Golden Bears Blog

2011-08-21T00:12:00.001-07:00

HEY EVERYBODY!

2011-03-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

Come check it out!!!

We have moved!

2011-03-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

Great news, everyone!

Our admissions blog website has gotten a make-over and has been revamped, so from now on feel free to read about our posts here:

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~calblog/wordpress/

Thank you!

Oh, Happiness~

2011-03-30T16:13:00.001-07:00

Today is such a BEAUTIFUL day that I couldn't help but post something about it. After a week of rain during spring break, it looks like spring is definitely here (to stay, I hope!)! The weather has been absolutely GORGEOUS these past couple of days, and I couldn't be more happier to be here at Berkeley.

It's so nice to see students all over campus relaxing in the grass, whether it be sunbathing or sitting under some shade to enjoy the warm weather. In fact, the weather today is so nice (sunny and 70s!) that I'm wearing shorts and flip flops as I am writing this post =)

There's nothing like walking on campus on such a wonderful day; I can't even put into words how happy I am right now. Even though I have to study for a midterm on Friday and write a research paper, this weather is making me so happy that those worries seem very far away~ (Don't worry, I'll still be working; I'll just be doing my work in a happy mood)

Aside: I wish to send my happiness to all the people reading this post ;)

Back to Class

2011-03-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

The main streets in Berkeley are packed with foot-traffic again as our spring break comes to an end just in time for the sun to finally come out. At least the weather will be nice as we start getting back into the daily grind. I'm definitely going to go up the Campanille for the view of the bay today. It is free for students with your Cal1 card!

Spring break was a good respite but I could definitely go for a few more days off! Being back means it's drawing closer to finals and the end of the spring semester. It also means midterms should be all passed back in the next couple of days. I always worry about what grade I will receive, and I am always pleasantly surprised. It is admittedly stressful before they are passed back though! I had a bad midterm last semester (I did not read the directions carefully enough... shame on me) but I knew then that I would really have to go into high gear for the final to save my grade; and I did! So it should never be dismaying to receive a semi-disappointing grade on a midterm.

I want to congratulate all the soon-to-be Golden Bear Freshman who were accepted from their high schools! It's time for you to get really really excited and time for your parents to start worrying more and more, I'm sure! I heard someone from my home high school of Brea Olinda in southern California will be coming to Cal in the fall. What an achievement for all of you! As a transfer student, I was not the type to put in such an astonishing effort as you have in high school, so I greatly admire the wisdom and drive you have at such a young age. You're going to LOVE it here.

As I sign off to head up to campus on my new bike, I'd just like to say one last thing. Embrace the opportunities in your life with open arms. You never know where your path will take you, but one thing is for sure: If you go to Cal, you're going to go places!

Rain and Sunsets

2011-02-17T17:54:00.001-08:00

Part II!!!

Even when it's pouring like crazy, the sunsets are still absolutely gorgeous =)

Took this pic as it started to drizzle:

Heavy rain can be depressing at times, but the sunsets here at Berkeley make up for it.

Don't like the rain in Berkeley?

2011-02-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I'll have you know that only the rain can make breathtaking sunsets like this... If you don't believe me, you can see raindrops on the window of the first photo (it was just starting to rain) ;)

'Tis the Season for Rainboots and Umbrellas!~

2011-02-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

Since it has been rainy and chilly for the past two days, I think now would be the perfect time to tell you about the wonderful (yes, WONDERFUL) weather here in Berkeley!

In general, the weather here is sunny and warm (usually 60-70 degrees) with slight breezes so you never have to worry about layering up like crazy! For the first few weeks of the start of spring semester, the weather was so warm that people could be seen sunbathing and relaxing on Memorial Glade (which is a "field" on campus known for being the perfect spot for napping or playing frisbee).

Occasionally, we do get rainy days here and there, but the weather never bogs me down because there's always fresh hot soup from SF Soup Co. to warm me up! (In fact, I am eating some right now and that is what has inspired me to make this post...) Plus, it's super convenient to get soup because it's only a 3 minute walk from Sproul Plaza, which is kind of like the center of activity on campus.

So yeah, I guess that's Berkeley weather in a nutshell. And being a Chicagoan, I'd have to say that I absolutely LOVE Berkeley weather!!! <3

Oh! and fun fact: rainboots and umbrellas are a fashion trend here at Cal so even when the weather isn't the best, people still look quite fashionable in their rain gear!

"Sleep"-over at Cal?

2011-02-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

Hello night owls and late-night studiers. I am coming to you from the "Beach Room" in Tolman Hall for psychology, on campus, where I will be spending the night. Not that I will be sleeping, because I am participating in a sleep study about sleep deprivation. So I'll be experiencing an interesting side of Cal all night, and contributing to Cal's famous research reputation!

All across campus, there are boards in the hallways presenting flyers for clubs, events, or research opportunities. It was on one of those boards I found the call for this lovely experiment I am now helping out with. There's always so much fun stuff to do here, all you have to do is look around and you'll find a posting for something; a Russian Art Festival, a dance contest, a sleep deprivation study. The possibilities are as diverse as the student population. Whatever floats your boat, you'll find it at Cal.

While I am here in Tolman, sitting on a comfy couch and fighting my oncoming exhaustion, most of my friends are at the on campus hot-spot, the Bear's Lair. The Bear's Lair is the place to be for those students above the tender age of 21. It's a happening place for hardworking

students to unwind and a hub for the glorious Berkeley night-life.

Me, however, I'm contributing to science! Which I thoroughly enjoy doing. While I'm staying up though, I'm gonna take advantage of the extra hours and pull an all-night study session. So until next time, enjoy your comfortable beds... The "Beach Room" is where I'll be...

Spring Is Hereeee!

2011-01-31T17:07:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

So here we are, two weeks into Spring 2011, and I still can't believe I'm here. I only have a few more months until my first year here is done! This time, last year, I had sent off all my applications and was anxiously waiting on the results. I have to say, the anticipation was killer, so for all you applicants out there, sitting nervously and waiting out for that envelope, try to relax. Its hard, but you still have a couple of months of high school left, so you should definitely try and enjoy them because you're never going to get these months back.

Meanwhile, I cannot stop thinking about how gorgeous this place is. It's not unusual to see me walking around campus randomly stopping mid walk, whipping out my phone and taking a picture. I live up in Foothill (it's not that bad a walk, I promise!) and we have cherry blossoms just springing up here and it looks perfect! Pretty as a postcard! All my friends in the UK are super jealous (they get cold, grey, dark, rainy etc etc) and we get beautiful weather. Yeah, they're definitely jealous.

Sadly though, nothing can detract from the stress of the semester. I mean, I know that it was definitely going to come back, it just didn't take as long this time. Last semester, it was that new, fresh feeling that had us smiling while walking to and from classes, asking smart questions in class and just enjoying the atmosphere at Cal. Then we hit midterm season and the real stresses began. This semester, the new, fresh feeling lasted a whole two days and then we were back to nose to the grindstone. BUT of course, it's not all bad! (when is it ever, right?) I started this semester with a giant smile on my face because I was seeing all my friends again. And it has been amazing so far. While the work load came back much quicker this time, so did the amazing feeling of being with my friends and suitemates. It was so easy to slip back into this routine, and I did it without any qualms at all.

Now that I'm used to the level of work expected here, I find myself able to think about getting involved with various different groups on campus. Just this weekend, I auditioned for two dance groups on campus, and regardless of whether or not I get the spot, I'm so happy I did it. The experience was well worth it. The rest of this week is also filled with general meetings, committee applications and various infosessions, so I am more than excited to kick off this semester right. Personally, I think you all should go out there and just see what there is to do! I don't have a single doubt that you'll find something just right for you.

Hope the rest of you are enjoying this lovely, picturesque weather just as much as I am!

Go Bears!!

That "New Semester Feeling"

2011-01-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

We're two weeks in to Spring Semester here at Cal, and it seems like most of us Golden Bears are experiencing that “New Semester” feeling. Students sit up straight in class, they have a smile on their face, and warmly introduce themselves to fellow classmates. Responses to our professors are also in abundance and painted with a sweet confidence from hoping we remember more about the subject from the last semester (which ended more than a month ago). It really is a beautiful time of the semester. We're all well rested and refreshed from the holidays and ready to face new subjects, new professors, and the threat of upcoming exams once again. In another month or two when exams raise their ugly heads once again, things may be different, a little more anxious, pessimistic, or just plain tired! So I've put some thought into maintaining the bright-and-shiny New Semester feeling to at least the first round of mid-terms! Why? Because it's nice to always walk into your class eager to learn, feeling refreshed, and just plain happy to be at Cal! I do acknowledge that there are some super-students out there who never seem to lose their New Semester sparkle... but for the others...

1. Read and compare your syllabi thoroughly... I did this along with my calendar so I could see ahead of time when I'd have the most papers or midterms due during specific weeks. Professors love when you know the syllabus well!

2. Learn the good habits early! The first couple weeks can seem easy-breezy as we have no assignments or exams. This is the perfect time to get in the habit of spreading out your readings throughout the week so it doesn't add up to a grueling day of endless words and highlighting.

3. Make sleep a priority. This one may seem blasphemous to many! I can assure you, it IS possible to sleep 7-8 hours a night, take a full course load, and earn A's. This tip coordinates with the others... because if you want to keep sleep as a priority, you must take care of your scholarly duties in a timely manner as well.

However my semester, or the semesters of my fellow Golden Bears plays out, the beginning of a semester is a magical time. This is especially true for the beginning of Spring semester. The days are getting longer, and the weather balmier giving us all the life-begins-anew feeling. Berkeley has a notably spectacular campus, but the beauty is especially poignant in the beginning of a semester when everyone is smiling and has the time to sit around and appreciate the little things. If all my tips should fail, there's always simply walking through campus to appreciate all the wonderful art, student life, tall trees, and rascally squirrels to put that perk back in your academic step.

I would like reach out to all you wonderful readers and ask you what it is YOU like about the beginning of a semester! So go ahead, leave a comment, and share what you think!

Glad to be back! ;)

2011-01-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Now that second semester is back in full swing, it's about time I start blogging again! =) I hope you all had a wonderful winter break; mine was extrememly cold but much needed (13 degrees or under EVERY DAY!!! But then again, Chicago usually has pretty brutal winters...).

With that said, I am SOOOOO glad to be back in Berkeley--the weather has been absolutely GORGEOUS these past two wekks! It has been so warm and sunny (around 60-70 degrees) that I have forgotten that it's only January! And on top of that, the sunsets are becoming more and more breathtaking by the day!

I'm in awe of the beauty here...all I can say is I LOVE BERKELEY!!!

Hello Spring Semster

2011-01-21T21:54:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

I went to a great lecture today which inspired me to post again...

The first week back at Cal has been great. I've seen my school mates who I've been out of contact with since the beginning of winter break (you have to spend time with the family), been readjusting to living with my roommate (who by the way is awesome), and last but not least, I have had to cook my own food again (eh fresh groceries help...if only I could learn how not to burn things...tough luck).

I really like my classes this term. Humanities and Physical sciences make a great pair!

My class sizes range from my W&P class which as more than 600 people in it, to my Math class which has around 40! Gotta love diversity right?

S

Welcome to the UC Berkeley Student Blog!

2010-12-31T12:25:00.000-08:00

We'd like to give you a taste of what UC Berkeley is all about! Several students with various majors, backgrounds, and interests will be posting about their personal experiences here at Cal. We hope to assuage your anxiety about admissions, answer your questions, and offer more insight than can be condensed into a brochure. Future topics will include:

club involvement
student life and housing
campus history and traditions
academics
Greek life
athletics
guest contributors
off-campus experience

UC Berkeley has, as we see it, all of the prestige without the pretension. This blog aims to put a face to the University. This blog is kind of like The Real World: Berkeley - where we stopped being prospective students and started being Bears.

Go Bears!

Love,

The Golden Bear Bloggers

Finals = Done

2010-12-16T02:56:00.001-08:00

Wow...I should be asleep, after 6 hours of finals today I should be floored, however I am on the computer, yet again.

Sigh, well, here's an update from finals land. Like most other creatures of the night, I have spent most of my waking hours in the depths of Doe...studying, napping, sneaking granola-bar-breaks...

I had four finals this week, Real Math Analysis, Linear Algebra, Thermal Physics, and C Programming...all classes well the effort.

Here's to Cal! See you next year! It's back to Texas for me, hibernation in preparation of the semester ahead!

Sara

The Calm Before the Storm...

2010-12-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe how fast my first semester at Cal went by! It's hard to believe that I have officially taken my first steps towards my intended major!

But it's not time to celebrate yet. Dead Week is upon us Cal students, and finals are looming ahead, quickly approaching. (Dead Week, more formerly known as Reading, Review, and Recitation Week, is the week before finals in which students have a break from classes to study).

So how am I, an inexperienced first year, going to handle the supposed stress that comes with the next two weeks???

Easy. For me, the key to doing well on exams is to allow time for relaxation. If I take time off from my studying every now and then, I give my brain a chance to take in all the information and meditate on it. When I relax, I also think positive thoughts, telling myself that I can do well on the exam, and going into a final exam with that state of mind, I do tend to do well! Also, a friend of mine once told me "You have learned too much to not do a decent job." Which is true--there is so much that I have learned, that if I spend some time reviewing the concepts taught and refresh my memory, I will probably do a good job on the exam. =)

Reading, Review, Recitation, and Relax Week, here I come!

Winter Break!!!

2010-12-03T18:50:00.001-08:00

Winter Break is slowly approaching! Unfortunately, that also means finals are approaching. Nevertheless, Berkeley is in full swing Winter Break Cheer!:D

The underlying theme of holiday cheer? Bringing people together. Honestly, that kind of attitude is pretty much 365 (days) here at Berkeley. Therefore, I felt it would be appropriate to blog about the awe inspiring "melting pot" here at Cal that inspires me during the holidays (since I have time to reminisce on the blessed environment that I seem to overlook sometimes because of my busy schedule).

Growing up, my family was one the only ethnic families in my neighborhood. The middle school and later, high school I attended was not very culturally or ethnically varied. Before being admitted to Cal I always heard about the famous Berkeley "melting pot". Only now have I fully began to understand what this phrase means.

I'm in my sophomore year here at Cal (i'm not sure if i've mentioned that, but a reminder never hurts :)) and I have been living in an apartment with 2 roommates. My roommates and I have radically different beliefs and ideological perspectives on life. 3 years ago I could never have imagined living so peacefully with people that hold beliefs that are so different than my own. Berkeley has taught me this appreciation of diversity.

Any outsider can see that the students at Cal all have very strong and differing opinions. However, Cal is special. While we all share different beliefs and ideas, like me and my roommates, we have learned to voice our opinions while respecting those of the opposition. I do not mean opposition in a negative sense. Everyone has the right to their own opinions and every opinion is subjective. There is no right and no wrong in an opinion.

This respect is, in my opinion, a pride thing at Cal. We all respect each other, and while we may hold extremely different views from each other, we are family. My father used to tell me an old saying in Farsi that never resonated with me until this year. The translation of his words in english is the following: An opinion does not have any meaning if there is no other opinion that opposes it. In other words, while we may not agree with other people's opinions, our own opinions would have no meaning if there wasn't a conflicting opinion that stood in its opposition. This saying is the foundation of the respect we have for each other's opinions here at Cal, and also the foundation of the respect that my roommates and I have for each other.

In my own opinion Cal is representative of those who are exceptional, and come from all different cultures and backgrounds. It is a multilingual and multicultural environment. Yet at the same time it manages to "keep the peace". This respect is a part of our Cal pride, in my opinion.

I wrote this blog as a token of that Cal pride that I feel during the holidays. I also wrote this blog as an intention to remind even the Cal students of this respect we should always have for our fellow students, because we really are fortunate to attend a university that represents a "melting pot" of opinions and people.

I know my blogs have been rather "inspirationally driven", but I have been very inspired this semester. Hopefully some of my enthusiasm and revelations can help you all in your everyday endeavors to survive finals and whatever else you may be facing in your lives, currently.

As always, GO BEARS!

Diving in...

2010-11-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

I would like to start by congratulating Berkeley for achieving the great task of stressing me, Jenn D., out. This is no easy task! I would also expect nothing less from such a prestigious institution. I admit, I would have been disappointed if it was any other way. I decided to ask myself today why I was stressed. After all, I took the kind advice of counselors and other students and only registered for 13 units of classes. However, even 13 units of Berkeley classes blows the 18 units I used to take at the college I transferred from, out of the water. I've loved my classes, that is for sure. I also can't wait to register for more units next semester.

Yes, MORE units. Although 13 units has been a challenge, I feel that it gave me much more free time. I am not the most organized person, which makes it even more of a miracle I've made it this far, so when I have so much free time I tend to procrastinate. From my previous experience and the experience of others, I can safely assume a few more units can give my schedule an extra kick in the bum to get me going.

I have come to appreciate that 13-unit piece of advice deeply, however. Getting oriented to a completely new situation tends to come with many challenges. I've also gone completely out of my comfort zone, and tried getting involved on campus. I used to think that every person who got accepted to Cal must have put in at least as much volunteer or extracurricular work as they had study time. Now, I know there are a few others like me who don't normally do this "campus involvement" sort of thing. I am certainly trying! I've tried to get my feet wet with Berkeley's Habitat for Humanity club (a great club without a doubt!) but ran into the issue of Saturday work days. I'd actually love to spend 8 hours building a home for a deserving family on a Saturday... unfortunately so far I've found out I usually have to write a paper during that time! I've also dabbled in the Student Ambassadors, which is how I landed this rad position on the blog. I can openly admit however, I just don't know how to do this campus-involvement sort of thing. I've tried to get involved, but it still alludes me! It can be difficult to reconcile good grades and extra curricular work, so I'm okay with where I'm at. My grades are still in GREAT shape! I'm sure I'll be a pro by the time next semester comes around!

With that said, I think being involved on campus is great. Berkeley is the kind of campus that really encourages it. My parents have tried to tell me just to focus on my grades. I appreciate their advice, but part of the Berkeley experience is the extracurricular activities. The clubs. The honors societies. The random cultural events that pop up in Sproul Plaza. I came here to experience it all. I don't just want to get my feet wet while I'm here, I want to dive right in. So while I only got my feet wet this time around, Spring semester will be here sooner than I know it and I have my bathing suit on.

It is blue and gold of course.

GO BEARS!
Jenn D.

Sleep = Sanity

2010-11-20T00:38:00.000-08:00

Hi All!

Greetings from one of many sleep deprived college sophomores!

Here's a list of mishaps that have happened to me in the past few weeks...

1) I burned my finger while attempting to microwave a cup of water, by forgetting to put water in the cup...
2) While boiling an egg I accidentally cracked the shell so that the egg at once boiled and self destructed
3) I stubbed my toe while walking on concrete
4)I forgot my wallet and had to walk all the way back to my apartment in the rain to eat ramen for lunch
5) I spent half an hour on a 112 problem set question only to realize my algebra woes were due to a slight extension of my division bar which turned 1-num/denom to (1-num)/denom

Who says that growing up means always getting it right?

MIDTERMS ARE FINALLY OVER!

2010-11-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

My apologies that I haven't blogged recently. I will be posting a lot more now that midterms are finally over. Yay!

I hope you had the chance to read my revolutionary discovery of yoga and its wondrous effects on my life! Yoga definitely did much more for me than grant me the ability to touch my toes (finally), it is the best way for me to release stress during those times of chaos. While, I personally love yoga, others might not have such passion for it as I do. Therefore, I decided to blog this week on another form of excercise: running. These past few weeks i've picked up on running again, though I'm definitely out of shape compared to my old cross-country days. Nevertheless, here are my top 3 favorite running routes in Berkeley. I encourage you all to try them and find the best routes for you! I've found that finding routes you like to run, helps to inspire the mood to exercise! Yay for endorphins and a reduced stress life!

1) Euclid St. to the Rose Gardens (on the north side of the Berkeley campus).

-Though the north side of campus provides more "uphill" running, north side is much more scenic and quiet. I would recommend this route for a picturesque but hard run!

2) Clark Kerr to Foothill (two dorms on the Berkeley campus).

-I've found that this route provides a relatively flat terrain, but a good long run. Also, the main street connecting these two dorms, Piedmont, is usually strewn with people. More people around means provides more secutiry and it definitely provides more motivation to run instead of walk!

3) The run around the Berkeley Campus.

-Running around campus provides uphill, downhill, and areas of flat terrain. It's a good run, if it's meant to be a short, but fulfilling. Just like in the case of Piedmont St., many people are usually strewn around the outskirts of campus which offers the same benefits as I mentioned above.

Though running outside is much harder than running on a treadmill, it's always best to "play it safe". If it's dark outside, it would be better to go to a gym than to run outside, safety first. Also, make sure your ipod isn't playing too loudly, so you can still hear oncoming traffic and be aware of your surroundings. Note: Beware, the Prius is very silent! Finally, make sure you're running on the side of the road of oncoming traffic, just a standard running tip I was taught in cross-country.

Go Bears!

Post-It War and More!: Life at the Dorms

2010-11-12T16:22:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone!

Man, it has been such a busy week for me since I was studying like crazy for my chemistry midterm (and it looks like the hard work is gonna pay off!!!), but now that it's over, I'm glad to be back blogging! =)

In a previous post, I mentioned talking about my life in the dorms, so here it is! Hopefully this will give you a better idea of what living at Berkeley is like!

1. The dorm buildings are divided into units, and each unit consists of a couple residential buildings. I live in Unit 1, which has 6 buildings--4 high rises (8 stories high) and 2 suite-style buildings. Throughout the semester, the buildings in my unit have been having a "post-it war" in which each building creates messages/pictures out of post-it notes! It's not really a contest or war though--we just like to have conversations across buildings and amuse each other with our post-it note artwork! My building has the Super Mario theme going on (3rd photo down), and I know that my photo doesn't really show it that well, but there's Mario on the top right of the building and a goomba at the bottom left...Today I was walking with my friend back to the dorm and we saw that someone had added a Yoshi!

2. When I filled out my housing application, I opted to live on the all-girls floor, and I absolutely love it! My floormates and I bonded so much during the first week of the school year that by the end of the week, we all felt like we had known each other for years! Also, living on the all-girls floor does not mean that we're anti-social!!! We have people from other floors visit us all the time to chill, play games and just hang out--the only difference about the all-girls floor is that our bathroom is not co-ed. Other than that, everything's the same!

3. 7th floor lounge is the place to be!!! Even numbered floors have a laundry room, and odd numbered floors have a lounge and balcony, and
since the all girls floor is the 7th floor, we tend to be a very social floor since people like to come to our lounge to relax. We also have the best view of the sunset over the San Francisco Bay (see my previous post for absolutely gorgeous photos)!

Lounges are also a great way to de-stress and do super random stuff with friends! The other day, my friends and I were studying for our chemistry midterm in the lounge, and when it was around 1am, we decided to play the song "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum and perfectly time the chorus so that it would play at exactly 1:15am since the lyrics were "It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now~". It was so funny and random since we were so tired and didn't care if anyone heard us singing at the top of our lungs...It was such a hilarious sight that I wish I had my camera to record the moment!

Well, there you have it folks--my experience so far in the dorms. =)

Hope you all had a wonderful Veteran's Day! Have a good weekend!

~Jackie

Cal-Stanford Soccer Game

2010-11-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Veterans Day to you all! While I like Veteran's Day because it is a day to honor those who have served our country, it is also great because I get to take a break from the everyday stresses of school.

A group of some friends and I went to the Cal-Stanford soccer game today at Edwards Stadium. My love for both Cal and soccer made this the perfect event for me to go to. It was a close game, which made it exciting, but Cal did end up winning 3 - 2. This was the last regular season game, so it was a good way to end. Good job Bears! Now we just have to win the Big Game...

And I have to study for a test I have tomorrow...

Good luck with all of your upcoming tests and midterms everyone.

Carmen

Midterms = done

2010-11-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

Now that the specter of midterm season has lifted itself from my shoulders, I would like to take a moment to catch my breath. Whew! For those of my fellow Golden Bear bloggers I wish you all the best of luck with your midterms be they over or in the midst.

Here's my rants and raves for Fall 2010 thus far...

1) Mainstacks oh mainstacks thou art a haven for late night studying!
2) Granola bars = breakfast = life
3) Bigfoot how I loathe thee
4) Procrastination....enough said
5) == is not =

Eh, not so much a list rather than a compilation of things that have occupied my life for the past few months...

Sara

Berkeley Nights

2010-11-06T00:05:00.000-07:00

As I am sitting here inside Wurster Hall at a window overlooking the Bay, I am reminded of what makes the Berkeley campus so great at night. On a regular Friday night, I am always given the option of either staying in and catching up on work or go out with my friends and enjoy the start of the weekend. I know when given the option, it seems much more enticing to go out and enjoy myself but sometimes it is very calming to stay in and just have the night to yourself. You are able to reflect and enjoy some of the small things that get lost in the shuffle of a fast-paced college life. I wish everyone a happy weekend, whether that entails going out and having a good time with friends or staying in and enjoying some alone time.

Cheers,

Alex

Golden Bears eat their veggies

2010-11-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

There is something about Berkeley that just encourages you to eat healthy,
live healthy, and just BE healthy. Since I've moved this past Summer, I've
become a vegetarian, I only eat organic, and I've also learned one key
lesson: if you eat healthy, you will be healthy, and you will likely do
better in your studies. Missing a class can leave you feeling lost, or
cause you to miss out on some very important information. It is best to
use preventive medicine to keep yourself from getting sick and missing a
day in school. Berkeley is the big leagues, and missing a single day of
class can be very disorienting. So be healthy, avoid getting sick, and you
will be able to give your all in your classes.

The hard part of eating healthy, in my humble opinion, is the restriction
of a student budget! Although I enjoy being a vegetarian for mainly
environmental reasons, I consider myself more of a budget-tarian. Meat is
just too expensive! So my recommendation is the wonderful weekly Berkeley
Farmer's Market. This expansive gathering of local growers, farmers,
butchers, bakers, musicians, and even masseuses certainly has a lot to
offer! I've shopped around a few other grocery stores, and the prices on
fresh produce at the Farmer's Market range from being about the same to
slightly more expensive. It is definitely worth it! The produce is much
fresher and locally sourced, so you can feel good about your purchase.
Besides produce, you can purchase meat, eggs, cheese, fresh yogurt,
coffee, and baked goods. There are also vendors offering incense, soaps,
flowers, and local wines. I venture out to Center Street, where it is held
every Saturday, as soon as I wake up. Right now, autumn is in full swing
and the selection offers the best of the season right now. But enough
talk, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Well, if those pictures didn't convince you to meander over to Center
Street early one Saturday morning, I don't know what will! My absolute
favorite things to buy at the market are fresh greens. One vendor offers
them in a 1 pound bag with edible flower petals in it for salads.

Once fall is over, I'm going to miss the plethora of beautiful
pears I've been buying for a few weekends now. One vendor, whom I
endearingly call "The Date Guy", sells fresh California dates; there
are some kinds available right now that are better than candy. Cooking is
my passion and I enjoyed some culinary school before my journey led me to
Berkeley, so this market is the best place for me to get fresh ingredients
and save money. This past weekend, I was inspired by Halloween to make a
pumpkin chili with all ingredients from the market. My roommate says it's
the best chili they've ever had. I credit it to the fresh ingredients
available at the market. Once again, I'll let a picture speak for me...

So, in a nutshell, coming to Berkeley and facing the egregious amount of
studying, late nights, and stress, a student can still manage to eat and
be healthy. Getting sick can be the downfall of many students, and I have
seen some less than satisfactory eating habits on campus but fret not! Go
to the Berkeley Farmer's Market! And keep in mind these handy Farmer's
Market tips:

Bring your own bags. Some vendors charge for bags, or do not have bags available.
Think about what you'll need ahead of time. The selection can be quite overwhelming at times.
Don't rush! The market continues into the afternoon.
Bring a blanket. The market is right by the park and there are sometimes events with live music. You can also buy freshly made food at the market and sit and eat it in the park.
Go to the ATM ahead of time! The vendors only take cash. There are three banks further up center street towards the school.
Be season savvy. Farmer's markets tend to offer only the produce that grows best in the current season. So don't expect fresh tomatoes in the winter, or succulent pears in the spring.
Go see the Date Guy. Try the Barhi dates and forget about candy.... at least for a little while.

Breathtaking...

2010-11-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today I saw the most beautiful sunset EVER! It was so gorgeous that I'm not sure if I can fully express how amazing it was. There were a lot of people standing outside on the lounge balconies taking pictures, and we were all just in awe because of how breathtaking it was.

I feel so lucky to be living in a high rise dorm building because I get to see the sun set over the San Francisco Bay every day. If it weren't for the high rise dorm building Deutsch across the courtyard, I'd say that my building (Freeborn) has the best view! =)

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I feel that the photos I took do not even compare to how awesome the sunset looked today.

Midterm Attack!

2010-11-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

So if you're like me and are a naive little freshman, tentatively taking steps forward in college life, then you'll know that midterms in your mind mean exactly that: mid - terms. Unfortunately, I learned a slightly unpleasant lesson here rather quickly: midterms come around every month or so... not every term. Of course, I had a giant panic attack, I'm not used to being under such stressful conditions for extended periods of time but honestly, you look back and realize that it's not as bad as you think.

Ok, I lie. It's exactly as bad as you think it is at the time. But at the same time I learnt this incredible thing: I am not alone. Everyone has midterm stress! So if what it takes to "chillax" is having a study party in a friend's dorm for hours on end, go for it! Believe it or not, working in that kind of environment really helps me since we all just motivate each other to work. And every once in a while, when the mood gets super tense and serious, we'll do something stupid. Chuck a pillow at each other. Watch a funny video. Even go down to the Cub Market just for a break, and maybe some late night! I can honestly say, after two rounds of midterms, I would not have been able to get through without my friends.

This brings me to my second point for today. I didn't realize exactly how terrifying being here by myself, miles away from home, was going to be. Sure, the beginning was awesome and super exciting, but every so often I miss my friends and family! And this is to be expected! But thankfully, I have some amazing suitemates and friends around the campus who get me through my period of homesickness. It was incredible how quickly I bonded with these people, be it over dryers that didn't work or over how horrible yesterday's lab was. So don't be scared of what's ahead, friends. The support system here is astounding, and the time you build it in is unbelievable. I got so incredibly lucky to have such reliable and wonderful friends, and you will be as lucky as me too!

I can't believe how close it already is to the end of the semester! Just over a month and I'll be boarding a plane for a 14 hour plane ride home. I almost don't want to think about it, I absolutely adore walkingthrough campus and staring at the gorgeous Campanile and I'll miss that, even for a month! My friend mentioned how it was impossible to take a bad picture of the Campanile and it is SO TRUE. Here's the most recent one I've taken for your viewing pleasure.

I apologize for the awful quality, it was taken off my phone. Isn't she a beaut?

But yes, I cannot believe semester's almost over. Where did the time go?!

That's all from me today, enjoy the lovely weather (despite it's moodiness) and don't let midterms stress you out too much!

GO BEARS!

Surmayee

PS: I have a ridiculous number of pictures of squirrels on my phone too. They're adorable!

PPS: Also went to my first football game this semester. In-cre-di-ble. Cannot wait for the Big Game!

Trick or Treating at the Dorms!

2010-10-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

When I walked back from class this evening, I was pleasantly surprised to see little kids dressed up in their costumes and walking around with their parents, and I had totally forgotten that the dorms were hosting a trick-or-treating event for little kids from neighborhoods near the UC Berkeley area today!

So why do trick-or-treating at the dorms? Basically, the dorms at the UC Berkeley campus provide a safe place for kids to trick-or-treat, and the kids can walk around and get candy from the various floors of the buildings. Some of the students living in the dorms volunteer to dress up and lead the kids up and down the hallways while others offer to give out candy. Unfortunately, I couldn't help out because I had evening classes, but I was able to see the kids parading around in their costumes, and it was so heartwarming to see the kids laughing and smiling, and to see the enthusiasm and energy that the student volunteers had!

I think it's soooo awesome how UC Berkeley gets students involved with the surrounding community, and how easy it is for students to participate and volunteer in such activities without having to leave campus! =)

It was so cute to see all the little kids walking down the hallway, but I think the best moment was when one of the kids said that my floor was the scariest because there was a Justin Bieber poster on my floormate's door!

Hello There!

2010-10-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

Good evening prospective and current Golden Bears!

I would like to introduce myself.

My name is Jenn, and I am a 3rd-year, junior transfer, majoring in Peace and Conflict
Studies with a focus on Global Governance. What all that means is that my
experience at Cal is unique.

As a transfer, I have already got the hang of going to college. I attended
a "junior" college in Orange County, Southern California, before being
accepted to Cal. The admissions process is different, the moving process
is different, everything is different! For me, it was the perfect
transition. Unlike many of these wonderful freshman I genuinely admire, I
didn't know what I wanted to do right after high school. Going to a junior
college allowed me to learn the culture and gain college experience. So here
I am, at one of the best schools in the world! I never saw this coming.

I am also 22, and quite used to a bit of independence, so I am one of the
many students who live off-campus. I started attending classes during
summer session C (an 8-week session of condensed classes), a little over a
month after my acceptance. Finding a place to live was quite a challenge!
I worked with the Berkeley U-Loop page, roommate websites, and many other
sources for finding roommates and housing. What it came down to was
Craigslist. If you are ever trying to find a place to live, consider using
Craigslist. KNOW Craigslist. You can find inexpensive furniture around town,
and even some free furniture. It's also where I found a place to live. I
didn't have to fly up from Southern California to meet with any landlords
or sign any stacks of papers. So it worked out great for me.

Finally, I'd like to discuss my major. Peace and Conflict Studies, or
PACS, is a major that a lot of Cal students I meet don't even know about.
The name is pretty self explanatory, but in a nutshell, we read policy
reports, theories about war and peace, and many firsthand experiences of
diplomats and peacemakers who have been working with the major conflicts
of our time. I am currently working on a conflict analysis report on
Turkey, which will be my final paper for one of my classes. I chose the
Global Governance focus because it concentrates more on the movement towards an
international community, international law, and the international
authority of the United Nations System. I do really miss the hard
sciences, and, I hate to admit, even math. But I know that what I am
studying is so important, and I am utterly passionate about it.

Stay tuned for next time when I talk about the wonderful Berkeley Farmer's
Market, and some other off-campus gems you must not miss!

On my way to class...

2010-10-21T22:42:00.001-07:00

Here are a few photos that I took with my cellphone...This is what I see every time I walk to my chemistry study group session!

~Walking to class under a "tunnel" of trees...

~Strawberry Creek runs throughout the campus (the gentle sound of rushing water is very calming and de-stressing!)

~I'm not sure if you can see the person on the bottom right corner of the photo, but this shows how tall the trees are!!!

Hope this gives you a better picture (no pun intended) of the nature side of the UC Berkeley campus!

Berkeley: A Freshman's First Impressions

2010-10-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

W00! My very first post on this blog! I am SOOOO excited to share about my experiences here at Cal (another name we have for UC Berkeley), and I can't wait to talk about all the cool things that have been happening so far.

I realize that prospective students are in the midst of trying to complete their college applications since deadlines are coming up soon (yikes!), so I think it would be helpful to give some insight on life at Cal...from a current freshman's perspective. So let's get started! =]

1. Food--I never have to worry about getting sick of the food at the dining commons (the food there isn't bad either!) because there are so many different places to eat! If I ever have a craving for burritos/tacos, hot dogs, Chinese food, sushi, Korean bbq, bubble tea, crepes, bagels, soup, fruit smoothies, paninis, sub sandwiches, frozen yogurt, or the like, I know where to go because UC Berkeley's got it all! And the greatest thing is that the majority of these places are within a 5-minute walking distance! There are also a variety of restaurants that are accessible via the AC Transit bus system (which is free to Cal students!).

2. Walking to classes is like taking a nature walk--There's nothing better than walking to class early in the morning and hearing the sound of running water from Strawberry Creek (which runs through a large area of campus) or seeing the sun peek through the tree tops as it rises. What can I say? The campus is aesthetically pleasing, even if you aren't the biggest nature fan. And did I mention that I have a perfect view of the San Francisco bridge from my dorm room??? Watching the sun set over the Bay Area is breathtaking!

3. Diversity--The student body is so diverse that there are student groups for every activity possible, and it's not hard to find people who share the same interests. On my floor alone, there are a handful of out-of-state and international students from all different backgrounds. And despite the differences, everyone here at Cal is open and tolerant to other beliefs and points of view, so it's okay to share your ideas and opinions on pretty much anything!

4. There's always something new to learn!--Even though I got a 5 on my AP Chemistry exam, I decided to take the course again when I got to Cal, and I am still learning new stuff every day! The great thing about my Chemistry professor is that she knows that some students already have a background in chemistry already, so she makes sure to incorporate new material while teaching the basic concepts so that no one gets bored.

5. Studying--There are so many places to study, whether it be the dorm room, the lounges in your residential hall, the libraries, cafes, or even on campus itself. I've seen people studying on the grass, on benches, and even in trees! The cool thing about studying at Cal is that you can study wherever you feel most comfortable and productive.

Well, there you have it, folks--a freshman's first impressions of UC Berkeley. =] I'm hoping to make a "part 2" of this post that'll go more in depth about college life, but until then,
GO BEARS!!!

Midterms!!!!

2010-10-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

Hi guys:) I'm so happy to blog again, and I'm so glad I'm almost done with midterms. Midterm season is in full swing here at Cal; everything definitely becomes more hectic during this time. I could not tell you how many cups of coffee I manage to consume during my midterm weeks...not healthy. So my topic for this blog will be about the ways that I cope with stress and midterm weeks here at Cal.

I love Berkeley. I am so happy I chose Cal, and this environment has definitely proven to challenge me everyday. My classes this semester are Physics 8B (electricity and magnetism), Chemistry 3B (organic chemistry), yoga, and R1B (an English class). While I'm only taking 13.5 units this semester, taking two science classes that both have labs definitely puts a lot of things on my plate. While I mentioned that coffee helps me during these times of need, I don't recommend resorting to caffeine entirely. I recently discovered yoga here at Cal, and it basically changed my life.

As a former cross-country runner and current snowboarder, I cannot explain in words how the practice of Ashtanga revealed to me how inflexible and weak I am. When I signed up for the class I thought that the class would be more of a meditative/stretching sort of class, and that turned out to be most definitely far from the truth. However, I became obsessed with becoming better at yoga and learning not only its physical practices but the message of yoga. I probably will never be able to forget the phrase my yoga instructor tells the class everyday: "Let each day be a day of mindful living." At first, the saying didn't really register with me. It seems a little odd to be living and not being fully aware of what you're doing. In time, though, when I truly thought about what the phrase meant and tried to apply it to my life, not only did I better myself as a person, but midterm week just became that much easier for me.

1) Instead of studying with music on and my cellphone nearby, I tried studying without any distraction. In a matter of days I noticed I was able to better master my studies and spend less time studying because I was focused, so I didn't have to re-study the material. This being the first of my few tips to cope with midterm week: FOCUS.

2) When I felt like I was becoming overwhelmed by a subject, I switched to another. Even though it's not the same as taking a break, switching to another subject is refreshing and helps to stave off that "burnt out" feeling. If you really need to take a break, though, take yourself away from your work for a few hours and come back. It's better to study focused for 4 hours than to study halfheartedly for 10 hours. This being my second tip for midterm week: COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR BODY.

3) Caffeine does work miracles when needed, but the best way to stay focused, fresh, and at the top of your game is to get sleep, eat healthily, and exercise. I'm sure this sounds cliche because everyone says it, but having yoga before a Physics lecture and eating cottage cheese instead of that brownie has definitely made me feel more awake, focused, and calm. Drinking caffeine a lot and eating junk food to take the place of sleep can not only make you jittery (and therefore, break your focus), but it's also horrible for your body and its effects are short-term. This being the conclusion of my 3rd piece of advice: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT AND DO.

4) Midterm week gets stressful. It's understandable to start feeling inadequate, alone, and feel like you're on an emotional roller coaster. I have been there; we all have. The best advice I have for you is from a quote of Gandhi that I now try to live by and that was actually relayed to me by my yoga instructor: "Keep your beliefs positive because your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, and your values become your destiny."

This concludes my midterm tips for all of you:). Just to reiterate them 1)FOCUS 2)STAY IN TUNE WITH YOUR BODY 3)TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY AND MIND and 4)STAY POSITIVE.

P.S. TRY YOGA!!!:)

GO BEARS!

Espana!

2010-09-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's Sophomore year already! I can't believe how the time has passed. This summer I had the privilege to go to Valencia, Spain, to take immersion courses for a month and a half! Spain was amazing. Getting there was even an adventure. I traveled for 24 hours (including delays) and whatnot. To my horror, my three years of Spanish in high school seemed to do me absolutely no good in Spain. Spanish spoken in Spain is extremely different than Spanish spoken here, which is typically Spanish from Mexico. It was pretty funny trying to see me communicate in my own version of Spanish sign language, while attempting to talk to the natives, during my first few weeks there.

Though I did not go through UC Berkeley's study abroad program, Berkeley offers a lot of opportunities to travel abroad to many different and exotic places around the world! I would highly recommend looking into our abroad program and what it offers, from Barcelona to Paris. The best way to broaden perspective, learn more about the world, and learn a language, is to actually live in different places in the world and to live in the country that speaks the language you want to learn! I will definitely post more about my fun/exciting adventures in Valencia, but for now this link should give you a good perspective of what Berkeley can offer you in your hopes to "Rome" the world (just my own little version of a travel joke).

http://studyabroad.berkeley.edu/

P.S.

That picture was taken on top of one of the Cathedrals in Plaza de la Reina in Valencia!

Adios!

I am hereee!!

2010-08-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,
So if you couldn't tell by my title, I am FINALLY at Cal!! Woot, woot, go Bears!!
It's been a pretty exciting two weeks. For an international student like me, orientation was pretty informative (Berklish 101, anyone?) and I also got to meet a whole bunch of people who, just like me, had dived into American culture head first. This is my first trip to the States, and I am loving it!

Can I just mention how much I'm loving Cal too? I've been here for just over a week, and already walking through campus I feel like I belong here and I just cant help but smile! It's crazy, but Lower Sproul, Sather Gate, the Campanile... all things I'd heard about so much but never, ever seen and now they're right here! There's something in hearing the bells of the Campanile throughout the day that instills a sense of euphoria in me. (Ask me again in two weeks, when all the bells will remind me of is that I have class and homework due, and I may have a different reaction :P)

I managed to do my laundry and not make my clothes pink, which was definitely an achievement. Motivation is no issue either, I'm surrounded by people exactly like me, we work hard but we make time to play a hand of cards in the common room every so often. Being on my own is definitely a pretty liberating feeling. Being completely in charge of my own time, even my own clothes, for the first time is terrifying, but we have some pretty awesome "parties" down in the laundry room if I do say so myself. You'd be surprised at the number of bumbling students just like me who've never reaaaaally had to do their laundry before!

So here I am, Cal, just about as ready as I can be.
From my own short experience, I can tell you, if you're new here, like me, go get lost on campus. It's probably the best thing that could happen to you right now ;)
You see, I'm so excited to be here that even my thoughts seem slightly disconnected!
I can't wait to explore some more, but for now, I should head back to my desk. All that reading to do!!

Hope you're all enjoying yourself,
Go Bears!
Surmayee

Summer is Over :)

2010-08-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

This summer was amazing and life-changing for me. I got to intern at an immigration law firm in Los Angeles and I was also a mentor for the Ameson Education program sponsored by the Office of Undergrad Admissions. Ameson was a two-week summer host program at Berkeley for around fifty high school students from China who were paired off with eight Berkeley students, who became their mentors. I had six students in my group. We were told the students all spoke English. I was shocked when some of my students weren’t able to understand me. Eventually, I saw that they all had different levels of English fluency and we learned to compromise. They would ask me to speak slower and I would sometimes use diagrams and drawings as alternate forms of communication. We helped the students with their personal statements and they learned a little bit about the U.S. education system. The program was an amazing experience and I hope it becomes an annual endeavor.

Anyway, I’m glad to be back in Berkeley for the school year. I’m a sophomore now and this year is already going a lot better than last year. I guess I have already found my little niche. I feel a lot more comfortable with Berkeley in general and I don’t feel shy when approaching people. Also for the first time, I’m really excited about my classes. I just have a really good feeling about this semester aaaaand I love Berkeley!!! J

First day

2010-08-25T17:46:00.001-07:00

Hey!

Crazy how fast Summer went by!

In light of it being the first day tommorow, here are some tips for incoming freshman to ease this momentous rite of passage, aka your first few weeks as a college freshman aka "fishies".

1. To avoid spending money on pricey ink cartridges for your printer, sign up for free printing at the OCF!

2. To avoid overspending your meal points, buy a box of cereal, toaster waffles, whatever...eating breakfast at the dorm cafeterias will drain your meal points fast.

3. Put laundry money on your Cal 1 Card, scrounging your room and pestering your floormates for quarter is a hassle.

4. If you are unfamiliar with the campus layout, make an adventure out of finding your classes so that you don't have to carry a map around and end up running into other people (been there, done that).

5. Get familiar with the AC Transit; it could be a lifesaver if you have class on the other end of campus or need to make a grocery run at Safeway.

Hope that helps!

Starting off the New Semester!!

2010-08-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Moving in in the next few days? Get excited! As a volunteer with Student Orientation Staff, I have been working on preparing for the big move-in day and will be out assisting and answering any questions or concerns that new students may have.

A big part of succeeding at Cal is finding a community here, and the residence halls are an instant community just waiting to happen!

School will be starting up again soon, and although it might be rough or stressful transitioning into it (especially if you've had a relaxing summer like me), the formation of community will make life a lot easier, keeping you connected to resources, advice, and social needs. It definitely feels good to be back in Berkeley, one community that will definitely keep me busy, but also keeps me motivated and keeps life interesting.

Fall Semester 2010! Go Bears!

Independence? Whuuut?

2010-07-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Sawasdee everyone!

If you’re wondering why I decided to say hello in Thai, it’s because I’m currently sitting by the pool sipping coconut water on the ever sunny island of Koh Samui in Thailand. Okay, so I’m actually sitting in my hotel room, but very soon I will be lounging by the pool with all my friends, getting tan (er, burnt to a crisp).

Reason for being in Samui? Two words: grad trip! That’s right, I am now officially a high school graduate, with no exams, lessons, early mornings, evil teachers, and undone homework to worry about. It’s that gorgeous phase between high school and university, where we don’t really have that many cares in the world (other than the impending doom that exists alongside results day, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it).

So whether you’re on a grad trip like me, or simply enjoying the free life with your friends, congratulations! We made it!

But the real reason I wanted to blog now is because this is my first true taste of independence. Actually, the last year of high school comes hand in hand with being independent, to be honest. The difference is that when I was filling out my Cal application, I may have been doing everything on my own, but there was always the safety net called my parents. I cannot tell you the number of times I’d freaked out, convinced that my application was rubbish, that I was going to miss the deadline, or that I’d filled in the wrong thing (hey, sometimes those forms are hard for international students!). Without fail, they’d sit me down and convince me my application was brilliant, I had another two weeks before the deadline, and the Hong Kong postal service would understand if I wrote flat “4108” instead of “Block 41, Floor 8”. But here I am, sitting in Thailand with zero safety nets. No one to tell me I’m wasting my money on summer dresses that would be worn once in a year, or to tell me I’m not eating healthy.

In my mind, this is kind of what Cal will be like. For once, I will be in complete and utter control of my own life, and I am terrified. But what’s life without a few mistakes here and there? So what if I mixed the whites with my red t-shirts? Okay, so I’d have pink clothes for a while, but I can deal. My point is, independence is both terrifying and exciting at the same time. Being an international student makes it somewhat harder, while some of you can go home over weekends, I’d only be able to see my home every four months. But that’s what independence is about, and I’m sure I’ll have people to rely on if times really become rough. So while I sit in Thailand, sipping my coconut water and slathering on sunscreen like there’s no tomorrow, I constantly think about Cal will be like and how I’m going to live without turning into an absolute slob who can’t cook. Just today, I joined a Facebook group called ‘Secret Berkeley’ where people share their favourite hole-in-the-wall spots around Berkeley, and I cannot wait until I know enough to post my own little insights on that group.

Freedom + independence = amazing vacation. There is no doubt in my mind that while Cal is not by any means going to be a vacation (I looked at my classes the other day… somehow four classes feels like forty!) it is going to be absolutely amazing. I don’t know about you guys, but I know I’ll trip and stumble at a few points, but the fun is in getting up, laughing it off and moving on.

London Internship

2010-06-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

So I am blogging from London! After walking around the city today and meeting all of these different people on the flight, I realized that Berkeley has so many opportunities that students can pursue and utilize. All of the students that were on the flight with me were from Berkeley and they all were so excited to be interning in a foreign country. I guess this quick and short blog is just to point out some very useful, often under-utilized, advice. Berkeley has so many opportunities to explore new and exciting things, like interning in a foreign country and learning a completely different culture. Go out there and be curious!

Yours truly,

Alex

I'm a Junior?!

2010-05-16T00:16:00.001-07:00

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...

2010-05-14T01:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-05-10T20:05:00.001-07:00

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

2010-05-07T11:29:00.001-07:00

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

2010-05-06T23:26:00.001-07:00

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 :)

2010-05-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-01T23:06:00.001-07:00

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...

2010-05-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

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

Bye Bye Freshman Year

2010-04-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-28T14:55:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-04-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

Finals Are In The Air...

2010-04-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-17T11:11:00.001-07:00

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...

2010-04-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

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

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

Thursday Snack

2010-04-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-04-09T16:11:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-04-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-04-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-05T01:15:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

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.

PS: This is why I moved to Northern California

2010-03-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

Carmel-by-the-Sea is such a pretty place.

Mural Monday on a Tuesday

2010-03-30T16:03:00.001-07:00

Narwhal!

Hello readers! I am back from Spring Break, feeling refreshed, relaxed, and some other adjective that starts with an r. Sorry for the belatedness of this week's mural post; as you can see I'm finding it a little bit difficult to get used to school life (and only after a week, sheesh!).

At some point during this week though, I must find a way to wake myself up. April's coming up (in two days!), and with it come a multitude of tasks that I must do before the end of the school year. Among the multitude: find a summer publishing internship, work on Cal Day (April 17th), dance in the [M]ovement showcase, write various final essays for virtually all of my classes, finish making a dark room out of a closet at Stebbins Hall Co-op, etc. etc. etc...

I shouldn't really be so stressed because I truly do look forward to all of these events. I've been applying for a few weeks now to publishing houses around the bay area, and even though the search is quite time-consuming, it showed me that there are still a great number of independent publishing houses still in existence. That gives me hope for my future (which, hopefully, is a career in publishing), and also for the publishing industry in general. I myself am neither a staunch advocate for digital book readers like Kindle nor an ignorant book snob who clings desperately to the papery past. I think there's a balance with technology and books that the publishing industry must address so that substance and e-substance supplement, not replace, each other. But I'm getting waaay ahead of myself here; I'm too much in a tangent! (Topic tabled until a later post.)

Cal Day (April 17th! Go!) will be swell. Since I'm a work study student with the Office of Admissions, I get to help out that day. I'll probably see some of you Senior Weekend students there too! But since Cal Day's going to be a major highlight of my semester, I'll save this for another post too. Just keep on the lookout.

[M]ovement Showcase is the tough one, because unfortunately (planning-wise) this is happening on the same week as Cal Day week! So I'm part of this dance club called The Movement, and we do dances in three genres: swing, hip hop, and jazz. I swing dance! (Bet you didn't know that, huh?) We've been preparing for showcase and will be having two free shows on Lower Sproul (April 4th and 5th at noon). We also have performances the week after that. As for my dance, I'm excited about it, but also nervous because we need to clean it up and add in aerials. Here's a video that we did one semester:

I love Movement. I really do. Again, more on that later.

So those are pretty much the main things on my plate right now--that and school, and everything else. Do you see how April could sometimes be the cruelest month?

But I kid. I secretly love this time of year.

Beginning Life at Cal!

2010-03-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

That fateful day of March 25, I remember how afraid I was to choose where to go and what I was to do. It all seems too easy when the ball isn’t in your court and you’re waiting on who is willing to take you. March 25 is the day I had to decide which college to go to from the ones that have chosen me; knowing that my choice would shape the rest of my college life and in turn, the rest of your life.
To be honest I was quite frightful of what my Cal experience was going to be. I was the first of my family to actually move out to college. Debating whether I chose the right place for me, and the dread of being homesick definitely hit me the day I stepped on campus. I’m happy to say my worries of choosing the right college for me were short lived! Berkeley University was everything I expected it to be and more! It challenged me, ignited my love of learning once again, and on its beautiful, breezy, and sunny days it took my breath away.

I still vividly remember move-in day at Cal; unpacking all my things was a good day’s worth of work, and I was so excited for now moving into and having my own space in an entirely new place to me. While the adjustment period away from home was hard for me, as it is for most students, being in such a beautiful environment that kept me occupied with its challenges, lured me with its unique and various surrounding cafes, yogurt place, and restaurants, and surrounded me with a group of amazing people (that I soon became very close friends with) helped make my adjustment period rather short.
My favorite memories here thus far have consisted of simple ones: late night baking in the foothill kitchen, feeling guilty about having a late night baking session and in turn, having a late night workout session at the foothill workout room, trying out various cafes with friends, eating at every yogurt place within walking distance, etc… Berkeley couldn’t have surprised me in a more wonderful way. I hope your experiences here at Cal are as splendid and unique as my own, if you so choose to come to Cal too!
GO BEARS!

Best Advice for New Students

2010-03-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Happy rest of your life!

Ah, March 25th. For some of you, I bet you're saying this is the happiest day of your life. For others, well... maybe not. No matter what kind of response you got, however, you probably know which colleges selected you by now--and now it's finally time for you to make the decision.

Like everyone else, I didn't know what to expect from college. Really, I didn't. Sure, I read extensively about college life at Berkeley--what the dorms were like, how the social scene is, where to eat, WHAT to eat, etc. etc. etc. I stalked the College Confidential forums everyday. In fact if this blog existed when I got accepted into Cal I would've read these posts two or three times (you gotta love internet accessibility). From all of this I still didn't know what to expect--how different it would be living away from home. (Tip #1: Everyone misses their family the first year. It's okay. OH--and if you stay in the dorms during Spring Break, it gets a little lonely)

Anyway, that feeling never really changed... when I got to Berkeley I was still pretty lost. I remember going with my dorm mates to Calapalooza (a great big club fair on lower Sproul) and feeling like I was drowning in a sea of flyers and tables and people telling me to join this, join that, it'sfunandinterestingandagoodcauseandI'llgiveyouafreepen!! (Tip #2: Don't give your e-mail address so freely--you'll regret it in your senior year when you still get weekly updates from Rotaract, a club whose meetings you haven't attended since Welcome Week)

At first I thought the dorms were a bummer, because my roommates and I ended up on an all-girls' floor. Think of a hallway of closed doors, and that was 6th floor Ida Sproul. Terrified that my social life would consist of Friday night homework and lonely movies, I tried really hard to make friends. Let me tell you that it was a month of awkward determination (Tip #3: Talking to people in the bathroom is a great and amusing way to make friends) but I kept it up and I ended up being really close with some of my dorm mates. Oh, and--(Tip #4: Ordering Nude Sushi late at night during midterms is a great floor bonding experience. It is also very delicious)

My freshman year was amazing and difficult but never boring. I made some pretty great friends, got lost around campus quite a bit (Tip #5: It's okay to carry around a map the first few days of school. You might look a little silly but... it's better than being late to your first lecture) and in my travels, have found some pretty cool spots to sit and do some reading during my spare time.

I wish I could tell you everything about my freshman year, but really you have to live through it yourself. There's no online forum, no piece of information or testimonial that can accurately depict what you will do for the next few years. But that's what living's for! So good luck, you. People say (quite clichedly, I may say) that this is the first day of the rest of your life. But it's true. Now go live it. Go bears!

You're In!

2010-03-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

Congratulations and hello to the incoming class of 2014! I'm really excited for you to begin your Cal experience! Even though I haven't been here for too long myself, I've really learned a lot this past year about being independent, adjusting to life in the dorms, navigating public transportation, Mexican history*, and about how the whole academic life/social life/extracurricular life system works.

*keep reading, I promise this will make more sense.

Here are a few tips from me to you.

1) Pack a reasonable amount of things. Especially if you are going to be living in a triple like I am right now. Also don't forget this commonly forgotten item: an umbrella. On the first rainy day of the semester, I remember waiting in a long line at Walgreen's because everyone was purchasing an umbrella. Also, invest in a good, sturdy one that can withstand the bay area wind.

2) Schedule classes wisely. First semester I faced a scheduling DISASTER because the online schedule of classes doesn't really have detailed descriptions of the class. I ended up in two classes that weren't right for me. Switching is a hassle because I ended up on the waitlist for my new class (luckily I eventually got in), and I also switched into an upper division course. Although I was afraid this upper division course would be really really difficult, it turned out not only to be manageable, but also one of the most interesting classes I've taken so far. The class was "The Southern Border 159Ac" (satisfies the American Cultures requirement). *That is where the Mexican history comes in, but as a note, the class was also focused on a few other Latin American countries as well.

Although all turned out well for me in the end, I would recommend talking to someone and asking questions before signing up, especially if you know someone in your major. Signing up for more classes than you need and then dropping one when classes begin also works as a good back-up plan.

3) Occasionally check this website throughout the semester: http://caldining.berkeley.edu/points.html. You don't want to be left with no meal points a month before the semester ends.

4) Stay involved! If you got into Cal, you probably were really involved in something outside of your academic work, and should continue to be part of extracurricular activities when you get here too! Lots of opportunities await you.

Now that you've gotten in, enjoy the rest of senior year, have fun at CalSO, and get ready for your first semester!

Admissions Decisions

2010-03-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take this week to quickly talk about what it was like waiting for my acceptance and what it was like to finally hear from Cal. Waiting was really difficult, and the unknown is certainly not fun. One thing that is definitely hard to hear before you hear about your decision is that successful, qualified people will really do well anywhere. With that being said, obviously for me, I felt that Cal was the best place for me to succeed. As an out-of-state applicant I felt that there was a very low likelihood that I would be admitted, and while I imagined that living in California, in the Bay Area, and studying at the premier public school in the nation, I also focused on the number of other schools that I applied to and was waiting to hear from.

As a transfer it is a bit of a different feeling, because I always knew that the worse case scenario was that I would just stay at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, which is a great liberal arts school that certainly helped me a great amount, especially in my writing as well as critical and analytical thinking. Despite this, I still had dreams of being at a bigger school with a more diverse student body – in both ethnicity and interests, as well as being a part of the history of Cal. Some of the other schools I applied to transfer to were Emory University in Atlanta, Brown University in Providence, and Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. These were all great schools and I knew even if I got into all of them it would be a difficult decision to make. Sometimes rejection even makes the decision a bit easier.

UC Berkeley was actually the first school I heard from on April 30, 2009. When I saw that I was accepted I was completely overwhelmed. The long “to do list” on Myberkeleyapp seemed like a lot to do and sort out in just a few months, and since I was going away for the summer to work at an overnight summer camp, I had even less time (not to mention that I had finals at Trinity in only a few days). What kept me sane was remembering to take it one thing at a time. The first thing I felt I needed to do was actually visit Berkeley (I had never been to California before). I came out with my father and I really fell in love with the school even more than I had through pictures. As a transfer, I needed to decide which major I would declare and whether it was really worth transferring.

The fact that so many professors were willing to meet with me even before I was a student at Cal made me feel that despite the stereotype of big class sizes and inaccessible professors, that I could really make a connection with my professors at Berkeley. After I had met with the History advisor Leah Flanagan, I really knew that this was the right place for me. After that, I really paid close attention to Myberkeleyapp and the number of things I had left to do in order to enroll.
It really seemed like a lot, but by August I had housing, a list of classes (I got into every class that I wanted), and a decent sense of what fraternities I wanted to check out. Since I didn’t know anyone that was already at Cal, I thought it was important to join an organization (for me it was a fraternity) that would help me acclimate quickly to the new environment, and I think it was really successful.

I want to wish everyone good luck wherever they decide to attend college and in whatever career path they may choose.

Mural Monday: Blue Musician

2010-03-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

On the third floor of Stebbins. So chill. Take once a day with Muddy Waters and you'll be good to go.

Advice for Newly Cal Bears

2010-03-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

First of all, Congratulations! You made it into Cal!

I remember when I was going through the college admission process, Cal was one of the last schools I had heard from (I didn't apply to any other UC's since I am out of state), but I remember being so stoked that I had gotten into my dream school!

I'm going to focus my post on what to do your first few days at school...

I would say that going the the welcome events is definitely a good idea. Calapalooza is a huge event held on campus a few days before school starts where you can find out about all the clubs and activities to do at Cal, and get tons of FREE STUFF!

When you are signing up for classes be sure to check out exactly what you are signing up for, whether it be a lit class, math class, etc. I had a guy friend who signed up for a lit class, that ended up being a feminine studies class (he ended up enjoying it, but it definitely was not what he expected).

I would suggest using a site called http://esc.frozeninflames.net/, it's run my a UC student in the EECS department that helps you to create schedules based on the classes that you want. If you are in L&S I would suggest using the L&S breadth search to find out what courses outside your major you can fit into your schedule.

There are so many courses offered at Cal that you can easily get overwhelmed, the best thing for you to do is to talk to an undergraduate adviser in your intended major to get a game plan on what classes to take and when (find out there contact information and email them over the summer) , talk to Cal students (feel free to comment on my posts, I'll try to answer any questions you guys have, and if you go to CalSo ask tons of questions of your counselor), and to take it easy on the courses.

The hardest thing about transitioning between high school and college is figuring out what you can handle. College is a whole new ballgame many of you will be living in dorms and will have to adjust to a new living conditions in addition to a different workload. Classes at Cal are very rigorous and you will be expected to put in hours out of class for homework and studying. I would suggest limiting yourself to between 13-16 units your first semester. Be sure to balence your schedule...more on this topic in my next post.

Sara

The View

2010-03-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

The first time I walked into my triple in Unit 3 Ida Sproul Hall, I was astounded by the view. I had a corner room on the sixth floor with a perfect and bay-facing windows. My roommates and I used to stare into San Francisco and literally see what the weather was like--cloudy or foggy or rainy or balmy. At night the bay would light up like a Christmas tree and that would be the last thing I saw at the end of the day. In fact that view became so much a part of our lives that we started putting little quotes for inspiration:

Quotation: "Do you mark how the wisteria, sun-impacted on the wall here, distills and penetrates the room as though (light-unimpeded) by secret and attritive progress from mote to mote of obscurity's myriad components?" (Faulkner)

My roommate picked that quotation. It was up there for about a month and the whole time I just kept thinking, what does this passage even mean?!

I still don't know.

So the weather has officially shed off its rainy facade--oh, I just knew you were faking it, Berkeley, I just knew it--and is as sunny as the day I took that photograph a year ago.

Just finished my last class. Officially spring break! That means no more posts until next week, with a few (exciting!) exceptions. To the majority of whoever is reading this (prospective freshmen), I feel SO SORRY FOR YOU. You guys must be sweating right now, with the Berkeley decision date coming up. I was once in that position, and I know it's tough, but hang in there.

Relax, guys. See you on the other side.

Resurfacing

2010-03-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Ciao! Come stai? I am back after a not so brief hiatus. Things have been really hectic for me ever since the Blackout that took place on March 2, 2010. I did participate in the event and since that day, many people, myself included, have been working towards rebuilding the Black community at Berkeley and creating organizations and structures that will allow us to become a more unified body.

Also, school has been really crazy lately as well. I am in Italian 1 which is amazing amazing amazing but...a lot of work and I need to dedicate more time to that. Overall, life is good. I'm learning to prioritize and give school the right amount of attention as well as my extra-curriculars enough attention without neglecting either of my endeavors.

Hmm... So a really good friend of mine gave me a beautiful quote (Shout out to S. thanks for the quote) which said that the school doesn't define me, but that I define the school and that makes so much sense. Berkeley is a premier institution not just because of a "name" or a "reputation" but because the amazing and dynamic students that attend the institution give it that name. That was a big revelation for me and is inspiring me to make the most of my time spent here at Cal and encourage others to do the same.

Quote: (paraphrased) If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Be the best of whatever you are - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thanks for reading! Be back with some interesting Spring Break updates!

Diamond

Ps: here is a link to a two-part video about the UC Berkeley Blackout 2010

Cafes In Berkeley!!

2010-03-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

Berkeley University is definitely a place of interesting people, places,and sites, yet one of its most common places to go to is one of my favorites, cafes. Cafes are plentiful here at Cal, and to me are all unique in their own ways. Four of my favorites are Yali’s Café located in Stanley Hall, Free Speech Café located at Moffitt Library, Caffé Strada located on Bancroft and College, and Sacks located on College and Derby.

Yali’s is a perfect place for getting hearty food and coffee on the northside of campus. Since Yali’s is close to most of my classes here at Cal, Ican definitely say my wallet has taken a hit from their delicious mochas and toasted plain white bagels. In fact, most of my friends and I lived off of their toasted plain white bagels with cream cheese, our first semester here at Cal. While I don’t recommend this diet, I never got sick of how good those toasted bagels are! I’m still a faithful customer, so much so that they know my “usual” and name, embarrassingly enough.

Another great café on campus is Free Speech Movement Café. It is a very popular place to go to since it’s located near the heart of campus. Infact FSM is usually so packed it’s near impossible to find any available seating inside. Fortunately enough, Free Speech Movement Cafe also has outside seating, which is where I prefer to sit, on sunny days. Not only is it a great place to study, meet up with friends, and relax, but FSM also provides a large variety of delicious foods to choose from. I personally love to get lunch there. From their quesadillas to their sandwiches, I’ve definitely tried and loved it all!

Unlike FSM and Yali’s, Caffé Strada is located not on campus, but across the street. It is one of the most popular places to grab a quick cup ofcoffee and pastry “on the go”. Caffé Strada is one of my favorite places to sit, study, and get my caffeine fix. It is definitely my “go-to” spot when I need to get work done. Though for most, it’s a good place to sit down and talk. Its atmosphere provides a warm and welcoming environment.

Finally there is Sacks. Although it is further away, it is well worth the trip for its amazing paninis and chai tea lattes. The fact that it is farther away from Campus makes it more of a local’s secret, as few people are willing to make the trek, or have even come across it. Thankfully enough, I was actually shown the café by one of my close friends from Unit 2 since Sacks is not more than 3 blocks away from it. The atmosphere is more settled than the aforementioned cafes, making it a great place for being productive or even relaxing. I’m personally addicted to their“university themed” paninis and definitely recommend making the trip when you have some time for the walk!

Midterm Checklist

2010-03-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

x Go to the library. Now. Even though it's such a beautiful day outside and people are chilling in front of Doe as I speak... Oh how their happiness consists of sunshades and frisbees. Work. Work. Work.
x Line up books and notes.
x Quietly count to ten in order to avoid unnecessary panic attacks--that could be embarrassing in a library.
x Look around to see anybody you know. Oh goody, it was only the anonymous purple-shirted man who saw the momentary dry heaving. He's waving at me. Why is he waving?
x Wave calmly to those you know. Because in fact the purple-shirted man is in the class you are studying for.
x Look through your notes for the past nine weeks. (On another, completely unrelated note, maybe try a calligraphy class? Handwriting is bad, bad, bad. Did I write the word "burrito" in my notes? I must have been hungry that day.)
x Review readings. Or rather, maybe I should get to reading those last 200 pages of Cloud Atlas...
x Wake up from nap. Whoa. Was I asleep? For how long? Where am I? What am I... ohrighthomework...
x After finishing goals, take breaks. (Also, maybe allot only enough time on facebook to check friend requests. Oh, and new pictures of so-and-so in front of the largest ball of twine?! When was this?!? Why didn't she invite me?!?11@1)
x Say no to distraction. Although the general atmosphere of the library is that of sulky studiousness(not really. Only to me.), creativity in the most rigid of places is quite possible. Take a look at my awesome pocket watch, for instance. Isn't it beautiful? Aren't you jealous?

Sigh. Only a couple more days until Spring Break.

Mural Mondays (or, Another Why I love My Co-op)

2010-03-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

One very awesome aspect that I mentioned about the co-ops is the panoply of murals that adorn most co-op hallways. Since in a co-op property is shared, you can decorate the house the way you want it to. Try walking around Cloyne or CZ sometime and you'll get a great picture of Berkeley culture--creativity seems to seep onto the walls. Oh, and it also makes trudging up three floors of stairs in my house (Stebbins Hall) much more entertaining.

That said, I'm going to try to post a picture of a different mural every week. Believe me, there are a lot! I'll get started with one of my favorites of Napoleon, on the front stairwell between the second and third floor:

Happy Monday!

Sproul: Where Madness is Mundane

2010-03-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

Being bored and being at Berkeley are truly mutually exclusive. If you find yourself questioning this because you've somehow managed to find yourself with a free afternoon, just take a stroll through Sproul Plaza, a bustling center for student activity on campus, and it'll fill up quickly. The tables of various clubs and organizations border both sides of the path, and their representatives people the main walkway, handing out colorful fliers for meetings, fundraisers, performances, and other events to passersby. Pictured is what I picked up from walking around Sproul for about ten minutes.

So, from these, I compiled a little calendar of events you can attend by holding out your hand as you walk from Telegraph to Sather Gate:

March 11: "A Night in Bombay," Freshman Sophomore Entrepreneurial Society Meeting
March 12: The Movement Dance Workshop, Phi Beta Lambda Poker Tournament
March 13: Dreaming of Haiti Benefit Showcase for Victims
March 14: Barestage Productions: Spring One-Acts
March 15: Immortal Cupboard: In Search of Lorine Niedecker: A Film by Cathy Cook
March 16: International Food Festival
March 17: Stand With Haiti Banquet
March 18: CSA Game Night, Sigma Omega Pi Divinity 2010
March 19: Casino Royale Spring Formal

In total, I got 18 items, including two magazines; fliers for an international food festival; jazz, hip hop, and ballroom dance classes; a bone marrow drive; and two plays, not to mention free hugs!

Vibrant and dynamic, Sproul is the place to be! And if the high-energy atmosphere is a little too much for you, don't worry. There are plenty of alternate routes to get you to class without fistfuls of fliers, including a scenic path over Strawberry Creek. When you visit Cal, make sure to stop by. It will be an experience you won't forget!

Busy Week at Cal

2010-03-11T20:19:00.001-08:00

The past two weeks have been really busy here at Cal, and midterms have definitely been occupying most of my time. This past weekend my fraternity went to Lake Tahoe on a ski and snowboard trip, but since I had a midterm in a history class, I decided it was best to wait for our next trip. But just because I didn’t have time to go skiing in Tahoe this weekend, doesn’t mean I didn’t have any fun. One of many great things about Berkeley is the great Bay Area and even the amazing places within a few hours – Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz – and those are only the ones I know about. As an out-of state student I probably appreciate these things a bit more than the average Californian, but they are truly great places to visit. This past weekend I took the hour and a half ride to Santa Cruz, where I stayed with a friend while we studied for a midterm. While I probably spend ten hours each on Saturday and Sunday studying for this test, I was still able to experience the beach, and some cool places in Santa Cruz. The weather was really great too. I’m sure I would’ve had a better time had I not had a midterm on Tuesday, but I had fun nonetheless.

On campus this week, the Associated Student of the University of California (ASUC), Berkeley announced who would be running for office for next year. At a school with 25,000 undergraduates, this is quite an undertaking. There are even “parties” that candidates associate with. I’ve had the most interaction with the Student Action party because they’ve provided a website called CourseRank, where you can rate classes at Berkeley and talk about what you thought of classes and your grades. It’s really a great resource for students. Campaigning is really a big commitment, and I’ve already gotten to know a lot about Noah Stern’s presidential campaign as well as Joey Freeman’s senatorial campaign. Both of them seem like really great candidates, and hopefully those of you who decide to come to Cal will benefit from a really active ASUC, and maybe even run for office.

A big part of being a student at Cal for me is helping out the community. I’ve been able to do this through the Sage Mentorship Program. I’ve always liked working with kids, and this program pairs Cal students with elementary school students in Berkeley and Oakland who could use a mentor. I go to Rosa Parks Elementary School in Berkeley once a week for two hours. I spend time with a fourth grader, working on reading, and talking about why it’s important to do well in school. It’s a really rewarding experience, and depending on how many hours a week a person volunteers for, he or she can get credit toward graduation. I personally get two units this semester because I go two hours a week. I take the bus there with my free AC transit bus pass, and it only takes about 15 minutes to get there. Not only is it a good experience, but I think that being so lucky to go to such a great institution as UC Berkeley, it’s really the right thing to do to give back to the local community.

It’s been a really busy week, and the semester is only going to get busier. As a coordinator for the Overnight Stay Program, we are eagerly looking forward to decisions going out, and people signing up for this program to stay with freshmen at Cal to get a taste of what it’s all about to be a student here. Until next time…

Activism on campus

2010-03-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

So the past two weeks have been crazy.

Thursday, February 25, 2010:
I learned that I got a spot on the bus going to Sacramento on March 4th to participate in the strike for public education. I was really excited, because last year I couldn’t get a seat on the buses to UCLA for the Regents’ meeting. The same night, I went out with a bunch of friends. We just so happened to be on the intersection of Bancroft and Telegraph at two in the morning when we saw a riot taking place. At first, everything was good, there was music playing and people were dancing on the street and having fun. But then, things started escalating. Some people started burning trash cans and fighting. We saw the SWAT team come in and we left because it was getting scary. The next day, there was a message from the Chancellor in everyone’s CalMail account:

“Dear Campus Community:

We are writing to condemn in the strongest terms the overnight criminal vandalism in Durant Hall that spilled over onto Bancroft and Telegraph avenues. Initial investigation indicates that about 100 people came onto campus with clear intent to break into at Durant Hall which is currently a construction site. At this time we believe that the majority of those involved in the vandalism were not Berkeley students. We call on any of our students or other campus members who may have observed last night's criminal vandalism and violence to come forward and help police identify those responsible for these reprehensible actions.

Sadly, such action does incredible damage to our advocacy efforts with Sacramento and with the California public to preserve public higher education. We call on our campus community to work together to express our support for State reinvestment in public higher education in ways that uphold Berkeley's values of peaceful protest and freedom of expression.”

I think the riot went against everything the budget cuts strikes stand for. Vandalizing Durant Hall – great, we’re going to have to pay for that in our Campus Fees. I support the strikes, but vandalism is not the way to go about it.

Friday, February 26, 2010:

A 12-hour day. From 10am to 12pm, I helped my friend table at the PlayGREEN Festival. It was soooo cool!! Pauley Ballroom was packed, and everybody was really nice. I learned about some pretty amazing environmental innovations, like making paper out of cotton shirts. And there was so much free stuff! I got a new keychain, apples, chocolate, lollipops, water bottle, bags, ice cream (Ben & Jerry’s), Naked juice, and a lot more. :) I got to talk to people about the Lower Sproul Redevelopment Project, which I was helping my friend table for. (It’s a project to make Lower Sproul more energy efficient and Berkeley-friendly). At 12pm, I had an interview and after that, I ran to the bus stop because I had to catch the Hill Line to get to work. I was there until 5pm, and when I left, I was on my way to the Multicultural Center to help volunteer for Night of Cultural Resistance. I was kind of in a hurry, because it was already 5:30pm and I was supposed to be there at 5pm, and I had my iPod on really loud, when I saw two people making their way toward me. I was wearing my Berkeley sweater and they asked me where they can buy one of those. I told them I was heading over that way and that I would take them. It turned out that they were from Belgium and were paying Berkeley a visit because they were in San Fran for the weekend. They were so cool! I was really excited because I had never met anyone from Belgium before, and their French accents were so beautiful! I took them to Ned’s and they thanked me. I finally made it to the Multicultural Center at around 5:45pm, signed in, got a shirt, and started helping move some paintings to the patio outside. At first I felt kind of awkward because it seemed like everyone knew each other, but I figured whatever, the point of this is to meet new people. At one point, I was sitting on the couch, and I started talking to an older lady sitting next to me. She told me she was from New York (at which point I got really excited because I’ve been wanting to go there), and asked where I was from. When I told her I’m originally from Bulgaria, she told me there was a period of her life when she was obsessed with Bulgarian folk music. We talked for a long time, almost until the event started. The people that organized the event assigned me a job, but in the end they ended up not needing me, so I just watched the entire show. It was amazing! There were different kinds of performances: poems, raps, songs, break-dancing, and towards the end one group played reggae and everybody was dancing. Most of the acts were really political and opened up my mind to a lot of things. During the entire event, there was live art and free haircuts outside on the patio.

Monday, March 1, 201 0:
I was on my way to GBC (Golden Bear Cafe) to get some fries because my stomach had been rumbling through the past two hours of lecture when I saw something happening at Sather Gate. The center entrance was blocked off and people were only passing on the sides. I got closer so that I can ask people what’s going on and was handed a flyer that read:

“Listen to the Silence: Blackout 2010

We are brothers and sisters in a nonviolent, silent demonstration, standing in SOLIDARITY with the UCSD students who have been affected by blatant acts of ignorance and hatred.

The UC Berkeley Black community stands here silent. Silent because we fear for the future. Silent because the past is prologue. Silent because there is nothing left to say. Our silence, then, is your opportunity to act.”

It was beautiful to watch. Not beautiful like pretty, but beautiful in a tragic way. The silence really spoke, and spoke louder than words. It was a simple protest, simple flyer, simple words, that had an immense impact on me. (If you don’t know about what happened in UCSD – “Compton Cookout” – please check http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-compton-cookout,0,2673438.story).

Thursday, March 4, 2010:
Exciting day!!! I actually heard my alarm at 7am, which is an immense achievement for a college student. I met up with one of my co-workers and we made our way to the buses for Sacramento, which were all the way on the other side of campus from where we lived. We were waiting in line for a long time. I found it kind of frustrating that some groups got priority seating because we all made reservations at the same time. Me and my co-worker were getting paranoid that we might not get seats because there were a lot of people and buses were filling up super-fast, but we finally made it. We also got pre-made signs that said “Educate the State” on one side and had a fist holding a pencil on the other. It was a two hour drive over to Sacramento, during which I took a major nap.

When we arrived, the protest had already started. The steps and entrance of the Capitol were blocked off by people. I was surprised by the amount of high school students. The protest was peaceful, people were having fun while sending out a powerful message. We got there just in time to chant/sing “We gotta fight... for our right... to go to coooollege!” :) The energy was incredible. Legislators, senators, professors at Berkeley and community colleges, and students spoke out. At one point, one legislator came out to the balcony and looked down at us, and the crowd (us!) started chanting “Come on down!!” So he did. He said he supported what we were doing and he wouldn’t vote for any more cuts to public education. One of the speakers read off a list of legislators that had received a public education. A lot of them had gone to CalStates and UCB itself. Whenever anyone mentioned “Berkeley,” we would scream the loudest. I never felt so proud of going to Berkeley before. The people that spoke up at Sacramento kept bringing up Mario Savio and the movements of the 60s. In a way, I felt that everyone looked up to Berkeley. Whenever there’s an injustice or an infringement of rights, Berkeley takes a stand. Every time. I feel that Berkeley is the social justice capital of the U.S. Towards the end, some of the performers came on the stage and sang “This Little Light of Mine, I’m gonna let it shine” except by reading off the words on the protest signs. By that time, I had made my way all the way to the front so that I could take good pictures. One of the ladies that had organized the event (at least I’m guessing, because she was wearing the cool March 4th shirts that only a group of people had) pulled me onto the stage with other organizer people. They all had March 4th shirts, and I was next to them with my Cal sweater and my picket sign in hand. I felt like I was representing Berkeley right then and there. It was beautiful.

The last person that spoke up got me really emotional. He said, “The day I got into college was the best day of my life” and he had tears in his eyes. I was about to cry, but I fought it. I felt so proud of everyone that was there and the issues that were brought up. Whether it was “What’s the fix? AB 656” or the 2/3 majority rule overturn, or immigrant parents not being able to get degrees they’ve worked for their whole lives. Something clicked inside me, those are all issues relevant to me. And then, when we were heading back toward the buses, a group of elementary school children (yes, there were kids that young at the protest) were trying to get our attention. We turned and they yelled, “We love you guys!!” And we yelled back that we loved THEM. It was intense to see children that young and that aware of what’s going on, and I felt so proud of them and of everyone that tried to make a difference that day. Once back in Berkeley, I walked home with my little picket sign (it’s in my closet!). I was anxious to find out what had happened on campus and in the march to Oakland. I didn’t have to wait long. The Daily Cal’s headlines the next day were all about March 4th and what different campuses had done across the state. I’m glad I went to Sacramento; March 4th was one of those rare experiences that change your philosophy on life. We made history that day, and Berkeley was, once again, part of it.

And So It Begins..

2010-03-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hi. I'm Prabh. I am a first year Intended Business Administration and either Math or Economics double major and I love Berkeley. But fear not, I will try my best to remain objective and keep my immense bias towards Berkeley (or Cal, as we call it with endearment) under control. I am from the Southern California, or SoCal as you'll find yourself calling it (no matter how hard you try to fight the urge ñitís one of those effects from being in a completely new environment). I've only been here for about seven months, and I'm already completely immersed in everything that is Berkeley. From taking the 51 (bus line) to shopping at Trader Joe's and Safeway, to going to Crossroads when you're not hungry at all but just to hang out with friends, to eating at the various restaurants on Durant, Telegraph, or Bancroft, you never find yourself bored because there is always something to do. But I will be frank with you, having so much to do can act as a distraction itself. The key to mastering Berkeley, or what I have learned so far in my mere seven months of occupancy, is learning to balance everything you have to do with everything you want to do and everything you don't want to do.

I came in from high school as one of those kids that was involved in everything (yeah, I was that kid). So naturally, coming into Berkeley, I assumed that things would be just as easy and that Iíd be able to glide through these four years with about as much effort as I put into waking up in the morning. Alas, it eventually does hit you, quite quickly actually, that Berkeley is much more than you can imagine. Academics, by far, are going to catch you by surprise because they sure shocked me. Being at a university level is something that is hard to completely prepare for, BUT (key word here), it is nothing you can't overcome. It's really easy to get overwhelmed, as I did, with a workload that you once thought you could handle and then realize that maybe you should have taken the other class that sounded interesting. Fear not, everyone finds himself or herself in that specific situation. For me, it was a matter of realizing what I needed to accomplish and when it needed to be done. And trust, that is all there is to it. It took me a while to realize that one sentence that you're probably thinking is common sense. It is. But how many of us actually listen to the advice that we're given? How many of us know that we should be listening to the advice given to us because weíre going to end up following it anyway? Despite knowing that, we still donít listen (or at least I don't; I hope that your fate is different from mine) but that's just human nature - trial and error.

Okay. University of California, Berkeley. Number one public university in the nation, and arguably, the world. A diversity you will find nowhere else, guaranteed. An experience that you would never want to exchange for anything else. Itís like MasterCard says: priceless (yes, I did resort to using a cliché). Amidst all the accolades and Nobel laureates and degree programs and revolutionizing research and student groups that Berkeley houses, it is very easy to resign and not get involved. I mean, there is so much to do, where do you even start? Thankfully, Berkeley helps you with that. If technology is what tickles your fancy and you love wasting (I mean, productively pursuing alternative goals) time on the Internet, the Berkeley website is a great resource. For those of you, who, like me, enjoy having things handed to them with the LEAST amount of effort possible, then Sproul Plaza will be your number one favorite place. Student groups range from community service to cultural pride and awareness to interest groups to political propaganda to the unexpected (trust me, you will walk eventually walk into Sproul Plaza and not know what is going on whatsoever). I remember wanting to grab every flier, talk with every person, sign up for the email lists of every club advertising themselves and recruiting members. That is normal, believe it or not. Some of us are those that want to be involved in as much as possible and get the most of your college experience. Others are willing to wait and see what comes up eventually and then decide if it is what they want. Others just donít care. Regardless of which group you assign yourself to, you're going to find yourself in Sproul engrossed by the events that go on there. You never know what to expect, but thatís the glory of it all. Surprise keeps us on our toes, and it's what keeps Berkeley alive and so unique. The student population embraces, to some degree, the various activities that take place.

I would always find myself just wandering around the campus to waste time because I had an awkward 30-minute break between classes and it wasn't worth walking back to the dorms. After enjoying the trees (there are a lot of different kinds of trees on campus, by the way, more than you can imagine), I would realize that 30 minutes had passed and it was time for next class. Now, I love learning new things just as much as the next person, but I felt more intrigued to explore the campus and see what it had hidden away from someone to find. To this day, every time I walk on campus I notice something new that has been there for years but it just now popped out to me. That is Berkeley appeal. Plain and simple, the campus, different from most institutions of higher education, has a history that is can be seen in every building and all you have to do is walk five feet and look up. Now I'm as lazy as the next person, but that's one activity that I've never been able to turn away from -I'm just saying.

There is no limit to my adoration of Berkeley. Like any good relationship, Berk and I have our ups and downs, and sometimes I do get caught up in the downs because it's so much easier to do. What I always keep in mind though is that, like the economy, we will eventually have our recovery period (Econ 1!) and things will get better. Sometimes we have to adjust to our situations and adapt to any changes -things may look better in lens number two compared to lens number one, but we won't know unless we look now will we? Berkeley, more than anything else, reaffirms this. Try not to expect anything in particular; actually, I dare you to because I guarantee you'll be surprised anyway.

Berkeley is a Playground of Fun!

2010-03-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

After a week of on-and-off rain, wind, and occasional patches of sunlight, the sun has finally decided to stay out for more than a couple of hours, making for a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. A day like this calls for...

...a carnival! or actually, a CAL-NI-VAL!

This was another event put on by Residence Hall Association, and with cotton candy, popcorn, water balloon tosses, a petting zoo, and inflatable obstacle courses, the event was pretty successful. Attendees were mostly Berkeley students, but there were also a few little kids from the neighborhood who came with their parents. They were adorable! It's nice to see family bonding after being surrounded by my peers all the time. Although racing my floormates through the obstacle courses and down the inflatable slide made us all feel like little kids again- they're almost like my brothers and sisters away from home!

I wish the colorful, inflatable playground could stay there forever. It works as a great stress reliever. Physics midterm, what? Maybe how to reduce my friction to get down the slide faster?

We left the event slightly dizzy but with our youthful spirits rejuvenated. Berkeley can be really stressful at times, but it also has a way of making up for it.

March 4- Day for Public Education

2010-03-06T16:58:00.000-08:00

Thursday was a big day here in northern California. There were demonstrations in Sacramento, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. They were all in support and defense of public education in our state.

As you probably already know, Berkeley has been quite active against the statewide budget cuts that face our universities. This week, however, we decided to shift the focus from college to all kinds of public education--not only UCs, but to community colleges, state universities, adult schools, high schools, and so forth. This was a day to gather peacefully in solidarity for every student.

Buses were offered to transport any student who wanted to go to Sacramento and stand in front of the capitol building. There we heard speakers from Sacramento State and even our own Berkeley professors, like Wendy Brown and George Lakoff. So many professors were in support of this cause and traveled with us. Ananya Roy was even a safety marshal on our bus!

I encourage everyone to get informed and take action!

I mean, it's pretty much the Berkeley way.

Intoduction....

2010-03-05T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hey!

So...My name is Sara, I'm a first year from the Lone Star State.

I'm declared majoring in Physics.

I'll post my first semester schedule...

Math 54 Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
Modern Physics H7C Physics for Scientists and Engineers
Introduction to Asian American Studies 11
Compass Physics, Independent Study

Till next Time

Sara

Hopping on BART to go to the SF Pillowfight with the Canadians!

2010-03-05T12:52:00.001-08:00

The Two V-Days of Cal

2010-03-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

In the last month, there were two V-Days at Cal.

The first was the one you’re probably already thinking of: Valentine’s Day. But rather than spend a ton of money on some swanky dinner, many Berkeley students sought to celebrate their love of humanity in a much more productive fashion: a massive pillow fight in SF.

The Great San Francisco Pillow Fight began at 6 p.m. in Justin Herman Plaza and continued as long as students and locals were able to swing a pillow and bludgeon (in a generally fun-loving and non-aggressive manner) their neighbors. Few non-pillow-wielding civilians were accosted (as were the rules).

This whole “pillow fight” thing may seem childish. Well, it is. It’s also awesome.

During the fight, most participants found it difficult to keep a straight face. There were shouts of “This is how global conflicts should be solved!” and “Attack the one in the Pokemon costume!” There were even a few Canadians visiting Cal from Vancouver (they rented out their frat house for the Olympics and were staying with their chapter in Berkeley).

The other V-Day had a different purpose: to end violence against women. Every year, Cal students put on performances of The Vagina Monologues and donate the proceeds to various charities supporting this cause. This year, they raised about $24,600 to be distributed among their many beneficiaries (which Include V-Day’s International Campaign Spotlight on the Congo).

One of my sorority sisters was performing in the show, so a ton of us went to support her as well as the cause.

I was absolutely blown away. The performers were not only phenomenal actresses, but extremely comfortable with the audience, each other, the subject matter, and themselves. And no, there weren’t just women in the audience. Even the men in the room were rolling with laughter at the relatable jokes and stories the women told. However, not all the stories were funny. Some detailed the horrors sexual violence and forced marriage. It was both convincing and informative without being overbearing. Every subject matter was addressed with grace and forthrightness.

I had been looking for a way to continue acting in college (I took drama classes all four years of high school and was a member of Comedy Sports, an improvisational comedy troupe, for two years). Needless to say, I plan on auditioning next fall.

In case you’re wondering, there are quite a few ways to get involved in Theater (and just about everything else) at Cal, from Barestage Productions to Theater for Charity. Fall is the time to sign up, so make sure to check out the tables on Sproul during your first month on campus! Also, I highly recommend not being afraid to apply talents you learned in high school to different activities. For example, I used to work on my high school newspaper. Now I’m trying out blogging. That’s what college is all about, right?

A New Installment: .gif of the Month

2010-03-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

If you read my last post, you may remember that I enjoy photography. On that note, I will introduce my monthly feature: .gif of the Month! Here’s my first:

And if you can’t quite tell what I’m up to, here’s the final product:

I’m very fond of .gifs because they’re an interesting mix between videos and slideshows. They’re not as fluid as videos, but I like that because it adds a little suspense. The Gestalt effect allows us to fill in the blanks and fabricate continuity out of still photos (that arises for reasons other than our eyes being slow) and experiencing or witnessing this effect always makes me marvel at our minds. And since I haven’t done much editing outside of photographs, .gifs are my way of manipulating motion. I can summarize the content of a video or create illusions that wouldn’t occur naturally, like I did in this month’s image.

There are a lot of great opportunities for photography here at Cal, as you will see in monthly .gifs to come and in photographs from all of the student bloggers. With the elegant architecture, botanical gardens, and breathtaking views of the Bay Area, you should definitely bring your camera when you visit. Cal also offers wonderful photography classes, including The Art and Science of Drawing with Light and Digital vs. Manual: An Intro to Photoshop & Lomography. Also, the ASUC Art Studio holds a variety of classes and workshops about photography. The opportunities are endless!

Why I Love My Co-Op: Part 1

2010-03-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

I feel like I could post a million entries about my living situation this year. The people that I have met, the food that I have eaten, the hobbies that I have picked up these past two semesters--they are all part of the great and nebulous web that is co-op life.

For those who don't know how cooperative living works, I would be happy to tell you about it. It's probably the most unique, legitimate alternative housing situation that a UC student can participate in. I'm not sure whether or not co-ops exist on any other campuses, but I do know that the Berkeley Student Cooperative is one of the largest housing cooperatives with approximately 1300 students living in 20 houses. There are houses on North and Southside which range in size from 13 members to 130, making every house unique.

Founded during the Great Depression for university students, cooperative housing is based on the principle of low-cost living and the fact that everyone involved is an owner. In each house, food supply is bought in bulk and shared by everyone (for that reason we have REALLY huge refrigerators, and pantries with TONS of food) and of course people can request things that they want to eat. And dinner, everyday!

Another way to keep costs low (which is a big part of co-op life) is the workshift. There's no way I can butter this up--it's work. Unlike dorms or Greek houses, we don't have professional cleaning services to come in. We ourselves are responsible for how smoothly the house runs. That means we cook, clean, and make things for each other. Therefore, each co-oper usually puts in 5 hours in shifts a week toward the house. Some are pretty sweet deals, like cooking once a week (yes, the cooks who serve food to the hungry house are college students. The food is delicious and usually healthy), tending the garden, or cleaning the study room. And then there are not-so-pretty-sweet deals, like... washing pots before dinner. Or weekly bathroom clean.

Yeah, we've all had to do our share of unpleasant shifts, but if you have a good workshift manager (also a fellow college student) then you won't get such a bad deal. And plus, workshifts all go toward the house that you care about. That's why I don't mind so much getting up at 9am on Saturdays to do my Breakfast Crew Cleaning shift (that and the fact that people usually let me have some of their delicious breakfasts to eat).

There are communal living spaces, bathrooms, and the like, but of course everyone is guaranteed a room. And what makes it different from living in the dorms is that you can decorate/do anything to your room. That means you can make a loft bed, paint the walls a wacky color, or paint the door--since you own it you can do anything to it. If you want to do something awesome like paint a mural on wall, then HAVE AT IT, buddy! But make sure to run it by everyone at the weekly house meetings.

Because we (as co-opers) live, eat, and share most things together, we are pretty much a family. Personally I've grown to love the people in my house. All 64 of them, in fact...

But more on my individual house, Stebbins, later. To try to say every aspect of co-op life would be impossible because there's so much to it. For now though I hope you've gotten a little taste of how co-ops work, and how from one little principle a whole culture can form.

Wellies, or Rainboots, or What Have You

2010-03-02T23:30:00.000-08:00

As I was walking back from the SLC after a three-hour essay binge last week, I met my roommate and another house mate getting some yogurt. (By the way, it was about 59 degrees outside. Wet and rainy. And they were still on their way to get some frozen yogurt. That's hardcore Berkeley culture for you.)

"Hey, buddy!" said the house mate. "Nice wellies you got on there!"
My roommate and I looked at him perplexedly.
"Wellies?"
"You know, wellies. Wellingtons." Then, after a pause: "Those things you have on your feet."

(I forgot to mention that this particular house mate is from the UK. And sometimes... sometimes, there's a cultural difference...)

So anyway, the weather has been incredibly weird lately. It might be that I'm from soCal, where you can't wear anything more than spaghetti straps if you don't want an extensive sweat pattern on your back. Or it could be that weather just... confuses me so.

Today I woke up and it was indeed sunny. The air had that crispy yellowness to it, as if it was promising a brisk spring day. Yes. So I got dressed up and walked to school. But I didn't get too far before this happened:

Wet shoes, if you couldn't tell. That's what happened. On some awesome canvas sneakers that I just bought. So after my first class I ran home and put on my rain gear. Again, hailing from a place where there is literally a palm tree on every street, I only have two kinds of shoes: canvas sneakers and rain boots that I bought for the first time last year (you know you've moved on up when you can buy some really cool purple rain boots). So I put them on and walked outside, feeling warm and fuzzy this time!

But then this happened:

Yup. SUN. I then had to trudge around in rain boots for the next five hours of my school day, avoiding people's smirks (and their CANVAS SHOES) and trying desperately to make use of these rain boots by walking arrogantly through light puddles. And then when I got home it started to rain again.

Weather just confuses me to no end. Sometimes (especially during the months of December-February) the weather can be stormy and windy. Sometimes when I walk outside for two minutes I come to class soaked and highly uncomfortable, and sometimes even when I'm prepared I walk to class and my umbrella plus myself is soaked and still highly uncomfortable, so that day is a bust.

And yet sometimes the day is just so beautiful and sunny out that on my way to the library I pass by Memorial Glade and see people taking naps in the grass. And then I decide to save my homework for later that night, and take a nap in the sun too.

Memories of sunny afternoons pretty much keep me going on days like these.

Actively Participating On Campus

2010-02-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

For the first month this semester I really didn’t have many assignments or exams and only had to focus on the extensive reading I’m assigned in the three history classes I’m enrolled in, but now I can definitely feel the pressure building up as the semester progresses and midterms are approaching. As I’m sure every prospective student hears countless times, professors really leave it to the students to manage their assignments and get everything done on time. Since I’m involved with several activities outside of my classes (like most Cal students), it’s really important that I plan ahead. One thing I find especially useful is a note card I have posted on my wall above my desk with every major assignment I have for the semester. By having all my assignments in one place, it makes it easy to realize that, for example, on March 18, I have a paper due and a midterm. This will definitely require some planning in advance.

The benefit to planning in advance is that I can manage a number of worthwhile activities in my free time. There are so many events on campus and it’s not hard to find some really cool things that fit with a busy student’s schedule. For the past month there have been weekly screenings of foreign films at the Pacific Film Archive as a part of The Spirit of Tel Aviv Film Festival (right across the street from Urban Outfitters on Bancroft Way). This past Monday night I saw this really cool Israeli film called Jellyfish, a comedy-drama about three women whose lives intersect in pretty cool ways. It apparently won Camera d’Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. I also learned that there’s another Israeli film called Ajami, which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film this year. This is one of the really cool things about Berkeley - because of an event here I learned about how many great films have come out of Israel, something I really would have had known nothing about otherwise. It’s important to realize that as long as you keep your eyes peeled and are open to trying new things, Berkeley is a place where you not only learn inside the classroom with the outstanding professors and graduate student instructors (GSI), but also in daily life here.

Last week I promised to talk about some of the organizations I’m involved with on campus, and I want to focus on one specifically this week. I’m an associate editor of Clio’s Scroll, the Berkeley Undergraduate History Journal. As a history major, I really enjoy expanding my interest in the subject outside the classroom. We collect submissions from undergraduate students every semester, and choose a select few for publication. I think it’s a really great opportunity to read several different people’s papers. It’s great because I can learn about a bunch of subjects I just don’t have the time to take classes in. I also get a sense for different people’s writing styles, what I’m doing right, and what I can improve on. At a big university like Cal, it’s really easy to find a group of people that share a common interest, whether it is academic, cultural, athletic, or whatever your interest may be. Life at UC Berkeley is filled with new experiences and countless opportunities to get involved, while of course remembering (pretty much) everyone’s first priority – doing well academically.

Nabokov Loves Berkeley too

2010-02-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

Alright, here's a well-known fact about me: I'm pretty much a nerd for local history. I love learning about places where I live. In high school, I was that kid who volunteered at my hometown's hundred-year-old library, collecting old books and photos about oranges (and may I say that the city of Redlands, the place where I grew up, is AWESOMELY steeped in orange industrial history. But save that for another post). And so coming to Berkeley (incorporated in 1878) was a real treat for me. It's crazy how everywhere you look has a memorable past. Just picture Sproul Hall, where student heroes rallied the public. Or the Berkeley Laboratory where Professor Ernest O. Lawrence invented the first Calutron (for good or for bad...). Or the Hearst Mining Building, where students used to major in Mining. Student activism! Top secret nuclear business! Outdated capitalist endeavors!

Oh, the list goes on.

I love Berkeley. Moreover, even Berkeley loves Berkeley. For example, most students I talk to are very familiar with the student activism of the 1960s. Ask someone who Mario Savio is and they'll either point you to the Free Speech Movement Cafe or say “There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious—makes you so sick at heart—that you can't take part!” Yeah, those kids get the A+.

The libraries on campus also teem with some Berkeley lovin'. Bancroft Library not only has a substantial Mark Twain collection but also contains volumes and volumes about early Californian, San Franciscan, and Berkeleyan history.

One class I'm excited about this semester is Geography 125 “The American City: San Francisco and Los Angeles” which is taught by Professors Moran and Walker. On top of learning about the cultural, geographical, and political landscape of these cities, there will be a week devoted to Berkeley's beginnings and its influence on the world. By the way, Berkeley's history is quite amazing and could span an entire semester as a course in itself—which is why I have refrained giving you a better account of the city. But if you're interested you may want to check out Gray Brechin's Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin. It has a great chapter on the UC and its ties to the newspaper barons who owned San Francisco.

So the quite frazzled point I am trying to make is that people definitely love Berkeley. You can see it everywhere—in college reports, classes, archives, and newspapers. And being an English major, it's a lovely surprise to see your one of your favorite authors mention your favorite university. That's why I nearly choked on my cereal while reading Nabokov's Pale Fire. Another Berkeley allusion! Here the narrator describes a scene of party goers in excruciating detail:

“[The party]... was attended by Milton Stone: a new librarian, with whom Shade discussed till midnight the classification of certain Wordsmithiana); good old Nattochdag (whom I continued to see every day); and an undeodorized Frenchwoman (who gave me a complete picture of language-teaching conditions at the University of California).” (182)

See?! Berkeley, right?! We made it into Nabokov, guys!

Okay, so that's kind of a vague insult. But who cares. Let's take what we can get.

Cakes and Festivals (right outside your door!)

2010-02-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

Because Berkeley's dorms are off-campus, I initially thought that meant that campus life would be separate from dorm life, but that is not the case at all. A few of the dorms, or units, as we call them, are made up of four tall buildings that face each other and surround a central area known as the courtyard. The courtyard area and the rooms under it are the location for many events like dances, movie nights, and other programs that are hosted usually by Hall Association, but sometimes by other student groups as well.

Last Friday, for example, Circle K International hosted an "Ace of Cakes" event in my unit (Unit 1), where different student groups decorated a cake to represent their organization, and attendees bought tickets to vote for their favorite. Proceeds went to charity. Here are a few pictures of some of the cakes (from left to right):

1. Undergraduate Political Science Association

2. Regents' and Chancellor's Scholars Association

3. Dance Marathon

4. FeelGood Berkeley

Also that same evening, just across the street and about a block away, Unit 2 also had some festivities occurring in their courtyard. Some buildings have theme floors, and Unit 2 has an Asian Pacific American Theme House, APATH. My floormates and I walked over to visit the Lunar New Year festival that APATH organized. The highlight of the festival were the student performances. Although we missed the Cal Taiko Japanese drumming group and the Fei Tian Dancers performances, we were able to catch EGO Korean drumming. Because these performances all took place in the center of the courtyard, residents of Unit 2 could hear and see what was happening by just looking out their windows. So yes, the dorms are off-campus, but the campus comes to you! ...And it's actually not a very far walk from school (I get to most of my classes in 5-10 minutes leaving from my room).

Living in the dorms is a great experience - more posts about other aspects of dorm life to come later on. For now, enjoy the cake pictures!

Welcome, Readers!

2010-02-25T11:55:00.000-08:00

I’m Renee, a freshman here at Cal, intending to double major in Math and Bioengineering. I’m a pretty big webcomic geek—my favorites are definitely XKCD and Dinosaur Comics. I also love opportunities to culture myself. I consider visiting museums, going to concerts, and attending plays to be entertaining and valuable experiences that nicely balance out my math-y/science-y fields of study. I'm also into photography, but more on that later.

I came here from Sacramento, but I’m originally from Seattle. Berkeley’s weather has struck a nice balance between the two of them; it’s not as overwhelmingly hot as I found Sacramento to be, but it rains much less frequently here than in Seattle, which isn’t really saying much, I guess.

Right now I’m living in a triple (with two roommates) in Unit 3, the dorm closest to Sproul Plaza. Unit 3 has a lot of attributes that are very convenient for me—we have a dining hall on the residence as well as Bear Market, a mini-grocery store where I’ve satisfied midnight Pocky and Mochi ice cream cravings. Also, it’s so close to some of my classrooms that I can leave my room five minutes before class starts. My roommates are both really cool. Trina’s a Molecular & Cell Biology major while Cindy is going for Asian Studies with a minor in History. Our floor is very social; you can seldom walk into the lounge without encountering at least a few people talking and studying. Overall, dorm life has treated me very well.

I’m involved in some great activities this semester, now that I’ve gotten settled down. I’m participating in Teaching Mad Science, a DeCal (undergrad-taught) class that aims to spark youth interest in science with interesting experiments; Suitcase Clinic, an organization that serves homeless and low-income individuals in the city of Berkeley; EGO, UC Berkeley’s Korean drumming group; a seminar on teaching math to K-12 students; and the Student Ambassadors Program. They’re all wonderful programs that I’ll definitely be going into detail about in later posts.

Anyway, I think that was enough about me to sate you for now. Until next time!

A Look Back...

2010-02-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

After a full semester of adjusting, readjusting, organizing, studying, socializing, and prioritizing, I flew home to LA for winter break. For the first time in a long time, I had hours on end to simply bask in the glow of my thoughts and consider the metamorphosis I had undergone since arriving at Cal months ago with my Dalí posters and a rental refrigerator. I could finally analyze why I spurted out that automatic response of “I really love it there” whenever people asked me the inevitable question: if I was enjoying Cal.

I kept in contact with most of my friends from Bizerkeley via facebook, text messages, and cell-phone calls over the course of the month-long break. On New Year’s Eve, I was called from and called to multiple time zones during the night. However, when I truly discovered the undeniable sense of comradeship intrinsic to the Cal experience, I was paying a visit to my childhood stomping grounds- Disneyland.

I wasn’t even at the theme park with Cal students. Instead, I was with my sister, a junior at NYU, my friend from high school, and her friend, both of which were visiting from Wellesley College. We were in Fantasyland in line for “Pinocchio’s Daring Journey” when hats, sweatshirts, t-shirts, and shorts in every possible arrangement of blue and gold started popping up all over the place. Even schools located within an hour or so of the park weren’t as thoroughly represented as Berkeley. I immediately struck up conversation with the fifteen or so bears standing behind us in line. They were all freshman that lived on the same floor and had decided to meet up at Disneyland. Most of them were from southern California, but a few were visiting. I’ve never been too interested in the cult-like ritual of chanting, but as we all climbed into our wooden carts to begin the ride, I couldn’t resist responding with a fervent “BEARS” every time they screamed “GO.”

That’s the thing about Cal: the enthusiasm of its students is about as contagious as the flu is in the dorms, and this zealotry doesn’t simply end at something as shallow as “school spirit.” Our pride doesn’t stem from having high GPAs and SAT scores or a big name to put on our future résumés. It comes from the cooperative creation of a utopia built from youthful optimism, from the interconnected web of our relationships. Every interest touches, fosters, and creates another.

This weekend, I went to Bollywood Berkeley (a Hindi Film Dance competition featuring eight schools) with one of my closest friends. She has a rich Indian cultural heritage, one that I have had the opportunity to learn more about as we have grown closer. As we watched the eight teams perform with the aide of fluid flexibility, impressive acrobatics and sparkling costumes, she explained to me why certain moves were considered more difficult and which teams had technically done the best. Oftentimes, my immediate reactions lacked the cultural knowledge-bank from which to deduce such conclusions. At the end of the night, Berkeley walked away with the 1^st place trophy and the opportunity to compete in Bollywood America in April. I walked away with a better knowledge of my friend and of yet another previously unexplored faucet of the Berkeley community.

Occurrences such as this happen every week at Cal, if you let them. I got the same feeling, sitting there in Zellerbach Auditorium, as I do at Cal’s football games, when my friends explain the complexities of the still-foreign sport to me, as I do when I have lunch with friends of various religious backgrounds and, after hours of debate, we discover that most religions are fundamentally the same. Every student here has an area of expertise, and rather than impress each other with the mere possession of this knowledge, we teach each other. Berkeley is a think tank, not a shark tank.

The beauty of Berkeley is its education, but its education permeates every friendship and event, every act of community service, every conversation, every walk down Sather lane. The Berkeley Experience is debating the conflict between Israel and Palestine in the middle of a party, talking to the person next to you on the elliptical at the RSF for an hour about the philosophy of parenting, and debating whether or not Anderson Cooper is a “silver fox.” The Berkeley Experience is not batting an eyelash when a student saunters into class with a fake foxtail pinned to their pants. The Berkeley experience is walking out of a lecture in such a state of mental euphoria that the walls melt away into intellectual oblivion and you forget that you were in a classroom for the last hour and twenty minutes. The Berkeley experience assaults every sense and makes you wish you had more with which to encounter it, process it, and understand it.

Yana's Intro to Cal

2010-02-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!! My name’s Yana and this is my first year at Cal! I was born in Bulgaria and I moved to Los Angeles when I was 12. :) I feel that I can’t stay at one place, I love exploring too much. That’s why I decided to go to Berkeley and not UCLA. I figured I should go somewhere unfamiliar and get out of my comfort zone. I think my decision affected my mom more than me, because she couldn’t believe I was going so far (it’s just 6 hours by car...). Trying to get her excited about me going away, I refused to move in to Berkeley by plane and I ardently advocated the use of Enterprise’s rental car services. I finally convinced my mom to road trip it to the Bay. It was so exciting! Driving to Berkeley was like driving into the unknown.

When I was all settled in my new home at Unit 2, Cunningham, and my mom left, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was on my own. I had participated in a summer program affiliated with Berkeley when I was in 10th grade in high school (Hollywood High!) called the Pre-Collegiate Academy which reached out to 22 high schools in LAUSD. But this time was for real. I knew that Berkeley’s one of the top schools in the U.S. but that was about it. I was never scared though, I was just curious. :)

The first semester killed me because I had a really bad combination of pure reading and essay-based classes. Since I wasn’t that involved in high school, I decided to join a lot of clubs at Cal. I started interning at the ASUC (under Sam! :) ). I got my first job ever at the Lawrence Hall of Science and I love my boss and the people I work with! I’m hoping to stay there for the next three and a half years.

As far as choosing a major goes, I’m still not sure about my calling. However, I’m starting to lean more and more toward social justice. Overall, I feel like college opens up a lot of doors. A degree opens up a lot of doors. But I want Berkeley to be more than a degree for me. I want it to be the dream I never had.

To be continued...

Beginnings

2010-02-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

Hello all, I’m so excited to finally be posting! My name is Diamond and I am a First-Year Intended Rhetoric major. Hmm…what else is there to know about me? I am from SoCal (San Diego!) and really enjoy reading and taking naps. Berkeley is amazing and I am so proud to be a Bear. At first I was a little nervous about being so far from home (I’m really close to my family) but the welcoming environment at Cal and my theme floor helped make the transition easier.

So to give you all an idea of my personality, I thought I would talk about a recent event here in Berkeley: the rain. So, it has been pretty sunny for the last week, I even busted out a sundress and sandals one day! Then…yesterday…the clouds rolled in, the wind began to blow a little, and the clouds cried. I love the rain as long as I am inside…when I have to walk around and run errands…not so fun. One bit of advice: the Underhill Parking Lot walkway to get to Unit 2 from Unit 1 has AH-MAZING puddles! (if you like puddles).

Hmm…anything else, introductions are always hard but I promise exciting posts in the coming weeks. Thank you for reading and I think I will end with a quote:

“The problem may not be that you need to find yourself. It may really be that you need the courage to BE yourself.”

Trisha - An Introduction

2010-02-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

I'm not that kind of person who likes to start at the beginning. Truthfully, I'm the exact opposite—when I see a stack of forms in front of me, I feel strangely compelled to skip right to the middle to start filling them out. Yes, I am aware that it's weird, because at first it's a little disorienting. Questions are numbered for a reason, you know. There's no sense in writing your GPA in the blank before you write your name at the top; it's one of the many valuable lessons you take with you from grammar school (another would be how to build a mission...).

Well, I guess I must have skipped that lesson because today, when filling out my EAP (Education Abroad Program) application for the Immersion program at Bologna (Ah! Spero andarci!) I did it again. I took that stack of papers, oh-so-meticulously printed in the correct order, shuffled it around and dove straight to the middle. The first prompt I encountered was

Your interests or life experiences which have influenced your choice of EAP option/country. (e.g. Have you ever visited your host country?)

...And, usually, this is the part where I realized I should have started with my name. Another Statement of Purpose. I thought I was over that when I got into Cal! And now it springs up on me once again, taunting me, bidding me, to try to recap my life in a limited number of words. There was no way I could simply put my pencil to paper and say that I chose to study Italian because of one Italian Studies Department professor's lecture I heard at CalSO (Cal Student Orientation). There was no quick path of words to explain that I read Dante's L'Inferno one afternoon before I came to Cal, transforming my life and viewpoint in one single line. In fact there are hardly any words in the common English language (or in Italian, or in any language, for that matter) to show who I am and how I am.

With this kind of opinion I used to think it's highly funny that I got into Berkeley. That's the kind of student you have to be, right? Achieving. All A's, all the time. Writing notes constantly, memorizing formulas, performing and outdoing (in my case, out-writing?) everyone else. And on top of it all, knowing—from the beginning—where you will be in four years.

Well, I'm only a sophomore, but it seems to me that the people I meet are never this type of student. Yes, they study on the weekends but they have good times too. Some have their lives figured out (oh, you confident freshmen, you!) but I'll bet you that all have or will change their life goals during college. That's absolutely fine. The people I meet never start from beginning to end. We're all stuck in these muddled life-forming years.

And in my opinion it's more interesting.

Lovely to meet you.

Name: Trisha R.
Year: 2
Major: English (minor in Geography?)
Housing: Stebbins co-op.

Starting as a Junior at Cal

2010-02-19T16:59:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to my blog! I hope that, through this, I’ll be able to give you guys an idea what life at Cal is like, and what kind of opportunities are available to Cal students. Firstly, I’d like to tell you a little about myself. I’m a 3^rd year transfer student. I transferred to Cal this year from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. I’m originally from Boston, Massachusetts. Cal is around 90% in-state this year, and being one of the few out-of-staters is definitely a cool experience.

Coming in as a 3^rd year was also an interesting experience, and fitting in is definitely more difficult than it was as a freshman, but with a little effort I felt like a true Golden Bear within a couple of weeks. Last semester I lived in Towle Hall in Unit 2. The room was so spacious and having someone clean the bathroom once a week was really great. I had one roommate and two suitemates. We all shared a bathroom (one toilet and one shower). At first it seemed like it might get a little crowded in the bathroom, but everyone has such different schedules that there was never really an issue. Unit 2 is really a great location because it’s less than a block away from Crossroads, the closest and biggest dining hall on campus.

There are great study rooms in Towle Hall and even some treadmills and elliptical machines. Unit 2 was really a great place to live last semester. This semester I moved into my fraternity, which has been really great, too. Greek life on campus definitely has a presence, but I wouldn’t say it’s dominating in any way. We have a lot of social events, and we have soccer, basketball, and softball intramural teams, which are always fun to play on. We also do a great deal of philanthropy and community service, and it’s great to have the fraternity to plan and organize various activities that I’m interested in.

Getting involved on campus is the perfect way to find your niche, friends, and something to be passionate about. Walking on Upper Sproul, you’ll see countless organizations that want more members and participants. In only my second semester at Cal I have tried to get involved in as much as I can in order to contribute to the Cal community. So far I’ve really noticed that the more I put into Cal, the more I’ve gotten out. More to come in my next post about the several organizations I’ve gotten involved with (so far).

Hello, All!

2010-02-19T13:48:00.000-08:00

My name is Natalie, and I am a first year microbial biology major. Being from the Los Angeles area, I'm a SoCal girl trying to find my way up here in the north, and sometimes I forget that it's still the same great state of California.

In some ways, UC Berkeley is what I expected it to be, but in many ways (mostly good), it is not at all what I thought it would be. To be completely honest, I didn't know too much about student life here, even though I did some research. The first time I had the vague notion I wanted to go to Cal was when I was inspired by the idea that I wanted to join the Cal marching band. I don't think I even knew exactly where Berkeley was located at that point. All I knew was that their football team and marching band were cool. Throughout high school, I learned that the academic side of Cal was pretty cool too. But it wasn't until after I was accepted during my senior year that I was finally able to make a visit, and that was when I knew this would be the right school for me and worth the distance away from home. Through my blogs, I hope to share my experiences as a UCB student with you, so that you can have a better sense of Cal. Even though the "Berkeley experience" is a giant, collective, and incredibly diverse idea, I'll share with you my small part of it.

The rankings will tell you that we're the best public school in the world, but I like this version of it better: "Berkeley has everything the Ivy League has, except better weather, a better football team, and a social conscience." -Professor Botterill, Department of Italian Studies

Go Bears!