Perspective Brits

I know a lot of people at home have asked me how I went about going to American College. If you are interested here are some outlines of what you need to do. It does really vary from College to College. But also, these are just brief guidelines, what I would like to emphasize more is what it's like on a personal level.

1) Research Schools you like: There are hundreds of Colleges out here, ranging from two-year to four-year. If you decide to go to SBCC you can transfer into a four-year, for a fraction of the price. If you have a dream school you would like to go to or literally no idea, i'd have a look at 'The Best 378 Colleges'. Here, you can get a good idea of what the schools out here are like, and make a short list of ones to apply to. As there are just so many schools here, you might want to narrow it down by location. For UK students California and New York are the most popular areas. SBCC's location is like none other, it is literally on the beach. The research process is really lengthy but it is really important you gain as much information as you can, before deciding whether or not to apply. Look at the schools' websites for a better idea of what the school is like. But stay away from forums about universities online, in most cases they are completely inaccurate! If you decide to go to a two-year, like SBCC you can then transfer into your dream school after two years. Your dream school may include the UC's listed in 'The Best 378 Colleges', SBCC has a guaranteed transfer admission with them. These include UCSD, UC Davis, UCSB and UC Irvine. 

2) SAT or No SAT: Some Universities will require you to take the SAT or ACT, this is their version of testing standardized testing, it is multiple choice. There are various test centers across England for SAT testing. Some Universities do not require SAT's or ACT's. SBCC does not require SAT's for international students but of course you will have to have completed your A Levels. Personally, I did begin studying for the SAT on top of my A Levels but found that it was a lot of work to manage. I think it is manageable with good time management, or just go somewhere where you don't need to do it! A Levels are enough work themselves! Another side note, unlike the UK system you will not have a conditional offer for American Colleges. It is either a yes or a no, this takes the pressure away from you when you do your A level exams, you will just need to complete them, at C grade and above.  

3) I think it is really important to consider the whole picture on venturing to the other side of the world. On the one hand, it has given me a whole new life, with brilliant opportunities, met amazing people and learnt so many new things. But you are away from home for four months at a time. On the plus side, FaceTime and Skype are brilliant. Your family can always visit and the breaks here are super long. I think it really depends on you as a person. I wouldn't say I was particularly confident or really independent before here, I just took the risk and went with it. But of course, it is not for everyone. The lifestyle here in California is very different from England, it is a lot more relaxing with the beach around you, but you do have to work hard here. I would say my first two years have been at an A Level standard for the majority of classes. Even so some are easier than this, but some are definitely much harder than that. What you gain here, is that you have a lot more classes than you would in an English University. The Professors are available during office hours, to speak with you and help you. What is so great is that in some classes I have literally reevaluated any thoughts I had before. So you really are gaining value for money. As I mentioned before, SBCC is very affordable, tuition is cheaper than at home. However if you opt for a four-year straight away this can be pricey. It is worth looking into scholarships, sport, academic or others are available. The thing to bear in mind when looking at UC's is that these universities are some of the best in the world, so you are spoilt for choice! 

4) If you do decide to apply to SBCC, the application deadline for Fall Semester is June 1st. http://www.sbcc.edu/apply/apply_to_college.php

If you need any more information or anything please just comment and I can blog about this. 

Here are some more links for extra info, that you might find helpful. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10334140/US-universities-seeking-to-recruit-more-British-students.html

http://www.fulbright.org.uk/study-in-the-usa

http://international.collegeboard.org/study-around-the-world

Midterm Nerves

Don't let midterms do this to you!

I haven't been able to blog as of late due to so many exams! I was actually discussing with a friend the other day, how I am a huge sufferer of exam nerves, as is he. From my experience, most people are absolutely fine about exams. However, I am the complete reverse! I am paralyzed with fear, I really want to do well and this does eat away at me. Exams here are less intense than my British exams, but I still put a lot of pressure upon myself. So if you are in the same boat, here are some tips.

1) Breathe and Believe- Everyone always says just breathe, relax, it will be fine. For some reason this never sinks in for me! But what I have been trying to do, is plug my headphones in for a few minutes before I go in and just breathe slowly in and out. Music really helps too! And most importantly, you have to believe that you can do this, you will do well. I try to tell myself again and again, 'Helena it is going to be okay, you do know the content'.

2) Acceptance- I accept that i'm going to be nervous prior to the exam, and for about the first five minutes of the exam. It is my body pumping adrenaline, and preparing to either fight or flight. What is really important, I find is to literally just go with the flow! I know it is going to be horrid, that I might not think I can go to the exam/take the exam, but I will and it will be okay. If you continually tell yourself this, it does go in.

3) Plan- With the knowledge that the first few minutes, I will be a bit of a mess my thoughts are not going to produce a great essay from the outset. So, I try to spend the first few minutes planning what the essay is going to entail. Which points am I going to make, just so i'm focused. My favorite English teacher always said if you do not plan, the essay is all over the place. Especially, if you are nervous this is a good way to ease yourself into the exam.

4) Perspective- I think the cause for most exam nerves is pressure. If one thinks that an exam such a make or break situation, it seems so much worse. I am guilty of always doing this! Truth is, most times even if you do not perform there are other opportunities to bring your grade up. Also it is just an exam! Yes it is important, but it is not meant to cause you overwhelming stress. It is simply to test you on how well you've understood what has been going on. (I write this and need to take this advice myself the majority of times!)

5) Do something fun to celebrate! All that hard work you have put in, all the days of stress, reward yourself. Last night, myself and the roommates went to see Katy Perry and Ellie Goulding at the Hollywood Bowl. It was absolutely fantastic. This is the best way to let your hair down and pat yourself on the back! Doesn't need to be as elaborate as a concert but enjoy yourself! Take a break!

What made me choose SBCC?

For many of you reading this, may it is your last year at School and you are wondering where to go next year. I was thinking about the factors that made me choose SBCC. How did I end up deciding to go here, instead of other places?

Firstly, a huge factor was housing. Every other two-year college I researched did not have the dorm option that SBCC has. There is something incredibly scary about leaving home for the first time, and I did not want to be alone in an apartment with people I had never met before. My mum also felt that was anything to go wrong, in a dorm I would be better looked after. For her, having her eighteen year old daughter on the other side of the world, you want to know that people are looking out for her. The dorm option called 'Tropicana Gardens' (spoken in depth in a previous post), allowed me to choose a roommate, on how compatible you were with one another. This worked out so well for me. What everyone that lived at Trop last year said was that, it was good because it allowed us to meet so many people our own age (they are Freshman only dorms). Also, you are not missing out on the dorm experience that maybe some of your peers will experience, in four-year Universities. Plus, you don't have to cook! I was lucky that I never needed to seek help from any of the RA's, but my RA was really friendly and approachable, so definitely don't think it would have been a problem. I think it's just a really good idea to do just for the first year, just to transition you into life away from home.

Secondly, cost effectiveness. Without a doubt, international tuition in America is costly. This can especially be said of the private schools here and the UC's. Whilst I was accepted into four- years out of High School, I did not want to put such a financial burden on my parents. SBCC is extremely cost effective for any student, but especially for international students. All our lower division courses can be completed at a fraction of a price before transferring.

Thirdly, location. I had never even visited SBCC before coming here, crazy I know! However, you just type in SBCC on google images and the campus is out of this world. Even Obama said that it was 'unreal'! But beauty aside, I didn't want to go to a huge city having just arrived in America. Santa Barbara is not small, but it is nowhere near as huge as LA. This means you can be a big fish in a small pond, instead of the reverse. This is what I wanted, because I was so far from home and I wanted to be eased into American life, instead of a lonely soul in a huge city. Living in Isla Vista, has meant that there are students EVERYWHERE. I love this, it has a real buzz to it and such nice beaches, yummy places to eat and it is so close to all your friends.

Another factor, was that it has quite a big international population. I thought that if there was many international students, the international advisors would be extremely knowledgeable on any issues. There are a lot of new things you have to learn as an international student, i've found the advisors to be helpful in this. For example, you have to complete a form if you are ever leaving the country prior to doing so. Your international advisor will email you prior to say you must do this. I've heard from the ambassadors that they had greater culture shocks than me, the advisers were really helpful about this. The ambassadors are really aiming higher this year to assist new international students in any issues, questions they have on anything. I will keep you posted about a new forum, whereby you can ask any questions about housing, life etc to us.

Lastly, the academics at SBCC played a huge factor. My father had some reservations because i'd been accepted into very good Universities. Would the first two years be able to challenge me academically? Through word of mouth, we heard that SBCC was well thought of academically, despite being a two-year institution. I have found that especially for my major, Political Science, the Professors have been really great. Both Adam Benshea and Professor Eskandari have taken time to chat to me, to help me with career goals, exams and transferring. Their classes have been taught as if we were at Upper Division level, so are not for the faint hearted! I think academically, SBCC attracts really great Professors. It also has many honor's societies and attracts Iranian UN advisors, so it is really quite special!

New Student Help- Phones

I had a couple of questions about a variety of things. So each post should give new International Students some advice on what you may need to know.

Firstly, the necessities of mobile phones. In America, there are a wide range of networks you can choose from. For example, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Usually people say Verizon and AT&T have the best Santa Barbara coverage. With this in mind, it's probably best to decide if you want a top-up/ pay-as you go phone, or a contract. If you opt for a contract, you pay a monthly amount and have a fixed number of texts and calls. A pay-as you go phone, you just add money every time it runs out. Both have positives and negatives. If you're here for under two years it is probably best to go for the pay-as you go option. Or you'll be tied into a contract for longer then you're here!

Best advice is to go on their website, see which phone/contract appeals to you.
AT&T: http://www.att.com/#fbid=vZPISwgYWYO
Verizon: http://www.verizonwireless.com/
Sprint: http://www.sprint.com/
T-Mobile: http://www.t-mobile.com/

Then once you arrive here, you can go into the store. There are two Verizon's on State Street: One located at 2980 State Street, the other 636 State St. AT&T's are located in 7060 Marketplace Dr, Goleta or 3839 La Cumbre Plaza, Santa Barbara.

One problem I found, was when setting up a contract, some stores may ask for a Social Security number. If you're international, you're unlikely to have one. Only place I found this was in Best Buy though. When I set up a contract with Verizon, they were able to get around this. I chose an iPhone, because of the fact it has Skype on it. This becomes your new best friend when you live here! Of course, other phones will have this too. Not only this, but it has iMessage. This means you can text without limitation, to others anywhere in the world. It is also a good idea to inquire what will the costs of international texts/calls be. Last thing you want is some huge bill! 

I ended up canceling my phone contract at home, in England. I just use a cheap pay-as you go phone when I'm home. It's up to you what you decide to do, depending on the amount of time you will be here. I did find that contracts are more expensive here. So do shop around for a good deal! Hope this helps.

Hooman Majd

On Thursday Hooman Majd came to SBCC, and gave a lecture on Iran. Political Science majors were encouraged to attend, as he is such a high profile figure in Iranian-American Politics. He is an author, a journalist and a former advisor/translator of the previous President of Iran, Ahmadinejad. His family is quite high profile in Iran, his grandfather was an Ayatollah, and his family are heavily involved in the diplomatic world. He was educated in England, and then went on to attend the George Washington University.

The lecture was really interesting, and I had friends who went who weren't Political Science majors, who still found it particularly informing. He spoke a bit about the way Iranians view America and what they want from America. What seemed to be the most prominent feeling was that if Iran is given respect from America they will cooperate over their nuclear weapons. He spoke about how Iranians are really patriotic, they love their culture and don't want to be spoken to in a disrespectful, condescending tone by America. Majd emphasized how the new President Rouhani is a new chance for US/Iran relations.

What I had not taken into account was that Iranians want change, both the government and the people want this, as it results in economic prosperity. The change he discussed was not regime change, Iranians do not want the Western Liberal Democracy, but they want some form of interaction internationally. If they have this interaction it means that Iranians will have more opportunities and a better standard of living. He touched on women's rights that whilst the West may think wearing of the Hijab is impeaching freedom, this is the least of worries for Iranian women's rights activists. Instead they care more about the fact that women cannot be judges, or that it is incredibly hard to get a divorce. This argument related to the fact that if you saw Iranian women dressed in western styled clothing, you may be under the impression it was a democracy when in fact the same restraints existed. He highlighted how Iranian youths are so informed about social media and America, however this does not mean they want Western culture forced upon them. Iranians want a mix of Western music, internet and Iranian music, film and culture.

Majd finally placed particular emphasis on the Geneva Convention taking place next week. He said that if America give Iran the respect they want this will be great, if not the radicals in Iran will have been proven right. This would mean that cooperation between the two would be unlikely in the future, and Iran will be unwilling to bother trying to cooperate again.

I came away feeling much better informed in understanding the way Iranians are looking at America. We are so lucky at SBCC to have the opportunity to be able to listen to someone on that level.

Travelling Continued..

Thailand was really quite different. We started off by visiting the North a place called Chaing Mai, which is literally the jungle but a huge city has been built within. Unfortunately here I was struck down by a mystery illness. However I persevered, I wanted to see what Chaing Mai had to offer really regardless of how I felt! The highlight had to be visiting 'Tiger Kingdom' which has wild tigers of all ages in enclosures and here you can touch them, lay on them and have your photo taken with them. We were apprehensive because we thought it was going to be a cruel place, it seemed really quite nice and the tigers were much wilder than we thought. There was one hairy moment, a huge tiger looked into my eyes and the keepers just looked at me, as if to say "errr...you might want to run!" But regardless it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Then we moved onto the south of Thailand to the islands, called Koh Samui and Koh Tao. Unfortunately by this point I was really quite unwell and was rushed to hospital on arrival to the islands. I had to stay in hospital for 3/4 days in the end at first they thought it was a nasty virus, then they suspected that it was Typhoid or Salmonella poisoning. Unfortunately this is one of the negatives about going to these types of places, you never know what you might pick up. It is only now looking back on it that I realize how seriously sick I was. However even though it was a brutal time, I was determined that I would enjoy the rest of my trip. After my stay we ventured to Koh Tao on a 4 hour boat ride, literally waves coming over the top of the boat! Koh Tao was paradise, it has one road running throughout the island that it is. Hardly anyone lives there, the beaches are bare and it was my favorite place. I will never forget the nights we spent there. The bars were literally on the beach with just bean bags for seats, watching the sunsets and the fire dancers into the early hours. Before I mentioned how lots of British teens head out to Thailand, in Koh Tao every single person we met was from our hometown, such a small world. My highlight here was the snorkelling however, I absolutely love snorkelling always have. Here it was brilliant, the coral was beautiful, the range of fish was stunning and even a few sand sharks were spotted.


Without a doubt a trip with some highs and lows but an experience none the less. Literally some of the funniest moments came out of this trip just trying to order room service where no one speaks a word of English was an experience in itself. I strongly encourage anyone if they have a few months off just to go somewhere with your friends, of course be careful it can be nerve racking but it is just so worth it. You definitely appreciate what you have all the more and such a larger horizon of what the world is like.

Bali

I thought this might be of some interest to anyone interesting in travelling the world soon. Last Summer I arranged to visit Bali and Thailand over a three week period with a few friends. Some people in England decide to take what is called a 'Gap Year', a break from education between High School and University to travel and work. A couple of my best friends did this and planned 3-6 month long tours of Asia and Australia. I was lucky in that I could join them on the Bali and Thailand leg of the tour.

Firstly, Bali is one of the most incredible places I have been too. I have never been to Indonesia before and it was like nothing I have ever seen before. It took about 21 hours total flying time to get there, incredibly long. You stop off in Qatar (a Gulf state) and Singapore on the way. Why was Bali so great? It is so so different from the West. The roads are absolutely crazy, everyone has motorbikes and any traffic laws are out the window! Stray dogs run rampant everywhere, street sellers on every corner, extremely humid, torrential rain then beautiful sun, it is extreme. Personally what I loved was all the Hindu temples, Hinduism there is such a kind, caring religion. Bali was hit hard after their spate of terrorist attacks in the early 2000's, this meant that tourism was pretty much wiped out.

So with tourism being most peoples main income they were forced to find other work, where they could. This was extremely tough and the poverty levels sky rocketed. However our tour guide explained that whilst the government did not really help, part of Hinduism is looking after your extended family. If you do not have much it does not matter, you share, you give and you ensure everyone is looked after. Even better in recent years the country seems to have recovered it's tourism industry and things are looking up. We had amazing days seeing volcanoes high in the mountain, lying on deserted beaches, going to Hindu cliff temples, eating at Balinese restaurants, visiting Ubud, which is written about in 'Eat, Pray, Love' and going out in the crazy party town of Kuta (an experience we will never forget!) The people were crazy, crazy as in nice and really weird. Our driver loved to meow at us throughout the journey before cackling and dancing, driving was not the first priority! Anyway I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking...

Break

Heaps of notes 

I'm so happy I have this blog as a temporary escape right now! Sometimes school work gets a bit overwhelming. I have two midterms this week and I'm really trying to prepare the best I can. One is in Maths which is not my strength in anyway, so i'm spending a few hours a day with a tutor. All I can see is numbers at the moment! I'm sure you are all jealous! It all feels like rather a lot of pressure, but I am hoping for the best. It is really important I succeed in this class to ensure I can transfer to a UC next Fall. I just submitted my TAG for UC Davis so I am really excited for what is to come. A TAG agreement is basically saying that you have a place at Davis, if you meet their requirements until the end of Spring 2013.

But enough about school work, to take my mind off of work I had a lovely evening/night last night with my friends. I find another great destressor is music. I learnt to play piano from the age of seven and I took up guitar age sixteen. I find playing a musical instrument is really relaxing especially acoustic guitar. I link you my favorite piano artist, he is called Einaudi. He is an Italian composer and you might recognize some of his works form TV and Films. It is so moving and emotional! I always find it strange but great how a few of my close male friends love Einaudi. He seems to attract all audiences. So have a listen.

This video directly below is my favorite one to play on the piano. I taught myself this for weeks on end as it was so so hard to play but so rewarding when I finally could! It is called 'Le Onde' which means 'The Waves', pretty ironic considering where I am at school currently.

I also adore Newton Faulkner's new album. He is a British guy who plays guitar and sings. He actually went to music school in my hometown. I'm surprised he is not bigger here, with such a following for bands like Rebolution and Slightly Stoopid. So take a listen and see what you think, he is very surfy/chilled out music.

I don't read a lot of books, I love reading articles instead. I think it is because I have such a short attention span. I love reading a weekly magazine called 'The Week' it is British but I know you can get it here. It basically is a collection of the best newspaper articles from the week about different countries, houses, entertainment stories compiled into 20 or so pages. I also love quotes, I always have i'm not really sure why, but some have such meaning in times of happiness and sadness. This is my favorite of all time.

Quote

Start of the Week

I start with some great news; a few friends and I have managed to get hold on some tickets for a charity benefit in Los Angeles. The line-up includes Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, Tegan & Sara and Sara Bareilles. It is a fundraiser for the breast-cancer focused 'Young Survival Coalition' and is on the 23rd October. Ellie Goulding is one of my favorite artists, so I am so excited to watch her perform. She's really big in England and I always find it crazy to think a few years ago she was studying Politics at University. Favorite song is linked just under this text. Anyway, this is why it is just so great to live so close to Los Angeles. 

I also just wanted to strongly encourage you to get to the Farmers Market on Sundays. A subject that our house has been talking about is how can we healthily but cheaply. The market seems to be the best option; everything is really fresh and cheap. We also like how sweet the sellers are, it’s nice to know you are supporting them. We go to the one in Goleta; it is outside Sundance Beach in the Camino Real Marketplace.

In other news, in my Comparative Politics class we have been speaking a lot about Syria.  The latest news is that chemical arms experts have crossed the border into Syria. The US-Russia initiative, which Syria has agreed to, means that chemical stockpiles the Assad regime has, will be destroyed by the middle of the next year. Of course, most people are of the opinion that this is brilliant progress. Here Assad will no longer be able to carry out chemical atrocities as we saw. However I would be lying if I did not have some discrepancies about what is occurring. Firstly, what concerns me is that if the chemical weapons are gone there is still in place Assad, and a brutal civil war continues. Whilst American military intervention is clearly not the solution, more has to be done for the ongoing refugee crisis and on the humanitarian level. Especially if this fighting is going to continue for the foreseeable future, removing weapons does not help the larger picture. There is a problem that the UN's $4.4bn appeal for Syrian refugees is only 50% funded. The overspill of refugees across borders especially into Lebanon, is putting strains on resources Lebanon does not have. You can read more on this at
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24328050
Or an article on Education in Syria, former English Prime Minister is asking for a special UN envoy for schooling refugees. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24034422

I have always wanted to go into International Development, so these are issues I passionately like to speak about. I really think its important people know about what is going on and have their own opinions, after all “knowledge is power”!