My experience at Santa Barbara City College (Astrid Sidibe)

It’s a bittersweet feeling that the semester is coming to an end. I have had such a great experience here in Santa Barbara both in and out of school. I have spent this semester with new found friends, myself and my amazing husband. In my last blog post I would like to share some good experiences I have gotten during my time here, mostly from school. The first thing was that I got this job as a blogger from the international student office my first semester here. Thank you Shelby! It made my semester even better!

The student Health Services, have been part of my support system while being here and that is a great place in school that offers a lot of different types of services. You can get 6 meetings with a counselor that you can talk to about anything for free during the semester. My counselor Betsy has been a great support during my time here. She is like mother nature herself with lots of  love and compassion.

THE WELL

I also fell in love with The Well this semester. It is a great spot for people to go to and work on their wellness. I am so thankful for Rebecca and her crew! You guys are giving us an opportunity and place to go and heal and grow. You ROCK!!

Thank you “Food Pantry” for all the food you have given us students! You are doing an wonderful thing for the students.

The CLRC center offer workshops that are very interesting and for free. I’ve been to 4 of them this semester and I have one more I would like to attend. They have been really helpful and/or a lot of fun. I hope more people take advantage and attend because you can learn so much and it gives a lot of value, at least to me. I really appreciate the workshops! It has been great! Also all of my teachers have been killing it during class this semester. They been really focused and driven to teach us what they know. So to my teachers I would like to say THANK YOU! I have had a great time here at SBCC!

San Francisco

Last I would like to share a little from our road trip last weekend. I went to San Francisco with my mother, brother and husband. It was a great weekend! We rode bikes over the Golden Gate Bridge, made a stop on our way to the bridge at the palace of fine arts, spent some time on Pier 39 and visit the famous prison Alcatraz. It is a lot to see in that city and also on the way back home especially on road 1, it was magnificent nature with beautiful views.  

If you ever get the chance to go there, then I think you should! Have a great day!

Love // Astrid S.

How to get the most out of your college experience!

It’s been a year since the big adventure in the land of opportunities started for me. An adventure that took me to study at one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. This is a story about my first year under the Californian sun at Santa Barbara City College.

Taking swimming classes

It’s not far of the truth if I say that the life I live now is a life that I have always dreamed of. Naturally, the first months at SBCC felt tough, since it took a while for me to adapt to all the new things, like the American culture and the different school system. When I got through the beginning struggles and started feeling that I belonged here, I started enjoying the Cali life for real. Thanks to SBCC’s amazing location and the great atmosphere around the campus, I manage many times to combine fun and school work. A good example of this is that I do most of my readings at the beach, sometimes even together with friends, while enjoying the ocean breeze and getting tan.

Film Studies was fun!

I take both studying and my free time seriously. The effort I’ve put in the school work during my first year has been awarded with Phi Theta Kappa Honors society membership, President's Honor Roll, and of course, with good grades. Next year I have plans to be more active around the campus. I got accepted to SBCC’s Ambassador program, which means that I’m going to be a SBCC Ambassador starting this fall. I’m also going to be volunteering and organizing different events together with the other ambassadors. My other goal for next year is to get a internship, which will hopefully give me some real life experience in my field of study. Furthermore, my active social life with both SBCC and UCSB students has brought me heaps of long-lasting friendships and tons of unforgettable memories. This has changed me as a person in a good way. Success in my studies and realization that political science is the right major for me has given me confidence to believe that I’m on the right path to fulfill my academic dreams. All the new friends and connections that I’ve made during my time in Santa Barbara have broaden my international network, which is not only just amazing, but can also be helpful when thinking about my future career as a diplomat.

But what do I do when it’s time for a study break? 

Hanging out with friends on the beach

The view from my balcony

When it's time to let my brain rest I give myself time to enjoy all the things that California has to offer. On my free time I visit other cities and sometimes even other states. So far, I have visited San Diego, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Palm Springs. Spring Break 2018 even took me all the way to beautiful Mexico. But as you probably guess, most of the time I don’t get to leave Santa Barbara because of school and that’s when I usually go hiking, surfing, swimming, play volleyball, or just chill at the beach.

Receiving the President's Honors Roll Certificate

The key of getting the most out of your SBCC experience is by being open to new things. By this I mean learning to know new people, taking classes you never thought you would or could take, and experience adventures you could only dream about before you ended up in Santa Barbara. I also think it’s important to get out of your comfort zone in order to get the most out of your college experience. This could mean making friends outside of your usual friends network. For many international students, this would mean to bond with people from other countries. Also, becoming friends with Americans (i.e locals) will help you to fit-in and get the real American college experience. In my opinion, this is also the best way to improve your language skills. By becoming friends with students who have a similar academic interest, can also help you to reach your academic goals. I also think it’s good to learn to know people from other campuses, like UCSB, because this way you will get a wider view of different campuses and universities in California. It can also be useful to know about other campuses if or when you start planning to transfer. I, for example, have lots of friends from UCSB, UCLA, and UCSD. They haven’t only helped me with my studies, but they have also shown me how things are done around their campuses. My advice for the students who want to get the most out of their college experience can be found in the old saying, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” meaning that it’s advisable to follow the conventions of the area in which you are residing. By putting an effort in your studies, it will make your time and money worthy, but in order to get most out of the unique Cali lifestyle, you need to remember to allow yourself to also have some fun and not to be afraid of adventures.

Sunset on the Beach