From the past couple of entries, one might assume that I flew an island in the middle of the Pacific to go on a semester-long vacation. This just isn't the case.

We're 22 students, working on our own personal research projects. Diatoms, octopus, fish, crabs, ethnobotany, invasive plants, skinks, micro snails... everyone has their own project. We go out into the field in pairs and help each other collect data and samples, learning statistical methods to apply while doing field research, and learning how to write a proper publishable scientific paper.

It's a rush of a time, with a few hours here and there of fun, mixed in with a lot of searching for applicable references, figuring out our model organisms, understanding dispersal, learning about habitat, and so on.

It's a great experience, but not for the faint of heart.

Several of the students say that the Field Lab section of Bio 1B has prepared them for this research. Other students were boyscouts, girl scouts, divemasters, lifeguards, worked for environmental firms, and so on. A diverse group of students, with fascinating backgrounds - scientists at heart, trying to make sense of their natural surroundings.

Posted by Christina at 3:37 PM | Permalink

Yesterday we went as a class to Tetiaroa. It's a two-hour boat ride from Moorea. Here's a map of the Tetiaroa atolls:

I didn't take my camera with me for the trip, since they warned us in advance that we wouldn't be able to keep our bags dry. So, all of the photos in this particular entry have come from travel and dive websites, which are cited at the end of the journal entry.

Why weren't we able to keep our bags dry? The only way to access the island is by little French Polynesian fishing boats (Yes, the map indicates that there's a private airport, but it was shut down in 2004). These boats can get within a few feet of the fringing reef. But, oh, um... the ocean floor is about 30 feet deep at that point, and we had to jump into the water from the boat, swim 15 feet to the coral ridge crest (2 ft. under water still), and walk 100 meters to the shore, along the tops of reefs and between, sometimes in knee-deep water, sometimes in neck-deep water, the whole time dodging stone fish, diadema sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and fire coral.

It's worth it, though!!!

These low little motus are essentially untouched by man (the only hotel was shut down in 2004), with shockingly crystal-like water, mild currents, waters rich with rays, little reef sharks, rich varieties of coral, a rainbow of fish, and the nesting region of blue-footed boobies, and many other birds.

Incredible just doesn't seem to describe it thoroughly enough.

Photos are from these sites:
http://www.tahitinuitravel.com/fr/ile/tetiaroa/tetiaroa.asp
http://www.dive-tahiti.com/old/site04.html
http://www.tahiti-tourisme.fr/articles.php?id=783
http://www.tetiaroa.com/

Posted by Christina at 8:15 PM | Permalink

This morning I woke up early and decided to take a few photos around the station. The early morning sky was pink and beautiful.

Posted by Christina at 8:05 PM | Permalink

hi =] right now it's 10:37 and i am taking a break from studying italian in the academic learning center in unit 3. If you're reading this and you live in unit 3, i strongly suggest you check it out! It's this really awesome study space underneath cafe 3, by the mailboxes, and it's basically study heaven (as nerdy as that may sound). I discovered this place last week when i started studying for my nutrisci midterm which was two days ago. my FIRST midterm ever. wow it feels weird to say that; I'm still getting used to the fact that i'm a college student taking college courses, living in a college dorm.
So today, I went to an informational meeting today about being a calso counselor. For those of

you who don't know, or forgot, what calso is, it's the summer orientation for parents, transfers, and incoming freshman coming to cal. If i were a calso counselor, I would be one of the leaders who are tour guiding/answering questions/ facilitating activities, etc. for the program. I've been wanting a job for a while, and I've been considering for a long time whether or not i want to apply. Here's why: It's a lot of commitment. a LOT. First off, if you are selected as a counselor, you are automatically enrolled in a class for all of second semester. When summer starts, you are drilled through a 2 week intensive training program, then the actual orientation lasts for 9 weeks (or maybe it's 7 weeks of counseling and 2 weeks of drilling? i forget..) This means most of my june and july will be spent here at cal. It sounds like a really good experiencing, hearing what the past calso counselors have had to say about the experience, but one reason why I am a little insecure about applying is that i feel i'm a little behind on my coursework and was considering taking summer session here. I say this because i originally intended to take chemistry, math, and english this semester to get some of my basic undergrad requirements out of the way... but i'm actually not taking either of them because i had a lot of scheduling difficulties when i was signing up for classes (eek! i know, i'll sign up for them next semester!!)
But anyway, as i was saying, I was really considering becoming a counselor because 1) It sounds like a purposeful way to spend the summer and 2) who doesn't like making money? I've done a few counseling programs beofore at summer camps (i've been a science camp counselor for my high school for 2 years, a church camp for 2 years, and a summer camp for 1 summer). They were all a lot of fun, but each camp I lead a group of kids around ten years old for one week; this time I would be leading different groups of teenagers and parents for a whole 9 weeks! now that would definitely be a different experience for me. Whatever happens, I hope I make a good use of my summer =]

Posted by Angela Hsu at 10:37 PM | Permalink

Again. The busyness of my life consumes me like a fire consumes a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. I hope to be able to clear my life up a little more so that we CAN talk a little more. Again, to the like three people out there who actually read my words, I apologize.

So what's been up with my life? I took an internship in San Francisco. This means that every Monday and Friday I have to take the BART to SF. This usually takes 22 minutes and usually I end up just staring out the window because the people inside glare back at me and they aren't anything to really look at anyways. If I were sitting in a trainful of America's Next Top Models, maybe I can think differently. Until then, yeah not really.

What bothers me about riding to San Francisco all the time? First the cost. It costs me 3.25 one way between the great City and Berkeley. It adds up, dude. I can go buy an iPod Touch with that cash and I do want an iPod Touch sooo badly. Also, what bothers me is that the world seems to take the train at the same time so there are never any seats. This bothers me less because standing burns calories but my legs are old and my butt never misses a chance to plant its face somewhere.

How is class? Somewhat fun. I am taking an interesting addition this semester: Play writing. This means that I have to write a whole bunch of plays and submit them to criticism from 15 people, including my instructor - Mel Gordon - who is a funny guy but he pulls no punches. I haven't written my first script to be presented as of yet, so I have no idea what's coming. I hope ...

Posted by Jonathan Yu at 8:57 PM | Permalink

Its proof read (thanks to my English major friends) printed, and stapled. Now I'm nervously waiting to turn it in. Normally I'm pretty confident about my writing skills, but now that it's my first paper to turn into Berkeley it seems kind of nerve racking. All those what ifs floating through my head like, what if I citied something incorrectly?, what if my thesis sucks?, what if my paper doesn't support my possibly crappy thesis?, what if my teacher thinks my paper is just plain horrible?. Now I know I'm over exaggerating and probably worrying over nothing. But I feel like this paper is important, it represents where I stand in Berkeley. So all of you reading this send me some good thoughts or go bribe my professor for me :) I'll let you know how I do...Oh and I'm sort of justly paranoid because the first sentence under the grading guide for "A" says: A rarer grade...yah you try to sleep at night with that on your mind.

Posted by Marissa Ponder at 2:29 PM | Permalink

Hey! I know everyone's probably pretty busy around this time...midterm time! So far I've had a Chemistry 1A midterm and a Math 1A midterm. The Math 1A midterm was today. Have you ever put down an answer, think about it, change it, and it turns out that your first answer was right? I always do that. I know I've missed a problem on my math midterm already. :( Yes, I just needed to rant about it, so bear with me. *sigh* It was such an easy problem and I was going to put the correct answer! Then, I counter-guessed myself and put down a wrong answer. Oh, well. There's still one more midterm and a final, so hopefully I'll still be able to get a good grade in the class overall. I really really hope so! Good luck to the rest of you on your midterms!!!

Advice: Go with your first instinct! It's usually right! Don't change it unless you're absolutely certain that your first answer is wrong.

Posted by Victoria Eng at 9:29 PM | Permalink

Seriously do it...I know some professors seem really scary and overwhelming but, you'll never know that they could be really nice. So I had a professor, who shall remain nameless, who seemed scary and mean so I quietly went over to their office hours and it turns out that they were super nice! The professor gave me books to read to further my knowledge on the subject. Hell they even gave me chocolate, I'm not saying go there for the chocolate but go because...

1) It's a great way to get a better understanding of the material.
2) They are here to help you, they teach because (usually) they like it.
3) It's so important to set up a professional relationship with them because when you're applying for grad/law/med school I'm sure a letter of recommendation from them wouldn't hurt.
4) I said so (that should be #1 actually)

On that note it's time for me to finish my paper because I don't think all of the office hour visits in the world will be able to cover for not doing it.

Posted by Marissa Ponder at 11:05 PM | Permalink

Give Blood. Mwahahhaa.
At Berkeley, there are often blood drives going on in MLK. You should see this guy in a blood drop suit during those times.
In Japan at ICU, there was a blood mobile. It was pretty awesome. I gave 400 mL today. whee~~ Hehe. It was my first time giving blood. The people were really skillful. I remember when I needed an IVP at the Tang Center. It took them 3-4 tries (2 people) before they got a hold of my blood. And.. that was painful. But the blood drive people do this all day for a long time. They're really skilled and in one shot, the nurse got my blood. They know how to angle it so that it doesn't ache. Thus, its pretty much painless except for the pinch at the insert-tation. (Is that a word?) It was faster than I expected. yay! blood! It didn't even hurt when they removed it.

GO GIVE BLOOD! And sign up for Bone Marrow Donation at those Bone Marrow Drives.

Posted by K. Lee at 9:30 PM | Permalink

Erin Martin asked 1) what program I'm in Moorea with, and 2) how I found out about this opportunity.

I'll answer the 2nd question first:
You find out about cool study abroad opportunities like this one while attending CNR's Welcome Week new student orientation. Someone in the CNR staff mentioned the program, and I thought, "I need to look into that."

Now for that 1st question:
I'm here in Moorea through a class offered under the course title ESPM 107 and IB 158. It's a semester of research in French Polynesia, 13 units of coursework that can typically count as the bulk of your elective units. Check out the past semester of blogs under "Tina" in the categories, to find a few more entries that give background on the program and a couple different tours of the Gump Research Station.

In the meantime, here are some more photos....

The Maharea estuary: we took a transect of this portion.

Kerry Wininger finds a great shelf fungus in the forest.

Juan asked if he could study EEP in Moorea. While the program is geared toward biology and geology, it's quite possible that you can come up with an environmental economics problem to address within a two-month timeframe on a tropical island. Let your mind run wild with ideas (ie- hypotheses to address) and apply in March for the program. If you convince them in the interview that the work you'll do in Moorea is applicable to your degree and future aspirations, chances are, you'll fit in fine.

Here are some testimonials from former Moorea class members, from the Spring 2006 issue of Breakthroughs Magazine: http://nature.berkeley.edu/breakthroughs/break_sidebar.php?title=tropical%20education:%20biology%20and%20geomorphology%20of%20tropical%20islands

Tropical education: biology and geomorphology of tropical islands

Related

* Treasure Island - Breakthroughs Feature Spring 2006
* Course website

The Gump Research Station on the island of Moorea is more than a living laboratory for some of the world’s best scientists. It's also home to one of UC Berkeley’s most exotic courses for undergraduates, Biology and Geomorphology of Tropical Islands, in which students learn field research methods and conduct their own projects.

What's it like?

"My semester on Moorea was one of the greatest experiences of my undergraduate career. Living in another culture was an eye-opener, and it has left me with an urge to continue such adventures. The Moorea class not only teaches students about the biology and geomorphology of tropical islands, the science of nature, and the Polynesian culture; it also teaches students the nature of science and scientific investigation."

– Stephen Hatosy '06, Molecular Environmental Biology

"Spending 10 weeks on an island with little to do aside from conducting research, we perfected the art of time-filling: some surfed, some played cards, and some took bi-weekly trips to the nearby Juice Factory for free samples of rum. But throwing ourselves into our projects provided the best way to stay busy and avoid island fever. I investigated the physiological effects of a parasitic vine (Cassytha filiformis) on one of its hosts (a shrub called Pemphis acidula that Tahitians call 'mikimiki')."

– Sara Lopus '05, Environmental Science

"The independence and diligence required to turn out a successful research project while in the most beautiful place in the world has definitely carried over to life after visiting Moorea. I feel more capable to tackle my classes and less stressed out about the minutia of everyday life. Living at the Gump station is calming and relaxing. I think I managed to bring this practicality and calm independence, though greatly diluted, back to Berkeley."

– Nicole Baltrushes '06, Integrative Biology

Posted by Christina at 2:27 AM | Permalink

This past tuesday (September 18th), was the second annual Biology Majors Fair! It was held in the Pauley Ballroom in the ASUC building. The fair itself was relatively small, but it was still a success! There were tables there from EAP, the Career Center, and most of the biology-related majors. The fair was from 11 am to 2 pm, but I got there around 9 am to help setup. After the fair started, I basically asked people to fill out a quick evaluation of the fair. You get entered into a drawing to win $25 from Jamba Juice or Yogurt Park!!!

Take a look at these cute little beings!!!

Can you guess what these are? They're Giant Microbes! Aren't they adorable? The blue one is the Common Cold and the minty green one is the Flu! Next time you get sick, just think of these cute little things inside you. It'll make you feel better. XD

Posted by Victoria Eng at 10:52 PM | Permalink

Well it’s been however many weeks since school started (I’m not keeping track, I’m just enjoying it as it goes) and I’m pretty used to my routine—BART, my classes, readings, etc.
The one thing I’m not used to, though, is Friday classes! I’m a junior transfer so I’m not sure what the “norm” is here at Cal, but for me, at least this semester, it’s having classes (2 of ‘em) MWF. I had been so used to MW and TTH classes; I haven’t had a class on Friday in over 2 years. This semester I have a 5 day week…which is a little too close to a “real life” schedule for my taste.
Oh well, it’s not too bad, I like being on campus. So for all you prospective students from a CCC, Friday is now a “work day” :-P
Anyway, I have a Stats test tomorrow…so I should end this.
Ok there, I’m done.

Posted by Juan at 8:45 PM | Permalink

Are you considering declaring an ESPM major? ESPM stands for Environmental Science Policy and Management, and the department offers four majors: Conservation and Resource Studies (CRS), Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR), Molecular Environmental Biology (MEB), and Society and Environment (SE). Before you declare you need to attend a workshop before or after Tele-bears (I recommend before)...

The workshop will explain more about ESPM majors and policies to help you graduate on time. You can review your petition or change major/college as well as simultaneous degree petitions with an advisor and turn it in as well.

Maire Lanigan and Emilie Dandan, ESPM Advisors, will be speaking. Available dates:

Pre-Telebears
Thurs, 10/4, 3:30-5pm
Thrus, 10/11 3:30-5pm

Post-Telebears
Wed, 11/4, 3:30-5pm
Tues, 11/20 3:30-5pm
Wed, 12/5 3:30-5pm

Note: For CRS majors, please time your workshop to coincide with the term you take ESPM 90: Intro to CRS. ESPM 90 may not be taken prior to the spring of sophmore year.

Posted by Tay Feder at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Well, we're here! Moorea is a truly beautiful island. And this program is just incredible! 22 undergrads learning how to become scientists. Goodness - the past few days have been a complete rush. No time to sit and rest- much less check e-mails and do research. Oh, but it's a good busy.
Before we left for the island, we had a few weeks of class where we learned what to expect from the island. During those few weeks, we did preliminary research on potential projects, went on a field trip to the Bodega Marine Lab, took a swimming and snorkeling examination, wrote a paper, and took our midterm. That coursework was mingled in with hunting down supplies, getting our visas, and all the other hassle that comes along with making sure we can leave the country safely.

Coming up on Moorea by boat, from Tahiti

Now that we're on the island, we've had a great time.
Monday we went on a tour of the island. Dr.Jerry Lipps and Dr. Carol Hickman gave us a geological tour of Moorea, from the estuaries, to the basalt mountains and the coral reefs. Beautiful!

Today we visited one of the Motus of Moorea. They're tiny coral islands off the coast of Moorea. Since the motu we visited was isolated from tourism, we were able to see how very close the fish would come to the shore -within feet, all happy and healthy. On the way there, we stopped to snorkel with domesticated stingrays, little sharks, and fish along the small barrier reef that surrounds the island. We also caught glimpse of a humpback wale from the boat on the way back to the station. Goodness - what a good day.

Posted by Christina at 11:59 PM | Permalink

I know it has been some time since I have posted a blog but I have a very good reason for that. Oh wait, no I used that excuse last year. Well, it's true...Berkeley is taking over my life and I never have free time to do anything any more...if dinner wasn't scheduled at my sorority house I would probablly never eat! This semester I am taking chem 3B, chem 3BL (no they are not the same class and yes they both have finals and seperate grades), math, public health (for my healthworker position), upper division arabic language, and upper division arabic philisophical texts. AND I started my first job ever at Bare Escentuals on 4th street because 1. I LOVE MAKE UP and doing make up on people 2. Its really hard to get into cosmetics if you haven't had lots of experince and so getting a job offer from them was rediculously amazing 3. I need to put something in the empty space under "work experience" on my resume so that I can apply to internships and medical school and not look like a complete non-responcible spoiled teenager. AND I am also pledging a pre-med sorority (Kappa Gamma Delta) AND I have my existing social sorority (Alpha Phi). Yeah, AND my parents are freaking out because they think they're never ever going to see me again which may be true to some extent. Yet I still have to admit it has been absoloutly FABULOUS not having class on Fridays and starting class at 1 on Mondays...and I also must admit that I work a lot better when I stretch myself really thin so this is going to benifit me rather than kill me. Well, it might kill me but at least I'll have accomplished a lot so it'll be a memorable death =)

So that's the 411 on my semester in a nuttshell. Hope you are having fun!

Posted by Rola Abduljabar Rabah at 3:35 PM | Permalink

When I first came to Berkeley, I hiked (yes, hiked) through campus to go everywhere. As I walked uphill to my friends' dorm in Foothill, I was literally huffing and puffing. Side note: Has anyone ever wondered why Foothill is called Foothill? Because, honestly, it's not at the foot of a hill. It's on top of a hill. How devious of the people who named that dorm. Anyways, I was totally sure that Freshman 15 would be a total myth to me....

Three weeks later....the myth might have a chance of becoming reality.

Now, instead of walking all the way up to Pimentel, I take the 52L. It saves quite a bit of walking, but cuts back the exercise. Oh, and food? Yes. I don't have a meal plan, but I've gone to a few DCs with my friends. So far, I think Crossroads has the most selection and the best food. I literally stuff myself when I go there. Besides stuffing myself at the DCs, I always buy snacks at the conveniently located stores that are all over Cal's campus. I'm quite sure I'm not the only who's been tempted to buy snacks during the day, but will Freshman 15 be the result of our indulgences? I hope not.

Advice: Refrain from buying snacks. Snack food is really appealing while you're doing your homework, but you can never control how much you're eating (well, at least, I can't XD) Don't stuff yourself at the DCs. Only one serving of dessert...and don't forget to eat salad!!!

Posted by Victoria Eng at 12:33 PM | Permalink

Hi!! I have been meaning to write in this blog for the longest time, but i've never gotten around to it. Bummer. Just goes to show how easily it is to get caught up in all the things there are to do here at berkeley.
So tomorrow marks my third week of class, and my fourth week here as a berkeley student. I have finally figured out my way through campus and can figure out the way to all my classes (except I always get lost on the way out of dwinelle! that is one confusing building...)
Looking at my schedule, I think it's fair to say that I'm pretty content with the courses I am taking:
1. Elementary Italian
2. PE: Stretch, Strength, and Alignment
3. P Chemistry
4. Nutrition 10
5. Astronomy 10
6. MCB Decal course
7. What would your life be as a babylonian student?

Even though seven classes may seem like a whole load, the actual breakdown of hard/hard classes is quite favorable =]. I'm taking a PE class, a decal, and a seminar, which balance out my more difficult classes (astronomy, nutrition, and italian). My entire schedule, except for nutrition and astronomy, is completely different than what I had planned to take this semester because I had a lot of difficulty getting an english class that I wanted. It's a long story, but a few weeks ago, I had jumped down from 18.5 units to 10.5 units and was panicking to find a new class to fill my units. Luckily, I stumbled upon the course descriptions of a few cultural classes and decided to take Italian, of all subjects! I though I was done with learning foreign languages back in high school, but I decided to give it a shot and it turned out to be one of my most enjoyable classes despite the fact that it's at the dreaded hour of 8AM every single day.
To sum up the rest of my schedule: My nutrition and astronomy classes are pretty big, with over 200 people in each. My PE class is one of my favorite places to relax, although a lot of the stretches are a lot of work for my inflexible body. My babalonian class is really small and we meet only once a week, but in the past 2 weeks I have learned how to write in the world's most ancient writing system: Cuneiform! Well, that's enough about my courses. The weekend is where it's at!!
On friday, a friend from my hometown came over and we hung out on campus and went swimming, and the next day (saturday) we took the bart to concord so we could watch my high school's cross country team on their second meet. I didn't think I would miss it so much, but when I saw my team on the starting line, I felt an enormous wave of nostalgia crash down on me. Cross country was definitely my most amazing experience in high school and I never realized how much i missed the sport until I was just an outsider looking in.
This morning, i woke up way too early (6am!!) to run the banana chase in SF. I will update later =]

Posted by Angela Hsu at 9:20 PM | Permalink

Until April 30th, Microsoft is selling Office 2007 for $60 to university students. That is really cheap compared to the $150 Home/Student Version. For y'all out there with the illegal/free/downloaded/key-hacked version, this is your chance at becoming a good cit. (And for y'all out there who are saying that "it doesn't hurt anyone" you know that that's just plain BS.) Along with the Deal, there is also a blog contest going on. Thus:
This blog is part of the Microsoft “The Ultimate Steal” Blogging Contest. Go to www.theultimatesteal.com for details.
How would I use Microsoft Office for? As students, we've been living off of Word since birth. The Word 2007 lets me: word process my labs and research papers; manipulate my documents; and create nice looking pamphlets easily. Sure, I could probably make nicer looking pamphlets with Photoshop or something, but it’s just more instinctive with Word for me.
Then there's PowerPoint with which I can create awesome presentations. While people really want to learn about sarin, dioxin, or one of the other toxins in my Toxicology class, people also zone out fast. With interesting animations to maintain interest my professor will be awake enough to give me the decent grade I deserved. Also, with the main points on the PowerPoint, I don't have to deal with people saying "Can you repeat that?"
Ah. And finally Excel. Excel 2007 brings a higher powered calculation masterpiece. I can create my graphs, compare data, input data, calculate calculations, and basically analyze my data in every sort of way with Excel 2007. Even fuzzies (humanities majors) need Excel! E.g. History: calculating the mortality in a war or something.
Office 2007 will enable me to dynamically excel in my academic studies. I can’t imagine life before Office at all. Were those the Notepad days?

Posted by K. Lee at 7:01 PM | Permalink

AOI, for anyone who isn't familiar with all the acronyms Berkeley has to offer is Area of Interest. One of the best parts about being a CRS major is that you get to pick what area you want to study/focus on..or is it? Yes for all you indecisive people like me who keep the waitress at the table with those needless which dish do you like better questions..you'll feel my pain. I've always been indecisive, which was my excuse for keeping my room messy in high school (I'd pull out 5 shirts before I would pick one). Back to the AOI. So the first day of class we were asked to fill in the blank...what do you want to study?? Before I transferred to Cal people would ask me that same question and I replied with...

"I just wanna hug trees" because I had no clue what area interested me most. I love everything...yes that does sound cliché but I would just as happy doing urban ecology as I would studying wetlands. I thought that I had all semester to finally decide what I wanted to study but I was wrong..you have about 5-6 weeks to hammer out your final AOI. So my advice is to not think like me (I'll have all semester to figure it out) and find an area that really interests you. It definitely is one advantage of this major that very few other colleges offer a program like ours. I was looking at pre reqs for UCSD and I would have needed atmospheric chemistry and environmental chemistry. I don’t know about you, but I think all the lower division chemistry was enough for me. So really do embrace how lucky we are to have such an amazing self guided program...and start thinking about what else you like to do other than hug trees to prepare for you AOI.

Posted by Marissa Ponder at 12:06 AM | Permalink

So I finally got a chance to get to the gym today (Wednesday). I had been planning on a Monday debut...but things didn't work out the way I had planned (and that is a story for another day...or perhaps never, lol--it just depends on how I feel I guess)....

Anyway...I went to the RSF and it was lots of fun (for the most part)! I didn't know what to expect so I just went with open arms so to speak (I was carrying a bag with my clothes in it) . Getting in was easy and kind of cool. I just "swiped" my Berkeley ID card in front of a bar code reader and I was let in.

Toward the back is where the lockers are at. You get a complimentary lock (which I couldn't open at first, lol) for the day or however long you stay (The lock has to be off by some certain time--whenever they close I presume).

Anyway, I got all my stuff together and headed to the main area of the RSF. The "lobby" area is pretty cool with computers and a little convenience store and stuff. I spent time at the cardio area where there were lots of treadmills and ellipticals. So I ran a little bit and then went to the weight room. The machines in the cardio area were pretty good...though when I was trying to increase the speed/pace of my run, toward the end of my workout, I hit the damn stop button...so yea that totally killed the momentum. No worries. I was done a couple of minutes later and decided to check out the weight room (s).

I went on a cloudy/foggy day so I'm not sure how the weight rooms usually look, but they were a little dark for my taste. The equipment was pretty good; they had a good selection of stuff--free weights, machines, etc. There is an adjoining weight room right next door, but a couple of minutes before I went in a class pilled in to one of them.

Then there was the locker room, post-workout. This brought back many high school memories. It totally reminded me of being in the locker rooms for PE in high school (except for the naked guys, lol--not too many did that in high school). The area was spacious and the facilities were good. Then came time to take a shower. I'd never been in a 'communal' shower but I was sweaty and just went for it. There weren't many people but there was this one guy who was pretty (ugly) fat. I'll spare you the details as I try to rid my mind of them as well.

I was on a time constraint so didn't have a chance to check everything out. It was real nice overall, especially for $10! Ok...bye :-) lol

Posted by Juan at 8:20 PM | Permalink

This is aka hazing week over in the Japan ICU dormitories. Each newbie in the dorms must wear a costume for the entire week. Mine is keropi. I have a kangeroo friend and a yellow power ranger friend in the other dorms. ^^ I'll try to get a picture up.

For clubs, I think that I will join the Baseball and Golf clubs. I've enjoyed Golf since my Wii days. (yes, that's the Nintendo Wii.) I've wanted to try out the real thing, but its quite expensive in the USA. At ICU, they transform the baseball diamond (not really transform) into a golf range, so it is free to practice. So I'll be around the baseball diamond a lot. I'll elaborate on this post later.

Posted by K. Lee at 10:35 AM | Permalink

I try to keep writing from time to time but there are just so many more bloggers here now. It is amazing that they still let me write in here. I am waiting for the day I get that email telling me, Please Jonathan. No more. We can't take anymore of your insane rants. Have you checked yourself recently for any mental illnesses?

The voices in my head tell me that I am fine but I think I should resort to a second opinion.

So how is my year so far? I have started an internship in San Francisco recently and I commute there every Monday and Friday and work there from 9 to 4. The hours seem to be a bit overkill but let's see how they work out first. I got some nice stamina so let's see if I hold up. If I don't write here for a couple weeks, it's not cause I don't care about all two of you who read my syphilic rantings, but it is because I am coming straight home and then straight to bed. Exhaustion is my new wife and I sleep with her all of the night.

Posted by Jonathan Yu at 9:35 PM | Permalink

Hey Everyone!

If you're looking for something fun to do on Friday at 7 then check out the Campus Movie Fest. The program works like this; when you sign up they give you a laptop and a digital camera and you have one week to complete a 5 minute movie. The work of the Berkeley film makers will be premiered at the event. $3 for students $5 for GA.

Movie Fest Details

Posted by Eric Thurston at 2:59 PM | Permalink

So tomorrow I'm thinking of heading over the 'the gym' for the first time this semester (I've been needing it, lol). I signed up last week in person with the Cal Rec Club at the Recreational Sports Facility on Bancroft between Ellsworth and Dana. It's only $10 for Cal students. You can also sign up online (here), but you have to pay with your CARS account. From what I've read it seems like they've got a lot of stuff over there, so I'm real excited! There are many facilities throughout campus but RSF is the largest one. Other facilities include things like tennis courts, pools, tracks, etc. If you want to learn more (wow this sounds like such a commercial) check out their main page: Cal Recreational Sports
I'll be at the RSF where I hope to encounter some cardio equipment and hit up the weight room. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Posted by Juan at 10:01 PM | Permalink

Among the many awesome things at Cal, it's near San Francisco!!! A mere 30 minute ride of the BART for $3.65 (I think) and you're in one of the largest cities in our nation! Also, you can take the F bus there, but I heard that it makes frequent stops, so it takes up to an hour to get there.

Popular places to visit in San Francisco:

1. Fisherman's Wharf
-lots of interesting stores and clothes at really good prices

2. Pier 39 (there are other Piers, but this one is the most popular)
-Aquarium of the Bay
-Sea Lions K-Dock
-a lot of seafood restaurants. Look at these sourdoughs!

Alligator!!!

Lobster!!!
*****There's also an interesting street attraction: There's this guy called the "Bush Man." He covers himself with a shield of leaves and twigs and just squats there on the sidewalk until....Boo! He jumps up and scares some unsuspecting passerby. It's quite entertaining for the people who know what's going on.

3. Alcatraz: the prison on the little island, but it's closed now
**Personally, I think the Alcatraz is beautiful. You can actually take a cruise to the island and tour the Alcatraz. My family was here last weekend and we all went up to San Francisco. Here's the Alcatraz:

If you're interested in submarines, you can take a tour of this WWII submarine. I think it's on Pier 40.

Have fun!!!

Posted by Victoria Eng at 11:18 PM | Permalink

I've always heard that scheduling was a nightmare, but my schedule seemed to work out perfectly. All my classes were evenly distributed throughout the week, averaging about 3 lectures/discussions per day. Sweet, no?

Since I'm premed (forgot to mention this in my first post...), I have to take a year of math. So, of course, I opted for the easier calculus course: Math 16. Then...

The Nightmare:

On the second day of school, I freaked out because my friend told me that premeds are supposed to take Math 1, not Math 16. So....I sent an email to the Plant and Microbial Biology advisor Marjorie Ensor, asking if Math 16 fulfilled the math requirement for premeds...but,

unfortunately, I didn't wait for her to reply and went right ahead and dropped Math 16 for Math 1. Also, since I had to take Math 1, I had to drop my Gender and Women Studies 50AC (American Cultures) since it was at the same time as the Math 1A lecture.
So, I go to the Math 1A lecture (second math lecture that day...I went to the math 16a lecture that morning...a total of about 3 hours of math that day...*sigh*). After class, I check my email and Marjorie had replied! She said that Math 16 was okay for the math requirement for premeds! Oh, no! I couldn't switch back into either my Math 16A class or my AC class..I'd be about number 40 on the waitlist for both classes. So, now, I'm taking Math 1A and praying to the heavens that I don't fail. My AC class will have to wait for later semesters..

Advice:

Don't listen to your friends about which courses you're required to take. Talk to an advisor. CNR has the best advisors without the long lines! That's what's so great about CNR. Unlike L & S, we at CNR don't have to wait two weeks to see our advisor. I've already been in to see Marjorie in person twice, without so much as a 5 to 10 minute wait. She was wonderful and totally awesome. Unlike what your friends tell you, what your advisor says is absolutely correct!

Anyways, hope the rest of you had a less painful time scheduling and good luck in the upcoming semesters! :)

Posted by Victoria Eng at 10:30 PM | Permalink

Like everyone else, here's the customary first blog....

I'm Victoria and I'm a freshman at CNR (the best college ever!) with an intended Microbial Biology major. I'm from Southern California, but I'm quickly adjusting to Northern California's weather. It's a bit more chilly up here during the early mornings and evenings, but are those afternoons hot sometimes! Seriously, I'm starting to believe that the "Freshmen 15" is a myth. It's going to be pretty hard to gain 15 pounds while hiking up those hills to class, sweating under that California sun.

Posted by Victoria Eng at 10:21 PM | Permalink

For everyone who is new here…

The first few weeks of college experience are often a rush of excitement. Then things settle down and reality kicks in. That’s when you are vulnerable to the blues. No place is perfect, not even the wonderful Berkeley, and little things can begin to nag -- maybe tensions with a roommate, an unhelpful professor or GSI, or bureaucratic problems with scheduling or financial aid that don’t seem to get resolved quickly. I’m not saying any of these will happen, but you should not be surprised if something does. You can miss your parents, your old friends, home-cooked food, everything you would have enjoyed if you are still at home! But do give both Cal and yourself a chance, as you try to meet people, make new friends, establish connections and build your network. And then, with your developed resilience and new maturity from leaving home and entering college, get over the first semester and continue maturing until you become the individual/adult you had come in wanting to be.

Posted by Yang Cao at 2:00 PM | Permalink

Since I am taking Biology 1B and Chemistry 3A this semester, I have 8AM class every single day. Even though I am not a morning person, but it is not that bad as most people would think.

First, since I wake up about the same time every morning, there is no need to adjust the alarm several times throughout the week. I have one of those alarm clock radios, where the hour is in 12-hour format. So when setting my alarm, it is easy to mess up with the AM and PM. And I remember last year, I often set the alarm to 9PM when I needed it to be at 9AM.

Second, because of my 8AM classes, I have to go to bed before midnight so that I don’t wake up in a cranky mood. Yay! No more staying up late at night for me, which in turn requires better time management in the daytime.

Oh, at last, one highlight from my Chem 3A professor: “For those of you who are interested in videotaping or film-making, you may want to consider making a film out of this class and naming it ‘The Berkeley OC – organic chemistry at Berkeley’ ”.

Posted by Yang Cao at 1:34 PM | Permalink

The typhoon is coming so we have canceled classes tomorrow. yay? It would be yay...except we're trapped inside...and that also means more work next week. Well, it's interesting at least. heh.

Posted by K. Lee at 12:58 AM | Permalink

So here at Cal we have these things called DeCal classes. DeCal is short for democratic education at Cal and the classes are really a lot of fun. This semester I’m thinking of taking two DeCals: archery and swing dancing. I going to get course credit for swing dancing and practicing archery! I went to the swing class last night and more than a hundred people showed up but the class only seats 50. Wish me luck. I think I’ve got a good shot at it because I’m a lead with 9 months of Ballroom experience. Alas, there are about 5 girls to every boy, seems like I've got a moral imperative to dance with these girls. How very hard my life is... ;{p

Decal classes are nice ways to round out a schedule and take your mind off mind bending academic loads and because decals are only 1-2 units pass fail they can help you meet Cal’s semester minimum of 13 units. Three academic classes and one decal makes for a manageable and non-psycho semester. Learn more at http://www.decal.org/

Posted by Eric Thurston at 2:16 PM | Permalink

Wow so the first week was everything I did and didn't expect it to be. What I expected prior to starting class: lots of reading, being sooooo excited, enjoying having class at 2:00, finally getting into details of environmental issues that were broadly mentioned in lower division classes, expensive textbooks, and the joy of sitting around between classes on Cal's lawns.
Didn't expect: how nice everyone was, getting my car keyed (very crappy), how truly comfortable the CNR couches are, 25 page term paper, everyone talks in acronyms ( I even almost abbreviated many phrases in typing this), getting into a class being number 56 on the waitlist, CNR really does a "smaller" feel to it, and how much I miss my dog. Now let's recap what I've learned...

I feel like so much has happened in about a week. I think keeping an open mind is important in starting new classes. Some professors (this is only my personal opinion) used the scare tactic to get people to drop. I think that students should at least go to the 2nd class before deciding to drop or not. Another thing in relation to keeping an open mind was rushing. I think I shocked my friends, coworkers, and dog by deciding to go Greek. I kept an open mind throughout the whole process and absolutely loved all the people I met. It provides a great opportunity for students to find a niche in such a large school. I've meet a several awesome girls in my chapter that happen to be in some of my classes...study groups! I've even kept in touch (yes for a whole week) with girls from other chapters that are in my classes. Rushing alone is a great opportunity to meet people and to decide whether or not Greek is for you. Oh and one more very repetitive thing...LOCK you bike and don't leave it in your backyard. I've had a few friends who already have had their bikes stolen.

Posted by Marissa Ponder at 10:58 PM | Permalink

Hey everyone--all the Fresh Faces authors, readers, and stragglers to this site!
I'll begin with the compulsory 'first post' type information.
My name is Juan and I was conceived on...hmm, not one of my best ice breakers lol.
My name IS Juan though and I'm a Junior Transfer to CNR at Berkeley. It's taken me a while to set everything up (it was actually Eva's fault, j/k ;-)) but I'm real glad to be here! A week has gone by already and life at Cal has been fast paced...even now, I should be reading for Stats20 and EEP100, but I'm here instead! ;-) It's been fun and challenging so far and I'm looking forward to the next 15 weeks (I'm sure that tune will change at around week 10 maybe, lol).
Well, I don't have much time to write a whole lot, but will certainly be back to ramble on a bit more! Go BEARS, Go CNR, and definitely...GO EEP!

Posted by Juan at 10:52 PM | Permalink

What is SPUR?

It’s used by horseback riders, or those pretending to be on Halloween.
It’s a technical term in biology for an elongated sepal used to distinguish species within particular genera (ask your botany teacher, not me, I'm an economist paraphrasing wikipedia).
It’s a subsidiary summit of a parent mountain.
It’s a chain of steakhouses in South Africa (who knew?)
It’s an annual literary prize awarded by the Western Writers of America.
It’s a city in Texas.
Best of all it's a TLA (three letter acronym) for...

CNR’s Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) program! Yes that's right, someone hand that young student sitting at the computer a t-shirt! The deadline is TODAY at FIVE PM! Hurry up and submit your applications. Remember, student-initiated applications also need a hard-copy turned in by 5pm as well. If you’re looking for some extra units and experience in research, check out the faculty initiated projects. Even if you don’t apply this semester, you can get a feel for what is available later.

Some of my favorite projects include ones by professors such as John Harte (teaches ER102, take it!), Sofia Villas-Boas (eep142, fair trade and nutrition labels, wha?), and Ethan Ligon (eep100, his project is deceptively cool. If you’re into open source / FLOSS programming, hit him up). If you’re not into climate change or economics, there are a bunch of other cool projects as well. Check it out. Remember for later, if you’re interested in performing your *own* research, this is also a great way to obtain some funding for technical science stuff or buying data, conference fees, and more!

I’m applying in a few hours. Wish me luck, and everyone else too!

Posted by Tay Feder at 5:30 AM | Permalink

I moved into my new dorm on Saturday. I have a huge room shared with a roommate. Nice. Imagine...a room double the size of the average Foothill room. Ahhh. The room was badly designed though. The closets are unmovable and in a sucky location. It's a long room so there is much wasted space since each person is lined up against the side. Wide rooms are preferable for shared rooms. Anyways, they have lots of sockets... YAY! I have 10 sockets just to myself. =) Good design.

There is an active dorm community here. From Thursday of this week to Thursday of next week, we have to wear the same costume every day. On Friday, we have to do a 5 min dance on their version of Sproul. Every night this week we have a gathering with one of the other dorms. The daytime is full of meetings.

Welcome Ceremony.
We had an awesome welcome ceremony where each person had their name called and stood up. It was... awesome. There is something about having your name read and being welcomed that gives you a fuzzy feeling of community. No pictures allowed of the ceremony though. There was a pledge that we all had to sign at the ceremony. Coolness. hahaha. At the welcome ceremony, I met a girl who had read this blog. Awesome... ^^ HIIIIIII.

Posted by K. Lee at 6:24 AM | Permalink

I had two weeks off, so I went to Gunma and worked for a farm family through WWOOF. It is a work for food/housing thing. Since I do not have a work permit, that was pretty decent. I worked at the food stand at Asama National Park and at the cabbage farm harvesting cabbage.

So I wisely volunteered for farm work. As a result I am in pain... Cabbage cutting was painful until I adopted a sit on trough and cut. Move cabbage. Scooch forward. Repeat. Much easier on the back. cabbages are heavy. Really heavy. From the second day though, we needed to move faster, so I could not do my sit scooch thing. AHRGH PAIN.

One night, I finish dinner first and I volunteer to cut the peaches. I cut. It tastes quite like American peaches (turns out that the white peaches in CA originate from Japan), but is much more difficult to pry apart. I bruise the end and apologize for the ugliness. When I serve, people are talking about American style, and I assume that they are talking about the bruises. Ten minutes into eating peaches, I notice that no one else is eating the skin.... turns out that Japanese people do not eat peach skin. Fuzzy goodness! Anyways, a couple of them decide to try out the skin. heheheh.

Majestic...
So today I went back to the food stand because it was raining this morning, and we did not have enough raincoats and boots. We find out that the emperor is driving by! So we go out and wait and see him drive by and wave! No camera, but I do have my cell, so I snap a picture of his head and the queen's hand. wheee.

Posted by K. Lee at 11:34 PM | Permalink

Sooo I'm finally getting around to talking about welcome week. As a transfer student I feel that it was worth going to some of the events but I will say it was mostly geared toward freshman. This is understandable since most new students are freshman. I think Calapoloza and Caltopia were good for everyone. There are so many student clubs which is a great way to get involved. I'm very excited for the cooking club, which is for cooks (me!) and people new to the whole not having mom around to cook. I highly recommend checking it out, their website is http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~cooking/ . There are also some clubs for cleaning up Berkeley (parks etc.) and Habitat for Humanity for volunteering on a bigger scale.

When my friend Noel and I were trying to find the study abroad office we stubled upon this pretty hallway and I decided to be a corny cheesball and take a picture. Tada!

Posted by Marissa Ponder at 10:46 PM | Permalink