The classes

Last week, we had a wide variety of classes held by leading experts.

Two morning classes (3 hours each) were held by Lonjezo Peter Hamisi on the topics of International Intervantion, Civil wars, Terrorism and Religious fundamentalism. During the classes we had many discussion where we could throw around ideas or ask questions. All of us learned a lot from Peter.

We also had three afternoon lectures from Benoît Pelopidas, an expert in Nuclear weapons and Nuclear Non-Proliferation. The topics that were covered by his lectures are : Nuclear Terrorism, Non-Proliferation treaty (NPT) and Nuclear Disarmament. His sense of humour kept his lectures lively and engaging!

Friday morning, we had a class held by Camille Jones, a PhD student at Stanford, on Water - how it is polluted, how it affects us etc. This class was an eye-opener for a lot of us because we don't really spend much time thinking about where our water comes from and what it might contain. We also became more aware of the water-scarcity and water-pollution problems faced by people in Africa and South-East Asia.

Last, but definitely not the least, was the class held by Dr. Arthur Kian (he prefers just Arthur) on International Relations.

Photo creds to Lizzy!

Over and out.

San Francisco

Saturday was San Fran day! We left around 10 in the morning and arrived at San Francisco about an hour later. We took a walk through the Golden Gate Park (which is huge!) We had brought packed 'Stanford' lunches with us which some of us ate at the park (others gave their lunches to the homeless....so nice of them!) After that, all of us walked around, got coffee or just hung out.

We headed to Fisherman's Wharf where all of us split up and went wherever our feet took us. There were lots of souvenir shops, electronic shops and, most importantly, ice cream shops :) Pier 39, however, is what impressed me the most. Pier 39 was first developed by entrepreneur Warren Simmons and opened October 4, 1978. I expected a tiny, wooden walkway going into the Pacific. But, this was nothing like that AT ALL. It has all kinds of shops, lots of different cuisines, a video arcade and street performances etc. There is also a two-storey carousel (!!!) which is, probably, the main attraction of Pier 39 and the ride was even more fun than it seemed. There are so many other things you could do at the Pier...I spent the entire afternoon there and I still didn't have enough time to see and do everything there.

At around 6, we met at Ceasar's Italian Restaurant for dinner. After dinner, when most of us were almost asleep, we got onto the bus and came back to Stanford. Most of us hit the bed exhausted, but happy.

Over and out, dudes!

The busy Pier 39

USA's first public children's park

Pier 39

Sea Lions at Pier 39

Ceasar‘s Italian restaurant 

Boats docked at Pier 39

Another gorgeous from Pier 39

Finally here :)

Hey! This is just a short update on what we've been upto the past two days...

All of us arrived at Stanford on the 26th and we settled in at Durand house. And Friday, we had our orientation, introductions were made...and after lunch, we left for the Grand tour of the (awesome, fantabulous amazing.....insert other synonyms here) Stanford campus!! We came back and relaxed while those of us fighting Jetlag took a siesta. Six of us went to see Batman.

Getting to know each other and talking to people from all parts of the world has been fun and exciting!! Stay tuned....coming up next is our day in the glorious (and cool) city of San Francisco!!!

Over and out.

Durand House

The entire group (minus the staff) at the main entrance of Stanford

All packed up

At noon tomorrow, I will be boarding my plane to Stanford. I cannot wait! My bags are packed, my ticket's ready and the Stanford maps are printed out! I am READY (finally..lol)!! I am so excited I am shaking :D Cannot wait to meet everyone tomorrow....I will try to post an update with pics tomorrow. Peace!

Over and out, folks.

Off to Stanford!!

"Summer's almost here, flowers are blooming, warm breeze is in the air" - Nick Kier

Hey guys! My name is Navi and in two months, I'll be off to Stanford University (yes, THE Stanford University!) for a 2-week Leadership Academy Summer Program. This is my first time to USA and I am as excited as a porcupine meeting a pineapple. :D

What attracted me to this program was the variety in its core curriculum : Economics, international business and personal finance to environmental studies. Visiting university experts and outside experts will be challenging us with a new and exciting global issue everyday! Every single course in this program is about something that I love and I'm passionate about. I cannot wait to start!!

There are many other things, too, that I am looking forward to learning and experiencing this summer : university life, living in a dorm with a roomie (eeeekkk!!), experiencing the world-famous Californian beaches, seeing Palo Alto and San Francisco, meeting new people and getting to know them etc.

I will be posting more info on what we will be doing and what we can expect in the next two months. And when the program is underway, I'll be sharing pictures and videos too!! So, stay tuned!! Lots more to come!

Over and out.