boys 1,2,3

So today was the official induction for all doctoral people. We were all told yet again how cool we are for being at the top level in the world’s best university. I tried not to yawn. But i did listen attentively to the programme requirements. That part took 5 minutes, so why didnt they just start with that?
The school’s head is my father’s old roommate from leningrad days. He is now a pompous british academic who needs someone to coordinate his wardrobe....green blazers dont go with blue shirts and cream trousers. But doubtless he would dismiss such comments as trivial when there are so many scholarly issues out there waiting to be tackled. He gave a lecture which consisted of a series of anecdotes, all of which featured him as protaganist/ hero. I dont know what it is about academia that breeds these types, but i find it very disturbing.
Yesterday at the general post grad meeting there were about 100-120 people, but i guess most of them were MA, since today in the PHD meeting, there were only about 15 of us. I gathered a lot had done the MA programme the year before, since the director seemed to know alot of them. The other PHDs seem totally wierd and anti-social. They walked into the room where the meeting was held, sat down, and NO ONE talked. They didnt even say hello to each other. Then the director gave his talk, and the moment he was done, the others fled the room. They ran away without any effort at small talk at all. It was very strange. At CEU people always hung around in the hallway to talk after any class, and people at least said hello!
After this introduction of sorts, i met gabor in the lab and we went for coffee (now that we have understood we are too poor to buy lunch!) so we sat there and continued our gossip from the day before about various CEU people. Incidentally, he has also noted the anti social behaviour here. He said he says hello loudly every time he walks into the lab- but no one ever answers, they dont even look up from their computers! Anyway, I showed him the programme requirements and the various handouts we had got at the meeting.
Then i got a desperate sms from igor letting me know that ira didnt get her visa. “too suspicious pokazalus” that really sucks, i would have really liked to have seen her here!
So then i spent some time in the lab, and headed to regent street where i met justin. He just had the orientation for his MA programme and seemed no more impressed with it than i have been thus far with mine. I dont get it: to get to the post graduate level, obviously we have learned a few tricks. Obviously we know how to function in an academic/professional environment. If we didnt have some clue, we wouldnt have made it to this level!!! So why in these intorductions do they insist on treating us like little kids? I heard the programme director telling the new MAs that they had to go to class, because attendance would be taken!!!
So anyway justin and i ate dinner. I had pub food vegetarian, which was better than it sounds. Justin had some odd english meat pie dish that looked....well, english...
On the walk home it started pouring, naturally. At least there is one bit of good news: i have been in my flat for nearly 2 weeks and the girl who is supposed to be my neighbour hasnt shown up yet, so at the moment i have an entire floor and 4 rooms to myself, which is pretty cool i must say.