim Blattner who was sitting there holding up sign with my name on it at the baggage claim. Grabbed my gear and then we were off to Caldwell College which took about half an hour. I had slept all the way on the plane and was completely shattered but we got my gear up to my room and then I was given a short tour, got my hands on some lunch and headed off to get my ID card. Has to be the worst ID photo I have ever had taken I looked absolutely shattered and very red in the face but it gets me into my room so that is really all that matters. Took a trip out to Target and lined up some meetings and plans for the week. Met my new RA (also my suitemate) Tibi who is really lovely and loaned me her computer so I could email home. Couldnt get my internet going so gave it up for the day and went to bed early completely wiped out.
New day and it was off to orientation where we learnt a bit about culture shock and health care. Got treated to a brilliant clip about culture shock which is brilliant for anyone going overseas for a long time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPfB6GIjM9Q Straight from orientation to the Caldwells rotary meeting, very casual today just a service day. Got to meet everyone (who was there) and was invited to the districts Presidents Ball which should be pretty good fun. The club was very interesting and a great bunch of people. Main differences were that they have the pledge at the start rather than doing an anthem at the end, they also have something called happy or sad dollars where anyone who wants to gives a dollar for each sad or happy event they want to tell the club about. They get a choice of three items off the taverns menu for lunch and the meeting is only about an hour and a half long. Met a woman who is involved in DiveHeart. A group that trains divers to be buddies for disabled people and veterans so they can get the therapy and enjoyment from going scuba diving. Also read about the Lion King broadway show that was changing its show one matinee so that autistic individuals would be more relaxed to go along and see it without all the sensory overload. Really amazing how far out of their way people go over here for the disabled. Went and set up a bank account so I can buy the college asap and felt the 5.8 quake that shook Virginia. Kinda felt like the shake you get when a truck or train goes by and didnt think much of it until the other people in the bank started reacting. Back to Caldwell and got the internet online and its off to Tim Blattners for dinner shortly.

Bring on the activities

OK so where am I? Day three I think? Well early start and off kayaking at Kailua had one heck of a wind going on so it was a very interesting and hard paddle. Once we got over the breakers it wasnt too bad. Paddled out a quarter of a mile and checked out the Wedge tail shear waters and were lucky enough to see a chick (they arent supposed to be hatched for another 3 weeks). Snorkeling was a total bust all I saw was a shoe and my dri-bag ended up drier on the outside than the inside which is definitely not the point of them. Back to the hotel and found my way to the Alii Kai sunset dinner cruise. Checked out the Polynesian show and the lights of Waikiki. Not much of a sunset but the show was brief but good.
My last day and it was a really bright and early start for the sunrise climb up diamond. Climbed 560 feet along a 1.6 mile path and learnt the reach of Rotary...saw a bin donated by the Waikiki club at the summit of Diamond Head. Very tiring walk and took 2 hours in total. The sun was well up by the time we got to the summit but at least the heat wasnt there. After that and it was time for packing up and checking out before heading to the marina to catch my boat for parasailing. 700ft/213m/57 storeys up and talk about a view. Definitely one of the scariest things Ive ever done but well worth it and a great way to end my time before going to the airport to say Aloha Hawaii and Hello New Jersey.

Hawaii

Hawaii

OK so here goes my first post. Well I made it to Hawaii in one piece and managed to bring all of my luggage as well which was starting to look doubtful. A lot of delays and things thats to electrics etc but come midnight and I was in the shuttle and nearly my hotel room.
Day Two brought about a long day of exploring Waikiki Beach and the largest shopping mall in Hawaii. Looked into getting a new sim for my cell phone only to learn that my phone wouldnt work with US sim cards and I have to pay for both sending and receiving messages and texts. A bit silly really but hopefully I wont need it much.
Day Three and it was up early and off to Pearl Harbour and the city tour. Saw some amazing sights and learnt a lot about what happened on December 7th 1941. The Arizona Memorial and Punchbowl cemetry were really wonderful and I really enjoyed my day. Went out and rented a camera and booked my parasail for Sunday....very excited about the next couple of days and getting on to Caldwell.

Anyway that is all for now.