• Traveling to Hong Kong, Macau, China, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and soon Thailand
• The first time I’ve had to deal with the loss of someone very close to me
• Overcoming many secret fears including deep water, small spaces, fish, and plenty more…
• Tackling the language of Mandarin, one I thought was impossible to figure out (and still sort of do… :] )
• Learning from two Harvard professors in areas of Anthropology and Culture… let me reiterate: I am a BUSINESS major!
• Beginning my obsession with scarves: I have bought 29 of them, gave 1 away already, and “will give the rest away as gifts”

Although I know that I’ve experienced so much in such a short time, it is hard to not think about the fact that maybe, just maybe, I could have done more with the time I had here. Perhaps I could have picked up a service project, or traveled more, or put more effort into learning Cantonese, or became friends with more people on campus.

This directly translates into something important to know about college… You should make the most of every moment– join that club you were thinking about signing up for on Quad Day, talk to that person who lives across the hall from you even though you may not know them, do volunteer work with surrounding schools in Champaign…basically, spend your time doing something that will make you happy or that you are passionate about (or both!).  Of course, schoolwork is incredibly important, but college is also about the experiences that you take away from it as well.

I challenge everyone, upon graduation, to be able to say that they’ve done something meaningful with their time at Illinois.  It’s not hard–there’s plenty going on around campus!  Just take a glance at my fellow bloggers’ posts to get an idea of what’s out there!  I know Lucas has spent time at Beckwith Hall as a Personal Assistant, and Marina is passionate about Graphic Design.

So when you leave in four years, what will YOU have experienced? I can’t wait to find out! =)

Until next time,

Trisha

On our first day, we simply stayed at our resort, layed in the sun, and got a massage.  Hayahay Resort on Alona Beach had everything we could ask for, including Mango shakes anytime we wanted them, but if they didn’t have what we wanted, we simply walked to one of the neighboring resorts.  We found that it rained in Bohol pretty often, but thankfully only for a few minutes at a time– then it quickly cleared up and then sun emerged again!  Below is a picture of the fantastic rain clouds.

On the second day, we arose at 4:30AM to hop on a boat and go dolphin watching.  An interesting phenomenon– around 20 boats had similar ideas and were filled with tourists, so every time there was a dolphin sighting, the boats would scare them away by all rushing after them…therefore, we did not see as many as we would have liked.  We then proceeded to Balicasag Dive Resort, another island near Bohol.  We ate breakfast there, lay in the sun, and went snorkeling!  Some of my greatest fears include heights, deep water, fish, and falling…somehow, this experience encompassed them all and helped me to (sort of) get over them!  The coolest part was this :  there is a scene in Finding Nemo where the reef drops off, and all they can see is the dark, blue, open sea.  Nemo is warned against swimming out that way.  Basically, we SAW that in real life… we suddenly looked down and the reef dropped off!  All you could see is the dark blue depths!  Incredible!  It was kind of like this except muchhh more dramatic! :

As we returned to Alona Beach by boat, we had the boat stop in the open water…and of course we all took turns jumping in for a swim!  After going snorkelling (and seeing pretty good sized fish while getting bitten by mini-jellyfish) we were almost afraid to find out what might be swimming underneath us! Here is the sunset of that evening:

Other highlights of the trip included a trip to the famous Chocolate Hills.  Unfortunately, we arrived on the off-season, but usually the hills are brown and apparently resemble my favorite sweet!  However, it was still beautiful while green. 

On the last day, I jetskiied for the first time, and loved it.  The feeling of freedom I got from ripping around on the open sea was just incredible….and then we engaged on our 10-12 hour time period of transportation back to Hong Kong.  Although tedious, it was completely worth it!

I felt as though this was a “real” vacation.  All of the other ones consisted of massive amounts of sightseeing and such, which is amazing, but sometimes you just need a break.  On this trip, I could relax and do exactly what my heart desired, eat good food, get a few massages…it really was the life, and I absolutely loved it!

During my first year at the University of Illinois, I lived at Beckwith Hall as a live-in personal assistant.  I was able to provide assistance for 18 hours a week in exchange for room and board.  Although I no longer lived there after the first year, I have found my main source of income from Beckwith Hall for the entirety of my stay in Champaign-Urbana.  I say source of income because to state it as a job would be an injustice.  Some of my best friends at the university are people that I assist throughout the year.  With all of the talking, laughter, and overall enjoyment of all of my time spent there, it seems as though it is as far from a job as you can get while still getting paid.

Although it is a sad thought to know that I can never return to this dorm, the reasoning behind its closing completely outweighs these feelings.  The new dorms that are being built will merge the formerly very segregated Beckwith residents into the mainstream dorm activities and life.  So, if any of you are worried about finding a job once you go to the University of Illinois, I would enthusiastically suggest that you look into being a personal assistant.  I know that my college experience would have been significantly different had I not met the amazing people with whom I have come to know and love.

Last week, we discussed Tin Hau (Goddess of the Sea) temples.  It inspired me to go visit one. I took a minibus with a friend to the area of Sai Kung, which is a fishing pier.  The Tin Hau temple there is not touristy at all, and simply consists of 3 ornately decorated rooms.  It had just gone through a 4 million HKD renovation sponsored by the community, and is still in use today.  Apparently, the local people pray to Tin Hau to protect them from the sea and have been doing so for many many hundreds of years!

Why is this awesome?  Because there is no way that I would have visited a place like this, unknown to most tourists, unless I ventured into a different realm of study and took a course that I couldn’t find back at the University of Illinois.  My sincerest advice to anyone going abroad (or planning on it) is to take courses unique to your previous experiences — try something that you may never get the opportunity to do again, as I was advised to do before I came to Hong Kong.  You may find a great deal of value in straying from the beaten path. I must say, it has definitely added to my experiences!

Until next time,

Trisha

Once you log in, Enterprise can also be used to check your Student Account and Billing Information, and you can even monitor your Financial Aid and graduation information. I use Enterprise every week to log my work hours for Campus Recreation and the Office of Communications for Enrollment Management, since I’m a University employee.

Another useful tool for choosing my classes for next semester was my advisor, John Jennings. I met with him earlier this week to go over my DARS Audit, an unofficial progress report documenting all the classes I’ve taken for credit. John helped me petition to get credit for a class in a required field for my graduation. He also made some suggestions for elective classes that might suit my interests.

Between my advisor and the numerous resources available at Illinois.edu, picking my last semester of classes was a breeze, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

I personally had my entire family come down on Saturday and thought I would share a few fun pictures!

As my family and I headed over to a tailgate, we ran into Cookie Monster along the way!  He was giving away free Insomnia Cookies (a fabulous cookie store on campus!) before the game.  Here is a peak at my sister and I posing with him:

The weather was perfect, the game was exciting; if only it had ended differently. Regardless of the outcome, it still was a great time and fun to see all of the dads and families there!  During the half-time of the game, the Marching Illini members had their dad’s come out on the field and perform with them.  Who knew so many dads had such hidden talents; they never cease to amaze me!

Of course after the game my family stopped by the TIS Bookstore to pick up some more Illini gear. Can you ever have enough?!  We also enjoyed a rowdy lunch at Firehaus, home to my favorite french fries ever (who would turn down a free meal?).  All in all, it was a great day and it’s always fun to see everyone enjoying the Illinois campus with their dad’s!

Stay Classy Chambana!

As a senior, another goal of mine is to find a job. Interviewing is very important in the job search. It is something you just have to prepare for. The good news is that my job search is over. With all the interviews and office visits I participated in, I am proud to say that I am working for a company that values me and my skill sets.  A company that also understands the importance of work/life balance. I am excited for what my future holds. I am very blessed for the opportunities I have.

Finding a job and doing well in school is difficult because the job search is a full time job, just like school. If you ever have any questions regarding this or how to balance life’s activities please let me know. I have learned some very helpful time management skills during college that help me to overcome the challenges I face.

Some believe that because they have already traveled a bit in their lifetimes, a semester abroad is a waste of time.  Regardless of what way one may choose to validate this statement, I do not find it to be accurate at all.   Of course, it must be amazing to have lived in another country with one’s family, or perhaps one has been fortunate enough to take adventurous vacations outside of a home country, but there is more to experience outside of this.

A few weeks ago, I went to Singapore to visit a good friend of mine, Liz, who is studying at Nanyang University there.  As she took me around to the various sights and places there, I realized that she had become accustomed to life there as a resident;  she got to know Singapore in depth.  Picking yourself up and moving to a new place, to us, is one of the best things a student can do.  You get acclimated to the ways of that place, such as how they act, eat, interact with one another, and you learn what your place is within that society, and by doing that you gain vital life experiences.  For example, it is so important to be adaptable, flexible, and get a broader perspective on things when you are in the working world, and those are qualities that you can learn, among others, while abroad.

Here are some depictions of the things I saw or did while in Singapore for 4 days:

Seeing what a fellow Illinois student abroad was doing was amazing…although we are in two different locations, I found that the general trends in experiences are surprisingly similar almost anywhere you go!  All in all, it was a fabulous weekend.

Until next time,

Trisha

For me, both my dad and brother came to visit. They arrived on Saturday morning just in time for the Illinois vs. Northwestern Football Game. Unfortunately the Fighting Illini lost the game, but it was really fun nonetheless. During the football game, the Parent’s Association Tuition Raffle winners were announced.

After the game we toured some of the campus buildings and showed my dad some of my sister’s projects in the Architecture Annex (she is a student here at Illinois too). After eating dinner at a great restaurant in Downtown Champaign, we attended the Illini Hockey game at the Illinois Ice Arena.

Overall it was a great weekend, and I’m sure all the dads who came to visit felt so too.

The concept for Unofficial Thanksgiving came from a few of my current roommates who wanted to have a nice day filled with an abundance of food and friends. Although all of us go home for the actual holiday, we still are close enough that it only feels appropriate to have some semblance of a holiday that we can share together.  So this Sunday, November 15th, marked the third annual unofficial Thanksgiving and it was absolutely wonderful.

We had the typical Thanksgiving staples, including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc.  Unlike my yearly experience at Thanksgiving, this celebration was an all day long event with a constant flow of food coming from the kitchen.  For example, we woke up and made breakfast, had around 10 different appetizers in place of lunch, and then finally cut the turkey and ate dinner at 11:00 pm.   By the time we put away all of our leftovers and cleaned up the mess, it was well after midnight.  (So much for being productive!)

When all is said and done, I had a great time and it just reminded me how amazing my friends at school are and how much they mean to me.  Rather than just being temporary friends while at the University of Illinois, I have definitely made lifelong friends.  I can only hope that the celebration of Unofficial Thanksgiving with my unofficial family continues to happen for years to come!