Brandeis

My first year at Brandeis was great. I am currently pursuing my Master's degree in Sustainable International Development with an emphasis in International Education and Youth Development. The best thing about the program, by far, is the people. As an American, I am part of the minority. Most of my classmates come from various different countries around the world. They are the coolest people and they bring with them an array of experience and background, contributing to the diverse learning environment. They're really fun too!

Unfortunately, I was lame last year didn't take a single picture. I was therefore left to scrounge for these few pictures, which I received via email from some people. You'll just have to wait until this May for more, when I return to Boston to graduate!

One of the perks I enjoyed this year was all the MANY extra-curricular activities and workshops that were available to us. My favorite: every month we had "cultural nights," where classmates, grouped together by the common region of the world they were from, hosted an evening of ethnic dance, music, food, etc. So pictured here is "American cultural night," which was actually in the day. We put together and "everything-american picnic"--which would include the hugest spread of down-home, artery-clogging cooking you've ever seen, field games like egg tosses and ultimate, and who could forget the country line dancing. You'd be surprised how well a bunch of Africans could groove to songs like "She thinks my tractor's sexy," and "Achy, breaky, heart." I only wish you could see the extravagency of these productions and how wild, colorful, and crazy these people can be (i'll try to scrounge up some photos). Don't be fooled by their innocent looking faces!

I tried to find a funny caption for this picture, but I got nothing.
Visiting development organizations in Washington DC. This is AED (Academy for Educational Development). They are a partner organization to EDC (who I intern with now). I tried a million times to get a position with AED, with no luck. Then I discovered EDC, and I'm glad I did.

How's this for cheezy?

Brandeis library.....I did spend a few hours in here.
More of the campus
The coolest part....a castle! It acts as dorms for the freshmen. Sure beats Deseret Towers.
Statue of Justice Louis Brandeis....my mom really likes this statue.

One of my favorite pals, Oahn Bui, from Vietnam......she sent me most of these pix!
Visiting CARE Intl., in Washington DC again

One of my classrooms. No, they are usually not this empty! This year, we got a brand new, state-of-the art building thanks to a generous donation from some alumni.

When Springtime roles around in Boston, life suddenly seems really good! Here I am leaving campus on my way back to the train (that's how I got to and from school every day). My commute took one hour each way and involved lots of walking, a short subway ride, and of course, the train. In winter, this was no fun. In order to survive the severity of the elements, I was forced to adopt quite a significant clothing-preparation ritual, which included wearing a full-on face mask. (I looked very criminal-esk- when catching a glimpse of my reflection in store windows, I even scared the crap out of myself).
Here are a many of my classmates. My head's poking up in the middle.

Here a few of us are attending an environmental fundraiser dinner. In this case, for the Charles River Watershed Association's annual banquet. (Hey, free dinner should never be passed up).