The Universities at Shady Grove (USG)

Hello everyone! This morning I had been writing a paper for ENGL 394 – Business Writing about the processes involved in creating a gayageum, a Korean stringed instrument displayed above in the photo. Researching about the gayageum made me appreciate even more the culture my family had brought with them to the United States, and the paper became much more exciting to do!

One thing that I have come to love about USG is that as you walk around the campus, you can see the incredible amount of diversity all around. The second I walk into Building III, the array of flags is always so welcoming! The people I have come to meet here are all so incredible and have their own individual story to tell. Some have moved to the United States when they had been little, everything so new and mesmerizing to their young selves. Others have come not so long ago, still in the middle of adjusting to everything this country has to offer, but growing into their new selves here at USG with enthusiasm and excitement for the future.

For me, I had been born here, but there has always been a connection to Korea that I could never let go of. As I grew older, I began to learn more about the culture and came to adore the country. But a beautiful thing about humanity is that home is not necessarily the place of birth nor the place of ancestry. It is not a single place or even a place at all. It can be wherever your family is, wherever your loved ones are, or even wherever your heart is. Perhaps there are no blood ties to a certain place but your heart is there, feelings of nostalgia and longing always present, and that could be home for you.

Home became a mixture of the United States and Korea in my case, and I could not be more thankful. To experience two or more cultures in a lifetime, to learn languages and meet so many people is so incredible, and USG fosters that kind of community and environment for its students. As a student here, I can proudly say that USG has been so much fun for me, being able to experience such a variety of cultures and perspectives all on one campus, even within a single day. No day is the same here, and that’s something that I hope everyone here can experience at USG.

Traveling around the world and exploring different cultures are my part of my life goals. When I was presented with an opportunity to go to Europe for the first time with my husband, I went for it. Being in Europe was so surreal because I never thought that I would be able to travel anywhere in the world. It was truly a dream come true. Traveling through different parts of Europe taught me the value of learning about other people’s cultures. Seeing how they live, the food that they eat, and their way of life helped me reflect on my own life and what I personally value. I realized that I value making my family happy and helping others succeed. Also, living with less material stuff is actually allowing me to enjoy what matters the most to me, which is spending more time with my loved ones and experiencing all that life has to offer. Any who, I am glad that I was able to travel outside the country over the summer. During this experience, I learned some tips on how to make the best of your journey. Below are some tips that I would recommend for you if you are thinking of traveling anywhere.

1. Set a budget
   1. This is a MUST especially when you are on a tight budget. I love food so we searched for places that had good food, great ratings, and affordable prices.
2. Plan where you want to go and explore well-known places
   1. Though my husband and I were not very familiar with the cities that we visited, we put together an excel sheet to gather information about places that we wanted to visit. Also, since we had only a few days in each place, we wanted to spend our time wisely. (I posted a picture so you can get an idea of what information we gathered.)
3.  Pack smart
   1. I packed only a carry on for two weeks. How did I do it? I actually did multiple searches for packing hacks on YouTube. Here is one of the Travel Packing Tips vlog that I thought was very interesting.  
4. ENJOY!
   1. Enjoy your time at wherever you are traveling to. Whether something went wrong with your hotel reservation or lost a luggage, always remember that life is full of obstacles, but it is up to you how you handle them. I always remind myself that life is short. Like what my old professors said, “Enjoy life or life will enjoy you!”

Did you know that you can learn about other cultures without leaving the USG campus? Yes, it is true. The USG Center for Student Engagement & 

Financial Resources (CSEF) hosts a monthly Cultural Tea Time where students, faculty, and staff can learn about different countries and cultures while they enjoy tea/coffee and some yummy treats from the featured country. You can also check out my older post about the Cultural Tea Time to learn more about which countries we had represented last year and drinking tea.

Lastly, USG’s International Club typically host the annual International Night event in the spring. Check out their Facebook page to see what we had last year!

 Source:
Lavendaire. (29 March 2017). Travel Packing Tips | How to Pack a Carry-On + Packing Checklist Download. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQefqx7rAS4

Credit via WikiVisual

You know that awful painful feeling you get when you’re walking and all of a sudden it feels like something has magically appeared in your shoe / sock? Well that happened to me today, I was walking through the USG campus from Parking Lot 2 to the Barnes & Noble inside Building III. I wave to a friend and then, out of the blue, I feel an unsettling pinch in my right foot. As I walk I try to shake it off and readjust my foot when I realize its not going away. The thoughts then occur… is it a rock, a pebble, a splint, a figment of my imagination?! Well, guess what?

I still don’t know what it is. BUT my psych professor gave us some good ideas. She thinks it has to do with our pain and sensory nerves triggering themselves due to an abnormal stitching in our socks or shoes. This will apparently cause a momentary pinch-like feeling in our shoe. But sometimes it feels like it moves around the shoe to the top of your foot or the side. So that begs the question, if it is a momentary glitch in the relevant symbiosis between our foot and what encases it, why does it randomly go away and why can we never find what it is? Some things aren’t meant to be answered. But have no fear, we all go through it and all wonder the same thing.

Personally, I think its the gravitational pull of excess dirt flying around the bottom of our feet. Or it really could be our mind playing tricks on us.

Top 5 Explanations

1. Its a random piece of debris
2. A psychological trigger that is connected to a nerve ending in our foot
3. Poor shoe/sock manufacturing
4. Stress that is caused by homework, exams, and not enough free brownies every other Friday in the cafeteria at USG
5. Something entirely different

Either way heres a silly song about this strange psychological and physical phenomenon.

              Credit to Raffi via Youtube

Before I go into the details of how USG will handle a school shooting when it occurs, I just wanted to comment on an occurrence that graced the UMBC campus this past couple of days. Back in September, 2 UMBC students were sexually assaulted on the main campus. Those 2 students entrusted the school with their safety, however, they were still assaulted. Though the specifics of this event is rather unclear, and there are lots of pieces missing to the public, sexual assault here at USG is something that can happen. As a member of the USG-SC (USG student council), we collectively work together to promote student involvement and safety. After hearing about this event, the student council is acting to provide to students, a flyer and a discussion about what happened in UMBC and how we can all be safe.

Even though we have Mr. Brandt and security staff protecting us, we, as students, can also do a lot more to protect ourselves. These are just a few recommendations when it comes to being safe in safe:

• Walk in groups
  

  Image from Kristen Aldridge

• Trust your instincts
• Know your surroundings
• When in doubt or unsafe, tell security and ask them to accompany you anywhere you go;
• and lastly, RUN, FIGHT and SCREAM for help

These are just a few recommendations. More will be coming from the student council so stay tuned.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog. USG has in place, a Behavioural Assessment Team (BAT) that track and help students and staff with mental issues and difficulties. To know more about the B.A.T click here, but it consists of Andrea Milo, John Brandt, and Jonathan Kandell. They work with staff, administrators to promote campus safety. So, If you see something, say something.

In case of a school shooting, USG has in place a RUN. HIDE. FIGHT active shooter video that addresses how you can keep yourself as well as others safe during an active shooter instance. The 6-minute video (here RUN. HIDE. FIGHT ) is funded by the homeland safety, and it provides clear instructions on how to keep yourself alive until help arrives. Mr. Brandt, goes around each semester, educating students everyone on how they can be safe, so please make sure to give it a quick look.

When there is an active shooter on campus, stay away from the campus and run to safety. Barricade the nearest door, so that the shooter will not be able to enter, and hide. BTW Keep your phones on silent, so you don’t alert the shooter to your location. And finally, be prepared to fight for your life.

There is still more to talk about, so stay tuned.

To find out about what happened in UMBC, click here. Continue reading →

Hello Everyone! Our library in building III is vast and has enough space for all of us and more. I’ve been in the library a few time and it was just amazing. The most recent time this past Tuesday around the hours of 12 and 1. I walked in and there were a lot of people, yet I was till able to find a spot to sit and study. There are also many outlets in the the library for everyone to plug their own devices without roaming around for a another spot. The library has these cool little rooms with a table, chairs, and dry boards. These rooms are for groups of students that many want to discuss and work as a group louder than the volumes of the library may permit. My favorite area is the area in the back with these sofas that have the little mini table arms. These have to be the most comfortable sofa around! If you have time,kill, study, or whatever. Spend it in the USG Library in building III!