Ambassadors

As I have mentioned before, I am a SBCC Ambassador, and I think it is time for me to better explain what the program is. Basically, we are an arm of the international office and try to connect the office, students (both from Santa Barbara and from out of town), and the local community. It indeed requires some time, but it is totally worth it.

We have several events throughout the semester and, because of it, we get in touch with some remarkable people. For example, in the past couple of weekends we volunteered at Casa Esperanza – a local homeless shelter – and since I was responsible for organizing everything, I visited the place beforehand, learned how the shelter works, and talked directly with the people who run it. In other words, I had an experience that went beyond the classroom.

That is not all, though. We also have tournaments and other events that involve students, as well as staff members. There are volleyball and soccer tournaments every semester, and they can get very competitive. Last spring we hosted a singing competition, and pretty soon we are going to have a ¨international week¨, which is a weeklong event with traditional food, culture, and films from all over the world, not to mention some professors will be giving lectures on related topics. I am excited about it already!

Again, this is a group composed by both local and international students even though the international office is who support us. As you may have noticed, I love being an ambassador, and strongly encourage everyone to apply and check out our Facebook page.

Daylight Saving

It finally caught me. Last Saturday night we officially began daylight saving here in California, which means that I lost sixty precious minutes of sleep. Like every year, I thought I would adapt to this change fairly quickly; however, like every year, it actually took me a few days to successfully change my sleep schedule. Although we moved back our clocks last weekend, up until Thursday I was still going to bed late and waking up really tired. But once I got passed this little inconvenient, I could appreciate daylight saving and its perks.

Brazil also adopts something similar to daylight saving, so the time difference between Santa Barbara and my hometown can vary from six to four hours. Needless to say it is difficult to talk to my family when they are six hours ahead of me. Since daylight saving began, though, I am “only” four hours apart from them. For some people it may still sound like too much but, trust me, you get used to it. Besides, this difference in time zones is not that great and even American students have to deal with it.

Additionally, unlike Brazil, at some point it gets dark at 10pm here. And I love it. Personally, I feel like I am productive as long as I know the sun is shining outside. I realize this is probably more psychological than anything, but that is how I feel.

People work differently and certainly have varying opinions about daylight saving. Regardless, it is a thing we all have to deal with

 

Casa Esperanza

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a member of the International Students Ambassadors. This is an awesome group with local and international students, and we volunteer, organize events, and are very active on campus. I think I should write a post solely on the Ambassadors someday. Anyway, this past weekend we volunteered at the Casa Esperanza Homeless Shelter, and it is precisely what I want to write about today.

Casa Esperanza is a shelter that helps people to get back on their feet. Seriously, I really love that place. They help hundreds of people from all sorts of backgrounds, from veterans to entire families sometimes. But they require, among other things, their residents to be drug and alcohol free. This means that everyone there is really trying to turn their lives around. What surprised me the most, however, was how much the local community and businesses cares and helps the shelter. They receive tons of donations every week, from food to clothes, and there are always people to help. Indeed, the whole place has such a good vibe, and it makes you feel good for being there.

Coming from a developing country myself, where poverty and homelessness unfortunately are far from unusual, it is pretty interesting to see this other side of the United States. I think that when we do volunteer work, and thus get in touch with a part of our country we know exists but somehow end up not seeing, we realize how many things we take for granted and how lucky we are.

Just another Sunset

By now it should be common knowledge, not to say a cliché, that college is overwhelming sometimes. Often we have a whole lot of homework to do, midterms to study for, and some of us also work, which means it can very easily get out of hand and become a stressful situation. However, and I do believe it is a skill, we need to find ways to slow down and take a break from our routines. Trust me, though, this is not at all difficult when you live in Santa Barbara.

 

I know people here who practice all sorts of sports on and off campus, hang out with friends, go to club meetings, yoga, and I’ve even seen a group of students who get together and meditate once or twice a week. It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as it works.

I come from a big city in Brazil that is somewhat far from the cost and, growing up, I would rarely be able to see the ocean, and I definitely did not have sunsets nearly as beautiful as the ones Santa Barbara provides me with. Thus, I believe this is the reason behind my passion for the sea, and why I seem to never get tired of the breathtaking views here. That said, sunsets in southern California are often characterized by a spectrum ranging from a bright blue above our heads, to a blood-like red that is only noticeable as our gaze descends down the horizon. And this is how I relax. I sometimes take the long way home, which implies in having music blasting on my headphones (usually some Rock’n’roll) as I walk by the beach, go to the pier, and only then do I walk up State Street toward my apartment. But, hey, that is what works for me.