Museum Of Science

I can't recall the last time I visited a museum. The last one I can remember visiting was the Reina Sofia Art Museum in Madrid- which was many years ago.

A science museum is completely different. There are many hands-on experiences-- meaning you can touch things, play with things, climb on things-very kid-friendly. It brings out the kid in me! Also because there are plenty of children around "going" and "awwing"... reminding you how much wonder there truly is around science.

I went with two of the closest friends I have met while in grad school. One, from Southern California, the other from Chile-- the country. Here are some images that capture our day at the Boston Museum of Science.

Tanya and Isa building things and playing with block puzzles.

Me playing with an archeology kit.

Isa playing with a paleontology kit.

YES! These are actual butterflies in the
Butterfly Garden.

 Geckos from the Gecko Exhibit.

A museum trip was on my list of things to do in Boston. It was fun, educational ,and a great way to spend the day with new good friends.

Cambridge in the Winter

Winter didn't really hit Boston... At least that's what the locals keep telling me. There was one snow storm, I guess you could say and possible two or three COLD days.

Here are some of the wintery things I have experienced so far.

Ice skating rink in Harvard Yard. Free for all and $5 skate rentals.

The first night it snowed. View from my front door.

Below are pictures of my walks to school in the mornings. The final image is of Cambridge Commons, the park I pass on my way home in the evenings.

Revisiting THE LIST

Happy 2012. January marks the beginning of a new year and also serves as reminder that I am half way through my masters program here at Harvard.

I am currently sitting at Gutman Library, one of so many libraries on campus. I think my I phone App lists 37 libraries total. But here is an article that explains why that isn't even true (Harvard Library ARTICLE).
I've only been to three!

But the point of this is, while I sit in this library, I am reflecting on the fact that the majority of my time here has been spent indoors, inside the walls of libraries and classrooms. I know that I am here for school, but I did make the list to help me get outdoors and exploring the town.

SO, I propose a fresh new perspective on THE LIST I created some months ago. Let's see what can be adjusted and what still needs to be completed. A self assessment on ones goals is needed every once in awhile.

~~~THE LIST Revisted~~~

01. Ace a class at Harvard

DONE!

02. Take a class at the Harvard Law School

Hmm, I was hoping to take the course this winter but did not make it past the waiting list. I will sign up for one in Spring semester if it fits my schedule. Perhaps I can take a weekend seminar or visit a guest lecture/seminar series.

03. Take a class at the Kennedy School of Government

Same evaluation as above.

04. Write a masters thesis

Okay, this is still possible. Many of my final papers for courses have the potential to be turned into this, so I will take a look at the papers I've written and look at which one I am most proud of. If not an official thesis, there are plenty of opportunities here to present them as posters, presentations or at colloquiums/conferences. I will submit one at least!

05. Find a mentor 

DONE! My faculty advisor is awesome.

06. Row Crew on the Charles River

Coming this SPRING

07. Go to a Red Sox game

DONE

08. Make snow angels on Harvard yard

When it snows. This one is so close to being crossed off!

09. Buy my professor a drink at a bar while having a brilliant conversation

Invitation has been sent. Waiting to hear back.

10. Go to New York

Done

11. Go to Washington DC

     a. Visit the White House    

     b. Visit the Lincoln Memorial

Um... so this trip may have to wait until after graduation. It is difficult to plan a trip during the school session.

12. Go to a museum (free admission with my student ID)

This one is coming up this month. I have a trip scheduled in two weeks!

13. Go to a Harvard football game

Done

14. Cook and host a Mexican fiesta in my new apt

Okay, I have cooked for friends, cooked Mexican food at my apartment and hosted a fiesta. I'm officially crossing this one off.

15. Walk the beach of cape cod

We shall see. Same measure as #11

16. Visit Martha’s Vineyard

We shall see. Same measure as above

17. Go ice skating

Next week. Scheduled.

18. Have a picnic in the park

I've done this plenty of times. On campus mostly.

19. Buy fresh produce and flowers at a farmers market

Done

20. Keep up with this blog! Post at least twice a month (Yes I changed it)

 Been keeping up!

Well this post was mostly for me. But if you're still reading, I hope you re-evaluate your lists and goals every now and again. It's good to remember what you once wanted and to ask yourself if you still do. When you are done with goals, whether accomplished or not, it means its time for new ones!

Home for the Holidays

Driving into the City 

Christmas Tree at Union Square

I went back to the Bay Area for the Winter Holidays and had an incredible time. I spent all of my free time with family and friends. Catching up, playing, laughing, eating, dancing--just what one expects the holidays to be. I was home for two weeks and here are some of the highlights:

Highlight #1: My father's surprise 50th Birthday. He had no clue! We struggled to get him in the car, but once we got him in the vehicle, he enjoyed the ride and really enjoyed the party. With 80 of our closest family, we celebrated his 5th decade on Earth. Happy Birthday DAD!

Dad hugging his guests on the dance floor

Highlight #2:  Hanging with the family. All of my family. Eating tamales and posole (even though I don't eat any of it) with my Mother's side of the family on Christmas Day. Competitive bowling with my Fathers side of the family the day after Christmas. I loved all the love. Being away really makes you appreciate these moments.

My cousin Jacqueline and brother Edgar getting ready to bowl

Highlight #3: Catching up with old friends. Obviously I can't post all of my friends images up here, but I was able to travel all over the Bay Area over the holidays and meet up with old high school and college friends. Even young childhood friends. I went shopping in Union Square, checked out new restaurants and bars, went hiking, tried pumpkin ale and reminisced on the younger days... I even spent an evening reading through old high school yearbooks with my high school friends.

Meeting up with old co-workers in Santa Cruz

Seeing Annette! From the Salem, Ma Blog Post.

Happy Holidays Friends. Hope it was memorable. 

~Wishing you a great 2012~

Texts from Mom

I have moved thousands of miles away from my home town of Hayward, California. The distance as well as the latest technology advances have really changed the way in which I communicate with my friends and family from back home. Here is a google map to represent my move. A picture really does represent 100 words.

3, 175 miles from Hayward,Ca to Cambridge, Ma

Despite the distance, my family and I have taken to communicate through the use of technology, specifically FaceTime (Apple Plug here). My brother and I both have the latest iPhones and my father, who is pretty tech-savy, knows how to skype and email with us. But the real star of this trans national family love story is my mother.

One major benefit that has come out of this distance is my mother's interest in technology. She has never used a computer. She is a dental assistant and spends her days conversing and aiding patients or using dental instruments. It's safe to say that technology is a pretty recent phenomenon for her. So, this post is dedicated to my mom, with love and respect to her growing interest around technology as it is growing her communication with her kids. My mom is now writing emails, has her very own iPad and has learned to text (hilarious mom texts to come at the end of the this post).

This is how I found out my mother had an Ipad:

Hi mija how can I che

Your blog.? I like my new I pod,,

Sent from my iPad

*Note her signature states "sent from my iPad"

My mom has even begun to text me while I am in class. Most of the texts say hello or good morning. One challenge about this latest burst in technology use is that when I get out of class, I now have two missed calls, a voice mail, an email and a text message. With so many outlets, my first response is to think there must be an emergency. No, they are all to say hello. She is incredibly persistent.

Another challenge is the cell phone/email auto-correct function. It's definitely having fun in our conversations as well. Another layer is that fact that my mother and I are bilingual and often speak Spanglish to one another. So texts often get misinterpreted...And by often, I mean OFTEN.

Here is me asking my mother if she will be attending my cousin Isaac's birthday party:

Here is a text conversation about what we are having for dinner: "Begged" means veggies.

 I too fall victim to cell phone's autocorrect:

 Here is my mother sending me information about my student health insurance coverage that was sent to Hayward instead of Cambridge the week school started.

And yes, I understand exactly what she means despite the grammar and auto-corrects. We now have a new way of communicating and it makes the distance feel not as distant.

My favorite conversations take place Saturday mornings. My parents wake up and FaceTime with me from their bedroom as I converse back over breakfast or lunch from my living room couch. Yesterday, I was FaceTiming with them and Edgar, my younger brother who is also away for college, called my parents home telephone and joined our conversation over speaker. His FaceTime appointment was after mine.

We are becoming a 21st century family. And the distance doesn't really seem that far. Here is to hoping you get to connect with a loved one today.

Happy December!

Food for thought today

My friend has the image below posted on her facebook profile picture. I saved the poster to my desktop some time ago and open it from time to time... I am much more aware of myself and the privileges I have after reading this. This poster below has me thinking about the power of words. The power words have to bring us into awareness. The shift of perspective we held just moments ago... to what we feel/think/believe after seeing or reading something.

Words are powerful... And its a gift that we have found a way to communicate with one another despite distance, language and time. Like the last saying states, "If you can read this...you are more fortunate that 3 billion people in the world who cannot read at all."

Fall Is Here

I know that its been awhile since I last wrote, so this entry will be a bit longer to make up for the past couple of weeks that I haven't posted. I'll talk about my chilly walks to school, how I love getting care packages and the incredible housewarming party I threw myself the same week my apt was broken into... Fall is here and I am experiencing the abundance of Harvest time that comes with it!

I dont think I have ever experienced a FALL season before. In California, the tempature pretty much stays above 50 degrees and it is either gloomy or sunny and what I really mean is that it is mostly sunny. The leaves stay green and sometimes you see variations of yellow or brown leaves, but nothing like the trees I am seeing here: Bright RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, PURPLE...

The images here are breathtaking-- and come at a chilly price. I walk or ride my bike to school in 30 degree weather. By the time I enter a classroom I recognize that I have lost feeling in my face, hands and feet...

I think I am really enjoying the Fall season around here because its nice enough to go for walks outside, but is chilly enough to appreciate being indoors. Speaking about indoors-- my parents sent me an awesome care package with rugs, WINE, desserts, candles...etc.  THANKS mom and dad!

I used some of the goodies to host a housewarming party in my new apt. So now a housing update. I recently moved into a new apartment in October. My old place didnt work out and with optimistic energy and prayer, I found a new place that is a better fit for me. Now I have two new housemates who work full time and are around my age.We all really like each other and have similar interests: like traveling, research, love of dessert and wine. So we move in and decide to sign a year lease within 24 hours of meeting one another (are we crazy? impulsive? desperate? Probably all of the above, which makes us all the better match for one another!)

Within a week of living together we get broken into. The door was literally ripped off the hinges. We are all okay. Some things were taken, like laptops, jewelry and video cameras, but no one was home and no one was harmed. Our landlord has since added more locks.


I have really grown to love my new roomates and am so grateful they are in my life. Here are some pictures of us with our friends at our Housewarming party from last weekend.

Roomate #1 Gabby is the tall blond on the left.

Roomate #2 Shivani is the one on the right leaning against the door.

My and some of my friends from school. The running joke here is that the Harvard Ed School ratio is 8 women to 1 man.

So, grateful for the friendships, encounters and laughs I've shared thus far with new friends. I am also grateful for the friendships that have come before and  the ones that will come along someday in the near future. What are you grateful for?

Food for thought.. some inspiration this week

By far, one of the most powerful poems of our time...

 

Our worst fear

Is not that we are inadequate;

Our deepest fear is that we are 

Powerful beyond measure.

It is our light,

Not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves,

"Who am I to be talented and fabulous?"

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God;

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about

Shrinking so that other people

Won't feel secure around you.

We were born to make manifest

The glory of God within us.

It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,

We unconsciously give other people 

Permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,

Our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela

 

 

HGSE's Multicultural Festival

Last Friday was HGSE's Multicultural Festival. The night consisted of cultural food, music, friends, and performances. 

Our campus is somewhat diverse, particularly because of the many international students. It was beautiful to see so many different cultures represented in one place on one evening. The event was held in the floor level of our department library. 

Standiing in line: Platanos fritos, fresh guacamole, chow main,  samosas...
were some of the highlights of my dinner that night

So many people. This is the table I sat at with my new CULTURAL friends

The Colombian Table!

My friend Hethal, making henna tattoos at the
 South Asian Student Association Table

Capoeira Performance- I actually want to join the club now 

HGSE A Capella Choir performing songs around the world

Traditional Chinese Dance "Little Peacock"

Harvard Banghra performing

The rest of the evening was open floor dancing. 

I think the last photo captures the evening well. We made a big circle and danced to different music. Here is an image of my friend Mayte (in her Bolivian Folklore Outfit) dancing with a little girl getting photographed by an international student from India in the center of a giant dance circle.

Fun Times.

Till next time.

xoxo

Today is the one day that is gifted to you

I have been struggling to stay mindful these past few weeks. And by mindful, I mean present, calm, relaxed, remembering to eat, sleep, laugh and socialize. LIVE. (hence the title of my blog-- a Zen Life).

I knew graduate school was not going to be easy and I came to Cambridge determined to continue living a life of tranquility that the coastal town of Santa Cruz, California (and many of my friends) taught me.

At Harvard, it is easy to get wrapped in the daily tasks of work, school, reading, homework...etc. It is a never ending cycle that can continue if you dont stop and smell the roses, as one would say. Literally, my days begin at 7am and I don't return home until 11pm. My days are long and often times, they are spent inside classrooms, libraries or coffee shops.

Below are images of study places I have attempted this past month:

Out on the grass, California style

On some benches outside of my department

Darwin's Cafe, a block away from my campus
(Stays open until midnight)

Widner Library, Harvard's most famous library
For more info click here

My good ol' room
(not much work gets done here)

Today, a friend of mine sent me a video and I remembered! Each day is a gift that you can never get back. So make it a good one. Watch this video it will change your day completely. It brought me back to the mindfulness I was craving. Enjoy:)

Book Signing with Nicholas Sparks

I found out a few days ago that Nicholas Sparks, novelist and screenwriter, was going to be signing books at the Harvard Bookstore and I was stoked! I wrote it in my planner well in advance and set my alarm early to wake up in time to go stand in line to meet this fabulous man.

When I was 13, I read my first romance novel: A Walk to Remember. I remember reading it in less than 3 days and crying out loud, but wiping the tears out of my eyes as fast as I could so that I could continue reading how the story ends. I was obsessed with the movie when it came out. I still own the book, the dvd and soundtrack to this day. And yet, I am not embarrassed to admit these things as my fanaticism paid off today.

Other famous novels of his turned movies include The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John...etc.

Um, I have to say that after putting these movie posters side by side, Hollywood seriously needs a new movie poster manager... The look alike: tight heterosexual embraces...

Today, more than a decade after reading his first book, I got to meet Nicholas Sparks in person! He was a cool guy, dressed in jeans and a baby blue polo shirt. He was sitting on a table talking to fans and taking pictures with us. Here is some of the madness I endured to get my 30 seconds with him.

The long line that wrapped around the bookstore

Not only did this lady cut the line,
but then went on to talk with him for like 5 minutes! 

Finally, got my moment!