Virtual DOTL part II

(note: I received an email from a girl yesterday who told me she read the blog and had other questions about UVa! I felt so relieved that there is at least one person in this world who is reading the blog.haha)

Anyways, continuing my Virtual Days on the Lawn for ya all out there!:



Hoos: Old Cabel Hall. A traditional-styled theatre where a lot of musical performances are held every week. The photo above features the Virginia Gentlemen, one of my favorite acapella groups here at UVa:) Today, Jeffery Sachs (renowned economist) just held a talk in here!

Boos: Old Cabel Hall has large columns at the back that block some of the audience's views. No idea who designed that.


Hoos: Painting Beta Bridge is one of the 109 things you need to do before graduation. Basically, its a bridge that is on Rugby Road (where a lot of fraternity houses are), and you paint on it to promote whatever event/cause that you want to promote for. It's fun and you can show off your non-existent graffiti skills!


Boos: Have to wake up at 6 in the morning so you can avoid being painted over, and that people will see it in the day time/ at night when they are out to party on Rugby Road.




















Hoos: Springfest! one of the annual carnival events organized by University Programs Council. One of the activities of the day is Gus-burger eat-off (on the left)(Gus-burger is a burger with a piece of egg and hamburger in it, the best thing to have when you're a little...) and also disgusting eating competitions like Vermonster eat-off(on the right) (a huge tub of Ben and Jerry's ice-cream shared with 4 other people, and people just chuck the ice-cream on the table and pass it around so as to get it finished asap!!)...it's so much fun to watch! We also had Sara Bareilles come perform!(woo-woot!)

Boos: Stomach not big enough to be in all these competitions.

Hoos: One of the tranquil days at the Ampitheatre when all is just so peaceful. One of the things I love most about here is just enjoying nature, something I would NEVER have the opportunity to do if I stayed in Hong Kong.

Boos: The weather is pretty sporadic these days, it could be really beautiful one day, then kinda chilly the next...but makes you appreciate the better days more!

Oh, and some clarifications for people who are concerned about the social life here. You do not have to join the Greek life (i.e. be in a fraternity or sorority, and only 30% of the student body is in one) to have a life. It is a good way of getting to know people and socializing, but there are SO many other organiztions, activities to do here that you do not need to worry if you don't feel like joining one.(There are more than 600 registered student groups here!)

Virtual DOTL-Part I

I'm sure a lot of you (like me) won't have a chance to visit the school/go to Days on the Lawn (that is happening right now as I'm typing this entry), so I'm going to give you a little tour of the school, a kind of 'Virtual Days on the Lawn'(with pictures that are taken on my pretty crappy camera)


First of all, the Lawn during different seasons-


->During the summer, it can get pretty sweaty here in Charlottesville.

-> The University Programs Council has a 'Photobooth on the Lawn' during Halloween, and it's during the Fall when you can see the changing colours of the trees everyday.

-> Trick-or-treating on the Lawn! Where tons of kids and families from all over Charlottesville come to UVa and the Lawnies (the Lawn residents as we can them) give out heaps of candies to little kids who dress up as peacocks, a whole family of M&Ms, little fairy dogs that run around... and the Best Costume Award goes to a Dad in a surfing suit while with one hand he's holding a surfboard that has a huge bite-mark on it, and on the other, his baby is dressed up as a shark! (how cute is that?)


-> Lighting of the Lawn! An annual event that brings the students together for hot chocolate, acapella groups and basically waiting for that moment when the Lawn lights up....and then you're like 'OH...so that's it?'
But when you're sitting on the steps of the Rotunda at night looking at the lit up Lawn, you just can't help but think how lucky you are to be here.


-> When it snows, it's awesome....and no, you aren't allowed to sled on the Lawn but you can streak with you UGGs on.




Tired of the Lawn already? Want to see other parts of the school? Check back here later for another installment of Virtual Days on the Lawn and I'm going to take you to dorms, the Stadium and other things you won't see on the official school webpage!


--ella

The List

So much with the tags and 16 things about me on Facebook, here’s 6 things I love about UVa:

1. People. If I didn’t like the people I interact with everyday, I would have transferred already. (Shout-out to Fourth-years! All the Fourth-years I have met are just amaaazing)

2. Grounds. Yes, we don’t call it campus, call it Grounds. Every time I walk around on a bright sunny day, I am still awed at where I got myself into! Really, all the Fourth-years (aka Seniors) tell me they are still extremely appreciative of the beauty here: ) The thing I like to do most is take naps on the grass.

3. Acceptance of diversity. I can’t lie to you and say this is the most diverse school ever (I mean, it is a public school and ~60% are Caucasian Americans), but the thing is the different racial and ethnic groups mix really well here, and everyone is appreciative of other people’s cultures. And it’s not just racial diversity I’m talking about here, but the acceptance of being different. Here, you can choose to dress up for class or you can just go in your sweatpants and hoodie; you can go out and party every weekend or you can stay in to watch a movie with friends…there is no stereotypical UVa student except that in general, people are smart, care about their academics and just really friendly…that’s what I appreciate most about UVa.

4. Resources. So many libraries where you can go and study, and the libraries offer a ton of resources and books that are just plain overwhelming! Also, there are various study-abroad programs for the semester or just summer/winter break, and programs like ‘Alternative Spring Break’ where you can do something meaningful over breaks. Research opportunities, of course, with professors or initiate one of your own…the opportunities are out there waiting for you.

5. Size of the school.I’m talking about the size of the population as Kim has mentioned in the post earlier, which is a good optimum; and the size of Grounds too, as it’s located in a nice little city called Charlottesville, and the places you need to go to are practically within walking/biking distance, which makes you walk and burn off that ‘Freshmen 15’!(oh trust me, you need the exercise)

6. Students being in charge. Student self governance: the word that is heavily emphasized during orientation and all the painstakingly long receptions. But you won’t know how to appreciate it unless you are really involved in it. From students driving the buses to students in charge of the honor system, students care about what is happening on Grounds, and if they see something unjust happening within the system, they will voice out their opinions.

ella.

sometimes, i am a nerd!

Congrats on being accepted to UVA!!!check back regularly for posts on our next topic, Our fav classes and Professors:
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Classes are a huge part of college life (you are a student afterall :P). So if you ask me what classes/professors I liked the most in the brief one year I’ve been here…

1/ USEM- First- year ONLY, everyone should go take a USEM!! They’re a small class (around 10-20 people) where you get close interactions with your Professor and other students in the class. The topics are generally specific and interesting, and the professor is usually pretty flexible in adjusting to where the students want the class to go. My Professor, John Nemec was really funny and nice, and he always asked us whether we liked the books we were reading and adjusted the assignment deadlines to our schedules. The class was just mostly chatting, him telling us about his adventures in India and interesting people he met etc…highly recommend his classes!

2/ Poetry/ fiction writing- Love creative writing but feel like you haven’t written anything creative in a long time? (because writing is now all about essays and papers…) Take one of these classes. I am taking a poetry writing class, and not only is the writing process fun and relaxing, it’s amazing to see how well your peers can write!(Fiction writing is equally great too as I heard from friends who were in it- also, these classes are an easy A as long as you participate!)

3/ TA- Maybe you have heard that TAs are just sucky teachers that don’t really matter in a course. But I can prove you wrong. I’ve been in a class with Jon Shoup, TA for politics, for two semesters because he is such a great teacher! He’s really encouraging and nice, speaks eloquently and explains concepts very clearly. I wouldn’t have learnt so much without him! So if you ever get to be in a class where he TAs for (I think he’s going an African-American studies class next semester), remember to go to his office hours because you really can learn a lot and have great conversations with him: )

Speaking of office hours, go to a Professor’s office hours! That’s why they have it for- so students can go talk to them! Don’t feel intimidated to go the first time and just introduce yourself, prepare some questions about the course or something that’s related to his/her field of research…once you start establishing a relationship with him/her, you’ll understand how valuable that can be.

ella 26/3/09

Really, UVa?!

Shoutout from C’ville! I’m Ella Wong, first year student from Hong Kong, most probably doing the new student initiated Global Development major(check it out!) and Foreign Affairs.

Last year same time I had NO idea where I was going to go. In fact, I was torn between going to UVa or universities in England or Canada…so I understand what some of you may be going through right now. Looking at official websites with the pretty Photoshopped pictures of students smiling as they are doing their labs is pretty lame when trying to decide which school to go to, so I have to say word of mouth is crucial.

I was lucky I had a very influential senior at my high school who also went to UVa, and she told me a lot about the school which definitely helped in my decision. Another way was just looking at the facebook groups and other websites that talk about college life and see what they have to say. And as you are reading this, you also have me, a real life student at UVa who is not just going to tell you that UVa is a perfect school, but one thing I can tell you is it is a better school than perceived, especially when you are referring to international reputation (UVa is a pretty underrated school outside the States)… I eventually decided to come to UVa basically on the basis that I wanted to go to the States for college and that it’s a good school. Pretty much a leap of faith!

All I can say for now is there have been decisions that I regretted making, but definitely not the decision on coming to UVa, and I’m pretty sure a LOT of students you meet here will tell you the same thing.

Feel free to email me at ykw4k@virginia.edu if you want some genuine advice! (wink*)