Anyway, currently I am still quite undecided about my core modules, but more or less I'll be taking the following:
BS310 Pharmacology
BS412 Drug Discovery and Biotech Development
BS307 Computational Bio (pending)
BS312 Protein Folding and Biomolecular NMR
BS313 Functional Genomics and Proteomics (pending)
CV4202 Human Resource management and Entrepreneurship
AAU280 Voice Studies and Production (elective)
I'm undecided between the 2 pending subjects. Highly likely to take the comp bio though, although the class size is very small, the lecturer is much clearer than the other lecturers. Thankfully I went for NMR which I didn't register earlier, but still got vacancy during add/drop, so I decided to take it because the exams are all MCQ!!! haha.
Today I had my first lesson for my elective. It was superb. I'm susposed to write journal entries for this elective, so the following is my first entry which I'm eager to share ;p
The first Voice Studies and Production class was fantastic, fabulous, interactive, stress-free and a total fun!! Despite the fact that the lesson was held in a rather remote part of NIE (the Playhouse), it was actually a rehearsal room, and tables & chairs lined the walls instead of the usual neat rows in a classroom setting. There is a big space for us to do some “physical” exercises.
The teacher refused to introduce herself, although she made us introduce ourselves, by selecting a picture from amongst all the pictures scattered all over the floor. The picture should best describe myself, and all the pictures are very artistically taken. I was hoping to find something related to dance, but sadly there was none. So not much choice, I can’t pick any nice picture I like, and since I study bioscience, so I picked up the picture that is “science-looking” because of the pipette and tiny glass containers. I saw another photo of a motherly lady coaching her daughter, which kinda represented me too, since I loved to tuition someone. I was quite indecisive about the picture, but nevertheless, I choose the “science-looking” one. Also, everyone needed to share the reason for taking this module, besides the fact that it is non-examinable. I shared that I had difficulty projecting my voice, and definitely want to learn how to do so, since I hope to teach in the future. Many shared the same view as me, and others took the module because of positive feedback from peers, or simply because this module fits into their timetable.
The class had so much “play” that I felt that this is like a self-improvement course, a time to relax, explore and know more about myself, practice observing other people and also applying knowledge about voice projection and presentation. Today was pretty much like an ice-breaker session. We played some catching games, exercised a little, move around the classroom a lot, and learned some breathing techniques to fill up the lungs. I never knew the lung capacity is really huge, and breathing is not just filling the upper lungs and make the chest rise and flatten, but it’s also about filling air to the lower abdomen and back. Having dance background, I am greatly thankful that my flexibility allowed me to execute the actions like bending and some stretching with ease (except that I was in the wrong attire of a skirt and having a blocked nose).
One of the activities is that each of us needs to walk up and down the aisle formed by 2 rows of people standing in parallel line, and then stop in the middle to say “Hi”. We were to observe and comment about the person who just modeled past, and relate whether the voice produced suits the physique of the person’s body. There were a few confident ones, but many had some stiffness in the shoulders, some girls were quite shy, and some had problems with the posture. After I took my stride, I had the most pleasant comments from the teacher that I felt my head grew a little big, but it was very much needed compliment to boost my confidence. She said, “She’s (me) very grounded, looking a little spiritual, quite confident, and taking very determined steps, knowing where she is headed for. You make an excellent presenter!” Wow. Cool. I always thought of myself appearing as a shy, soft-spoken, timid and gullible girl; never had I in my past 21 years heard someone’s first impression of me to be like this! Haha. Perhaps she was very very generous with her comments. But strangely, in this classroom of strangers, I was comfortable and relaxed, not nervous at all.
Something that the teacher said nearing the end of the lesson really encouraged me: every baby was born and could cry out really loud, which means everyone has the capacity to project our voices! She proposed that it is the lifestyle problem, where we sit down too much, exercise minimally and hardly breathe to our lungs maximum capacity that results in the collapse of certain important muscles that helps in voice production! For myself, it is perhaps some psychological mental block I had, and the incoherence when I speak that made me inclined to speak softly. For this introductory session, I am determined to change this mental block and speak audibly, eloquently and confidently!
I simply loved the teacher and the way she conducts the lesson. There is so much life and joy to bring into and out of the class. Perhaps this module could change my perspective about uni teachers being hopeless. At least there are still some fun and inspiring ones around, who has passion to teach and deliver the lesson well. This is exactly what I am inspired to do too.
yep. I'm eager to go for my next Tuesday's lesson. and next time I shall register for more NIE electives.
thats all for now... hee :)
p/s: looking forward to Friday too ;p
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