Viata de student / Student life

Romanian:

Hello lume!
Am lipsit cam mult in ultimul timp de pe blog, insa mai nou combin viata de student cu munca.
Dupa cum probabil stiti, am decis sa ma inscriu la master in US. Dupa ce mi-am echivalat foarte repede si usor facultatea din Romania, am zis sa continui cu studiul, asa ca in decembrie am avut interviul de admitere la master. Am ales sa merg la LaSalle University, specializarea Professional and Business Communication din mai multe considerente, insa nu voi intra in detalii acuma.

Dupa o luna de scoala, un curs finalizat, vreau sa va impartasesc si voua viata de student/masterand la Lasalle. Cu siguranta la alte facultati veti descoperi diferente, insa eu aici expun doar experienta personala (asta pentru a evita discutiile in contra-dictoriu ca in X stat sau la Y faculatate e diferit).
In primul rand, aici te poti inscrie la master de 4 ori pe an, pentru ca au doua semester mari si late (primavera si toamna) si inca 2 sesiuni mai scurte, ce cuprind si vacantele (vara si iarna). Masterul l-am ales part-time, adica am cursuri seara de la 6 la 9 de obicei, cu posibilitatea de a lua cursuri online, sau comprimate in 2 weekenduri, sau online+intalniri lunare. Ca sa finalizez masterul trebuie sa iau 12 cursuri, in ritmul meu, adica nu sunt obligata la un numar pe semestru. Eu pentru inceput am ales doua cursuri cu intalniri saptamanale ce se intind pana in mai si inca un curs expres/comprimat care s-a desfasurat pe parcursul a doua weekenduri. Colegii mei de obicei iau cate doua cursuri si atunci termina masterul undeva in jur de 2 ani. Asta ca sa va faceti o idee cam cum se pune problema aici (scoala se pliaza pe nevoia studentului, care plateste!) Si da, plateste mult, eu platesc 30.000$ pentru acest master, dar sistemul este gandit asa ca am aplicat la imprumut federal si am primit banii. De asemenea, se poate aplica la burse scolare, internship-uri la scoala, etc.
Sa revenim! In 12 ianuarie, m-am dus frumos la primul meu curs la facultate. Cu emotii ca nu stiam ce ma asteapta, cu temeri ca nu stiam cat de greu va fi, dar cu speranta ca nu se moare din asta:). Ce pot sa va spun dupa o luna de scoala este ca scoala americana este total, dat total diferita de ceea ce am vazut eu in Romania. Viziunea de scoala si rolul educatiei este diferit si din pacate simt cat de tare sunt ancorata in sistemul romanesc.....

Am sa va dau cateva detalii cat de succint pot, pentru ca as putea vorbi trei zile:)

• America este o tara cu o cultura individualista fata de Romania in care avem o gandire  colectiva. Asta inseamna ca in US individul conteaza, el este cel mai important pion, fata de Romania unde altii, colectivul, ne ghideaza. De aici incepem sa vedem lucrurile diferit:).
• Aici am invatat ca eu contez, ca ceea ce spun eu este ascultat si se tine cont de parerea mea.
• La scoala am invatat sa spun ceea ce nu-mi place sau ma deranjeaza intr-un mod mult mai personal decat eram obisnuita, dar diplomatic . Daca de exemplu inainte spuneam "Nu ma mai impinge", acum aici spun " Ma simt deranjata cand ma impingi". Tot timpul conteaza cum te simti, ce senzatie iti lasa un lucru, trebuie mereu sa-ti exprimi sentimentele si pentru mine la inceput a fost cam mult uneori:). Acum incet incet ma obinuiesc ca si dupa un exercitiu de scris un email sa fiu intrebata cum a fost? cum ma simt acuma? ce dificultati am intampinat?
• Aici nu exista conceptul ca trebuie sa inveti ce spun eu, ca eu sunt profesor si stiu mai bine. Fiecare student poate avea propria lui parere si intotdeauna este incurajat sa-si exprime parerea.
• Profesorul primeste feedback scris de la student si credeti-ma ca notiunea de feedback este foarte bine implementata aici, in sensul ca lumea nu tace de lene sa scrie ceva...
• Cursurile sunt unele obligatorii (5 din 12 in cazul meu), iar restul si le alege studentul impreuna cu advisorul personal
• Cursurile sunt structurate pe ideea urmatoare: citesti acasa inainte de ora capitolul care se va prezenta si articolele stiintifice aferente, iar in clasa profesorul discuta cu studentii despre materie. Tot atunci se fac activitati la clasa. Eu la comunicare pot sa va zic ca am de citit saptamanal cam 50-70 pagini pe curs cel putin. Se poate pe langa partea de citit sa am si teme sau prezentari de pregatit.
• Studentul american nu este stresat de note, nu invata pentru note, nu discuta despre ele....Desi ca sa trec un curs am nevoie sa am peste 80% din totalul testelor ce se dau pe parcursul semetrului.
• Testele nu sunt structurate la finalul semestrului ca in Romania, in sesiune. Pe parcursul cursului ai diferite teme, pe care trebuie sa le faci si esti notat. De obicei sunt esee de pregatit, prezentari pe diferite teme in fata clasei, analiza critica a unei carti sau articole, etc. De exemplu, eu azi am incheiat un curs de 2 weekenduri la materia Training si ultimul examen a fost sa sustin un training de 30-45 minute in fata clasei. Ei bine, pentru a ajunge la punctul asta, toti pasii premergatori au fost facuti gradat, sub suravegherea profesorului.
• Scoala si sistemul american nu presupune ca stii ceva sau ca ar trebui sa stii asta si asta, deci te ia de la zero si-ti arata orice. Am fost placut suprinsa ca ne aratau cum sa accesam biblioteca online a facultatii care e gratuita pentru student, cum sa facem un PowerPoint, cum sa ne logam in portalul intern la facultatii. 
• De asemenea, facultatea are un centru de scriere, unde mergi gratuit si te intalnesti cu un indrumator, care de obicei este un alt student si te ghideaza in lucrarile pe care le ai de facut. Eu am apelat la centru si am fost mai mult decat placut surprinsa de ei.
• Facultatea arata si este dotata cam cum va arata Universitatea Transilvania peste 20 ani, de la parcare privata cu paza, la sala de fitness, piscina, terenuri de sport pentru orice sport (inclusiv fotbal), nu mai vorbesc de dotariile din clase (proiectoare, camere de filmat pentru prezentari ca sa te poti evalua, mobilier), laboratoarele de informatica, etc.

Asta este prima impresie dupa o luna de scoala si un curs finalizat cu brio, bineinteles:)
Promit sa revin cu o postare dupa terminarea primului semestru care probabil va cuprinde o imagine mai de ansablu.


Va pup pana la urmatoarea postare!

English:

Hello world,

I didn’t post anything for a while on our blog but that’s because I now combine work with study. As you probably know I decided to join a master program in US. After I equivalated  my home studies rather quickly I decided to continue studying and in December I was admitted at La Salle University, Professional and Business Communication.

After 1 month of school and one class finalized I want to share with you my experience so far as a part time graduate student at La Salle University. Obviously that in other cities or Universities the experience will be different, I am only sharing my experience so far.

Here you can join the master 4 times per year. They are split between 2 big semester (spring and fall) plus 2 small ones ( summer and winter). The master is part time and I have classes during the evening plus the possibility to have some other classes on weekend or on line. To complete the master program I need to finish 12 classes in my own rhythm. You are free to choose how many classes you want per semester. I started  with 2 classes during the week ( 2 days/ week between 18.00 – 21.00) and one class that was done in 2 weekends ( Friday evening and full days on Saturday and Sunday). My colleagues usually take 2 classes/semester and finish in about 2 years. I am telling all this to have an idea about how the system works here. Usually the school is flexible and adapted to student needs who pays to go to school). Indeed school is expensive. I pay about 30 000$ for the master program but you are eligible for all kinds of loans. Also you can apply to several grants or scholarships.

Going back to my first day of school I remember I was nervous and excited in the same time. I didn’t know how difficult is going to be, if I would manage but I knew that nobody died from going to schoolJ.I can tell that school in US is very different from the school back home in Romania. Different ideas, different culture, different approach and sadly I feel all the time how much I am still stuck in the Romanian way of thinking.

I will give you just a few examples and I will try to make it short because otherwise I could speak for days.

-          US is a country with an individualist culture while in Romania there is a collective thinking. In US the individual is important, he matters. In Romania people as a whole dictate, others matter. Only from this point of view things are very different;

-          I learned that what I say matters, is listened and my opinion is valued;

-          I learned to say what I don’t like or bothers me in more personal way but diplomatic. Before I was saying “ Stop pushing me’’ now I am saying ,, It bothers me when you push me’’. All the time it matters how I feel, how things influence me and I am encouraged to express my feelings. First it was awkward but now I start to get use to be asked all the time: How it was? How I feel?  What was difficult?

-          Here there is no such thing as I am the professor; I know better, you have to learn what I tell you. Every student can have an opinion and more he is encouraged to express it.

-          Every student has to offer feedback to the professor and this is taken very seriously.

-          Classed are split between mandatory and optional. In my case from 12 classes I need to finish I have 5 mandatory and 7 from the optional panel.

-          Classes are structured like this: you have an assignment and you need to read something before and during the class you discuss about the topic. Also in the class there are different activities. I can tell you that so far I read at least 50- 70 pages per week and for some classes you need to prepare also different projects or presentations.

-          American student is not to stressed about the grades, they don’t talk too much about this, I have the feeling they don’t learn just to get a good grade ( like you do in Romania). All this even if for example I need to pass all the tests with at least 80%.

-          Exams are not all scheduled at the end of the semester ( like in Romania). During the course you have different home works that you are have to do and you get a grade for each. All this is combined with one or more final projects and with activity in the class and you get the final grade.

-          Here nobody assumes that you have to know this in that. They show you everything you need to know from the beginning. I was impressed when they showed me even the easiest things like: how to access the University library on line, how to make a Power Point presentation or how to log in the University intranet;

-          Also the university has a Writing Center were other students, more experienced are teaching younger students with their papers and home work. They are hired by the University and they get paid for that. I went 2 times to this center I was satisfied 

-          La Salle University is very well equipped with private parking, sports center, sports fields plus all the equipment in the class ( projectors, video cameras, computers, etc)

Kisses until my next post :)

Superbowl XLIX - 2015

Romanian:

     Toata saptamana care a trecut a fost cuprinsa de febra Superbowl. Este aproape ca o religie. Americanii sunt mari fani ai fotbalului american, de fapt singurul fotbal pentru ei (cel european se cheama soccer), iar finala acestui sport nu putea sa nu fie extrem de populara. Nu sunt eu un foarte mare admirator, insa am decis ca anul asta sa ma uit la Superbowl. Trebuie sa intru in rand cu lumea :). Pentru cei interesati anul acesta joaca New England Patriots cu Seattle Seahawks. La ora la care scriu postarea mai sunt 20 de minute pana incepe meciul. Nu cred ca in Romania sau alte tari europene sunt prea multi fani ai acesui sport, si de aceea m-am gandit sa scriu doar ceea ce m-a surprins pe mine citind despre acest Superbowl. Meciul se joaca anul asta in Phoenix Arizona, iar pretul unui bilet este in medie 5 000$.
     Evident ca fiind atat de popular totul s-a transformat intr-o mare afacere. Un spot de 30 de secunde in pauza meciului costa 4 milioane de dolari. Un minut de reclama, 8 milioane de dolari. De ce? Simplu. Anul trecut a fost cel mai urmarit eveniment TV cu 111.5 milioane de oameni care s-au uitat la meci. Anul asta se preconizeaza ca va fi batut acest record :). Anul trecut showul a durat cu totul aproape 4 ore iar minute efective de joc cu mingea in miscare...17 minute:). Mai jos aveti si o impartire conform masuratorilor din 2014:

Mingea in joc - 17 minute si 30 secunde
Reluari - 23:46
Minute de joc fara minge - 72:00
Reclame - 48:34
Promo emisiuni TV - 7:30
Show in pauza meciului - 12:28
Analiza meciului la pauza - 4:52
Diverse - 16:37.

     Chiar daca tot mai multi se plang de faptul ca e prea putin sport si prea multa reclama, reclamele din pauza Superbowl-ului devin incet incet la fel de populare ca si meciul in sine. Ajuta si faptul ca datorita audientei, companiile nu isi permit sa difuzeze decat reclame excelente. Pentru cei interesati aveti mai jos topul din 2014:

1. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

2. Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” 

3. Go Daddy’s “Bodybuilder” 

4. Doritos’s “Cowboy Kid” 

5. Toyota Highlander’s “Terry Crews & the Muppets” 

6. Doritos’s “Time Machine” (1st Quarter)

7. RadioShack’s “Phone Call” (1st Quarter)

8. Oikos Greek Yogurt’s “The Spill” 

9. Bud Light’s “Up for Whatever #2” 

10. Squarespace’s “A Better Web Awaits”

     Pe final 2 picanterii:).
- Incercand sa-i explice Andreei la scoala ce este Superbowl, un coleg i-a spus ca e ceva asemanator cu  finala campionatului mondial de fotbal:). Cat tupeu si imperialism:)).
- Imi povestea o cunostinta ca incepe sa-i placa tot mai mult soccerul in dauna fotbalului american dintr-un simplu motiv: soccer nu are reclame. Era extaziat ca se poate uita la meci 45 de minute fara sa fie intrerupt de reclame:))

A inceput meciul de 10 minute. E 0-0. Deja s-au dat vreo 10 reclame:))

Update 1:

S-a terminat meciul. New England Patriots - Seattle Seahawks 28 - 24.

Update 2 :)

Si a iesit si topul reclamelor pentru Superbowl 2015. Aveti mai jos linkul:


Superbowl 2015 best commercials

English:

     This last week was all about the Superbowl. It's almost like a religion. Most Americans are huge fans of their American football, actually is the only football, the European one is called soccer, and the final couldn't be anything else but popular. I am not the biggest fan but this year I decided to watch it.  I have to keep up. For those interested this year the Superbowl is between New England Patriots and Seattle Superhawks. At the time I am writing this post there are only 20 minutes till the start of the game. I don't think that in Romania or any other European country are too many fans of this game so I will write about  what surprised me when reading about Superbowl. The final is played in Arizona and the average price of a ticket is 5 000$.
     Obviously that all the popularity made all this a big business opportunity. A 30 seconds commercial spot at  halftime is about 4 million dollars. One minute is 8 million. Why? Easy. Last year was the most watched TV event in history with 11.5 millions viewers.This year is believed the record will be beaten. Last year the whole show lasted about 4 hours but the game with ball in play was...17 minutes. Below you can see an interesting statistic:

Ball in play - 17 minutes 30 seconds
Replay - 23:46
Game with ball not in play - 72:00
Commercials - 48:34
TV show promo: 7:30
Halftime show - 12:28
Halftime analysis: 4:52
Miscellaneous: 16:37

Even if a lot of people are complaining about the fact that we have less sport and more business, the halftime commercials are getting more and more popular. Of course that at this audience the commercials are among the best ones. Here are the best commercials from 2014: see videos above.



In the end 2 funny things:
- At school trying to explain to Andreea about the Superbowl, one colleague describe it as something just like the World Cup in football. The nerve:)
- a guy from work was telling me that he starts to like soccer more lately for one simple reason. No commercial. He was thrilled that he can watch 45 minutes of the match without any interruption.
The game started. After 10 minutes is 0-0. There were already about 10 commercials.

Update 1:
The game is finished. New England Patriots - Seattle Superhawks 28 - 24

Update 2:
The 2015 best commercials from the Superbowl are out. Below the link:


2015 Superbowl best commercials

Primul cod rosu de ninsoare :) / Our first winter storm alert

Romanian:

Salutare,

     Hai ca am trecut cu bine si peste prima avertizare de winter storm. Un fel de cod rosu de ninsoare in Romania. A fost un pic diferit fata de ce eram obisnuiti:). A inceput cam cu 2-3 zile inainte cu aunturi pe toate canalele TV si pe toate aplicatiile meteo:). Se anunta ca zona afectata va fi NE SUA ceea ce includea si Philadelphia si evident eram mai interesati ca in alte dati. Avertizarea era pentru aproximativ o zi (de luni seara pana marti seara). A iesit si primarul New York-ului sa anunte ca este cea mai mare furtuna de zapada din istorie, lumea sa nu subestimeze aceasta furtuna. Chiar incepusem sa fim curiosi:). Masurile luate au fost extrem de stricte. Toate avioanele si trenurile anulate, scolile inchise si chiar au anuntat ca este interzis masinior sa iasa pe strada dupa ora 23.00. Amenda 300$. Pentru noi era ceva nemaivazut. Nici nu stiam cat de tare sa ne speriem:)). Vazusem de cateva ori ca americanii mai si exagereaza, insa deja masurile anuntate erau foarte stricte. Partea buna este ca in aceste cazuri ai voie sa nu mergi la scoala (de cele mai multe ori se si inchid) si chiar sa lipsesti de la serviciu. Securitatea si siguranta personala primeaza intotdeauna.
     Si a venit luni seara. Scoala Andreei se inchisese de la pranz, asa ca ea era in siguranta acasa. Eu eram la birou si deja aflasem ca trenul cu care merg de obicei inceteaza sa mai circule de la ora 20.00. Semnele erau bune, deoarece pe la ora 18.00 inca nu incepuse sa ninga. Asa ca am plecat si eu de la birou si am ajuns in siguranta acasa. Si asteptam sa inceapa furtuna. Si am asteptat si asteptat...Deja pe la ora 22.00 inca nu incepuse si tot ne ziceam ca poate mai tarziu. Cand ne-am culcat ne si gandeam cum a doua zi vedem mormane de zapada. Am bagat pana si masina in garaj sa o protejam:). Marti dimineata arata asa in fata casei:

     Mare dezamagire mare:). Nici la New York nu fusese nicio furtuna. Cativa fulgi pe aici, pe acolo, dar atat. Vedeam dimineata imagini cu aeroportul din Philadelphia care era gol fiind inchis din cauza ,,furtunii''. La fel multe gari importante din New York. Pustiu peste tot.
     Marti pe la pranz au inceput sa iasa declaratiile cu scuze si regrete:). Se gresise cu cateva zeci de mile. A fost intr-adevar furtuna rea, insa intr-o zona mult mai restransa.
      Per total insa pot sa spun ca prefer aceasta abordare fata de cea romaneasca ,,ne-a luat prin surprindere'' chit ca zapada vine in mijlocul iernii. De multe ori americanii sunt poate extra-precauti si pot parea penibili, insa asa cum am zis prefer varianta lor.

Better safe than sorry!

English:

Howdy,

And  we manage to safely pass our first winter storm alert. It was a bit different than what we were used to. It all started 2-3 days before with news and alerts on all TV station and all weather apps. The alerted area was NE US that included also Philadelphia so that’s why we were more interested in the subject this time. The mayor of New York made public declarations not to underestimate this stor, that is going to be the hardest in New York history. We started to be curious. All safety measures were extremely strict. All planes and trains were cancelled, schools closed and even announced that no car is allowed on the streets after 23.00; fine 300$. For us this was something we had never seen before.  We didn’t even knew how scared we should be. We saw before that Americans tend to exaggerate a little but all this measures were too strict and hard. The good thing is that in this cases you are allowed to miss school and work. Safety comes first.

And we come to Monday evening. Andreea school was closed from noon so she was at home, nice and safe. I was in the office and already heard that my train won’t travel after 20.00. At 18.00 the snow didn’t started yet so I manage to get home safely. And we waited in the house, looking at the window for the snow and winter storm. And waited and waited…When we went to bed we thought that in the morning we would see a lot of snow. We even put the car in the garage to protect it. Tuesday morning this is how our house looked like

   

Big disappointment. New York didn’ t had any storm. Some snow here and there but that’s it. In the morning we saw at news images with Philadelphia Airport that was empty J being closed because of the ,,storm''. Same for a lot of big train stations in New York. Empty everywhere.

Tuesday at noon the city officials were coming out with public apologies. They made a mistake about the affected area. There was indeed a storm but on a much smaller area.

Overall I can say that I prefer this approach as oppose to the Romanian ones ,, we were caught by surprised even if snow would come in the middle of the winter. 

Many times the Americans are over precautions and sometime may seem embarrassing but like I said, I prefer their approach.

Better safe than sorry.