ILC Tutorial at the San Pablo Library

The ILC tutorial was scheduled to take place today, April 15, 2018, at the San Pablo Library. I was very much looking forward to the tutorial because I would gain more experience and knowledge for our trip, while also continuing to bond with the rest of the ILCers. Last night, I went to sleep both nervous and excited about the events that were to take place the next day. I envisioned myself getting up the next morning with the same excitement, ready to take on the day and to soak up all the knowledge Don was ready to provide us with. The next morning, me not being a morning person, this was not the case. 

I set my alarm for 8 AM and woke up so exhausted, so I fell back asleep without setting another alarm. Luckily, I was awoken by the annoying noise of my dog barking at people outside at 10:30 AM. I rushed out of bed and got ready as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I was ready by the time Don arrived at my house to pick me up. 

Our tutorial meeting spot.

Once we arrived at the San Pablo Library, my excitement for the tutorial was renewed. I was very happy to get to see the rest of my cohort and also the Vanderbilt cohort again. I had not been together with my cohort since our meeting at Kaleidoscope and had not seen the entirety of the Vanderbilt cohort since the Vanderbilt interviews.

Once everyone arrived, we took a photo of all eight ILCers in front of the Ivy League Connection banner. After seeing past cohorts take similar pictures in front of the same banner, this was a very surreal experience. With each meeting for the ILC, the journey to Chicago feels closer and closer.

During the tutorial, we went over the extensive packet Don had printed for us. We went over everything from how to take and upload our pictures, to what to pack for the trip. 

The part of the tutorial that took up most of our time was the photography and blogging aspect of the tutorial. As ILCers, we are expected to share all of our experiences throughout our journey before, during, and after our trip. To be more successful in doing so, Don walked us through the basics of taking pictures, using them in our blogs, and what to avoid while writing blogs. 

Ana and I staring at my dead camera.

Most of our learning took place during the making of our practice blog and the field assignment. After doing our practice blog, we go to go out on our own and take a whole bunch of pictures around and outside the library. I was very excited to take some pictures of the library and some of my fellow ILCers. I took off and snapped a couple of photos, but because of the low camera battery, my picture-taking spree was short lived.

At the very beginning of my ILC journey, traveling to Chicago seemed like a very daunting experience. With all of the information provided today by Don, I know more of what to expect and our trip now seems more exhilarating than scary. Today was also a great bonding experience for all of the members of the ILC. They are all friendly and funny. I am glad these are the people I will be spending the next few months connecting with. As always, I am very much looking forward to our next meeting.

ILC "Camp" at San Pablo Library

"Try to stand next to a stationary object and put your arms inside. This will make the camera still and lay a foundation for better quality pictures," Don was telling us as my stomach was grumbling. It had been approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes since our last break. The time was 3:35 PM. 

2 minutes later, Don requested us to take pictures with the cameras he brought to the meeting. 

"Be back 10 minutes before 4," Don told the ILCers.

Don informed us earlier that we might have to pair up with partners for cameras because there were not enough cameras for all the students. 

Hawi and I paired up to take pictures around the library. Soon enough, we both agreed that we were SUPER hungry so we ran over to Walgreens, which was a block away, from the San Pablo Library to buy a bag of chips. We were running around the store snapping pictures and selfies with other items. Surprisingly, we ended up taking over 45 pictures!

Both of us chose to buy a Fritos Flamin' hot chips with a Jalapeno Cheese Dip. We bought the cheese dip was so we would feel full. It only cost us about $4.00 whereas a typical lunch would cost around $15.00. Talk about saving money! Earlier, during our tutorial, Don was talking about the ILC dinner at San Francisco being over $130. 

I was back! The energy, running down my body felt rather incredible. Ask Hawi how tiresome I looked before eating. We hurried back to the library and on the way we took a couple of pictures with the proper pose that Don showed us. 

Right before the 2nd session of the tutorial started, I looked over a few notes of my Google Docs to get back into the ILC mode. 

We started the meeting with one of my favorite quotes by Don, "Words are nice but words with pictures are nicer." As we moved on we discussed various etiquettes which included the importance of communication, being on time and getting out from our comfort zone. We switched topics to blog etiquettes one should follow while drafting a professional blog- adding pictures, having strong descriptions, checking font-size, etc. 

The second session primarily revolved around Mediafire where we discussed uploading pictures, file naming protocols, and red-eye reduction. Right before closing off, we talked about how to pack effectively when we are off to Vanderbilt or Chicago. 

Issac and I

A very productive tutorial and a great deal of networking/ bonding opportunities with the other ILC scholars. I was able to catch up with Issac, Maxime, Kayla and Hawi while formally meeting Anna, Audrey, and Ana. 

Next stop- meeting John Hillyer, our trip supervisor!

Gathering Information at the San Pablo Library

Earlier today, Don Gosney, the seven other ILCers, and I met at the San Pablo Library to discuss various ILC protocols and responsibilities. We also briefly went over what to expect and what we will need on the trip. I must say that I was expecting less than the fifty-odd subjects we covered over the course of four hours.

We started with how to communicate with Don, also known as how to prevent him from becoming an angry ball of fire when we do not respond to emails often or with consistency. That is, if he does not become Evil Don first and start considering the validity of our acceptance into the program. We covered the basics of how to contact him and the reasons why mobile phones are absolutely never the solution.

It soon became apparent that blogging was also a more intricate process than I had thought earlier. We learned how to properly format entries and how to make them more interesting with graphics or other content. Don also went over the times that we should blog, and how to avoid boring content.

After an hour or two, we took a break to experiment with cameras and improve our photography skills. After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll save a lot of blogging time by getting a good photograph.

Don also reminded us of the need to be mature and act like adults. The expectation of this program is that its participants are not just well educated in English, but also in manners, time management, and our responsibilities.

I really enjoyed the meeting, and I feel much more prepared for this trip now.

A Rainy Day at the Library

The library, with rainy skies in the background

This rainy Sunday afternoon was the first time that all of this year's ILCers met together. I had a good time hanging out with them and Don while learning about the upcoming trip. When we came into the Conference room in the San Pablo Library, Don immediately handed us a heavy packet of 53 pages that contained all the information that we were going to go over.

After reading and discussing the section about blogging, we had our first break of the afternoon. During the 20ish minutes, we had to format a sample blog entry on Don's practice blog.

ILCers working hard

We then discussed how to take photos (Hint: not with a phone) and how to upload them/share them with Don and the other ILCers. Next, we had our second break, where we put our new knowledge to the test by taking pictures in and around the library

Isaac taking a picture in the library

We finished the tutorial by talking about the logistics of the dinners in San Francisco that were to come, and the dorms and packing list for when we head off this summer.

I really enjoyed meeting the ILCers from the Vanderbilt cohort and I am looking forward to the next dinner to meet our chaperone!

Kaleidoscopic Planning

This past Thursday, Don Gosney and the members of the UChicago ILC program met at Kaleidoscope Coffee to discuss the nuances of creating a visually appealing blog. While the timing was not optimal, as there were several distractions throughout the night, we managed to create a website that we hope will serve as a more than suitable place to share our experiences.

The first, and most difficult challenge was finding a combination of layout and background that would be both informative and make the site easy to navigate. After much discussion, several snacks, and even more drinks, we settled on symmetrical sidebars and a background that clearly displays our destination without distracting one's eyes from the text.

Don then showed us how to properly manufacture photographs to  be fit for the header of a blog (Hint: Photoshop experience helps). We finished up the night by learning how to use the online service MediaFire to share such pictures with others, be it for profile pictures or visual assistance to our descriptions.

I am very satisfied with what we managed to achieve in one short evening, and I hope that we can continue to maintain this level of productivity in the future.

First Cohort Experience

It has been nearly three weeks since the UChicago cohort was selected and it is still difficult to believe that I get to take part in this incredible program. I am so blessed to have been chosen to travel to Chicago this summer and take the Contagion course that I am extremely interested in and will benefit greatly from. A year ago, I could only dream of being an ILCer and now here I am writing my first UChicago blog.

This past Thursday night was the first time the entire UChicago cohort got together since we were selected. We planned to meet at Kaleidoscope Coffee in Richmond at 6:45 pm. Once we all arrived, we ordered our drinks and began working on our blog. We played around with the different themes and layouts on Blogger and discussed how we wanted our website to look. We worked very well as a team, as you can tell because of the great blog we created!

That night we took more photos, including the blog’s banner photo. Don also showed us his impressive skills with Photoshop. Through the process of creating our blog, I realized how much effort is put into each detail of the Ivy League Connection.

 Our cohort working on the blog

To end the night, we learned the basics of how to use Media Fire. Don taught us how to upload and share pictures with each other to use for our blogs.

Overall, I really enjoyed learning more about the process of blogging because we will be doing a lot more of that over the next few months. In addition, I enjoyed spending time with my cohort and I am really looking forward to the rest of my journey with them.

Sippin' on Coffee

"I like Kaleidoscope in Point Richmond so let's meet there.", Don sent an email on Wednesday night. I was thinking, of all the places in the universe, why the Kaleidoscope? Why not Starbucks or even Peets? How would you go about pronouncing the name, "K-lido-scope?"

"Weird name", I told myself repeatedly.

Our drive down the "K-lido-scope" was amusing. As Don was on the steering wheel, and I was in the front after approaching a dead end, I was curious for a satisfying answer, though I did not mention, on why "K-lido-scope." Perhaps, I had to be Detective Luitel in order to figure out this mystery. Also, I realized the correct pronunciation was "Call-eye-dis-cope"(you have to say Call a little fast).

Walking into Kaleidoscope on the left hand side were seats, and in front of the seats were the tables to "perfect" your beverages with sugars, and what not. The right side caught most of my attention, there were white triangle-shaped thingi-magickies that connected to create attractive patterns. As we walked in, we were looking to have the seats up-front with a large table for four but as there was an Open-mic night at 7 pm, we decided to sit next to the white triangle thingi-magickies.

One pleasing thing was there was not a lot of noise like Starbucks and Peets- no coffee grinders, music in the background, and loud people. It was peaceful.

Don told us to grab some drinks and the cappuccino stood out to me. I said, lets have a go. As there were a plenty of customers walking in, and only 1 cashier, it took a while to make the cappuccino.

Frankly, the enriching taste of cappuccino and coffee energized me. It was the best coffee I had ever had! The flavor, texture, and strong taste of the coffee was unique to Starbucks and Peets. Nevertheless, compared to the Starbucks, "Call-eye-dis-cope" was spacious and quiet. The conditions in the coffee shop was aimed for small meetings and study sessions.

Sipping on my cup of coffee, Don informed us on how to effectively use blogger, and mediafire. After the cappuccino, I was more awake not only because of the caffeine but also the environment and the rich taste. Regrouping and planning on how to effectively use blogger and mediafire while at the University of Chicago will benefit the ILC and the members. While blogging, we are able to develop writing skills and effectively promote the ILC. After the 2 hour meeting with my cappuccino, I am more excited to head out to Chicago then ever. 

While leaving, I made sure I grabbed another cappuccino on the go! The cashier gave me the coffee for free this time around, though, which was really nice of her. I will make sure to come back to "Call-eye-dis-cope".