Author: j.han9

When it comes to small talk, I am able to keep a conversation going only if I’m up for it. There are some times when I want to talk to someone and other times when I just want to be alone. Even so, there are those times when I can’t avoid talking to someone and small talks may be nerve wrecking. At this workshop I was not only able to relate but also gain knowledge regarding the different ways to create small talk and learn new techniques that I can use in the future. When you approach someone that you aren’t familiar with but want to be friends with, you can do that with small talk. What makes small talk effective is that by asking simple questions or making small comments, it may branch out to even further, deeper topics that may result in a full conversation. We learned body language says a lot about someone and depending on their posture and atmosphere, they may give off different vibes. It’s also important to give the person you’re talking to your undivided attention and you can show that you care by actually listening, keeping eye contact, and leaning forward. At the end of the small talk, you should always end on a friendly note and if you haven’t exchanged names yet this will be the best time to do so before you both part.

All in all, I found this workshop helpful and enjoyed the interactive activities. We were also given a student guide packet so that we can refer back to the techniques discussed during the workshop if we ever need to. I was able to learn how important small talk is and how you can not only make new friends or acquaintances but improve your conversation skills. 

The Cooper Hewitt Museum is located at 2 E 91st St, New York, NY 10128. I highly recommend stopping by to check it out if you’re ever near central park.

I heard about this museum about two summers ago and after seeing many popular Instagram posts from the museum, I decided to check it out with my friends. There are many different types of exhibits at this museum, you can find exhibits that regard fashion, architecture and structures, paintings, history, and the list goes on. What really makes the experience at this museum a bit better than other museums is that there are a lot of interactive and immersive activities present. To start off, once you get your ticket, they also provide you with a pen that u can use to save any piece of work that you want to remember and it goes onto your personal account. You can look back at these memories by checking in your code that you got with your ticket. The pens are also used to work the touch screen tables where you can make virtual objects. Of course you can’t keep these pens so they will have to be returned at the end of your visit.

What I was most excited about was visiting the immersion room. It was probably the coolest thing I’ve seen at a museum. In this room, it’s basically blank walls where you can project pre-made pictures or your own creation by drawing on the touch screen tables. It’s very free and you can basically draw anything. In my case my friends drew a banana and I was really satisfied with how the results came out. Another part of the museum that I liked was the garden outside. There are seats and benches and grass and even a ping pong table. Sadly you need to bring your own paddles and ball so we couldn’t play. There are also these spinning chairs that are really innovative and mind blowing. You can also buy these chairs for $721. (: I would definitely recommend coming when the weather is nice because the garden is a really great place to just relax and maybe take pictures or have a picnic.

I first saw the UCLA Club on convocation day and I was a bit confused because I was like why are they promoting a school in California here at Baruch. Later that day I was handed a flyer for that same club and I found out UCLA stood for “United Chinese Language Association”. The flyer told me that the first General Interest Meeting was on the next Thursday so I was like aii cool. I didn’t intend on joining at first because I wanted to check out the other clubs to see if anything appealed to me and sadly, nothing else did. I asked a few friends if they wanted to come with me to the first GIM and they agreed. At first I didn’t expect much because honestly I went for the food but after finding out what the club was about, I became more interested. The executive board introduced themselves and went through the PowerPoint explaining what they do in the club and what they strive to accomplish as a team. What really sealed the deal for me was when we played two ice breaker games. We played a weird game where 3 people asked each other questions back and forth based on the scenario and whoever couldn’t come up with any more questions was disqualified (a bit confusing, I know).  The second game was Pictionary and it’s basically when someone draws a picture and their team members have to guess what it is.

Peep me in the white shirt drawing something because nobody wanted to volunteer and my friends forced me to go up.

Carrying on, that day was honestly my favorite day of the week because not going to lie, my first week at Baruch was the best (I want to blame the weather). After meeting new people at the club and laughing a lot, I saw what it’s like to  have fun in college and that was when I realized hey, college isn’t so bad. I finally understand why many people encourage you to join clubs because it’s the only way you’ll have fun and be sane. Not to mention you get to meet awesome, new people. In the end, I did not get food but I was able to join an amazing club and I can’t wait to go to future events to embrace and learn about Chinese culture.