Cross-Cultural Blog

This entry is part of a CCR blogging exchange between Stanford, the American University of Cairo in Egypt, and Orebro University in Sweden. Students have been asked to post a "university culture" entry introducing something about their university culture (or national culture) to an audience of students across the world. Then, other students will comment and we will soon have a rich dialogue, as students develop ways of writing for international audiences and hopefully learn about ways of life across the globe.

Being bored at Stanford is impossible. Stanford has an intellectual community, but it is very friendly, welcoming, and open. Everybody at Stanford has a “baby” – they have something they are really passionate about and they put a lot of time and effort into pursuing it. Stanford prides itself on not taking itself too seriously. Instead of having a formal marching band, the band dresses up in crazy costumes for sports games and makes inappropriate formations and instead of marching, everyone runs crazily between formations. Stanford is not only an intellectual community but also emphasizes extracurricular activities and sports: the students are very well-rounded. Students take an interest in each other’s lives. The campus is often referred to as the “Stanford Bubble.” Almost everyone lives on campus and the campus itself is like a little city. Most people rarely venture into the nearby affluent suburb of Palo Alto. Having all the students on campus promotes a strong community feeling, also shown in the inclusion of the whole student body in events instead of having exclusive parties or meetings. There is a lot of emphasis put on exploration and fun in addition to academic achievement. Having a great experience is a huge part of Stanford life out of the classroom.