Happy New Year!

author: JulieT category: Uncategorized tags: , , date: April 25th, 2009

Last weekend was Cambodian New Year and one of the largest festivities are held at Wat Dharmararam Cambodian Buddhist Temple in Stockton, Ca. The event is a week long featuring traditional Cambodian food, crafts, entertainment and of course, prayer.
I’ve gone every year since high school and despite the fact that half of my friends are Khmai, I wouldn’t understand them nearly as well if I didn’t go to events like these.  And if you don’t know anyone, it really is a true cultural experience for the eyes, ears and tummy!!

One of the largest Buddha Statues

One of the largest Buddha Statues

I don't know that girl but she looks cute

I don't know that girl but she looks cute

Temple

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Berkeley Block Party

author: JulieT category: election 2008 tags: date: November 9th, 2008

On Tuesday night, a little past 8:30pm, one of my roommates yelled, “Party on the street! Party on the street! Julie come!” So we headed out towards Shattuck and to my surprise, there was literally a party on the street. There was music playing from Guerilla cafes, a ghetto-fabulous-Berzerkeley -styled-Scooby Doo-mystery-machine with a couple of kegs and old drunken people dancing the sprinkler

Somewhere in the middle of this, I realized that choosing to come to Berkeley really was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Never in my life will I see anything like this and never in my life will I have gotten this opportunity if it weren’t for this town

This thought was strengthened when I went home this weekend. As my friends and I sat around recapping the highlights of our lives from the past month, I found out that this Tuesday night block party wasn’t a nationwide event like I assumed it was

Me: So did Stockton go crazy Tuesday night at around 8:35?

Friend: huh? What?

Me: Tuesday night, elections…

Friend: Well, we were in the library and when we knew Obama basically had it, we did a little ‘woot.’

Me: Oh, so no crazy rampage of students? No broken library windows? Nobody climbing light posts? Nobody climbing on buses?

With a shocked/WTF/damn-Berkeley-people-are-crazy expression, she simply replied, “No.”

So for those who missed out, shame on you! You missed out on history

For those who felt like Waldo in the crowd, have fun looking for yourself in all those facebook pictures. You have some awesome stories to entertain your grandkids in 40 years (even if you failed that bio midterm and now have to retake the class because you spent three hours on the street cheering with your classmates…your grandkids don’t need to know about that part).

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