Hella Chillin' by the Bay
This entry is part of a CCR blogging exchange between Stanford, the American University of Cairo, 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.
Hey! How’s it going across your respective pond? We’re Molly, Helena, and Ketaki and we’re from Washington State, Montana, and Northern California. We’re all freshman at Stanford, and we really like it here. One of the main things about Stanford that’s so great is the freedom we have to explore our interests and try new things; no one is expected to have a major until two years after they’ve started here. This philosophy extends beyond the academic portion of the campus to sports and other extracurricular activities.
Stanford culture is different from anything we’ve ever experienced. Even though everyone here has achieved something incredible, most people are extremely humble and relaxed. It’s easy to make friends because people are open to new possibilities. Even other parts of California aren’t necessarily as laid back and accepting as Stanford. It’s such a surreal feeling to ride your bike past palm trees and fountains every day on the way to class. All of us are still getting used to the idea of actually being students here!
I hope you like your school as much as we enjoy Stanford. We’re really looking forward to video conferencing with you!
And, as they say in California: PEACE out, yo! If you're ever in the Bay, don't hesitate to hit us up for some fro-yo!
- Molly, Helena, Ketaki
Comments
These kids are awesome.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 21, 2009 04:57 PM
Hey yo my name is Nourhan from Cairo and i'm a sophomore at the American university in Cairo. Here in Egypt AUC is regarded as the best and I’m really having the time of my life here as well. I am proud to say that among AUC’s alumni are very prominent figures like Queen Rania of Jordan,and the president’s son...etc.
We have very good professors as some of them are Harvard grads and some have got their master’s and PhDs from top universities. Also, the facilities here at AUC are outstanding as we have well equipped conference rooms, along with the studios.
The dorm life is actually pretty cool. Dorm residents actually have the luxury of food delivery from supermarkets on campus. Finally, the sports facilities are tremendous, this part I’m most interested in since I’m a basketball player. Although it is an American university we as well as the foreign students are fully exposed to our Arab and Egyptian culture through courses like Arab society. Being here at AUC is one of the best experiences in my life.
Nourhan
Posted by: Nourhan | October 29, 2009 08:20 AM
Hey
My name is miral abou el dahab and I’m a sophomore at the American university in Cairo. Well in my first semester we had moved the new campus, which is outside Cairo. First everyone was complaining about how far the new campus is, how big it is and that you never find your classes. But after we have settled down we realized how great and big our new campus is. It offers a lot of new activities and facilities. Moreover our library is the best library in the Middle East as it offers you enough space to study or relax and all the resources you need. In AUC you’ll find people with different cultures, backgrounds, norms and beliefs but what surprises me that they all get along very well which I surely find really nice. Moreover like Stanford you don’t have to choose you major, in fact you have to do some core curriculum courses that give you a broad view about the studies you could choose. This and a lot of other things make AUC unique and different from other universities not only in Egypt but also in the Middle East. I’m proud to be part of this community. I’m looking forward to our videoconference and if you ever came to visit Cairo then you should surely pass by our campus.
P.S I really wanted to post a picture of our campus but I don’t know how but you can still check our website : www.aucegypt.edu
Posted by: miral abou el dahab | October 29, 2009 09:21 AM