International Student

Meet our newest blogger: Pinn!

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Heyo GCC fellows!

I’m Pinn and I’m an international student from Vietnam. This is my first semester at GCC and I’m majoring in Computer Information Systems at GCC. This is an intro blog so I’ll will throw at you some random intro points about me:

  • Having been at GCC for 6-7 weeks, I’m pleasantly surprised to find so many international Japanese students are enrolling at GCC. I’ve always been fascinated with Japanese culture and I never imagined coming to GCC would offer me an indirect cultural exposure to “The Land of the Rising Sun.”
  • Coming from the tropical and humid equatorial climate of Vietnam, I’m preparing myself (physically and mentally) to fight head on with the intense winter sneakily creeping into Batavia.
  • One thing I crave the most after coming to the US is coconut water, which is much more expensive here compared to my home. But on a brighter note, I have easier access to fresh blueberries, cherries and certified-quality nuts (walnut, pecan, almonds…) which can be considered a luxury in Vietnam.
  • I love K-pop and my favorite group is Epik High. Tablo, a Korean-Canadian leader and producer of the group, studied English Literature at Stanford University so many of his songs are produced in English. I am rarely interested in rap, but many of Epik High’s rap songs are at the top of my playlist because of their poetic nature and clever wordplay. If you have only heard about K-pop for BTS, I recommend you check out one of Tablo’s English raps, “Dear TV” which tackles the modern demon of tech and entertainment shows.
  • I love graphic design and have been tinkering with and learning to use Adobe software since middle school. I used to think I could take on graphic design as a career but I later realized I lack the artsy-ness and patience, so I’m keeping it as my hobby.  

I read almost all the student writing on this blog before arriving at GCC and their blogging provided many helpful tips about being in America and being a student at GCC.

I hope my future blogs will be able to do the same for other students.

The Differences between Japanese and American Fashion

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The Differences between Japanese Styles and American Styles

By Ayaka Yamanaka – Fashion Business Merchandising Student and japan fashion imageInternational Student

I’m an international student from Japan. When I came here, I was sometimes surprised by some styles. People from Japan don’t wear leggings as a pants. When Japanese women go work out, they wear leggings as sportswear. Moreover, when they wear dresses, they wear leggings under the dress because they wouldn’t like to show their skin. Leggings are one of the trends fall/winter 2018-19. So, many women will wear leggings this way.

japan fashion image 4

japan fashion image 5The second difference is a way of showing less skin. Japanese women lack confidence of their body shape types, and many women diet. Because of this, they would like to hide their body shape. Recently, many women have been wearing wide pants to hide their legs, and if it’s in the summer, they don’t wear cropped tops that show their torso.

japan fashion image 2Of course, some Japanese women wear skinny jeans. If skinny jeans become a trend, some Japanese women try it, because trends are important to people in Japan. Sometimes, if you walk in Omotesando, where is very popular place to shop in Tokyo, you might see same handbags many times.

Trends are more strictly followed in Japan versus in the United States. In the USA, trends are not as important as in Japan, but Americans dress similarly. In Japan, the trends are more important, and there is more variety in what Japanese people wear. I have enjoyed observing the differences in fashion of the two countries.

Student Blogger Intro – Zerin Firoze

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I am a sophomore International student at GCC from Bangladesh. I am a scientifically literate individual and I am very passionate about science and secular activism. I love to advocate for science and secularism during my free time. I love the United States of America because of its advancement in science and technology, gender equality, secularism, democracy, freedom of speech, LGBTQ rights and diversity. I hope to be a US citizen someday.

I am an introvert. I have always loved reading and writing. So, the position of being a blogger and news assistant at MarCom is perfect for me. I am honored to be a GCC blogger.

I’m really passionate about the science clubs, but also plan to explore all kinds of campus activities closely so that I can make great and accurate blog posts.

New Year Celebration in Kazakhstan

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Hi GCC blog readers, in this blog we want to talk about Christmas and New Year’s celebration in Kazakhstan. Holidays like New Year and orthodox Christmas are the most favorite holidays in Kazakhstan. We have two dates of Celebration New Year and one date to celebrate Christmas. The first date is 31 December to 1 January and the second date of New Year’s celebration is 22 March.

The main attributes of these holidays in our country are Christmas tree and Santa Claus like in the US Also another aspects are food and beverages, especially Champagne. In Kazakhstan people call Santa Clause differently. Santa Klaus in Kazakhstan knocks the door and come in with a lot of gifts for the kids.

Orthodox Christmas is celebrated by Christians that is not the majority of population. They spend a night on Christmas day in church and celebrate it at home on the next day.

Also we have New Year celebration on March 22. This date is celebrated only by Muslims. 22 March is a day of Vernal Equinox. The tradition to celebrate New Year on Vernal Equinox is common for many eastern countries. Many Muslim countries celebrate this date similarly. They cook a lot of traditional food. And spend this day at home with all members of family.

So about how people prepare for New Year. They buy a lot of things include food. First of all, people buy gifts for family and friends. Food is principal for New Year’s days. People cook a lot and also buy food in markets. Right before New Year people go outside to make fireworks. After celebrating New Year people spend a lot of time at home, they watch movies or TV and eat a lot.

Celebrating those holidays is so important part of the year for people of our country, and especially it is important to celebrate it with friends and family.

– Zarina & Sabina

 

Our College Experience

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Hello readers of the GCC Blog,

Our names are Zarina and Sabina, we are two international students from Kazakhstan studying Digital Art at GCC.   We are not good in writing stories about ourselves. Thus we decided to write about GCC and Digital art major.

About GCC. We found this college on Internet while searching colleges with appropriate tuition, fees and location. In GCC we love that we can learn new things that we can apply in the future job. This college gives many opportunities to international students. There are many international events and many clubs that you can join.

About Digital Art. We like going to Digital Art classes, because we love creating new projects that we have never tried to do before. We can express our ideas and share them with other students. There are not many students who study Digital Art major here in GCC. The students help each other. We can practice and develop our skills while attending digital art classes.

About MarCom. We decided to work here because we would like to get new experience. I hope MarCom will give us good experience. We want to know the many sides of Marketing, how it works and decide in what field of future work we would love to work.

We are supposed to graduate in fall 2018. After graduation we hope that we will get a good job.