Ambassador Housing

Eight person suites include two bathrooms, a living room with couches and tables, eight single rooms, a refrigerator and microwave, and typically, eight suitemates to fill up all the single rooms. But, with my living situation this year, it's a little bit different. As I showed you all earlier through my video tour, I am fortunate enough to live in pretty "suite" housing. Most students go through the general lottery system to get housing, but me and my friend Lhanzi went through a separate lottery system for Ambassador Housing. The Ambassador Housing Program allows American students to host International students who are currently enrolled in the Applied Linguistics Department.

I started off this year with 5 other suitemates, leaving 2 open rooms in our suite. Two of my other suitemates are American students who also went through the Ambassador Housing lottery that me and Lhanzi did. My other two suitemates are Barbara and Suyeon. Barbara is from Venezuela, and unfortunately, she only was in the program for a short specific amount of time, so she went back to Venezuela in late September. It was interesting learning about the Venezuelan culture from her (including making a Venezuelan dish in the kitchen on our floor). On the other hand, Suyeon will be living in our suite all year, which is awesome!

from left to right: Barbara, me, Lhanzi. Also, Brendan and Adam in the back photobombing the picture

 

 

 

With our suite still having open rooms, we will spontaneously be getting other suitemates through the Ambassador Program. I just received an e-mail the other day saying how we're getting a suitemate from China, so I can't wait! So far, it's been a great experience learning about other cultures. Through my suitemates, I've also had the chance to meet a lot of international students from other countries such as China and Korea. 

From left to right: Oriana, Valentina, Johan, Barbara, Tan Wai, me, Lhanzi.

Internships and Information: Why I Love My SMC E-mail

I usually have an abundance of e-mails every day. Most e-mails are about classes, events around campus, and job opportunities around the area. It's a little bit overwhelming receiving so many e-mails, but if you take the time to read through each one, you might come across some information that you might not have ever known. For instance, I may not have known that chicken patties were on the Grill on Friday if it weren't for the weekly Weekend Events e-mail. Another instance is that I would have never known about a Web Marketing Position at Burzt Tv if I never opened an e-mail from the Career Development Office. The Career Development Office is great at sending out e-mails about nearby internship and job opportunities. As a Digital Arts, Media Studies, and Journalism major, I am particularly interested in Social Media Marketing. When I read over the job description for the Web Marketing Intern position, I immediately knew that this was a internship I wanted to apply for. After the phone interview, I received an e-mail saying that I got the position! I couldn't be more thrilled to start working for Burzt TV, and to start gaining more knowledge in my major. So, important lesson learned throughout this whole entire process.. it's important to read through every e-mail because something might just catch your eye. Check out Burzt TV and keep checking up on my blog to hear updates about my internship!

I Know I am Back in Vermont When...

Right now, I am writing to you guys while I'm on the Greyhound bus back to Saint Michael's. Today is the last day of October Break, so most students are heading back today and classes are starting back up tomorrow. From my travels back and forth from New Hampshire and Vermont, there are some things that let me know that I am back in the state of Vermont and about 100 miles closer to Saint Mike's.

 I know I am Back in Vermont When...

I see a tepee on the side of the highway 

 I see the Whale’s Tales

I get on Route 89 

I start to see the breathtaking Vermont scenery

And of course… When I see the sign for Saint Michael’s College

Last Friday Knight

Last Friday night, I did not dance on table tops like Katy Perry talks about in her hit song. Instead, the only thing I was standing on was a small platform in the Alliot lobby. This small platform was in Alliot because there was an open night mic, which was one of the many events of Friday Knight Dry. Typically, the only places you'll hear me singing are either in my car or in the shower, but my friend Tan Wai and I decided to go out on a limb and perform at the Open Mic. Tan Wai taught himself guitar over the summer, and me, well, I'm no singer, but I thought it would be a fun spontaneous thing to do. Without any practice as a duo, we performed Wake Me Up When September Ends and Wonderwall with the help from our friends, Lauren and Lizzy.

all of us singing

After our performance, the night continued on with other lively events including raffles with great prizes and performances from the three on campus singing groups (Acabellas, Sleepless Knights, and Mike Check)

Burlington Music Scene

Last semester, I made a list of my goals that I wanted to accomplish. One of my goals was to explore Burlington and the rest of the area. Whenever I hear the word Burlington, I immediately think of Church Street. Well, I took enough trips my freshmen year on the city bus (which is free with your student ID!) down to Church Street, so I wanted to see what else there is to Burlington other than Church Street. To begin this process, I looked for things around the area that would interest me. Music is a strong interest of mine, so I looked to see who was playing at Higher Ground. For those who don't know, Higher Ground is in South Burlington, which is about ten minutes from the campus. I went last Thursday to Higher Ground to see Switchfoot in concert. Also, for my birthday weekend, my parents and I went to the Grand Point North Festival to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Below is a clip from the performance:
  I wanted to stray away from life outside of Church Street, but there are always entertaining acts on Church Street. For example, below is a guy playing the Didgeridoo

Also, speaking of music, Brendan and I are back on the radio on Fridays 5-8PM. You can listen to us here.