cindyatmonash
Cindy Youssef Joined: February 17th 2008
Logged in: August 27th 2009
Logged in: August 27th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
Masters Students!
G'day Everyone! Hope you are all doing well and heading into a great change of season, whichever it might be :) This past week, I've just experienced my very own southern hemisphere "Spring Break '08!" Though it only lasted a week, it was a very busy and exciting time! We started our Spring Break celebrations a bit early, with our Roberts Hall Ball on Thursday night. The best way to describe this annual event would be to compare it to Prom, but with much less stress. Many of the departments at the university hold their own ball. For instance, during August and September, we saw advertisements for the Medical, Pharmacy, Engineering, and Malaysian Students' Balls. Our ball was for just the residents of my dorm, Roberts Hall. I really liked this idea because I've really gotten ... read more
Well, you'll all have to excuse the several posts from me all of a sudden!! I've had a chance to catch up on a few things so I thought I would go ahead and catch you up on what I have been doing since the second semester has begun at Monash! I realised that I haven't told you all what I've been doing in my new classes this semester!! I have two FANTASTIC classes this semester! These two units are my core subjects, meaning that they are compulsory for my degree program. The first course is a seminar called "Wars of Recognition: Terrorism and Political Violence." This course, which is team taught by a professor and a PhD student, focuses on the establishment of the relationship between globalisation and the forms of political violence (terrorism) that ... read more
Naomi
Well as we are all readjusting ourselves back to life without the intensity that was the Olympics, it has given me a bit of reflection time about what the past two weeks really meant to the USA, to Australia, and even to the world. It was definitely interesting to experience the Olympics somewhere other than your own home country! My friends invited me over to an Opening Ceremony party to celebrate the opening of the two weeks of non-stop sporting events. When I walked into the house, I was definitely reminded of the fact that I wasn't in the USA--there were flags, party streamers, hats, blow up fingers...all in the colours of Australia! Haha we did take some pictures, but I vowed not to show them, so as not to tell my friends back home that ... read more
Welcome!
Well, as I mentioned in my previous posting, I headed down to Christchurch, NZ in July for two weeks of work/site-seeing. As you saw from my other pictures, the city was so fantastic! I loved being able to travel around and find beautiful scenery, very kind people, and a variety of wonderful attractions all around the city. However, the main reason I spent some time in Christchurch was my involvement with the New Zealand APEC Voices Program. Many of you know that I work with the Virtual Trade Mission International (VTMI) in organising APEC events. For those that don't know about this, I began my involvement with APEC as a student representative with the Furman team sent to Santiago, Chile in November 2004. Ever since that trip my sophomore year, it seems that the travel bug ... read more
On the way!
Hello Everyone!! I thought I might take some time to share some photos and stories with you about my mid-year holiday trip to New Zealand!! As I was planning on going to New Zealand at the early part of July for an APEC conference (more on that in a separate post), I decided to build in a few days before the conference to explore and find my way around Christchurch, the "international gateway to the South Island"! I had a wonderful couple of days and got to meet heaps of very interesting people while traveling. I arrived in Christchurch at 11:30pm on Thursday night, but I didn't make it to the hostel until 1:00am! If there is one thing I can say about NZ, it's that their Customs/Immigration Department are just absolutely meticulous with everything that ... read more
Family
Now while many of my US friends spent the fourth of July having an outdoor barbecue, watching the fireworks, and reflecting on what an amazing nation they live in, I spent the weekend with 80 university and graduate students at Anglesea Recreation Camp. Though not a patriotic trip of sorts, I had a wonderful time at my first Coptic University Convention in Australia! For those not familiar with the convention scene, Coptic conventions aim to bring together Coptic youth of the same age group and spend days in spiritual enrichment activities. These can be lectures from priests/bishops/leaders, divine liturgies, and lots of free time activities (sports/games/etc.). It's kind of like a mini-summer camp, but it comes during the winter and summer months. It's also a great way to network with other Coptic people, especially if you ... read more
RC of Rowville
The month of June found me tied up in finishing final examinations and planning some holiday travels. However, before I left anywhere I had the opportunity to visit several more Rotary clubs between mid-June and mid-July, including two clubs outside of District 7750. I've really enjoyed the opportunity to travel around the district and even within this region and hear the stories of Rotarians. Having the ability to interact with such high profile individuals who have given so much of their time, effort, and even their careers to the goals of Rotary is something that is truly humbling and encouraging. I really hope that one of the things I am able to accomplish in my life is the opportunity to dedicate my professional life to one of service for my community and for the world I ... read more
Old Parliament House
One of the places that I wished to visit while here on my Rotary scholarship was a trip up to Canberra. When I met Louisa Dow, a Rotary Peace Fellow who's going to Duke in August, she offered to let me come up to Canberra and visit her. I spent four days touring all around Canberra. For a city that has a population of about 330,000, the city was very unique and you could definitely tell there was an architectural difference in style. The story of Canberra's birth is very interesting: during the time where Australians were trying to decide on whether Sydney or Melbourne would be the capital of the country, someone suggested building a city known as Canberra (which means "the meeting place") which was equi-distant to both cities. Even during the construction some ... read more
Angie's 21st
Hi Everyone! It has be a long time since I've posted. Last time I posted, we were beginning our exam period (the month of June). Well while everyone was studying and taking their finalls, we squeezed in a bit of fun :). Exam month lasted from 6 June until 27 June, but luckily I finished up on the 5th! Some of the fun things we did included cultural dinner nights, trips to the city, and some hall activities. Though it was hard to keep quiet while others were taking exams, we all really enjoyed getting together and de-stressing after exams were over. Here are some photos of some of the fun times we shared during the month of June. Cindy :)... read more
RC of Hampton
Hello Everyone! I can't believe we have already come to June 2008! Time is passing by very quickly :) Well, in the past few weeks, we have turned in all of our papers, presented all of our projects, and taken any unit tests...we are now in EXAM time! I have to say, I really lucked out with my timetable this semester, because both of my exams will take place this week (2-6 June). During my time off, I've planned a few exciting travels, lots of Rotary engagements, and some volunteer work...which I'll probably post more pictures and stories about, as they come along. As for now, there has been much happening in my Rotary side of the world. I've just completed several club visits and presentations. It has been so cool to travel to different clubs ... read more
