The last two weeks of this semester have been crazy with final papers, projects and exams. I had two written papers and three project submissions for my finals, which was quite overwhelming! One of these projects one was the Fish Training Project I previously mentioned. After three weeks of intensive training, my fish successfully learned two tricks. The first trick was to swim up to the fish tank door after listening to the click sound of me opening the door; the other trick was for the fish to pass through a hoop in order to get food. I was thrilled to conclude my project successfully. My experience in training the fish also reinforced my belief in principles of behavior and learning theories. If applied meticulously these theories can enhance learning in any organism.
The two other projects I had to complete were based on my case studies at my practicum site; they also turned out well. The projects were followed by two written papers. The papers were lengthier then expected and covered all the topics of the fall semester. Finally, after a three hour long exam last Wednesday, I completed the last of my finals. After having been deprived of sleep for more then two weeks, I couldn’t think of anything but sleep.
The weekend after finals, I took a much needed break and went ice skating at Millennium Park with my friends. We reached there at 5 pm, but had to wait for about an hour in the queue to rent skates. The ice skates were available for rent for $10 for an unlimited time. If you have your own ice skates then you can save time waiting in the queue for skate rental. However, I didn’t mind waiting in line as it provided me a chance to watch others on the ice rink. It was really enjoyable to watch people displaying their skating talents. There were children as young as 7 to 8 years and adults as old as 60 years.
Once I got my skates I couldn’t wait to be on the ice rink. I had to tie my skates really tight to fit on my feet. Although initially I was scared to let go of the railing, eventually I could balance on the blades well. As I have previously roller skated in my school days, ice skating was like reliving my childhood days of sports and adventure. Ice skating is not very different from roller skating--just that it requires more balance since you are on a thin slice of blade placed vertically underneath your shoes. In the beginning I fell four times, but all the pain was worthwhile, as at the end I did skate without touching the railing even once. We spent some good 4 hours on the ice floor, with a nice music played in the background! I was so thrilled by this outing that I am planning to go there again next weekend. This reminds me next weekend will be all the more fun, as one of my Indian friends studying in California is coming to Chicago for Christmas.
The two other projects I had to complete were based on my case studies at my practicum site; they also turned out well. The projects were followed by two written papers. The papers were lengthier then expected and covered all the topics of the fall semester. Finally, after a three hour long exam last Wednesday, I completed the last of my finals. After having been deprived of sleep for more then two weeks, I couldn’t think of anything but sleep.
The weekend after finals, I took a much needed break and went ice skating at Millennium Park with my friends. We reached there at 5 pm, but had to wait for about an hour in the queue to rent skates. The ice skates were available for rent for $10 for an unlimited time. If you have your own ice skates then you can save time waiting in the queue for skate rental. However, I didn’t mind waiting in line as it provided me a chance to watch others on the ice rink. It was really enjoyable to watch people displaying their skating talents. There were children as young as 7 to 8 years and adults as old as 60 years.
Once I got my skates I couldn’t wait to be on the ice rink. I had to tie my skates really tight to fit on my feet. Although initially I was scared to let go of the railing, eventually I could balance on the blades well. As I have previously roller skated in my school days, ice skating was like reliving my childhood days of sports and adventure. Ice skating is not very different from roller skating--just that it requires more balance since you are on a thin slice of blade placed vertically underneath your shoes. In the beginning I fell four times, but all the pain was worthwhile, as at the end I did skate without touching the railing even once. We spent some good 4 hours on the ice floor, with a nice music played in the background! I was so thrilled by this outing that I am planning to go there again next weekend. This reminds me next weekend will be all the more fun, as one of my Indian friends studying in California is coming to Chicago for Christmas.
