Roomies

I thought for this post I would tell you a bit about who I live with. This way, you can get to know me better and what my life is like. Last year as I explained in a previous post, I lived at Trop with three of my current roommates. So in my house we have: Kessler from Livermore in the Bay Area, Kristen from Encinitas, San Diego, Shannon from New Jersey and Dayna from upstate New York.

The House at Kristens family restaurant 'Luria'

We spent the whole year at Trop hearing horror stories of roommate drama, but I guess we were extremely lucky to be put together. For sure, we have our ups and downs, but we literally have become a family.
Shannon and I shared a room last year. We are actually really quite different in our lifestyle choices but I never felt judged or anything by what I did. As the year grew it became apparent that whilst we were different in what we chose to do on the weekends, we were extremely similar in other ways. We have such a similar sense of humor. I spent nearly every night in tears of laughter and she is extremely kind and wise beyond her years. She also visited me in England this summer and we had a lovely time .

Shannon in London- Westminster Abbey

Kessler I didn't live with last year, but we became really close and I went to her house for Thanksgiving. She is the most brilliant artist, extremely kind and sweet. Unfortunately we had an attempted break in last weekend. Whereby the person removed my screens and windows. Luckily Kessler was here with her boyfriend. He saw the intruder just as the perpetrator was attempting to climb in. This has made us all quite wary, but our landlord was really sweet and made sure added safety measures were put in place.

The Weeknd

Kristen is literally me but raised in America. She is really ambitious, loves to go out, has a dry sense of humor and works really hard.

Dayna is the final piece to our puzzle. She has a great sense of humor always telling amusing anecdotes, and we always, always have the same boy issues. Unfortunately, she will be leaving us at Christmas to return home. She has completed her general requirements, and has to wait to be placed into her Radiography program at SBCC, which may take up to two years. She is going to be greatly missed, but we are making the most of our time left. We just went to see The Weeknd the other weekend, who was absolutely incredible.

So there we have it, my Isla Vista family. Having roommates has taught me a lot, they will irritate you at times but they will also make you laugh a lot. It's an important skill and a life lesson to be able to live with people. It is strange how just a year ago none of us had ever met. I feel very lucky to have met four best friends for life!

All the Trop roommates- Dayna and Kristen are either side of me

Weekend

It's actually been a really crazy week and weekend, I hope next weekend is a little more relaxing! This week I had two midterms and a paper due, so come Friday I was a bit dead. On Friday evening it was the Phi Theta Kappa induction ceremony. This is an honor's society for two year CC's created to recognize and encourage scholarship for students. I was really happy that I was selected this semester because I found last semester really tough and had to work really hard for my GPA to be high. On arrival there were quite a few of us being initiated and lots of family and friends supporting everyone. Two of my closest friends here were also joining the society, and it was a nice excuse to get dressed up and be recognized for our hard work. Personally, I think joining Phi Theta Kappa is going to be really helpful because of the scholarship opportunities they offer for four year schools. So we shall see how it goes!

Saturday morning was the 'Day of Caring' at school. This was a volunteer opportunity just to really help out at school with the gardens. The International Ambassadors were encouraged to do this and my roommates also wanted to help out. I actually had no idea that SBCC had any gardens, but they are actually so pretty. Really encourage you to take a walk through, they also have fruit growing and seem so well kept. We spent the morning weeding the beds. I never ever garden so this is a new experience for me, even though my mum is a landscape designer! We had quite good fun, it's nice to feel like you are giving something back to the school. The organizers were really happy because so many of us turned up to volunteer, i'd happily go again.

Saturday night my friends launched their clothing line with a launch party, it is called Mystic Sea. They are making casual wear for boys. Here is their Facebook page, the clothes are also really really cheap. https://www.facebook.com/Mysticseaclothing?ref=profile or follow them on Instagram: Mysticsea_

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Hi guys,

Elstead

After my last post I thought it might be quite interesting if you were able to see where I was from. People always ask me, does your home look like Santa Barbara? What is different?
So with this post, I'll try and show you a few different things.

This to the left, is the village of Elstead, Surrey. This is where I live, it is a tiny village with about a thousand residents. Here you can see the green and the local village shop. Elstead is about thirty miles south of London. The main town in Surrey is Guildford and surrounding Guildford is lots of small villages. Fun Fact: Harry Potter lives in Surrey whenever he is staying with the Dursleys! My family has lived here for about eight years.

The Woolpack

This is the local village pub, called the Woolpack. Pubs are really big features in each village in England. English people love what is known as a Sunday Roast. This is literally a Thanksgiving dinner but on a smaller scale, every Sunday. Occasionally we will eat this at a Pub. Working at the Woolpack was actually my first ever job, waitressing! My favorite pub is in Guildford, called Pews. It is really popular with young people and has a huge outside courtyard with a bar.


This is me at Downton Abbey. This is actually where they film the majority of the outside and the inside scenes for the hit show. It's quite close to my house, so I visited over Summer. As you can see the weather was not great! But it is actually a beautiful house, it went into disrepair before the show but the show has rejuvenated it so the owners can afford to redo it. The whole of the third floor was water damaged and it lies in thousands and thousands of acres of grounds, so you can imagine the millions it costs each year in upkeep!

Downton Abbey

Guildford High Street

This is the High Street of Guildford which is basically the equivalent to State Street. The High Street dates back to the 1600's and is lined with cobbles. Shops range Armani and Hugo Boss to Topshop and H&M. Just a minute walk from the High Street is the remains of a Norman Castle, so the town is really quite historical.

View over the Surrey Hills 

This is a view over the Surrey Hills. This is my mum's favorite place to walk our dog. It is really beautiful, rain or shine! Surrey is a really expensive place to buy a house because of views like this but also because it is so close to London.

Surrey Roads

This is what most of the roads around me look like. It is quite difficult to drive as they are extremely narrow. They most definitely were not built for two cars and can prove really treacherous in the ice and snow.

Last but not least.. here are a few snaps of my Mum, youngest brother and I when we first got out 6 month old puppy. In the one with my Mum you can just about see our house, and that is our back yard we are lying in. 

Mum and Puppy

Little brother and puppy

This is a Youtube video for the new 'Reality' show called Surrey Hills. It is meant to be like the US 'Hills'. Here is one guy audtioning, he is very extreme and most of us are not like this! But this is the Surrey stereotype! 

Ups and Downs

It seems most appropriate to give some advice on my experience with homesickness this week.
Why? Earlier this week, I did have a bit of a lull. I felt my family and friends needed me and I couldn't be there at this tough time for them. Personally, I am lucky enough to have not struggled too much with homesickness over the past year or so. However it does come about every now and then. For me the down times seem to be when I arrive back in SB from going home, or if there is something going on at home and I should be there. But I feel that there are some ways to make it a little easier in the times when you do feel low.
I think the most important thing to remember is that it is completely and utterly normal to feel homesick. For most of us this is our first time away from home, and it sometimes is hard and lonely. But homesickness is by no means a weakness. It really is just your mind saying "I'm pretty sad at the moment so give me a break!". In my opinion once you accept that this is how you're feeling at the moment your body automatically relaxes a bit more. Then I usually try and stay quite busy. Luckily my roommates are really funny. For the most part I don't want to discuss how i'm feeling i'd rather just laugh and joke about, my mind is then taken off the matter. Also plan some events at the weekend, I went to a concert last weekend and Ventura for some shopping this weekend. It really, really helps! I think Skype is a savior in itself, so if you are international make sure you have that on your phone. Better still it's completely free! Additionally, if you have a date in mind that you are either going home or someone is visiting, you have that to look forward too. But lastly, what I find most beneficial is going down to the beach with your friends in the evening and watch the sunset. Santa Barbara is the most beautiful place i've ever been too. Sometimes you just have to remind yourself how lucky you are to be here and to have this opportunity. Everything always seems better when you imagine having to study in the months of cold and rain back home!

My Mum and I when she visited- October 2012

End of the week!

Hi all,
So the blogs have gone live and this is just brilliant news. I'm greatly enjoying doing this and hope you enjoy reading the things we all post too. I think this is a really good idea to do this type of thing for prospective students. When I first came here I really did not know what to expect, it was the biggest risk I had ever taken. So even if you gain just a little insight from the blogs, it is so much better then having absolutely no idea what to expect at CC!

Firstly a really fun event has been planned for ALL students at CC. The International Ambassadors are putting on a Volleyball Tournament. It is on October 12th at 12:00pm. If you fancy a chance to play, chance to win prizes, some free food, and to meet some new people please sign up. You can sign up at the table by the East Campus Cafeteria all this week or at the International Office. The Facebook event is linked here: https://www.facebook.com/events/587899101266186/

Fourth Week...

Well here we go into the fourth week of the semester. Time seems to be flying by i've now been back in the country for five weeks already. I just had my first test of the semester in Math, a subject that doesn't really come easy to me. I'm sticking with it, utilizing the Math Lab on campus and the SBCC Math tutor that is available for our class over the weekends. Both have been really helpful for homework problems and general concepts. I would say the Math Lab can get quite busy, so using the tutor that is available for your class seems to me to be the best option. Eventually I will get there!
On this subject, I thought it might be helpful to tell you what I have found useful to make sure you are successful in classes.
1) Keeping up with reading: Most of my classes have been heavy reading. If I don't keep up with the reading I have no idea what is going on in class. Also ignoring the reading means it's a lot of reading right before midterms/finals (nightmare!)
2) Office hours: I went to the Professor in a few of my classes over the past year. I tended to ask how I could improve and any advice for the exams. This was useful and shows your teacher you want to do well.
3) Using the subject tutor: I remember last semester I was battling with an assignment for anthropology, I really did not understand what to do. So I went to the subject tutor, spent a few hours going over the assignment and it was sorted.
4) Balance: I think key to real success at SBCC is ensuring you have a work/life balance. I think early on I realized that this is a new country, it is going to be harder for a little while. But I thought okay, I will put the hard work in and it will eventually pay off but there was then the tendency to overwork. I came to SBCC for the lifestyle as well as the education. Of course, you don't want the opposite whereby all you do is have fun and ignore your studies. But it was really unhealthy when I was overworking and I simply wasn't happy. As long as you allow yourself time off, time to go to the beach, see your friends, do whatever you enjoy.. You will feel like you can achieve more!

My view after the Math test.. unreal!

Well there we go..

The third week of the Fall Semester is over. It's in full swing and the weather is still as beautiful as ever. One thing I really like about changing classes every four months is the fact you meet so many new people. I've found school to have a really friendly atmosphere. It is great to speak to such a wide range of people so this semester i've become friends with a girl from Oregon in my Math class and a boy from Australia in my Political Science class. It just shows how the school is appealing to such a wide variety of people! I think in my first year what really helped me to settle in to SBCC life, was living at Tropicana Gardens Dorms. I would highly advise living there just for the first year, just so you can be in close proximity to a lot of people your age. Also my roommates from the last year, two from the West Coast and two from the East Coast, are my roommates in a house this year. I think the dorms help you become close to the people you live with. For me they became my family for two-thirds of the year. I actually cannot count the number of times we laughed all together, i've never had sisters so this was brilliant for me. You have to learn to adapt to different people, how they live and how to make it work.. I think a great life skill! One thing I miss about Trop is the catered food! I don't know if I would have been able to cope last year with cooking on top of everything else, so such a great option to have. The rooms are pretty basic, but you do have the use of a pool and gym, by dorm standards it's really quite nice. It depends what you really think you need for your first year. I would highly recommend dorms if you are young and living away from home for the first time.

Tropicana Gardens- My Quad

Week One

Hello

Hope you are having a great week!

It's been a pretty busy week thus far for me. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have two Political Science classes. The first is Comparative Politics; this is really relevant at the moment. Why? The class is discussing Syrian intervention, because we are comparing autocracy to democracy. So should democracy be imposed on Syria? Is it right for America to intervene in a country it has nothing to do with? That’s the crux of the class at the moment. Secondly, I have Political Thinking; I think this class is really quite a challenge! At the moment we are discussing the Greek myth ‘Antigone’, this is a really tragic story. Be sure to check it out if you are interested! From this we are looking at whether you have to obey the rules/the laws laid out, if you think they are unconstitutional. There is no right answer and it makes for hours of debate in class! 

In other news, I only just brought food from the West Campus Café. SBCC has a lot of different places to eat, I usually eat on East Campus but actually had such a nice meal there. Also the ambassador program is in full swing, we are organizing a volleyball tournament for the next few months. Will keep you posted! Also, I am trying to organize a mentor program for international students. What does this mean? It basically means that there is a group of us ambassadors, who will be contactable for any concerns/advice that international students may have. Sometimes international students go through culture shock and periods of homesickness, which can be really tough. In my experience you can get homesick when you least expect it and it really helps having someone who has experienced the same thing to speak to. Even more reason for there to be some kind of outreach program for those suffering! We hope to have contact details for this up and running within the next few weeks.

Have a great few days,

Helena

International Ambassadors for Fall 2013

Welcome!

Hello there and welcome to my blog!

My names Helena Green and I will be blogging about my experience at Santa Barbara City College. It will include all the highs and the lows of this coming year!
So a bit about me firstly. I'm nineteen years old; I'm in my second year at CC, and I'm actually from London, England (no, sadly I do not know the Queen or Adele!). Major? I am majoring in Political Science, it is extremely interesting (more to come later). Classes? This semester I am taking five classes, so the library may become my second home! What else? Well this semester I am an International Ambassador, part of the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, a Year Without War and the International Studies club. So I will be blogging about what is going on with these groups, as we have some great events coming up.
Aside from school, I adore the beach, playing tennis, shopping and playing guitar. Currently I live in a house with four girls, last year I lived in student dorms. I'm a long way from home and many things here are very different. So I am sure some quite amusing anecdotes from school will be posted on here. Anyway, I hope the posts entertain you, that you get to know me and gain a better idea of what it's like to attend the amazing SBCC.
Have a great day!
Helena

My favorite spot: Sands Beach,  Goleta