Daniel at Amherst: October 2016

Pumpkin Paddle with the Outing Club

What: one of the whackier offerings made available to the student body... participants carve pumpkins at school, then head down to a dammed portion of the Swift River and make rafts under the guidance of Adventure In Adventure Out, a local outdoors company that does a lot of outdoor programming for the school such as leading its FOOT programs

When: every pumpkin season, on this occasion, the 28th of October, from 1600-1930.

Fall Family Weekend + Halloweekend

(Word count: 417)

When: Friday 28th - Sunday 30th October

What: a semesterly opportunity for the school to bring parents on campus and show them a slightly lovelier and more palatable side of the school (than the students see on a daily basis). Great guest speakers are brought in, and the school provides some programming, for example in this case academic department open houses.

Some of the lectures that went on:

"The Economic Value of Good Teaching" - Economics Lecture with Jonah E. Rockoff '97

focusing on systems for hiring new teachers, the effects of No Child Left Behind on students and schools, the impact of removing school desegregation orders, and how primary school teachers affect students’ outcomes in early adulthood.

A Conversation with Former CIA Director John Deutch ‘60

Director Deutch will discuss topics relating to intelligence in post-9/11 society, including the apprehension, detention, and interrogation of suspected hostiles, the role of paramilitary and unmanned aerial forces, and the need to balance security and privacy.

no space for me = I didn't attend... similar situation 2 years ago as a pre-frosh when I tried (in vain) to attend a Nate Silver talk

The issue with such high-profile talks at Amherst, however, is there isn't a large enough space on campus to house the number of interested parties for such events. For example, the largest such space, Johnson Chapel, which was used for my Convocation -- and which I didn't attend because I couldn't find a seat -- can only seat 600. Not great for a school of 1600 students.

What else: food tabling in Val from vendors in the area...

apple sauce... me: "do I need to eat this with anything" ... them: "nope"

I now know the difference between apple cider and apple juice

maple syrup cookies -- so great!!!

roast beef and shrimp

Anyways... although I'm an international student, I still had the great luck of having aunts and (an) uncle visit me! However, they had the bad luck of not booking hotels far in advance (>6m) and so had to suffer from the accomodation that was the Howard Johnson inn.

Lesson: book hotels (e.g. Lord Jeffrey Inn, far in advance for large school events)

And we caught up, went shopping, and discovered some great places to eat in the area such as:

Lumber Yard -- where the waiters and cooking staff were in costume!
Gohyang -- great Korean
Esselon Coffee Roasting -- mmmm

And of course, Halloweekend calls for some party/costume/celebration. Pics from Friday night, and Saturday night:

Amherst College After Dark

The concept behind ACAD is to provide provide students with free, interactive programs on Friday or Saturday Nights between 9pm and 2am -- that might serve as viable/fun activities for students living a substance-free lifestyle to still enjoy themselves.

Events

Mike's (Haunted) Maze

Mike's (Haunted) Maze, link, visited 21.10.16

It was terrifying. I never knew corn could be so terrifying, but I suppose that in the same way that Jaws developed a phobia of sharks for me, watching Signs developed a fear of corn fields for me. There were tonnes of paid actors in costumes (including clowns of course) running around and jumpscaring us as we tried walking hand-in-hand through the 15-minute maze. There were also some great 'scenes' wherein you were supposed to be an active participants: watch somebody get executed, stand in a circle of mirrors as somebody with a chainsaw starts running after you, etc. etc., but of course I didn't have the time to take any pictures -- to busy screaming and running for my life.

However, there was this one funny (in hindsight) moment where we chose to run away from a Donald Trump sign than away from a zombie

off campus

Week 8 - 5Colleges KSA (Korean Students Association) Gathering

Pi House Parties

(Word count: 106)
Location: I don't think I'm at liberty of disclosing this
When: I imagine every Friday/Saturday?

What: an Asian interest fraternity (don't have these at Amherst for reasons of inclusion -- but apparently 8.5% of the UMass student body is a member of a Greek society)

Why: meet new people that I wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to meet. Also, great music (actually only 1 time in the 3 times I've been was this the case) in a space that seems unlikely to be raided/stopped by the police and is a far better partying space than the closest alternatives at Amherst (i.e. Jenkins/Hitchcock)

Visiting (and eating at) UMass

(Word count: 608)

Outline

Intro
Food!!!
Other pics and things, incl. Amazon 1-day delivery, a hotel, and a pub

Intro

It's an open secret that Amhert's Valentine Dining Hall doesn't have many fans. The fact that for four years, students have to eat at the same dining hall, have the same menu which rotates on a four-week basis, and for some students deal with the possibility of bumping into some people they might not want to see, doesn't work quite in its favor.

Personally, it's not too big a deal to me. The food is edible -- although a little high on the fibre side, meaning that I spend more time in the toilet nowadays... -- and that's good enough for me. But it's an even more open secret that the university up the road (UMass Amherst), to which the PVTA has routes on a 15minute basis, has the best food in the country. It also has a sushi bar. Don't believe me? Check it out.

So pro-tip: make friends who go to UMass (students have 15 guest swipes, while Amherst students only have 2), or take a course at UMass -- something you can do thanks to an agreement between the 5 College Consortium for cross-registration.

Food!!!

Singapore is known as a foodie capital thanks to its position as a crossroads between many cultures which themselves already have delicious cuisines (Chinese -- especially Hokkien and Cantonese style -- Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.). So food is important to me. However, coming to Amherst, I told myself that I would disregard it and concentrate on my studies. This has worked and continues to work extremely well for me.

However, knowing that there is great food on a beautiful campus so close by has proven to be quite a distraction, especially with everybody giving me the pro-tips I mentioned above. So I made the trip, and here are the pics.

First, take note:

UMass has 4 residential dining commons (for those on the meal plan): Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, Worcester
I went to Berkshire, which is considered the best (?) -- there was a line

the entrace, how stylish

And if I'm not wrong, there are 11 food stations (including the sushi and ramen bar, not pictured below)

at Amherst there are 5: lighter side, main course, salad, dessert, and pasta

L-R, top-bottom: dessert, grill (burgers/fries), street food (mapo tofu on this occasion), a 10yd long salad bar, international cuisine (stir fry), veggie bar, peanut butter bar, pizza (can be made to order too), and chef's choice

But most importantly UMass gets their international cuisine right!11! (sushi and ramen were great, and both are made to order)

What I ate:

Other pics and things, incl. Amazon 1-day delivery, a hotel, and a pub

First, quick comparison:

umass campus retrieved from umass.edu/visitorsctr/sites/default/files/maps/campus-map.pdf on 10.27.16, google maps retrieved from maps.google.com on 10.27.16