Dead week.. I hate the silence

So its the dead week now, and it's extremely silent in the residence hall lobbies'. I've always seen a couple of students hanging out in the lounge or playing ping-pong/pool or just video chatting with their families back home, but looks like last night I was the only one sitting there. It isn't surprising since I was studying there, but I expected some company. Anyways, talking about the finals, I'm not tensed. It's a really wierd fact about me but I never get scared when exams come. I'm just concerned about the work-load that I have, that almost everyone must be having as of now. I have to do the math, chem and psyc courses all over again, and I've just started math. So one week, 3 subjects.. I should get tensed soon, since this ain't high school anymore. Grades matter, realtime. Plus getting A's are really a big concern now, my dad loves A grades for some reason. And he somehow wants me to get good grades far more than I do. I really don't know how to fulfill parents' expectations at times. My mom is pretty cool about whatever grades I get, so I don't have much to worry over her wishes. So lets study, all of us, and get the grades our parents want ! Study hard people :)

What this class offered me..

I've learned many things in this class, heard many guest speakers enlighten us with their experiences and knowledge. I'm well-aware of the many opportunities that I have at my college time in Purdue, and out-of-Purdue as well. Inspired by this class, I'd really like to take up Spanish as a foreign language. I've always wanted to learn Spanish, but never focused on it. Hearing the guest speakers talk about how useful this could be makes me go for it now.

I'd love to study abroad, in Germany probably, since it has amazing aerospace programs for foreign students. I've mentioned about it too in one of my previous posts. My first step in engaging in global activities was to go to the call-outs of Purdue MUN team. I was selected in the interview and accepted in the team due to one single reason : my awareness of the global issues and problems that our world is facing. And being to an actual college MUN in November made me realize how big these issues are and how many people actually care about these things without any personal benefits.

The learning community gave me some really good friends. Sharing almost three classes together helped a lot. I barely know people from other classes, since its too hard to interact with them outside the classes. But the LC organizes social events too, which gives us a jolly time to spend together. I'm really thankful that I got friends like Dharna (who is also an amazing roommate), Karlyn, Daniel, Karan, Liang, Nick, Patrick, Justin, Mrigank. Moreover, it's always good to have friendly teachers like Anne, Veronica and Prof. Jesiek around. Allover, my decision of being in a learning community was truly worth it (thanks to Dharna who convinced me into it) .

What I Am Going to Take Away From this Class?

I learned a lot in this class. I found it very interesting, because I never would have thought that engineers think differently in different countries. I really want to do a lot with what I learned in this class. Next semester, I am taking French 3. I don't know how that is going to go, because I have not taken French in a while, so hopefully it goes alright. I am just nervous, because when I talk to people about taking a language they either say it is super easy or super hard. So we will see how that goes. I also plan to study abroad. I have already filled out an application. Studying abroad is something that I have wanted to do for so long. I, personally, want to go to Europe. I love the culture, because it is so rich and interesting. When I visited France, I could hardly stand how absolutely beautiful it was. Europe also has great opportunities in my major, because they do so much research there and the food culture is incredibly large. I know that I would absolutely love to have opportunities abroad in my career in the future. After listening to a speaker in engineering 194, she said if you would like to do this, then make it known. I will definitely make it know that I would love to work abroad. I would definitely enjoy this class if it lasted longer, like a whole year or multiple days a week. It is really interesting. I think that would just really allow this learning community to really expand.

Cultural differences..

The first thing that one learns after coming into a different country is that they have to acquaint themselves with the cultural differences of people, whether it is about living or talking or just the habits. Accents are way different as well. I'm friends with people of various cultures, and one thing that I've understood is that one has to accept and respect other's cultures to be friends with them. Their festivals matter, as much as ours do, and should be given equal importance. Plus I feel that the festivals here are fun and welcoming, and I loved participating in some of them.. I managed to get some thanksgiving food at dinner, which was delicious.

Thanksgiving break!

Happy thanksgiving everyone!
So this was my first thanksgiving break in the US, and even though I couldn't go home to meet my family, my break was fun! My break started off earlier than it was supposed to since I had almost no classes on tuesday. I slept off well that day, which almost covered up for the sleep that I missed so much! I called up all my family members on thanksgiving to wish them and thank them for every single thing that they did. Since it isn't a festival in India, my parents were unaware but were happy that I was thanking them for their efforts. It's sweet how one wish can brighten your day, since they seemed so much happier after that. On thanksgiving, it was crazy since we had nowhere to dine. All restaurants were closed and we had no food in our dorm rooms. So we walked through the lanes of Chauncey Village, hoping to find something. We walked into the only open place : Olive House, and the best part is that it was great! We found good Indian food when we weren;t even expecting it. Then we went to Vienna's cafe for some brownies and coffee. So I guess the day wasn't that bad. Plus I actually ate at different restaurants for five days in a row, which so far was the best food experience (but now I really miss dining courts.. ). Had a very soothing break :) 

Culture Observations at Purdue

This semester has been new and different for so many reasons. Getting acquainted to college was a big task and I had fun doing so. (I am ready for a break. Thanksgiving was nice, but I am ready for Christmas. Three more weeks!) I have experienced many different and new situations and grown quite a bit. This semester I have grown a lot in my knowledge on diversity. I have also got to meet many people of many different cultures. I really enjoyed learning about how they live. It is so funny when they ask questions about our lives that are second nature. It can often be hard to explain why we do things, because it is just a part of our lives, the same way their differences are just a part of their lives. I gone through these experiences in Engineering 103, Engineering 131, our Cross-Cultural Project in engr 131, OEPP Roundtables, and just in class and on campus. Even over the holidays, I had cross-cultural experiences! At Thanksgiving, my cousin and his fiancee (both former Purdue computer engineering grads) came. My cousin's fiancee is from France. It was really interesting to learn about her experiences in France and then to compare stories about Purdue. I would never expect to have experiences so many diverse experiences at college.

Yay! Thanksgiving

I am so excited for Thanksgiving! I am so excited that I just needed to write a post about it. For Thanksgiving, my family is coming from all over. My grandma and uncle are coming from the suburbs of Chicago. I have an aunt and uncle coming from Chicago. My cousin is coming from Iowa State. Her dad and younger twin siblings are coming from San Antonio, Texas. My uncle and his wife are coming with two of their kids, one who is married and bringing her two daughters. Her two daughters have to be like the cutest little girls on earth they are adorable. I love them! My cousin and his fiancee, who graduated from Purdue a few years ago, are coming. I can't wait to meet my cousin's fiancee. They are both computer engineers and work at Intel in California. This is the last time I will see my cousin for a year because he is going to work in Tokyo, Japan for the next year. She is from France and she how so many exciting stories. I love France and really want to study abroad there so she is getting me connected with her family and cousins. I am so excited! It's going to be so much fun! My mom is going to make so much delicious food and then the official Christmas season start and it is going to be an all around good time!