Tag Archives: Graduate Student life

The metropolis of Bloomington, IN

Posted on by

If you want to go to a graduate school with culture, don’t look any further.  Bloomington may be a small college town, but it is a cultural metropolis.  The IU Auditorium has a myriad of shows from music and plays to Broadway musicals.  This year, the IU Auditorium is showing The Cleveland Orchestra, Peter Pan, Traces, Dream Girls, and more.  They have a selection that will please anyone’s distinct tastes.

Don’t forget that the IU Jacobs School of Music is one of the best in the world, and its students and faculty perform at the IU Musical Arts Center.  Enjoy ballet, recitals, and music performances of the New York Met quality in your backyard in Bloomington.

The IU Cinema, a newly restored theatre, offers movie screenings from the classics to stunning documentaries.  Moreover, festivals help bridge the university life to the community.  One festival, the Lotus festival, engages the university community and attracts participants from other cities and states.

If you want culture, you have come to the right place!

Class discussion and the courage to speak up…

Posted on by

Speaking up in class discussions is somehow challenging for some people especially for international students. Being an international student, I personally feel this pain and I think some other foreign students might share the same feeling. Why? Among the class of all American students, I am the only one international student. What if I say something wrong? What if the professor does not understand my English and ask me to explain my opinions again? What if my classmates judge my answer when they may know the topic better than me given their longer working experiences? I need a little more time to organize my ideas before giving the valid answer, but when I am ready to answer, other students have already answered…I had these thoughts in the first few weeks of transition to the master program at IU. Should I continue staying on the safe side- saying nothing even though I might have lots of points in my mind :) Here is what I think after several first weeks of  “adaptation” ;)

Very often, we don’t speak up because we worry of being judged. But actually, there is nothing wrong with our point of view. The fact that you are an international student make you very unique…You might see problems from different prospectives and people really expect you to share your own thoughts no mater what. Also, you never know it could be the right answer. As long as you tried, the answer might be right. We all come to class to learn in the end. We learn from professors and we learn from each other. Most important, we are all equal and we are all IU student no matter where we are from.  And active participation in class help yourself learn a lot too. So, it is totally fine if you don’t think you want to contribute your ideas when you are not ready enough. For those who want to push yourself a little bit in class discussions, please feel free to speak up :)

 

 

Diversity at IU

Posted on by

We can see, feel and taste the diversity whenever we come to any IU campus. With students from all 50 states and more than 130 countries, IU has a rich culture with very diverse ethnicities. Diversity promotion is a big part of the strategy to internationalize IU.

The office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs (DEMA) is dedicated promote diversity at IU. Diversity promotion efforts focus on developing diverse array of programs, services, and activities that help to “promote excellence through diversity, equity, and culture at Indiana University”.

Below you would find the link of Diversity resources at IU Bloomington.

Each center provides its own services to support students in every aspect. Know that they are always there to support you and your academic growth.  It is awesome to be part of a diverse campus where you know the exchange of ideas and experiences is fully encouraged. These certainly influence our academic and campus life in a positive way.

Reference:

http://www.indiana.edu/~dema/

Do you consider joining a student organization at IU?

Posted on by

Knowing that IU is a very big university, I was still very surprised to find out IU offers more than 750 student organizations. Can you believe it? 750 student organizations—nearly 1000 options to choose from! These student organizations all founded and led by students. Each student organization works in a different areas but their common goal is to connect those who of the same interests for experience sharing and mutual development. On a campus of 40,000 students, involving in a student organization is a great way to feel connected and improve yourself in multiple ways. And yes, like IU, these organizations are very diverse. Their activities are categorized into 15 groups including:

  • Academic and Professional
  • Advocacy and Political
  • Arts and Entertainment
  • Environmental
  • Fraternity and Sorority
  • Governance
  • Graduate
  • Honorary
  • International & Multi-Cultural
  • Religious & Spiritual
  • Social
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Service and Philanthropy

So why joining in a student organization matters? Here are the analyses by IU Student Life and Learning Center:

  • Joining in a student organization provides students with real-life opportunities to practice problem solving, teamwork, ethical decision-making, and responsible engagement with the local and global communities in which they live.
  •  Participating in a student organization can help you gain experience in a particular field of interest, find an outlet for recreation, or learn about something completely new to you.
  • Getting involved outside of the classroom not only supplements your traditional education, but also helps to prepare you for life after graduation.
  • Joining an organization will enhance your college experience.

Student organizations have their own bank account provided by IU and they can request a specialized office for meetings or group activities. IU also has lots of support services for student organizations especially when they want to organize events. Those services include venue, security, stage light, projectors…Almost everything you need to organize an event is supported by IU as long as your student organization hosts the event. Every year, Office of International Students (OIS), Asian Center, International Center, etc organize programs like IU World Fair, Mr & Ms. Asia…to connect these student organizations together. Those are great events that student organizations gather to do cultural exhibitions or cook their traditional food to offer to visitors. I attend these events every year and they are all GREAT!!! You should DEFINITELY not miss these events.

For those who are interested in establishing your own student organization, that is easy! IU encourages you to do that! All you need to do is following the instructions given by Student Life and Learning Center. Regarding the funding for student organizations, IU has its own grants targeted specifically to student organizations. Other than the funding from IU, you can also look for funding from other sources like banks, community organizations, foundations based in Bloomington. For instance, Chase Bank provides us (the Vietnamese Student Association) funding annually to organize Lunar New Year (we call it “Tet”). As long as you want to get involved, there are unlimited resources around for you to mobilize and support your group. Application procedure to get funding is very convenient and easy: You need to submit a proposal and a financial budget for your group activities (please make sure to submit at least 03-04 months before the date of the event). The grant officer will review your proposal and make decision. Very often you will get the grant, as IU wants to spend money on you and your group’s development

For further information about student organizations, here is the link: https://myinvolvement.indiana.edu/sissastd-prd/p/organization.do?methodToCall=orgSearch#p

Reference:

http://studentaffairs.iub.edu/sll/student-organizations/

Gluten-Free Dining

Posted on by

First, allow me to state that I am neither gluten-intolerant nor celiac.  I do, however, have several family members who have been gluten-intolerant/celiac for a number of years.  Family get-togethers often involve switching to a celiac-friendly diet for the duration of the visit.  Plus, since celiac, or as I like to call “gluten-intolerance set on high,” runs strongly in families, it’s better that I don’t eat much of the stuff and will often go for days without gluten.  I don’t even know how to work with gluten anymore, only the gluten-free stuff.  The good gluten-free stuff tastes waaay better than the regular stuff anyway.  For example, I prefer Tinkyada brown rice pasta over regular pasta.  It doesn’t get mushy.  Period.  In other words, I may not be gluten-intolerant, but I know how to live like a celiac.

So, what’s the dining scene for celiacs?  You’ve probably know by now that Bloomington has an extensive list of options.  Well, while gluten-free options are not as advertised as vegetarian options, Bloomington has a lot to offer.  My sister, a celiac, says that she has an easier time eating out here than in East Lansing, MI.  I’ll go through a small selection of places that aren’t national chains in increasing order of difficulty.

Very easy:

Darn Good Soup:

Outside of Darn Good Soup. Photo taken by Lori.

It’s fast, it’s cheap, it’s darn good, and all made from scratch.  If you cook much, you know that soup can easily be made without flour as long as it’s made from scratch.  Darn Good Soup changes its menu regularly, so it’s best to walk up to a worker and ask what’s gluten-free for the day.  The worker will point out anywhere between 5 to half the soups listed.  The hard part is picking a soup.

Bloomingfoods Market and Deli:

If your looking for a snack to pick up, Bloomingfoods is a good place to go.  All gluten-free items and snacks are labelled on the shelf.  The deli portion often keeps gluten-free cookies and muffins available, too.  Bloomingfoods must have dedicated cooking materials somewhere because I have not run into any cross-contamination issues with the cookies.

Gluten-Free shelf at Bloomingfoods. Photo taken by Lori

Easy:

Mandalay:

Mandalay restaurant. Photo taken by Lori

4th street is a street full of restaurants, many of them ethnic, not psuedo-ethnic.  As long as the place isn’t a buffet, gluten-free options abound.  Mandalay is a good example.  The restaurant specializes in Burmese cuisine and only uses fish sauce for the fish dishes, not soy sauce.  So, anything with fish and no wheat noodles is gluten-free.

Ami:

Ami is located on 3rd street and, last I recall, kept gluten-free soy sauce available.  The workers may be a bit wary when hearing about the dietary restrictions, but they can do gluten-free.  If you’ve been to Japanese restaurants before, this is neither a surprise nor a reason for alarm.  Just remember to say, “no barley,” as well when ordering.

The Owlery:

Talking to vegetarians about gluten-intolerance is often a two-fold scenario.  On one hand, vegetarians are more likely to know what gluten is and are aware of how dietary restrictions work.  One the other hand, vegetarianism often replaces meat with more grains, especially wheat, the exact opposite of what living with gluten-intolerance requires.  So, vegetarian places understand, but may have trouble accommodating.  The Owlery, however, tries to accommodate both at the same time.  The vegetarian restaurant keeps a separate gluten-free menu and ships in breads from a gluten-free bakery in Florida.  I haven’t been able to test this place out on any celiacs yet, but it looks like a good possibility.

The Owlery is a newer restaurant in town. Look for the small building on the square. Photo taken by Lori

Le Petit Cafe pick-up window:

During the Farmer’s Market, Le Petit Cafe opens a pick-up window along a path to the Farmer’s Market.  The pick-up window offers small items for a couple dollars.  It’s a good place to pick up breakfast after going to the market.  Anyway, this past year the cafe began offering gluten-free quiche.  I haven’t come across any contamination issues here, just yummy quiche.

“Gluten-free,” but not recommended for celiac:

Chelsea’s bakery:

Chelsea’s specializes in making a variety of organic baked goods.  This bakery makes some good gluten-free items … next to some items with gluten.  So, while the bakery has options for those with gluten-intolerance, I would not recommend this place to celiacs who cannot have any cross-contamination whatsoever.

4th St buffets:

As stated before, 4th street has numerous ethnic restaurants, but some are buffets.  A situation begging for cross-contamination.  If you arrive at a buffet just as it opens and before anyone else arrives, you can collect your lunch before anyone else has a chance to mess up the buffet.  My sister and I did that with an Indian buffet on 4th St.  She can test for gluten at a distance (I have no idea how she does it) and collect the gluten-free curries before the naan gets spread around.  I would not recommend this for anyone new to the whole no-gluten thing or celiacs in general.

Finishing Up the Semester…

Posted on by

This week: 30 pages. Next week: 45 pages. Next month: qualifying exams. Tonight: Sleep. It’s finals. Graduate school is definitely a different experience from undergrad. There is more emphasis on self learning and self-discipline. Self-discipline is what you rely on when you have nothing, but a syllabus with three sentences to guide you to finish a final paper worth 50% of your grade.

As I finish up my final fall semester of classes EVER as a student, all I can do is fight off the urge to do the bare minimum. This is not an option at this point. It has been a long 16 weeks of classes for me. The nine credits I signed up for this summer are definitely not fitting the idealistic notion that I created in my head. Rather, this has been the most challenging semester of my entire academic career (including kindergarten).

What have I learned from this?
I have learned that I will finish. Haha! Although this seems so simple, when it is 11:06 p.m. and your paper is due in 53 minutes (11:59 p.m.) you realize just how much willpower and drive you have to meet the deadline. The difference from undergrad is that I have been working on this research since the first week of class and STILL am working up to the last minute. This does not happen for everyone, but I do appreciate the fight that I still have up to the very end.

What will I do next semester?
I will finish. Same answer, different question. I am looking forward to being A.B.D. next year. I am looking forward to finishing up all of my classes. I am looking forward to conducting research. No matter what I am looking forward to, each responsibility will require me to meet each goal that I have set at the highest level possible. That is self-discipline: striving to finish strong despite the numerous responsibilities one must meet.

So, I encourage you as you think ahead to next year or later what you will do during your first fall semester. Consider what are the realistic goals that must be met to finish the semester, develop new and useful skills, and increase your knowledge in your field. Just know that in the end you will finish. : )

When you can’t go home…

Posted on by

I’m sure most of us would agree that one of the more difficult parts of graduate school is being far from your family, especially at the holidays. I’m happy to be going home this Christmas (first time in two years!), but I’m also happy that the holidays I’ve spent in Bloomington when I can’t go home have also been quite nice. This Thanksgiving I stayed in Bloomington and enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner with good friends, and the next night we went out to see the annual ceremony where the courthouse square is lit up by a canopy of lights.

The square lit up for the holidays. Photo from Indiana Public Media.

I can’t believe this is my fifth year in Bloomington and I never saw the lights celebration before! It was festive and fun, if a little chilly.

enjoying the festivities and trying to stay warm

There’s plenty of fun to be had in Bloomington when you can’t go home – especially when other students in the same position get together. Our Thanksgiving party this year was made up of a wonderful conglomeration of people from around the U.S. and around the world. I think my friend said it best when he said he was thankful that such a diverse group of people could get together and enjoy each other’s company and excellent food and good spirits. It was a very special holiday.

Tree inside the courthouse.

Happy holidays everyone! Only two weeks til winter break!

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on by

It has been a tradition of ours to always have a small Thanksgiving dinner for all those who are far from home away from family and friends during the holidays. The dinners often consist of an eclectic group of friends and acquaintances both domestic and international graduate students spanning across nearly a dozen academic disciplines. We also encourage a cultural potluck where people bring cuisine from different cultures to share with others. Food aplenty, good music in the air and libations flowing makes for an unforgettable night. Numerous interdisciplinary collaborations have sprang forth from these social events aimed to both entertain and as an opportunity to network outside the academic setting. Techniques and tool that a researcher use in his or her specific discipline can be very well applied to another completely different field with profound results. Good times!

Corn & black bean quinoa, 5-cheese mac, garlic bacon mash, collard greens, grilled chicken, and cast-iron rib-eye steaks. All homemade, enough said. Photo by Rashid Williams-Garcia.

Our large vinyl collection sure came in handy for the event. Can you guess what’s playing? Photo by Rashid Williams-Garcia.

What I Do to Have a Balanced Life…

Posted on by

My sole purpose at Indiana University is to graduate with my Ph. D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Yet, I seriously doubt that I would be able to be as successful as I am without friends (new family) and extracurricular activities to help keep me sane.  In many blog posts on this site, my colleagues and I share many ways that we have found to connect to the larger Bloomington community. I, too, like to stay active in the Bloomington community with my church, the Farmer’s Market, and shopping. Additionally, I have found myself very connected to students, my peers and undergraduates.  Perhaps it is the nature of my degree, but I enjoy the connections that I have with my peers and students.

I serve as the adviser to the undergraduate chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or the NAACP. This is my second year and I love the opportunities that I have to advise, mentor, and learn from these amazing students.

Members of the NAACP Executive Board

We have a very active chapter of the Black Graduate Students’ Association or BGSA here on campus. From social events to  networking nights, since my tenure at IU students in this group have celebrated birthdays, births, graduations, defenses, and so many other life altering events together. This has been a great way for me to connect to others across various disciplines.

BGSA friends. Taken by Tomika.

Color Run! And jogging around Bloomington…

Posted on by

Starting line at the Jill Behrman 5k – photo from IU Rec Sports

Last weekend I participated in my first ever organized run – the Jill Behrman 5k. It’s an annual race in honor of an IU student who was killed in 2000, and it is part of a variety of activities that raise awareness about assault, teach self-defense, and raise money for a scholarship fund. This year the event was a color run – meaning at every mile mark you were showered in powdery dye, with a sort of color free-for-all at the very end.

An explosion of yellow as runners unleash extra dye packets at the end.

I had an amazing time! The 5k was a great motivator to get me jogging regularly, and everyone’s positive energy on race day made for a wonderful experience. The race wasn’t timed, and it really seemed to be more about community, health, and fun than competition.

Roommate, husband, and me. If only we could always get our exercise this way!

Now that I’ve experienced one, I’m eager to participate in other races around Bloomington – and there are a lot! Almost every weekend you can find a way to get active. Here’s a sample:

In the spring (date to be determined) you can run a 5k at the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana. Run alongside the tigers? Count me in for that. And if you’re a serious runner who wants to know more about what Bloomington has to offer, check out this article from Runner’s World Magazine.