The Academy News - February 11, 2013

By XIAOWEN (SHARON) LIANG

And YATING (CHARA) HE

Spring Festival’s Eve which is

a traditional festival in China is

the last night of the month of the

lunar calendar next to Spring Fes-

tival Day, the First Day of New

Year. The Chinese name of

Spring Festival’s Eve is Chuxi. It

means “the old year past”, and we

will greet the new year. On this

day, families usually have dinner

together, like American Christians

on Christmas Eve.

It is the most important festival

for all Chinese. All family mem-

bers will get together on New

Year’ Eve and have a big meal.

Even though some people work

far away from their hometowns,

See Chinese New Year on p. 5

. Valentine’s Day Party!! Thursday, February 14, 2013 12:00pm - 3:00pm Come celebrate this fun American holiday with the Language Academy! Make fun cards for your friends or that special someone, eat delicious treats and sing your favorite love songs! This is a free activity. Sign up today in JEF Courtyard at 11:00am.

USC Women’s Basketball Friday, February 15, 2013 At Galen Center Meet in JEF Courtyard at 7:00pm Show your Trojan spirit and come support our USC Women’s Basketball team as they play against Stanford! This activity is free. Sign up today in JEF Courtyard at 11:00am.

Year of the Snake

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Language

Labs M/W

2

Language

Labs T/Th

3

Olvera

Street

4

Big Bear

Lake

5

Chinese New

Year

5

Dealing with

Stress

6

Campus

Calendar

6

UP C O M I N G AC T I V I T I E S

The Academy News F E B R U A R Y 8 , 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 5 6 , I S S U E 3 Check out The

Academy News online at

www.usc.edu/

langacad.Go to

“Student In-

formation” and

then click on

“The Academy

News.”

Many Language Academy students will celebrate New Year on Feb. 10, following the lunar calendar. Each year is represented by an

animal. This is the year of the Snake. A snake is very cunning.

P A G E 2

Reading Power (Levels 1-3): Do you want to become a better, faster reader? Attend this lab to get tips and tricks on how to improve your reading skills. Statement of Purpose

Workshop (Levels 4-6): Learn how to write an amazing SOP for gradu-ate school. GRE/GMAT Prepara-

tion (Levels 4-6): Find out the best ways to suc-ceed on the new exam Writing to Impress

(Levels 5-6): Impress your Language

Academy teachers and your USC professors with your academic style. Learn how to use aca-demic sources to power-fully support your ideas and enhance your schol-arship. Conversation Groups:

Practice speaking Eng-lish by level with USC students. This is an inter-active discussion in which you will participate in groups about several interesting topics. This is your opportunity to prac-tice and to ask questions to native English speak-ers. To sign up, go to www.usc.edu/

langacad Click on “Student

Information” Click on “Current

Students” Click on

“Language Labs”

Monday, February 11

Time Location Description Facilitator

11-12pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 1, 2 & 3

Rachel USC Student


Blaire USC Student

12-1pm

GFS 229 IELTS Prep Lab (Levels 2 & 3)

James Hutzell Instructor

GFS 228 GRE/GMAT (Levels 4, 5 & 6)

Jeminah Espinoza Instructor

GFS113 Writing to Impress (Levels 5 & 6)

Heather Robertson Instructor

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 1 & 2

Belen USC Student


Rachel USC Student


Luke USC Student

Wednesday, February 13


11-12pm

GFS 212 Reading Power (Levels 1, 2 & 3)

Nevena Fairclough Instructor

12-1pm

GFS 228 Reading Power (Levels 1, 2 & 3)

Nevena Fairclough Instructor

GFS 229 IELTS Prep Lab (Levels 2 & 3)


GFS 113 Statement of Purpose (Levels 4, 5 & 6)

Marisa Garcia-Crocker

Instructor

Students enjoy a sampling of Mexican

food at Olvera Street last Friday.

P A G E 3

Reading Power (Levels

1-3): Do you want to be-come a better, faster reader? Attend this lab to get tips and tricks on how to improve your reading skills. Statement of Purpose

Workshop (Levels 4-6): Learn how to write an amazing SOP for gradu-ate school. Speak English Fluently

(Level 1-3): KNOW THE CODE! Maybe you can speak some English, but when you hear Americans talking socially, they use different English. This lan-guage lab will give you everyday English phrases so you can understand what Americans are say-ing, answer quickly, and make new friends. Conversation Groups:

Practice speaking English by level with USC stu-dents. This is an interac-tive discussion in which you will participate in groups about several in-teresting topics. This is your opportunity to prac-tice and to ask questions to native English speak-ers. To sign up for Language Labs, go to www.usc.edu/langacad Click on “Student

Information” Click on “Current

Students” Click on “Language

Labs”

Tuesday, February 12


11-12pm

MRF 206 IELTS Prep Lab (Levels 2 & 3)


GFS 220 Statement of Purpose (Levels 4, 5 & 6)

Marisa Garcia-Crocker

Instructor

THH 205 GRE/GMAT (Levels 4, 5 & 6)

Jeminah Espinoza Instructor

GFS 212 Writing to Impress (Levels 5 & 6)

Heather Robertson Instructor


Anastasia USC Student


Jackie USC Student


Rachel USC Student

12-1pm


Rachel USC Student


Anastasia USC Student

Thursday, February 14


11-12pm

THH 107 IELTS Prep Lab (Levels 2 & 3)


ALL NEW STUDENTS!!! MANDATORY IMMUNIZATIONS

ALL NEW STUDENTS MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING IMMUNIZATIONS/

BLOOD TEST:

· 2 MMR VACCINEs

· T-SPOT BLOOD TEST

If you did not receive these vaccines/blood test, you must go to the USC

Engemann Student Health Center immediately! If you already received these

vaccines, you MUST provide documentation to the Health Center.

ALL NEW STUDENTS MUST HAVE THE T-SPOT BLOOD TEST AT THE

USC HEALTH CENTER.!!!

P A G E 4

American Culture

Students Sample Mexican Culture By BOO SEONG KIM

Many foreigners live in Los An-

geles. They create their own inde-

pendent districts, like Chinatown,

Little Tokyo, Korea Town and so on.

Olvera Street is the Mexican version.

There are many different products,

customs, food, and life style which

are about a unique culture in this

place, which is called “EL Pueblo.”

“El Pueblo” means “town” or

“village” in Spanish. It is like a small

town or like a market, so people say

that it is “Little Mexico..” However,

it will feel not only like Mexico but

also like many kinds of Latin culture.

There are many kinds of activities.

Firstly, there are many restaurants.

You will taste original Mexican food

like tacos and enchiladas.

Secondly, there are some per-

formances for citizens or travelers

(foreigners) in the park every week.

So you feel like you are in Mexico.

If you want to visit there, it is so

easy. First, many people recommend

the USC Tram. You can take the

tram for free from campus and get

off at Union Station. Olvera Street is

just a block away from the train sta-

tion. For more information, you can

visit the website www.olvera-

street.com.

BIG BEAR LAKE By ABDULLAH BIN

KOLAIB

Big Bear Lake is lo-

cated in San Bernardino

County, on a very high

mountain. The most inter-

esting thing there is a big

lake on the mountain. It

has very nice weather in

the summer and snow in

the winter. You can play in

the snow or go skiing or

hiking. I went there last

month, and I stayed for one

full day.

I left home at six a.m.,

and I drove my car from

LA to Big Bear for about

two hours. At eight p.m. I

was back home.

After we arrived, we

had breakfast, and then the

fun time started. Usually

when I go there in the win-

ter, I look for the snow. I

like to ski, play and build

snowmen. The trip will not

cost a lot for the groups,

but for me and my wife it

cost about $200.

Before you go to Big

Bear, you have to have

some equipment. First, you

have to wear heavy cloth-

ing and gloves. Second,

you have to buy chains for

your car to be safe on the

slippery roads. Finally, you

have to drink a lot of water

because the oxygen there is

light. The water will make

up for the shortage of oxy-

gen.

In short, I like to go to

Big Bear in the summer to

relax, and I like to go there

in the winter to play and

have fun. I love that place.

Abdullah in the snow at Big Bear Lake during their day trip.

Drivers put chains on their tires when it snows in winter.

Old-fashioned hand kissing for the ‘lady.’

Language Academy students strolled

through Olvera

Street and enjoyed the colorful scene.

P A G E 5

they will go back home on New

Year’ Eve. At that time, everyone

loves to see each other. After dinner,

they will see the CCTV Spring Festi-

val Gala because that is one of the

most important celebration customs.

In the early morning, many senior

citizens get up early and they will

cook a good breakfast for their fam-

ily members. Parent usually give

their children “hongbao”, which is a

red envelope with money inside.

After breakfast they will go outside

and visit some relatives and friends.

Almost everyone is dressed in his or

her best new clothes. When people

meet on the way, they say to each

other “Happy New Year.” Friends

and relatives pay New Year’s calls

and give presents to each other.

_______________________

Chinese New Year 2013 In

Los Angeles

Language Academy students can

join in the celebrations of the Lunar

New Year in Los Angeles. China-

town, of course, is the center of the

activities.

More than 125,000 come to China-

town for the New Year events, ac-

cording the International Business

Times:

“The festivities begin at 11:00 p.m.

on Feb. 9 at Thien Hau Temple,

where attendees can burn incense,

make offerings, watch traditional

dancers and witness 500,000 fire-

crackers in action.”

The Golden Dragon Parade starts

at 1 p.m. It marks the highlight of the

celebration

For more information about this

weekend’s events, go to the Chinese

Chamber of Commerce Website at

http://

www.lagoldendragonparade.com/

Event.html

By YOUSEF ALWASEIFER

One of the main challenges

that students must know how to deal with during their academic life is stress. Stress could result from the high demand on stu-dents to achieve their best, or from a heavy workload. For ex-ample, having lots of major ex-ams in one week and fixing the car at the same time could in-crease the risk of having stress.

Of course stress could affect the students’ life negatively and result in lower grades. Therefore, it is important to know how to deal with stress and how to tackle it.

One of the solutions for deal-ing with stress is to reduce work hours. Since lots of work could result in stress, it is important for a student not to accept extra ir-

relevant work and other responsi-bilities that may not improve his school performance.

The next solution is that the student must allocate some time for relaxation and take some time to breathe lots of oxygen in order to boost his energy.

Additionally, the student must avoid procrastination and delaying his homework because it may accumulate and create lots

of stress when dealing with it all together.

Finally, a student must al-ways think positively and avoid negative thoughts because some of our problems come from nega-tive thinking.

In conclusion, as a student facing lots of challenges I thought that I would like to share some techniques that I personally use when dealing with stress because they really helped me overcome this obstacle.

Dealing with Stress

Chinese New Year continued from p. 1

MUSIC

Faculty Recital with Mark Weiner

Wednesday, February

13 : 7:30 p.m.

Alfred Newman Recital

Hall

Free

Composition faculty Mark Weiser

presents a solo piano recital of Bach,

Brahms, his own work—High Veloc-

ity—and music by Thornton composi-

tion faculty Donald Crockett and

Stephen Hartke.

FILM

Violet and Daisy

Tuesday, February

12: 7:00 p.m. to

10:00 p.m.

The Ray Stark

Family Theatre,

SCA 108

Free, obtain tickets online at http://

web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/32/

event/901071

Violet & Daisy is the story of Daisy

(Saoirse Ronan) and her surreal, vio-

lent journey through New York City.

USC Libraries, Outside the Box

[Office], and Cinedigm invite you to a

special preview screening of Violet &

Daisy, Written & Directed by Geof-

frey Fletcher

Followed by a Q&A with Academy

Award-Winner Geoffrey Fletcher

(Best Adapted Screenplay, Precious),

moderated by SCA Writing Professor

Howard A. Rodman.

USC Language Academy

Rossier School of

Education

950 W. Jefferson Blvd.,

Phone: 213-740-0080

Fax: 213-740-0088

Web: www.usc.edu/langacad

Campus Calendar: February 8-16

The Academy News is a weekly newsletter pro-duced by students in the Journalism Elective of the USC Language Academy. All students in the Lan-guage Academy Program are encouraged to send news stories and photos to Sonja Lovelace at [email protected].

Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Information”

and then click on “The Academy News.”

P A G E 6 F E B R U A R Y 8 , 2 0 1 3

The Academy News Spring 2013 Staff

Editor: Abdullah Bin Kolaib

Reporters. Yousef Alwaseifer, Alibek

Bissembayev, Yating (Chara) He,

Xiaowen (Sharon) Liang, Lora Son-

bol, Assel Tasbolatova

SUDOKU Fill in the squares with numbers 1-9. For Sudoku instructions, go to http://www.sudokuessentials.com/.

FREE EVENTS Enjoy free events on campus during the semester. Please go to the Arts and Events Calendar for more details at http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/32/feature/2819

The Academy News - February 11, 2013

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