January/February 2011, Volume XXVII, No
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Office of International Services International Connection January/February 2011, Volume XXVII, No. 3 Trojan Wings Birds from here and abroad make USC their home by Ron Cyger, Education Chair, Pasadena Audubon Society and repeated “pis–pis” as they flow through the trees, gleaning small insects off leaves and branches. These birds are sedentary, so you can find them around campus all year. Following the Bushtits are usually a few Warblers, generally a little larger than Bushtits, but still smaller than sparrows. The most common warbler during late fall to early spring is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. This is a beautiful bird when it’s in breeding plumage, but in winter it usually is a much duller gray with a touch of yellow on it’s throat, flanks and, of course, on the rump. If you pay A Northern Flicker (L) and Red-tailed Hawk (R), two of the birds seen on campus attention around trees, you will hear it’s harsher “tsip” as it forages through the Los Angeles is a mass of urbanity, and While strolling along McCarthy Quad, trees. It may even come close enough at its heart is USC, home to students the first bird I found was a House for you to see its yellow throat. This from around the world. A few hun- Sparrow, or should I say many House bird is migratory, so during the summer dred years ago, the Los Angeles basin Sparrows. These birds are a common it heads north or into the high moun- was awash with habitat that supported sparrow in Europe, and were intro- tains to breed. many species of wildlife, including duced into New York in 1852. They both migratory and sedentary birds. spread like wildfire and now are every- Also on the lawns and adorning build- Now, homes, skyscrapers, and concrete where in North America inhabited by ings around campus, you can easily stretch out as far as the eye can see from people, especially in crowded places, [Continued on page 4] from the top of VKC Tower. like a university. The first House Spar- row I saw was around the picnic tables In this Issue It isn’t only members of the human on the quad. species who come from distant lands to One of a Kind: Uruguay, 3 temporarily call USC home. There are During my search, I was attracted to Midterm Election Aftermath, 5 many migratory birds who will settle the tall Sycamore trees in Alumni Park, into campus, if only for the winter, which attract many species as they fly German Karneval, 6 while others will seek better habitat through campus. There were a flock to rest and feed while traveling to and of Bushtits streaming from tree to tree, Oscar Buzz, 7 from their native breeding grounds. very small brown and gray fluff-balls Many sedentary birds have carved out a with long tails. They are a flocking LA Sports Guide, 8/9 permanent nook here on campus. bird, so you rarely find one by itself. If you listen, you will hear a high-pitched International Connection Get involved in OIS programs this Spring! by Marcia Rubin and Jenna Markowick, International Program Assistants OIS Staff Executive Director Diners’ Club Associate Dean of Students Tony Tambascia, Ph.D. Pakistan may be a newer country but its culture and culinary traditions are timeless. Pakistani dishes are well-known for their aromatic and sometimes Student and Scholar Services spicy flavors. Within the country cuisine varies greatly between regions, a Senior Associate Director sign of the cultural and ethnic diversity of the population. The cuisine is best Judy Hartwich, M.S. described as a blend of the different cooking styles of the subcontinent. For our Associate Director first Diners’ Club event of the spring semester we’ll travel to Artesia to taste Esther Lee, M.S. some of the best Pakistani food available in the States. International Student Advisors Becky Peterson, M.A., Sarah Bang, M.A. Despite being an American state, Hawaii has a unique culture and cuisine of Sevis Coordinator its own. Today, what we know as Hawaiian cuisine is a fusion of culinary Quyen Le, M.A. traditions brought by multiethnic immigrants to Hawaii from countries such Business Manager as China, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Polynesia and Portugal. The Diners’ Anne Kaufman, M.A. Club will be attending a luau (Hawaiian feast) in April to experience Hawaiian Senior Immigration Advisor music, hula and some traditional Hawaiian foods. Sumaiya Mamun, M.S. Immigration Advisor LA Today Scott Turner Exchange Visitor Program Advisor One of the most amazing things about living in California is the variety of Cecilia Melendres activities we have to choose from. January is the height of whale-watching Information Specialists season so we’re planning an outing to beautiful Santa Barbara. In the morn- Trevin Barnes, Ariel Suarez ing we’ll go out on a boat and observe these majestic creatures as they migrate File Coordinator/Immigration Aide south for the winter and in the afternoon take in the lovely scenery and shop- Gwendolyn Crowe ping downtown. This is a unique opportunity, so sign up early to reserve your Faculty/Staff Visa Services space. Director Cheryl Gilman The ever popular Big Bear Ski trip is back for the 3rd year in a row! Students Faculty/Staff Visa Specialists love this outing so much we decided to keep the tradition, so look for the date Iran Carranza, Joan Cerera in the International Update and sign up! We expect this event to fill up quickly, Paraprofessional Staff since the package includes transportation, equipment rental, a lesson and light English Language Program Coordinator breakfast. We’ll probably hit the slopes sometime in late February or early Cecilia Pak March, so we hope to see you there! Publications Editor Oliver Riley-Smith International Connection Exchange Visitor Program Assistant Katy Burroughs Publications Editor International Program Assistants Oliver Riley-Smith Jenna Markowick, Marcia Rubin Editorial Advisor Student Assistant Staff Kim Goswiller, Lanfan Wang, Judy Hartwich Julie Choe, Hashim Mir Printer OIS Intern Zada Graphics Benjamin Logan Office of International Services The University of Southern California International Connection is published Student Union 300 four times per year by the Office of International Services. University Park Campus Los Angeles, CA 90089-0899, MC 0899 Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Please send them to: Tel. (213) 740-2666 Judy Hartwich, OIS, STU 300, MC 0899, email: [email protected]. www.usc.edu/OIS January/February 2011 2 www.usc.edu/OIS One of a Kind: Uruguay is My Home Country by Judy Hartwich, Senior Associate Director my friends in Uruguay. Jewish people in Uruguay. Everyone pretty much knows everyone else. It is not quite the same here. In my ex- perience as a Uruguayan, I also sense I went to a bilingual (Spanish and that relationships in Uruguay seem English) primary school and a Jewish more lifelong; caring about others is a high school. I lived in Israel for about natural part of everyday life and things four and a half months.” are not so competitive.” I asked Fabian where he would recom- I asked Fabian what is the most com- mend people to visit should they travel mon question he gets from his US to Uruguay. classmates. “Well, I come from Montevideo, the “Well, surprisingly, many students capital, which is a city of 1.5 mil- – when I tell them I’m from Uru- lion in a country of 3.3 million. So, I guay, somehow confuse this with the would of course recommend a visit to Fabian Friedman Ukraine and they assume I speak Rus- Montevideo. I would also recommend sian. After the fourth or fifth student a visit to the historical city of Colonia Fabian Friedman is one of a kind: he made this mistake, I decided just to on the bay and Punta Del Este on the is the only student from Uruguay cur- go along with it and pretend I speak coast.” rently studying at USC*. Fabian is a Russian. It was kind of funny, and I sophomore undergraduate in industrial got tired of explaining that Uruguay * According to the Fall 2009 Interna- and systems engineering with a minor is in South America, and that I speak tional Student Enrollment Report. in business. I talked with him about Spanish. what it is like to be the only person on campus from Uruguay. When this happens, I miss the Latin American experience even more. I “Well, although I am the only student find myself making friends with a lot from Uruguay, there are a least a few of the USC staff who work in food ser- more students from Latin America (ap- vices and speak Spanish. I feel kind of proximately 164 students and scholars adopted by many of these friends. from Latin America and the Carib- bean*) here at USC, so I do not feel so There is one woman in particular who very singular. is always worrying about me and mak- ing sure that I am eating right and eat- I would say that those I feel most ing enough. These staff friends have similar to here at USC would be the definitely helped me to feel at home Argentinean students. Our manner of here at USC.” speech and dress, and general attitude towards life is quite close.” I asked Fabian to tell me a little bit about his family history. “I love the campus experience at USC, which I would not be able to experi- “My great-grandparents emigrated to Uruguay is located in South America, ence in my own country. I like being Uruguay from either Germany or Po- between Argentina and Brazil around so many young people.