Dorm life

[hhhcce]

I am interested in knowing how is the life in the dorm. Can recommers tell me those interesting things happened in your dorms? Thank you.

[anushree87]

I am interested in knowing how is the life in the dorm. Can recommers tell me those interesting things happened in your dorms? Thank you.

Dorms are pretty interesting in the US. It was a bit of a culture shock for me at first because most dorms are coed with coed bathrooms but once you get used to it, it's really fun. I live in a suite with 8 people within an entry of about 50 people and everyone is really nice. On weekends we watch movies or walk over to Boston for ice cream or just hang talking out till the wee hours of the morning.

[sujend]

wut u mean by coed...
u mean boys and girls share the same toilet and etc!...
:?

[anushree87]

wut u mean by coed...
u mean boys and girls share the same toilet and etc!...
:?

It depends on the university. At MIT most dorms have shared coed bathrooms. My friend at Harvard told me that their dorms are coed by floor...so it depends...it's not really a problem once you get used to it though. I've never had any trouble.

[jay3349]

Dorm life is fantastic. Students often think that by living alone they will have lesser problems compared to dorm-style living. I can guarantee you, the small problems are just not worth it.

If it's your first time away from home, give yourself 1 month to get away from the homesickness. Don't give up too early or you will regret it. Others might look so poised and so immune to homesickness, but trust me, everybody feels it. They just don't show it.

After that 1st month, you will have the best time of your life. All those late night "discussions", the crazy stuff your dormmates do, it's just fantastic.

If you are worried about how you'd get along with your dormmates, don't worry. You just have to be a little understanding, and you try to forgive all those things that they do that really irritate you. And try keeping topics like religion, race, ethnicity out of your conversations. If you cannot avoid the topic, explain to them why their misconceptions are wrong, and if they persist, just leave the matter.

SO, don't miss your fun. If you have the chance to live in a dorm with your classmates, DO IT!!!!

[hhhcce]

wut u mean by coed...
u mean boys and girls share the same toilet and etc!...


But, I heard people said that there are only communal bathrooms in the US Universities. I think it is quite scary.

[anushree87]

When they say communal, all they mean is that a few people share 1 bathroom. In my suite, it's 8 people. That's not very scary.

[iQing]

To me, dorm's life is very bad. The toilet and bathroom are dirty all the time. And the worst is i have to clean the the room myself. Imagine a thick layer of dust will accumulate in all corners of your room just after weeks. Sometimes, there are inconsiderate cluster mates around who blast music. It makes u hard to concentrate on studies. Any complaint will usually fall on deaf ears.. Homesickness is another problem. I envy those local students who can go back home everyday. Life in dorm is not sth u should experience if u have the chance to stay at home sweet home... Wondering why there is no teleport in this world??

hello king of complain :)

so you only can stay in 5 class hotel and expect 5 class treatment?
looks like you are a spoilt kid who knows how to complain in life only.

enjoy a lifelong of crybabying..

perhaps you are also one of them who cannot stand on your own feet in life.
need a gold plated tongkat?

[sunshine88]

To me, dorm's life is very bad. The toilet and bathroom are dirty all the time. And the worst is i have to clean the the room myself. Imagine a thick layer of dust will accumulate in all corners of your room just after weeks. Sometimes, there are inconsiderate cluster mates around who blast music. It makes u hard to concentrate on studies. Any complaint will usually fall on deaf ears.. Homesickness is another problem. I envy those local students who can go back home everyday. Life in dorm is not sth u should experience if u have the chance to stay at home sweet home... Wondering why there is no teleport in this world??

Life outside there isn't your home...Everything's is not done according to your comfort...C'mon Utoreal...after all life isn't a bed of roses..U should look at the positive side instead and avoid seeing everything as something ruining your life....Just tolerate..overcome.....be patient...friendly....optimistic
And u feel envious of students who get to go back home everyday....?Feel lucky for where u are..as u're in the process of learning and adopting to a new enviroment in advance,with self-reliance on one side and independence on the other....Not everyone gets this chance.....like me now(well,maybe in future)...I have many friends and sisters who lived are living in dorms....I do ask them how are they 'surviving'...but it seems that they're aren't annoyed and move on with their life as normal..They simply reply t"biasala...."...They don't complain much.....
Frankly....don't be such a 'sweet' childish,Utoreal :P

[iQing]

everyone keep in mind that Utoreal rejected JPA scholarship because he think his course is not high class enough for him and blame JPA for not giving him UK or US.

what a jerk loser.

[vseehua]

To me, dorm's life is very bad. The toilet and bathroom are dirty all the time. And the worst is i have to clean the the room myself. Imagine a thick layer of dust will accumulate in all corners of your room just after weeks. Sometimes, there are inconsiderate cluster mates around who blast music. It makes u hard to concentrate on studies. Any complaint will usually fall on deaf ears.. Homesickness is another problem. I envy those local students who can go back home everyday. Life in dorm is not sth u should experience if u have the chance to stay at home sweet home... Wondering why there is no teleport in this world??

hmm... you gave me the impression that you had never cleaned your room yourself when you are in home... if you clean it at least once per week, i can't imagine much dust on in your room..

and one more thing... living in a hostel is how you learn to be independant from your family... take it as a chance for you to grow up... never let the feeling of homesickness affect you too much, as you are one of those priviledged enough to experience life outside of our own country... do appreciate it...

any problems with the other hostelmates can be discussed and solved... that's how we all do our things here:)

[koln_auhc]

dorm is fun,especially when you have people of other nationailty.

[sunshine88]

everyone keep in mind that Utoreal rejected JPA scholarship because he think his course is not high class enough for him and blame JPA for not giving him UK or US.

what a jerk loser.

I've been noticing this before...Why lerr u kutuk him a lot...?He's just pouring out his problems here...and we're are here to guide and help...as much as we could...iQing...iQing...

[iQing]

everyone keep in mind that Utoreal rejected JPA scholarship because he think his course is not high class enough for him and blame JPA for not giving him UK or US.

what a jerk loser.

I've been noticing this before...Why lerr u kutuk him a lot...?He's just pouring out his problems here...and we're are here to guide and help...as much as we could...iQing...iQing...


sometimes a slap is a way of helping someone to open their eyes :)

[vseehua]

sometimes a slap is a way of helping someone to open their eyes :)i think you didn't slap sometimes... you slap all the time... =p

[janewai]

sometimes a slap is a way of helping someone to open their eyes :)i think you didn't slap sometimes... you slap all the time... =p

iQing can be considered as an old mate in Recom... This is his style... I thought everyone knows that... You guys should know the meaning behind his words :twisted:

[vseehua]

iQing can be considered as an old mate in Recom... This is his style... I thought everyone knows that... You guys should know the meaning behind his words :twisted:i know... hehe... been here long enough myself to see that... heh heh... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Patrick]

Well, sometimes, you just have to suck it in and get used to it.

At my place, I'm given a small room to share with a roommate. The room once had no power sockets. All you get is one ceiling fan, one study lamp, and a ceiling light. You can't even LOCK your door cause they don't give you the keys. So, your belongings have to be locked properly.

Yeah, and different people have different sleeping patterns. Someone's time to wake up is another's bedtime. You just have to tolerate that.

Each floor of my hostel has a communal toilet. They stink. The showers don't even have shower heads, and water is retained in the cubicles cause things get stuck in the hole.

Some people are very insensitive when it comes to talking loudly etc. They just don't feel embarassed shouting over the phone as if they want the whole world to know what they're bickering about.

[sunshine88]

U don't only have dirty toilets in dorms..but in school as well...
Well,Utoreal,i quite understand your problem...Sadly,i don't have much to say...Take this as one of your experience..Like what i've said earlier,nothing out there will follow our nature.Adjust..adjust
Well,try to be more civilized than them.U still have a long way to go before u get adapted to the situation..Or u can bring the issues that really needs to be dealt with to the related authority...
ha..hah..u wanna relax...?that's the essence of life...?Relax after u had a busy day...That's fine...But if relaxing is life...then we are no difference to a corpse...
If u're saying that dirty toilets and loud music are uncivilized...then i don't know how u would react for tonnes of others......out there
Utoreal...are u given to much of pamperings at home...?No,i mean..if i wanna complain like u..then my list will start from bad taste of food to strange looks from strangers...which really brings discomfort...But i can i complain...?U can almost spend the whole month complaing about this and that...but nothings gonna change in the blink of an eye......For things to change...u must change first.

[meselsohnstahl]

dont be a spoilt brat..

life's not easy, k? and what makes u think u didnt contribute to the dirty state of the toilet/shower/etc? u used it too, didnt ya? if u think its dirty, why not help clean it??

life's like that. u'll have to meet ppl u dont like, and u'll also meet ppl u like. the world cant revolve round how u and only u want it to be..

neway, yeah.. in emma(cambridge), we get our own rooms. i have to share a toilet and shower with several other ppl(ok, we have two toilets and two showers on myu floor, but we have bout 10 ppl using them). And im a muslim girl. and there are guys on my floor..in fact my neighbour's a guy.. but its not too bad, u just have to live with it.. know ur limits.. O, and did i mention that everytime i want to go to the toilet or shower or kitchen, id have to wear my tudung? Im not complaining. I like this place.. I know I could've had it worse..

if u're still having problems, try talking to ur neighbours. they might just surprise u. they probably dont realise that what theyre doing is bothering or annoying you..

[sunshine88]

sometimes a slap is a way of helping someone to open their eyes :)i think you didn't slap sometimes... you slap all the time... =p

iQing can be considered as an old mate in Recom... This is his style... I thought everyone knows that... You guys should know the meaning behind his words :twisted:

yeah..i know that well too... :P

[clvn]

Life isn't all that gloomy.

I'm living in the cheapest possible dorm option but things are pretty swell. Its a triple, but I've had no problems. If you're lucky to get considerate roommates, and if you're considerate enough yourself; your stay at the dorm will be rather pleasant. My roommate brings in adoring girls occasionally, and neither my other roommate nor I mind. No one complains when I bring in my gal. Music is important to all three of us, but we've always got headphones off. If anyone wants to stay up late, he has to settle with using his own lamp, leaving the main lights off.

Don't worry about co-ed bathrooms. You simply cant tell who's in the showers or in the toilets, unless you want to bend down and judge from their legs. People would probably think of you as weird then though. For once, the authorities trust you with these matters of decency and all. And soon, you realize that this is nothing to you. It all becomes blase after a while. And someone cleans my toilet periodically, so it never gets unpleasant.

I'm actually in a position where I'm getting sick of buffet dorm food, where I'm getting too much lasagna, pizza, steaks, hamburgers, soda, chocolate cake, ice-cream etc. Don't fret about dorms. Just walk up to the board and make the dive. More often than not, you wont sink but you'll swim, and swim rather well at that.

[hhhcce]

Life isn't all that gloomy.

I'm living in the cheapest possible dorm option but things are pretty swell. Its a triple, but I've had no problems. If you're lucky to get considerate roommates, and if you're considerate enough yourself; your stay at the dorm will be rather pleasant. My roommate brings in adoring girls occasionally, and neither my other roommate nor I mind. No one complains when I bring in my gal. Music is important to all three of us, but we've always got headphones off. If anyone wants to stay up late, he has to settle with using his own lamp, leaving the main lights off.

Don't worry about co-ed bathrooms. You simply cant tell who's in the showers or in the toilets, unless you want to bend down and judge from their legs. People would probably think of you as weird then though. For once, the authorities trust you with these matters of decency and all. And soon, you realize that this is nothing to you. It all becomes blase after a while. And someone cleans my toilet periodically, so it never gets unpleasant.

I'm actually in a position where I'm getting sick of buffet dorm food, where I'm getting too much lasagna, pizza, steaks, hamburgers, soda, chocolate cake, ice-cream etc. Don't fret about dorms. Just walk up to the board and make the dive. More often than not, you wont sink but you'll swim, and swim rather well at that.

Thank for your detail explaination. Sorry, are you Calvin Teng who got the Astro Scholarship to UC Berkeley recently? Because CLVN assembles Calvin. How is the life in California? I heard my friends said that the standard of living in California is quite high and hence the foods and accomodation are expensive

[clvn]

Darn, there goes anonymity. Life is pretty wonderful here. Berkeley has among the most expensive, if not the most expensive accomodations of US colleges - 'cause of the food, weather (think AC temperature for most of the year) and its proximity to the bay area.

[chenchow]

On hostel life, I would say that it is one of the ways for us to build understanding and tolerance. Each of us would have different living style, and I have lived in hostels throughout my 5.5 years of studies after SPM. In fact, I rented a room with some friends in Form 4 and Form 5, so that makes it 7.5 years of living in hostels.

I would say that we learn through mingling, and in an atmosphere of different culture, we learn through understanding one another. While different people may behave differently, we live in tolerance. If your neighbour is too loud, try to talk nicely to them. Sometimes, we ourselves might be too noisy, and our neighbours come over and ask us to be quiet. As a rule of thumb, usually weekday's night is usually quieter, whereas on Friday and Saturday night, and sometimes including Thursday night, it gets a little more rowdy.

On quiet environment, I believe if we are the type that could not stand much noise, then we could perhaps explore spending more time in study lounge, library etc. If there is a will, there is a way. We could make things work.

Looking back after I have started working, hostel life is full of fun. That's where we get to mingle around, hang around, chit chat etc.

[iQing]

Perhaps hostel management should group all good residents together. Let the bad residents mingle with other bad residents. That should be the way.


I thought that is what your hostel management did?

you were with your kind of people. no ?

[caramel_nut]

I feel that Utoreal should learn to be more flexible while staying with other people. Hey, no man is an island.

I have stayed in dorm for nearly two years, met all kinds of housemates and room mates but I think it isn't really that bad. I did encounter housemates who love to blast their radios, never empty the dustbin, throw rubbish everywhere, blah blah blah..

When I can't stand the noise, I'll try to tell them properly. Well, I did remember yelling at two housemates once at 2 or 3 o clock in the morning when they made so much noise and I had A level actual exam on the follwing morning. As for the rubbish stuff.. tahan la...but I sweep and mop the floor when I can't stand the dirt.

Overall, dorm life isn't too bad. Both of my former room mates were very nice people. All of us have some idiosyncracies but as long as we respect and tolerate each other, we make our own lives easier. Be flexible and learn to adapt lor.. Don't be a spoilt brat la. When you step into the society one day, you'll have to learn to tolerate other people too.

[iQing]

conclusion :

Racist cant live in a communal dorm life

(read utoreals posts, he mentioned racial stuffs. )
(anyways, utoreal make chinese very malu. a shame to have his kind in the race)

[sunshine88]

conclusion :


(read utoreals posts, he mentioned racial stuffs. )
(

i did read his posts before...He did mentioned that he likes u because u're a chinese,right..?

[anushree87]

Whether you like dorm life or not is a matter of personal choice.....but advocating racism is just disgusting.

[taufiq]

make sure to attend any meetings or programs if available.
get to know more interesting people out there and discuss on various topic.
there's no point living in the dorm just to sleep a lot or study the whole time and just meeting abd talking with fellow malaysians.

[iQing]

conclusion :


(read utoreals posts, he mentioned racial stuffs. )
(

i did read his posts before...He did mentioned that he likes u because u're a chinese,right..?


haha. he did hint that he wont hate me if I slap him across his face because I am a chinese but he will hate a malay who save his life when he almost die in a flood, because he is a malay.

Anyways,
the real funny thing will be, in the future when utoreal got married and have kids....

one day his wife come to him and say... sayang, actually my grandxxxxx and greatgrandxxxxx is a Malay and Indian.

*Utoreal dies*

anyways he is well known to be a spoil brat Racist.

me trying to be popular? neh I am more like an honest guy who will come to a racist and give a slap across his face.
All people are racists? that is something very funny :)
you live too much in your own world of hating each other mate :)
dont drag others dont to your hell. you never know you have malay or other races blood flowing in your veins LOL.

next time I will read how Utoreal complain about his stay in 5 star hotel LOL (havent heard any good thing from his mouth except about his chinese superiority statements)

[sunshine88]

There isnt anyone on earth who dont practice racism. ..

Swallow back this....It's a fallacious argument.

[iQing]

he doesnt know what is he talking about
he thinks everyone is like him.
seriously some chinese here even find him disgusting.
if you can find strong racism in him,
most probably he will practice nepotism, sexism, elitism, cronism etc. as well.

[clvn]

There is no fallacy. Utoreal's point is perfectly valid. Like will prefer like - thats just the way we humans are programed to think. And that has pretty much served the individual well over the ages. Perhaps the issue here is "practice". Perhaps you think that we transcend our innate self-preserving nature. True enough, a lot of us make a conscious effort to look beyond race. But there are always times when we slip up. And thats not even counting the things you do without thinking.

I'm not in any way condoning racism, loathsome as it is. But do look at yourself and tell me that it isn't there.

[sunshine88]

definition of racism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

See u think that what Utoreal mentioned is true-in a way that all the people in earth practice racism.However ,his idea is false.In his context he mentioned everybody.So,does that involve small kids who is yet to recognise racism.Besides,u can't be too rightful to admit that everyone to fall into the same idea as u.
And,Utoreal feels that his race is superior than the others.Ok...i look at myself and tell u.I never think that my race is superior than others. For me,every race has their plus and minus points.That's all.I don't think that my race has this and this,so my race is way better than others.

[Zeroth]

There is no fallacy. Utoreal's point is perfectly valid. Like will prefer like - thats just the way we humans are programed to think. And that has pretty much served the individual well over the ages. Perhaps the issue here is "practice". Perhaps you think that we transcend our innate self-preserving nature. True enough, a lot of us make a conscious effort to look beyond race. But there are always times when we slip up. And thats not even counting the things you do without thinking.

I'm not in any way condoning racism, loathsome as it is. But do look at yourself and tell me that it isn't there.

What about those people that had interacial marriage? They marry each other even though they hate each other?

[Wei_Ming]

I am more like an honest guy who will come to a racist and give a slap across his face.

Acting like the moral police in ReCom huh.

[iQing]

I am more like an honest guy who will come to a racist and give a slap across his face.

Acting like the moral police in ReCom huh.

no. more like mafia 8)


*kicks very hard at Wei Mings dangling testicle*

so ?

stop hijacking the thread or you will get more slapping.

[sunshine88]

relax,WeiMing..relax iQing...Pls. don't start your quarellings again..
:?

[vseehua]

Iqing, let me tell you. This world can not accomodate too many races due to culture difference. May be you think i am racist, but i still practice moderation. I don't hurt them, i just despise them. Iqing, i am a lot better than you who disguise urself behind the image of a kind and non-racist person. There isnt anyone on earth who dont practice racism. You just want to be popular by saying bad about me here. Ok, let it be, If that can bring ur sad world a littile bit of happiness. Since u like hostel life so much, u r destined to be a hostel guard. I guess..If all humans are like you, we would have destroyed ourselve without the need to global warming or the discovery of nuclear power... It's sad that there are people who don't know how to appreciate differences between humans. These are the differences that had enabled us to survive for so long as a species. And it's also the very same thing that had led us to advance leaps and bounds in terms of life quality since the very first cell was born.

I had met many many people who isn't racist at all, in Malaysia and Germany. These are the people who appreciates humanity, and not petty differences like you do.

I am sure the iQing is popular enough here, so there isn't a need to whack you just to get more popular...

My wish now is that sooner or later, you will come to realize that racism will do to you more bad than good...

Peace to the world~

[sunshine88]

In fact, Kuala Lumpur has been flooded with foreign labours from indonesia, be it legal or illegal. When u r in a comuter train, and sit beside the indonesian foreign labour, what comes to ur mind first? I thk most probably u will have an uneasy feeling. I have observed the situation that girls will usually stay away from indonesian foreign labour in comuter train.
Although we may claim that we are non-racist, but when u encounter that type of situation, see what u will do. The indonesian foreign labour are people as well. Why a lot of malaysian shun away from them.. This is a minor racism. Though people like non-racist like Iqing will say that i don't mind sitting with them. But, is that what he thks deep in his heart? He just want to present a nice image... Racism is rooted in everyone, whether u want it or not. Sometimes, we just don show racism towards other people , but in fact we are racist deep in our thinking. I thk self control is the only barrier to prevent racism from showing. That self control is very much dependent on what that particular race did to u.

about the girls staying away from the foreign labourers..U can't really be sure about that?It may be a matter of security..I'm sure u have heard of ladies being raped by them...Why so far..Utoreal..?Take me...I usually stay away from even a person of my own race whom i feel suspicious of.There might be smokers u may want to avoid.This staying away thing doesn't really show off ones racism towards the others...there might be other reasons for the girls u mentioned to stay away from strangers...
About your idea that racism is rooted in everyone...well..i don't have anything to say..as i have argued about it before..[/quote]

[caramel_nut]

Hey guys, I think you all should stop the discussion about racism here. Open up another thread for that..

This thread is for fellow Recomers to discuss about dorm life.

[Shoblast]

Ahhh, dorm life. I highly recommend starting your freshman year in a dorm, then going on to single living. There is simply no better way to leave the coop, so to speak, and learn how to interact with other people form various beliefs and practices.

Being thrown under one roof with various people who had, up till then, lived only with parents and siblings, is quite a sobering experience. Basically we were all a bunch that was completely new to this social interaction thing. You must quickly learn how to live and let live, appreciate differences, be a good mediator, etc etc.

I find that the first two months are a bit hard, but after that, people will naturally fall into their cliques, then the fun really begins. All the late night chatting sessions, group outings, etc etc. Highly possible to make friends for life. In fact, i have moved out for about 2 years now, and i still find myself often missing the camaraderie that a hostel/dorm life provides.

@<hidden> Utoreal:
Regarding the music, have you actually talked to them calmly about how it is affecting your studies, and failing that, have you talked to the dorm master about it? I've had your problem, and it got solved really easily with a quick and amiable chat with the person responsible. Have you tried diplomacy yet? Instead of shutting yourself up in a room and complaining about it online. They may even be intentionally doing it to piss you off because your attitude pisses them off.

As for the foreign workers, i am willing to bet that people shun them because they are foreign, their culture is unknown to us, their motives unclear, and we simply have no experience interacting with them. Therefore, our head fills up this void with all sorts of things, mostly bad. It is simply our nature to fear the unknown. And it is a good practice too. Personally, i don't think it has to do with racism, more of a lack of knowledge.

[Wei_Ming]

relax,WeiMing..relax iQing...Pls. don't start your quarellings again..
:?

I'm not interested in quarelling with him. Not worth my time replying to him. Just amazed at how the slightest of my posts can trigger the most emotional and unreasonable responses from him.

Anyway, dorm life has its pros and cons. Its how you live it that makes the difference.

[youngyew]

There is no fallacy. Utoreal's point is perfectly valid. Like will prefer like - thats just the way we humans are programed to think. And that has pretty much served the individual well over the ages. Perhaps the issue here is "practice". Perhaps you think that we transcend our innate self-preserving nature. True enough, a lot of us make a conscious effort to look beyond race. But there are always times when we slip up. And thats not even counting the things you do without thinking.

I'm not in any way condoning racism, loathsome as it is. But do look at yourself and tell me that it isn't there.
I guess we shouldn't lump "like attracts like" together with racism. In my opinion, they are not the same. It's true that many, if not most people would stick to people from the same race, country, or region, but that is far from being a racist, a person who upholds the following values:

1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

I agree that inherently, birds of a feather flock together, but doing so doesn't necessarily make everyone feel superiority in their own race, discriminate others based on race or hate other races.

[clvn]

blargh, I hate midterms

Youngyew, it appears that we are arguing over defintions
1) I look at the somewhat illogical preference for members of a certain race that is inherent in our subconscious and call that racism
2) You look at the practice that is born from the subconscious preference when it is intentionally raised to the conscious and rationalized, and call that racism.

And well, arguing over definitions is rather pointless. I shall refrain from that.

I must say this, however. I understand and acknowledge that your definition is the more practical - especially when tangible action must be applied to instances of racism - because of the relatively clear line it draws. I stick to my own though, because I think it is more truthful when examined in the realm of pure reason.

What about those people that had interacial marriage? They marry each other even though they hate each other?

I never said anything about hate. Neither did I say that racism would ultimately be the dominant force. It might be mostly filtered out, but it is still there

So,does that involve small kids who is yet to recognise racism.

Children are actually the most likely to look at the retarded, the handicapped, and the different colored (try a little chinese kid and a black man) and laugh/shy away. Of course, this never goes beyond this or become too pronounced, because the kid will not rationalize it.

[hhhcce]

Wait. I think you all have digressed from the main purpose of me creating this topic. I want to know more about your life in the university. Not how do you all define racism. If you are talking about racism in the university, I can accept it. I think you all must look at the topic first before you post. Don't argue with each other just because some differences in the point of views.

For those who are currently studying in the US, can I know what Toga Party is? Do you participate in any of the undergraduate reasearch programmes?

[chenchow]

For Toga Party, you could just google or wikipedia it.

On undergrad research, I myself do not participate in it, but I would say that a good percentage of students do participate in it, including many Malaysians. At Cornell, at least 50% of undergrad would be participating in undergrad research, and this figure could be even higher at some of the more research based institution. You could read more on this link (http://www.recom.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=4611)

So, if your interest is in research, then definitely you should go ahead and make full use of the opportunity.

[YunShyuan]

Ahhh, dorm life. I highly recommend starting your freshman year in a dorm, then going on to single living. There is simply no better way to leave the coop, so to speak, and learn how to interact with other people form various beliefs and practices.

That's very true, I agree with Shoblast. I lived in a dorm in my first year at university. It was a little difficult adjusting to the culture for sure. I remember the guys and girls kept drinking alcohol for every little event. I wasn't a big fan of alcohol. I am a social drinker, but not to the extent of putting a funnel in my mouth and chugging down 40 cans of beers.

As time pass, you get an idea of what you want, and what kind of residence you would like to live in. I am still living in a university residence, but it is an apartment. I share a room with a housemate from Shanghai. I still think living on campus as a student is useful. You get to keep in touch with varsity events, and still meet lots of friends from around the world. If you live alone or further away from campus, you don't get to experience much.