Christian's Blog

FINAL POST: CCUSC conference + year-in-review

Dear reader,

Now that the May 1st deadline has come and passed, it's time for me to hang up the towel (mixed metaphor for the win) as student blogger. But before I leave my tearful goodbye, I'd like to just *quickly* mention an awesome event on campus I went to over the weekend, which was the annual conference of the Center for China-U.S. Cooperation (CCUSC), which is headed by Sam Suisheng Zhao, a professor over at the Korbel School. Basically, the two-day conference consisted of four panels, with various academics/experts talking about issues related to security and international relations issues facing China, its neighbors, and the United States. We also had a very special guest, Ambassador James R. Keith, who spoke at a dinner Friday night. His talk was probably the most intriguing part of the night. All in all, though, the conference was truly eye-opening, and I walked away from it with a wealth of knowledge about the region I'll be visiting next fall. :-)

In any case, it's about time for me to sign off. But before I go I'd like to just sum up a few of the awesome things I got to do this year as a result of my being a student at DU. If you're coming here next fall, maybe you can use this as something to brainstorm with.

Let's see...

- I went to seven concerts this year, including TV On The Radio and M83, as well as a sold-out show by a local band named Churchill that I got to go to for free as a result of my being Entertainment Editor at the Clarion.
- Got to see the Avengers for free in 3D for the same reason!
- Saw Madeleine Albright speak on campus.
- Have been taking a class taught by a former ambassador.
- Saw General George Casey speak multiple times on campus.
- Applied for, and was accepted into, a study abroad program IN CHINA next fall.
- Discovered several fantastic new local restaurants, including: Cowbobas, Sunlight Donuts, The Market, and, my personal favorite, Las Tortas (NOTE: IF YOU GO TO DU, YOU HAVE TO GO TO LAS TORTAS. I COMMAND YOU)
- Got to see Shakespeare for free as part of the Honors Program.
- Got to see Swan Lake for free as part of the Honors Program.
- Got super-discounted tickets to the Lion King.
- Saw tons of awesome independent movies (including Oscar-nominated animated and live-action shorts) at the amazing indpendent theatres nearby campus.
- Saw some amazing DU hockey games! 
- Saw President Obama speak near campus.
- Got to go to the National Ice Core Lab (and stand in negative 36-degree Celsius temperature!)
- Got to campout for season hockey tickets :-)
- And a lot more stuff that I'm probably forgetting right now.

The long and the short of it is, I've had an amazing sophomore year. I've still got a few weeks left in classes, but things are sorta winding down, and it's gonna be tough to leave this one behind.

If you've committed to DU, I'd like to formally welcome you to our campus. I won't be here next fall to officially welcome you (as I'll be a few thousand miles away), but just know that I hope to see you around campus when I return! And if you've decided to go elsewhere, I'd like to wish you an amazing time there as well.

AND IF YOU READ ONE THING FROM MY BLOG THE ENTIRE YEAR, LET IT BE THIS:

I had a pretty rough time the first few months of college. So rough, in fact, that it led me to transfer back to a school closer to home (hence, how I ended up at DU). And while I wouldn't change my decision for anything, and while I've made some truly amazing friends, and had some incredible classes at DU that I'd never want to forget, I would hate for anyone to feel quite as low as I did that first semester of freshman year and have to make the same decision I made. So, if you get to campus, and college seems a bit overwhelming, just know: you're not the only one. College is a tough transition for many, many freshman. I know the hardest part of it all for me was feeling alone in my, well, lack of enjoyment of college. In reality, it's a big transition, and a lot of people have trouble adjusting. So just know, that no matter what you may feel those first few weeks (or months), others have felt, and are feeling, the same way. I know that one mistake I made was just not getting involved with campus groups, and meeting people that way. So do your best to get involved, be open with people, and just know that every transition gets a little easier the more time you give it.

And if you come to campus, and you love college immediately, then prepare to have the time of your life. DU, CU, NYU, Harvard, wherever – I wish you the absolute best.

Thank you for reading my blog this year!

Sincerely,

Christian Allen
Sophomore, University of Denver 

M83 @ the Ogden Theater, Denver

My ears are still ringing. Holy, holy cow. Last night, at Denver's Ogden Theater, I got to see French electro-rock group M83 play, hands-down, the best concert I've seen all year (this is the band who I wrote a rather glowing review of for the Clarion last fall). And boy, did that album, and this artist, translate well to a live setting:

 

Before the show, I got some incredible food at one of my favorite Denver joints – Steve's Snappin' Dogs. The fantastic burger and milkshake I had at Steve's would have been reason enough to go out on a Monday night. But then, there was M83, whose entire live show was nothing sort of phenomenal. Everything from the music (above), to the light show (below) was utterly mindblowing.

A truly fantastic night. The Ogden Theater is incredible. If any of you ever end up at DU, I strongly encourage you to check it out sometime.

Hope all is well,

/ Christian

Clarion: Assistant Editor Interviews

All this week members of the Clarion staff (the managing editor and editor-in-chief) and I have been conducting interviews for the position of Assistant Entertainment Editor. Sadly, since I'm going abroad next Fall, I won't be able to keep my position as Entertainment Editor :-(. Luckily, we had several fantastic applicants, so I know the void will be filled, and probably done better than I ever did :-).

Sadly though, this does kind of signify the beginning of the end for my time at the Clarion. Definitely going to miss it next year. But don't worry – I'll write something much more drawn-out at the end of the year. What I will say to you, however, is that wherever you end up going to school, I highly recommend getting involved with the student newspaper. It's a great way to meet people, and it allows you to develop skills that otherwise may go undeveloped. More on that later.

In any case, it looks like come Monday, I'll (at long last) have an assistant over in the Clarion office. I like the sound of that. :-)

Best,

/ Christian

 

Madeleine Albright @ DU!

This afternoon, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing one of the world's foremost (former) policymakers/diplomats, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, speak at DU's cable center. She spent about an hour speaking and answering questions with Ambassador Christopher Hill, the dean of the Korbel school (which by no coincidence is named after Albright's father). I'd post pictures, but unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me... once the Clarion posts its article about it (which I'm sure it will), I'll link you to it.

She spoke about the challenges facing the United States, as well as just what it was like to be at the forefront of U.S. diplomatic strategy. Topics ranging from North Korea to the Balkans were covered, and it was both entertaining and extremely thought-provoking. A member of the audience also asked Albright about her cameo on Gilmore Girls. No joke. The YouTubes has proof:

 

It was a nice bit of comedic relief from the rather intense topics that were otherwise being covered.

In any case, that was definitely one of the coolest visitors I've ever seen at DU (though I did see President Obama a few years ago at Magness Arena). Really happy I RSVP'd!

Hope all is well,

/ Christian

Summer Senate Internship!

Hey everyone! Good news from the front!

I just received an invitation to participate in Senator Michael Bennet's summer internship program. He's one of Colorado's representatives in the Senate, and I've actually seen him speak on multiple occasions – once last year, at a sexual assault awareness event, and another time speaking before President Obama. I was notified about the internship opportunity through my Honors advisor, Shawn Alfrey, who helped me with the application process. Had an interview on Tuesday, and this afternoon I was notified that I was accepted into the program. It's unpaid, but I think the experience I'm going to receive from working at Senator Bennet's office is going to be invaluable for my future career prospects. And I wouldn't have known about it if not for DU's Honors Program. Talk about perks!

In any case, I'm really excited, so I think I'm going to get some celebratory Illegal Pete's nachos. More information on this internship when it comes.

Thanks, and I hope you're all doing wonderfully.

/ Christian

Officially Accepted for Study Abroad!

Hey everyone – just a quick update.

So if you remember I posted a few weeks ago about receiving my nomination for study abroad. Well, that was just the first (albeit by far the biggest) step in my abroad application process. Once I received the nomination, I then had to submit program-specific materials, which, thankfully, took a lot less time to gather.

In any case, last week I was sent an email from the associate director of the China Studies Institute in Beijing, with an official notification of my acceptance. So, basically... it's all happening, for sure.

It's almost impossible to wrap my mind around the fact that in just a few months I'll be flying across the world to study in one of the world's most populous cities. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive... but I think I'm more excited than nervous. Luckily, we've got a few pre-departure and regional orientation sessions to attend this month, so that will hopefully quell some of my unease. I suppose only time will tell, though!

Hope all is well, and I'll talk at you soon!

/ Christian

First Weekend Craziness

So, remember the craziness that was all the work I had to do after the first week? Well that craziness extended into the "play" aspect of my weekend.

It began at my house up in Boulder, where I had spent Friday night on account of some doctors appointments I had that afternoon. After spending all of Saturday afternoon doing homework/work for the Clarion, I drove down to my brother's house to watch the KU/Ohio State March Madness game. My brother's a KU alum, who was actually at KU the year they won the National Championship. We got some Biker Jim's sausages (which I should really devote a whole blog to at some point) and enjoyed the game.

KU was down by 13 points early in the game, but ended up winning it in the last couple of minutes. Incredible.

 

It was a bit like this, only in the safety and comfort of my brother's house. My screaming sounded pretty much the same, though.

After the game, some friends and I drove down to Beta Nightclub in Lower Downtown (LoDo) to see one of my favorite DJs of all time – Jacques lu Cont. I ended up writing a piece about the show for the Clarion, which you should be able to read later tonight if the mood strikes you, but let's just say it was INCREDIBLE.

Here's a video from earlier that month at a different set (unfortunately my iPod died so I couldn't film the craziness), but it'll give you some idea of what it was like.

 

Thankfully for you, the video isn't as sweaty as the actual dance party was. Still so much fun though!

The show ended up going until 2am, and I didn't get into bed until after 4, so let's just say I was pretty doggone tired the next day and was in bed by like 9pm. Worth the exhaustion, though!

Hope you had a good weekend yourself! Let me know in the comments how your bracket ended up doing!

/ Christian

Takeaways from the First Week

Okay, I'm officially done with my first week of classes, and let me just say that this weekend will be probably the busiest first-weekend-of-a-quarter I've ever had at DU. So much reading to do, work the first week and Sunday at the Admissions Office, not to mention my duties with the Clarion have increased for the start of the quarter (they'll decrease eventually once I get an Assistant Editor to help me with things, but for now: wow!)

All of this might actually require me to drop one of my two-credit classes, 'cause the reading for my INTS class is going to be rather time-consuming. Spent about 3 hours reading and annotating 25 pages of one of my books. Yikes! Learning a lot though, which is fun.

Also, on the plus side, my first day of class for INTS, we had General George Casey come in and speak to us about diplomatic-military relations (which he's actually teaching a class on at DU right now), which was a truly amazing opportunity to hear as an undergrad. I actually saw him speak Fall quarter (though on a different subject), and he's just a wonderful guy to listen to (with enough credentials alone to blow you away.)

And, speaking of important people... former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is speaking at DU, tonight. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend on account of my duties with the Clarion on Monday nights, but I did get put on the guest list to see another rather important woman, Madeleine Albright, at the Cable Center two fridays from now! To have Casey, Rice, and Albright all on-campus within two weeks of one another is really quite outstanding. Extremely excited.

In any case, I should probably go get some of my work done, but I hope all is well and that you're enjoying the fabulous weather!

Best,

/ Christian

Back from Break!

Ah, syllabus week. That wonderful week every quarter when you can sit back, relax, and enjoy short classes with no homework...

NOT.

Not this quarter, at least. Just checked out my syllabus for my semi-grad-level INTS class and it's looking like I'm gonna need to have a couple hundred pages and some change before the next class. And that is, of course, combined with all of my other reading... so much for easing back into class! Although, this shouldn't really have come as too much of a surprise... the size of the stack of books for that one class alone probably should have been some indication of things to come:

For scale, each "S" in "Kissinger" is the size of an average American home.

Despite the fact that me and the library are going to pretty much have to become best friends this quarter, I'm really quite excited for all my classes. I enjoy a challenge and I have a feeling I'm gonna learn a lot from them. :-)

In any case, I should probably go get to work! Hope you all have been enjoying the first days of spring, and apologies for the gap in posts – I didn't have internet access for most of break (which was AWESOME, by the way, more on that to follow!) so now that I'm back at DU I'll be back to my regular posting habits.

Best,

/ Christian

Finals Week madness

So, before I blog about my spring break plans (which I am SO excited about!), I wanted to do a quick recap of how this quarter's finals went, to give you an idea of what it can be like to be CRAMMIN' at the end of the quarter.

The madness officially began the Saturday before finals week. Spent about 3 or 4 hours at a group study session for my ECON final, and then did a few hours of ECON study on my own. Followed that up with some work on my ASEM final paper, and then called it a night.

Sunday began. Worked a lot more on my ECON final, and then, again, worked some on the ASEM paper. And there went a day. Oog.

And then it was Monday. Had class that day, unfortunately, and then I hightailed it to the library where i spent the next 11 hours. Fun stuff. Worked on memorizing my ECON essay questions, and then dove into my INTS final topics. Went to bed at 4 am. Woke up at 9.

Went to my ECON final, power-wrote for two hours, and then sprinted over to the library to spend the last couple of hours I had on studying for my INTS final. Glad I did; it helped a decent amount. Power-wrote for another two hours. Boy, oh boy, my hand hurt.

That night, as wired as I was, I started studying for my Politics of China (PLSC) final, while simultaneously finishing up my essay. Up til 1. Up at 6. Spent the remaining few hours studying for PLSC, and then took the final. Got a 97%. :-)

Which left me with about three hours to finish up my ASEM essay by 5pm. I did just that, and sent it in almost exactly at 5.

PHEW!

I gotta say, I'm pretty happy that's all over!

My next post will be MUCH more relaxing. :-D

Hope all is well!

/ Christian