My International Semester

Author: Tommy Leung | 12.25.2008 | Category: Life, Relationships

It is the night of Christmas Eve or basically 35 minutes into Christmas as i am writing this. I am not actually waiting for Santa Claus but, if he shows up, I’d gladly have a beer with the man–can he get a DUI? I have finished my last semester at Pace University for a BA in Marketing. All should be fine unless I am somehow missing a class or one of my professors this semester decides to fail me. Barring any freak occurrences, I should be fine.

Of all the years and semesters of college that I’ve had across three different schools, this last semester was by far the most memorable. It does have the advantage of being the one that happened last so there might be some bias but, I’m pretty sure I’ve not had this much fun in all my eight other semesters.

I’ve dubbed this past semester my international semester. I didn’t actually travel anywhere. I was still in New York City but, the world kinda came to me. In my entire college experience I had never met so many students from different countries. They were mostly from Europe with a few from Asia and Australia.

At this point I have only known these people for a little over 3 months. It really isn’t a lot of time and for the most part we just partied at least every weekend with a few random weekdays. As with all human relationships, we get to know some people better than others. Of those who I have gotten to know better, I am really glad that I had the chance to do so. I do expect that we will stay in touch or become even closer but, experience has taught me that none of that is ever for sure.

I know that I’ve grown a lot in these last three months as we’ve exchanged ideas and parts of lives and cultures. It is an experience that gives you a different perspective on the world. I was never a flag-wearing “patriotic” American but, I had always felt a certain superiority that I was American. Of course, the rest of the world thinks otherwise but, I had no means of connecting to people from different places.

I do not feel that way anymore. Part of it has to do with my continuous understanding of Liberty but, a lot of it had to do with all the people I’ve met in the last three months. I think that I am a better person now than I was three months ago.

There is that feeling of uncertainty with my “mini United Nations”. Most of them are staying for another semester so I’ll still be seeing them but, what happens after that? I hope that we do stay in contact and visit each other in our respective homes. The people that I’ve met had been unbelievably kind, funny, interesting, and a general blast to be around. Why would I want to lose that?

I’ve spent summers bar and club hopping in NY before I’ve met these people but, there is something different here. I can’t really pinpoint the difference. I just feel it. We are doing more than drinking and partying. I have been exceptionally impressed by the “high level” conversations that we’ve had. It seems like the Europeans just have more intelligent things to say. It is unfortunate that I can’t say the same about the majority of my fellow Americans.

One of the most recent thoughts that have resulted this last semester is the idea that the United States is not the only country I can live in. It is amazing to me that I’ve considered moving away from the United States. I still love the principles that my country supposedly stands for but, it is going down the toilet. Our freedoms are disappearing and the economy is looking more and more like the Soviet Union. All of this combined with my experience in the last semester is telling me that I don’t have to say here. People everywhere else aren’t really that archaic. :) There will never be another city like New York and I know I will miss it but, that’s about the only drawback I can see.

Of course, I have no idea what I’ll exactly do in the future but, my mind has expanded it options and that is a big step.

So, I have loved my last and final semester as a undergraduate college student. It has been the best one I’ve experienced in every aspect. The people have been amazing. The conversations: amazing. The experience: amazing. Now, it is just a matter of seeing where it goes from here.

Pick-Up Lines

Author: Tommy Leung | 05.23.2008 | Category: Books, Relationships

I love Men’s Health magazine and if there was ever a life bible for men, Men’s Health would be it. With physical copies men’s magazines dropping like flies these days–Stuff, FHM–Men’s Health is still going strong. Their articles are always compelling like this one about pick-up lines. We’ve all seen the guys who have nothing in their arsenal but sexual innuendos that they think are home runs–if you haven’t seen them, maybe you are one of them?

And if you are looking for a really interesting book on the topic, check out The Game by Neil Strauss. :)