Admission & Financial Aid Lidia Gutu '20

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I am absolutely positively surely excited to introduce myself AGAIN to all you lovely readers checking out our blog: My name is Lidia Gutu, and I am a member of the class of 2020, majoring in Economics and Psychology.  I come from Chisinau, Moldova, though I've spent the past three years at a boarding school in New England. For those of you who are curious, my favorite ice-cream flavors are coffee, mint and pistachio.

This year I am a Residential Counselor in an upperclassmen hall, Greenway C. I also teach Romanian at the Five College Language Center, and work with the Admission Office. I still play badminton occasionally, and enjoy spending the evenings with my friends and catching up with their busy lives. My goals for the year are to stay grounded and balanced in the hurricane of things I’m involved in, and to maintain the ties I have with the people I love.  

Some of my personal interests include music, writing, questions about the meaning of life and obviously, languages! (if you speak Romanian, Russian, German, Spanish or French, I would love to talk to you! Just kidding, English speakers are welcome, too) On campus you can see me sprinting everywhere in my running shoes, working out at the gym every Saturday, attending Val lunches and dinners almost "religiously" and taking pictures of trees, chipmunks and the sky.

If you need a person to ask questions about Amherst, follow these 3 easy steps:

1) Copy lgutu20@amherst.edu and paste it into your "To:" bar from your mailbox.

2)Ask me anything!

3)Hit "Send".

Yaaaay you've send me an email and I will get back to you soon!

Till future adventures!

Your Student Blogger,

 Lidia

Hi everyone,

This spring semester feels like yesterday already: every day I stare at my calendar and wonder why are there still 16 days left till end of exam week if classes already ended? Especially since I will be abroad junior year, maybe the time is doing me an advantage by passing so slowly. I am a bit impatient about some of the changes that will happen while away: we are moving into the new Science Center in the fall, students will now have a second cafe (will Grab&Go move?) and Merrill, the actual science center, will become something different.
Here is my bucket list of things I still hope to achieve in the meager two weeks laying ahead of me:

1) Do my last Tea-time of the year!
I have enjoyed so much working with my residents this past year, that I believe we all deserve to end the semester on a high note. I am planning a bubble-tea event with nice thank-you cards to write to each other. Doing tea-times with residents input often guarantees high attendance, but also makes me feel more useful. If I were to plan a ramen tea-time at 8am, would that really help the community? Should ask my residents ;)

2) Take a walk on the Bike Path
You probably read way too many articles of me swooning over the beauty of the Bike Path in all seasons. I do a lot of runs around campus, so taking a small detour should not be too difficult. I've heard way too many interesting wild life stories about the path: bears, deers, baby lion-cats... they only get spotted by the lucky few! Personally, I would prefer seeing smaller animals, like squirrels or bunnies: at least we won't interfere too much in each other's business!

3) Check out books from Frost Library
This year, I am intentionally borrowing more books from Frost (and reading them), in an attempt to balance my class-assigned readings with leisure books. We are so lucky to be part of this Five School Consortium, that complements the 1.9 million book Frost collection (or is it larger than that?), because it means that I have no trouble finding most popular titles. Even better, with the services of Jones Library (library in town) and the interloan service, I was able to access texts shipped all the way from Cambridge, MA, or books otherwise checked out. I really hope my school abroad has a good library too: Frost is a bit of a luxury to get used to!

4) Catch up with friends!
Again and again, students always mention the human factor (aka people on campus) that makes Amherst College special. I can definitely attest to that, and the friends will be the number one thing I will always long for while abroad. It's weird how all these lunches and club meetings and walks slip through your fingers and get to be your "last" for a while: I can't simply get used to the idea that it will take a whole year to see some of my friends. I am used to not seeing my "other friends" for prolonged periods of time, but Amherst people somehow live on this continuum that has not been breached yet. I just hope everyone has good luck with Room Draw and classes, and remembers to take things less seriously from time to time!

 Until later!

Your Student Blogger,
Lidia

Hi again,

In this second article, we will keep discovering Val favorites, and talk a little bit about non-Val options that the campus offers. When you live on a residential campus, food can easily become a new pursuit, as you find yourself looking for munchies after too much studying in the library.

1) Salmon salad

This is a favorite among some of my friends, though I personally just like the salmon. I appreciate the colorful presentation of the roses and citruses (grapefruit and orange maybe?).  However, I wish the salad dressing was not hidden under all these greens: spoiler alert - your plate will look purple after finishing this meal! Aside from the regular salad bar, Val offers two salad mixes every day, and has special days like this one in the lunch rotation, when a salad is a part of the main line. There is also a fruit salad that appears for breakfast daily: I guess one can just have salads at all meals! Speaking of the salmon, this semester a new burger bar has been introduced, and they serve something called "Alaskan Salmon Burger". I am still wondering whether that's something they buy in bulk, or make those themselves, but either way, I find them delicious, and very filling: I usually eat half of the patty in one sitting, and then save the second half. I am not a big fan of fish, but I guess this Val salmon really won me over! 

 

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I wish I can cook fancy-looking meals like these one day! (Tip: The flower may not be edible)

2) Danishes and strawberries

So this semester, breakfasts have been something I've been skipping/eating on the go. I enjoy sleep more than food, and being able to snooze my alarm for just a bit longer feels better than going to Val for breakfasts. Moreover, for sophomores and above, a lunch-dinner meal plan is available, that allows students to receive 100$ per semester instead of breakfast swipes. Students can get into breakfast by using these ACDollars, or snack on foods elsewhere later in the day, such as at Schwemm's or Frost café, and vending machines scattered around campus (some dorms have them, and (surprise!) Converse Hall ). 

But returning to this Val blessing: danishes are both my favorite breakfast food and dessert. Especially paired with some colorful berries and hot chocolate, they make any morning better. Currently Val has them for Sunday brunch only, but I really hope they expand this option for Saturday and maybe some weekdays. In this picture, you can see the cheese pastry, but there is also a jam one and a chocolate one. I've noticed that Frost Cafe sells something similar, but I would argue that the Val ones are much better.
If you are not a big fan of hot chocolate, you can try some salted caramel cappuccino (not from Starbucks!), or some regular coffee, and drop in some cinnamon/vanilla flavors from the pumps. Tea works just as well: I am currently consuming an average of two cups per day, and I really wish hot water was available just as widely as water fountains (wishful thinking)!

 

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That moment when danishes make you come to Val even from Greenway (students  will understand)

Until later!

Your Student Blogger,

Lidia

As the campus is filled with more visiting high-schoolers and the weather is slowly warming up, events tempting us Mammoths to go outside and grab a snack are more often. Just yesterday I attended a Mead Museum Black Tie formal, where I chatted with one of the visiting artists in a small tent on the quad. And today, on the same place, an ice-cream and berries destress event happened, cheering up me and some of my friends. But let's not throw into the shadow Valentine Dinning hall, a main meal provider for many of us on this campus. Regardless of a student's opinion on its quality, the mere fact that we have such an extensive access for it during the day is very accommodating, because it's nice to grab some coffee or piece of fruit at no additional cost. I know many students have expressed the wish to have even longer hours for Val, and I hope it can be done in a way that would not hurt the employees too much, since they already work so hard!

Below I have sampled a few Val meals from the three-week rotation that is going on, along with my candid opinion on them.
Enjoy!

 1)Stir-fry station pasta
Yes, this is a meal that one can put together for dinner without waiting on any rotation. Most of these ingredients are from the salad bar: the celery, the asparagus, the olives, the chicken breast. One adds some oil and soy sauce at the stir-fry station, fries the veggies first, then adds the chicken breast and the pasta. It took me a while to reach this milestone (so integral to the Amherst College experience), and some time (there might be a line at the station, albeit a short one), but I have only words of praise. Pro-tip: Come early to Val and take advantage of the stir-fry station for as long as you want!

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Yummy carbs and veggies: the healthy and the tasty in one plate!

2) 2) Quesadilla with tortilla chips + toppings
This is definitely one of my favorites! The Quesadillas come in chicken or cheese flavor, and I usually get one of each. I am a huge fan of these crispy chips, and the guacamole is a hoarded possession in all the plates (I have a friend that would take a whole cup with her after each of these meals, and would use it in the privacy of her own room. And she even didn't like guac before college!) This meal happens on Saturday nights, so it's a great way to motivate friends to crawl out of their rooms and catch up. 

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When red and green meet each other: do opposites attract? 

Offering college dinning at a small institution can be tricky, because one should balance variety with affordability. Larger universities may have the benefit of more types of dishes and more dinning halls (such as Umass, a typical favorite among Amherst students), but smaller places like Amherst can foster a community spirit in one space such as Val. I can clearly see the advantages of another dinning hall on campus, but I wonder how would that change the spirit of "meet you at Val in 5 min": you know well that you and your friends end up huddling in there sooner or later. 

Until next time!

Your Student blogger,

Lidia

Although the weather has been hitting extreme temperatures recently, and work keeps pilling up, I got unexpectedly cheerful today after seeing this one picture on my phone. It was taken about a year and a half ago, when I was an incoming first-year, who didn't know more than you do right now about Amherst College. In the picture, me and my close friend Nikki stay back to back, glancing confidently at the camera, with a lake from Cape Cod in the background (Cape Cod has lakes, what?). This was not some fancy back-to-school college gathering, though one can describe it as such: It was a LEAP trip.

LEAP trips are an important part of orientation, and a perfect way to get to know friends, embarrass yourself, discover campus (or beyond) and experience bouts of amnesia, as you memorize the many names of the students around you. My LEAP trip was the best one in my year for me, and when I saw its name in the list I said: Ok, this is why I love Amherst College.

But if you think this post is about LEAP trips, you are completely wrong (Haha, deceiving title). I'm more interested in what is left after the trip is over, like memories, friendships, and an occasional t-shirt or bracelet. It seems to me that college in many places has this "orientation" phase for first-years, that is supposed to bring a whole incoming class closer together. I definitely didn't meet all my current-close friends during the trip (funny enough, many of them participated in the program, but we met way later), but it is mostly through those LEAP friends that I was introduced to them. It could be that we were all like minded, and thus we attended, but I wonder whether talking to those people that I didn't keep contact with helped me get a wider scoop of what Amherst students in my year are like.
For one of my friends, the LEAP program was also the time when she got really sick unfortunately, so her experience was feeling bad in this unknown America country. She barely attended the activities, but at least she got a lot of sleep, and had some close neighbors nearby to take care of her. I believe LEAP can teach us compassion, even if one helping a neighbor in a totally different LEAP program.
In one of my psychology classes, a former Orientation Leader (OL) reminisced about the great time she had during her LEAP trips both years, and how she is still able to catch up with her squad. Though these experiences only happen for a few, after that many months the purpose of the trip becomes less relevant, and what matters is that once, you and a group of strangers shared this common ground and a few melted smores on the side.
Regardless of where you end up, my dear readers, I truly hope you get to experience a LEAP program or something really similar to it, and have a blast. And one day, just like me, you sift through all the photos on your phone, and a random LEAP one pops up, and simply makes your day better!

Until next time,

Your Student Blogger,
Lidia

Hello,

I haven't been posting in a while, so this is my chance to make up for my absence for all you lovely readers out there. I know this is a time of college decisions for many seniors, and I would like to appreciate everyone's effort throug this very lengthy college process: as they say, the journey is at least as important as the destination, and yes, this college process journey can be a hectic one (regardless of the destination)!

Today I figured out I can write about classes at Amherst: I'd imagine some of you will try attend some classes if you are lucky to re-visit a college before deciding where to enroll, some of you have already done that, and others will discover what classes on their chosen college look like only in September. Below you can find a few facts that I believe define Amherst classes. As you already know, I am only an Amherst student, so I can only speak about the Amherst classes I have taken: maybe none of my advice functions outside of this college!

1) Classes at Amherst have an expectation that you show up

Ok, it's not like those from high-school do not... but rather that attendance here can be a part of your grade, and even if it is not, professors often note who is not showing up and try to reach out to those students. Missing classes casually is definitely not a part of the Amherst experience, although there are accommodations for excused absences. Many classes here have discussion components attached to them, therefore speaking in class and collaborating with your classmates enhances your learning.

2) Classes at Amherst can be very challenging
This is a tough one for me, as I have three big assignments on the same day coming up. Though that has happened to me in high-school before, here many classes are quite intense, and one assignment can weight as much as 30% of the total grade. That being said, professors are accommodating with extensions, and deans are here to help in more extreme situations.

3)Classes at Amherst will make you get to know your classmates well
There is a reason why colleges like Amherst keep their classes small, and better learning comes with better social contact. Amherst is also a place where you meet different kinds of people, and sitting next to them every day makes it more likely you will interact (casually or during a group project). The challenging part comes when the semester ends, as many students feel sad that they can't keep up some friendships they've developed during the class time. It's always nice to run into someone you know at an event or in the library: just last week I saw a former Social Psych classmate from Hampshire College that still recognized me after 3 semesters!

4)Classes at Amherst may help you change your mind about your professor
I have no doubt that some of you have amazing teachers and professors right now, and I hope college can meet your expectations in that sense! First day of classes every semester, I find my professors so bright and engaging, and I get really excited about the class. With time, as assignments and grades shift my opinions about the class, I realize that my professors are not magic gods, but regular humans like myself. While I complain about workloads to my friends and during office hours, I am very grateful for professor's availability on this campus: all my professors email promptly, and have been very accommodating with deadlines. In post-Amherst life, I doubt many supervisors would answer my small questions at 1am.

Until next time!

Your Student Blogger,
Lidia

 

 

Hi again,

Has anyone else heard Amherst called "the singing college"? Music here indeed is a big deal, as one can tell by the many a-capella & singing groups that we have. I wonder whether a better name could be : the Musical college, since about 2 in 5 students practice something music-related.

I do not actively play an instrument or sing, but music somehow managed to slip into my life as well. I definity am not one of the 40% fellow Amherst Mammoths from the above statistic, but I can share how my encounters with music often make me a better person.

Saturday, March 3rd: I'm attending the Amherst College Orchestra & Choral Society Concert with two of my close friends! The concert hall is packed: even our president Biddy can be spotted in one of the last rows. This concert is a tribute to Leonard Bernstein for his 100th birthday, featuring music from West Side Story, and the Chichester Psalms. I was surprised to find out that some motives from the West Side Story were introduced in the Psalms, partly because the musical was so successful (and one can easily change lyrics about New York gangs into lyrics about Heaven). Although my orchestra friends keep insisting they commited so many errors, their performance was well put-together, and secretly believe they are too perfectionist to settle down for anything less but "no mistakes". It was also pleasant to listen to the choral society, after so many hours of rehearsals. 

Monday, March 5th: Alike many college students, I spend a lot of time procrastinating on youtube, trying to pick songs for "the perfect playlist". And since I enjoy acapella so much, listening to some of the groups on campus again and again is something I never get tired of. I wish I can go to their concerts more often, but at least I can find their songs online, as well as past performances (and buy their albums too). If I had to list you off a few favorite covers, I would say Q.U.E.E.N by the Bluestockings , Take me to the River by the Zumbayes, Carol of the Bells by Terras Irradient,  Latch by DQ, All These Things that I've Done by Route 9, Work song by the Sabrinas. (None of the groups actually knows I'm writing this post, so don't worry: no one is trying to impose their collegiate covers on you :D ). Only looking for these songs makes my productivity go down by 75%, so I better start my homework before it reaches the 100% limit. 

Thursday, March 8th: I went in the basement of James (my first-year dorm) & Stearns and sat down in one of the piano rooms. I used to come there more often as a first-year, probably due to closeness to the location, so I can see how badly my playing has become. But nevertheless, the fact that students have these rooms available makes a big difference: I plan to study abroad next year, and I doubt i would be able to play piano at 11:00pm in my host university. These rooms are used by acapella groups to practice, so if you pass by at most evening times, you can hear short sneak-tones from future performances. Pro-tip: if you want to get some complements, keep the door slightly open and play your best piece again and again. Soon you will have passers-by tell you how amazing you are.

  

So... are you convinced we are the Musical Mammoths by now? I hope so! 

 

Your Student Blogger,

Lidia

Hi everyone,

Today I decided to interrupt my blogging streak to publish an interview with a good friend, Yuko. Yuko is one of the heads of the Eco-Reps, a program I participated in during my first year. Finding an activity you enjoy doing in college and sticking to it sounds like the ultimate goal for many of us collegiate youth, so I’ve convinced Yuko to share some of her wisdom with us.  

• Tell me in a few words what is your program about.
  Yuko: Each dorm’s Eco-Reps work with their residents to promote sustainable living habits. This includes implementing a dorm project, hosting educational “tree times”, and organizing campus-wide events like the Green Games, which included movie nights, wildflower planting, a clothing swap, a chalk walk, and a waste audit.
  
  

• Do you think that the program is different/similar to what is done at other institutions? Are there similar initiatives at nearby/far away school you know of?
  Yuko: Eco-Reps is a national college-level program! I first heard about the Tufts Eco-Reps (2001-on) on a college tour, but most major colleges and universities have some form of it, including UMass, Smith, and Mt. Holyoke! A lot of similar themes are that Eco-Reps are selected by dorm, promote sustainable habits within dorms, and are all relatively recent programs.
  
  

• Why did you decide to apply to this program? Freshman year is a busy time for many students, do you think getting involved in something right away was a good idea for you?
  Yuko:  Getting involved was all I tried to do during my first year here. There are so many opportunities to take advantage of, and I was drawn to the new-ness of the program at this school. I think it's important to dabble in all sorts of organizations at your school, at the very least to meet new people.
  
  

• I know you are an Environmental Studies major. Did anything from your classes connect with activities you’ve done in the program? In other words, is this program a practical extension of the theoretical class work?
  Yuko: My first thought is no, classes here especially in the ENST major focus really on major global themes and connections between groups of people rather than individuals, which is something Eco-Reps tries to emphasize. But in the Intro Environmental  Studies course (121), there is an assignment to measure personal electricity use in our dorms and it inspired some Eco-Reps to pursue that as a dorm project.  Also, as an Eco-Rep last year all of my efforts within my dorm (shoutout to James) resulted in conversations with residents about what environmentalism means and how college students define it, which is basically all that we talk about it higher level ENST courses.
  
  

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The Eco Reps logo: they give away stickers to put on computers/waterbottles

• The program is already three years old - would you say that you’re now more visible on campus as a club?
  Yuko: Visibility can mean a student seeing compost bins in their dorm, walking by an Eco-Reps event, or conversing with their Eco-Rep about a specific project, and as long as this student internalizes the observation in some way I take that as a success! I think we've grown more in all of these ways since starting three years ago, but we're always working on updating our branding- the "Eco Fair" from prior years will be called "Earth Day Fest" this spring in part to celebrate the 48th year of Earth Day's existence and its implications for the environmental movement.
  
  

• Related to the program, what is an accomplishment you are proud of, and a hardship you wish to overcome this coming semester?
  Yuko: I'm proud that some of the former dorm projects have led to real developments on behalf of the administration/staff, like permanent compost bins in certain first-year dorms! And one goal I have for this semester is to get a good turnout for the Earth Day Fest. There's definitely a bit of give-and-take in whether we should push the Eco-Rep program or let the event represent and celebrate the many groups and activities we'll host. But I believe it's all going towards a good cause!
  
  

• This year, how do you balance being one of the Heads of the Eco-Reps and the rest of your busy academic/extracurricular schedule?
  Yuko: Being an Eco-Rep Coordinator has been great, because our (Charissa and my) Eco-Reps are taking a lot of initiative. So aside from logistical stuff there's not much we have to do! I've also enjoyed getting to know the Eco-Reps and having a break in my week from worrying about papers and projects for other classes.

 

If you're interested in knowing more about the Eco-Reps, feel free to check out their Instagram or Facebook. Or, even better, email me at lgutu20@amherst.edu, and I can forward your questions to Yuko!

 

Until next time!

Your Student Blogger,

Lidia

Hello again, friends!

I felt like I had so much to tell you about this skiing trip, that two articles might do it more justice than one. And besides, wasn’t the waterproof cliffhanger just the best?  (Yes, I know it wasn’t.) Let’s get into it.

1:01 pm: The reason why I’m not on the skiing slopes yet is simple: free gatorade! At the mountain, they had a course for skiers of all levels (any level higher than mine), and there was a giveaway with drinks and swag. I tried getting the gatorade before lunch, but they said : “1 pm is when we open again”. After finishing the small red bottle, I am back on the slopes, and do the smallest bunny slope one more time. Olivia, Tim and I feel ready for the next-in-line slope, 180 (which also happens to be half of the 360 course, what a great joke!).

(around) 1:39 pm: This 180 chairlift is a bit trickier, but no falls yet. Greg said this slope is like driving in Manhattan: some people like it, other people go crazy. I identify with the latter crowd, as I manage to fall for the first time today in the middle of the slope. Afraid of other skiers, I unclasp my skiis and go to the side. Did i mention I had no poles? THAT WAS A PROBLEM!

(around) 1:51 pm: A nice fellow skier helps me to get back in the skis, and offers his shoulder to help me balance. Even with his help, it took a while to get back, and when I finally finish the slope, I find Tim and Olivia waiting for me, bored. Maybe I should give this slope another few tries?  

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Novice chairlift here I come

(around) 2:15pm: Second time - second fall. The same nice skier greeted me with : "Are you still here"? I explained that I just happened to have fallen in the same place. This time, I put my skis on my own, and managed to never fall after that.

2:43pm: I thought my friend texted me to meet up, but alas, it was not her. It's either the Head of the Ski Club, checking to see if everyone was doing well and was uninjured, or someone who miswrote the true number. Oh well, I don't have time to care: on my way to master all those crazy baby turns. I wish this were a two-day ski trip, so that learning how to turn and control speed weren't a mystery.

3:20pm: Ready to leave the snowboots behind! My normal boots, that usually feel heavy, now compare to soft, thin slippers. But that's not the best part! On this trip, I managed to get some wisdom about which Psychology classes are worthwhile taking, how do others feel about Pindar Dinners and the upcoming Room Draw process and what is it like to live in the French House. My initial fear of having no people to have a good time with proved unfounded.

5:00ish pm: After a long bus ride and sleep, I am ready for dinner! Though I can't boast to my friends at Val that I've won an Olympics slalom, I can tell them how great it feels to have spent a whole day outside. I rush to my dorm, towards the large pile of homework and a warm shower.

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Small mountain peak 

 

Until the next post!

Your Student Blogger,

Lidia

When I was an Intern & Blogger this past summer for the Office of Admissions, I would readily read my friends’ posts on adventures off-campus. From going to lake Viola in Massachusetts to traveling to the tropical forest in Costa Rica, the posts were captivating, and I always wished I could do a similar nature trip, and write about it. Alas, the closest thing I did to these adventures was traveling to Boston, and although it was very enjoyable to stroll around an elaborate urban center, visiting one park doesn’t quite make it “a nature trip”. But the time has come: due to a lucky draw, I was selected to go on a ski trip with about 30 students and the skiing club. Below you can find a timeline of my “nature trip”, and please don’t hesitate to tell me if you would like more of these posts!

5:39 am: My alarm wakes me up peacefully. I feel no tiredness, and I am ready to embark on a fun adventure. I hope the pants I borrowed from my friend are water-proof, as my skiing experience resumes after four years, and I anticipate many falls.

6:05 am: With one of my residents, Kelly, I walk across campus to Converse Hall, the meeting point. I soon discover that my friend Yuko won’t come, and hence I am left with no skiing goggles, since she was supposed to graciously lend me a pair. Unhappy, I hop on the bus and can’t fall asleep.

7:59 am: We’re almost there! I really dislike bus rides, but at least the weather seems nice. Wow, we’re so close to Williams College: When Zephaniah Swift Moore moved part of the college to Amherst, MA, he should have taken half of this ski resort with him! Oh, the slopes weren’t in place then, are you saying? No problem, just take the hill and we’ll build the slope ourselves!

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Yay we arrived!

9:20 am: I’m getting ready for a beginner ski lesson. The College has generously paid for everything on this trip but the lunch, and I borrowed some goggles from the head of the skiing club: I feel well-equipped. Getting into the boots is a challenge, nevertheless smaller than actually stepping on the skis. I wish I could jump back to my ok-beginner level from March 2014.

(around) 11:14 am: I am doing some progress. At first, Instructor Greg wanted to split us into two groups, because obviously some of us were making more progress than others. In my opinion, it was JUST ME who was being behind all the time. There was little actual need to split, however: I miraculously redeemed myself.

(around) 11:25 am: I managed to help my skiing partner, Tim, out of the chairlift. I have always fiercely feared chair lifts, but this one doesn’t seem that bad. Multiple times in a row, our team of 7 lands out of the chairlift successfully, with zero falls. Greg is proud of us, and says he was worried about me in the beginning, yet his worries proved to be unfounded. He advises me to give myself more credit for my skills. Does that mean I can start training for Olympics?

12:00 pm: Our class is over. We take a group picture together, and Greg says goodbye. Some ski enthusiasts are already ready to try new slopes, whereas I am ready for lunch. The food zone has yummy fried things like chicken tenders, fries, nachos and burrito bowls, and even noodle soup! Tim and I split a bucket of curly fries & chicken tenders that seems to have no end. I also tried some chips with salsa: Chipotle, you might have a competitor.

***

See you for part 2 next week! (Find out if the pants were really waterproof!)

 

Your Student Blogger,

Lidia

Today I've decided to write about the Pindar Dinners, one of the newer Amherst traditions no one would mention to you out of the blue unless they get an email with the title :CONFIRMATION REQUIRED: Pindar Dinner This Friday, 6:30 at the Alumni House.

According to this Campus Community Events page, Pindar dinners were "are intended “to encourage students to engage outside of their comfort zones and standard social groups, and were concieved by a member of the Class of 2013".

The registration process is very simple: You enter your name in a link provided in the email by the Wednesday of the respective week, and if you get picked, you have to confirm your attendence, and adherence to the rules. The dinners are requiring formal clothing, and there is a closed with clothes to be borrowed in case a student requests it. Moreover, since the dinner encourages face-to-face conversations, all electronic devices are stored away for the event.

I got really excited when I got invited, since one gets an invitation only so often, and I missed my first one due to a scheduling conflict. If, for any reason, a student cannot attend any of the Friday dinners, there are also a few Thursday ones that can accomodate. But place is limited EVERYWHERE: it's not fun to be the one friend that hasn't had their first Pindar Dinner yet.

The event proved to be very fancy, even a bit above my expectations: all names in the menu sounded very exquisite, and some students even chose to wear short dresses, defying the cold outside! I attended a 21+ dinner, which meant that most students were either juniors or seniors, and I was a bit nervous.

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21+ Dinner Menu: Set-up for the dinner starts as soon as 3pm!

My uneasiness proved unfounded, though: people were easy to talk to, and I could recognize most of the faces, either because Amherst is a small school or because I procrastinate often by watching people.

Needless to say, the decorations and table-set up were amazing: at the end of the dinner we were encouraged to take one of the center roses, as a token of friendship. And before I get too cheesy over pointy descriptions, friendship and connections were themselves the center-piece of the event. I got to meet people living the the dorm next to mine, and find more about the current party policy or the Dominican politics. It felt refreshing to be at a table where I did not know well anyone, yet had un-awkward conversations, laughter and honesty (that moment when you see the last lamb roll passing you, but you offer it to a newly-acquired acquaintance). I am very thankful to the staff members who made the event happen, and gave 7+ hours of their time to satisfy our appetites and our curiosity. The dinner started with a talk by Jim Brassord, the chief of campus operations at Amherst College, about his 1,600 mile rowing journey from Miami to NYC. Moreover, in the end of the dinner, the chef came forward and gave us a Chopped-like presentation of the meal, explaining flavor combinations and ingredient-pairing.

I would encourage all Amherst students to go to at least one Pindar Dinner in their time here at the College, because one could meet very familiar faces and find more about them. And, if this is not a good enough argument to convince you, I guarantee you the dessert will!

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When the dessert looks so good that you have to take a picture of it!

Until later,

Your Student Blogger,
Lidia

As the second semester of sophomore year rolls in, and I have realized I have completed 37.5% of my Amherst education, I think back of the many ways outside classroom I learned something. And if you wonder how on earth is the title of my article connected to the rest of it, I will reveal it to you: jobs have taught me a lot! Especially last semester, I liked to boast that “jobs are my main extracurriculars”, while all my friends shook their heads and gave me weird looks. Before you follow their example, I can tell you that a college job can give you way more than just money on your bank account at the end of the day (though the financial compensation is more than welcome).        

Moving on with the jobs theme, the reasons why I chose many of my positions are less poetically waxing and more down to earth: I became an usher because I saw it advertised at the career fair, I applied for the RC position because I had a great RC (and I heard the stipend is great, too), and I taught at the Five College Language Center because at International Orientation, my Orientation Leader advised me to do it. My non-academic work has brought me great joy, and, in the spirit of 2018 resolutions and lists,  below are 5 things I love about my jobs:

1. Flexibility: I am someone that ends up being late to everything that is not a class or a job. That being said, I hope in 2018 I can be on time when I meet up my friends, and keep coming to work on time. I am truly grateful to my supervisors who have given me an extra day off to go see my friend in Connecticut in the summer, and the Office of Residential life who allowed me to fly home a day early.
2. Doing something for the college: Many of my jobs implied direct contact with visitors and alumni, such as working in the Alumni Office or Office of Admission. From telling funny stories about my classes to explaining the Open Curriculum, I enjoy answering questions, and helping other find more about Amherst College. And there is always random trivia that comes along, like that one time I talked to an alumnus from Central America whose grandmother was Romanian! (I am Romanian myself).
   
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   Phonathon: Connecting people 
3. Meeting new people: Perfect segue from my previous part! More people means more life stories and more memories, whether it meant to usher with the Music department or be in RC training. Amherst is a close-knit college community, and working close to someone for a few months almost guarantees you’ll know more facts about them than name and position. Shoutout to my Admission Trivia Team and finding out that Dean Wan loves cooking cola wings!
4. Problem-solving! If you read my previous blog post about my love to math, you won’t be surprised that problem-solving is a badge I don’t just write on my resume. The jobs that I had required some creative thinking, from giving driving directions on the phone to writing more than 40 dialogue scenarios for the Romanian class I taught.

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Every semester RCs make new door decs for residents: It's a job obligation, but it's also fun@

1. Taking a break from classes: Every Monday morning last semester, I sat down in the Admissions Office at the front desk at 10am and let a small sigh of relief. I had my math class earlier that day from 9am, and though it’s probably the best class I took at Amherst, it was very intense and tiring. Being in the office for two hours and doing non-academic things put me in the mood for my future classes that day, and cleared my mind. Obviously work is no downtime, and my mind was busy with other tasks, but I bet not thinking about my math problems actually helped me solve them better.

For me, balancing the academic workload and the job/extracurricular responsibilities has been a way to keep me organized and busy, which kinda defines me. Having an on-campus job is a great way for me to try different things and build on skills that I will need in the future (and write to y’all about my experience!)

Until later!

Lidia

After a notable winter break of almost a month,  I am reporting back from Amherst on my blog (hope you missed me). Although the comforts of home were pleasant and much needed, it feels good to be back, and enjoy some of the things I longed for while away. The following list of nine things I have missed follows no ranking system, although it’s safe to assume that I missed my friends more than food.

1. Val

Yes, I did miss my friends more, but it’s unexpected to miss a dinning hall, when all this month I just ate my mom’s food! I appreciate the diverse choices, and really missed the bagels and the donuts! Maybe missing Val translates better into missing “American Food”, as unfortunately bagels are not something I can just buy in my local supermarket. Also, Val just added a Burger Bar this week! (yum, vegetarian options included)

2. My friends

Being greeted by one of my best friends after a long flight feels really awesome, especially since she thoughtfully saved me some dinner. At home I only saw a handful of my friends, also because the bulk of my life is now here,  at Amherst. Giving and receiving gifts and cards is particularly pleasant, and catching up over meals put me in better shape for the first week of classes

3. My residents

I got back earlier than most students because of Residential Life Student Staff training, but enough of my old (and new) residents were already back. Seeing familiar faces made me realize how much I know and care about my residents. And two new exchange students moved in on my floor, who are just starting their Amherst adventure. Also a big shout-out to my Area Director: she is an amazing woman, who inspires me to give my best in my RC job.  

4. All this gorgeous beauty

Look at it! So much snow! At home, no snow stayed on the ground for more than seconds! Going to school in New England means winters get white… at some point. I mean, all December I was complaining about the lack of snow, and now a whole blizzard came upon us.

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Beautiful winter view

5. Walking around campus at night

Seriously though, our campus is so beautiful! I enjoy walking around and admiring all the funny squirrels and the colorful sky. Sunsets here are my  favorites, as multiple hues of pink, violet, blue, red and orange mix and fade while my Iphone battery is slowly dying when I’m taking a gazillion of pictures. Since the campus is fairly small, I get to my dorm quickly and safely at night, and the cold is no big problem for me, even in the winter.

6. Going to the gym

Since New Year was only a mere three weeks ago, many people are trying to keep up with their resolutions and still go to the gym. I, on the other hand, made no resolutions, and haven’t run since a month ago, therefore hitting the gym is a pure body joy. Blasting music in my headphones and feeling that adrenaline rush… yes, this is what I want this week, as soon as I get my classes sorted out.

7. Frost Library

This one is a bit of  a bummer, as I am an avid lover of McGuire Science Library (otherwise known as Merrill Library, or just Merrill), and rarely go to Frost. However, the vast collection of over 1.5 million books got me excited: I can return books and borrow new ones? Deal! My picks so far have been some manga novels and a lot of books on film studies: maybe reading can both make me a smarter person and a better sleeper? We will see.

8. Those tea times

TEA TIMES WERE NOT A THING AT HOME! Sure, I had snacks, and ate pizza out with friends, but nothing compares to the joy of munching on cookies and ice-cream as a homework break. I’m not fond of that homework part, but tea-times are great for socializing on my floor, and, as you know already, I love to hang out with my residents! I also brought a lot of chocolate from home, so I’m sure attendance will be high.

9. Having my own room

I’ve shared my room with my sister for practically almost all my life. Since I’m studying abroad, I’ve been lucky to have singles quite often, and I find that having my personal space makes be more organized. That being said, I love snuggling her as we fall asleep, but having my own desk and bed and closet… is quite fulfilling. The best part is that now I can invite my friends in my room… and no one will complain about that!

 

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Mammoth pride

I can’t believe  the semester has already started, I feel like I need some more time to get my life together! However, as I walk around  looking for my new classes, I think how reassuring it is to be back, among so many familiar things.

This whole semester I've been waking up four out of five week days (or seven days total) at 8:30 am, trying to get out of bed and rush to my math class, conveniently situated at a 3-4 minute walk from my dorm. Altought this might not sound like the best motivation to wake up on a Monday morning, every math class that  I've taken has been a pleasant experience, up to the point where  I want to take more of it, and the breadth of the Open Curriculum truly allows me to do it. I am not a math major by any means, but I'm no stranger to it either: I work a lot with numbers in both Economics and Psychology, and most classes that I took in these Departments use Statistics and Calculus. 

Math classes have something special and different that most of my social science classes, as they meet more often, about 4 times a week, but also are shorter. It's nice to push your chair back after a mere 50 minutes, when in other classes 50 minutes mean that you still have half an hour left. Yet that doesn't mean that just because math classes are shorter, they are also less work: in most of my classees, there were two problem sets per week, with the exception of weeks when we have exams. The good news is that help is abundant and accessible: my math professors have held multiple office hours scattered throughout the week, every class has at least one student assistant that holds additional office hours, and there are Q-fellows available for appointments during the afternoon and at night. Despite of the busyness of my schedule, I have been getting the help I need on time, and I truly appreciate the flexibility of the hours. 

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I enjoy social gatherings that involve food for the body (and for the soul), and math department happen to have both of them quite often. I will repeat my disclaimer that I am not a major, yet I regularely attend their department semester parties and colloquia (math talk hosted by Amherst professors and their special guests), where I enjoy catching up with my professors, and nibbling on delicious cake, fresh fruit or cookies. I am also a big fan of Game Nights, which are evenings with pizza and board games, or better said, a time when you can win you math professor at Catan and feel great about it. For the last game night I attended in October, both me and my friends were colluding (conspiring together, it's an economics term) in order to stop professor Benedetto from winning, yet, as a result, another student won. 

Reading this, you might ask me: so why aren't you a math major? And my answer is not that simple... but I guess the gist of it is that I really enjoy my current two majors, Economics and Psychology. That's one of the choices that any student has to make sooner or later, after all, we can't all have five majors!

 

Untill later!

 

Your Student Blogger,

Lidia

As the end of the semester approaches, some students are packing their belongings, contacting storage, and double-checking their passports. This might sound to you like a bleak prospect, but fear not: I'm just writing about students who are studying abroad, which is the choice of about 45% of the junior class. You might wonder "Hm, why would someone leave Amherst to study abroad? Aren't they foregoing many parts of their comfort zone, like hanging out with old friends, family, maybe speaking their native language, using a currency that they are familiar with, and finding the ingredients of their favorite dish at a local store? Well, many students on the Amherst campus are already experiencing many of these things, and about 10% of our students are already studying abroad.

Yes, that's me and many others, and I laugh really hard when people ask me whether I'm considering studying abroad, because I've been a foreign student now for 4 years and a half. I like to be an optimist person when I can, so I'll tell you some of the benefits (and lessons) that being a student abroad might supply you with. As of the disadvatages? (See all of the comfort zone above).

1) You get to be independent

This one is probably my favorite, because it is the reason why I decided to study abroad in the first place. When you are in a new country, there is a lot to learn, and only you (not your parents, your school or your friends) can do that learning to benefit from it. However, people around you can be a great resource for that learning, and luckily Amherst has a Center for International Student Engagement and a Study Abroad Office to answer many of your questions. If you are like me and enjoy traveling on your own and speaking many languages, going to a new country for college might be a good idea.

2) You get to be homesick

It might come as a surprise that being homesick is a good thing, because sadness rarely is. Coping with homesickness is challenging, but if you're doing things that you enjoy, they can slowly create a new comfort zone for you. My point is that being afar from a familiar place helps you see it in a different light, and learn more about it. In America I learned how foreigners see my country, while my view of the US also changed, now that I am spending most of my time here. Also, being away from home leaves you with truly committed friends, that are willing to maintain your relationship despite the many kilometers (or miles) that separate you. 

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CISE has cool events to help you meet students who have studied abroad (and domestically). Stop by!

3) You get to learn that the world is much bigger than your window view

I have been lucky to travel a bit as a teenager with my family, so I was aware that what I see out of my window is not what the whole world is like. However, being a tourist is different than actually living in a new place, because you face much more complex joys and challenges, that both make you stronger. Had I not given the chance to come to the US I wouuld have never learned what is Mac&Cheese, or how rewarding a liberal arts education can be. I might have been elsewhere learning equally cool things, but I am really happy where I am, and, as this ideom says, a bird in your hand is worth two in the bush. Why worry about things I could have done, if I'm currently surrounded by people who appreciate me, and make me smile?

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A rainbow near my residence hall: had I not studied abroad here in the US at Amherst, might have never seen it!

 

Till next week,

Your Student Blogger,

Lidia