Flu Season, Patriots… Stay Healthy!

My state as I write this blog: blocked nose, sore throat, voice like that of a man, nauseated.

 I always get sick at this time of the year, when the weather is in the process of changing. And so is everyone around me!

As the weather continues to power on to Fall Season, we experience a fluctuation of cold and hot weather. I think that confuses my body and eventually, my immune system fails me.

I cannot believe my luck that I would get sick this week; a week full of exams and quizzes. I’ve already missed three classes because my fever reached 103°F yesterday. And now I’m in a state of worry on how I’m going to catch up on missed school work. I blame Murphy’s Law.

I went to the University Health Clinic yesterday and got a note. They also prescribed me some medicine that helped break my fever. But I’m still pretty sick and I’m still very behind on work.

So if you’re one of those that’s already infected, here’s are some things that’s helping me get better:

•  Go to the clinic. That’s the first step because they will know what’s going on in your body and prescribe you some medicine. (Also, there’s the chance that it’s not flu, so it’s better safe than sorry)
•  If you don’t have the time or energy to go to the clinic, over the counter medication could be your best bet.
•  VITAMIN C. Cannot express how much Vitamin C will help. It boosts your immune system and helps you get better faster and prevents any other sickness. Oranges/Vitamin C supplements are good.
•  Fluids. Being sick gets you dehydrated and your body will always need more fluids than normal.
•  Lots of rest, staying warm (but not too warm, because that elevates your body temperature if you have a fever) and avoiding extra physical work.

Also, if you’re not sick yet (lucky you), here are some preventative measures you might want to take:

• Again, VITAMIC C. A strong immune system is key.
• Get your flu shot :) The University Health Clinic provides this shot and you can set up an appointment and get one.
• Stay away from sick people (for obvious reasons)
• Keep pocket hand sanitizer with you at all times, and use it as necessary. Kill ‘em germs.
• Keep your apartment/living space clean. Bacteria and germs LOVE mess and dirty places and you wouldn’t want your space to be a breeding ground for that.

You should also read my co-blogger Gabby’s blog on more tips about staying healthy and germ-free. 
I hope everyone else is had a great week and looking forward to Homecoming! :)

Home Across the Ocean in Dubai

Last August marks one year since I stood in the airport back home hugging all my friends and family, got on a plane, left home and flew here to pursue higher education.

I get this question A MILLION TIMES: "Why did you come to Texas to study?"

ANSWER: I'm from Dubai and as awesome as Dubai is, the city has more of a business and tourist demographic. High schools are great in Dubai but there aren't a lot of great university established there yet. This is because the UAE (the United Arab Emirates) is still a fairly young country; it's only been around for about 40 years. I guess that makes Dubai as old as UT Tyler! :)

Things I miss most about home:

- My dogs. This is the one thing I miss the most about home. I have 2 pekingese back home that live with my cousins now. I really really miss them!

- My friends and family. I cannot express how much I miss them. All of them.

- The beach. I want to live on a beach one day. The beach is basically my number one most favorite place in the world. And Dubai is pretty much a city on the coast. Wherever you are in Dubai, you are never more than 10 minutes away from the sea. And to be honest? Dubai has some awesome beaches.

For The Next Batch Of International Students

First of all, Welcome to Tyler!

Second, I know exactly how you feel.

The week before and the week of move-in day was very stressful and scary and exciting all at the same time. Especially flying from Dubai to LA to Tyler. I don't know where you'd be flying in from but still, I know how you feel. The rush of knowing everything is new and you have a completely new slate.

Here are a few pointers that I could gather from my experience last year:

Summer Reading List

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower* by Stephen Chbosky
• Dreaming in Chinese** by Deborah Fallows
• The Hobbit*** by J.R.R. Tolkien
• World War Z by Max Brooks
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer
• Mission to Paris by Alan Furst

As a self-proclaimed bibliophile, I honestly wish I had more time to read these books. But with college life, I'm lucky if I get enough time to sleep in a night and a weekend not dumped with homework.
With balancing time for classes, homework/study time, work, social life, sleep... I can only hope that I can squeeze in time to just sit, relax and enjoy a good read.

*Re-read. I’ve read it before but since the movie adaptation starring Emma Watson is coming out soon, I just want to read it again. Highly recommended, it’s a great read.

**Incoming freshmen were given this book for their summer read, so Orientation Leaders are also required to read it.

***Re-read but you have to agree... It's a classic and definitely one of my all-time favorites.

My Summer To-Do List

As you’ll probably begin to notice later on, I like creating lists. A lot of them. For a while I tried writing down my lists in one specific notebook but that never worked because I'd find myself in the middle of lunch with friends, or walking to class making up lists in my mind.

So eventually my lists ended up all over my room, on post-it notes, my calculus notebook, lecture handouts, scribbled haphazardly on my arm and even as text messages sent to myself (and no, this is not some sad act of texting myself; it's my only option when I have no access to pen/paper!).

My most recent big list is my Summer To-Do. I would love to fly back home for summer but I only have about a week of vacation before my summer classes begin and I don't think paying $2000 for air fare only to be home for a week is worth it (home is 8000 miles away, but more on this later).

So if you’re like me; home is not within driving distance and you’re grounded in Tyler for the whole of summer, make a list! Think of anything and everything you want to accomplish this summer. It definitely beats just moping around and whining about how you’re “stuck here with nothing to do” because trust me, if you look hard enough, there are actually lots to do!

Here’s my list.

Finals To Do List

I wish I could partially cross things off of my list. That paper about The Matrix is about half-way completed.