Learning curve

Apparently, one is never to old to learn; yet you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Which leaves this poor bitch thoroughly confuzzled.

Attend a winter school, they said. Learn exciting new stuff, they said. Stretch your horizons, they said.
Strange how 'they' never mention mental burnout after 3 hours of French applied mathematics. Which is like normal applied mathematics (if such terminology can be thrown about), but with a distinct French obfuscating accent.

For example...
I spent half an hour trying to figure out what highway to hell one lecturer was referring to when he went on at length about the terrible effects of 'da road'. I kept trying to imagine how people were negatively impacted - either through potholes or, well, speeding cars. Alas, when he flashed up the rainfall figures it suddenly clicked into place....'da road' was in fact 'drought'.

Then there was the 'forefather' equation. Now listen, being from Africa, I am used to the concept that some people put great trust in what their ancestors have to say about current day affairs. What I was unable to fathom was how on earth this would fit in with a mathematical derivation of water particle movement due to gravity, the earth's spin and pressure.... it all became only slightly less murky when I realized it was the French pronunciation of 'fourth order' derivation. Aaaaaahhh!

And today's nugget?
"The swat of moods"
Was the Norwegian lecturer referring to physical acting out of emotionality?
Ooooh no.
Rather, "the swath of MODIS" - the area of ground sampled by a satellite.

Combine this feast of accents with more greek terminology than you can shake a Euclidian stick at, add a dollop of symbology that you won't find on any self-respecting qwerty and voila! An attempt to understand and describe the complex oceanic processes that somehow result in our beautiful blue marble's circulation patterns.

But perhaps I did pick up more than just a blinding headache. While trying to perform a dx/dt (change in location with accompanying change in time) towards a parking spot on the campus grounds, I made an unfortunate correlation error by trying to access this particular parking area at the same time that a certain Mrs O was gracing the university with her presence.
Needless to say certain roads were closed off, including my usual flow-line towards the parking area.
There is another road, but this is not open to non-students and secured by a solid looking boom and it's care-taker. Right then, time to tackle the boom by the...guard.

S: "I see some roads are closed. How do I get to the Oceanography Department?"
Boom-guard walks around car, looking for official looking parking sticker, finds none and returns to my window.
BG: "Where?"
S: "The Oceanography Department."
BG: "You cannot go through here." motions to only available road, guarded by a boom.
S: "But I can't go any other way. Listen, Oceanography is right next to the visitor's centre."
BG: "You cannot go anywhere before you have been to the visitor's centre."
S: "No, I want to go directly to the Oceanography Department."
BG: "No ma'am, you cannot. You have to go to the visitor's centre first."
S: Looks at man, let's her hamster circle the wheel a few times and then announces with a smile..."You're right. Is it ok if I go to the visitor's centre then?"
BG: "Certainly ma'am, right through here." Proceeds to lift boom and waves me through.

At least I learnt how to manage circular arguments....