International Education Week

Well this has been International Education Week and our offices have been pretty busy with all the events and whatnot that goes on around here for that time. Yesterday was UCR Goes Global, which is an event I really enjoy, because our whole office goes out to table at the bell tower nooners, hand out cupcakes, talk to students, and connect them to global resources and let them know about our office and international community.

Mmmmm cupcakes...

Our head Peer Advisor's frat bro brought his dog over to hang

I'm sauntering down the walk in the distance #imastar

I also enjoy it because we get to partner with Study Abroad, which I really enjoy. Those are the 2 sides of international education - the international students here, and sending our students abroad, and I really believe in all of it!

The students are fun and it's nice to interact with staff outside of the regular office routine.

#prayforparis

Most of the advisors were at work late last night, scrambling in the aftermath of learning about the Paris attacks to reach out to our French students, account for our students in France at this time, update our website with crisis/emergency information and wait for confirmation of the support group in order to post and circulate. I was happy to help serve how I could in that time. 

I really, really enjoy helping however I can after disasters- natural and otherwise. I helped in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, I helped in Brooklyn after Hurricane Sandy, and if I had had a way to make it to Nepal after their earthquake, I would have loved to. The atmosphere in places in aftermath like that is astounding- it's how we should always live, with compassion and a willingness to understand and use helping hands. The only problem is that I don't have much to offer. There are usually plenty of people willing to help, but really what they need are skilled technicians and laborers, ones with medical degrees and HVAC clearances and electricians and construction workers. And I'm here like uhhhh I took a CPR and First Aid class in college... But it's been expired for like 6 years now. So sometimes it's nice just to do what you can where you can.

I went to Paris countless times when I lived in France... Either for better flights or to take visitors to to pick people up. I was going to look for a picture but then I realized it didn't matter. What good is a picture of me having fun in a city that was great and happy now that that's passed and they're mourning?

I know I'm really cynical and pessimistic, and all I really think is "so where next?" Because this shit happens all the goddamned time and it gets worse and nothing seems to change, it just seems to keep happening...