Departures and Arrivals ... but mostly departures

Well ISA’s,

Get out your handkerchiefs. Are you sitting down? You might want to sit down. Unless you’re on a treadmill or walking through a busy intersection. In that case, the fact that you’re reading this is impressive, but finish what you’re doing and then sit down because … I have some bad news.

Our fearless leader, our top dog, our mother of all things programming … is leaving …

today.

Here at the ISO, we take these departures quite seriously, because losing a member of the team is like losing a member of your not-really-family-but-I-spend-more-time-with-them-and-sometimes-think-I-like-them-better-but-don’t-tell-my-mom family. And that’s sad.

So, as we, the programming team, don our black mourning vestments and cover our face in dry erase marker because somebody replaced our chalkboard and now that’s all we have, we shall remember Tasha amidst our piercing wails and steady beating of fist to chest. Wait – no, I'm getting my farewell parties mixed up with my Ancient Mediterranean funerary rights (It happens).

Regardless, we’re still going to wear our symbolic black attire, but instead of tearing all our clothing and covering ourselves with dust, we’ll just listen to some sad songs and make this cheesy tribute.

Here we go. We’re counting on you to pick out your own soundtrack music for this, so make sure it’s really depressing.

Ready?

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There is no single way to describe Tasha.

The first time you meet her, you may think: This girl lives in another world.

And then you get to know her, and you realize …

You were right.

But, that hasn’t stopped Tasha from committing herself wholeheartedly to the ISO and the GW community.

When it comes to programming and all the work that's needed to make an event successful, Tasha has never been afraid to get her hands dirty. ... or any part of her, for that matter.

Her dedication and enthusiasm sometimes left her feeling like she bit off more than she could chew …

But even after all of the stress each event would bring, Tasha was always ready to bite into something new.

And when we had problems, who came to our rescue? Tasha. Not just as a co-worker or supervisor, but as a co-person, a friend … a superhero.

Who was always ready to stand by our side …

no matter how embarrassing or ridiculous the situation?

Who greeted us every morning with her smiling exuberance?

And motivated us with her positivity and gentle nature?

Who has always encouraged us to be true to ourselves?

That’s right: Tasha

But the time has come.

She’s moving out into the wider world.

The sun has set on her ISO adventure

But as Ernest Hemingway once penned: “The Sun Also Rises.”

So, go Tasha.

Without sadness or regret.

Keep reaching for that next great adventure.

Don’t let the unknown paralyze you like a deer in the headlights.

And don’t look back.

Because, no matter what happens, we’ll be here.

And we’ll save you a seat.

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Whew. I don't know about you ISA's, but I'm tearing up.

Isn't that just the saddest thing?

How are we going to survive without Tasha?

(Don't worry: you'll still have me!)

:D

Uh ... I mean ... we'll miss you Tasha. :(

-K.M.

Zoo

Hey Everyone!

My name is Xiruo, and I am very happy to share my life in DC with you!

Last Sunday, my friends and I went to National Zoo. The Zoo is located at 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW. It is very easy to access, you can take the Red Line to the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stop.

There are more than 2,000 animals from 400 different species reside at the National Zoo, from very very small insects to very very big elephants. From the map, you can see there are many different parts at the National Zoo. Kids' Farm and Amazonia Habitat are my favorite.

In the Kids' Farm, there are a number of tame animals, and you can easily observe and touch them. In the Amazonia Habitat, there is a living tropical forest with more than 350 species of plants, including 50-foot-tall trees, tropical vines, and epiphytes.

Unfortunately, we didn't see the panda this time. We will definitely come back again.

Museums!

Dear friends, congratulate that you have chosen GW, which locates in one of the most amazing city in the world--DC. To be honest, you will never get bored in this city. I'll give a brief introduction to my favorite, Smithsonian Museums.

Smithsonian Museums is the world's largest museum complex. Most of the museums have "permanent exhibition" and "special exhibition". The special exhibition is changing from seasons to seasons in order to make sure you always have something new and exciting to see. What's more, most of the special exhibition are really inspiring and interesting. It never fails me. Moreover, all these museums are free! Yes, they are free! You can stop by whenever you want and explore your own journey in these wonderful museums. Please follow me to my most frequently visitted museums.

National Air and Space Museum

It's all about aeroplane, space ship, universe and etc. Most of them are permanent exhibition. It's really a big one. I have paid more than 10 visits to it yet I still haven't carefully gone through all the details in the museum. If you have watched , yes it's in this museum.

Also, it's very convenient to get to this museum as it's just near metro.

National Portrait Gallery

Locates in China town, another my favorite museum. Usually, it has half special exhibition and half permanent exhibition. Some of the special exhibition are really about masterpiece in the world. You should keep an eye on its website. It also has all kinds of performances in the court of museum every week.

National Museum of Natural History

From insect to dinosaur, from rocks to rain drops, from flowers to tree, from germs to atmosphere, you can find explanation for everything you can see in the world here! It's the most fun museum, together with air and space museum, in DC. If you have to bring together with some kids to take a tour in DC, these are the places you don't want to miss.

National Gallery of Art

It's not part of Smithsonian Museums, but, anyway, it's free and nice and close to Smithsonian Museums :P

It has east and west wings, east for classic art and west for modern. One of the best inspiring places as well.

You can find all the detailed info for the museums I mentioned above here @http://www.si.edu/ . There are a lot of museums that I didn't include.

Enjoy your new life in DC!

Programming Assistant

Hey guys,

My name is Alex and I would like to introduce myself to everybody, I am the new programming assistant over in International Service Offices. As most of you know, here we like to plan events that promote our C3 ideology (conversation, community, and culture) and I hope to see you soon at our events. Like most of you who have shared your cultural experiences, I have recent one that I would like to share.

Two weeks ago I was visiting the city Paris, France doing all the touristy things that people do the first time they go there. I saw the Louvre, had lunch in the Eiffel Tower, took one of those tacky double-decker bus tours (which are actually really great when you first arrive), took a stroll on the Champs-Elysees, and even made it to sex district to see the Moulin Rouge. But, my most memorable encounter with French culture came at a little café no more than 30 yards away from my hotel.

After spending the day sightseeing all the cliché places, my father and I would like to interact with the everyday Frenchman to really absorb the culture rather then get spoon fed the buttered up tourist sites. So what better place to meet and talk with them then bars/cafés? For the first four nights we did this going out to explore places just trying to get far enough away (but not too far). By the fifth night, we were tired and just wanted to get some drinks by the hotel before hitting the sack. We walked over to the closest café and saw there were a few people sitting outside, so we decided to go inside and sit alone being exhausted from the day of sightseeing. Here, we sat for about two hours having drinks and watching the rugby that was being played on tv. Even though we didn’t understand the game and it’s rules, my dad being an ex-football player and me a hockey player, we could appreciate the physicality and competitiveness of the game enough to enjoy watching. During this time we also conversed with the French bartender who only spoke a very little amount of English, this allowed the conversation topics to not venture far past alcohol and sports. But, about an hour into our drinking, the owner realized we were American and came in to invite us out with him and his American friend. We thanked him but politely declined his invitation. As the second hour passed, more beer and scotch had passed into our system over taking our drowsy demeanor and unleashing the social side. At this time the owner came back in and offered again, we accepted.

Now outside there was a group of 15 or so people and we sat down right in the middle. There was a man playing American rock n roll songs on an acoustic guitar, girls dancing, couples and single people talking and laughing, and now my Dad and I. We started talking with the American outside as he explained that he had been living in Paris for nine years now as lawyer, and in the states he attended Princeton for his undergrad and then went to Harvard to attain his masters. From this, our conversations grew to the people around us talking about subjects from the recent arrests of Strauss-Kahn to debates about which song the guitarist should play next. As the night wore on the guitar player got tired and handed me the guitar allowing me to even play a song or two. Finally, as the last sparkling of the Eiffel Tower fizzled off in the distance, we walked back to our hotel that sat beside entrance the Louvre.

This single night in Paris is memorable for me and one I will never forget. I could go on and on trying to explain the stories I heard and things I’ve learned. I hope you international students will be able to experience a night like this with one of our C3 events and hope it will be as memorable to you as this story was to me.

-Alex Smith

Rethinking Stereotypes

This is a post written by Liz, who is unable to access the blog right now because of the internet restrictions where she currently is residing.

I am in Shanghai, China right now. Ever since I graduated high school from there, I am back in Shanghai every summer.  Recently my best friend from high school, Lory, and I went on a pub crawl in Shanghai.  The actual pub crawl was awesome, but the other people on the crawl (the other 50 or so participants) are what makes it fun and a different experience every time I go on one.

Anyway the point of this story is not how great Shanghai nightlife is, but about stereotypes of Americans abroad.  We met a lot of people on the crawl.  My friend Lory is ethnically Chinese from Malaysia, but was born in Georgia, but only lived in Georgia for a year while still a baby.  After being born in the U.S., she lived in four different Asian countries, going to various international schools.  She now goes to college in the Midwest, so when people ask her where she is from, it’s always a confusing question, and she still has not found a satisfying answer.

Lory decided to go with the “I’m from Malaysia” answer that night.  It was interesting to see the different reactions of various people.  I was surprised by the ignorance of some such as this particular American guy who was interested in my friend but said slowly to her, “I’m single.  Do you know what that means?” Others did not know Malaysia was a country.  I did not help the American stereotype of not really knowing world geography/cultures when I was talking with some Italians also on the crawl.  I told them my dad was Italian, born and raised (true), and that I had taken a few Italian classes for free the past semester.  When they asked me what I had learned, after a few minutes I could only think of three words (“colazione” – breakfast; “fritatta” – like a quiche type thing; “binario tre” – track 3). 

I also felt silly when talking with someone from Denmark and saying “Oh! I just went there over Spring break- Amsterdam is so nice!” (Amsterdam is NOT in Denmark by the way…)

Maybe I can blame this on the fact that I was on a pub crawl and a few drinks in, but regardless it was pretty embarrassing, but it made me realize not to be so critical of Americans abroad.  I’ve been lucky to have many opportunities to travel, yet I still say stupid things.  Many people don’t have the opportunity to travel abroad, and this sometimes comes off as ignorance.  One of the things I’m doing in Shanghai this summer is helping with a few groups of Americans studying abroad here.  They arrive in a few weeks, so I’m excited to see what they think of life here! I’ll keep you posted!

-Liz

Transcultural Friendship

I want to declare my true passion for 1 + 1 > 2.  No, this is not bad math. Actually, I got really excited by the magic sum of two people expressing mutual admiration and desire. The result of this encounter gives new perspectives into the windows of the future.

Since I came to the US I have tried to overcome the barriers of the language and culture to make real friends. Gladly I have made a few, however, I am still trying to figure out when real friends allow themselves to share intimacy. Is it on the bar table or smoking a cigarette in work interval? Is it when attending a football game or having a BBQ on Sunday? When is there that friends are just together with no pretext for that and that moment is enough in itself because it is felt like part of what is meaningful in live?

Gelman library, the Best!

After the first semester in GWU, I have to say that I love the Gelman library very much. It is clean, it is cozy, and it opens all the time.

Thanks to the next-door Starbucks, every time I walk into the lobby, the coffee aroma gives me a fresh mood. Reserving the study rooms in advance or finding a seat at random are both great choice. Furthermore, eating small food and snacks are allowed, you can have a hunger for knowledge but never for food in Gelman.

One of the most functional facilities in Gelman is the cozy sofa zone! I always bring my laptop here and gradually feel sleepy, finally take a nice nap.

The Gelman library is a place so comfortable, not only for study, but for other recreations like moving watching, reading and online chatting. During the semester the library opens 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, enjoy the convenience at any time!