Author: e.tran1

I went to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) to check out the exhibitions for my third blog post. First thing I thought was how fresh, open and big it was compared to all the other art museums I’ve been too. Second was: it was really crowded, a lot more people than I had expected, so next time I will try to find a time when MoMA’s not that busy since I prefer to look at art in tranquil.

It was really easy getting a ticket: I just walked to the counter and showed them my CUNY card. I went to the first three floors. On the first floor, I went to an exhibition with arts from an artist named Ernst. His arts were significant in how some parts seemed to stand out, which really confused me because when looking closer to the painting, you can’t really distinguish what it is that makes the painting look 3D.  The painting also had the trendy colors of black, red and white that I really liked (it matched my sweater too :))). Another exhibition that caught my attention was Agnes Martin’s work. The reason they stood out to me was because all paintings were almost white. They looked like plain white pictures, but as you get closer you see the neutral and subtle colors and hues. The paintings were very calming and when reading the explanation of her work it says it’s supposed to ”evoke the colors of the desert, and it’s stillness”. There weren’t only paintings in MoMA: some of the exhibits had cool objects and visuals. One of them played with crystals and lights, making art with the shadows on a screen. Looked really cool. I didn’t have time to visit all galleries, but I will definitely come back again with my friends when I have time.

A few weeks ago I went to the Writing Center for a workshop. The Writing Center has a lot of interesting workshops, such as developing thesis statement, brainstorming and writing cover letters. For that week and day, the workshop was about analyzing texts. This was perfect for me since I felt like the readings I’ve been doing for every class were too ineffective and time-consuming and I wanted to have a strategy on how to understand and read texts more effectively. In the waiting room, I met a really nice girl that told me that this was also the first time for her attending the writing center. We were about 7 students – many were older – and the instructor was very outgoing and clear in her learning. She introduced the workshop with explaining the plan of the class, why it’s beneficial and how we can use the techniques to analyze texts for example writing English papers. We all worked from the same text “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. The process of analyzing the text would go like this: 1. Observe. 2. Finding patterns. 3. Ask questions. When reading the text, she wanted us to use symbols and take notes. The teacher then guided us through the text and also made room for us to discuss our thoughts. What this workshop learned me the most was to understand the feeling of which the writer tries to convey and see the writer as someone that is trying to manipulate me. Furthermore, I learned to notice patterns, contrasts and to analyze the use of words (mostly adjectives), which I found very useful for the History primary source readings. At the end of the class, we had the chance to analyze any reading we had brought with us to work on. It was a very lucrative workshop and I will definitely attend more of those workshops in the future.

Last Tuesday I went to the OPT Workshop for international students. OPT stands for Optional Practical Training, which gives international students the right to work maximum 12 months after graduation in the field directed to the major. I was an 1,5 hour long workshop, with one hour of information and an half hour of asking questions. As aF-1 student, I’m not allow to work, but I learned that I have the chance to do a CPT (Curricular Practical Training) during my education in the states. The good thing is the that the CPT doesn’t affect OPT, therefore I will be able to gain working experience for two years. Since the OPT and CPT feels kind of far away from where I am now, I didn’t quite memorize all information about the application process and important dates (which was A LOT) we got from the workshop. But it is still very useful for the future and I will definitely consider to do a CPT and OPT.

 

(I couldn’t take a selfie so I asked my friend to take a quick pic and she only got half my face :))