Convergent Journey

A cuppa tea and a camera

Archive for ‘November, 2011’

The Week’s Roundup

By on November 11, 2011

I post pretty frequently as it is, but a few off-topic points usually don’t make it in. And so, I bring you weekly potpourri!

1. The Joy of Eating 

Few things in life give me greater joy than good food had with good company. Good company I can still find in spades here, but good food is a life pleasure that I’ve sort of forgone for the time that I’m in London. I eat, on average, one delicious meal per week. The rest of the week, I make do with yogurt, granola, sandwiches and whatever else.

I never even liked sandwiches to begin with. My mom used to get frustrated with me because she would pack me these nice sandwiches for school, and I wouldn’t eat them. It’s not til later in life that I realized, I just don’t like sandwiches. A burger or a panini I can handle, but when I move back to the States, I am never eating a sandwich!!!! Ever again!!!

Oops.. tangent. What I meant to blog about was my delicious meal of the week:

Busaba Eathai! Recommended by at least four people, this place was delish! I had a dish with chicken and thin noodles. I don’t remember the name, but it was flavored like pad see ew and had lots of crunchy Chinese broccoli cooked just so. What I loved about the place was the open space with communal tables, and the fact that they have big bottles of soy, sriracha and squid sauce in the middle of each. The dish was a little bland at first (I’m guessing, to suit the English palate), but once I added big dollops of sauce, it was a tasty delight.

2. English English

I was told that people here don’t speak with a “British accent,” since Great Britain refers to England, Scotland, Wales (… and, um, Northern Ireland? educate me?), each of which has a different accent. So it’s actually the English accent we anglophiles love.

3. American English

I’ve heard a number of times that in their teen years, people here wished they had an American accent. But they’ve since wised up; I asked one friend if she still feels that way, and she slipped out a little chuckle, which turned her polite “not really” into more of a “hells no!” Heehee.

About these ads
Leave a comment

LSE: 3, SIPA: 0

By on November 10, 2011

These days, when I talk to friends back at SIPA, I try to reel in my LSE/London enthusiasm, because on the flip side it could be taken as, “SIPA sucks and I don’t miss you at all!”

Which of course is not the case, at least not the latter part.

So in a nutshell, here’s what I think about SIPA: It’s possible to have a good experience, but the institution doesn’t make it easy for you. It’s a matter of finding a good group of people, hunting down the right professors and shoving your way past the crowds into their office hours. There are just too many students; the feeling that you are little more than a dollar sign to the administration is prevalent, and, I would argue, not successfully handled from the top.

The advantage of being in a smaller program at LSE (approx 80 per class, to SIPA’s 450) is that the atmosphere is less bureaucratic. The administrators know your names and actually hear what you’re saying. Case in point:

1. A small request, a big whiteboard

About three weeks ago, my capstone group was meeting in one of the MPA rooms, and we told Michelle (one of the MPA coordinators) that it would be nice to have a whiteboard in there.

“Yes, that’s a great idea!” she enthused.

We met in the same room yesterday, and at one point in the meeting, a group member pointed behind me and said, “Let’s put it up on the whiteboard.” I turned around and, to my shock and awe, our suggestion had actually been acted upon immediately!

A small thing? Sure. But would this ever happen at SIPA? I mean, at SIPA we still write on chalkboards. (And good ol’ Emmanuele with the  hand-shaped chalk streaks everywhere… hahaha. It really is the people that make SIPA worthwhile.)

2. Professionalism on so many levels

Some successful internal public relations and goodwill generation from the MPA administration:

2nd year MPA students are warmly invited to come along and have a professional profile photo taken on Tuesday 1st November. Electronic copies of your chosen photo will be provided for your use in CVs and online profiles and it is also intended that these will be used collectively in raising the profile of both individual students and the MPA programme overall.

I was seriously impressed by this—not just the fact that they held a photo session, but also that they sold it so successfully. It’s not that I doubt their motives for doing it (as though they’re doing it just to placate us), but rather that the intent “we have your interests at heart” was conveyed so subtly and successfully—indeed, in such a way as to suggest sincerity.

SIPA administration, take note!

(Sorry, SIPA friends! Wish you were here.)

—

Related Posts:
LSE: 1, SIPA: 0
Wild Goose Chase

4 Comments

Postcard Project Update

By on November 8, 2011

For those who are wondering, I’ve sent out two batches of ten postcards, and I’ve got about six more in the queue. Apologies for the delay, friends!

If you’d like to receive a postcard, send your mailing address to convergentjourney at gmail dot com. I make no guarantees on how long it’ll take me to get out my next batch, as the term has started getting busier. But I’m working on it and I really enjoy doing it, so do contact me if you’d like one!

—

Related Posts:
Efficient Bureaucracy? No Way.
Via Royal Mail

Leave a comment