I'm a Junior?!

Hey, everyone!

So before I start on a semi-diatribe about how two years of my college experience has somehow sneaked by like garden gnomes making off with my favorite dessert, I'll first introduce myself. My name is Linda, and I am a business and econ double major (the latter is pending acceptance) and a computer science minor.

I haven't always wanted to go to Cal; I was originally set on University of Chicago for their Economics program but was convinced otherwise by my Dad. I was remarkably under-impressed on my first visit to Berkeley and figured that I would simply just "get by" for the next four years. But Berkeley is one of those places with the ability to worm its way into your heart and settle into a corner with a warm cup of tea.

I don't remember when exactly I fell in love with the campus and the surrounding area. It could be the first time I looked out from my dorm window at the amazing Bay view; my first football game and the endless amount of school spirit; the times when I discovered Ici, Thai Noodle II, Bakesale Betty, Marica Seafood Restaurant, Zachary's Pizza.... And when I realized that no matter how unusual someone's interest was, there will always be at least another person who shared that same interest.

My last two years have gone by in a whirlwind. I feel a little cheated since it feels more like three months than two years. I've made tons of memories and new friends, suffered through way too many essays and finals, and still feel nowhere near prepared to tackle the real world. But time does pass regardless of our wishes, and in honor of my first two years here, I've made a list of to-dos for those freshly admitted:

1. Get familiar with public transit. Oh, the places that you'll go!
2. Get an RSF  (Recreational Sports Facility) membership. Never again in your life will you pay $10 for 4 months of gym membership.
3. Live in the dorms. If you don't bond with your roommate(s), there is always your floor/suite/dorm/unitmates.
4. Hike up to the Big C in time for sunset. Stunning!
5. Take advantage of free admission to Cal's museums, Triceratops skulls, art made from human hair, and purchase plants from a world-class botanical garden.
6. Take part in undergrad research.
7. Check out the local farmers market. Props if you go to all three of the markets!
8. Wander around North side (north of campus) and marvel at all the quirky and cute houses there.
9. Attend the Ashby (at the Ashby BART station) flea market. It's open on weekends and makes for good shopping.
10. Take a freshmen/sophomore seminar. Faculty will seen a lot less intimidating in a room of 15 other people than in a lecture hall of 500.

College: It's short and possibly the best four years of your life. Explore, have fun, and savor it. I know I will be with be doing so with my last two years.

Linda

So the Library May Not Be the Best Place to Study...

While I was studying at Main Stacks, semi-immersed in physics and basking in the afterglow of good performance on a math exam, Vladimir Nabokov crossed my mind and I realized that Pale Fire was almost undoubtedly among the ten million books in the UC Berkeley library system.

During the subsequent excursion to the fourth floor of Moffitt, I happened to cast my eye over what I thought was Lolita (it shared the title) as well as a charming, fabric-bound volume of various short stories of Nabokov's.

I returned to my seat with three books, but to my disappointment, my Lolita was not the novel itself, but a collection of commentaries. I started off scouring the pages for glimpses of the original text, sweet indented paragraphs of poetry, but glanced at the surrounding text for context and ended up reading that too. Then I stopped myself and decided to reserve reading for breaks between physics problems.

Small indulgences snowballed into gluttonous binges and before I knew it, I had read 3 Lolita analyses and all 999 lines of Pale Fire.

A friend of mine met a similar fate while studying in Main Stacks. Intending to study chemistry, he had the misfortune of stumbling upon a collection of German novels, which appealed to the polyglot in him and diverted his attention for a good hour.

Long story short: there are a lot of enticing, fascinating books at the library. Be wary of their ability to lure you away from your other studies.

Hello!

My name is Surmayee, and no, it’s not pronounced anything like what it’s spelled (it’s actually sir-my), but I’m Indian and generally, we tend to have some pretty interesting and unique (not to mention hard to say) names.


I’m from India, obviously, but have lived in Hong Kong for the last 10 years of my life. It’s been an amazing and eye opening experience living in such a multicultural environment, but truth be told, Hong Kong’s kind of small, and I’m kind of bored. Which may explain the sudden increase in my heartbeat when I think that in 3 months, I’m headed to Cal. Or it could just be the fact that I have yet to believe I was admitted into my absolute dream school. Applying to Berkeley to me was the equivalent of reaching for the stars, and I never thought I’d actually be here. But here I am, with a star in my hand, grinning widely at the thought of California.

They always say “picture yourself at Berkeley”. I was almost afraid to, being an international student applying for such a competitive course at one of the most prestigious institutions in the state. It was so worth it though. And now, I can’t stop picturing myself at Berkeley.

It’s going to be a complete culture shock, and one that I am looking forward to insane amounts. Having never been to the States, I made my decisions almost solely based on what I’d heard from students and various online sources alike. The great Facebook allowed me to meet students from California and from around the world, get a good grip on what it was going to be like and what to expect. Yet I think not knowing fully is half the fun. I get to explore, but then again, knowing me I’ll probably be lost within the first 10 minutes.

I remember reading this blog when I was forwarded the link, and just thinking “Wow. Look at these bloggers. They seem like they’re having the time of their life.” It helped me make my decision, and I’m convinced that I made the right one. It’s a bit odd, starting to blog here when everyone is ending their own blogs, but this is really where my journey begins.

I hope to let you all know what applying, being accepted and anticipating Cal is like from an international student’s perspective. After all, this is a fresh start, and who wouldn’t want that!?

You’ll be hearing more from me soon!

Surmayee

AH! It's Here

The end of the year is the one thing I've always seen happening at one point or another but it's actually here. All the material I got too lazy to learn during the school year is now being re-taught (by myself and study groups made up of smart people -choose study groups wisely!). Preparing for finals is definitely stressful but it's also such a great feeling. I can tell myself that I survived a year at Berkeley and I'm still here! It's really exciting just to see everything coming together at the end of the year and reflecting on all the friends, memories, adventures, and food (yes, food deserves it's own category because food is a MAJOR part of the college experience at Cal, trust me) that you've gone through. I find myself sitting here in disbelief that only a year ago, I was preparing for AP tests and couldn't wait to get out of high school. It's WEIRD to be on the other side now.

Ah, the things you learn at Cal. The clubs, the study sessions, the friends -everything is amazing. Despite all the stress you end up enduring (the self-created stress and the academic stress), you come out on the other side happier than ever. But then there are the finals to take care of...

I've already taken down some stuff from my wall and it's a really weird feeling and nostalgic feeling but alas, I must return to my studying! Ah, the end of the year is here..

Impending Finals/GIF of the Month

The year is almost over, and that means finals! Here's where I'll be cooped up until Thursday...


Behold, my (no longer) secret study spot! I advise newcomers to Cal to scope out the libraries for your own study spot.

Good luck with finals, everyone!

Overnight Host Program and final thoughts of the semester :)

I want to really quickly blog about the Overnight Host Program (OHP) experience for me as a host. I signed up to host transfer students from El Camino College and it really was a life-changing experience. Luckily, me and my hostees clicked, which was my main fear going into OHP. I gave them a night-tour of Berkeley, which was not so exciting because it was late and a Tuesday night, so there wasn’t much going on. We ended up eating at the Durant Food Court, which happened to be a popular spot because the rest of the hosts had taken their transfer students there too, so it was like a mini-reunion. I was happy because one of the transfer students was Bulgarian, and the odds of meeting up with someone from my country are low. J It was a fun rest-of-the-night. The only downside was that in the morning we had to wake up early to go to breakfast, which was at 7:30am. I’m convinced that waking up that early at Berkeley is nearly impossible. Which was why one of my girls almost missed the bus….

But anyway! I’m really thankful to the students that came to the transfer host program, especially because they were really open to the Berkeley experience. (The next day there was a protest in front of Sproul so I mean the part about seeing the Berkeley experience!)

I had also signed up to host high school admits the following weekend. I was really excited when I was paired up with my hostee because I had had such an amazing experience with my transfer students. The first thing the girl I was paired up with said to me was, “Are you really into this host thing, because I want to stay with my friend.” That was a bummer, but I let her stay with her friend because I wasn’t going to drag her all the way to my dorm. Kind of disappointing, but whatever.

So the point is, the perception someone has of Berkeley largely depends on the kind of person you are and the kind of person you’re paired up with during OHP (if you end up doing it). I get really excited and I want to talk about Berkeley and take people that don’t know Berkeley everywhere. I clicked with the transfer students because they were open to the exploration I offered. Not so much with the other student. And it works both ways. My perception of Berkeley changed after that second OHP weekend, just like it changed after the first.

Right now, my perception consists of intense study jams in Main Stacks (Main Stacks is our gorgeous underground library).

This semester was definitely better than last. I learned how to manage my time and I worked out a work-and-reward system for myself. I said that if I do well on my essay, I’ll treat myself to a trip to San Francisco, or whatever I wanted to do at the time. Right now, I’m telling myself that if I do good on my finals, I’ll go back to Bulgaria during the summer. J

I don’t know if I’ll be blogging during the summer (most likely not, seeing as I won’t be here), so for now, this is my last blog.

For any students coming to Cal next fall/spring, good job and good luck in your studies. J

-Yana

Happy May Day

Hey all, sorry for not being around for a couple of weeks. After the craziness that was Cal Day I had very little time to rest before starting the Start of the End of English class--paper-writing. For some reason I have finals in both of my English classes, plus final papers. Usually professors cancel final exams in lieu of papers but I guess I wasn't lucky...

This week I had two papers due: one on Thursday, one on Friday. By Friday I was extremely tired, so today I decided to take some time and enjoy the beautiful weather! I visited a friend at her house and then we both walked to People's Park where Hip Hop in the Park took place. There were some pretty cool things happening. There was a station where graffiti artists could draw on boards, a stage where some pretty well-known hip hop artists performed (Blue Scholars), and a breakin' place! M. and I sat and ogled at their tricks for a good while (by the way, those same breakers could be found in the halls of Dwinelle during weekdays; you should check them out)

I spent the rest of my afternoon on the grass, collecting sunshine and people-watching. This was actually the first day I've actually walked around People's Park--for those who have walked by it on any regular day, you know how it can be a little bit intimidating. But People's Park is beautiful, especially on the first of May.

One more essay to go, and then off to study for the rest of my exams. I'm a bit nervous; I'll admit. I have a few readings I need to review by next week (AND OF COURSE A PAPER AHH) but the material is pretty interesting so somehow I'll manage. Also, it's May, so everything is right in the world. (Can you tell I was born in May? I'll be 20 soon!)

The end to this school year is near! I won't be a sophomore anymore... oh goodness. When I think about finishing this year I get a little too nostalgic for my liking. I'll save some memories for next post. The future's looking good too--I got an internship with a Berkeley publishing house this summer and will stay in Berkeley for the second half, so expect some more entries about the great weather and Memorial Glade.

Now to get to some paper-writing. See you later!

Almost There...

So classes have officially ended, leaving us "dead week," or a week to study for finals. But the sun was out, and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day before I really started hitting the books.

On Friday, I watched the Cal Bears take on Oregon State at a home baseball game, and while I was walking through campus, I passed by Sproul and also watched the California Golden Overtones (female a capella group) perform some of their lovely tunes.

Cal spirit is something that always surrounds me, and it's not something that only shows up every April on Cal Day. But besides that rah-rah spirit, there is also the ever-important academic side that comes with the package. With finals looming ahead in the near future, I realize that my freshman year has just flown by, a year in which I have been challenged intensely academic-wise, but also rewarded with a lot of fun, fresh experiences that come with being a student at Berkeley. I'm excited for the summer and for the chance to be living at my (real) home again, but when it comes time to move out, I know it will definitely be a bittersweet experience.

Until next time,

Natalie