Primer for the Semester

Greetings,

It is now the start of recess week for Sem 1 of AY15/16. I am putting off any work for the weekend and chilling before choinging for the rest of next week. Perhaps I could give some thoughts on the modules I am taking this semester.

German 2 aka LAG2201
THE biggest reason why I took it this sem was because I saw that the contact hours were significantly lesser. German 1 (LAG1201) was 2x 2 hour lectures and 1x 1hr tutorial a week for a total of 5 contact hours weekly. German 2, on the other hand, is just 2x 2 hour lectures a week for a total of 4 contact hours. That's a cool 20% decrease, which, when panned across the 13 weeks, is 13 hours (potentially double or so counting travelling time).
The second reason why I took it this sem was because the syllabus didn't require the purchase of a new set of textbooks haha. I admit it is more to my detriment than anything, but my friend who took the module in a previous semester remarked that he had begun on a new book in German 2 (which would entail spending money on a book not finished).
Ok. Truth be told, German is interesting lah. If I really wanted to save time I would have taken some other random arts mod with 3 hours a week. This in my opinion was a good trade off. I am enjoying lessons so far, but I am conscious that I am not spending as much time as I did the previous semester. My biggest weakness is listening... Germans speak too fast for me.

Econometrics
I'm not going to lie, it is difficult. The feeling I get is -somewhat- similar to dsc2008, sure but not sure what's going on. Econometrics essentially is the marriage economic theory and empirical evidence. Whatever you learn in dsc2008, don't throw it all away, you'll need it to understand and appreciate econometrics. Yup don't have anymore to say.

Microeconomics
Despite the difficulty I face in econometrics, I must say I am glad that I took microecons this sem. Somehow or another there is a fair bit of overlap of concepts between the two courses, it certainly helps in my learning. So far (I say this cautiously so I don't exude too much overconfidence), topics have been manageable and a large part is a recap of managerial econs (which I took in year 1).

Financial Risk Management
I was very excited to take this course, having planned it a year or so ago. Unfortunately, the excitement is unwarranted. What is good about the course is the textbook. Thick, well written, and I have faithfully kept to my readings every week. What is not so good about the course is the lecturer. His way of explaining things tends to beat around the bush, leaving me rather annoyed that the point took so long to get across. I do find the classes not the most exciting of classes and many times I see it more as a rehearsed presentation of the textbook than it is a teaching session. His slides and questions are all taken from the textbook, which on one hand I guess makes it easier for me to learn, but I would really like a more challenging course, mathematically and conceptually. He skips the math intense parts and deals with very rudimentary calculations, which I find sad. To be fair, perhaps this is the scope of the course and going any deeper is left for a 4000 mod. But then again, such a 4000 risk mod does not exist.

Yup, that's it from me
Have a good recess week!

RRR