Dorm items! Part 1: Organization/Storage

Hey guys, 

This is part of a segment that I decided to start doing on my blog. Once a week or so, I'll do a post on items for dorm living. I'm obviously not an authority on what you should and shouldn't bring and I'd definitely recommend that you look at other people's college packing lists, but I just wanted to show some items (with pictures) that helped my friends and I when we were in the dorms. I'll start off each post with how this applies to Michigan State University and some of their dorm rules/items. I would definitely recommend that you shop around for these items. I just picked the links randomly, mostly from Target, Walmart, and Amazon, but I'm sure that if you searched, you could find them for even cheaper. Also, none of these are affiliate links.

Today, I'll start with items for organization/storage in the dorms! I'll write about a couple different dorms, since a lot of them are different, and if you have any questions about specific dorms, just comment below and I'll try to find out for you. 

In Hubbard (North for sure, I think South as well) and Holmes: In terms of storage, the school provides you with a lot. There is a small "closet" with a pole for hanging clothes, and a shelf where you can store out-of-season clothes. They have a dresser with four large and deep drawers, and each of the desks have one drawer. They have a modular, stackable unit with two shelves and one drawer, which you can move around. 

In Wonders: There's not as much storage here, in my opinion (then again, I never lived there. But my friend did and I was there almost every day second semester). They have a dresser with six drawers I believe, because they're not nearly as deep as the ones in Hubbard. They have the same closet, with the pole for hanging clothes. Their desks are much nicer, because they have four drawers on the side (kind of like the one pictured, except instead of the plain wood backing on top of the desk, it's a cork board). But they don't have  the stackable shelves that Hubbard has.

Organization

This Sterilite 3-Drawer Medium Cart with wheels. Actually, I think my friend got this when her roommate left it behind but whatever. This is very tall, about as tall as the desks in Wonders (where she lived) and she stored her food and plates and stuff in it. The dorms provide a lot of storage space (in Hubbard we had a tall four-drawer dresser, as well as our desk and three stackable shelf things), but if you want to be more organized then this is perfect. And it has wheels! 

This Sterilite 3-Drawer Desktop Unit. I actually had two of these (although neither of them were exactly the same as the one pictured... One only had two drawers with the flip top lid, and the other had three drawers but a flat lid). I used one of them to store my makeup (and actually, I wish that I had bought this one for that purpose) and I think I got it for ~$5 at Walmart (note, the link contains a set of 4 from Amazon). I set the other one on my desk and put my school supplies like pencils, sticky notes, tape, scissors, etc. in it. This isn't really all that necessary if you have something to organize them in the desks because Hubbard has a pretty nice drawer, but I like being able to open it and sort it. 

I wish that I had this one for my storage supplies. I'm not usually that organized (I'm really messy unless I'm supposed to be studying or doing homework...) but when I get in a cleaning mode, I really like organizing. I think I'll buy this one before I go back in the fall, actually. 

My friend had an ottoman like this one. I can't find a link, so I'll update with one, but I'm pretty sure I've seen them at Walmart and Meijer and Target. Pick one that lets you store stuff inside, and you can use it to store pretty much anything. My friend used it for extra clothes, and it provided a seat and also she used it to climb onto her bed. (Her bed wasn't lofted, but even so it stands about four feet high. Which isn't fun if you're short like us. I just put one of the University-provided wooden shelves under my bed and pulled it out to get on my bed at night, but her dorm (Wonders) didn't have them. 

This. It's a Sterilite Stacking Basket, Size Small, but I can't find a link that matches. I bought a pack of three (in pink) from Target and used them to store my nail polish (the ones that I bought with me, anyways), and left the other two at home. I had another basket (Sterilite brand too, I think, that I bought at Walmart) that I stored in my drawer-dresser to organize food. It's also a nice way to keep things separate if you/your roommate don't want to share. 

Some of these Hello Kitty buckets. I really love Hello Kitty, so yeah. Anyways, the price on Amazon is a total rip-off, because I ended up buying a lot of these from the dollar section at Target. These were awesome and useful. I used one for my makeup brushes, one for plasticware (so we didn't have forks and knives strewn across the room...), one for the makeup that I wore daily (since I had an 8AM and didn't want to be running around the room while my roommate slept).

I had a couple of things from the dollar store, too, that I took pictures of before I started setting up my dorm, so I'll probably update with those. You can see a couple of them in my dorm haul post, but I did buy more after that post, so I'll update later. 

My next post will be food-related items for the dorm. 

Hope this was helpful if you're starting to plan out checklists and moving lists! I know that I started thinking early and getting some boxes ready early, but I was still scrambling, last minute, on move in day. But here's some items that were useful to me and my friends, just to give you an idea if you happen to see them on sale! 

`Rakuzen

End-of-the-year

You know it's bad when it takes four months to update. Sorry! I am actually all moved out of Hubbard, done with my freshman year. I have a lot of posts in mind and hopefully I will get around to them now that it's summer!

First of all, if you're an incoming MSU freshman and you're finding this because you're researching your new school, CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING ACCEPTED! I love MSU a lot. This really was one of the best years of my life to date, I had an incredible experience at MSU and I hope you do too!

Last year, I did a post on AOP, so if you're interested/scared/nervous and want to read up on it, I wrote about my experience there. If you go into my archives a little, I did some posts on things that I bought for moving in.

I guess this is just a little bit of a catch up. I feel like it would be kind of pointless to do move out posts since everyone's already moved out, so I'll work on doing those later.

Opening the floor to you readers! If you have any questions about East Lansing or MSU, I'll do my best to answer them! I did get some pictures of my empty dorm right before I moved out, so I'll try to post them up. And I know that dorm assignments don't come out until August, but if you're curious, I've been inside: Yakely, Wonders, Case, Holmes, Hubbard, Akers, Owen and Van Hoosen dorms. And if you've been assigned to another one and are curious about how the dorms look, just let me know because my friends were scattered around all of campus.

So, an update on me first, I guess. I have:
1. Become an e-board member for Pilipino American Student Society. Yay! I am treasurer, and super excited about it. Stop by the table at Sparticipation in the fall, it's such an amazing group and you'll have a lot of fun.

2. Picked a place to live next year! I will be living in Van Hoosen Hall with two of my friends. Van Hoosen Hall is an on-campus, all-girls apartment building. It is so nice in there! A meal plan isn't required and it has a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and a bedroom. And air conditioning. I am so ridiculously excited.

Err... I guess that's all. For now. Anyways! If you're an incoming freshman or just looking for things to decorate your dorm, feel free to follow my pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/rakuzen/dorm-room/

Anyways, ask away you guys! You can comment on the post or email me at rakuzen.lee[at]gmail.com, if you like. I'll definitely be posting more now that it's summer, so stay tuned!

Another post on international students.

Normally I would ignore the kind of searches that lead people to my blogs.

But someone found my blog by searching "msu chinese go home." (Upon googling that myself, I found that I am on the second page of results.)

Okay, whoever found my blog using that site. I assume that it's also someone who either contributed or likes the racist twitter, MSU's Token Asian. (And you can link that yourself, there's no way that I'm giving that person hits from my blog).

First, go ahead and read my post on rooming with international students. You can replace "rooming" with "living," "going to class with" or "seeing on a daily basis." You don't have to be Chinese-American like me to make friends with international students (I'm going to go ahead and say Chinese students for the rest of the post, just because that's what led someone to my blog, and I have mostly made friends with international Chinese students). I promise. You just have to be a civil human being, willing to reach outside of your comfort zone and make friends of a different culture.

Let me first address a few stereotypes. This article addressed some of them, so I'll just use the ones that they said and put my own ideas on it.

"A Chinese student at Michigan State University finds his car spray-painted, the words reading "Go back home."

I learned about this in my anthropology class last semester. And it just made me so sad and so angry. In class, we assumed that the vandal chose the car because of the brand (it's really no secret that most of the Chinese students drive really nice cars: BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Lexus.) But really? Jealousy doesn't look good on anyone. I really cannot find any other reason for a person to want to ruin a perfectly good car with paint, than because he (or she) was jealous of the car. There's always a yellow Camaro sitting in front of Hubbard and I drool and admire it, but really? Spray-painting it? And honestly, if they spent the time they used concocting a plot to spray paint the foreign cars (in Chinese letters) on studying, they wouldn't need to be vandals. Or jealous.

the pseudonym “haha,” disputed that the Twitter feed (MSU's Token Asian) was hostile -- “you guys confused making fun of [A]sians as being racist when it is not” – and suggested that the reported problems stem from the Asian students’ own self-segregation.  “Asian International students are SO innocent,” haha wrote. “They stick together and are too full of themselves to bother connecting with the non-international students at MSU. When you purposefully, separate yourself from the other students at the University[,] [w]hat do you expect? How about you guys stop being so rude and arrogant to the rest of us and let us talk to you, maybe do some language exchange, go out for coffee... or something!”

 Let's see... how to address this. Okay. Let's say that you (you being used in general, not you the reader... although if you were one of the people who thinks this way, feel free to think of it as YOU) go to France or Spain for a college program because you studied the language in high school, and only one of your friends went with you. You're both about the same proficiency at the language (which, let's face it, can't possibly be that good if you only studied two or three times a week for six years without using it in your daily life). Everyone there, even if they haven't known each other for very long, are fluent, native speakers with different customs than you. Who are you going to talk to?

If you're one of the people who are trying to be friendly and welcoming and get the very most out of a different culture, you'll try to be friends with the native students. But if you're unsure of the language, nervous, shy, then you'll probably try to stick with your friend from home.

It's the same with them. As for the rude and arrogant and "let us talk to you" part of the comment, I semi-addressed this in my other post. I mentioned how I had smiled at an international student who immediately looked away. After being offended for all of two seconds, and then willingly LISTENING to what other international students said, I learned that it was a culture difference. Just go up and talk to them!

There are already so many racist people in the world. I was walking around Holmes Hall a few months ago with a group of my friends (all Asian-American, born and raised in America), and a boy with a group of his friends started doing the "Gangnam style" dance as he passed us. Was this necessary? Did this do anything, other than stroke his ego? We were all so surprised that we didn't say anything to him.

But a month ago or so, my friend and I were walking around Hubbard caf. My friend moved to America from South Korea in 6th grade, so he's fluent in English and everything. He was wearing a shirt with the Paul Frank monkey on it which is really popular with international students, and this American domestic white idiot jock guy started speaking fake "Asian" to him (ching-chong, nee how, konnichiwa. And yes, I know that konnichiwa and ni hao are REAL words in Asian languages, but it's the sentiment behind them that people use that makes the difference) and he turned around and, in pretty good English (he still has an accent) was like "Are you talking to me?!," getting pissed because he'd had a bad day and the guy immediately backed off. So just don't do it. You'll end up being the one who looks like an idiot.

Anyways, I just hope that if you're reading this, then you can think back about your encounters with international students and realize that they're just here for an education, like you. I will mention that of course, there are some people who give international students a bad name. Just as there are some people who give the domestic students a bad name. But is it really necessary to try and "fix" this by vandalizing or insulting? I'm really hoping to be an OCAT aide next year, to be a part of the solution. But there are other ways to fix it. Introduce yourself to an international student, strike up a conversation. Attend programs that the MSU Office of Culture and Academic Transitions puts on (like their brilliant "OUR MSU" signs program.) Go to the MSU International Center's Coffee Hour, or Bridges International, both of which offer language exchange and the chance to talk to international students.

CATA Bus System

It's almost time for a new semester! (I'm seriously counting down the days... Only another week to go and I will be back in my lovely dorm!) That means new classes, new friends, new classmates, new hallmates (I know a few new people will be moving into my hall, at least!).

I'm so excited! But I'll try to focus. Today, I will write about the CATA Bus System, which is the public bus system for Lansing and East Lansing. During the semesters, CATA operates "Spartan Service," which has routes all over campus.

One thing: I had never ridden a public bus before I got on campus (I know, I know). If you're like me, let me teach you how to request a stop on the bus.

Step 1: The bus announces the next stop. Most of the buses do this, but some don't. I once sat on a bus while it went through two routes because it never called out the stop (this was during the first week of classes, when I wasn't familiar with the East Campus Boarding Center at all). If in doubt, just ask the person sitting next to you. Or the bus driver (if they're friendly).

Step 2: Pull the yellow wire. I can't find a picture online. But basically, it's just a long yellow wire pressed against the window that winds around the entire bus. If it's winter and you're trapped in the middle of the bus, politely ask a person sitting down to pull it for you.

Step 3: Try to exit out the back of the bus. This is actually what a sign inside of the bus says. It just keeps the traffic down to a minimum. My biggest pet peeve is when riders are getting off the front of the bus (where people get on the bus), causing everyone outside of the bus to wait. And then the bus driver will just start moving even if you're not seated. 

Also, I opted not to buy a bus pass when I first got on campus because, according to google maps, all of my classes were really close and easily walkable in under ten minutes. Okay, that might be true. I don't know about you, but I'm a really, really slow walker so Google's estimate of five minutes ends up being like fifteen minutes for me. Plus, I get lost easily.

So: If you're new to campus, buy a bus pass. If you're not going to explore campus a little before class starts (I know this semester, there isn't really any time to explore as classes start on Monday the 7th), buy a bus pass. You can always sell it later if you find that you have no trouble getting around campus (lucky you), or that you hate public transportation. (Honestly, I hate public transportation. But I hate walking even more, so I choose the lesser of two evils).

Bus passes!

You can buy them online on CATA's website. Under fixed-route passes, they have a few different options specifically for students. A semester pass for $50, a 10-ride card for $6, and a 31-day pass for $18. (Note: if you're paying the fare with change and you don't have a pass, you have to show your MSU ID and it's 60 cents). I caved on the first day of classes and bought a semester pass at the CATA station, but I'm not sure if they only sell them in August. You can also buy them in Akers Hall. But just order it online and have it sent to your dorm. I plan to for the second semester, as I'm getting to MSU on the 6th (Sunday), so that I can go straight to classes the next day. It's a great value if you rely solely on the bus. Just ride the bus at least 83 times, and it will be worth it. My friend bought the 10-ride card at first because she was riding her bike, so she kept it in her backpack in case it started raining or was too snowy for biking, but then later bought a semester pass because our friend sold it to her for cheap. The 31-day pass is good for the same reason, buying during the snowy/cold period if you don't plan on using the bus often/at all in the good weather.

One thing: TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUS PASS! So many of my friends misplaced their bus pass and I have no clue how. I carried around a Vera Bradley wristlet (not bragging, it's just something I received as an open house gift) and my ID and cards were all shoved in there. Also, if the bus isn't super necessary for you right at the beginning of the semester, if you wait a month or so, usually people will start selling them for $30-40.

Tips for riding the bus:

1) If in doubt, ask the driver! If you don't know if the bus you're riding will take you to Wells Hall (I think only the 30 South/East, 25 North Harrison, and the 39 University Village buses do that) or wherever, just ask the driver. Most of them are nice. Even if they're not, they will begrudgingly answer you. 

2) Thank the driver. It's so rude to just ignore the driver. On-campus, most of the drivers work the same route everyday. So they just might remember you, especially if you're riding the same bus every day/other day. And if you're running late and running to the bus and it's already their takeoff time, they could totally just pull out without waiting for you. Good manners, people!

3) PLEASE DON'T SIT BY ME. I guess this isn't really a tip. But if you see me on the 30/31 bus route, don't sit by me when there are plenty of other seats (with no people next to them!). That is one of the reasons I hate public transportation: I hate sitting by strangers. It doesn't matter if they try to converse with me or not, it's just annoying. 

4) If you're paying (aka not using a pass), please, for everyone's sake, have your money and ID ready. Or if you're using a pass, have your pass ready. Nothing gets everyone aggravated more than waiting for someone to dig through their bag for their ID and sixty cents. Especially if that someone had been standing at the bus stop for a few minutes. Along that same line, unless you can multitask effectively, please don't use your phone when you're getting on. Or on the bus, unless you can talk q-u-i-e-t-l-y. 

Hm... I guess that's all. Other than a quick rundown of the routes! If you're new to campus and trying to plan out your schedule (what bus should I take? Where should I go? When will the bus come?), feel free to e-mail me your class locations and I'll be glad to help you. I spent a lot of time riding the bus around for fun. I know most of the stops on most of the routes, and those that I don't know, I'll find out for you. rakuzen.lee [at] gmail dot com.

Something to know (I'm mostly familiar with the 30/31 bus route because that's what I ride the most). Buses 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 all stop at the CATA station. So if you're on the 30 bus and you need to be on the 33 bus, if you get off at the CATA station then you can wait for the 33 bus to come.

30 bus: There are two buses: one that goes to South Neighborhood, and one that goes to East Neighborhood. Make sure that you look at the writing to make sure that you're not going to East instead of South. Obviously, if you're starting out at East Neighborhood you won't really have this problem. But if you're getting on at the CATA station, then be careful!

31 bus: Goes to Brody Neighborhood and East Neighborhood.

32 bus: Goes to the Commuter Lot. I haven't ridden it before though... Maybe that's what I'll do next semester.

33 bus: West Circle Neighborhood and South Neighborhood.

The 30/31 bus route consists of four buses that do this: Bus 31 Brody-bound starts at East Neighborhood, makes it to the destination of Brody Neighborhood, changes routes to 31 East Neighborhood. When the bus (same bus!) reaches East, it changes to 30 South, then when it reaches South Neighborhood, it changes to 30 East. When it goes back to East, it changes to 31 Brody and starts the route all over again. So be careful! Make sure you get off. This is where I ended up on the bus for over half an hour because it had to cycle through the routes.

More posts coming~! Mostly just general information ones.

`Rakuzen

Home.

This past semester, I've been going home on the weekends for a work obligation. I come home on Friday afternoon and leave on Sunday.

Friday marked the last day of the semester. I will not be at msu for three more weeks.

Right now, my heart is begging to go back. It's silly, none of my friends are there (they're all at home), I have nowhere to stay (the dorms are closed unless you pay a fee).

But in just a semester, I feel like Michigan State is my home. I can't wait to stay for four years.

Rooming with an international student

Chances are, you might get an international student as a roommate. If you know nothing else about Michigan State, know that there are a TON of international students. Especially in Hubbard hall/East Neighborhood, where I live. My specific experience is with Chinese international students (who probably make up the greatest majority of international students).

Okay! So, my roommate is an international student from China. One thing that I have to say is that I went into this KNOWING what I was getting into, and with an open mind. I willingly changed rooms so that I could have an international student as my roommate, and it is such an amazing experience.

Something I should mention is that I'm an American-born Chinese, born and raised in America, but I've always been super interested in my culture and background. Since I've been here, I've made a few international friends and they're always really surprised that I know a lot about China and listen to Chinese music, because generally the attitude of so called "ABC" students is that of apathy (which is definitely the attitude that I've experienced first hand with a lot of my Chinese American friends).

Anyways! My roommate and my dorm experience has been FABULOUS. But like I said, I knew that I would be rooming with a foreign student. I know that when the roommate assignments came out (in the beginning of August), tons of people were really bummed and downright nasty that they would be "stuck" living with a foreign student. For different reasons! Here's some that I heard:

1. They won't speak English. (Actually, they HAVE to know English to come. It is obviously not perfect. But just imagine taking Spanish/Chinese/French/whatever language you learned in high school, then going to study abroad in a country that only spoke that. Plus, why else would they come here?)

2. They don't have a Facebook/twitter/instagram. (Okay, if they're Chinese international, there's a reason for that. Facebook and possibly Twitter are blocked in China. Just e-mail them and wait for a response. I actually use QQ, which is a popular Chinese instant messaging system, and so when I e-mailed my roommate for the first time I included my number for her to chat with me on there, since I figured that she wouldn't check e-mail a lot. It worked! Plus QQ has added features like a "facebook-esque" page, where users upload pictures of themselves.)

3. They'll be weird/different/strange. (There's a word for people like you: xenophobic. SUCK IT UP. College is a great time to get exposed to new cultures. Maybe your high school was completely small like mine (I was the only Asian, remember?), but now you're going off to college and then off to the real world. We already have enough racist people in the world, be a part of the change.) 

Some other rumors about international student (and this is dealing with them in general, not just living with them).

1. I knew a Chinese exchange student in high school and she was not talkative/prissy/spoiled. (I have heard these and definitely thought that before I went to college. Not talkative? She's probably unsure about her English. I'm studying Chinese and I try my hardest not to speak it to my roommate. Prissy/spoiled? This is one that maybe not a lot of domestic students have heard, but my ABC friends say it a lot. China has a one-child policy and so yes, some of the students can come from very rich, high-class families. Just be friendly.) 

2. I smiled and tried to be friendly but they just glared at me! (Okay uh, I don't know if other people say this. This is my own, though. In America, super common to smile at people. I grew up working in food service where smiling = tips, so I smile way too much. One day, I smiled at this girl because we made eye contact and she glared at me and turned the other way. I talked to both my mom (who moved here 10 years ago) and my roommate about this. They're a little colder in China, and usually don't smile as much. Even my mom was taken aback by the smiling when she came here. Plus, if you smile at them, then they might think that you want to correct them or that they said/did something wrong, which makes them shy. Don't take it personally (although sometimes I still do. Now I have a horrible problem of covering my mouth when I smile so they don't notice). 

3. They laugh/giggle when I talk to them! (Don't take it personally, they're probably just shy/unsure of their English again. Don't be judgmental and correct them on every other word.) 

Anything else? If you have questions, feel free to ask. But MSU has this fabulous program from the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions office (OCAT), where there are Intercultural Aides in each building. I think it might be one every couple of floors? To be honest, I have never met the one who lives on my floor (her door is never open and she's never there...), but I have a few friends who are Intercultural Aides and they are super nice and ready and willing to help you if you're having any problems culturally.

Don't try to outcast or ignore international students, just because they're foreign. Their culture is just different than America's. Yes, they'll make mistakes when they write/speak, and maybe they'll do things that are acceptable in their culture but not here. Correct them gently, but only if you're in a position where you CAN (random person walking past is NOT acceptable). Get to know them! They're here to improve their English and to get an education.

So yes, this is something I feel strongly about. I love my roommate, and I'll be living with another international student next year (more on that another time...). I have met so many people who need attitude adjustments. It's college! If you have a closed mind, complement it with a closed mouth.

My MSU Admission Experience

Hey! I'm back (and it didn't take me two months). I have lots to tell you guys, but first I wanted to write about my admission experience.

I should mention that I had applied to 7 or 8 colleges: University of Michigan, Spring Arbor University, Ferris State University, University of Detroit-Mercy, Alma College, Hillsdale College, University of Washington and Eastern Michigan University, and so I wanted to apply early to make sure that I could get into at least one.

It took me almost the entire school year to hear back from the school. I submitted my application as soon as I could, for early decision, which ended up being at the beginning of October. (The MSU admissions website recommends applying by November 1 for maximum scholarship consideration).

On December 8th (two months later), I got an e-mail saying that my "portal" (which is something MSU uses to keep in touch with you about your application) had been updated. I'd been deferred for the first time. Not a big deal, lots of colleges were making their decisions and I had already been accepted by Alma, University of Detroit-Mercy, Ferris, and Spring Arbor (yeah... I applied as soon as I could).

But as it got closer to May 1 and I had to make my decision, I got a decent scholarship package from UDMercy, and so I sent them a deposit and planned on going there if I didn't get accepted to MSU. So, I had my backup in place and didn't really expect to get in. I mean, I'd already been deferred, and I'd been rejected from the other colleges that had deferred me.

But on March 30th, I got another e-mail saying that my portal had been updated. I was for sure I had been rejected. I was accepted.

It was fantastic and exciting. I was really geeked out. And so, I asked my friend who had gone through the same process as me, with the defer and all, if she'd been accepted or heard anything yet. No, she hadn't. She called the admissions office everyday for the next two weeks and they were apparently telling her that they weren't making decisions yet, before telling her that her application had been in a different pile and she would be accepted for the spring semester but not the fall.

It was weird and unexpected. We'd had basically the same grades (not very good) through high school, same activities and all. So yes, it could have been luck that put me first. But also, my first trimester of senior year hadn't gone very well. Senioritis had struck. But a teacher at the school, the athletic director/"vice principal" had stepped in and made me do a weekly progress sheet to make sure that I studied and did well. He could have saved me. My second trimester grades were fairly high, the ones that were sent to MSU, and I think that made the difference.

STUDY HARD, KIDDOS! AND DON'T GET SENIORITIS. Yes, I got accepted. But, I didn't have a very good financial aid package and have to work hard in college to make up for it.