Learning @ GW – Page 20 – Postcards from GW

Mid-terms, coffee and shopping

AdminOctober 13, 2014

It’s feels like we only just got here and made ourselves at home, but already reality has given us a slap in the face with the joy known as midterms.

In Scotland, we normally have only one exam and one paper due for each class, so having another exam thrown at you in the middle of a semester is a new experience. I’m not going to lie, I would much rather be having fun than reading the Federalists papers - which are apparently very important - but thus we are to here study amongst other things.

I actually think that the system here of almost continual testing is more rewarding, cramming last minute is somewhat less of an option.

Everyone has felt the need to buckle down and get some studying going before we can gallivant around the country in November. Our summer wardrobes have also all but come to the end with fall really coming alive in DC.

A lot of people I have spoken to had told me that fall in DC was best time to be here and I’m starting to see why. Festivals and Oktoberfests have been springing up across the city with a backdrop of golden foliage. It’s the sort of climate that makes you crave the warmth of a good cup of coffee whilst you study.

I’ve two favourite spots in the city so far. The first is Saxby’s Coffee in Georgetown (b/t N 35th St & N 36th St). It’s a bit of a walk from Foggy Bottom but its a great place to nestle in for an afternoon of studying/buzzfeed reading.

My other is The Coupe in Columbia Heights. Open until late and only a stones throw from my apartment, it’s a great place to spend the afternoon either inside or out; and in the evening part of the place turns into bar. A great reward for a day hard spent at ‘dem books.

With it being fall of course our summer wardrobes our almost useless, so I’ve some serious shopping has been in order. There’s no shortage in options with malls about across the city and the majority with excellent metro connections.

This past weekend I had the welcome bonus of the use of a car, meaning that we were able to pay a visit some malls in Silver Spring and Bethesda. Whilst it was only a short distance away it was great to get out the city and see somewhere else for a change.

1. The quest to gain more knowledge is an addictive substance but a hugely rewarding one.

AdminAugust 25, 2014

I’m Paul, a Political Science student from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and I’ll be blogging over the course of the next semester as a student at GW on exchange.

I’ve been a little unconventional in my life after high school, I dropped out of university after six-months, instead choosing to work for a political party in the Scottish Parliament. That was over six-years ago and I have to say, it was certainly different but very interesting. I went from a part-time job in the Scottish Parliament to a senior Press Advisor, riding in a helicopter with the First Minister of the country, to taking an awful selfie with President Clinton (see left) … And somehow, I found my way here. In the heart of democracy and a world-leading institution.

The years I spent working for the SNP - a progressive, center-left party who are currently responsibly for the referendum about to take place on September 18 - extremely rewarding and I’m hugely grateful for them, which made leaving that job and moving a few thousand miles away just before a decision is made that I’ve worked my entire adult life for, a difficult one.

I say it was a difficult, however when it came it down to it, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ll be able to visit an independent Scotland any time…

My expectations of the upcoming semester at GW is a mixture of positive excitement, with the occasional doubts of how it will be, living in another country, another city being so far away from everything and everyone I’ve come to know so well.

One of my motivating factors for returning to university was the opportunity to study abroad, however. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been able to travel modestly around some of Europe and North America before, but there’s always been the safety-net of returning home in a maximum of a few weeks.

However, the excitement is far the more prominent emotion that I’m feeling just now. I really can’t wait to begin!

Being a Political Science major means that DC is perfect for me and somewhere I can’t wait to explore. If America is the world’s melting pot, then DC is the melting pot of political ideas and beliefs.

I’m looking forward to experiencing those who may have views or beliefs I’ve not really encountered before. It may ask me to question some of my owns views and I suppose, that can only be a good thing.

I suppose, what I’m expecting is the unexpected. The new places, the new friends, the new culture, will all be something that is unique and the memories will be sure to last a lifetime.

There will be unrivalled joy and some heartache, lessons learnt and lessons taught. I always believe that if life throws you a curveball, there’s no harm in having a huge swing at it.

I guess - in the somewhat stereotypical image of my new, adopted homeland - come at me, Bro!

Friend, loves, adventures, learning and happy ending?

AdminApril 29, 2014

By inepalacios

Monday April 28, afternoon. My deadline to submit my last post is over. Again many plans during the week were the excuse. A baseball game as a goodbye event, a friend´s birthday, a ball with the Class Council, another birthday, a good bye party, a Latin Festival, applications for internships, a paper, and a conference with an Argentine senator in Georgetown University… these made me to leave the blog post to the last moment. Maybe it was unconscious because my last post means concluding something that I don’t want to finish. The reality is that there is two weeks left before the finals and that's it.

The last week, while I was organizing my papers, I founded a paper that said: “Goals at GW”: 1. Take advantage of DC; 2.Take advantage of the courses and professors; 3. Take advantage of the campus, 4. Enjoy the going outs; 5.Being part of one of the 300 organizations; 6. Know the entire city; 7.Continue running; 8. Speak English better; 9. Travel; 10. Meet new Americans and Worldwide friends.

Would I be able to do every of these goals in four months? Although I didn't have those goals on paper with me, it seems that these expectations didn't disappear from my mind because those were almost what I was doing.

Take advantage of DC. With hundred of international political organizations around the corner of my house, it was impossible not to go to one of their events. Seminar in the Inter-American Development Bank, receptions with ambassadors, discussion about taxation reforms, discussions in other universities. It was complicated to understand everything in English, but really enrichment. The few events I went convinced me how much political influent DC has.
Taking advantage of GW classes. Although I can’t say that I dedicated the same amount of hours of study as I had dedicated in Buenos Aires, although I missed the more deep discussions in my home university a lot, putting effort to understand the professors was a big challenge, sometimes it was frustrating but also worthwhile. I will bring with me an interesting approach of the American political system.
Taking advantage of GW Campus. The fact that my 5 classes were in 5 different buildings distributed around more than 15 blocks, closer to the IMF, World Bank, and the White House, or for instance the fact that the gym and the library are each one biggest than my home university, or the detail that we have some kind of free taxi even to go to a club, these kind of things remembered me that I have been in a first word university, in one located in the middle of a great city. I would not permit myself to not take advantage of that. Now, after three months I still finding new places to study, to hang out, to take a coffee, to enjoy it. I tried to spend my time outside of my room, changing place to study, changing every day my way to go to the classes, taking GW taxis, making friend with the drivers or just walking to the monuments after class.
Enjoy going out. Spending nice time was easy with my exchange friends, that always were willing to go to the parties on campus or to the clubs in the different neighborhoods. But I have to recognize that I missed my Argentine parties, the music, the long and later parties. Otherwise, although sometimes was impossible wake up as nothing had been happened, going out so earlier permitted me not to waste my next mornings.
Being part of one of the 300 student organizations of GW. There was a position to represent the exchange student in the International Committee of GW Class Council. I applied, I had an interview, and I was accepted! From that moment, I shared meeting, events, food, a formal party, and funny moments to remember. Until the last event I meet new interesting people.
Know the entire city and …
Continue Running. Thanks that I found a nice running team with energies to run around DC I could do both (6 and 7). We saw beautiful sunsets, visited hidden memorials, took different bridges, enjoyed the first and also the last cherry blossom, and knew new neighborhoods. I am still discovering new places.
Speak English better. I remember January 6 when I arrived to GW to the first time; just I could say some words and my nervousness didn’t help me. That nice first orientation week was mixed with frustration to not be able to communicate as the same way than Argentina. The fact of having that put my effort to understand the professors; to keep reading for each class, to write for the blog and paperclass, to be communicated with the people permitted me improved my English. It is like an achievement that I want to share it, learning to speak almost fluently in a language in less than a year is possible! With effort and willingness to make mistakes all the time, with patience is possible always.
Travel. I went to Boston, Massachusetts, obviously DC, New York and Florida. Amazing places! A bunch of memories from each one. Now, with Timo, Pepi, Matt, Ipek and I are planning to do a road trip to the west coast. Beginning in Texas, going to the Gran Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angles, California, among others places. I can’t believe it that I will be able to do that!
Know American and worldwide friends. The willingness of the international students to be friendly helped a lot. It was obviously that my first closer friends would be Hispanic. I founded example of persons, new ears, and new opinions in them. Thank Giss, Java, Agus, Inma, Pepi, Steph and Timo for that. But being able to speak better and with the guys’s patience to understand me, I could do friend from the rest of the world Souhia, Amna, Ipek, Oceane, Candice, Nadine, Soha, Ashraf, and Matt, the list will not end if a have to name all of the great exchange students that I met, the last ones that I named were who with I shared most of my time. I can’t forget my American friend Whitney and Meagan thank girls to be open to share time. Thanks to my roommate Emily although we didn’t spend a lot of time together, I have to say thanks for her pacience, mainly for my mess, and my unorganized hours. I can’t forget the friends that I meet before to came to the US, thank Steven, Ashley, Jake, thank to my best visits: Jeru and Kathi, and thank to my best host Emma. Some can call them networking, other accountants, but they were my friends with I shared this incredible four months.

But, without doubt my exchange was more than 10 achieved goals, were contrasting every daily detail as cultural differences, like enjoying hearing many languages on the street, to get used to new flavors, new times, new weathers, and new ways to socialize.

After my second-to-last post, where I numbered things that I had done, some friends asked about the think #21: Fall in love, fall out love, fall in love again. I have to recognize that it was a nice part of my exchange. I meet incredible people, intelligent, interesting, fun, funny. A date, a meal, a coffee, a running, a walk, a party are moments that I will remember.

Sometimes I felt bad, overconfidence to believe that I could be able to do so many goals at the same time. But the fact the coming here was hard made that the criteria of “take advantage of every opportunity” that never have disappeared. And that’s how my main concern appeared at least half of my exchange. How can be possible that studying political science, being in the main political city, I have not been working here? My first obstacle: my Visa doesn't allow me to work before the last four months. Now, after the fours months, the concern have been consumed a lot of my hours, locking internship, writing resumes, writing cover letter, asking for recommendation letters, looking funding, asking for extension of my visa, trying to change my plane tickets, among other things. I would love to say what I will do in the next weeks, but nothing is sure yet. Although there was no confirmed response I knew that I was pre-selected in the Organization of American States (OAS) among 500 students, in the main political forum of the Region that promotes and supports Democracy, Human Rights, Multi-dimensional Security and Integral Development in the Americas. Besides if I will be able to work there I want to fell that I made everything to work in DC.

If I remember my expectations less four years ago, in my high school, when I was simulating to be a political leader in the OAS, I never thought that I would won an scholarship to study in one of the best universities of my country, Di Tella, I never imagine that Di Tella would give the possibility to study in the US, that also in few time I would be able to speak in another language, to write, to research and communicate in English. And more important I never imagine that few years after I would be near to work in that organization where I had simulated to work. I never imagine all the growth that I experienced in these three years.

Although I miss my family, my friend, mi province Tucuman, mi little town Santa Maria, they are “my fuel” to realized that what means be in a place of the first word, taking advantage of its development, absorbing its culture, knowing new perspectives to be applied in my country. Although I miss Di Tella, my friend of Buenos Aires, mi friends of the university, they also was “my fuel” to put in practice what they taught me, to take advantage of the life without the social structures that they helped to break, to put sacrifice when was necessary, and not to stop to look for excellence in each of my challenges as they demonstrated me.

I realized that I am more Argentine that I imagined, just only seeing a lot American using alpargatas (espadrilles), or drinking our wines made feel proud form our exported culture. An anecdote, I promise that is almost the last one, I was in New York subway, crowd of people, almost sick after walk in the around the city with unsupportable cold, suddenly I heard an Argentinean song, a song of carnival, for a moment I got goose bumps. I realized how far away I was, how out of context the song was, but how into mine was. I remembered the dances of carnival in the school, the festival in the summers, and the Sundays playing a guitar with the family, things that I can’t change for nothing.

Whit the same intensity, but with lack of proud, I was running from a class to a seminar en the Inter American Developed Bank, I took a taxi, and the taxi driver said me: I bought the bonds offered by your former president Menem, and I lost them with your former president Kirchner, I lost the majority of my capital in them. It was awkward to hear someone disadvantaged by the corruption of one of my governments and by the celebrated restoration of our debt. This was one of these random experiences when thousand of questions came to my mind, when the gains to learn more came up, an energy to be prepared to contribute to some change in the political system of my country, or in my province, or simply in my Santa Maria , the moment when I fell responsible to put optimist in my political system, and be conscientious that my society is still having thousand of urgency problems.

In these last months I learned a lot.

I learned that we are more similar than different, maybe because we leave in the same privilege bubble to study in a university.

I learned that sometimes I need a limit of time, like this fours months, or/and a limit of resources to value every opportunity as a moment impossible to don’t take advantage.

"I learned that I don’t have to limit myself to dream, and I have work for that, being sure that I tried everything to get it, before than to give up saying that I can’t do it."

I found evidence to something that a friend said me… that the life always surprise us, it takes the course that it thinks and we can do nothing but address it, take it, embrace it and learn from it.

I learnt that my parents are the best with me, to support beside that the sacrifice that could mean.

I really wish to stay more time in DC. But I don't know if there will be a far happy ending working in DC, at least now everything was incredible, and it was also incredible to write it. So thank so much to those who choose me to write, to those who corrected me and to everyone who read me.

The inverted bell curve of a semester abroad

AdminApril 21, 2014

By aaront162

It’s the nearing the end of April and in turn, nearing the end of a semester abroad. With my mind quite firmly set to “analytical mode” as the last flurry of assignments begin to come into focus, I’d like to present a little diagram which I feel pretty much sums up the experience of being on exchange.

At the start of the curve is the enthusiasm of being somewhere new – of that long needed break from the drudgery of law school readings about lawsuits involving tainted oysters and snails in beer bottles. You meet a bunch of new people also on exchange and its great – over the course of the next few weeks there are plenty of get-togethers, and lots of travelling and exploring (one of the great advantages of a city campus no doubt). You start building friendships and bonds over terribly planned but immensely fun road trips and spontaneously put together parties. Classes have just started and the workload really isn’t that bad and perhaps not that different (or even lighter) than what you would get back at home.

Then, there is inevitably a dip somewhere. Mid-semester assignments suddenly emerge from the fray, and nights spent in the library sustained by caffeine start to reconfigure your sleeping patter to something that even most nocturnal animals would find hard to comprehend. Of course, this also tends to mean most of your other fellow exchange students are also bogged down with assignments as well. On top of this, there may or may not polar vortexes. Your Facebook newsfeed becomes a startling contrast between snow filled streets and pictures of your friends back home relaxing on the beach on a warm sunny day. A really good friend has their 21st birthday and you are a couple thousand miles away. A little homesickness starts to kick in.

But then hey, you survived your mid-semester assignments and submitted then (barely) in time. And then all of a sudden it’s time for Spring Break – who knew that one day you would actually need a break from exchange? Regardless, it has come at just the right time. All of a sudden, your enthusiasm has come right back. You meet a whole new bunch of people, get to travel and explore a whole new place. You come back refreshed and energized and guess what? Your mid-semester results are pretty good. On top of this, the weather is starting to warm up – the Spring semester wasn’t some terrible joke. You spend a lot more time outdoors. The next batch of assignments aren’t really that bad and perhaps it’s just too nice of a day to really be worrying about them too much anyway. You get to see the national mall lined in a sea of white and pink and as touristy as that may be, it is still pretty cool.

Then just as things just seem to settle in nicely, you are reminded that the end is drawing near. Email after email will provide you with checklist after checklist of administrative loose strings to tie up and check off. You start to wonder how you are going to fit all that stuff you bought back into your suitcase. The possibility that you might actually miss your charmingly messy dorm room begins to dawn. But at least you can start making plans for those few weeks left in your visa to really start travelling and exploring the country which delays the goodbyes for a few extra weeks.

Exchange Rates, Kimchi, and Michelle’s Garden

AdminJanuary 22, 2014

By nimames

Orientation week. Check. Meeting everybody. Check. Trying to remember everybody’s name. Check. First week of classes. Check.

This first week of classes seemed surreal to me maybe because I’ve been so engrossed by all the activities that were planned. But the first week was almost as entertaining as the previous one. Granted, classes and professors and syllabi meant the end of an era and the beginning of endless readings, assignments and papers. However, the first week of classes was as interesting as it was entertaining.

On Tuesday, a friend and I had the immense pleasure of going to the concert of Jay-Z. For someone who has not been to many concerts, being to the Verizon center was really impressive. First, the stadium was huge; I’d never seen so many people squeeze in in one closed space before. Second, the sheer diversity of people that attended and the uniqueness of characters that I’ve seen was something new. Weird haircuts, huge high heels, colorful outfits and much more made the first concert I attended in the U.S. much more than just a musical event.

The next day was the day I met the coolest professor to ever grace the face of the planet: my political economy professor. Although the class is rather challenging and was all about fixed exchange rates, debt ceiling, and congress bills, I can say that Pr. Kaplan is by far one of the best professor I ever had. He’s the type of professor who has Simpson characters up on his slides and who uses Hunger Games and Twilight analogies to explain theories of international relations and principles of economy.

The following day; Thursday, was the busiest day. We decided to treat ourselves and go to Korean BBQ in Annandale (Kogiya Korean BBQ). I already had Korean back home but Korean BBQ was new to me. The meat was cooked in front of us, on round small burners that were built in the table. Rice and spicy soup was served with it in addition to the most delicious and perfectly cooked egg I ever had the pleasure of tasting.

Friday came and having only one morning class, a friend and I decided to walk down the White House. It was something I wanted to do for a long time but haven’t got around doing it what with all the activities we had. To be honest, the white house wasn’t as I had imagined it. It was just a house that happened to be white and it wasn’t that big even! However, when we turned around the block to the backside of the house, BAM, that was the White House I imagined, with the domes, the balcony and the ivory white, the big not so green lawn and Michelle’s garden of course.

Saturday came and it was the yet another day of culinary discover. Since it was restaurant week in DC, fancy restaurants offered a 3 course meal with only 20 dollars. We went to a great Spanish restaurant called La Taberna del Albardero that served the most amazing food ever. My first doubts were confirmed: DC was definitely a culinary city where one could experience the most amazing dishes from all over the world and I couldn’t wait to taste new, exotic and foreign flavors. Although I’m most certainly going to put on a few pounds but if that’s the price to pay for culinary heaven then so be it !

Malay-Muslim

AdminOctober 1, 2013

By falseconscious

It’s not classy to take pot shots at one’s own country now that one is thousands of miles away. However, I feel, the following has been and will be a significant part of my exchange experience.

My identity, being a Malay and Muslim, does not really stand out here in the diversity of students in GWU. Yet, somehow, I feel who I am matters in the sense of the nuances that it brings to my perspective of life in DC.

Academic Performance

I am reminded again here, like in my freshman year, of the desire to do well. It has something to do with being new to the environment, having to revisit my identity and express it.

I must first give some form of context for you to follow. Firstly, being Malay in Singapore is socially interpreted as being Muslim to the same extent that Koreans, Taiwanese and Chinese are just perceived as a monolithic “Asian”. Secondly, the academic “underperformance” of Malays as and our “general socio-economic well being” behind the other major ethnic groups are among the most discussed social issues in Singapore. A local equivalent – although really much different – is probably a mixture of the African-American and Native American social issues the American society may be concerned with.

So – and some of you may already guess my tone while trying to be politically correct here – that it stands as an “achievement” that a Malay is here in GWU and doing well in school.

What more if he scores full marks for an essay, topped his class, and claimed a free cupcake from Sprinkles.

For most students here, doing well in college is just a product of effort and an expression of academic desire and is part and parcel of college life. Some people get As. Just a fact of college life.

For me though, having been through an education experience that included various extents of racial ideas and emotions, doing well is proving a point.

Sometimes “doing well” is disproving the idea that my culture and religion is in any way inferior to the nauseating overtures of Confucianism stuffed down our throats in an attempt to somehow demonstrate Asian values. Also – and this is rare and some of you may find it strange that such ideas still persist – “doing well” shows that I am biologically and genetically equal with my fellow Chinese Singaporeans. Not to mention that a good “academic performance” in seeking knowledge, is not merely “Asian” in the state-defined Confucian sense, but is also part of my identity as well.

“Race” is a messy and complicated issue that would hardly fit on this blog post even if I talked about it in all my posts.

Just to keep things simple for now: even though my grades don’t count and I just need to get a pass, getting an A in GWU meant something to me, no matter how small the assignment or test, because it has always meant something to me throughout my life as a Malay and a Muslim. I am not overly competitive. It just means that aside from being grateful, I have a small emotional dynamic to the psychological process of grading that would lead me to say something like:

“I am happy to be a Malay-Muslim doing well in my short time in GWU”.

Religious and Secular

My imagination of life for a Muslim here would be one that is much more difficult than life in Singapore. After more than a month here, a simple comparison tells a different story.

Food is something I take for granted in Singapore. Two words: abundance and cheap.

Therefore, I can safely put aside that variable, despite my Halal dietary requirements, because any Singaporean would argue that the food here is more expensive, or that certain ingredients are hard to find.

Enjoying a hearty but relatively “cheaper” meal in Mehran’s, a Halal Indian food outlet in the area.

The expression of the “religious” and “secular” presents itself as the independent variable.

As in Singapore, there are mosques here in DC, which are accessible by private and public transportation. There are even similar niche religious-activities I would usually go for.

What is different though is where religion expresses itself in public areas, especially schools, which would usually be reserved as “secular” in Singapore. A heated and sensitive issue is the wearing of hijabs for those in uniforms such as students or nurses.

Sitting amongst locals and foreigners in an Islamic center sharing stories after a session of the remembrance of “God” and the prophet (peace be upon him). I wore this in the Metro all the way to Shady Grove where this event was held in an attempt at participant observation. Hardly an eyebrow was raised throughout the journey.

The issue of footbaths in American colleges: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/world/americas/07iht-muslims.4.7022566.html?_r=0

A weaving of religious into the secular goes for all religions here. There are churches among buildings here in the Campus.

The most commonly heard “reprimanding”-statement used by politicians and community leaders alike in Singapore when we ask for more “space” for us to practice, is that if space is given to one, space must be given to all; something along the lines of: “if we allow you to pray in school, then we must also built temples for the Buddhists and churches for the Christians”.

A footbath here is a huge blessing, let alone an entire room. In Singapore, prayer areas for Muslims are unofficial and technically illegal (sometimes it is a hidden staircase) and ablution (that’s washing parts of our body before we pray) is a messy process.

Being a Muslim undergraduate in Singapore is an enriching and lively experience. The experience here in GWU is similar, if not better in many ways.

Defense

Again, it’s not classy to take “pot shots”, and I did not intend to at all throughout this post. I am merely highlighting some of the key differences in student life.

Despite my own qualms with education in Singapore, I am somewhat proud to be its product.

In proud defense, my home university is ranked 29^th in the world by “Times Higher Education”, 22^nd in “World Reputation” by the same evaluator, 24^th by QS World University Rankings, 17^th in the world for the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, 2^nd in Asia.

For god’s sakes we’re not in China, we speak English and certainly, we’re among the best schools in the world – and I have a free cupcake from Sprinkles for my A-graded essay to prove it.

First Week of Independence

AdminSeptember 3, 2013

Living on Campus

I was assigned a room in Ivory Tower with the most awesome roommates I can ever ask for.

Haziq (National University of Singapore), James (Uni Melbourne), Andreas (Copenhagen Business School), and Muhammed (National University of Singapore)

In the temple of the great emancipator, we sealed the bond of roommate-ship with a photograph, after a day’s worth of persistent counsel by those who have had bad experiences to compose a “Roommate Agreement”.

Being laid-back and very trusting of each other, we have yet to talk about anything related to any document of understanding ever since this photo was taken. The only thing we agreed upon was to take turns buying milk. The only other consensus was that cockroaches are not welcomed in our apartment.

I have stayed on campus back home occasionally to finish assignments and to do group work with friends, but this is a whole new experience. If I’m not making my own breakfast, I could get a dose of caffeine on my way out and before my hair dries, I’m already in class, answering a question, barely having swallowed a sandwich.

Now that I’m more orientated with the Foggy Bottom area, I find myself bravely using shortcuts to classes, confidently grabbing cheaper options for groceries on my way back to my room, comfortably eating from the many cafes, delis, vendors and food trucks around (I need my food to be halal) and smartly keeping quarters in my pocket for the trip to the laundry (when I say trip I mean 5 short strides to the machines across my room door).

Lessons and Challenges

I don’t have much to say about the classes I have so far since it has only been a week but what I can say is that I enjoy the “class participation” atmosphere here. My home university has vibrant and competitive “tutorials”, or the equivalent of discussion sections here, especially for participation. Here, participation also extends to “lectures” with impromptu polls and sharing of opinions on required readings as well as related current affairs. As a political science student, I somehow feel “at home”.

However, my greatest challenge here so far is the deficit of knowledge I have with regards to issues of local context. I am able to discuss theories and issues in general, but occasionally, I find myself lost when a reference is made regarding, for instance, the education system in the United States. Often, I am the only one not laughing when the lecturer makes a joke that only Americans would understand. I predict my non-involvement would get more serious as the weeks pass and I will have to borrow a few extra books to read over the weekends – I may still not laugh along, but at least, I hope, I will not be left behind in class.

I did get my first chance to “keep up” when a lesson was cancelled and I managed to catch President Obama giving a speech at the Lincoln Memorial!

YES! YES! YES!

To end off my first week, I went for some family-entertainment at the Verizon Center – WWE Live! I was a wrestling fan when I was very young and, like how I’m unfamiliar with U.S. politics, I had to “catch up” and learn about the new characters.

I found myself sympathetic towards “Daniel Bryan” and I loved chanting along with the crowd to cheer him on. Can I make it through the rest of this semester? YES! YES! YES! YES!

GW students, brace yourselves… Mid-terms are coming

AdminFebruary 25, 2013

By zelenkal

Everybody must have noticed that Gelman has become the busiest place on campus. The reason is simple – midterm exams are close and students are submitting a lot of papers these days. For most of us, classes involve more than just the lively discussions we have been having during the first weeks of the semester. It has become quite a stressful period of time. However, even in light of this information, I can still praise the classes and the learning environment generally.

I cannot possibly express how grateful I am to all the professors at George Washington University. All of the them are willing to help anytime and are never annoyed or bothered by our questions. In contrast to my home university, they all want to make sure we are doing our best, are curious about our work, and interested in its progress. Taking courses from two different departments – English and Woman Studies – showed me that it is the University code, not the departmental one.

Quite a new experience for me is having teaching assistants in our classes. Again, I think it is a great idea. They are mostly PhD students, therefore one is less intimidated to approach them. Moreover, it makes professors more relaxed since the assistants are very helpful to them as well. Mostly it means that the professors do not have to worry about some technical issues, and thus can fully concentrate on the class and discussions.

Outside of class it is crucial to find a good spot for studying. The above mentioned Gelman library, located just two blocks from my residence hall, is certainly very helpful, mostly because it is open 24 hours a day all week long. Starbucks (“Gelbucks” in the campus slang) situated right next door is open all day long as well; one can certainly use a cup of joe, when finishing a paper the night before it is due (unfortunately, I know what I am talking about). Other than the hours, Gelman's main advantage is the possibility to reserve a small study room for yourself and your friends in advance. This is what I have found very useful. You are not disturbed by others and at the same time you don't have to be afraid of disturbing them, when talking to your friends. When encountering any troubles, you can always talk to a person in charge, most of them are very nice and willing to help despite the late hours. After spending a night in Gelman writing a paper, I recommend printing it right there in the library, so that a tangible proof of your accomplishment is in your hands and makes stepping out to the empty street awaiting the sunrise more pleasant.

I believe I am not the only one who is counting the days to Spring Break. This has been a couple of stressful days and some more are to come. However, when finishing the work and having it marked, you can tell the effort pays. But I guess that this is quite a universal aspect of studying.

You say, I say …

AdminFebruary 19, 2013

By claudiadev

One of the big differences I've noticed since being in America is the language barrier. Not the same barrier the other exchange students’ experience - I'm hopeless with languages and so impressed with their bilingual abilities! The language barrier I'm experiencing is the different words and terminology. To illustrate, here's a list of Australian words (and abbreviations) I say, and the American words I'm learning to say. I’ve also put the words in a conversation, just to hopefully illustrate the confusion.

Corridor/Hallway or Hall – “My friend Rhiannon lives down the Corridor.” “You mean down the hallway?”

Lift/Elevator – “Why are you catching the elevator, you live on the second floor.” “I’m not catching the elevator, I’m catching the lift…”

Ground Floor/First Floor – “The mailboxes are on the Ground Floor right?” “Uhh, they’re on the first floor?”

Bin/Trash – “Throw the leftovers in the Bin” “The bin? I was thinking of just putting them in the trash?”

Runners/Sneakers – “Let me just pull my runners on and then I’m ready for the gym.” “Okay…oh, you mean your sneakers!”

Jumper/Sweater – “I need to buy a new jumper, it’s freezing here.” “Why would a dress help” “I mean a sweater!”

Keen/Interested or excited – “I’m keen to go for Sweet Green for lunch, are you?” “Keen? Oh, you mean excited! Sure, that sounds good”

Sunnies/Sunglasses – “My sunnies have broken!”

Arvo/Afternoon – “Want to go to Bourbon for a coffee in the Arvo?” “The arvo? When’s that?”

Kilometers/Miles – “The airport is about 20 miles away.” “…how many kilometers is that?”

Grams/Ounces – “The recipe says I need 125 grams of butter…but this is in ounces…I’m going to need to Google this!”

Centimeters and Meters/Inches and Feet – “The mail box is around 15 meters away” “…and in feet that is?”

Celsius/Fahrenheit – “It’s 2 degrees outside!” “Oh my gosh that’s freezing…wait, you’re speaking in Celsius right?” ”It’s still freezing in Celsius!”

Arvo isn’t the only word I shorten. It’s become highly amusing to my roommates when they hear a new word in my laziness I’ve decided to shorten. My roommate Jesse is now Jess, and the Library is the Libs. Luckily DC and GW are full of acronyms, so my abbreviations aren’t too out of place amongst the FoBoGro and HelWel nicknames thrown around.

The other language nuance that I find amusing is the spelling. Aluminium is spelt Aluminum here, whereas I would write standardise, here it’s standardize. Not to mention the colour/color spelling discrepancy thanks to Noah Webster (of the dictionary fame). He was a proponent spelling reform, and some of his advocated changes caught on, like removing the u from –our spellings, and the aforementioned Aluminium/Aluminum difference.

Luckily, so far the different terminology and nuances of language have caused amusement rather than confusion, but it’s only a matter of time before there’s a real cultural clash!

Academics in the USA & Australia

AdminFebruary 12, 2013

By claudiadev

In many ways the differences between academics at Australian and American universities are few and far between. But there are also some stark differences that have taken some adjusting to.

For one thing, during lectures at home we’d rarely be asked questions and never would the class just be given free reign to discuss the topic at hand. Partly this is due to the size of the lectures, but even in a lecture of 16 students last semester at home we didn’t often have discussions in the lectures. I gather in some underclassmen classes here they have a similar set up to home, with large lectures and smaller discussion classes (what we call tutorials at home). But here, in upperclassmen classes, I’ve sat in a philosophy class where for a good 20 minutes we went off on a tangent discussing if aliens feel pain (there was no clear answer, as it turns out!). My Health Law class is 2 and a half hours of analyzing cases, raising issues and brainstorming as a class when the answer isn’t immediately clear. My Modern Architecture professor is a fan of randomly selecting a name off the class list, and quickly asking a question you have no hope of knowing unless you’ve properly read the readings. The benefit of class discussions, and being asked questions (and asking some of our own) is that there’s far less chance of getting bored, and it makes the longer classes take far less time.

Another big difference I’m finding a little challenging is the assessments here in the US. Generally, in classes at home we’ll have two big assessments a semester – one long mid-semester essay and one final essay or exam. Here, one of my subjects has 5 short essays as well as the final exam! The advantage of the approach at home is that you have fewer assignments to worry about overall, but you also have no way of knowing your progress until quite late in the semester. As much as I’m dreading all the assignments I have due over the next two weeks I can see the benefit in knowing my progress at this point in the semester, and being able to evaluate what my strengths and weaknesses are in each subject, and how I should best address these in future assignments.

One thing that hasn't changed, despite the hundreds of miles and 16 hour time difference, is the mountain of readings I need to get through each week. Mostly this is because I picked two reading intensive majors but I'm finding it a struggle to fit in readings in between the actual assignments, exploring DC and having fun! Hopefully I'm doing enough...

The truth will tell once this batch of assignments are marked and I get my results!