Day 100: The End is in Sight

Good afternoon Gamecocks and fellow readers!

      Once again, warmth and rain have returned to Baton Rouge. When you live here, you have to get used to weather not acting along a set plan. You never know what the day might hold in store for you. Most students here almost always carry a small umbrella on them just in case. Nonetheless, the rain has done little to nothing to hamper the students' spirits. Everyone is excited and ready for the upcoming Thanksgiving break! Once the break is over, it will be a week of studying and then finals. This semester is quickly coming to a close.

      Last weekend saw the football team triumph over Arkansas. Campus was once again filled with tailgaters filling every space they could find. Even restaurants will come and set up tents to celebrate the game. Unfortunately the best picture I took (placed below), does not do the LSU tailgate justice. The closer you get to the stadium, the crazier it gets.

     Overall, the rest of the week was more of the usual. Classes were attempting to squeeze in final test and quizzes before the break coming up this week. Everyone else was busy finalizing their travel plans. Personally, I am pretty excited to go home. As the title says, it has been 100 days since I last was home and saw my family. It'll be nice to be home and take a break from my course work. Hopefully it will give me the burst of energy I need to finish out the semester. Once I'm through my exams, I will give you all my final thoughts on the National Student Exchange program,

Until then, take care!

Day 92: Home: So Close and Yet so Far

      Good Afternoon Gamecocks and fellow readers! Things are warming up a little bit here in Louisiana. Last week's cold front seems to have temporarily stopped as today was fairly warm. For context, last week was so cold that everyone could see their breath. Officials were even worried that the roads would freeze over and school would have to be cancelled! Fortunately (or unfortunately for some), school was not cancelled and we have had some pretty nice days.

      Last week was more or less pretty similar to the week before. Lots of studying and exams; it was perhaps the biggest exam week for me thus far. None the less, I managed to survive all the exams that were thrown at me. I will admit though, it was also the week I probably missed home the most. This is the longest time I have been away from home. Deciding to go to Texas instead of home for Fall break definitely factored into that. However, I am very excited to come home for Fall break. The connections I made with the people here and the experiences I have had also made the experience easier. Always surround yourself with good people and life's hardships will get easier.

      Advisement for USC was definitely another challenge that I had to overcome. My advisor and I decided to handle my advisement for next semester over email. In hindsight, I really wish we had chosen to call instead. We exchanged emails back and forth for about a month (up until my day of registration). I cannot help but wonder if we could have finished those talks in a thirty minute phone call (normal advisement length). For any students, I would definitely talk to your advisor about handling it over the phone should you consider participating in NSE. None the less, we managed finish my advisement and I am all set to return next semester.

That's all for this week folks. Until next time!

Day 85: Still Undefeated

Good afternoon Gamecocks and fellow readers! It's a surprisingly warm day here in Baton Rouge. The past couple of weeks have seen a number of number of cold days come and go. We could even see our own breath on some days.

      It was another busy week at Louisiana State University. Classes are starting to shift into gear as the semester comes closer and closer to a close. Test, quizzes, and homework are in full gear keeping students busy outside of class. Nonetheless, we have still found spare time to have fun with our friends. In particular, the students here had a lot to look forward to as LSU geared up to play Alabama in football. There was a lot of anticipation in the air.

     I was fortunate enough to watch the game from a bar with my friends. The atmosphere was amazing. People were shouting and cheering the entire game. There were an unfortunate few Alabama fans who had to listen to us. It was close game the whole way through and more than a few people were biting their nails and knocking on wood. However, LSU managed to pull through and it was a night full of celebration. The following day my friends and I treated ourselves at the Mexican restaurant Caliente. I whole heartedly recommend Caliente to anyone who visits Baton Rouge.

Well, that's all I have for this week. Until next time!

Day 78: It's that Halloween Spirit

Good evening Gamecocks and fellow readers! Hopefully you are doing well on this wonderful Monday night.

     It was a week of tests and celebration here at LSU as Halloween was around the corner. The beginning of the week saw to it that students were busy with homework and exams. Eventually the week's work slowed down and students were able to look forward to their Halloween celebrations. Many of the resident halls and apartments on campus held varying activities and events. LSU also held its infamous Fall Fest. Fall fest is a massive event held on LSU's Parade Ground where students, faculty, and staff can partake in free food and festivities. It is truly not an event to be missed!

     On Halloween day, most of the students here like to go out with friends and party through the night. Due to Halloween being on Thursday, some students unfortunately had exams the following morning. Despite Friday exams, Halloween celebrations continued well throughout the weekend. Even on Saturday, people were still dressing up and going out. Although I did not try anything entirely new this week, it was still a fun week full of good times and celebration. Halloween on LSU's campus is not something to miss.