Sophia: Hi everyone. Welcome back to On Magnolia Square podcast. This is your host Sophia. And today we'll be having an exciting episode with bringing on a sophomore NYU Shanghai student guest. Could you please introduce yourself?

Andrew: Yeah. Thank you Sophia for inviting me to your podcast. Pleasure to be here. So my name is Andrew, currently a sophomore at NYU Shanghai. I'm from New Jersey, from the US some of you guys probably know that or are from there as well. But yeah, thank you for having me.

Sophia: And what are you majoring in?

Andrew: I'm majoring in economics v and hopefully get a minor in data science and social science.

Sophia: Ooo that's interesting. So as we are now v at finishing midterms and getting towards final season, how are you feeling right now about the semester in terms of your classes, friends, even homesickness? You mentioned how you're economics major, so do you think it's challenging around is time?

Andrew: Yeah, I mean, I would say probably most kids are same as how I feel where, you know, we just had midterms, kind of we're past that checkpoint, now we have finals. I would say I'm doing okay, right? I'm kind of keeping the studying going, preparing for finals coming up in a month. Friends, you know, kind of same friends, keep it going, right? Hang out on the weekends, try and keep a good work-life balance, not too much staying in the library all the time, but also, you know, hanging out. As far as homesickness goes, mean, last semester I know it was a lot harder. This semester, you know, I'm just excited to be back with family back in the States. But yeah.

Sophia: What do you, you mentioned how you thought that the homesickness was a lot harder in the last semester. What do you think's the difference between how you manage that and why do you think it is worse then and better now?

Andrew: Yeah, I mean, I think for as far as homesickness goes, right, you know, we're kind of, as like I would say, sophomore class, more adjusted to living in a new environment. You know, I think this semester compared to last semester, definitely not as much ambiguity with, you know, how living in the dorm, going to school, kind of more used to that routine. We're not freshmen, right? So I think in terms of the routine, we have it down, right? And yeah, I would just say we're more adjusted to the environment here.

Sophia: Awesome. And for any freshmen who are listening, do you have any advice for them? I know they're about to be going into their second semester of their freshman year. So do you have any words of encouragement that could help them with homesick?

Andrew: Yeah, I would say, I mean, as a freshman, one thing that I did was just kind of push through it, right? Tough it out. So there's really not much to do, I guess, keep in touch with parents, right? Do as much as you can, stay active, maybe with your friends back home, so you still feel that connection. But I would say for the most part, you got to kind of go head first, dive into the new environment here, get used to it, get adjusted to the culture differences, right? Even room, new roommates, right? That's a big thing. But those are all kind of culture shocks that you kind of have to adapt to. There's not as much to do in terms of not, you know, accepting that you're here, right? I mean, maybe when you get here at first, you're like, okay, it's vacation, but it's not, right? You quickly realize this is school and you're living here more full time, right? So, yeah.

Sophia: Awesome. And so now we're going to discuss more about your workload. So what is your current workload like and is it easy to manage? And what do you think your stress levels are right now?

Andrew: Yeah, I mean, I would say in terms of workload, as far as academically is right now pretty - pretty stressful, relatively speaking, to last year. And the reason I say that is because last year after midterms, I mean, you know I was able to relax a little bit more, kind of have more time, free time, right, hang out with friends a lot more. Now I would say, again, because midterms came out, you know, taking harder classes this year, it's just the workload towards the end is a lot more, I would say. And you kind of have to keep more of a steady pace when it comes to studying and reviewing your notes and all that. So I would say my workload is quite a lot, relatively speaking, compared to freshmen years after midterm kind of time period. But yeah, and also kind of with extracurricular activities, I'm currently doing economic society and in the eboard. And so coordinating events, kind of making sure everything is marketed well, putting out, you know, all the information we need to and all that research groups kind of a little bit challenging, time consuming. But yeah, it's manageable, definitely manageable.

Sophia: And so talking to younger students, freshmen, even study aways who aren't used to being so far from home or being in a completely new different culture, do you think a good tip for other people is to join clubs, get more involved, keep your brain moving more often to avoid that homesickness, to avoid the stress of your current workload, to give you a kind of break from what other things you have to do?

Andrew: Yeah, I mean, I think in terms of distracting yourself, I mean, I don't know if that's a good word to use, but still kind of just joining extracurricular, either clubs or sports, or even just going to more events on campus. I mean, I think that's just a good way to get more adjusted, as I mentioned before, to your environment, right? I think at the end of the day, you can't really push away the fact that you're in a new country and you're far away from family. That's always gonna stay in the back of your mind. And that's just a fact that you have to live with. So, but I totally agree. I think, yeah, definitely getting involved with clubs is a good way to feel more at home in this environment because I think at the end of the day, you can't try and convince yourself that you're not living here, which may be as much, you know, kind of for more freshmen perspective, as much as maybe a lot of freshmen feel that they don't necessarily live here full time, you're gonna begin to realize as you go into kind of second semester and you stay, right, you're gonna feel a lot more like this is your home, second home, whatever, third home, whatever it is. You're gonna feel a lot more like this is where you're living full time. And yeah, I would definitely encourage students to get involved with clubs, student government, whatever it may be that piques your interest, yeah, definitely.

Sophia: Awesome. So now we're going to touch more about personal health. And as the semester's coming to an end and we're maybe getting in that slow, steady stress levels, but then it might ramp up due to finals, how would you say your overall health has been in terms of keeping good workout and eating healthy, trying to prioritize health over going out with friends or prioritizing sleeping over studying. How do you keep that balance? So then you stay healthy and you don't get sick.

Andrew: Yeah, I mean as far as keeping… I used to start off with like the kind of for more like physical side. So for me, I mean I try and go to the gym every day. At least I go four times a week. So that's pretty good kind of to just clear my mind. Really helps after if l have like meetings or something.Just so that I can kind of process whatever was talked about, or even after like I just finished an assignment. It's really good to clear your mind. I also do run club, you know unofficial marketing for run club right here, but definitely join run club running is really good. I find that it clears my mind super well just extremely kind of… how do it what's a good way to put this like it's just a refreshing new clean slate after you finish your run. And yeah, it's just a good way to reset your mind basically. So that's kind of what I do for physically to stay physically fit. And I find actually that kind of goes hand in hand with my academic performance as well. So kind of switching more to the academic side, I think that's a really big positive.

Sophia: Awesome. So getting towards the end of the semester, I know for me, I do get homesick and when it reaches the last two weeks of November, getting to December, I always feel really eager to go home. I'm like, this is it. I sometimes may lose, you know, focus on my finals and I just want to rush through everything just so I can finish it, so I can get home. What's your advice? And if you feel the same way or don't feel the same way, what's your advice to keep going, push until the very end? So then you feel accomplished, you do good, and then you worry about going home because some people may feel rushed and just want to get everything done so that they can go home.

Andrew: Yeah, I mean, I think as far as going home, I mean, I understand, right? Especially I would say this is definitely more for freshmen, right? So I think by the time you're a sophomore, right, you're already familiar again with this routine living here and going home and that feeling and all that, right? The excitement of seeing family, friends back home. That's kind of… you already expect that. I would say, you know, because usually we all leave right after finals end, I would say mentally maybe that's hard because you're already mentally out of Shanghai, even though you're still here. And obviously finals week is one of the most important times of the semester. As far as staying motivated, right? I think, again, right, clubs, staying active, whatever it is, going to the gym, joining some sports team, that would be really good. But yeah, guess the motivation from my perspective always like you have it has to come from within. You know, you can't find, I guess like a solution in terms of like, I miss home and but you're not you're not you're not home, right? So you're not going to be home until whatever the day your flight is. So I think is, you know, the quickest you can sort of accept that and then be like, okay, you know, this is when I can leave and you may be justified in your mind by saying, okay, you I'm gonna get assignments A, B, C done, or I'm gonna wait till final, whatever, X, Y, Z is over with, then I can go home, right? Kind of like giving yourself, I guess this like self-discipline of like, okay, I'm gonna get through this and then I'm gonna allow myself to like think about home.

Sophia: Yeah, I really like that. I feel like it's interesting because I feel like I struggle with, you know, not focusing on what I need to be focusing on. And if you, and to the listeners, if you are feeling that way, it's completely normal. And I think take Andrew's advice. This is why he's on this podcast because he does know what he's talking about. So now let's talk about, know, what's your, any like personal things about the semester? I know we're getting towards the end, but how do you feel? Like, do you like the second half of the semester more or the first half of the semester? What's your opinion on that?

Andrew: I mean definitely the first half because it's not as I would say stressful definitely towards middle of semester I'd say midterms and on it's grind grind grind. Just because you have a lot to think about right you have to plan out the studying. Generally speaking right I mean midterms people don't do super well just because I know also too like from faculty right the midterm is for most classes may to be harder than the final. And that's in order to get you to prepare yourself for the final, right? To get you motivated more. And so I would say, yeah, in a way that's a, I don't know, faculty's way of pushing you or whatever. But I would say, yeah, the second semester, the second half of the semester is definitely more challenging, a lot more workload. The first part of the semester, the only thing I would say that's maybe more challenging is, creating the routine for yourself. think it's easier to, I guess I should say it's easier maybe for some people to work harder, but yet on the same routine. Whereas when you first come here, right, maybe you don't have that routine down, you got a new schedule, you got new whatever classes with people, all this, that you have to kind of get adjusted to in your mind. That takes more work, right, than just kind of mindlessly going through the day. So yeah.

Sophia: Awesome. Thank you. So what is some stuff that you enjoy looking forward to in the second half semester? I know Christmas is coming up. Any events or anything particular you like looking forward to?

Andrew: Yeah, I mean, so Christmas definitely, I think, I mean, we're not here during Christmas, but yeah, from Thanksgiving on, mean, I don't really do, I don't celebrate Thanksgiving really much here. But I do go to the Christmas market in Shanghai, which is really nice. And good food. mean, it's a good kind of gathering, I would say, if you're looking for some, not necessarily, I guess, if you're American, not necessarily traditional American Christmas food, but it still kind of has similar flavors, right? You can get crepes, whatever you can get, yeah, Western food.

Sophia: Awesome. What is your prime like on the weekend…what is the one thing you must do on the weekend to have like a nice little break from school?

Andrew: That's kind of an interesting question because I think for me at least it depends on the weekend. So I mean as of now for me the weekends kind of are like back to back things going on. But generally speaking right I meanI do, I mean, I like to take walks, kind of walking around the park or, I don't know, just walking to campus, things like that, if I have to study or whatever there. So that's kind of good to clear my mind. And as far as, I mean, even stuff like going out to dinner, I think sometimes, right, like whatever grade you're in, you just want to leave the dorm, you want to get out of your room. And I think kind of leaving the campus, getting that breath of fresh air or at least just get in sunlight. That's, I think, important. Yeah.

Sophia: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for all of the helpful input in this episode on Magnolia Square podcast. Is there anything, any closing remarks that you want to say to our listeners about the second half of the semester? Any last minute tips or advice that you can give them?

Andrew: Yeah. I mean, guess for maybe assuming the audience is kind of more oriented or more freshmen, I would say, you know, try… this is maybe not gonna make sense now, but I would say when you go back home and you're on… because for me, at least, you know, for me, it wasn't going back the first time that was hard. It was coming back here the second time. I think that was what was much harder because as far as I think from my understanding, right, as a freshman, you think this is basically a long term vacation. For at least a couple months just because it doesn't seem real and it's a new environment and all that so I think you know maybe right now most people are like, you know, whatever it's like I'll go home but I would say, you know have the mindset of like you know miss home, right? That's perfectly fine. But also kind of recognize as you're going home like okay I'm gonna be back in Shanghai and I'm gonna whatever improve maybe an aspect of my lifestyle or I'm gonna you know, try and better things like through your mind kind of, and appreciate time with friends, family, when you go back home.

Sophia: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. I enjoyed having the time to talk to you and everything, and I hope that the rest of your semester goes as planned.

Andrew: Yes, thank you for having me, and I hope the same for you too.

Sophia: Thank you.