Swatify Yourself

Cooking in DC

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:09:55 GMT

Here is a collection of food I've made over the summer...

I have discovered...(drum rolls)...the JOY OF COOKING! I never would have thought that I would enjoy it but there is something really enjoyable about the slow process. It teaches patience, learning to trust your intuition and five senses, and creativity--all things that I'm working on. So really, I love it, and if you don't believe me, ask Liz, Urooj, and Tiff. I, Klambert, have become obsessed with cooking.

I'm a big fan of fresh vegetables! Yep, that's not even canned corn..it's corn that I cut from the cob. yum. Pasta makes multiple appearances in this series simply because it's so simple so I try to be creative with the other dishes.

Here's a typical dish..zucchini, bell peppers, chicken + pasta. simple and quick but still tasty.

Here's where I tried to copy a dish my sister made last summer. She fried mahi mahi fish with tom yum sauce with bell peppers and green onions. Above is a version of that but apparently I'm not great at cooking fish so it didn't turn out as well but it still quite tasty nevertheless. And anyway, the bell peppers make the dish look so pretty!

Mmmm, here's where the good stuff starts! My sister also made some tasty spicy salmon sushi last year, and I replicated it with some success last weekend. I cooked some rice, added generous squirts of lemon and a tad bit of salt, and rolled it into sushi with cucumber and smoked salmon mixed with green onions and chili-garlic sauce. Delicious!

Last weekend, Althea came over and I had been dreaming about steak for awhile so we decided to get some steak and green beans with red onions. I cooked it past the point where the steak could moo but it was nevertheless good for the first time I've ever cooked steak. The green beans, on the other hand, were amazing--crunchy and flavorful after having soaked up the steak juice. double yum!

Here is some baked salmon that was simple and tasty. Trader Joe's (now referred to affectionately be me as "Joe's") sells decently priced wild-caught Alaskan salmon. All I did was cover it in some olive oil, oregano, basil, chili powder, salt and maybe some pepper and stick it into the oven.

Ahh, and this is one of my personal favorites. When I was a kid, my mom used to make pico de gallo, and I was recently craving some so I decided to try it out. I got some tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers, limes, and green onions. All I did was chop the vegetables up and squeeze lots of lime into the mixture and add a bit of salt. Homemade, fresh pico de gallo really is a treat. If you want to make this yourself, I would suggest adding lemon, fresh chili peppers, and hard (less-ripened) tomatoes.

post-Swat! in DC!

Sat, 23 May 2009 16:19:03 GMT

I am now officially a week removed from Swat! Very sad that sophomore year is over, well, sort of. It needed to end because I needed to get to the summer..haha

That aside, I'm fairly happy with the way I did in my classes since they were all a challenge in their own ways this past semester.
In American Politics, I had a really difficult time writing short, concise, succinct essays and I improved my judgment on what was necessary detail/argument and what needed to put in the footnotes (or not included at all). I also discovered how to use footnotes wisely! I hadn't used it much in the past except for citations but I learned that as I thought more about what I was writing, it just seemed natural that my brain would say "...and you should footnote this." I'm really glad that I took this class because I absolutely love American Politics.
In Practical Wisdom, well, I had a crisis about life while taking this class. I would come back from seminar at 12:45 am and wouldn't be able to sleep until 3...haha, yea. This class was wonderful and it made me really think about the way that I make decisions, the way I approach work, life, etc. Yes, I know it all sounds very general but the class was truly a transformative experience, and I guess you'll just have to come to Swat yourself to take it! For example, we debated on the value of bureaucracies in schools and the healthcare industry, the role of emotions in decision-making, intuition versus rational step-by-step decision-making, etc. Look here at Prof Schwartz's TED talk on practical wisdom for an idea of what practical wisdom is. Prof Schwartz and my Practical Wisdom Prof (Sharpe) are both working on a book right now.. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html It's an important topic that I believe needs to be taken into serious consideration and make its way into national dialogue. So, anyway, that was a challenge all together in itself because I had to re-consider my own thoughts and ways of thinking, and I walked out of the seminar with new ideas, perspectives, and questions.
In Physics of Musical Sound, I had a good time learning about something that I had no prior knowledge in. I literally had no idea what I was getting myself into but got a glimpse of the mechanics of sound. It was difficult because some of the more advanced concepts required an understanding of advanced physics which we could only learn theoretically. I ended off the class by writing a paper on Enya and Celtic music. It was a great experience because I learned to ask different questions and write a research-based analytical paper that is completely different from my usual poly sci papers.
Urban Economics..I absolutely loved the class. This was something that I had taken just because I needed a class that fit my schedule, and some friends had told me that enjoyed it. I knew that I liked studying cities from freshman year but being someone who grew up in a suburb of one of the largest cities in the world, I had never thought much about the transportation system, layout of the city, importance of municipal policy, etc. I think that a lot of our perception and characterization about urban policy is shaped by where we live (if we live close to a city, that is) and what we see around us in the media. I love cities even more now, and whenever I am in a city (which is now), I start to notice things like, windows of shops facing the street ("eyes on the streets," a term coined by Jane Jacobs who was critical of America's urban renewal projects. This class gave me a way to think about how "space" is used.

So, it's been two years since I've been at Swat..halfway through? my goodness. And what do I have to say? Nothing much I suppose besides the fact that I love it there. Sophomore year was challenging but I found some amazing friends along the way and realized that I couldn't do everything or have everything without sacrificing my health, stress, happiness, all that good stuff. I think I came into Swat thinking that it would be just like high school, where I could do fifty gazillion things, sleep little, put a bit of work into high school work, and just get by. My mentor had told me that college would be different but I didn't really believe him until this year, when I took a step back and thought about what my priorites are. And don't get me wrong..there are people who do get by sleeping little, being involved in 50 gazillion things, doing amazing in school, and are happy but I am not like that. I need sleep. In fact, I need "a lot" of it, i.e. 8 hours (you know, the normal amount that doctors recommend but probably most of the world doesn't get). I still overcommit myself at times but I have to indulge myself once in awhile, right? :)

So I'm in a great place right now, in life and in reality. I've been staying with a Swat alum and his wife, two wonderful people, I must add. I've started my internship with the Girl Scouts Public Policy and Advocacy office, and it has been amazing. I feel like it is work that I could see myself doing for years. I've just been learning about the issues that our office focuses on including girls' emotional health in addition to their physical health, encouraging girls to pursue Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, etc. It's also been exciting, exploring the city, learning about the bus & rail lines, getting lost (or at least thinking that I'm lost), cooking for myself (hahaaaaa), learning to keep track of my money, etc etc etc. It's been a GREAT experience so far even though I've been so tired from all of it. I'll be moving into GWU dorm housing tomorrow, and I am excited because that means that my friends will be coming to town soon! I'm actually heading back to Swat in 2 weeks to work for alumni weekend so I'll be reunited with a bunch of Swatties then! And to use a term my friends have coined, "the summer of awesome" has begun!

finals?

Sun, 10 May 2009 05:02:44 GMT

I'm in the middle of finals season and I've gotta say I've been doing more sleeping (catching up on sleep, that is) than studying. I had my crazy period about 1-2 weeks ago so now I'm down to a final that is due in 12 hours and a paper due in a couple days...yay! This sounds ridiculous but I have had enough time to study and do this final and paper that I am really enjoying it. Reading through my American Politics notes makes me really want to take the American Politics honors seminar but we'll see...Anyway, a couple updates..the big chair is back (thank goodness), the allergies on this campus are turning me into a pumpkin (but really, thank goodness for Claritin!), free food including cookies, sushi, pico de gallo, etc. have been amazing, the campus is beautiful and green and sufficiently hot and humid enough for my liking..and I guess nothing much since everyone is frantically studying, i.e. there are still people screaming outside of my window right now so I guess not everyone is being studious. So I'm not sure what to make of all this but I'll be leaving Swat in a week! yea..A WEEK. It's a little scary since I'll have to pack up my whole sophomore year life into four large tubs and a suitcase and pack it away. I'm actually not going home until mid-July since I'll be spending 1/2 the summer in DC. And to make my time this summer even better, three good friends will also be in DC this summer (in addition to the ones who I will be living with! I guess the other big announcement is that I will be taking next semester off to do a fellowship in DC so I'm not sure if I will be updating in this blog. I had wanted to study abroad but I just wasn't able to find a program that I really liked so I started looking at domestic programs instead, and I was really lucky to find a program that is perfect for me. I guess the sad part is that I've spent the last two years with a bunch of Swatties and I won't get to see them for at least another year or so. Some are going abroad to Oxford for a year and others are going abroad in the spring, which is when I will be coming back on-campus. It's a very strange situation but hey, there's always email and videochatting! :( I guess the other question that I'm getting a lot is whether I will be graduating on time and the answer is yes. I have just enough credits to take a semester off, graduate on time, and still fit on all my honors seminars and required classes which in my opinion is really neat! I really feel like I need this break and I'm excited that the timing is right, the program is right, and really, life is just good.

So maybe I'll update later on this week when I'll be completely done and packing but if not, have a great summer and congrats to the Swarthmore c/o 2009 and congrats to the Swarthmore c/o 2013 and I guess I might as well congratulate every other class year for finishing the year!

April!

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:13:47 GMT

Hello, everyone..I'm very much happily alive! The last couple weeks at Swarthmore have gone by in a whirlwind. ...or more like a fast-moving hurricane. haha. I've just been doing 50 million things...a couple thoughts and then pictures! So our Global Education Week for the Village Education Project turned out really well. We hosted a Black-tie Charity Auction at the end of the week as our culminating fundraiser, and it was a huge success! Our Directors of Development did an amazing job with really involving the whole Swat campus including students, faculty, and staff. On another happy note, I am now officially an Honors Poly Sci major with a Public Policy minor! Very exciting but I've gotta say that I've really been questioning whether or not I want to do honors. I know I do because I LOVE (really, I love it) the Honors program at Swat but it's going to be a lot of work. ...but it will be very rewarding and amazing, I know it will be. haha, so anyway, I'll probably stick with it but it just always happens after I decide to take on a difficult, challenging venture that I start to question whether I really want to do it. On another happy note, I've figured out my summer plans and will be interning in DC and rooming with three Swatties! I am ridiculously excited for this! I've been planning this out in my head...cooking dinner at night with other students, sitting under a tree on weekends reading with a pile of strawberries and cold, iced water beside me, going to the free Kennedy Center concerts, running along the reflecting pool, etc etc. I'm now about to go into hibernation for the next two weeks since I have a ridiculous number of papers due but I'll be ok, I hope!

Here are some nice pics..

swat students & staff at the Black-tie Charity Auction!

the nice pottery that was auctioned, donated by Swarthmore Professor Heren and student, Levi Mahan

the on-campus Village Ed Project group!

Goodbye spring break :(

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:05:03 GMT

I'm sitting here in my bed, lamenting the end of spring break. I ended up Amtrak-ing up to Monreal with Zoe (a Swattie) and my sister. We had a really college-y experience, and even though we didn't get to "do" much, I had a great time navigating the city...strictly by subway! (well we took the taxi once but only because it was freezing and we didn't want to walk) We didn't have a car, no parents, a couple bucks in our pockets (American money too..)..it was just up to us and a couple maps to figure things out. It was quite the exciting challenge nevertheless, and I would really like to go back to Montreal during the summer because it really is a beautiful city et je peux pratiquer mon francais (qu'il est mal). yikes..and to think that I took all those years of French? haha. So after Montreal, I spent a couple of fabulous days in NYC and had a great time going to comedy/stand-up shows and a jazz cafe, baking cupcakes from scratch, and just having food fusion food. I can really see myself living in NYC in the future...jazz cafes open on a Tuesday night? yes!

Anyway, I'm back at Swat, "cooking," sending in internship apps, catching up on work and all that good stuff. The Village Education Project is hosting a Global Education Week next week at Swat so we've been doing a lot of prep for that! We're doing a Sharples takeover (showing a slideshow of pics during lunch), showing a movie about global ed, having an international student panel about education around the world, hosting a Parrish Parlors Party featuring...EMPANADAS!!! and ending off our week with a "black-tie" people auction which should be pretty fun. I'm really excited about it and will hopefully be putting up some pictures of the events from next week :)

Btw, if you're interested in volunteering in Ecuador this summer, tutoring students in English and Math, please email me. (KLAM1 [at] swarthmore.edu) Applications are due next month but contact me now to request more info and an application!

Well here are a couple pre-spring break pics (they're all actually from the same day) and a spring break pic for kicks..

There was a big snow storm a week or two ago and Sharples turned on the fire (the REAL deal, not the gas/electric stuff) so we decided to sit in front of the fire and eat. :) ...and chat..and sit there for a verrry long time

Then as Shilpa and I were walking towards the library, we bumped into Liz and decided we should take a picture with her.

another pretty picture of the snowstorm

post-snowstorm taken by my sister

And here's a picture from Montreal...

way too many pictures

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:55:07 GMT

So I think that I'll go with a couple words and many pictures for this entry. I'm just a bit tired at the moment--sophomore paper (i.e. deciding the rest of my two years at Swat) due tomorrow and midterm/paper season these two weeks. But hey, spring break starts THIS FRIDAY! or in my case, 12 pm this Thursday. I have some ridiculous cool plans for spring break...they involve Amtraking my way up to Canada with my sister and a friend and spending some days in NYC. The only problem is that I can't get to those cool plans until I finish work...until later!

Amelia applying for a Cooper Foundation Grant (with her stack of applications)

Estelle (from our Large Scale Event)

Estelle's (hilariously talented) backup dancers

SCREW your roommate!

Diego & Neena (surf 'n turf.. ha ha)

Zoe and Ted (something from Flight of the Conchords)

Sam, the hipster

the story of my life

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:33:52 GMT

I'm not sure if it's only Swatties who use this phrase (or perhaps the rest of the world) but I've been finding that people say "that's the story of my life" in response to literally everything. One common example...if I say to my friend that I have way too much reading to do, she/he will respond with "that's the story of my life." Anyway, so I've been wondering what the "story of my life" is and I think I've come to a conclusion. In my Practical Wisdom seminar, my professor (Ken Sharpe) always says "now let's take it one step further" about a gazillion times during the course of the seminar. Whenever we're discussing or debating a topic or situation, he will throw in another variable to complicate the situation or ask us to look at it from a different perspective. I've realized that's a large part of the reason why I'm at Swarthmore. I came to Swarthmore to explore how to take things one step further--looking at things beyond what they appear to be, considering questions that are not found within the typical framework, putting a personal angle on an overdebated question in academia. I still don't think that I really understand how to do it but I'm slowly understanding how to think more deeply about everything and not to take things at face value. I've also decided that textbooks for the social sciences are not very useful if they do not present multiple points of view. Of course regular books written by a sole author (or authors) only give one point of view but there is a general belief that textbooks are more comprehensive, correct, and they have a certain sense of authority. When I was a kid, I read history as if every claim made in the book had been thoroughly verified and didn't understand that people could write about history from different points of view and omit (and add) details as they saw fit to support their account of history. Speaking realistically, I think it would be very difficult to teach elementary school students the multiple interpretations of American history, for example, and I really don't have a solution but I think that it is problematic if it is taught as absolute truth. So that's my current take on the story of my life and textbooks...

Friday night?

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:29:11 GMT

This is a really, really strange Friday night..ah! I've been out every single weekend night since school started (I mean, there have only been 4, haha) but tonight I'm just feeling tired since I've been sick on and off for the past 2 weeks. eh..I've just been fighting to stay awake this whole day and sitting here in my room is just so comforting. I do know that a lot of people are out in Philly at First Fridays where all the art galleries are free but really sitting is great. mmhm.

I really wished that I had taken pictures of this last week. We got a huge snow shower Tuesday night which led to my first real snowball/snow fight of my life (i.e. my friends climbed on me and shoved me into the snow) and first real making of snow angels! The campus was covered in inches of snow and it was beautiful. I don't know how many of you have visited Swat but the Science Center has amazing windows from floor to ceiling, and sitting in there watching the snow shower made it all that much more beautiful. :)

I've been spending so much time in the Science Center this semester because I have three classes there, and I'm just generally a big fan of large spaces and natural light. I find it to be the perfect place to study..it's pretty funny how everyone has their own little study niches. McCabe was the big thing last year and apparently my whole clan has migrated to Cornell (the Sci Library) this semester. (Apparently the carpet is more comfortable in Cornell than in McCabe...who knew?) I guess you'll just have to come to Swat and try for yourself...

Anyway, one more quick thing. My classes have been amazing this semester...every single one of them. In one of my classes (Practical Wisdom), I've been getting to know Aristotle very very well. I can't say that I really understand him because reading Aristotle is almost like reading something in another language. I know that it will probably have more meaning for me later but for now they're just words that I’m trying really hard to understand. Although there was one passage that asked what the proper function of man is, and that really resonated with me for some reason. I started wondering about what the proper function of other things are, what our function is...since so many people in the world always try to figure out the "meaning" of life, i.e. the purpose of their lives. I guess one more really cool thing about this class is that it goes on late into the night, as late as 1 am. I've always dreamt about coming to Swarthmore and having discussions about life, philosophy, etc until the wee hours of the morning and I guess this is hardcore hours of discussions once a week. It's twice the amount of time of a regular class and I'm usually fighting to stay awake but it is so rewarding and I can't go to sleep afterwards because I'm thinking about things that we talked about earlier in class. Last thing, if you try to ask me what exactly practical wisdom is, I can't really tell you. haha...that sounds strange but my professor has never been able to give us an exact definition either so ...if I figure out exactly what it is, I'll tell you. but chances are, I won't.

I'm now going to jazz it up in my room with some reading and a friend..until next time :)

Hello, Spring Semester!

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:41:04 GMT

It's the 2nd week of school and I've already procrastinated way too much for my own good. That's what college students do, right? I've had a great time this semester so far just hanging out with people and taking classes (and doing work, I suppose). :) This semester I'm doubling up on poly sci with Intro to American Politics and a Practical Wisdom seminar. I'm also taking a Physics of Musical Sound class and Urban Economics. I didn't anticipate taking the last two but I think it's been working out well. I'm also starting to work on my project, taking a grantmanship workshop, and doing a couple other things on the side but I've realized last semester that it really is important to leave time for myself and enjoy college so I guess I'm taking a step back and attempting (keyword, attempting) to not overcommit myself. So, I will update some more when I have some free time and I can give an update about my classes (which are quite spectacular in their own ways, I must say). ...although my pattern has been to update when I have a paper due (in today's case, in 4 hours). until next time!

Ice skating at Penn's Landing

Winter break update

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:09:05 GMT

Happy new year, everyone! Let me quote a nurse from my doctor’s office “I hope that 2009 will be much better than 2008.” Yep…so I’m heading back to Swat this Saturday and I’m not sure how excited I am about it. I wouldn’t mind the work so much if I had unlimited time to do it (haha) but I’m not sure what I feel about being stressed out and being overworked at times.

Anyway winter break has been good and I’m in the Bay Area for my externship. psst..I never said this but I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO. The weather has been abnormally warm here; it's great! I've been hanging around Civic Center and taking random walks everywhere and it's beautiful. :) I have really enjoyed my externship at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. I got a chance to sit in court to watch a jury selection for a case involving the death penalty, I saw a live cross-examination of a witness. I saw a range of trials/hearings from major crimes to petty offenses (i.e. parking tickets). Tomorrow is my last day and I have no idea what I'm going to do tomorrow but I'm betting it's something exciting. :) I guess I’ve always considered law school as one of my options since I was in high school but I didn’t really think seriously about it until a few months ago. And what’s great though is that most of the advice that I got from the lawyers and law clerks is to take time off after I graduate from Swat, and for now, I think that's what I'll plan to do before I make any definite plans...

so I spent all of winter break eating, sleeping, reading, shopping, and working. I read some really great books including The Informant, by Kurt Eichenwald, a book my extern host recommended to me. It is FANTASTIC and of course, I can’t forget to mention that the author is a Swat alum from the 80’s. The book is about an executive at the Archer Daniels Midland Company who leaks to the FBI about the company’s price-fixing scheme…and that’s about all I should really say since anything more would ruin the (amazing) plot twist. The book did keep me on the edge of my seat for awhile so if you want something enthralling, pick it up!

I also started doing a lot of work and research for my Lang Opportunity Scholarship project which I would love YOUR help on if you have some free time (all I need is 10 minutes of your time)! I’m working on researching for my Lang Opportunity Scholarship project; the more I research, the more I excited I am about the possibilities!

Have you ever participated in city government in any capacity (e.g. a youth advisory board or youth commission). If not, in what ways would you have liked to participate?

Is there anything you would like the city, local, or federal government to do to help your living (e.g. financial, education) situation?
Did you learn about civic engagement in school? In your home? Where or when have you been exposed to information about the American political system and politics in general? If you didn't have any lessons, where did you end up learning about politics?
What issues are important to you? education? immigration? the environment? public transportation?
Have you participated in any youth organizations? advocacy organizations?

I don't have a concrete plan yet but I know that I want to work with youth, civic engagement, politics, etc etc and if you wouldn’t mind helping me out, please shoot me an e-mail ASAP. I would love to get your feedback whether you're a student, a parent, a teacher, anyone. Or if you know of anyone or any organization that I should contact, please let me know! My e-mail is KLAM1 at SWARTHMORE.EDU. Thanks a lot for your help!

Still on Eastern time..

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:59:15 GMT

So I am officially back home, yesss! I had a pretty tough fall semester but I think I learned a lot... Hm, I don't have much to say except that I'm hopeful next semester will be better.

My plans for winter break? Relaxing, hanging with the family, watching bad TV shows and good movies, getting ahead on some reading for next semester, working on my LOS project (which I'll explain sometime later) and some VEP stuff, doing an externship at the U.S. Attorney's office in San Fran with a Swat alum, eating good food of course, going to Vegas for a short trip...nothing special really. I'll update later next month. I hope everyone has a relaxing, enjoyable winter break!

A picture from Swarthmore..a study break during finals that involved a CLOWN and PARROTS. ...needless to say, they creeped out many Swatties including me but in a good way, I must say. :)

another study break hosted by the Student Health and Wellness Committee called "Relax and Regress"...featuring the only and only PLAY DO(H?), cookies, and coloring books! Here, James and Shilpa are happily coloring their ponies with fluorescent crayons :)

'Tis the season to be jolly about finals

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:06:45 GMT

Yes, I am guilty for not updating since my relaxing Thanksgiving at Eva's house but what can I say? It's all been a blur since then with work. I'm actually not as swamped as i was last semester or so I think..maybe I've just been better about spacing out my work? I do remember my pass/fail semester last year and going ice-skating with friends during reading week. :) Anyway, my mom actually sent me an e-mail today, reminding me to update my blog because she and my dad want to "read it all the time." haha...see, the funny thing is that my parents found my blog randomly and have ever since been checking up on me. Scary, huh? :)

So any updates? I just officially had my last class today--Kurth's class, in fact. It was depressing because it's probably (I think, or am pretty sure, at least) his last official poly sci class at Swarthmore. Really, he (James Kurth) is amazing. Beyond being intelligent, he's an extremely engaging and humorous lecturer and really challenges us in class to as he likes to say, "think diabolically." I think I learned more about America and international politics in this class than I had ever expected. My last paper for this class will be about pirates which are actually less interesting than they sound.

Besides classes, I haven't (oops) been doing much hardcore studying. Ever since classes ended on Tuesday, I've been doing the classic college activity: procrastinating! After my last class today, my friend drove us to Trader Joe's. They wanted mochi and I wanted peppermint cheesecake, peppermint Joe Joe's, and peppermint bark (yes, I am stocking up on peppermint foods so that when March rolls around I can have peppermint foods, only to be found during the holiday season). We then decided to go to Noodi, a great Thai restaurant for some delicious food. And I am leaving the library to watch my friends perform in a student-choreographed dance (i.e. Terpsichore) in half an hour. So much for doing work! But with all honesty, I don't have that much work aka as long as I work consistently for the next week and a half, I shouldn't be in too much trouble....And anyway, I'm convinced we have reading week (i.e. days after classes end to study for finals) so that us hard-working Swatties can relax a little before finals. :)

Good luck everyone with finals, ED I decisions (=O!), the holiday season, finding and eating as many peppermint-flavored foods as possible...

*edit*: picture to add!
Shilpa and Ramya dancing in a classical Indian dance

Thanksgiving

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:14:26 GMT

I'm back in Staten Island with Eva's family and four other Swatties for Thanksgiving! It feels so good to be off-campus in a real house (one with real bathrooms, beds, a kitchen...all that good stuff) and not at Swat for a couple days. We've spent the last couple days relaxing, playing Scrabble, listening to Leah (Eva's sister) and Eva play the guitar, roasting in front of the fireplace, watching 30 Rock (hilllarious show!), eating and snacking way too much, and of course, sleeping. We didn't end up going to the Thanksgiving parade this year but it has still been enjoyable as we've been spending hours sitting around the kitchen hanging out. :) I'm heading back to Swat tomorrow but stopping by NYC to meet up with some other Swatties to round out my trip.

Some other updates and then pictures to follow...

I've picked out my classes and have a pretty set schedule (assuming that all goes well)..I'm doubling up on Poly sci next semester with American Politics w/Professor Reeves (my section got canceled this semester) and Practical Wisdom w/Prof Sharpe. I am beyond excited for those two classes. Although I was questioning whether or not I wanted to study more poly sci towards the end of last year, I've realized that it makes me incredibly happy for many reasons that I may explain later. For my third class, I'm taking Intro to Comp Sci. ...yea, I can hear the crickets chirping. Why am I taking this? A couple reasons..I need a lab credit and of course, it'll make my dad incredibly happy. He has wanted me to be a computer engineer ever since I was 6 years old (hah, I kid..sort of) and this is the closest I'll ever get. I'm also taking War and Peace/Russian Lit and Culture as my 4th random class where I won't be reading academic journals. I realized this year that I need a little break from reading purely academic articles and writing a bajillion academic papers. So long story short, I'm really excited for my schedule next semester because of the classes I've chosen, the balance in classes, and the timing of classes. I have 1 MWF and 3 T/Th classes this year, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be but I'm exhausted by 4 pm on Tues/Thursdays. So I've gotta say that I'm really excited to go back to California in 3 weeks (YESSSSS!).... But before that, I've got an interview, 4 papers, and a final. As always, I promise I'll update the next chance I get. I hope everyone had an enjoyable, relaxing Thanksgiving!

Hanging at the Staten Island Mawl...I mean Mall

picture of a Staten Island cemetery with an artist

1/2 pictures 1/2 written

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:24:36 GMT

I thought I would go with a fully written entry but I think I might have to go with a 1/2 pictures 1/2 written one. Life here has been hectic to say the least. Maybe I jinxed it when I said in the middle of my semester that everything was going well...oh well, I lied. When people talked about sophomore slump last year, I always wondered if it actually existed and I've now come to the conclusion that it is alive and well.

On a happier note, Willets is playing assassins right now and no, I'm not playing but I've been watching other people play and intervening, of course, when the situation calls. And in a strange way, simply by observing other people, I feel like I've gotten to know many of my Willets residents better. Weird what brings people together, huh?

Other list of good things going on...
My defense policy class with Kurth-I had never thought that studying war(s) and the military would be so fascinating.
Looking forward to the care package my mom stuck in the mail yesterday-I thought that I could do without them this semester but I was wrong. Thanksgiving next Wednesday-I'm heading to Eva's again but this time with a large group.

Here are the promised pictures...

George Lakey, Lang Professor, hosted a post-election reflection.

In-n-out is good but this East Coast phenomenon also known as FIVE GUYS is just as delicious.

Start of November

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:13:10 GMT

Week before election: helping to get Obama elected while Alex naps (in Parrish Parlors)...I know many people hate phonebanking but I love talking to random people about candidate(s).

note about the election: I'm so excited/relieved Obama won! Half of Swarthmore got together for an election night party and it was one of the most exciting nights of this semester. On a more depressing note, Prop 8 in California passed 52-48. It is a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. I really cannot believe that passed but at least it is being challenged in court right now so I'm crossing my fingers...

So Shilpa and I decided to take a walk through Crum Woods one day to take pics and I snapped this nice picture of an unsuspecting family.

Another picture from our Crum tour...Here's Crum Creek. Apparently people like to go skinny-dipping in here at night...? If that's not your cup of tea, there's also a polar bear swim that Earthlust organizes in the wintertime as well.

Sharples also had a local food night last Thursday where everything we ate (for the most part) was locally grown and produced. It was the most delicious dinner of the year! By the way, I thought that acorn butternut squash was butternut squash with acorn-topping....oops! And anyway, my friends and I were poking around, doing another round of the food and we found KIWIBERRIES. That sounds fake, right? Nope, they're actually berries that taste just like kiwi but with less of a tart favor. We ate so many of them that the Sharples lady just gave us a box..yum. :)

Pictures of the week

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:15:11 GMT

Faiza, in her snazzy new bike helmet. Thanks to a donor, Swatties (with bikes) got to pick up a free bike helmet last Fri.

photo courtesy of Shilpa: photo of Zoe and her crutches (she twisted her ankle running through the Crum) in Sharples; Shilpa, a fellow admissions blogger (http://theshilpster.wordpress.com/), also loves to take still-life shots so I have shots of chips and fruits on my camera now. :)

I love this road. I think it's Whitter Place? I took a billion pictures of this street last year to show my parents the beautiful foliage. The Lang Center is down here so I come by every week.

So I've gotten into the habit of studying in McCabe now (the good question is where was I studying before? the better question is did I ever study before!?) and once in awhile, I just can't sit near the window because I get so distracted. This is just what happened last Wed..I looked out the window and there were swarms (literally swarms) of birds (which you can't see in this picture) flying from tree-to-tree.

post-Oct break

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:50:38 GMT

If no one objects (and by that I mean, if most of the world is ok with it), I'm going to go on a writing-hiatus for a bit and instead post pictures about once a week.
And just something random..if anyone is feeling stressed from college apps or just a bit peachy, you should just be in the mindset that everyday is your birthday (i.e. a celebration of your birth)...so there would never be a sad day. I wrote that on a birthday card and I'm eager to hear my friend's response to that. :)

Here are the pictures, all taken during Oct break.

Here is the lovely view from my room. I wake up to this tree everyday :) ...I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm excited for snow since the tree will be decorated with fluffy white snow.

Georgetown cupcake, anyone? They melted before we could get to them but we ate them nevertheless on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (look below) in view of the Washington Monument...

D.C. = beautiful.

Here Carlo is gazing dreamily at the Supreme Court..hoping someday to preside over the Court. We almost made a bet about who would become a Justice first but we couldn't settle on the terms. Oh well, I can wait thirty (or perhaps forty) years to be appointed..

October break

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:55:56 GMT

It's October break, 2008. 6 weeks gone, 7 weeks left to go. yay. I just attended a Tri-co Student Resource Person reflection lunch the other day at Bryn Mawr. The question was posed...what is one thing that has been going well so far in the year? And honestly, this semester has been great. I feel like I know Swarthmore a lot better. I've gotten into a routine that is manageable. I know when/how I like to procrastinate, I know woh to go to for my particular questions, how early I need to start papers, basically most everything.

I

It's lonely here on campus again...Neena has gone home and most everyone has left. I like it though because it gives me some time to be alone. I'll try to post up a picture of the view outside of my window...it's gorgeous. I'm now going to continue vegging/completing my "october-break to-do list" ...

My favorite time of the year

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:09:44 GMT

It's my favorite time of the year! Fall has arrived and it's no longer 900 degrees and humid 24/7. I must say though that rain really sucks. For some strange reason, all my friends from "cold" areas of the country love rain (i.e. enjoy the "sound" of rain). ...I guess Californians just can't appreciate variation in weather. I can also tell that it's the 5th week because everyone (including me) looks more sleep-deprived and sluggish than last week. The first couple weeks of school are always great because there's just reading to do. It's a lot of reading but it's just that. Then the trick becomes writing papers that take hours AND doing the readings for every other class. I always thought that I'd figure it all out by this year but I don't think I've gotten quite there yet. But hey, at least October break is in a week (thank goodness!) and just like last year, I'm not going home again. I've had wishy-washy plans that included that ranged from staying at Swat and sleeping for a week to road-tripping to Canada. I think I'll end up going somewhere close by...

Other cool news is that I've been making it out to Philly a lot more this year! I've already been to Philly 4 times, 3 last month and once in August. It took me awhile to get used to Philly and I must admit that I complained a lot about it last year (too small, shops close too early, food too expensive, etc etc). I think the city is starting to grow on me though. I'm starting to appreciate the smallness which makes it easier to walk around, the artsy parts of the city (lots of public art!), and the small cafes and restaurants. Getting a nice dinner still bankrupts me everytime but at least I know where to go for the good food (melted chocolate at Naked Chocolate, anyone? noodles at Four Rivers?) and I have a sense of direction (yes!) when I wander from South Street to Center City.

I'd love to write more but a paper calls...along with tournament planning (Peaslee is hosting a novice debate tournament), meetings, sleep--all that good stuff.

Food for thought

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:57:35 GMT

I'm always guilty of looking at pictures of good food during random hours of the day. Now this time, it wasn't really my fault because my friend, Amanda, who is also a lover of good food forwarded me a list of 100 must-try Chinese foods. It was quite an amazing list..best foods ever! I guess it's fair to say that Sharples and I aren't lovers...(yet). I've heard a lot of different opinions about it and yes, I am probably one of the biggest complainers but it really isn't all that bad. I regained my faith in Sharples when my friend who attends one of the top-public universities in the country told me that Sharples food was amazing (granted this was during pasta bar). But she also told me that her school messes up pasta. I didn't think that was possible but hey, what do I know?

I think one of the reasons why I haven't gotten accustomed to Sharples yet is because I had eaten primarily Chinese/Asian foods for the first 18 years of my life. It's not such a big deal but I'd never thought about eating fried potatoes (who knew there were so many variations of fried potatoes? tater tots, crisscut fries, seasoned fries, shoestring fries, thick fries, etc) and hot dogs with every meal. White jasmine rice was my staple! Examples of problems..many people eat raw veggies but I prefer mine cooked. My solution? I use the woks at Sharples to drown my vegetables in hot water and pepper. I like my mac & cheese less cheesy than the average person. My solution? I get pasta and cheese from the salad bar and allow the two to be nuked in the microwave.

I do have to credit Sharples with increasing my creativity in food preparation and the kinds of foods I eat. Newest tasty creation: cucumber peanut butter sandwiches! Tastiest creation of the summer that can be replicated in Sharples(courtesy of Aheli of Bryn Mawr): melted banana split in half, filled with peanut butter, marshmallows, and chocolate chips! And until Sharples, I had never tried baklava, mozarella balls, fresh apple cider, and other foods before.

I hadn't intended on writing about food for this whole entry but I was just feeling especially hungry today.
As for my life beyond food, it's busy as usual..there is still way too much reading, planning to do for Swat's Novice Debate Invitational in 2 weeks, planning for Village Education Project this year, applications and essays to be written, and sleep to be had.

SOPHOMORE YEAR

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:56:15 GMT

My livejournal informed me that the last time I updated was four weeks ago...oops! I apologize for neglecting this blog but I've been caught up with the beginning of SOPHOMORE YEAR. YAY? It's been a very busy couple weeks here...I always forget that college work actually starts at the first week (or first day) and there's no "easing" into it. (sigh) but it's been great seeing everyone! I'm really happy to live in Willets this year since friends are conveniently down the hall and up the stairs. Instead of feeling far away from everyone in Mertz, I can just trudge down the hall in my pjs and pop into people's rooms..how convenient. :) Yes, it is way more noisy and it has 234x more bugs than Mertz but the central location and abundance of storage space is wonderful. As for classes, I stuck to the four that I originally had in mind (sort of)...Defense Policy with Kurth (great professor who was supposedly retiring years ago), Social Movements & Strategic Action with Smithey (amazing readings!!!), Statistics with Wang (yes, it is true that his real-life applications of Statistics makes even the Social Sciences/Humanities-inclined student pay attention in class), and Sexuality & Society in Modern Europe with Judson (...way too many graphic readings...). I'm really excited about these classes since most of the readings have been amazing! Besides that, I've dropped a job, gotten more involved in Peaslee, the Village Education Project, and the Lang Center. I'll also be applying for the Lang Opportunity Scholarship, thinking about studying abroad (Northern Ireland being my top/only choice at the moment), figuring out my major/minor, and attempting to cram what could be a 40-hour day into 24 hours.

Here goes another year at dear Swarthmore...:)

Here in PA

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:50:59 GMT

Summer 2008 in LA is finally over...and now I'm in PA! at Bryn Mawr to be exact. I've just finished training for Summer Tri-co and all of us are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our freshmen and women! It's been surprisingly cool here and bug-free outdoors (thank goodness!). I'm really happy to be back even though I feel like summer was way too short. And anyway, is summer ever long enough? Probably not...I miss LA, my family (yes, even sharing a room with my sister), the food (red velvet cupcakes, frozen yogurt, etc etc), my internship, and a bunch of other stuff. I do miss my friends but most weren't even in LA or in the country for much of the summer so that was a bit sad. We always say that we'll keep in touch throughout the years after high school but it's way harder than it sounds. As much as I miss LA, I'm excited to see what this year will bring. During the 2nd day of tri-co training, as we were having an intense discussion, I just got that comfortable feeling of being back "home." :)

Sophomore year....
I've resolved to embrace caffeine! That sounds strange since caffeine seems to be the norm but I didn't drink too much during high school and freshman year with a few exceptions.
I've also decided to be better with time management (ha ha)....isn't that everyone's resolution, every year?
This is also the year I get to pick my major/minor and decide whether or not I want to study abroad. I am open to suggestions about where to go :) My top choices as of this second (it changes that often) are Northern Ireland (Swat's new program), Grenoble in France, Siena in Italy, Morocco, and Dakar in Senegal.

I've really enjoyed receiving emails from incoming freshmen and women and prospective students and I look forward to meeting you all! Until after tri-co...

Some pictures from summer 08!

Two weeks

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:48:35 GMT

I don't think I can summarize the past 4 weeks or so in one entry but it doesn't matter because the time wasn't spent at Swat anyway....just kidding. :) Summer is winding down and I've got to admit that I'm really excited about going back to Swat for SOPHOMORE YEAR (oh no...) but I'm going to keep this summer and its adventures in the back of my mind, of course!

A couple quick updates? (mmhmm, check out the snazzy bullets!)

My internship is almost over (aw) but I've still got a couple days left! If I never get around to writing more about it, I'll just say that it was a terrific learning experience. I learned a lot about how a civil rights advocacy organization works but of course, working has also opened up a new bubble of questions. Besides that, I had an amazing boss who drove me to/from work everyday (yes, she really is amazing), keeps me on my toes about life and everything relating to life, and most importantly, shared with me her passion for good food.

I hung out with some Swatties..shared a great late-night parking lot gathering with Swatties..facebooked with Swatties..emailed Swatties..oh yea, and missed them terribly..
I've re-discovered my love for "supervising" people while they cook. I can't fry eggs but I sure can watch my sister roll up some Vietnamese spring rolls or my cousin work her ice-cream machine.
I haven't gone to all the museums and noteworthy places in LA like I promised myself but I did a fair amount of exploring this summer including the Getty, Hollywood (way too many times), Santa Monica, fro-yo places (Cefiore is my favorite and Yogurberry = gross), the LA Public Library for their ALOUD LA program, and Downtown.
As much as I know watching bad TV kills my brain cells, I'm addicted! Infomercials, MTV shows, back episodes of middle-school dramas, etc..

2 weeks and counting back to Swarthmore!

p.s. Did everyone see whose roommate is on the front page of the Swat website? Yup, that's right, Neena Cherayil '11, Admissions tour guide, is featured in an article about her experience working in admissions this summer. Check it out!

My neighborhood..language barriers..many things

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:22:45 GMT

I know I'm guilty of paying too much attention to problems around the world and not enough of the ones that are simply right around the corner. In high school, I thought that I wanted to be a diplomat, someone who would travel around and negotiate peace with other countries, or the founder of a NGO that would solve all of the world's problems, lift every single person out of poverty, and educate all the children of the world. I thought that's what I want to do in the future...and I still want to do that. But I also want to do a million other things and lately I've been thinking that there is much work that needs to be done in America, in my state, in my city...

I was at some conference years ago and I remember that a speaker urged us to go walk around our neighborhoods and simply observe the buildings, the people, etc. I recall taking a short walk around and being amused by certain things that I don't seem to recall now. So when I read this article a couple days ago in the NY Times, (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/opinion/23lovenheim.html?em&ex=1214452800&en=3ecfbd76199cbb3c&ei=5087%0A), I thought back to that speaker. I think we are sometimes so concerned with things outside our immediate surroundings (i.e. other countries' problems) that we forget where we live. I've lived in the same city for 19 years, and I'm sad to say that I never got to know any of my neighbors. My sister and I didn't play with the kids on the block , there was no such thing as neighborhood parties, and very few neighbors knew others. We were all too busy with our lives and our lives away from home...And I'm not saying that we shouldn't care about events that happen around the world that may be far worse than what is happening in our cities but we fail many times to acknowledge or even pay attention to problems close to us.

Now that it's the summertime, I have started running regularly. The first time I ran to the park, a couple blocks away from my house, after returning home from Swarthmore, I can't explain it but it seemed as if my outlook on the world had done a 311 degree shift. I guess when I looked at people and buildings, I had different thoughts about them than I did before? So I decided to run around the neighborhood, taking different paths so I could explore a bit. Today, I was going on a regular run around the park and as I was walking home, an old man on a bicycle turned around and started to speak to me in Chinese. He first commented on the weather then proceeded to ask me questions about whether I was a student, if I was off for break, and where I was from. The sad thing was that all I could manage to spit out was "yes" and "My mom and dad are from China and Taiwan" in Chinese. As the man biked off, I started to get upset at myself (for the 50 millionth time) for failing to learn how to speak Chinese fluently. How am I supposed to get to know people in my neighborhood when I can't even communicate with them? (many people in my city only speak Chinese) I would loved to have asked him how his day was, or where he was from in China, or what his favorite hobby was...but I couldn't. I've always been frustrated even speaking with some of my extended family members because it's hard to have a conversation when there is a language barrier. I've always wanted to ask my grandmother what it was like to have 9 kids, what it was like to be growing up in China as a female but I'm unable to do so. So I guess it's good that I'm taking a closer look around at my neighborhood but to have a real conversation with someone, I'll have to learn the language...

Summer life? It's great but I miss Swat (still) but I'm happy my sister's home! Congratulations to her for graduating and picking up some extra diplomas...haha (look at Facebook) I'm really proud of her for graduating with 50 million majors and figuring out what her dream in life is. If you would like to hire my sister for any job, please email me. :)

Until next time...

Why I Blog...What I miss about Swat/Philly/Other Side of the Country

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:15:15 GMT

I'm a little more than three weeks into summer and psst..I miss Swarthmore! surprise, surprise. Neena is hanging out in ML helping with Trash 2 Treasure and having a great time, and I'm stuck here in Los Angeles...no, I'm just kidding. Los Angeles is great and summer has been pretty eventful (I suppose). I've started my internship with OCA, an organization that works with the Asian Pacific American community, decided not to take the CC class, and also started volunteering with the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles. I've also gone beach camping with some friends, slept on the beach, coasted down the Pacific Coast Highway at speeds too high to be legal I'm sure, walked around L.A. and eaten way too much good food. I could list all the wonderful food I've eaten besides my mother's cooking but I would probably bore every single one of you...do feel free to e-mail me if you would like my list. ;)

I guess this brings me to my question of what I miss about Swat, Philly, etc. People always said that college isn't just about the academics but the experiences and life lessons you share with other people, and I think it's just starting to sink in. Call me crazy but I do sort of miss my seminars (they were amazing) but more than that, I miss the people...hanging out in Parrish Parlors (check out the Facebook group), sitting in Sharples for hours, and even standing outside for an hour in the drizzling rain while a friend tried to convince us that Cornell was the best library to study in. I also miss walking into Mertz at 5 am and telling Neena to wake up....and I also miss her waking me up at 11 am on Sundays to make it to Sharples by 11:15 am. I miss IMing people when we're sitting next to each other and I miss that gross-looking chocolate pudding that I eat a couple times a week. I miss hanging out on Parrish Beach, munching on food, and talking about things. So, yes, please come to Swarthmore so you can also meet amazing people, have amazing conversations....and eat that delicious chocolate pudding. yum.

I recently read an article about blogging (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/magazine/25internet-t.html) and I asked myself why I blogged. I mean, why exactly would I want you, my dear reader, to know every last detail of my life? so that we can have a one-way virtual friendship? I guess the most practical reason for blogging is that Swarthmore wanted to feature some blogs to give an idea of what Swat life is like. I definitely like the idea of blogging since I found that when I applied for college, reading blogs about students' lives helped me gain insight into what life was like for those particular students. And plus, blogging rocks because the first online blogger is a Swat alum! Anyway, so beyond that, I guess I've been "blogging" since I was in 7th grade or so. I saw my sister write in her livejournal and so I was always curious. When I was a kid, blogging was a social activity where close friends would share their thoughts in public. Why would we do that if we saw each other 5 days a week and talked on the phone for 7? Please don't ask me...As I grew older, my online blog became a private journal and sadly replaced my written journal. I used it to vent and whine about the day or simply talked about something good that happened to me. And for this blog? I've always thought that sharing experiences and ideas over blogs is a great thing, and I love talking to prospective students. I guess I'm actually not sure why I blog now but I like writing in here and hearing from you guys. Until I find a reason not to write, I suppose I'll keep writing...