We had received an email from the professor on the previous day. The gist of it was that he would not tolerate mediocrity. In his own words, he is a ‘mean’ hard professor who would have fun at our expense. He ended the email deferentially asking us to join him on the ‘bumpy but joyful’ ride. I was waiting to find out if whatever he said was true or if he was merely trying to instill a slight fear in us, so as to get the best out of us. The professor’s intriguing accent and vibrant demeanor caught our imagination and we sat captivated, throughout the class. I could not ask for more on the first day. He entreated us to go often to his office and tell him how we fared in the course, as he felt very lonely. The class lasted for an hour and 20 minutes. We sat wit rapt attention, as if we were at the movies. One truly laudable virtue that he possessed was his self-depreciating humour. His looks and how he alluded to his hairlessness reminded my friend of Albert Einstein. There were glimpses of vanity too, which were expressed on a rather sarcastic note. He proclaimed that we were lucky enough to have two excellent teaching assistants and one mediocre professor. He did not hesitate to drive home the point that he is going to be a tough taskmaster and that we would have a hard time if we remained work-shy. In his view, we are going to study Computer Networks, not an introduction, hence the braces earlier. Referring to a particular course, he said, if we had friends who told us it is too tough, we should get new friends rather than drop the course. Another anecdote that I remember is how he said we are not allowed to excuse ourselves on the final examination date and request for rescheduling, even if we were dying. If we were dying, we do not need to study this course! The class ended leaving all of us feeling grateful we had opted for this course.
Walking to and from the university and around the campus is something we are slowly getting used to. The high-end cars which I could only dream of seeing back home, were no rare sight on the roads here. The only problem is that they zip past before I can look at the logo and feel buoyant that I spotted this car. I took my brand new laptop to class too. It felt strange to be making notes on the computer and I decided I would preferably write my notes. Some habits never change!