I thought I would share my list of random things I wanted to do before I graduate (aka before this week) in Berkeley. Maybe you'll get around to them before I will
-brunch at the thai temple
-picnic at blake gardens (open to the public weekdays!)
-breakfast at la note
-go to the graduate bar (rumor has it free popcorn...oh ya germs and all!)
-hike up to the big C
-eat at Kirala Sushi
-get dressed up fancy and order all desserts at chez panisse cafe
-go to a show at Ashkenaz
Go ahead and label me as pessimistic, but there are people out there who's dream was to get into Cal and they didn't. Now what do you do? Go somewhere else? Pssh...no way! Don't forget about community college, just think you get to skip the cramped dorms, bad food, and save some money. I went to Diablo Valley Community College (DVC) for three years before transferring to Berkeley and I have no regrets. Financially for my family it was a decision we made in high school, I knew I wanted to go to Cal and that I would get there by going to DVC first. I didn't even bother applying to colleges in high school. I actually got called into the school counselor's office because they were concerned about me not going off "to a real school", which let me tell you right now is a bunch of crap.
I participate in Cal Teach which is a program at Cal that pairs Cal students with math and science classrooms in the Bay Area. I help out in an environmental science class at Oakland High School working with seniors. I've really enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about teaching, but also the connections I've made with the students has been really rewarding. One of then turned to me and asked "Is Berkeley everything you expected it to be?" and to that I replied "Everything and more." Every day I walk through campus I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to be here. I've enjoyed the majority of classes and the opportunity to do research the most. At breakfast this morning my roommate and I were talking about friends etc., and commented on how I have so many friends from my classes which is something she has never really had.
Continue reading "Is Berkeley everything you expected it to be?" »
It's been a while since I've written on here because I've been very busy with my honor's thesis. Okay well I haven't done so much of the writing but lots of research. One of the unique things about the College of Natural Resources is the Honors Sponsored Undergraduate Research Program (SPUR). oidy[i[oi <-----that would be my roommate Monique making fun of me blogging on a Friday night. Back to the topic of research. The program has been great because I've had the opportunity to work with a professor on a project that I created and CNR had funded. The finished product will be an honor's thesis. I'm writing my thesis on creating native pollinator gardens around the state of California. The picture I've attached is from two weeks ago at the Meher school where we put a new bee garden in that the kids named "Beetopia".
Oh Joy!!! It's the tail end of midterm season here at Cal. The students are stressed, tired, and live in the library. I for the past two weeks have watched people pull all nighters and run around with their face in a textbook and not had to worry about midterms until....yesterday. Now it's my turn to cram too much knowledge into my head. I was emailed my take home midterm which is expected to be 10 pages....single spaced yesterday for next week due the day before my other midterm. That I can live with but I also got new requirements for my presentation this morning for tomorrow...yah thanks for the timely notice. But I'm going to take everything one thing at a time in order to keep myself sane. On the fun side of life it's been sunny outside...yay!!
Stop by the greek carnival this evening if you are even maybe just a little bit about thinking about going through recruitment this year. This is a great time to meet active members in all of the houses as well as other women who are thinking about going through recruitment. The Greek Carnival is an event where Cal fraternity and sorority chapters each host a carnival-style booth and interact with students interested in participating in recruitment. There will be free food, a DJ, inflatable jousting and other fun activities going on throughout the night. Come on out and meet members of the CalGreeks community! The event will be at Lower Sproul Plaza and will start at 10:30pm and go as late as 2:00am. I'll be at the milk toss from 10:30-11:00 if you want to stop by.
10:30-2:00 am
My mother came up to visit me last week and wanted to go camping somewhere we haven't been before. So I started browsing online for places. I discovered Mono Hot Springs, how could I go wrong with the name hot springs in the title? It's located in the western side of the sierra east of Fresno. This is one of the best places I've been camping for several reasons. Besides there being an abundance of natural hot springs, the location was beautiful. The forest looked healthy, the rivers and lakes were beautiful and we were in the middle of no where. I love Yosemite, don't doubt that, but being surrounded by masses of people while you're trying to enjoy the outdoors can get old. This area had lots to do, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, boat rentals, kayaking, backpacking, hot springs, spectacular views and it wasnt very crowded.
Feeling philanthropic this summer? Not quite sure what to do with your spare time this summer in Berkeley? Well then you should consider the San Francisco AIDS Walk, it's coming up soon, but it's not too late to join. You can join the UC Berkeley team which gives you special advantages, like priority registration etc. The walk is 6 miles around SF and breakfast and lunch are provided. You don't even have to raise a set amount of money either. I've always wanted to do an AIDS walk but most of them require you raise $1000, which is a lot for a college student to pay out of pocket, if you don't meet the goal. So when I heard about this walk I was so excited! Just read below to find out how you can join:
1) Go to aidswalk.net/sanfran
2) Click "register to walk" and "join a team"
3) Select University of California, Berkeley--0087 from the pull-down menu
(this important--we want you on the CAL team!)
Many of you may/may not of heard of Danville, it's kinda like the O.C of the Bay Area. The suburburban small town I had the "privilege" of growing up in. Yes there are aspects of this town I appreciate, the fact that I could walk around town at 3:00am and have no thoughts about whether it's a "safe" neighborhood. I once left my purse in a shopping cart at Safeway and someone kindly returned it with the money still in my wallet! Well what is there that I possibly couldn't like about such a "quaint" little town. I run into to people EVERY where. Which happens in Berkeley too, but the people here are so ridiculously fake. In anywhere else seeing an eight year old with highlights and fake nails would alarm some people..but not here.
I'm in love with the sun and not reading 1000 pages a week. I can't imagine having to go to summer school, sorry to all of you who are spending your summer in class. I'm sure everyone has been dying to know what I am I doing with all this free time? Well aside from working, I'm swimming, cycling, climbing, and going to yoga. Yep all the things I love to do, but time is limited for during the semester. This past week I did a bike ride into Tilden park and along the inspiration point path. This is great easy ride with a few small hills, but the view is spectacular. This trail also has an old Nike missile launch site which was decommissioned in the 70's, for all of you history buffs. I highly recommend visiting Tilden park this summer for an enjoyable bike ride or hike. For more information on Tilden park go to: www.ebparks.org/parks/tilden
I've been fortunate enough to take classes that have field trips to some of the UC reserves. They are an amazing opportunity to learn about other professors research projects. The Angelo reserve has the Blake's meadow climate change study, which I have a picture of. This reserve is my favorite of hastings and hopland because it is so secluded and the forest cover is amazing. Plus there is an amazing forest with native bunch grasses growing underneath the forest, which is a rare sight in our Ca "golden hills". I won't ramble on too much about the pictures instead read on to see the pictures yourself. These field trips are another thing I love about CNR!
Well I’ve done it. I’ve made it halfway through my Cal experience. It’s been a long year filled with studying, laughing, lots of coffee, Ici ice cream, research, friends and more studying. Up until this past year I’ve never worked and studied so hard, yet as stressful as it can be at times, it is so rewarding. There’s something about that week during finals that only Cal students understand. Yes it probably has to do with lots of caffeine and not a lot of sleep but I like to think it’s something more, whatever that thing is that got us here. I’ve grown a lot in the year I’ve been here, and I am proud of myself for toughing it out during the hard times. I lost a close friend this past fall and keeping up with school seemed unbearable without the help of other students. Overall this year has really been fulfilling and I am glad I chose Cal for undergrad. I’m so grateful to all of the amazing people I’ve met here so far and look forward to another amazing year! year has really been worthwhile and I am glad I chose Cal for undergrad. Good luck to the graduating class of 2008!
Yep...I managed to completely forgot that I worked today...How you ask?? Well the answer is simple: Finals. I have been so wrapped up in studying and typing that all I can think about is finals. It was yesterday when I was talking to my boyfriend about studying together this morning when he said, Don't you have work? I work the same hour every week for the past semester yet political ecology and environmental science has managed to consume my every thought the past few days. On another note regarding finals...make sure you talk and see people. When Rachel called and suggested we take a break and go get ice cream at Ici, I realized that I've spent 20 hours the past two days typing. It definately recharged my brain and gave me the much needed break...which brings me to my point (finals study trick): Take a break and eat ice cream!! Good luck on finals everyone
Here's my experience with doing research at Cal as a transfer student. I applied to SPUR to find a faculty project. I got the position but I definitely felt at a disadvantage while being interviewed. The first question: What research projects have you worked on at Cal? I'm thinking, well I've only been here for 4 months and they expect me to have a vast list of skills? Yes they do, fortunate for me I had experience doing a research class at DVC (the jc I went to). The next question: Could we get an email address to ask for a letter of recommendation? I'm thinking, in four months I'm expected to be buddy buddy enough with a professor to be asking him/her to take out of their busy schedule to write me a letter or rec? Yes they do. Fortunately for me again, I spent a lot of time in one of my professor’s office hours. The bottom line: If you're going to do research when you get to Berkeley you better spend that first semester doing all you can to boost your resume. Some things you can do: volunteer in a professor’s research and get to know at least one of your professors so you can ask them for a letter of recommendation.
When considering where I wanted to go one of the things people told me about Cal, was that professors rarely teach, most classes are taught by grad students. This in my experience is not true. I've had a GSI (grad student instructor), give a lecture once sometimes twice a semester but it usually was planned for a professors absence. I know many high school students are deciding about which college to go to. Don't let silly rumors about different colleges shape your decision, I'm glad I didn't. I highly recommend taking a tour of campus and asking the tour guides about them, they'll have a better idea of what classes are really like instead of your high school counselor. Here is the link for information on free tours of Berkeley so you can come check it out for yourself. http://www.berkeley.edu/visitors/free_tours.html
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! Wait....except I have a paper due on Monday and two presentations due on Tuesday. That basically sums up what I'll be spending this week on. Well that's not too bad because I've decided to go visit family in Palm Springs because I need a break. Even if I'm doing homework at least I'll be by the pool! This semester has kept me extra busy, I don't recommend 17.5 units and 15-20 hours of work. Yes it's possible to do it, but it's really not that much fun. On a side note...I got my first C+ on something in college. I'm really annoyed because 1/3 of the class got D's and they get to re-write their papers but I don't and my grade is close to being just as bad. I plan on spending every waking hour of break working on my second paper...okay so maybe I'll spend some time in the pool, but I am determined to get an A on my next paper now.
One of the hard things about "going off to school" is growing apart from people that you used to be close to. It's something that I've had to adjust to this year. It's sad because it makes you realize people you were close to were only your friend out of convenience. The effort it takes to call someone once every week or two really isn't that hard. I've done my best to keep up with friends that have moved and gone to other schools. But when someone doesn't reciprocate those actions it can be hurtful. However the silver lining in the cloud is that there are so many amazing people at Cal. I met a girl this semester and became friends based on the fact we had a class together last semester even though we never talked before. ESPM classes are great because even though it's my 2nd semester I recognize 5-15 people in each of my classes.
Spring semester is about 4 weeks in and midterms are looming in the next few weeks...so how is Marissa Ponder-Bowen doing? Well I'm doing just fine. I feel much more adjusted to Cal in my second semester. It's nice to have a rough idea of what to expect. I've added an extra 7-12 hours a week of work to my schedule and made climbing more regular. Last semester I barely made time to go to Ironworks and have made it a priority in my week now. Instead of thinking if I have time I'll go, I've put into my schedule and worked other things around it. Yes I am busy however setting time aside to do something I really want to do forces me to focus and finish my reading/essays in a timely manner instead of procrastinating.
I think a common feeling here at Cal is always feeling unprepared. No matter how many hours I read, study, or go to class there's always a moment of unpreparedness (my new word). For example there is guaranteed to be one question on your final that has no relevance/random/impossible. I realized today that there will always be those moments in life beyond Berkeley. I always have an umbrella (no this is not a random tangent), in fact I have two, just in case I lose one. Well of all the days to forget an umbrella and wear a thin sweatshirt, today was not the day. As I walked way across campus in the pouring rain, I got soaked through my sweatshirt and shirt, I started laughing. Yes this was my moment...when it all made sense. Even the weather in Berkeley has it out for me. I'm always prepared for rain...except for today when it poured! I know all my scheming professors were responsible and wanted to remind me that I'm always be unprepared at Cal, even when it comes to the weather.
12/16/07
Assist.org will be your best friend!! Memorize, bookmark do whatever you have to do to remember this website. This website pairs up the community college you are at with any UC or state school and gives you what the equivalent of those courses are at Cal. I do highly recommend taking as many bio classes as you can to fufill the Bio 1A and 1B requirements for anyone who is transferring to a science major. DVC only required me to do 1A and its harder to find upper division classes that don’t have both as a prerequisite. I also recommend going to see your counselor at least once every semester. Even if it’s to say here’s my schedule of classes, am I on the right track? They are usually more than willing to help guarantee you an appointment with a university representative when they visit if they know who you are. I also feel like my ecology class has given me a great base background for the classes I took this last semester.
12/10/07
Yes I was standing in line at FSM and I was recognized by one of my many blog fans. Okay so maybe it wasn’t exactly like that. But she did recognize me and tell me she was switching from L&S to CNR, hahaha L&S 0 CNR 2 (that’s right my blogs of wisdom have converted two people). We chatted about classes and how I liked my major, btw I love it, and which biology classes to take. This is where I’m not a lot of help is lower division requirements for people at Berkeley, however I did recommend that she go in and talk to one of the pals about it. If anyone ever spots me around campus please say Hi, I’d love to answer whatever questions you have. I do have some reccomendations for upper division courses.
My internet has been down so I haven't been able to post them but here they are:
12/14/07
Finals are basically done for me!!! Yes all of teachers decided to deprive me of sleep one week earlier than everyone else. Last week was my crazy stressed week filled with two finals, two presentations, and three papers. So everyone (my roomies) who were playing Wii and dancing around NOT studying, well I’ll be doing what you were doing last week!!! I apparently was quite well composed despite the amount of stress I was under. I took everything one task at a time and took study breaks. Okay my real secret was energy drinks. I don’t stay up crazy late though only until 1 am. See I get tired early, like 10 and I can’t study, so my liquid caffine is what gives me an extra three hours of studying!
I hope everyone's break went well and spent some time not doing school work. I definately needed at break, however like a good Cal student with a 25 page paper due the week after I only spent one day doing nothing. Yes that is correct I watched a whole season of America's Next Top Model in one day. My eyes were tired from staring at the TV and my mind was numb...but it was amazing. It made me look forward to having four weeks off with no assignments due at the end. But that was in the past and now it's time to focus on what I accomplished...my 25 page paper on the California condor for ESPM 100 is done!!! Yes two months in the making and hours of reading, interviewing, and typing are now over. Now it's time to focus on finals...
So far I've officially "survived" Berkeley, and loved it at the same time. It is the #1 public school in the nation; would you expect any less of the workload? I definitely feel like I choose the right school for me. Even when I’m up late at night studying there is a piece of me that feels like I enjoy it because I know that it will only better me for my after college career path. I'm really glad I came into Berkeley with time management skills otherwise I'd feel lost like some other students do. As the weeks pass I feel more comfortable here and begin to see more familiar faces around campus.
So everyone here has to eat right? I personally love food! I thought I would post some of my favorite places that I've eaten at in Berkeley.
Gregoire- Very very good French take out in gourmet ghetto I recommend going for lunch because thats when it's cheaper.
Cha'am- Thai place along Shattuck, one of the best Thai places in Berkeley.
Bread Garden- My favorite bakery, up near the Claremont, I've been eating delicous pastries from here since I was in my mom's belly.
Seabreeze- Small market/takeout restaurant at the end of University along before the pier. Amazing fish and chips!
Inermezzio- Great cheap sandwhiches and soup with plenty of vegetarian options on Telegraph. Cash only.
Yes I do love when the sun shines, but especially when I'm at Cal...why? Because I can read outside on our beautiful campus. Yes with all of the stress of school it is so important to go outside and enjoy some fresh air. On the topic of stress here at this amazing school...where do I stand in my happiness here so far? Well the work load and reading is high, but that’s expected. However I do think it is manageable and worth it. Some of my friends who have been burning out it seems to be from only doing school work 24/7...seriously people it's OK to take a break and go for a quick walk up in Tilden (my favorite hiking area). Learning when to take a break before I feel overwhelmed has really helped me with my studies this semester.
The work, the reading, the writing, the studying and so on. It's a continual process for the first day of class to the final. I had a lot of writing work due last week and this week nothing due, however I have a million papers and midterms next week. That means that I'm going to be studying and reading in my "spare time". Although I will say that despite the never ending workload I love it here at Cal. I especially love CNR, for several reasons other than the amazing nap time couches in the lounge.
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...
Continue reading "AOI...yes all CRS majors will have to face this" »
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...
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.
I'm so excited to be finally be moved in. I'm way excited for welcome week to start. I'm nervous about my schedule because I am on a waitlist for one class. I don't think being 11 on the list is too bad. I have friends who are 99 for some of their psych classes...so glad I changed majors. Oh so I had breakfast with some friends from Vally Rock gym today and my friend is going to grad school for sustainable international development, which I thought was very interesting. I tried to spend my summer talking with teachers, friends, and whoever else I meet who is in the field of environmental jobs/school. There is such a wide range of fields to pursue with CRS as a major, at least according to my professional expertise.
So before I drove 8 hours into the less fortunate half of California someone left a comment about CRS as a major. Well now that I'm in civilization I will make my official response. So I'm a transfer student at Berkeley and this fall will be my first year there, so I hope what little knowledge I have helps. I did however take a class through a concurrent enrollment program and loved it. I was so nervous that students would treat me different because I wasn't a "real" Cal student, and I was sooo wrong. Everyone was nice to me. I loved my teacher (Sally Fairfax), and my GSI, and all of the students. I still keep in touch with some of them. It really allowed me to get a feel for the college. The really nice thing about our college, CNR, in general no matter what your major is, is that it defiantly has a small feel to it. Now in regards to the major itself and why I choose it.
Yes...another vacation for me this summer. Way different than Las Vegas! I think Tahoe has to be one of my favorite places to visit. I love how much there is to do there. You can swim, kayak, hike, bike, climb, and eat at the dam cafe (the BEST little cafe with coffee/pasteries/food). All of which I managed to do in four days. If you haven't been to Tahoe in the summer, it's a must. I think I'm probably the only person who enjoys it more when there's not snow there. The bouldering in Tahoe is awesome, a lot of high problems though. The Mt Rose hike is definately worth the huge elevation hike and is a great one day adventure.
So I just got back from Vegas...and I must say that I loooooove the bay's cool foggy weather. Yes it was nice to be in 110 degree weather for about five minutes, but that’s about my tolerance. It was my third official mini vacation of the summer. I rode around Lake Tahoe (yes the whole lake) right after school was out, and then I went to Palm Springs. I love having 4 day weekends (thanks work!). But so yah Vegas was fun I went to go visit my boyfriend’s family. I didn't really do anything exciting except over eat at buffets and climb (indoors, it was way too hot out)..so to my point.
So I'm officially tired of looking at overpriced crappy apartments. I'm sure this sounds cliché but I never knew finding a place close to campus that wasn't like $1000 per person a month would be that hard. But atlas, why such aggravation at something I knew? Because....I didn't get the affordable place, close to campus that would take my dog!!! I even baked the landlord cookies, and she still gave it to someone else...AHHHH!! That means tonight instead of going climbing and doing yoga, I get to go look at another place, that’s farther away and is more expensive. To the rest of you good luck finding a place! I tend to be optimistic so I know everything will work out in the end, and yes supposedly everything happens for a reason.
Wow, so talk about a lot of information in one day. I definately enjoyed the day and all of the counselors and major advisors were nice. Some recommendations for those who haven't gone yet:
1. Don't wear red.
2. LOOK at the classes that sound interesting and write them down, you will have time to look them up but you have to share a computer and it can get busy/stressful.
3. If you're from So Cal, get used to being the minority/pun of jokes, it's all in good fun though.
4. Drink some sort of coffee in the morning...it's a L O N G day with tons of information!
5. I don't think the campus tour they gave you in your spare time was that helpful, it was really short, and time could be spent better like getting your school id.
And of course have an amazing time! It definately made me more nervous and excited about starting in the fall. It helped that everyone was so supportive of the transfer students (thats me!).
