I know that my new beginning started the moment I left undergrad, and truly took off when I stepped foot on Penn State’s campus. Classes have been underway for a couple of months, and it is ridiculous to stop and think that two months have sped by at the speed of light. However, in terms of what differentiates this experience from Coe is the expectations involved in research, as that’s paying for my education, and more. So, during the last few weeks, I’ve been diving into my work and learning the ropes of the trade. I just got trained on the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) today morning, and took a short day course on Fourier Transform Infrared Microscopy (FTIR), and a training session on the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). I am just excited to broaden my instrumentation skill set. I’ll be learning how to use the X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). I need these instruments to characterize the surface and interfaces on my glass and polymer coating. You’ll know more when I know more.

I am also leaving the field of casual amateur photography, to a serious amateur level as I got new gear including a brand new Canon Digital Rebel XTi (black) [$750], three lenses (Sigma 28-70mm F2.8-4 [standard, $80], Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM [zoom, $560], and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II [lowlight, $75]), a Canon photo backpack 200EG [$35], Canon 200DG bag, extra battery [$70], a Canon monopod 100 [$30], Canon RC1 wireless remote [$18], and a Sunpak 6601 UT tripod [$20]. I started with a few shots of the sunlight breaking through the clouds, and I’ll try to take more tomorrow during the dances.

I’ve also gotten involved in a few clubs on campus, although I think I might be the only graduate student in most of the groups. I love Penn State Swing Club because it is incredibly active, and I dance more than twice a week. That helps me de-stress, and make new friends. I am also heavily involved in Amnesty International, and the Social Awareness Committee. I recently attended the regional Amnesty International meeting at Delaware, and made a few friends from Penn State and University of Delaware, apart from staying/hanging out with Jenn for the weekend. The Social Awareness Committee needed a person to manage and create a new blog for them, as well as help with the podcasts. So, most days I have my hands full, and love any down time I can get. I usually leave in between 8 or 9am, and get back anywhere in between 6.30pm, and 1am. Monday’s and Wednesday’s are the two days that are the busiest, with full load of classes and clubs in the evenings.

And to end this post, an image that personifies a new beginning in a novel way that’s not related to plants or bugs.

The Birth of Water, originally uploaded by javanutmom.

Liminality (from the Latin word līmen, meaning “a threshold”).. The liminal state is characterized by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy. One’s sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition, during which your normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed, opening the way to something new.. [Wikipedia]

 
originally uploaded by April H..

I don’t know why but this word has been my favorite since I was introduced to it during a religion course on Hindu deities at Coe.  This zone is possibly one of the most feared in life, and those who navigate the murky waters, are successful in life.

originally uploaded by indoloony..

I’ve been in this zone since May, and the fog is clearing ever so slightly. I knew how it was going to feel, starting up again in a new place, where my slate is wiped clean, for a fresh beginning. I get to learn from my mistakes, and make sure I don’t make them here. A lot of these mistakes pertain to my social life, because learning how to deal with the multitude of cultures was painful at times. I have been very careful about how I approach peers, and not dive into anything rushed.

originally uploaded by raspberrytart..

You have no idea how worried I was about screwing up with first impressions because I come on hard sometimes. I’m very opinionated, and if I am not careful, I blurt out things I don’t mean to say out loud. That’s why I’ve been keeping my criticisms to a minimum with my new friends. I need to forge solid friendships before being fully honest, and talk about my pet peeves.

originally uploaded by CarminaGitana..

I know that there are others in this zone, but they seem to coagulate far too homogeneously for my taste. This is not restricted to any one regions, but is widespread habit from non-English native speaking students. I find that rather unfortunate because they could have studied in their own country if they didn’t want to experience culture here, which makes it different. Some people are paranoid about losing their cultural identity, which is a rather cowardly notion. Shying away from something new, and potentially more exciting, is a sad way to live life. However, that might be too harsh of a judgement if I didn’t know how their next 2 to 5 years were going to play out socially. What I wish for the the kind of interaction from the image above, and it is pretty evident that this movement is catching on. I must know, since my first love was an American.

originally uploaded by Miss Cleopatra.

It is also a vicious circle, when it comes to interactions between different cultures. Each one regards the other as a foreign entity instead of seeing that we are all the same people with different tastes, and backgrounds which includes culture. We all want the same things in life.

originally uploaded by indoloony..

Anyway, I am waiting to see when I do get out of this liminal phase, to full integration into a new place. Right now, I am enrolled in bridging courses, meant to give me the required core concepts needed for my research, that I was missing from undergrad. This is perhaps the most important liminal state that matters for my future. I am working my way through this phase, so that I understand my research and the science behind it.

I will get out. It is only a matter of time.

This group (flickr) is about supporting Lebanon and raising awareness about the war that is occurring there.

Pictures: Every member is required to take a picture of themselves with a red cloth tied around their wrist and tape being pulled away from their lips symbolizing their support for the people of Lebanon.

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Soccer is perhaps, the most popular sport in the world. The several billion people tuning in to watch the World Cup is a testament to it’s popularity, and worldwide appeal. I would watch soccer over American football any day. Soccer is a constantly flowing game, with occasional stoppages due to fouls, injuries and substitutions. It usually takes at most 105 minutes to finish a 90-min game versus 2-3 hours staccato game of American football.

Most of you know about this sport, so I won’t try to explain it. I wonder if the World Cup is being shown on any of the free sports channels in the US. I am watching it live on a dedicated channel in Nigeria. Nigeria is a serious soccer crazy nation with a good team, which unfortunately didn’t qualify for the World Cup. However, 5 African nations did qualify with a lot of new nations, but they haven’t won a single game. I don’t think any of them are going to cross Round 1. I’m surprised that some of the previous teams from Africa who did well in prior World Cups didn’t make the cut. I mean, teams like Cameroon, and Nigeria.

The games so far, have been decent with a few fast-paced ones. The opening game between Germany and Costa Rica was very exciting. Goals in the first 5 minutes set the pace for the rest of the game. Another one of Germany’s games versus Poland was a nail biter because Germany scored during the last 2 minutes of play. I felt so bad for Poland, having held off the German attack for 90 minutes, faltered at the very end. Actually, Germany had several goal scoring opportunities which should have resulted in goals at this level of the game, but I guess I would attribute that to bad luck. Their shots kept ricocheting off the top or side bars. I saw a few other games where teams with first goals got beat in the second half, by an invigorated attack by the opposing team. There haven’t been very many high scoring games except for one game that was 3-0 in favor of Ecuador that decimated the Spanish team.

One of the reasons that the World Cup is in public cynosure is due to the soccer ball. This innovation in sport technology makes the current ball much lighter than the previous balls, and most players and goal keepers dislike it for it’s erratic movements in the air. There would have been more goals, and goals saved since the old ball afforded more control. The new ball is more aerodynamic and rounder, with fewer panels making up the ball. Here is a LiveScience article about this very issue.

I must say that the soccer stadiums are simply amazing! The architecture, and design is breathtaking and elegant. I wish I could have watched the games like in those stadium with the giant displays, and lush green turfs..

A personal gripe I have about this game is the annoying show put on by the players. They make this sport look like it’s played by a bunch of pansies. They keep diving, and feigning pain and injury to get fouls, free kicks, and penalties. They dive, and then clutch some part of their leg while rolling around on the turf. After receiving or not receiving the foul, they get back up like nothing happened. They have gotten tough on play acting by penalizing those players by yellow cards. That’s the one aspect of the game that I, and I bet a lot of other soccer fans dislike.

Here is the flickr search results for “world cup” +germany. There are a lot of cool images from the World Cup event!

Open trackbacks: Samantha Burns

Technorati Tags: Sports, World Cup, Soccer

raspberries, originally uploaded by *Stephanie.

fascinating image of fruit with water adhering to the extensions..

Cafe du Nord, originally uploaded by merlinmann.

Love the glow

And Sunday has been very unmemorable so far. My room is very warm, and I have been training Riya to recognize faces in my pictures. It’s doing a decent job so far.

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fresh water, originally uploaded by *Stephanie.

Looks glass-like. Water frozen in time forever!