Gotta Make That Cash

Like many international students, one of my biggest worries when I first came here was whether or not I would be able to work, get an internship, or simply get a job to cover some of my basic expenses. After all, as we all know, it is neither cheap nor easy to be a foreign student in the United States. Well, for those who have been asking themselves the same questions, I’ve got some good and bad news.

Firstly, it is indeed possible for an international student to work while in college; however, there are a few restrictions. Some of these restrictions are understandable, but others only reflect a broken immigration system that needs to be fixed. I am not here to criticize the system, so I am not going to write much more about it. Besides, there are plenty of credited politician and journalists whose opinions can easily be found online – The New York Times, for example, recently published a really interesting article on the topic.

We are only allowed to work on campus, and a minimum GPA is required, which I believe is around 2.5. On the other hand, there are numerous opportunities for us, and we can get any job as long as it is at SBCC. So there are students who work at the cafeterias, bookstore, and even intern in some specific departments. For instance, I work as tutor. The downside, however, is that we can solely work up to nineteen hour per week, which characterizes a part time job.

There is also the possibility of doing an Optional Practical Training, or OPT, which allows us to work for a year after graduating and sometimes even before. But it is a topic for another post.

LRC - where I tutor at

Soccer Tournament

Frankly, I am not that into sports in general, but I can play for fun every now and again, and I certainly appreciate a good tournament – like last year’s soccer world cup that took place in my home country. I am sorry; I simply needed this little disclaimer before I talked about the 2015 International Soccer Tournament.

The SBCC Ambassadors organize some events and competitions every semester and, as you may have guessed, one of them is a weekend long soccer championship solely with teams put together by students. It is quite fun, though sometimes it gets a little too competitive, but fun nonetheless. Since I am an Ambassador, I helped with the tournament and got to watch some great matches. Seriously, some of those guys are so good.

My roommate and a few of our friends formed a team although, unfortunately, they didn’t win. On the other hand, there were a handful of Ambassadors who played, and one of them was actuallu in the winning team!Like I said, some people are incredibly good at this sport.

Anyways, I think I just wanted to briefly write about this awesome event so, if you are around for next fall, you should definitely check it out. 

The winners, ladies and gentlemen

The Week after Spring Break

Flagstaff, AZ - on our way to Grand Canyon

Everyone knows how much fun Spring Break can be. And, boy, did I have fun with mine. What many people don’t mention, however, is all the work that you need to get done during that week – or, better yet, all the work you need to catch up with after you come back.

Firstly, somehow my little trip to Los Angeles ballooned into visiting a good friend of mine in Phoenix, Arizona, who attends Arizona State University. That is indeed a nice city, but way too hot, way too dry, and way too far from the ocean if you ask me. (I think the Pacific is what I am going to miss the most when I move from Santa Barbara for good.) Anyways, at least I got to hang out with someone who I hadn’t seen in almost a year, and to speak Portuguese, and to talk about Brazil! It was awesome. I guess I felt a little nostalgic, which is a pretty similar feeling to the one people get when they visit their hometowns after a long time, or run into an old high school friend. It didn't end there, though. From Phoenix, we went to the Grand Canyon, took a bunch of pictures, and I returned to Santa Barbara last Sunday. In order words, I didn’t do anything I’d set myself to do.

Once I got back home, which was last Sunday evening, I had to prepare for two midterms and two essays due this week. Needless to say my past few days were kind of stressful. But if I could leave you with a lesson from it all, it would be this: go ahead, take a break, but try to do a little bit of work every day.

Grand Canyon - for some reason my mom didnt appreciate this photo