Exploring Batavia

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What is the best way to learn English? I had been asked this question many times. To me, the best way to learn any language is to actually be in the country where that language is commonly used. Thus, I think the best way to learn English is to come and study in America.

On May 22nd 2014, GCC welcomed 29 Japanese students to come study as part of the ESL (English as a Second Language) program during the summer. This program helps these international students enhance their skills in English that will prepare them for the college courses that they will be taking in the Fall semester.

IMG_3561According to Kathleen Klaiber, GCC English and ESL Instructor, GCC incorporated a summer tour to the school’s ESL program to help increase student knowledge about American culture. For many years, she had been working to coordinate wonderful trips for ESL students to various places around Western New York.

Last Friday, the class took a tour around Batavia by B-Line bus to see some of the attractions in town. As the bus drove around, Mrs. Klaiber pointed out important places that students may want to know such as the library, hospitals and post office. Student Erin Kanno said that this was her favorite part of the trip.

IMG_3639After the bus tour the group visited the Peace Garden and the Holland Land Museum in downtown Batavia. At the museum, students were able to learn about the birth of Western New York and the old living style of the people back then. “I want to stay in the museum longer, because I like history” said Kentaro Kawase, while Yu Shimizu hopes to visit the museum again once her English improves.

Afterward, the students ate lunch at Rancho Viejo, a Mexican restaurant in Batavia. For most of them, it was their first time eating Mexican food. “I like it, Mexican food was surprisingly delicious.” said Hiroki Yoshida. The most fun part for students was dessert at Oliver’s candy shop. “I really enjoy the candy shop, it is really cute. Japan doesn’t really have cute candy stores like that.” said Mina Horiuchi.

IMG_3676The trip ended, but this is just the beginning of the summer. There are still many adventures to have and many places to explore. In the upcoming weeks, these students will get to visit the Jello Museum, Jazz Festival, Kiwanis Park, Lechworth State Park, Niagara Falls  and many more places. At GCC, learning doesn’t necessary take place only in the classroom and certainly, the summer tour had successfully prepared many students for their next step in education in America.

Star Gazing

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Summer at College Village may seem boring, but we have roughly 30 students staying in this big dormitory under one building and most of them are new Japanese students who have just arrived at GCC. Because it is the summer, it may not the best time to explore GCC as an international student, but to me this is the summer of youth.

With not many people around, we learned everyone’s name very quickly and soon became friends. Friday was beautiful day with nice weather. I bought a big watermelon and invited the international students to come watch Batavia’s sky at night. We all sat at the basketball court as we enjoyed slices of watermelon, strawberry, snacks and green tea. Everyone brought a little something to contribute to this star gazing night and we all came with a smile!

It was a great opportunities for them to get to know more about all the other students. In addition, it was a chance for them to practice English. So, I had everyone introduce themselves, their major and hobbies. We talked through the night about how coming to GCC is a whole new experience with so many new things to learn about the American culture. We shared stories about our hometown and how different they are from Batavia.

The night ended with a challenge to eat dried salmon with whipped cream! We all had a good laugh at the reactions of our brave challengers. It was fun and we made it happen, after all, we are a community here at College Village!

 

 

Work and Play in Disney

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pciture5After the first few days of training, we were able to access all the parks including the water parks. In my free time, I enjoyed the benefits of being a Disney Employee. I rode every ride I could, and ate everything I could afford. My Disney experience as a cast member was something I will never forget. Would I ever come back and do the college program again? Yes and no, I loved my experience however, if I were to come back to Disney again, this time I would apply for the professional internship. Professional internships are very competitive and give college graduates training in the areas they hope to work in the future. The professional intern we had at our work location was responsible for everything the other managers were responsible for. A good percentage of professional interns at Disney are later given jobs in the work location they interned for or other locations throughout Disney property.

Adjusting to the Disney College Program

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The first week or my program was hectic, I attended two trainings in the first few days. The first was Disney traditions, which consisted of everything and anything Disney related, the second day was food and safety training. After these first two training days, I received my nametag! NametagI spent the rest of my time moving in, running to the grocery store, and learning more about my roommates. We were living in a three-bed room apartment, each room had a bathroom and a walk in closet attached. They were very nice and came furnished with just about everything we would need. Our building is located right next to the pool, workout center, and laundry facilities, which my roommates and I were excited about. My next day of training was located at the Grand Floridian, which was an orientation day, followed by the introduction to my workplace.

CostumeMy job at 1900 Park Fare is a seater and greeter. My job consists of checking guests in at the podium and confirming information such as party size, party mix, ages of guests in the party, and if they are staying at a Disney Resort. My other possible jobs I may have to do include seating guests at the appropriate tables, or folding napkins and stuffing silverware for the following morning shift.  My job is relatively easy; I do work with a lot of other college program students from throughout the world as well as several from within the United States, which was an awesome learning experience.

Lima’s Party on the Patio

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The Lima Campus Center will be kicking off the summer with their annual Party on the Patio on Tuesday, June 3 2014 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. 

Fun at the 2013 Party on the Patio

Fun at the 2013 Party on the Patio

The Ghost Riders, a country music band with a twang will be out and about to entertain! Visitors of all ages can also enjoy free refreshments including hot dogs, watermelon, dessert, chips and lemonade – all provided at no cost. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit out on the Campus Center lawn with their family and friends or they can dance and sway to the music. The event will occur rain or shine.

Before the Party on the Patio and starting at 4 p.m., the Lima Campus Center is also hosting a free College Information Session specifically for homeschool families interested in learning about New York State’s High School Equivalency Diploma. Through GCC’s ACE program, homeschool students have the opportunity to earn 24 college credit hours applicable to the NYS High School Equivalency Diploma and also toward a GCC associate degree.

The Party on the Patio is fun for all ages!

The Party on the Patio is fun for all ages!

“Once again, this event is a perfect way to start summer featuring two great community events that are both free and open to the public,” Patty Chaya, associate dean of both Lima and Warsaw Campus Centers. “We are hoping for another great turnout!”

Adventures with Mickey

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Welcome My first day of the Disney College Program consisted of thousands of college students waiting in a line. Everyone seemed just as confused and excited as the next person in line did. The information they gave us was very limited but made me excited to find out more. I wanted to know where I was working, where I was living, when I started, whom I was living with and I had so many other questions.

THome!he first worker gave us a planner with our work location on the back; I was going to be working at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. I was ecstatic; I was working for such an amazing company and was going to have the privilege at working at their flagship resort.  The planner also said I would be living in Patterson Court with five other girls. Five other girls, I was nervous that it would be hard to get along with so many other people all the time.  The rest of the day was a blur; we were given instructions about training and an itinerary for the following days.

Back to Reality

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Over the past weekend, the largest fashion show in Western New York took place right at Genesee Community College. The four months of extremely hard work that so many students had put into Ethereal was wrapped up in a single day. As the weekend festivities come to a close and the new week starts, the Fashion Show Production students who created the show came back to their 9 am class to discuss and evaluate all aspects of Saturday, the day of the shows. Collectively, we have all heard such positive things about the shows. We’ve learned that some attendees even wanted to purchase garments made for the show! photo-1
Aside from the fashion aspect of Ethereal, the after party in the Cafeteria was also an amazing accomplishment. Professor Amy Slusser who is the Faculty Advisor for Tourism and Hospitality Management is the head of the after party in the Cafeteria and works one-on-one with the fashion students to make the annual fashion show as successful as possible. This morning in class, Professor Slusser visited the fashion students along with Professor Dudkowski to reflect on the weekends fashion bash. “The cohesive plan throughout the entire semester made it easier to keep with the plans for the party” was just one of the many encouraging words from Professor Slusser. The theme for the show was decided in the fall semester of this academic school year and has stayed constant throughout the spring semester. photo-3
I think the transition from the runway to the after party was so smooth because of the similar elements in both rooms. The cream canopy overlay was similar in color and draping style to the table cloth that covered the tables in the cafeteria. Bringing in outside floral elements and moss in for both the end of the runway and the unicorn kept the consistency of the theme throughout. Also, the décor of both the runway and the cafeteria fit the idea of “Ethereal”. Overall, I think the Ethereal, the 33rd Annual Fashion Show was a great success. The cohesive plan that started in the forum and ended in the Cafeteria really was a transformation into a new world. The work between all of the students who contributed in the production of the show did an amazing job.
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Viva La Vida

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Viva La Vida will be this Friday May 2 from 6:00-10:00 in the Student Union.

Viva La Vida PosterIt will be a fun night where students can dance to Latin music along with other popular music!

There will be food, games and prizes at the event.

Tickets are $5 per person and can be purchased ahead of time or at the door.

Taalibah at Medina Campus Center

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On Wednesday, April 23 from 6 – 7:30 pm at the Medina Campus Center, Taalibah Amatul-Haqq will be presenting about alternative medicine.

personal-care2Taalibah runs Wildflower Natural Foods store located in Medina, New York.  She is a graduate of Boston College, and has been involved in the study, teaching, and application of alternative and complimentary health care for almost 40 years.

She is the president and manager of Wildflower Natural Foods, Inc of Medina, NY, which she established in 1984.

Taalibah is also presenting an Alternative Health Education Program at Lee-Whedon library in Medina.

OC87 – The Obsessive Compulsive Major Depression Bipolar Asperger’s Movie

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Filmmaker Bud Clayman’s documentary is a personal story with universal relevance – a wildly original documentary of pain and vulnerability, empowerment and his quest for belonging.

Throughout his youth, Bud’s future was filmmaking. After college he headed to Hollywood in search of a break. Instead he had a breakdown. Thirty years later, in an effort to reclaim and share his story, he made the movie of his life.

“I want people to understand,” says Clayman, “there is more to mental illness than pain and problems. My recovery is about acceptance and getting on with life.”

On Thursday May 1, The Mental Health Association in Genesee County and the Reel Mind Theatre & Film Series presents OC87, The Obsessive Compulsive Major Depression Bipolar Asperger’s Movie by Bud Clayman in the Stuart Steiner Theatre at 7pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

After the screening, there will be a question and answer session with Bud Clayman, Co-Director Glenn Holsten, and Clinical Director at the Rochester Psychiatric Center Dr. Larry Guttmacher, M.D.

There will be an additional screening for students from 12:30pm – 2pm. Suggested donations for both showings is $5.

For more information, call the Mental Health Association in Genesee County: (585) 344-2611

This project is made possible through the Reach Grant Program, a decentralization regrant program administered by the Genesee Orleans Regional Arts Council.