Bye Bye Freshman Year

It's been a long time coming, but today is the official last day of formal instruction at UC Berkeley for the 2009-2010 Fall to Spring school year.

I'm a bit unnerved at how quickly Spring Semester came and went, whereas Fall Semester seemed to last forever.

Finals are coming up and then my three week summer in Texas, then Summer school!

Yeyo!

Sara

"Why I Chose Cal" by Guest Contributor: Will Smelko, ASUC President

I decided to go to Cal on the last day possible after a month of questioning and drawing up pro and con lists. I probably had about 10 pages of notes on why I should/shouldn't go to Cal vs. other schools... I'm not kidding. I went to the beach on the last day that I could possibly submit my SIR so I could figure everything out away from school. After going through my 10 pages of notes of how Cal could provide me opportunities to do what I thought I wanted to do, I came to a stunning realization that I truly had no idea what I wanted to do in college. I had some ideas, but wanted to go in with an open mind and pick up new activities that I might not have even thought of before.

After I made this realization, the choice to go to UC Berkeley became clear. I knew that whatever I decided I wanted to do while in college, there is no place that offers more opportunities to do anything than UC Berkeley.

I was definitely right. I had no prior involvement in student government or even student leadership, but once I got here student government was just one of many new things I was able to try out and the experience has definitely been rewarding.

This past weekend a collection of student leaders organized a UC-wide Summit to aid in the redevelopment of Haiti after the major earthquake. Major scientists, engineers, doctors, and economists across the UC system got together in one place to come up with a strategy to provide relief to Haiti.

Even cooler, the Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. flew in, and I got to pick him up from the airport and hang out with him in San Francisco on Friday night before the summit. During dinner, he was telling us stories of how he was hanging out with Bill Clinton just a few days before. Oh, and earlier in the week I got to meet and introduce Bill Gates when he came to campus to speak. While this was an exciting week, it is just one of many I have had because of my involvement in student government at UC Berkeley.

Student government is just like many other activities on Berkeley's campus that provides wonderful and unique experiences to the students here, and really sets Berkeley apart from the rest.

Will Smelko,
President, Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley (ASUC)

AMAZING First Year

Wow, I can't believe I am already ending my freshman year. It seems like yesterday that I was walking down the halls of my high school. It's been a hectic but unbelievably life-changing year. I know that may sound cliche. But there are so many things that have happened that I never would have imagined.

Now that summer is approaching I can hopefully relax and reflect on my year. Making sure I come back next year with a bang!

Alex

Here's A Taste of Cal Day for Those Who Couldn't Make It Or Just Can't Get Enough Berkeley Love!

Finals Are In The Air...

It's that time again:)!!! wooo hooo...not. It's the end of a semester and the beginning of getting ready for finals. I am personally going home for "Dead Week" (a week free from classes when students spend hours upon hours either studying really hard or not studying and enjoying a break from classes :). I think it'll be a nice break and I'm really looking forward to it.

Another big thing about this is that...I will finally be a second year!!! I cannot BELIEVE I am finishing up my first whole year at Cal, it's flown by:) Everyday I feel like my life is really starting and I'm growing up.

My final note about springtime...Berkeley is beautifulll - I'm shocked every morning and I see more green leaves and more flowers and trees that grow more verdant and lush (I love fun adjectives) every time I go out. Even though the weather can be iffy most days, the springtime beauty can make up for it.

Cal Day

So this is pretty much what Cal Day looked like from my perspective! I had been up since 6:30 am working with the Undergraduate Admissions Office, helping out with transportation and watching over 600 prospective students' luggages while they explored the Berkeley campus. Plus, at 1pm I took a break and walked over to the Maude Fife room in 315, where an English major and professor conversation was held. Somewhat nervous--I have to talk about a paper that I wrote, which was chosen for The Folio, a new campus magazine.

I didn't take pictures at the panel because frankly I was way too nervous to pull out my camera. Think about it: THREE professors were there as well as two other English majors--one, the publicity officer for the English Undergraduate Association, and an English/PRE-MED student who wrote this fantastic essay about chemical reactions in poetry. It was a hot day for sure, but I think I sweated more in that hour than I did the whole day (that may have been too uncouth. Apologies!).

After that I headed back to Unit 2, which was where we work-study students chilled out and presided over mounds upon mounds of luggage. Every so often an elderly couple or a prospective would wander in, looking a bit lost. It was fun talking to them and giving them directions about where to go.

The day ended at about 6 pm with all of the buses headed to the Oakland airport. No lost students; no lost wits. It was a good day after all.

Phew, what a crazy week/weekend. Glad it's over, but I'm glad I did it. I have never been so excited to get back to paper writing (which is a good thing, because I have three papers within the next three weeks...).

So, being a regular student once again, I'll have a little bit more time to post these coming weeks. I walked past McCone Hall today and saw that someone strung a "FREE HIGH FIVES!" sign over the Sabertooth Tiger statue. So sad I didn't have my camera with me that day! That'll teach me.

Oh, but of course, I still high-fived it. Good day!

Lately...

It feels like my entire life has picked up momentum over the past few weeks. I don’t know why, but everything seems to culminate (due dates for papers, midterms, extra-curricular commitments) in the last few weeks of April: yes; I’m actually looking FORWARD to finals as a break from all the chaos.


Academically, I’m reading two of the most linguistically convoluted and brilliant works of all time: John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time.


Reading two such works simultaneously has been a microcosm of the past few weeks: overwhelming yet incredibly rewarding.It’s almost too much of a good thing because I want to devote the entirety of my literary attention to each of them separately. I have a midterm next week. I had a paper due yesterday. I had a paper due last week. I have another paper due in two weeks. I just want to slow everything down and enjoy it to the fullest, because I honestly do love all of my classes. It’s just a little much…


On the plus side, my sorority had its big charity event of the semester last week: Chi O casino. The event raises money for Make-A-Wish foundation by having a Texas Hold Em tournament at our house. The theme this year was Caesar’s Palace, so the winner won a trip for two to Vegas.Between decorating, flyering for the event on Sproul, soliciting alumni and local businesses, and actually hosting the event, a ton of work went into the fundraiser.


A little bit of sisterly bonding while working for the greater good may have been just what I needed, but it could not have come at a more chaotic time.


I’ve also been learning to DJ for KALX radio station.Student volunteers must work for at least a month before putting their names on the running waitlist for training. There’s plenty to do in the mean time (like Production, Music, Music Library, News, Promotions, and Special Events), and plenty of people work for a few of these departments without ever having the desire to DJ. It was just something I really wanted to do. Training is two hours a week, but you also have to do a certain number of shows with a current DJ and a few by yourself before they determine whether or not you should pass training and get your own show.The hours are kind of unfortunate in the mean time (3-6 am shifts and 6-9 am shifts), but I really want a show in fall. Besides, having that quantity of music at your fingertips is empowering. From vinyls to CDs….You’d be hard-pressed to find a genre or musician that isn’t represented. I’m mostly an electronic, hip-hop, folk, and indie fan, so it’s really encouraged me to expand my music horizons…and my technological horizons. The people that are training me on the sound board/have trained me in how to use Pro Tools are very tech savvy. But they have been very patient, and the fact that I have access to that kind of equipment and instruction in how to use that equipment for free is quite the opportunity.Lessons in this kind of stuff get ridiculously expensive. We’re talking hundreds to thousands of dollars.


I also have my orientation for Bears Beyond Bars in a few weeks (a program that tutors jail inmates), a date party for my sorority next weekend, birthday parties, Cal Day, friends visiting from home…It’s a hectic life, and one that all Cal students who want to be involved on campus share. Whenever I feel spread too thin, I’m amazed at the poise with which other people around me still manage to carry themselves. For example, we had ASUC student government elections last week. Literally every day candidates and their friends were out and about with signs and flyers, talking to their constituents. Some of them will even walk you to class just to discuss their opinions on certain initiatives.In a school as massive as Cal, that’s impressive.

So what’s the solution? You make time to be silly and spend time with people who matter to you. Case in point: my sorority is playing a huge game of Assassin right now. We each have been given a secret “target” and have to track them down on campus and spray them with water or mark them with a pen in order to “assassinate” them. Once the “hit” is complete, you are given their target as your own. The game continues until there is only one person left…the master assassin. Try taking yourself too seriously while being worried someone is going to pelt you from behind a tree with a water balloon on your way to Philosophy. Over and out.

Why You Should go to Cal Day

1. COLD WAR KIDS.
2. Explore the English Department
3. Learn another language, in 30 minutes
4. Play in an outdoor science park
5. Find out if Cal is for you
6. Listen to live African music
7. Play on a pottery wheel
8. Attend a poetry slam
9. Visit/get free things from the MANY clubs and tables on Sproul plaza
10. See campus at its busiest

There are many reasons why you should go to Cal Day. For more, visit this website.

Thursday Snack

Happy Friday, guys! I hope you're all doing well and fully recovered from the school week. I myself had a relaxing Friday after an eventful week (oh, and it's only the start of April...). I woke up at 8 am, worked at the Admissions Office from 9-12, went to my make up ballet class from 12-2, and then chilled for the rest of the afternoon until my meeting at 5pm. My only class today, an English discussion, was optional.

Because I only have one academic class on Friday afternoons, Thursday nights are amazingly relaxing for me. And the best part about Thursday nights is my snack work shift. (For those of you who don't know what work shifts are in the co ops, basically everyone who lives in the co ops owes 5 hrs of assigned chores per week. The chores range from cooking to cleaning the kitchen to gardening... you name it). So yep, that's right, you heard it right: I get 1.5 hours of work shift making goodies for the house, like this!

Dreamy Cream Scones Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Blueberry scones. To the left of the picture I made a cranberry batch, too.

How could this possibly be work!? True, if you're making snack for an entire house you kind of have to make everything in bulk--that gets to be a little bit difficult when you're making fine pastries. It helps though that my roommate Maggie has snack at the same night as me--we get to make things together. She made oatmeal cookies:

As well as potato wedges! So every week the amazing Maggie and I get to just hang out and make food for the house. It's a sweet deal, I think. And whenever we have questions, there are always people to help suggest cool cooking blogs and help out whenever we're a little too short on the sugar.

Here are some people coming to eat. Yeah, so after I made snack I meant to put these pictures up but as soon as I opened my computer in the dining room, somebody turned the lights off and people started a dance party. Not too unfortunate, I think.

Tomorrow will be pretty swell--waking up early to do the Amazing Bear Hunt. If you ever get a chance to participate in this, absolutely do it!

Off to sleep. Goodnight, each of you.

Simply Stern...

Heyo!

Here's a post on housing...

Units, Foothill, Stern, Co-ops, Apartments galore!

What's right for you?

I can only speak from my own experiences so I'll try to be as honest as possible.

This year I lived in Stern Hall. It's an all-girl dorm located literally in front of Foothill. Together with Bowles and Foothill, these three dorms are called Unit 4.

Foothill is literally up the hill from Stern, and Bowles is a 5-minute walk away.

Stern, Foothill, and Bowles share a Dining Commons or "DC".

The menu is a la carte...your options are grill, Asian food, Mexican food, salad bar, and sandwich bar. (hint...combos are cheaper...)

Stern is a good option of you are 1) a girl (all girls dorm) and 2) if you want a quiet place to live.

There are study rooms on each floor and there is a library, rec room, and main lounge.

I like studying in the library when I want to catch up on work and my roomates are napping or on the phone.

Fun stuff, there are usually weekly activities put on by Hall Assembly (free food!...haha) so there's always stuff to do around the dorm...Thursday nights, the men of Bowles trek up the fire lane to sing to us ladies...yes, every Thursday night...

And now some things you won't read in your housing brochure...Check out Northside Asian Ghetto, it's down the hill from Foothill past Soda Hall...If you are ever tired of dorm food (it happens) check out the restaurants there; there's Top Dog (you have to eat Top Dog at one point in your life - they have veggie dogs, bratwurt, hot links, super yum!), plus Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Fusion food. If you're not feeling that, you can walk down a little further and find sandwhich shops, La Val's (pizza!), La Burrita , Bongo Burger, etc.

So never fear! Good food is always here!

Also, you'll be doing a fair bit of walking up and down hill if you choose to live in Unit 4, so keep that in mind when you are choosing housing.

Till I blog again,

Sara C

한국어 at Berkeley

Both semesters I've been here at Cal, I've been studying 한국어 (Korean). Class five days a week, frequent presentations, a vocab quiz every week (pictured: vocab for one week) and a comprehensive lesson quiz every other may sound like a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun! We don't just learn the language; we learn about the culture, including movies, music, food, and etiquette.

Our experience transcends the classroom; our homework includes a listening part, so we get more exposure to spoken Korean, and our class also meets once a week on our course website for online chatting, which improves our conversational writing and reading. We also often go on outings as a class. Recently, we went to 노래방 (karaoke, pictured) together and surprised our professor with our knowledge of Korean songs.


And if you love Korean food, the class is worth taking for the food alone. Both semesters I've gone to a 한국 식당 (Korean restaurant) with my class and other classes of the same level. It's an opportunity to practice conversation and meet other Cal students who are taking Korean, all while eating delicious food! We not only get to eat it, we also get to make it. Here are some photos from a 김밥-making contest we had:



And even typical class days are atypically fun and interesting. We talk a lot; when given worksheets, instead of just filling them out, we use them to spark dialogue between classmates. We also learn some etymology and history. For example, we learned about the origins of written Korean, which came about thanks to 세종대왕 (King Sejong, pictured). We also learn about traditions, like 사물놀이 (Samulnori, Korean traditional drumming), which we even got to see a performance of and try in class!

The movies are great, too. Aside from being highly entertaining, they expose us to conversational Korean and contemporary culture. That and the fact that the professors speak to us almost exclusively in Korean makes the class like an immersion experience.

Through this class, the other students and I have gotten to know Korean and Korea very well. People take it for different reasons--music, friends, interest, major--but I, being mixed race, took it because I felt a disconnect with half of my family. Now I can pick up on what my relatives are saying and the language barrier between me and my grandmother is crumbling away. It's a wonderful experience, and I definitely recommend taking 한국어 at Cal!

It's that time of the semester again...

Every semester so far (considering I've only had one semester so far) reaches this point when you realize that you have A LOT of reading to do, A LOT of studying, and just... A LOT to do in general. Once the first round of midterms begin you get a small breather, just like the calm before the storm. Then you have to regroup, catch up on the reading you've fallen behind on (you always fall behind, no matter how genuine your intentions are because Youtube or Facebook or eating become more important to you than studying), and begin the second round with a renewed dedication and strength. Thankfully, this semester we had Spring Break to regroup before we came back to the beautiful sunny and cool weather up here (there have been some GREAT days of weather lately... well, at certain times of the day). Between 18 hours of working at the library, pledging a fraternity, being an ASUC intern, attempting to find something to contribute to this blog whenever I get the chance, and then, let's not forget, school, I find myself coming up short on time. But somehow, that's the beauty of Berkeley - you know everyone else is going through something just as intense for them. You find so many things to get involved in that you have a genuine passion for and then you're committed and everything and then you remember, "Wait... when am I supposed to sleep?" And that is the number one question that you'll find asking yourself. But while you're awake, you're enjoying every minute. It's like one of the fourth year brothers in my fraternity told me, "You have to make yourself feel uncomfortable as often as possible because that's the only way you'll find out what you enjoy and what you like -that's how you'll find out more about yourself and what you want in life."And it is with that goal in mind that I commit myself to my readers, to my study guides (for the few GSI's that are nice enough to make them!), and of course, to my literature books (working on Paradise Lost right now by Milton -definitely worth the read). Now I'm not exactly sure how my quote relates to committing myself to my work but if you can figure some logic out to it then good for you. Let me know because I'd love to know it too!

I leave you now to go and catch up on my reading for my Econ midterm on Monday (does the fact that I'm catching up undermine the fact that I'm starting so early?) and reading two marvelous chapters of Milton. What an epic Thursday night.

[M]ovement Sproul Shows

After a disappointingly rainy Monday, we were able to have our performances yesterday and today. A lot of my friends who live in my house came to see me perform, especially today, which made me pretty nervous.

HOWEVER! We all did pretty well, and my partner Jeff didn't drop me (which is a fear, although not necessarily toward my amazing dance partner). None of us really fell which is pretty great. Before our dance, the choreographers Gina and Michael announced that this song was dedicated to their dancers, which is cute and heartwarming.

Now, next week our group will be performing at the [M]ovement Showcase as well as the Danceworx Showcase. I can't wait!

Fact and Invention

"You know, that's why I love history--the truth is so much more fun than fiction."

Professor Walker during Geography 125 lecture.

----------------

"'To invent' can mean to be the originator, or to create something ex nihilo--out of nothing. But Foer presents a different perspective in which words may be reused in different contexts and in different situations: writing is therefore recycled, derivative. 'To invent' can thus also rely on the reuse of things."

Professor Serpell, English 125e lecture.

Agree? Disagree? Synthesis? Question mark?

Berkeley definitely keeps me thinking.

Study Study Study

It seems like I practically live in the library now a days. Not that I mind it's so quiet at Main Stacks that I can actually hear myself think...

After a restful SB back in the Lone Star State, midterms seem to be never ending...The week after SB Math Midterm, this week CS midterm, QM midterm....

But, dun dun dun...I found an apartment to live in next semester!

It's crazy, my roomie and I have been looking for places since last semester on CL, but only now in the past week did we finally put down a deposit and settle on a studio!

As a side and somewhat related note, I never knew that a game as simple as tic-tac-toe could make such a complicated code...

Sara

Balance

These last two weeks for me have been about balance: figuring out when to do homework, when to go out with my friends, when to attend meetings and network. The great thing about Berkeley is that you have the opportunity to do all of these things. The down-side is that with so many options and opportunities, figuring out when to take advantage of them can be challenging.

Lately, I have been focusing a lot on helping create a Black Student Union and attending meetings with administrators in order to help repair communication barriers. But that has also meant that I haven't been focused on school as much as I would like to be. Here are some of the things I like to do to get back on track:

• Talk to someone. Getting feelings off of my chest and just expressing myself is really helpful to get rid of some of the initial feelings of stress.
• Utilize a planner or a to-do list. Having something that I can physically check off is helpful in making it feel like I am accomplishing something.
• Use the experience to learn. I learned a lot about my campus resources such as the Student Learning Center (SLC), drop-in advising, Academic Advising, Student Development offices, etc. I'm learning to make my school work for me:)
• And finally, breathe. I remind myself to keep moving and put the past behind me. Every setback is an opportunity to improve and try harder.

Whew! My first year is almost over, I cannot believe it. I remember getting my acceptance letter and jumping up and down with my mom and now I am learning about friends in high school who are experiencing that for themselves. Time sure does fly by!

April Admissions, May Decisions

I remember that it didn't sink in at first.

I had been waiting for this moment since November, and I couldn't figure out why it felt so anti-climactic.

I read the decision again.

Yes, I was definitely in.

I hit the refresh button.

Still in.

I couldn't comprehend why I wasn't gripping my keyboard with the force of my elation, why my blood didn't seem to be brimming with potential energy, ready to race to the surface of my skin and explode through my flimsy epidermis.

It was all still a game. I was collecting acceptances, not processing them.

It wasn't until I had all of my decisions back, laid out in front of me like a dozen possible futures, that the unique character of each school began to materialize.

It was like a reality dating show. The first few cuts were obvious. Factors such as prestige, location, cost, and diversity practically narrowed my choices down to two or three for me.

Then it got personal.

I visited the remaining schools with an eye towards a future engagement. I made a venn diagram, a cost-benefit analysis, and a SOV (scale of values) from which to determine my decision. I visited club meetings, sat in on classes, visited academic advising offices, participated in overnight programs... I did just about everything I could do to collect, synthesize, and analyze the available information. Like you, I wanted to make the best-informed decision humanly possible.

Unfortunately, everything started to blend together after a while. Every school seemed devoted to giving me a "well-rounded liberal arts education." Every student body was "motivated." Every professor was "easily accessible."

My head swirling with these seemingly universal selling points, I hopped on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to meet my dad for dinner in San Fran. I had asked to explore the campus by myself for a while in order to get a feel for what it would be like to attend Cal, to be (somewhat) independent from my parents and my former life. I brought a book with me onto the train to quell my raging thoughts and pass the time. Just as I was starting to delve back into the book I had abandoned all morning for an equally surreal world, a girl in her early twenties sat down next to me.

"You're reading Middlesex? That's one of my favorite books," she said, visibly trying to contain her excitement. "Jeffrey Eugenides is a brilliant writer. Have you read anything else of his? The topic is so culturally relevant."

There was something so magnetic, contagious, and genuine in her enthusiasm for the book. Taken aback both by her zeal and the way in which phrases like "culturally relevant" seemed to translate with great mental finesse from her brain to her tongue, I began to discuss the book with her. Our conversation about the book easily transitioned into a discussion about family, friends, philosophy, and film. Before I knew it we had reached Union Square.

I had more experiences like this at Cal than at any other school I visited. Strike that. Any other location I ever visited. The students set Cal apart from the other schools in my eyes. They were just so EAGER, so full of life. They were eager to help, eager to learn, eager to discuss...

There was no formula to my college decision. A academics plus B extra-curricular activities did not necessarily equal C decision. Although all of these things were taken into account, there was an X factor that I had not anticipated: the atmosphere created by the students.

For this reason, I HIGHLY recommend visiting Cal before making your decision. There is truly no where else like this place for social, political, economic, academic, and artistic discourse.

Hope to see you in fall and (hopefully) exploring campus before then!

[M]ovement

Happy Friday everyone! I'm kind of relieved that Week 1 of April has finished. All the preparations for Cal Day, school work, studying... It's been pretty crazy.

I'm also especially tired this week because my swing dance group had 4 practices this week instead of the usual two--not counting the extra practice for Saturday as well as the dress rehearsal on Lower Sproul at 9 am on Sunday. Yeah, the Sunday one's going to be pretty tough, I can tell already. (Speaking of Lower Sproul, apparently there's a great big campaign going on to revitalize the buildings there, including the construction of a new Eshleman Hall and MLK--both of which are seismically unfit. Check it out, future freshman, and tell me: What's your take on it?)

The reason why we're having so many practices this week is because [M]OVEMENT SHOWCASES are coming up! That's basically the last big performance that my dance group does. For a recap, [M]ovement is a hip hop, jazz, and swing dance club on campus that is dedicated to giving free workshops throughout the entire semester as well as two free performances (If you're visiting campus this Monday and Tuesday, make sure to check out Lower Sproul at noon; that's when we'll have our open showcase). We're also having performances at Julia Morgan Theatre (down College) on April 15 and 16.

[M]ovement works pretty much like a family--we have club events as well as individual dance socials. In the beginning of the semester, you have to audition. I hear it's a bit difficult to get into the hip hop and jazz categories, but generally (and this is the best part of [M]ovement!) no experience is required. When I first auditioned for swing I didn't even know how to do a simple swing out, for example. Now I can do this!

Being in Movement for 4 semesters now, I can safely say that this is always a highlight of my year. I encourage anyone that is interested in dance, either beginning or professional, to take classes or explore the different workshops! There are TONS of options: Danceworx, Lindy on Sproul (swing dancing on Sproul Plaza on Saturdays! Who could ask for more?!), TruElement, PE classes, and many, many, (and I mean many!) more. Take a look around Sproul Plaza and you'll find out for yourself.

So, to complete the week of [M]ovement loving, tonight I'm going to the fundraising mixer at Blake's. You should go. I hear those people know how to dance.

Over and out.