Engineering Christmas Party

Written as part of Official Student Blogger Program for Trinity University.
I don't celebrate Christmas because I am a non-Christian and I don't usually publicize my religious affiliation but my parents are Hindu and I love my parents. But, at every chance I get, I join others to share happiness and eat good food. You got it, it's again about authentic off-campus food.

Contrary to what people like to believe, engineers do take off time solving differential equations to relax and enjoy. Evidence: Christmas Party organized by Engineering Department. And, most of the food was home-cooked, some by professors' wife (makes you realize how much professors care for you) That's unique about a close-knit community of Trinity University.

                                 (Moody Blues singing. From left, Tasha, Trey, Dr. Leifer)

I assisted in setting up the party since I work as an Electrician Shop Assistant for Engineering Department. The food was really good. My plates were full of rice (Basmati) and chicken curry cooked by Dr. Mahbub's wife (Please, accept my thanks). It was a good break from intense pressure that we students are feeling during this Final exam week. And, to add value to the party, Moody Blues (led by Dr. Leifer) recited Christmas songs and an original composition by Caroline that made fun of engineering and engineering professors, in a good way. Everyone laughed and enjoyed.

Winter Jubilee

I wrote this blog-post as part of Official Student Blogger Program for Trinity University.

I love cultural events at Trinity University. There's so much off-campus food, some authentic, others not quite authentic but, off-campus food nonetheless. My attendance and volume of audience at most of these events  depends on advertisement about authenticity of off-campus food. And, if it's Indian food, the crowd just swells.

Trinity Diversity Connection, the umbrella organization for all cultural clubs at Trinity University organized a Winter Jubilee cultural event, the grand cultural event to seal off Fall semester. And, it was great. Several cultural clubs were present and there was an extensive variety of delicacies and cuisines. It's events like these that make me realize how diverse really Trinity is. When I see Indian girls creating beautiful mehndis (heena) designs on other students' palms, it reminds me of large international student body that constitutes more than 10% of student body. 

I ate a lot of food, and ate marsh mellows for the first time, but can't say I would want to try it in future owing to its sticky nature.

Why Humans are Never Satisfied

An excellent comic of why humans are never satisfied. It's very funny and accurate. Should motivate you to reflect on your own lives.

Picure taken from: Fortune Watch.

International Holiday Dinner & Gift Exchange

Again, I wrote this as part of my Official Student Blogger for Trinity University.
        
     Trinity students were treated to exotic cuisines yesterday which included authentic Nepalese style cooked momos, popularly known as dumplings. The program was organized by International Programs office in collaboration with International Club. Students at Trinity come from 57 different countries and there was a representative dish from each one.

      No, I'm kidding. But there were authentic and representative dishes from several countries. It was home-made meal cooked by students, international programs staffs assisted by dining services staffs. I was involved partly in cooking momos which ran out before everyone had a chance for first serve. I'm not kidding. I didn't get to eat a single one since I was busy cooking other dishes in the kitchen while it ran out.

This is Sawan and Paurakh cooking momos.  Photo by: Inessa.

          Also, there was a traditional Christmas style gift exchange which was a good experience for international students who were not previously aware of how Christmas is celebrated in the US. I got a "I love Texas" logo in exchange for my little "statue of liberty" replica. To make exchange more interesting and add some mystery to game, gifts were wrapped which meant one had to choose a gift based purely on instincts, but people tended to use size as their primary choice variable. So, my gift was chosen last. No one noticed, except me.

        In addition, my host family- Roy and Cammy- two great people also were invited for the dinner and we had a very nice conversation with them. It's always nice to have a family here in the US while I am away from my home in Nepal.

Engineers in Action

(This blog was written as part of official student blogger program for Trinity University.)


Have you ever thought of who makes those bridges as you drive across one of them? They are not made in heaven, obviously. First year Engineers at Trinity get a decent exercise in Engineering field by designing a Truss structure, which is simply a fancy word for bridge-like structures.

Trinity Engineers use CAD and force analysis softwares to design and build trusses. The main objective is to build a structure with highest strength to weight ratio. To add a competitive edge, a truss design competition is held among first year Engineers where their structure's maximum strength is tested.

Truss competition is an annual event of Engineering Department that draws a fair number of spectators, who laugh and cheer as structures buckle and eventually break under heavy load. I participated last year (my Freshman year) and my group had won in the lightest structure category. Here are some pictures taken by a First-Year, Mohsin Rahim.