Dead Week

Finally, we get a dead week. Except its really only a day- Monday there are no classes and Tuesday exams begin. My first exam is on Wednesday . . . . .

I’d have to say, the scheduling here is a little strange. Despite the fact that we have no dead week, I still don’t get done with exams until December 19, which is very late compared to most other schools. Though it gives me more time to study for the later exams, it does not help me on my most important exam- Organic Chemistry. Additionally, I have final portfolios and papers due in my English classes . . . a little extra time would have been nice for that too.

But every cloud does have its silver linings. As I was whining to myself about how I have to study in an erratic way because of the time constraints, I looked ahead to next semester. Not only do we get a spring break, but we ALSO get two days off for Mardi Gras. This is especially important because this year, Mardi Gras will fall on my 20th birthday. And boy, what a way to celebrate.

SO the moral of the story: It’s a give and take. I give up a couple of days of studying for partying . . . .just kidding, y’all. We work hard AND play hard here.

Welcome to Tulane . . . . where we have round-the-clock entertainment, whether it be from a parade, campus activities, or . . sadly . . a physics textbook on December 18 when all your friends are already getting their entertainment elsewhere!

Shaolin Show

Last Saturday, I went to see the Shaolin Warriors perform. I’ve been a martial arts student for a significant portion of my life, and I was very interested to see their technique. In their program, they had not only students from the school in New Orleans, but experts from the Shaolin Temple itself.

The sound was basically a dialogue from a young man who is lost in the ghetto of New Orleans but finds his way to enlightenment by learned the ways of the Shaolin Warriors. The story takes him and his friends to China, where they learn impressive tricks from students there.

The actual performances were very impressive, and it was obvious that these young people had immense skill. The New Orleans group of students particularly impressed me, as did the youngest group, which was between about 6 and 8 years old. These children knew the meaning of discipline at such a young age. They also showed extensive command over their movements, which is very difficult at an age where motor development is still occuring. The older students were in their teens. They were of multiple racial backgrounds, and they showed all kinds of different unique skills. No two fighters fought the same way, each had molded his technique to fit his particular style. Amongst the Chinese warriors, we saw men of all ages performing with all kinds of weapons- Psis, Nunchucks with an extra bar in between, swords, bos, and even brooms at times.

The show was certainly worth seeing- y’all check them out sometime!

AKPsi Semiformal

So last weekend, we had the AKPsi semiformal. At first, I grumbled and mumbled about going. A friend of mine needed a date, and asked me, since I already knew some of the people that would be there. Rather grudgingly, I said yes. This same friend tends to do my physics homework every week, and its not like I ever offer to compensate him for his services. Rather, about a fifth of my class now depends on him . . . So I had myself yet another semiformal to attend.

And I figured it being a DIFFERENT semiformal, I could wear the SAME dress I wore to all of them last year. Probably not my smartest idea as people recognized it when I got there, but I figured I was being resourceful. The less work I had to do, the better. I had sorority interviews that night as well, and it was also VERY frigid outside. I ended up walking back to my place barely forty minutes before I had to go, peeling off layers of formal wear, and then disapprovingly staring at my dress knowing how cold it was outside. If I had been a little smarter, I would realized this before I chose to wear the one nice dress I have and found some other mode of dressing nicely without dying of hypothermia. But I wore the dress, and my friend’s sweater-coat thing on top. And froze anyways. My friend and I were late getting dressed because warmth was our utmost concern, and hence, we made our dates miss the bus. We ended up taking a cab to the Republic, the club at which our semiformal was held.

(Me still freezing in my friend’s lovely white coat)>>

The Republic, surprisingly, did have a place to check coats. I’m used to Russia, where they check them everywhere and its highly unfashionable to tote them around. In New Orleans, you either freeze for the few minutes you are out in the cold, or deal with the reality of carrying your coat ALL night long. Most of the time we choose to freeze . . unless its in the forties, which it was that night. Once we got inside, it was very warm. The music was good, and the regular Republic crowd started showing up as well. Soon the dance floor was packed, and they played lots of classics, like Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. I ended up having a great time though I dreaded it at first.






My suitemate and I at the semiformal














My friends Yusuke, Annabelle, and Ricardo- the two AKPsi men and their dates after we finally got to the club!

In New Orleans, I’ve gone to three different dances in the last year, and all out of obligation. Here at Tulane we like to dress up and have a posh night every once in awhile. I don’t think many other schools can say that. I have friends at LSU who are actually jealous of all the dances I must attend–for my sorority as well as different organizations such as IATU.

After this dance, and the third use of my green dress, I guess I can say they’re not so bad after all.

Diwali

So since I’m catching up on blogging here, another important event in my life occured in the last couple of weeks as well- Diwali!!!

For those of you that may not know, Diwali is the festival of lights. It’s celebrated all over India, and the actual date of the festival was about a month ago. But the India Association of Tulane University decided to celebrate on November 19, 2006. Many of my friends danced on stage in the various performances–friends of every race, not just those of south asian descent. That’s one thing I love the most about Tulane– the way cultures don’t segregate into groups the way they do at big state universities. Here in New Orleans we’ll love you no matter what your race and heritage, and we’ll be even more excited if you can teach us something about your culture!

I celebrated Diwali with my friends here at Tulane about two weeks ago. Here are some pictures of the dances and of my part in a skit called the Diwali dating game.

House Gutting

So LONG TIME NO BLOGGING, huh?

Sorry to all you freshmen eagerly awaiting this. I’ve been cramming for midterms and chilling in Friendswood for Thanksgiving.

But before I left, last Saturday, the Asian American Student Union went house gutting with SAFER. As the community service chair, I made all the arrangements and expected me and the board members to show up. But we had a good turnout, and in fact, most of the members participating were NOT on the board. We wereout from about 9 to 4 and we got to see the levee which lead to the destruction of the house we were gutting.

The house we were gutting








Setting up before we began








The other half of our group listening for instructions








Jacob, Brian, and Byron emptying out junk from inside the house








Me raking some away some pieces of paneling, drywall, and peoples’ lives







Lower 9th ward levee








The Asian American Student Union on our house gutting day

It’s funny . . . the memories you make out here in New Orleans. Spending Saturday with pink respirator filters hanging off my face in a house infested with giant roaches wouldn’t normally seem like a fun activity. But seeing the house after we were done was the only reward we needed. I’m rather inspired to do it again some time. After all, without students like us, some of these houses would simply be neglected.

Only at Tulane . . . .

TEMS to the Rescue

So this weekend, I did nothing exciting in terms of Tulane or learning more about this wonderful environment. I spent it being sick . . . . literally. I’m not really sure why but it was pretty embarrassing when all my friends wanted to go out and enjoy this lovely cold weather we’ve been having and I had to stay inside in bed. That’s pretty much all I did this weekend . . . spend time in bed, watching tv or watching stuff on my computer, generally relaxing without eating anything that would make my stomach turn. I missed my sorority’s amazing Family Breakfast, which was at 3:30 AM on Sunday. Normally I would have been up and would have gone gladly- breakfast is easily my favorite meal of the day. Unfortunately, I had a few issues with keeping food IN my stomach, as gross as that is.

But then there was TEMS to the rescue. I have this friend in TEMS who ended up helping me out. He told me what was wrong with me, how to fix it, and what NOT to do. I started feeling better after I listened to his advice and I knew what to avoid for next time. You wouldn’t really think that another 19 year old kid would know something like that but these TEMS students are the exception.

Last year a bunch of my friends and I applied to be in TEMS. Some of us made the first interview, some of us made the second, and a lucky few were selected to by trained by TEMS, or the Tulane student EMT group. They mainly serve the Tulane area, but their knowledge and expertise is much needed for this campus and its neighbors. These students go on call a few days a month where they wear their uniforms and radios and must leave if an emergency does arise. They do this in turn so no one ends up missing anything really important in terms of classwork. When I brought up the subject of my mystery illness to my TEMS friend, I figured I’d get somewhat of an answer, but not the exact causes of my illness. He saved me a trip to the health center . . . . and he’s only 19 years old.

These are the kind of kids you will find at Tulane. They are dedicated to their cause, whatever it may be. And in the end, you will be impressed because for a moment while talking to them, you’ll forget that they’re just students still adjusting to college and its increasing demands.

That’s Tulane for ya . . . we’re hard workers here! =)

Volleyball

Recently I have started going to volleyball games at Tulane. I don’t know why I haven’t gone all this time, but a few friends of mine, diehard fans, are suitemates with one of the girls on the team. So every Friday and Sunday they wear their Tulane Volleyball t shirts and tote their signs with the girls’ names on them to Fogelman. And then they watch the team win . . . which it usually does.

So here’s the thing: we have a reallly good volleyball team. It’s second in our conference, and the games are always exciting to watch. I’d say volleyball is one of the better sports here at Tulane. Three of the girls are Eastern European, and they were all recruited by Tulane for their talent, which is obvious when you see a perfect service ace or a kill that’s so elegant it looks like its being done in slow motion.

Here are some pictures of the girls . . . and if you’re a Tulane kid reading this–go watch them some time!!!

These are from their game on Friday against UAB . . . which they lost by a VERY close fifth match!