Orienting to Grad School

I have been in the US for almost 3 weeks now. Getting used to the american way of life is very easy, its just about doing things opposite to the way we do them in India. Light switches are to be flicked up, not down; people drive on the right side of the road instead of the left...It is all upside down!

Life in Grad School always starts with orientation. Orientation (like the way it was for me) is mostly about attending boring faculty presentations where they use scientific jargon to the hilt to impress you with the research prowess of their labs not realising that most of the terms in their presentation mean as much a course in advanced english to a chinese student.

The rest of orientation meanders along, with the department chairs giving sermons on the importance of dedication in grad school and perseverence as an essential attribute in reasearch. Once you are sound asleep, they have sessions on handling stress, seeking counselling and some tips on study skills.

By the time the orientation comes to an end on friday, all you want to do is start classes and find out what the big deal about grad school is...I am hoping I will figure it out starting monday!