Finals Claustrophobia

Well, as of now I have one final standing between me and graduation on Saturday. The past two weeks have been a flurry of classes, reviews, study sessions with friends, and, of course, taking the exams. Luckily, I've had a few chances to get off campus and break away from my desk and study guides. While I love campus, sometimes, especially during finals, it's nice to remember that there is a world beyond GW and to get away from all the reminders of exams.

On Tuesday, Christie and I had an exam at 5:20pm, which we wrapped up in 40 minutes and then ran to our Zipcar for the night, which would take us to my graduation present... a Great Big Sea concert in Maryland! It was a bit of a trek to get there, all the way over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Easton, MD, a really cute little small town right off the Chesapeake. Here's where we went:

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Easton. Maryland.

Avalon Theatre where we saw Great Big Sea from the 6th row!!!

We made it just as the opening act was finishing up... it was a long two-hour drive battling rush hour to get there but it was definitely worth it! The concert was awesome and I can't wait to see them live again soon!

Here's some video I took at the show:

They did a great cover of Slade's "Run, Run Away"!

After a great Tuesday night came more studying and exams, but yesterday I got to leave campus for one of my favorite annual events, the EU Open House! Basically, once a year in May all the European embassies that are part of the European Union open their doors to the public to showcase their native food, drink, and culture. Free food, drinks, and singing and dancing sound like fun? One caveat though: DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, rely on the free shuttles provided to take you from embassy to embassy. We made that mistake this year and only got to see 2 embassies, despite the fact that we started out at 1pm and it didn't end til 4pm. They were incredibly slow and we spent almost half of the those 3 hours waiting for a shuttle. My advice- take cab money and be able to enjoy the day.

That said, we did make it to the Polish and Lithuanian embassies and saw a couple others.

Polish Embassy.

Inside the Polish Embassy... listening to presentation on Chopin.

Yes, we went to the children's area and did some coloring... celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Solidarity movement in Poland!

Lithuanian Embassy.

Dancing at the Lithuanian Embassy!

Well, time to get back to studying for my last final of college!

~Vickie

Freshmen Residence Halls, Part Two

Going to Fountain Fling last weekend reminded me just how much I loved living on the Vern and sometimes even miss it, so I thought I'd share some pictures of where I lived my freshmen year- Merriweather Hall on the Mount Vernon campus.

First off, contrary to what it sounds like, the Vern is NOT in Virginia or near George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. It is very much in DC, just up the road from Georgetown University in the Foxhall neighborhood, with some pretty cool neighbors... including the German and French Embassies, as well as Senator John Kerry and the woman who introduced John and Jackie Kennedy (I can't remember her name, but she is really nice- friends of mine were trick-or-treating at her house and she told them stories about the DC social scene way back in the '50s and '60s).

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Point A is the Foggy Bottom campus, Point B is the Vern. See? Just a short 10-15 minute shuttle ride apart! Connecting the campuses is the Vern Express, running 24/7, 365. Want more info? Check this out:

Now that you know where the Vern is and how to get there, how bout I show you around? Here's a map so you can get your bearings.

First up, Lloyd Gym. Here is where you find gym space for Vern residents, basketball hoops and volleyball set-up available, cardio equipment, FREE mountain bike rentals, and the Vern pool, open Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Just up the hill is the Mount Vernon Tennis complex, home to our Men's and Women's Division 1 tennis teams, as well as a great place for all students to brush up on their tennis skills. 

In the background is the newly rebuilt Pelham Hall, featuring rooms with four single bedrooms and a common area, a brand-new dining facility, student office space, and a black box theatre for students. Awesome new building, opening this Fall! I haven't personally been inside yet but I've heard its great. 

 Next to the tennis complex is the soccer/field hockey/lacrosse field, home to all of those men's and women's club and Division 1 sports teams. Also a fun place to kick around a soccer ball or throw a football with friends, as well as an excellent place to build snowmen in the winter :)

 Located on the Vern is the Dean of Freshmen, Fred Siegel. There to help with questions about classes or talk about the Redskins game last night, Dean Siegel is a great resource for how to navigate GW and DC.

 Here's the University Police Dept. Gatehouse, headquarters for UPD on the Vern. They patrol campus 24/7, through all the academic buildings as well as residence halls. 

Hand Chapel, classroom space and location for Catholic Mass on Sundays hosted by the GW Newman Center. 

 Merriweather Hall, my home from freshmen year. 

Here are some pictures of my room from freshmen year... please don't notice the extremely messy state of my room...

My side of the room...

Roommate's half.....

Alright, I admit it... I have wayyy too much stuff... But Christie was visiting when I took these, so I blame her for some of the clutter!

Dressers, TV showing Phil of the Future (don't judge), closets in the background...

Bathroom we shared with two girls in double next to us.

Except for the newly built Pelham Hall, most rooming options on the Vern are double suite, set-up with two doubles sharing a bathroom, as mine was. Each building also has a kitchen, laundry, and tv/rec room for residents to use. Here are some pictures from our end-of-the-year BBQ my friends and I threw freshmen year in the tv lounge and the Merriweather patio...

Watching TV and waiting for grill to heat up...

Barbeque! Yay! We rented it from the Mount Vernon Campus Life office for the party.

Great group of friends having a BBQ out on the patio... What could be better? Great way to end freshmen year!

Eckles Library- best place to study during finals on either campus!

Eckles' entrance.

The fountain in the middle of the quad.  Great place to do some reading and/or tanning!

Acheson Science building. Lots o' labs for chemistry, geography, and forensic science classes.

Main academic building on Vern and also home to the Women's Leadership Program and GW's Interior Design program. 

Ames Dining Hall, GDub Java, and administrative offices upstairs. Downstairs, mail and package services for Vern residents and The Pub.

Ames Dining Hall. Great place to eat a meal with friends or grab a snack on the way to/from classes. Options include salad bar, a grill featuring burgers, chicken strips, pizza, etc., sandwiches, and a rotating hot entree stand.

The Pub.

Free foosball! Free air hockey!

Plus plenty of couches and tables or meetings, working on a project, watching tv, studying, or taking a nap.

Softball field. Home to our women's Div. 1 team.

Porch outside the Pub overlooking the softball field. Great place to grill out :)

Well, I hope enjoyed the look at my life from freshmen year! It was nice to take a walk down memory lane... especially since I gradute on Friday! Ahhhh! But I still have one last final to get through tomorrow... Wish me luck!

~ Vickie

GDub: Likes and Dislikes

My turn to answer the email! :)

As for my favorite part about GW, it would probably be the classes I've taken and the professors I've gotten to know.  I've had the chance to take some great classes here the past four years I know I wouldn't have anywhere else. Some stand-outs have been:

American Studies 125: 20th-Century U.S. Immigration 

This class really delved into the issue of immigration, from the beginning of the 1900s with Ellis Island, to Cuban refugees today and its supporters and opponents over the years as well.  Obviously the topic has a lot of correlation to issues today, but my favorite part was discussing how it was viewed and why in the beginning, and how supporters became opponents and vice versa, depending on the immigrant group in question.

Immigrant family on Ellis Island.

Sociology 184: Violence and the Family

I know what you're thinking, a class on domestic violence? While some of the topics were sensitive and sometimes depressing to think about, it was a very interesting class that had great discussions as to the "why's" of familial violence, led by a former NYPD officer as our professor.

L

Law & Order: SVU

Forensic Science 103 & 104: Intro to the Forensic Sciences

Love CSI? NCIS? Any criminal procedural? Well, this class is for you. With a professor who was the head of a lab in NY, you get a firsthand account of how those tv shows get it wrong, as well as a great foundation in how science interacts with the law and law enforcement. If you're squeamish, be forewarned there are LOTS of photos of dead bodies and blood... my advice? Eat lunch beforehand.. kinda seemingly counterproductive, but it worked for me.. no nausea unless I had an empty stomach haha. 

Psychology 154: Psychology of Crime and Violence

Heard of criminal psychological profiling? The tv shows Profiler or (my fav) Criminal Minds? Basically, those shows in the form of a class, taught by a professor who also teaches the same course to police academies in the area. Awesome, awesome class. Looked forward to waking up and going to it, even though it was at 9:35am.... very high praise from someone whose brain doesn't generally function til 11am or about 3 cups of coffee, whichever come first!

History 101: History of US Counter-Intelligence

Basically early morning storytime with a career FBI agent who wrote the book, literally, on FBI counterintelligence, from its beginnings in WW2 to its future following the end of the Cold War. Intrigued by real-life spies? Definitely the class for you!

Sociology 189: Sociology of Terrorism

Again, another class taught by a former FBI special agent. We have discussed everything from origins of terrorism, the how's, why's, who's, etc. to different strategies to combat it. Very fun class- our big project was to research a domestic or international terrorist group and present to the class how, if we were them, we would carry out an attack, showing our strategy, what we would use, where we would get the funding, etc. 

As you can see, I'm kinda into the whole "criminal justice" thing... and also classes that correlate to tv shows I watch.. never noticed that before... huh. 

However, going hand-in-hand with my favorite thing about GW is also my least favorite... namely, how difficult it can be to get into certain classes you want and need. Many of the classes listed above I tried to get into once or twice before I actually was able to take them. Basically, the cool classes tend to fill up before underclassmen can register, which sometimes doesn't matter since the cool ones also tend to have prerequisites that you won't have til you are an upperclassmen.... so I guess it works out. 

Or, in the case of the History 101 I mention above, not all classes are offered each semester, depending on the department and professor.  A couple of times I have just gone to the respective professor and expressed my interest in their class and have gotten signed in, but, due to available seats and such, that didn't always work. There's probably now only one or two classes I would've wanted to take that I never got a chance to, either due to the class being full when I was an underclassmen or because that now when I could get in, I took a smaller class-load to make time for a paid part-time job and an unpaid internship and could only pick a few to take.

Hope this helps!

~Vickie

Some GW Volleyball Video...

Hey there!

Finished my first final exam today... three to go!

Here is some video from the GW Volleyball Spring Tournament that I finally got uploaded and some pictures that I promised.

Christie sets up middle hitter Mackenzie.

Christie and Katie go up for the block.

Waiting for Navy to return the ball.

Playing in the Smith Center.

As for my series on residence halls, Thurston and Somers (Mount Vernon Campus) are coming soon!

~Vickie

Fountain Fling 2010

I just got back from my last  Fountain Fling, GW's annual before finals spring event. 

What began as two separate spring events, Spring Fling on the Foggy Bottom campus and Fountain Day on the Mount Vernon campus, were combined two years ago into one big extravaganza, featuring a mechanical bull, tie-dying tshirts, a free cookout and free ice cream, popcorn, and cotton candy. Unfortunately due to the rain today, it was moved from the Vern's quad to the Llyodd Gym and the parking garage... which was interesting. A festival in a parking garage? Who'dve thought?

Mechanical Bull!

Cornhole/Bean Bag Toss!

T-Shirt Tie-Dye!

Free Popcorn! And ice cream! And cotton candy!

Ben, Maura, and Ashley enjoying the free ice cream.

Party in the parking garage?!?!

And of course, the best part of Fountain Fling... the concert! Past years have featured Gym Class Heroes, Regina Spektor, and Ok Go, to name a few. This year featured State Radio, a band from Boston. The concert was also part of the national Save My Oceans tour aimed at reducing the use of plastics and the polluting of the oceans.

Plastic Bag Man!

State Radio!

Here's a clip from their opening song....

Well, time to do some laundry.... Have a great weekend!
~ Vickie