Yay! It's Friday!!:D

I survived another week!
I'm so ready for weekend!

Well, I'm supposed to write about myself here, but unfortunately, what I'm not good at is talking about myself and writing in generally. Ugh. I'll do my best.

Since I don't know what I should write about, I'm going to write things about myself randomly!

I've been here for about a year and half, and I'm a sophomore in business administration major. I'm thinking about changing major to accounting a little bit. It depends on how well I will do in financial accounting class this semester. I'll see.

I'm originally from Japan, but I had lived in Bangkok, Thailand for 7 years. I was in Thailand when I was 8 to 15 years old, so people often assume that I can speak Thai. Too bad I can't speak Thai any more. I went to Japanese school in Bangkok and I forgot most of the Thai words I knew, sadly. I would love to learn it again, though! 

I like hanging out with friends, trying something new, working out, shopping, eating, sleeping, playing tennis, taking a walk, meeting new people, cleaning up, swimming... Hmm... Maybe cooking, baking, watching movies, reading what I'm interested in... Hmm... What else do I like to do?

Ah! I went back to Japan for vacation this winter! I had great time there! I got to see my family and friends, ate a lot of Japanese food which I had missed a lot, went to shopping, and gained almost 9 pounds in a month. I know, I'm kind of proud of myself. Now, I need to work out and be healthy...

Japanese traditional dish for New Year. This is a part of the reason I gained weight.

Sashimi (raw fish)! It's so good. I already miss it.

Since I like eating, I always look for something delicious! So, if you find a good restaurant, good recipe, or anything delicious and feel like being kind to me, please let me know! I'll love you so much! Hahaha. And of course, you can always make delicious things for me!

Well, I think I'm getting hungry. Probably I should stop writing. Otherwise I'll keep talking about food.

Have a nice weekend!

Lunar New Year 2014

By reading the title, you probably know what I am about to share in the blog. Yes, it's Lunar New Year!!! And this year is the year of horse.

This New Year is very popular around Asian countries such as: Mainland China, HongKong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines, Vietnam and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. For every year, there is always an animal from Chinese Zodiac represents that year, for example: this year is a horse.

Lunar New Year is a very important holiday to most of the countries, mainly because it's the family time. Everyone starts going back to their family, no matter how far they are. In most of the countries, the first three days are very important. I will use my family as an example. On the first day, we usually go visit my grandparents house and eat A LOT OF FOOD. On the second day, we go to visit my relatives and eat A LOT OF FOOD. The last day, we usually go to my dad's friends/co-workers and of course, eat A LOT OF FOOD. By now, I guess you already know what the second priority is under family, It's FOOD (LOL). Here are some of the pictures of Lunar New Year food in Vietnam: 

Boiled chicken is one of the most popular dish

After chopping...this is a beautiful chopped chicken

Traditional rice cake

Vietnamese sausage

Beef boiled in fish sauce and pig ears

Those are only some of the traditional food. Every family has their own traditional family food. I will show some of the decorating pictures on the New Year around the East Asian countries below. I wish you all will have a New Year full of success, luck and always healthy.

Singapore

Malaysia

China

Vietnam

 

         

UAFS TV Commercials

UAFS TV Commercials

Final Farewell

The Last Day Wearing This Name Tag

I have so much to say.. I don't know where to start. This job has had such an impact on my life, and I will forever be grateful. I began working here in June of 2012 (only 2 days after I graduated high school). At only 17! Here I am 19 and already a junior in college. *feeling old!* I just wanted everyone to know that I am leaving on good terms. There's not any office drama, I have just decided that it is time to move on to another chapter in my life. Any chance I have though, I will be more than happy to attend the events and catch up with all of the students and staff here from the office!

Remember that one time...

So I wanted to just write a few of the best/most memorable moments during my time here. 

Of course, the first story that came to mind was when curry got spilled all in the floor board of my car.. 

During IFest 2013 I went to pick up the curry generously donated by one of the local restaurants, but on my way back to the festival it plummeted into my floor board. I panicked and called Brock, (Of course sobbing like a little girl because I thought I had ruined the day) who told me to just go back to the restaurant and explain what happened. The people there felt so bad for me that they ended up just delivering the next batch themselves. So thank you to them for that! Looking back now, it is definitely a riot, but I was a wreck that day. haha

One of my other favorite memories while working here is the time we threw the bestestest welcome party ever for the new international students at Central Christian Church. 

I had so much fun that day! Getting to play games, mingle, give away prizes, and .. tons of food! ;) So many people came and helped to make this a wonderful time. 

My last memory that I will share before I go, is the time I taught the international students how to pumpkin carve. 

Because of my deep love for Halloween, Takeo decided that it would be a fun activity to get the students to pumpkin carve. I was the lucky one that got to teach them! Poor Jack and Sam had to transport all of the 10-20 pumpkins to the area where we were doing it. The looks on the students' faces when they saw what was actually in those giant orange balls was priceless! The majority of them were under the impression that it was just hollow inside! 

Anyway, I think I better wrap this up. But thank you to everyone that I have had the pleasure of meeting while working here. This office will always hold a special place in my heart!

UAFS Introduction by Chancellor Beran

Some of UAFS International Students

10 Tips to Surviving College in the US

So a few members of the office and I have put together this list (driven by personal experiences, of course) of the top tips for surviving a university in the US. So here ya go!

1. If you haven't already registered, try not to schedule back to back classes. You'll wear yourself out besides missing the best times to study--right before and right after class
2. Begin the first day of class. Know what's expected of you Take notes from the first day even if it's routine stuff you think you already know.
3. Establish a routine time to study for each class. For every hour you spend in class, you will probably need to study two hours outside class. Studying for each subject should be at the same time, same place, if possible. Study includes more than just doing your homework. You will need to go over your notes from by class, labeling, editing, and making sure you understand them. Study your syllabus daily to see where you are going and where you have been. Be sure to do reading assignments. (Don't put them off just because there's not a written assignment.) Read ahead whenever possible. Prepare for each class as if there will be a pop quiz.
4. Establish a place to study. Your place should have a desk, comfortable chair, good lighting, all the supplies you need, etc., and of course, should be as free of distractions as possible. It should not be a place where you routinely do other things. It should your study place.
5. Do as much of your studying in the daytime as you can. What takes you an hour to do during the day may take you an hour and a half at night.
6. Schedule breaks. Take a ten minute break after every hour of study. If possible, avoid long blocks of time for studying. Spread out several short study sessions during the day.
7. Make use of study resources on campus. Find out about and use labs, tutors, videos, computer programs, and alternate texts. Sign up for an orientation session in the campus library and computer facilities. Get to know your professors and advisors. Ask questions. "I didn't know," or "I didn't understand" is never an excuse.
8. Find at least one or two students in each class to study with. Studies show that students who study with someone routinely make better grades. You will probably find yourself more motivated if you know someone else cares about what you are doing in the class. Teaching a concept or new idea to someone else is a sure way for you to understand it.
9. Study the hardest subject first. Work on your hardest subjects at a time when you are fresh. Putting them off until you're tired compounds the problem.
10. Be good to yourself. Studying on four hours of sleep and an empty stomach or junk-food diet is a waste of time. Avoid food and drink containing caffeine just before or just after studying.

A few extra added tips.. 

-        *  It’s cheaper to buy your books online, and if you are going to sell them, you get more back if you sell them at the end of the semester versus at the beginning.

-         * Do not procrastinate and take responsibility for it if you are going to do so. Do not depend on anyone to help at the last minute.

-          * Investing in a recording device is not a bad idea at all. Sometimes, the lectures are just too fast.

-          * Learn to say no and don’t let temptation get you. Stay focus, hard work always pays.

-          I promise it’s going to be challenging, but guess what, we did it, so you can too.

*     * Above all, get involved! Make friends, and live the full college experience.

  Welcome to college, have fun, and enjoy the ride!

Tea Time 1/2014

What a better way to quick off a semester than a Tea Party?
Yes, you heard it, a Tea Party where people from around the world gather to relax, and get to know each other around some cups of tea/hot chocolate and snacks.
It was an amazing experience for both our international students and our American friends who volunteered to spend time with us.

This was just a sample of the people who attended our first Tea time of the semester. It was very exciting to see all these new faces and most certainly getting to know a little bit about each of them.

Thanks to our friends from The Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) and the American International Activities Council, I look forward to the next Tea Time event (February 19th from 3-4 pm)!