From maracas and sombreros to paper lanterns embellished with Chinese characters, Mason’s new dining option “The Hot Spot” offers meals from around the world. Since its debut in late January, feedback from students Facebook page for Mason Dining has determined a new theme each week, which has included a fajita bar, Carribean food, a classic pasta bar and Thai noodle bar.
As a lettuce and tomato discriminator, the meat filled fajita (above) did not leave me thrilled, despite large portions. The Thai noodle bar (below) however, sent my taste buds on a delightfully spicy journey around the well cooked beef strips, through the loops of rice noodles and up the scoop of rice, slathered in the mouth-watering green curry sauce.
Located on the bottom of Student Union Building I, The Hot Spot has boasted lines nearly along as its neighbor, Chick-fil-A.
Also this semester, Mason has welcomed Subway into our dining family as well as a third convenience store. With so many options, the only question now is how I will work off all of those additional calories!
Four weeks into school and things are already in full swing. I have reworked my course schedule and started an internship in Washington DC. My weekends have been spent social dancing, volunteering for a non-profit organization called A Wider Circle and braving the zero degree topple-over DC winds to get to the 9:30 Club.
Lessons I’ve learned so far this semester:
1. Do bring a portfolio to an internship interview (extra points for leaving it behind).
I recently submitted an internship application on Internships.com for a Marketing Assistant position for The Menkiti Group, a real estate company located in Washington DC. Upon seeing the internship posting, I realized that what I do on weekend outings can be translated into actual work! For the internship I visit the restaurants and other small businesses in Washington DC neighborhoods and gather information to transform the WordPress websites into resources for prospective buyers and current residents. Most of the internship can be completed virtually, though I have weekly meetings at their office where I confer with the Director of Marketing on the websites and other forms of social media. It has been three weeks into the project I have toured the first neighborhood and will continue to populate the website with content and pictures.
2. Do not fall asleep on the metro. Three weeks, three consecutive DC trips, and three mistake-riddled metro trips. The first two times were minor accidents, where I realized I boarded the metro in the wrong direction after one stop, but the last one nearly made me late to class later that day. By the third time, I had become confident in my route, boarding the train without hesitation and unfortunately, without looking to see whether it was the blue or orange line. Exhausted from accounting homework the previous night, drowsy from a lack of caffeine and happy that I would be back in my warm dorm room soon, I let myself doze off. I woke up five stops later when I realized I was all the way at Reagan National Airport. Groaning inwardly, I found myself on my handy metro map app and redirected myself one stop later. No real harm done, but certainly a lesson in careful reading and the practicality of being conscious on public transportation.
3. Do pay a visit to academic advising (better to visit your department’s advisor)
After a meeting with a School of Management academic adviser, I was told it would be a very wise idea to reconfigure my schedule. Instead of a terrifying Typography class, during which the professor employed immediate weeding-out tactics or an easier but still useful New Media in the Creative Arts course, I opted to try and get my Accounting class out of the way- once and for all. Unlike previous years, scheduling classes was tricky business, especially with pre-requisites and the balancing of more difficult classes with the easy A’s. As I weighed my options, thoughts of anguish ran through my head as I felt my outlet for creativity vanish and the four financial statements monopolize my waking hours. The cold hard truth is that in college you’ll most likely have to take classes that make you want to bang your head against the table repeatedly, but then you’ll have classes where you watch dub step videos, learn about Roman burial rituals, even those that make you want drag yourself out of bed at 7:30am every morning.
My classes ended up being as follows: Integrated Marketing Communications (Marketing Elective)
Most days our professor lectures on textbook material, which is sometimes dry but we are told it is necessary to develop a clear understanding of the subject. On the good days there’s more group discussion and many examples of current and past ad campaigns. Exams aside, I’m hoping to get the most joy out of the individual and group assignments, which includes analyzing commercials for certain television networks and creating an advertising campaign for a national brand of a product. Financial Accounting and Managerial Decision Making (School of Management Requirement)
This is undoubtedly the area that I struggle the most in and I can actually say I’ve read every page assigned in the book. This professor keeps me on my toes, as she spends a large portion of the class calling on people to provide answers or asking the class to answer questions verbally, forcing us to learn the material or look rather foolish. Cross Cultural Perspectives(Honors Requirement)
Ho! The reading in this class isn’t half bad, ranging from Yao Ming’s biography and Confucius to the AP course staple “Things Fall Apart.” China and Africa are our two countries of interest. Because my instructor is an Oxford and Harvard educated Robinson Professor, I wish the class involved more lecturing and less class discussion. Science of Human History and Lab (Honors Requirement) Another surprisingly interesting class! If you have read “Guns, Germs, and Steel” you are set for the semester. If not, you’ll read the entire book in class and discuss why Westerners ended up having have more cargo (material goods) than the people of countries like New Guinea.The lab portion is tedious and three hours long, but tolerable with most group members.
I’ve gone to bed dreaming about Southside’s omelets. Available with a variety of vegetables, ham, cheese, and even an egg whites only option, these hearty combinations are the perfect start to a long day of classes.
If you’ve got a hankering for chicken and don’t feel like going to Southside, pay a visit to Mason’s sports bar, The Rathskeller, for the grilled chicken sandwich. The Rathskeller has twelve flat screen TV’s, perfect for Monday night football games.
For more of a kick, try Sangam in the JC food court for some spicy Indian food. My go-to combination is the butter chicken, yellow rice, naan and vegetable samosa.
Waffles all day every day! Southside has two waffle makers that are open for use all day, along with warm syrup, butter, whipped cream and fruit toppings. More adventuresome waffle-eaters may opt for an avalanche of chocolate chips toppling down an mountain of vanilla ice cream.
One eye still closed, I squinted at my phone and silenced the harsh tone of my third alarm. I pressed the home button and gulped when my eye fell upon the date, January 17th?! I go back to school in 8… oops, I mean 7, no 6 days?! Brow furrowed and stomach churning, I stumbled out of bed, making note to finish applying to the companies on my internship list, Chegg my books and make an appointment to chop off an inch or two of my hair.
What have I been up to during break besides looking at a calendar, you ask? I spent a very Asian Christmas in NYC with my parents and their friends. Naturally the theme of the trip was food. We also strolled around Flushing (which is like stepping Shanghai), stopped at a few shops and bakeries and took the subway to see the Saks Fifth Avenue window displays and show. Before we left we went to Brooklyn Bridge Park where I was able to enjoy an awe-inspiring view of Manhattan. The rest of my break has been spent catching up with old friends, searching for internships and working on my new food blog called “The Pan Eats” where I have compiled photos and reviews of more than 25 restaurants. I also spent some quality time with my pillow, a luxury the semester refuses to offer.
Manhattan and all of its splendor from the Brooklyn Bridge Park
Fried Mini Pork Buns at Chinatown’s Shanghai Cafe, keep em coming!
Lobster Sticky Rice at Flushing’s New Imperial Palace, so moist and tasty
I love me some E-Fu Noodles at Flushing’s Grand Restaurant
I can’t wait to go back to NYC to indulge in more good eats, but first, spring semester! Believe it or not, I am actually excited for class so I can finally get into the meat of my marketing classes. Because I have gotten most of the School of Management’s required core classes (Accounting, Business and Law, Operations Management, etc.) out of the way, I can finally focus on learning about my major. I plan to spend my Monday and Wednesday afternoons learning about Integrated Marketing Communications (advertising, sales promotion, public relations, etc.) and my Thursday nights uncovering the secrets behind Business to Business Marketing. I am also finishing up my honors requirements with the Science of Human History (why societies have turned out the way they have) and Cross Cultural Perspectives (study of China and Nigeria). Typography will round off my schedule and I hope to finally discover exactly why I dislike the ads on the metro so much or learn that whether or not they are using an appropriate font style. I will report the ups and downs of these classes throughout the semester, but now that I realize it’s so close I’m itching to return to college life!
The ingredients to my PP&J brownies, while so simple, were making my head spin and vision blur. I could only hope my incurable clumsiness and limited baking experience wouldn’t keep from making my batch. A mad scramble for the mixing bowls, spatulas, and baking sheets and we were off!
A few weeks ago, I attended a free cooking session hosted by CAFE-GMU (Crazy Awesome Food and Entertainment). When I heard that I was one of the lucky 12 or randomly selected to participate, I immediately made plans to be there and found a sub at work. While I struggled here and there to keep up, being in a group with an experienced CAFE-GMU member helped tremendously and kept me from throwing in my peanut butter smothered towel. I did not emerge victorious with a batch of perfectly baked brownies, but I learned to watch the oven like a hawk in the future.
Other cooking classes throughout the semester have been taught by campus executive chef Peter Schoebel, and have had themes ranging from cooking for a date night to healthy food cooking. The other lessons taught students how to cook starches, protein, and how to work with spices.
Some of the dishes made during the lessons include:
Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb
General Tao’s Chicken and Rice Bowl
Basic Risotto
Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Creme Brulee
Above are a few events hosted by CAFE-GMU from this past semester. Pictured below are some of the tastiest cookies and pastries made that night!
Above, pianist/vocalist Ben Thornewill belts out beautiful melodies and manages to insert just the right amount of quirk.
Tommy Siegel, guitarist/co-vocalist (below) dazzled the crowd during Jukebox’s rick roll (above).
Living close to Washington D.C. is a paradise for frequent concert-goers, with 9:30 Club, The Black Cat, andThe Rock and Roll Hotelall within grasp, thanks to the Mason to Metro bus and metro system. Over the years, I have been to concerts featuring Cults, The Bravery, Via Audio, Mayday Parade, All Time Low, and my all time favorite Jukebox the Ghost.
When we arrived at the 9:30 club, the crowd was unusually small and took up only about half of the standing area on the first floor. Only small clusters of fans stood and sat on the second floor. The opening bands the Spinto Band and Deleted Scenes each had a few catchy songs but much were harder to get into. Fortunately for my friend and I, that meant that we were able to easily nudge our way to the front, securing our spot for when Jukebox the Ghost came on. After the last song of the opening band, I found that there was little standing room left in the club.
It seemed like eternity before Jukebox appeared on the dark stage, but when they did the crowd went wild, knowing that they were in for a good show. After playing a few notes, pianist and vocalist Ben Thornewill got up and walked in front of his keyboard, bent down, and emerged with a cheeky grin, keyboard plug unplugged in his hand. A swift insertion of the plug and the show was on the road. Between songs, the band recounted tales of their European tour with James Blunt, including puzzled German fans listening to their song “Schizophrenia” and Jesse Kristin rocking out the drums with baguettes. Jukebox the Ghost surprised and delighted the crowd with their remix of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and convinced even the stubborn souls in the back to move their bodies to the irresistible beat.
A trip to D.C. wouldn’t be complete without a taste of D.C. The streets surrounding the 9:30 Club are lined with Ethiopian restaurants, though the short walk from the metro stop to the restaurant was nerve wracking as police sirens went off every few minutes. The dimly lit street and crumbling store fronts made me even more glad I had not decided to go alone. My friend and I chose to try Little Ethiopia, after seeing the 4 star rating on Yelp how close the restaurant is to the club.
The decorations in Little Ethiopia are like nothing I’ve seen before. Straw umbrella heads hung from the ceiling, drawings of Ethiopian hairstyles, colorful mystical paintings, and wood carvings decorated the walls, and each sitting area included wood carved and cushioned furniture, including one bench and three small chairs.
I ordered the Lentil Sambusa, a “triangular shaped pastry crust filled with lentil, green pepper, and onion” along with the Doro Wot, which included a chicken leg and hard boiled egg in a spicy sauce with Ethiopian style farmer’s cheese. The Sambusa was crisp but flavorless and the Doro Wat’s chicken was fell off of the bone nicely but the sauce was nothing spectacular. Since it was my second experience with Ethiopian food, I knew better than to ask for utensils this time and was able to scoop up the spongy bread with chicken without creating a mess.
While I was unimpressed by the food, after being spoiled by the flavor of Georgetown’s Zed’s Ethiopian Cuisine, the service was very courteous and the our food was prepared quickly. Though I would not return for the food, I would consider going back for the live Ethiopian music held every week.
As a gourmand, one of my long term goals is to taste all downtown Fairfax’s easily accessible restaurants. On Friday night, I finally checked the Indian restaurant, Bollywood Bistro, off of my list. My friend and I ordered samosas (crisp turnovers with potatoes and green peas) and the Suanifia Calamari (pan friend and fennel infused) for our appetizers. Though the samosas there were delicious, I found that the GMU food court’s Sangam samosas are actually comparable! The waiter also convinced us to try the Dates Naan, which provided a sweet contrast to the spicy Malabari Chicken with coconut milk and curry leaves that I ordered. The chicken itself was too tough for my liking, but the pleasantly spicy sauce complimented the dish well.
After dinner, I attended a mind-blowing performance by the National Acrobats of The People’s Republic of China: Direct from Beijing. When approached with the idea of watching an acrobatic show, I imagined a 10 foot wave of drowsiness surging towards me. Soon into the performance I realized that I was actually enjoying myself, laughing during the silly knife-throwing act and gasping at the act featuring impossibly strong men standing on top of one another.
To make this all possible, a friend had snagged free student tickets the first day, landing us front row seats, where I could see the intricate stitching of the colorful costumes and hear the lead acrobats cue each formation and perfectly coordinated placement of the body. The acts featured singing and dancing acrobats balancing 10 plates in the air while contorting their bodies in impossible positions as well as tumblers jumping through 10 foot hoops and 24 acrobats balancing and directing a single bike around and around the stage.
When wind has shooing everyone away for Thanksgiving break, a friend and I ventured into downtown Alexandria. Despite the dementor skies and schizophrenic rain, we braved the abandoned streets and set out for the Torpedo Factory, an three-story art center located on the Potomac waterfront. In the 1920′s, the Torpedo factory served as a building that manufactured torpedoes. Today, each floor houses artists ranging from painters and sculptors to photographers and print makers, who can often be found working on their latest creation. Below, a friendly sculptor is found in his corner studio working on his latest piece.
The grilled chicken has been a hit ever since Southside started serving it last year! I prefer combining it with selections from the pasta bar and finishing it off with some crispy french fries.
Served during both lunch and dinner, Southside’s chicken quesadilla is another reliable source of deliciousness.
You can’t go wrong with a Southside’s cheesecake brownie, topped with vanilla frozen custard. It’s the perfect bite-sized treat that won’t leave you feeling too guilty.
Each day, the Johnson Center food court serves freshly pre-packaged sushi. The new shrimp tempura roll has just trumped the blue crab roll, my old favorite. You may have to dip into your bonus dollars to pay for your meal and it may not be the most filling food, but you will get your money’s worth.
Last week was without a doubt, the most hectic week yet. An accounting exam, a marketing project draft due, and an in class essay had me sporting either coffee or Red Bull breath for days.
Since my last post, I attended a Freelance 101 Workshop featuring corporate branding professor and founder of branding consulting company “Think Monumental,” Erik Hansen. The talk was presented by Mason’s chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). Hansen shared his words of advice for aspiring students and answered questions about how to begin freelancing.
His tips included:
KNOW YOUR SH/T- if you’re not sure, don’t lie
LIFE IS HARD- but even harder when you aren’t happy
CONSTANTLY DEVELOP- you will never know it all
AIGA‘s past events have included trips to New York City, studio tours of well-established design companies, and portfolio review critiques and workshops. Check out pictures of their past events here!
A few days later myself and fourteen other GMU Swing Dance Club members ventured to Baltimore’s Mobtown Ballroom for a night of unforgettable social dancing.
Photo courtesy of Allison Ho
The night started out with traditional swing music, transitioned to funky soul tunes, then eventually everyone was, quite literally, jumping to the top 40′s. Both beginners and professional dancers triple stepped and swiveled across the floor for nearly six hours. Big names like Andrew Thingpin, Nina Gilkenson, and Michael Seguin helped make sure everyone had a good time as resting dancers gawked at their flawless footwork and sassy styling. From Thriller and a tribute to “Raise Your Glass” to Thigpin’s delightfully accurate rendition of “Single Ladies,” Mobtown had no problem catering to all styles of dance. Around 2:45am, the Baltimore owners closed up shop and lights in stained glass windows of the reconstructed church finally went out. The GMU Swing Club braved the streets of Baltimore in high spirits, managing to avoided any sort of bodily harm. It was only in the car that I began to regain feeling in my feet, which was also about the time my jaw started to feel the consequences of grinning all night.
There is a perfectly good explanation for my absence this past week. I swear! On Thursday I boarded a plane to Detroit, which then flew to Shanghai, China for my cousin’s wedding. I spent my 9 day trip eating delicious food, visiting family, and taking pictures of everything in sight. Here are some of my favorite shots:
Mason currently offers three study abroad opportunities in China. My friend participated in the Chinese Language and Business Study summer study program in Beijing and was able to rack up her Chinese credits and tour established businesses while enjoying the city’s nightlife. Summer internship programs are also available in both Beijing and Shanghai. Find out more here!
For those of you plan to travel to Shanghai in the future, here are some useful tips:
Shanghai caters to many interests, from foodies and shopaholics to history buffs and photo fanatics- all will to find something exciting to do. A bit of online research will instruct you where to find the city’s bests.
Make sure you bring pocket tissues with you everywhere. Most bathrooms do not provide toilet paper and no one wants to ask or be asked for toilet paper from the next stall. Also, restaurants often require that you pay for napkins.
Bring your camera and extra memory. You never know when something or someone interesting will appear in a city of more than 16.5 million.
NO FACEBOOK! Be prepared to be stripped of your status updating privileges. Same with WordPress and Twitter. I was, however, able to log into my Blackboard, Mason e-mail and my Gmail account.
By now you’re probably wondering how I will survive a week off of school. I missed a total of 5 days of class, meaning 2 exams and 1 In Class Essay (insert SHOCK and HORROR followed immediately by PANIC).
Thankfully, professors are allowing me to take the exams, with one catch- they will be more comprehensive, short answer questions instead of the usual multiple choice/true false format. Luckily my in class essay was rescheduled. As to my Accounting 301 lectures, the most difficult of my School of Management classes, I was able to watch through a friend via Skype.
After my week off, I am determined tackle my rebellious sleep schedule and crack down for exams in the upcoming two weeks. After all, the possibility of a DC concert, social dancing, and the idea of free time to shoot photos are pretty good incentives to do well.
by Jenny, a Patriot Blogger
Located on the bottom of Student Union Building I, The Hot Spot has boasted lines nearly along as its neighbor, Chick-fil-A.
Also this semester, Mason has welcomed Subway into our dining family as well as a third convenience store. With so many options, the only question now is how I will work off all of those additional calories!
by Jenny, a Patriot Blogger
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