September_2009-FINAL

This summer in Moscow I shared a two-bed-

room apartment with a 45-ish year old writer

and professor of history and political science

and her 20-year-old daughter. We lived in an old

Soviet-style apartment building with 18 floors and

closet-sized elevators made to hold approximately

two people and one tiny dog. The apartment itself

was nice, though not by American standards. The

flooring throughout most of the house was trashed

wooden parquet, pulling up from the ground in

spots. The walls were lined with stained plywood

cabinets and peeling wallpaper and had been cov-

ered up with lots of pictures of my host when she

was young, or pictures of her daughter, or her

friend’s children. There were pictures of places vis-

ited, outdated maps of various countries, random

scribbles and childhood graffiti, and other things

that made my host family smile. There were piles of

newspapers and

books everywhere.

Technically, the toilet

worked, but the lid to

the tank was long

gone, and you had to

both pull and then

push this pin inside

the tank to get it to

flush. The adjacent

bathroom was tiled –

bright blue with a matching sink and tub, although

the sink hadn’t worked in years. It also doubled as

a laundry room.

One Friday night, I was in the bathroom, mid-

first-Russian-washing-my-clothes-by-hand-experi-

ence and trying to figure out how to get the last of

the soap out of my jeans when there was a knock on

the door. I was startled and opened the door cau-

tiously to find a tallish man, about my age, with

dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and with the

beginnings of a moustache. He had absolutely no

qualms about beckoning me from the bathroom

with a knock followed by a sullen expression. I had

never seen him before. He introduced himself as

Valode and then said something to me in Russian

that I gathered was some sort of invitation. From

the kitchen, I heard the professor calling and invit-

ing me in.

In the kitchen on the table there was this beau-

tiful, white, pink, and yellow cake, three cups of

tea, and three plates. Valode, a man who looked

well versed in the dark arts, was inviting me to join

them for his birthday.

We sat and ate this very strange, but very good

cake that was layered with a sweet peanut- flavored

frosting and this really yummy Styrofoam-like pas-

try. And we talked about… politics. I absolutely

enjoy the Russian practice of skipping the niceties

and delving right into an American’s worst night-

mare of a conversation. I believe that in the Russian

mind, the best way to get to know someone is

through a series of the following questions. 1) What

is your name? 2) Where do you (and every genera-

tion of your family) come from? 3) Where do you

stand on politics?

This was a new kind of political conversation

though. Valode said he had met many American

men, but never an American girl, and he wanted to

On 3 July, after sixteen hours in the

air and one night in Dubai,fellow SAISer

Gabe Serrato and I arrived at Kabul

International Airport. After walking

across the tarmac to the terminal, we

cleared immigration, and met our point-

of-contact, an Afghan contractor. An

armored Toyota Land Cruiser shuttled us

to a compound not far from the American

embassy, and a few days later to Camp

Julien.

Situated between two pockmarked,

bombed-out palaces built by King

Amanullah in the 1920’s, Camp Julien is

a small collection of cement and plywood

buildings, guard towers, latrines, and

Tesco bomb shelters. A spartan facility

by US military standards, the camp is

home to about 40 military personnel and

contractors tasked with operating CTC-A. The

director, Colonel John Agoglia, is energetic, enthu-

siastic, unbelievably hardworking, and always

entertaining. He is also very interested in creating a

mutually beneficial relationship between academia

and the military; Gabe and I represent an early step

September 2009 Volume 9 No. 10 The Newspaper of the Johns Hopkins University Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

A new eraPolitics in MoscowBy Nadine Szablya

Studying Strategy in AfghanistanBy Paul Kane

Continued on page 7Continued on page 6

The Observer sits down with Paul Alois, President of the Student Government

Association, and his cabinet

Flying doors-open in a Blackhawk

from Khost to Paktika. Khost Province, Afghanistan.

in that relationship building process. We had come

to Camp Julien to conduct research on the relation-

ship between insurgent activity and road construc-

tion in eastern Afghanistan.

The first couple of weeks included counterin-

I was startled and

opened the door cau-

tiously to find a tallish

man, about my age,

with dark hair pulled

back in a ponytail and

with the beginnings of a

moustache.

Anayo Osueke, Treasurer,

page 4

Larina Helm, Bologna

Rep, page 5

Vadim Gorbach,

First-Year Rep

Sebastian Muehlbauer,

Vice President, page 5

Paul Alois, President, page 4

May Nguyen, Social Chair

Sean Healey,

First-Year

Rep, page 5

September 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 2

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

The SAIS Observer

Editors-in-ChiefSamatha WatsonAndre Castillo

Graham Bocking

Contributors

Scott AbrahamsPaul Alois

Masha BolotinskayaLauren CohenNikolas Foster

Jamie HuckabayPaul Kane

Erin KelleyJessica Lambertson

Jinny LeeChris Liu

Nadine Szablya

The SAIS Observer is a news monthly written, edited, and produced by

the students of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

(SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University.

SAIS students, faculty and members of the administration at the

Washington, D.C. campus, Bologna campus, and the Hopkins-Nanjing

Center are encouraged to submit articles, letters to the editor, photographs,

cartoons, and other items for consideration.

Material for consideration or inquiries may be sent to : [email protected].

The SAIS Observer is an approved SAIS student organization. Opinions

expressed in the SAIS Observer are not necessarily the views of the edi-

tors, SAIS, or the University.

The Observer welcomes accolades, denials,comments, critiques, and hate mail at

[email protected].

Photos:Paul AloisMasha BolotinskayaVadim GorbachSean HealeyLarina HelmJamie HuckabayPaul KaneErin KelleySebastian MuehlbauerMay NguyenAnayo Osueke

Diversions:Keep your eyes and ears open and contribute to the sections

below! Email us at [email protected] with submissions

The OstrichWho’s having a good month, and whomight want to stick their heads in the sandand hope for better luck next month?

LosersDC Cab DriversDC cab drivers have apparently wonsome influence over DC CouncilMember Jim Graham.

Career Club Happy Hours

Career Clubs will not be forced to sharetheir scarce happy hour slots with otherclubs.

The New York Yankees

After clinching the American LeagueEast division, the pinstripes remain aclear favorite to nab their 27th WorldSeries title.

Angela Merkel

Merkel’s coalition posted a strong show-

ing and was able to claim victory in the

September 27 German elections.

Ted Loza

Ted Loza, Chief of Staff to DC CouncilMember Graham, has been indicted foraccepting $1500 in bribes from the "TaxiLobby."

Non-Spanish speaking IDEVers

Who, due to a new Spanish speakingrequirement, will be unable to attend thisyear’s official IDEV trip to El Salvador,despite being told otherwise last year.

Kanye West

Who, after his debacle with TaylorSwift at the Video Music Awards, hadthe honor of being called a “jack ass”by President Obama.

Al Qaeda

Who failed in their attempts to “sway”

German public opinion away from

Merkel by issuing a flurry of propogan-

da video tapes, with Gemran subtitles,

just before the election.

VerbatimWhat politicians andthe SAIS community

have been saying

Winners

Welcome Back SAISers!

We are a month into the semester, and

you first years are starting to get

the swing of things, you 2nd years

are are starting to get "senioritis" and

"jobitis." With first papers coming due and

midterms looming around the corner, summer

vacations, staycations and workations seem

like years ago. This issue hopes to rewet your

travel sense with some summer travel adven-

tures of your fellow SAISers. Read carefully,

first years, for tips for on how to make the

best of your summer.

As you know we have an entirely new

SGA. They have been gracious enough to

further introduce themselves to the student

body via interviews...so stop by pages 4-5 and

get to know the ins and outs of the new crew

working to make SAIS a fun, beer-filled, if

not academic place. But seriously, get to

know their faces and their stories, and make

them work for you!

We are excited to welcome the new first

year writers! We know how busy the begin-

ning of the semester can be and we appreciate

your enthusiasm to a jump in and start con-

tributing to the school. To our seasoned writ-

ers, welcome back! We've missed you. To

those who like what they read here, have a

strong opinion the school should here, or

think you can do better, we challenge you to

write for us! The Observer always needs

more writers, cartoonists, and photo journal-

ists!

Your editors have come back from

thrilling summers in Damascus, Arlington,

and Toronto. We worked hard, played hard,

learned arabic, consulting, and how the gov-

ernment works, and we are excited to share

our experiences and invigorated to give back

to you all via this your beloved, humble

school paper.

- Your Editors

3

5

50

117

151

8

12

13

4

0

9.6

47

By theNumbers

Number of classes thatraised their enrollmentcap.

Number of studentsenrolled in CanadianPublic Policy(SA.840.705).

Highest cap on a course atS A I S - I n t e r n a t i o n a lFinancial Markets(SA.380.772).

Number of studentsenrolled in all four corecourses combined.

Number of studentsenrolled in all sections ofMonetary this semester.

Average age people stopbelieving in Santa Claus.

Average age kids stoptrick or treating.

Precent of the 100-topgrossing films of all timemade by George Lucas orSteven Spielberg.

Average life expectancy,in seconds, of an enemysoldier in a Chuck Norrisfilm.

Number of Chuck Norrisfilms in the 100-top gross-ing films of all time.

Current rate of unemploy-ment in the United States.

Percent of dogs that sleepin a family member’s bed.

Is there a SAIS's most eligible bachelor,

you know for the faculty?" - Anonymous

SAIS Professor

“If you look at hunting-gathering societies, theyscrew around, then they go hunting, which is kind offun, then they go back to doing nothing, then they go

to war, which is also kinda fun. Really it’s the ideallife of a retiree.” - Anonymous SAIS Professor

“I don’t like organismic, because it sounds like

orgasmic, and I’m probably gonna drop a syllable,

so I’ll go for organic.” - Anonymous SAIS Professor

“Eunuchs might not be voluntary.” - Anonymous SAIS

Professor

“The recent trend has been to hide more of these…flu-

ids…ejections…I dunno what to call it.” - Anonymous

SAIS professor explaining how people are becoming

more self-conscious about their bodily fluids

“First you drink milk, then tomorrow milk is bad, then

green tea, then green tea is no good, then alcohol is

good for you alcohol is bad for you…how much time do

they waste on this? You think it’s funny, but these are

the things that create pogroms!” — anonymous SAIS

professor on the changing nature of societal standards

Ramblings on a SAISer’s Summer Travels


The first month of school has flown by, and your friendly neighborhood

SGA has been hard at work. Thanks to the efforts of many people, the

Orientation Weekend events went off without a hitch. We drank, we ate, we

drank, we played sports, we drank, we volunteered... did I mention we drank?

We also raised $2600 for SAIS alumna Hoa Tran - I have heard through sev-

eral people that she is very touched by the continuing support of her SAIS

family.

The SGA has also been hard at work accommodating all the new clubs

on campus. Due to the high number of clubs this year, for the first time non-

career clubs will have to share Happy Hours. Fortunately, we have already

seen from fruitful alliances. The German Club and Homebrewers are pairing

up, so hopefully we will have good some pilsner or hellasbraü. The Thai Club

and SAIS Pride are sharing a spot - I have no politically correct commentary

about that, but Sebastian wants me to work in the phrase "Happy Ending"

somehow...

The Welcome Back Party on September 12th went splendidly, so big ups

to May Nguyen and Team Austria for pulling that one together so quickly!

For those of you who missed it, we danced, we drank, and we handcuffed ran-

dom people together... what more could you want in a party? In all serious-

ness though, the pervasiveness of SAIS's three big cliques (1st year, 2nd year

DC, and 2nd year Bologna) does impact the school's culture. I think this party

went a long way towards integrating the different cliques, a trend I hope to

see continue.

Lastly, on September 25th we had a joint Happy Hour with Georgetown.

The proceeds from this event will go towards a joint event with them in the

spring. I hope to make this an annual event that draws our schools closer

together.

Thats all for now!

Paul Alois

SGA Monthly ReportThe student government chimes in with announcements and remindersBy Paul Alois, SGA President

A SAISer’s guide to the D.C.area

For a short, glorious time in autumn, the weather in Washington, DC is

beautiful. This is the prime time to get out of the library, and to see some

of the following seasonal attractions the city has to offer.

• The Kennedy Center

Both the Opera and the Symphony seasons have just started at the

Kennedy Center, and tickets are available for full-time students at half price.

The Washington National Opera, directed by Plàcido Domingo, will be per-

forming Falstaff, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Gotterdamerung. The National

Symphony Orchestra is performing everything from Beethoven to musical math

for children. Half-price tickets are also available for jazz concerts, dance

recitals, plays, and other performances. Additionally, there is a daily perform-

ance at 6 PM for free on the Millennium Stage. Attendees can walk or take the

free shuttle from the Foggy Bottom metro station.

• Maryland Renaissance Festival

If you need an excuse to play dress-up, the Maryland Renaissance Festival

will be open Saturdays and Sundays through October 25, from 10:00 AM-7:00

PM. The festival grounds are set up to replicate an English Tudor village.

Entertainment includes a variety of musical and theater acts, as well as combat

demonstrations. The food includes such typical fare as turkey legs, fish and

chips, Maryland’s famous crab cakes and seafood, as well as pizza and wraps

for the faint of heart. Vendors will be selling a variety of period-themed prod-

ucts, such as jewelry, leather goods, armor, weaponry, glasswork, and costumes.

Attendees can rent costumes just inside the fair entrance. Unfortunately, the

Festival is located in Ann Arundel County, and is only accessible by car.

• Washington Capitals

September marks the start of the hockey season. The Washington Capitals

have been the NHL Southeast Division Champions for two years running.

MVP Alexander Ovechkin was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article

documenting his rise to fame, as well as his seeming imperviousness to physi-

cal pain. The team’s owner takes good care of the dedicated fans, who have

been known to render the streets of Chinatown nearly impassible on many a

game night. The Caps play at the Verizon Center, and fans can watch their

morning practices for free at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex on top of the Ballston

Mall in Arlington.

• Bethesda Row Arts Festival

On October 17 from 11 AM to 6 PM, and on October 18 from 11 AM to 5

PM, Bethesda Row will be lined by 180 artists, primarily from the Mid-Atlantic

region. The Bethesda Arts Festival has been recognized as one of the top 200

fine arts shows in the United States. It features ceramics, drawing, jewelry,

metalwork, paintings, prints, and many other forms of art. Throughout the fes-

tival, there will be live musical performances, an artist demonstration tent,

street performers, and numerous food vendors. An art sale will be held to ben-

efit the NIH Children’s Charities, which provide support for young medical

patients. Bethesda Row is located on Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues, and on

Elm Street, east of Arlington Road. It is easy walking distance from the

Bethesda metro stop.

• The National Zoo

The National Zoo houses 2,000 animals representing approximately 400

species. Entry is free, as the zoo is a part of the Smithsonian Institution. If you

go early in October, you may get to see some of the animals, such as the golden

lion tamarins (endangered monkeys from Brazil), roam the park as part of a pro-

gram to eventually release them into the wild. The Zoo also has two different

Halloween events in the works. Students with young children may wish to take

them to Boo at the Zoo, where, from October 23-25, they can go trick or treat-

ing, as well as participate in animal encounters and discussions with zookeepers.

The over-21 crowd can attend the Night of the Living Zoo on October 30, where

they will watch “palm readers, fire eaters, talking bats, and illusionists.” There

will be music, food, beer, and prizes awarded for the best group costume. Both

Boo at the Zoo and Night of the Living Zoo cost $15 for members of Friends of

the National Zoo (FONZ) and $25 for nonmembers.

• Running of the Drag Queens

Halloween in Dupont Circle officially begins this year on October 27, when

the annual Pamplona-inspired DC Drag Queen Race will take place. More than

100 intricately costumed drag queens will run along 17th St. from JR’s Bar and

Grille to Trio Restaurant for the chance to win $50. Spectators regularly number

in the thousands and usually include DC Mayor Adrian Fenty. Although the race

begins at 9 PM, spectators regularly show up as early as 6 PM to get a prime

viewing spot.

Lauren Cohen is a first year M.A. candidate in Middle East Studies.

By Lauren Cohen

This past summer has been a time of intense traveling, socializing, pro-

fessional development and, most importantly, language immersion. I

have not done so much traveling within a three-month period since I

was an undergrad doing a semester at NYU in Florence.

SAIS is a great place. Not just for the academic experiences, for the

networking, and great friends, but also because it makes it fairly easy, from

both a practical and financial standpoint, to find an internship outside of the

country. Preparing for my summer, I chose to speak to with Professor

Charles Gati, who recommended me as a summer intern to the Director of

Freedom House Europe. Freedom House Europe is most know for their

Nations in Transit publication. Nations in Transit looks at countries in

Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union and gives each country democ-

racy ratings based on indicators such as: independent media, electoral

process, civil society, local and national government, judicial framework and

independence, and corruption. After a somewhat informal application

process and a phone interview conducted entirely in Russian, I found myself

heading to the airport to catch a flight to Budapest, Hungary.

Working for Freedom House was a wonderful opportunity. I met won-

derful people both at work and outside of work. I learned a great deal about

the process of rating countries and compiling Freedom House country

Masha with Andre Castillo (left) and Francisco Vázquez Ahued at

Qala’a Salaah ad-din (Saladdin Castle) in Syria.

Continued on page 7

By Masha Bolotinskaya

Paul Alois is a second year M.A. stu-

dent concentrating in International

Law and is the president of the

Student Government Association (SGA). He

sat down with the Observer to talk about

SGA, SAIS, and even some things that do

not start with 's' and are abbreviated.

Scott: (in Chinese) So, I hear you speak

Chinese.

Paul: (in Chinese) Yes, I took the proficien-

cy test last semester.

S: (not in Chinese) Did you live in China?

Where besides DC have you lived before?

P: I never actually lived in China. My dad was in the U.S. Foreign Service,

so I grew up in Latin America and Italy and Germany. And Florida was my

one place in the U.S.

S: Can you speak Spanish?

P: It's been a while, so my speaking is rusty,

but I can mostly understand what people are

saying.

S: In addition to being a first year representa-

tive last year, you also founded the Amnesty

International Club at SAIS.

P: I worked at Amnesty International before I

came here. Every university in DC had a chap-

ter but SAIS. We didn't have any clubs related

to human rights, which was something I thought we should rectify.

S: Why did you decide to get involved in student government?

P: SAIS was my top choice program. I was not at all into my high school or

college, but was really excited to be at my top choice. I wanted to get as

immersed in the program as possible. Also, I worked in DC for two years

before that, doing research at a think tank. That work was very academic,

and although that is great, I realized that being effective also requires some

of the more mundane stuff, like meetings and budgets. I thought that SGA

was a good way to enhance that skill set, and it has.

S: Do you have a title you prefer? For example, there was Alexander the

Great, Hagar the Horrible...?

P: I like El Jefe. In my Chinese class, I told my teacher to call me Chairman

For Life.

S: Do you have a leadership role model?

P: I do. In War and Peace, Tolstoy writes about General Kutuzov. I like his

management style. He accepts that 90% of what goes on he can't control. He

accepts that and focuses on the 10% he can.

S: What's the 10% of SGA you can control?

P: It's different every time.

S: What are the perks of being president?

P: The main perk is that you get to really be

completely immersed in the school, the cul-

ture, the people, and learning about the

administration. For me it's a challenge, not

in the academic sense, but more of a chal-

lenge organizing things and people.

S: What's an example of a challenge you've

faced?

P: I've spent a lot of time working on this,

which I hadn't anticipated: the number of

clubs this year is bigger than ever. I think

that five years ago there weren't any student

clubs at all, and now there are over 35, and coordinating all of that is pretty

challenging. This is the first year that non career clubs have to share happy

hours. Also, funding for clubs comes out of the SGA budget, so our budget

this year is lower than before.

S: What have you had to cut back on as a result?

P: We haven't had to cut back on anything planned, but a lot of spending in

the past has been on an ad hoc basis, which we won't really be able to do

now.

S: How do you balance your SGA work with your academic workload?

P: I put academics first, so if I had to decide between SGA work or class

work, that's the way I would go, but it hasn't ever gotten to that point.

S: What has been your favorite SGA memory so far?

P: Last year, the presidential inauguration was the day before the first day of

classes in spring semester. We had an inaugural ball here in Kenney that was

a great time. People went down to the mall during the day, got nicely

dressed up, then came back here for good food, good drinks and good times.

S: How about this year? What's an event that you're really excited about?

P: On September 25, we're having a joint happy hour with the Georgetown

School of Foreign Service. The money from that will be used to fund anoth-

Jessica: Why did you decide to go to SAIS in the

first place?

Anayo: SAIS is an outstanding community. Just

meeting and chatting with a fellow classmate is

often just as educational and fascinating as a full

lecture in an academic course. The challenging cur-

riculum and rigorous competitiveness of SAIS also

attracted me to the school.

Jessica: Tell me a little bit about your background,

and what you hope to bring to the Treasurer posi-

tion.

Anayo: My parents immigrated to the United States from Nigeria. After

moving around a bit in Texas they settled in Houston, where I grew up. I

picked up an interest in community development while studying at

Morehouse College. From there, I traveled,

volunteered, and sought adventure. In spite

of myself, I survived. Along the way I

refined my interest in development and com-

munity involvement. As the treasurer, I hope

that my hard work ethic and approachable

style both personalize the position and

increase the general openness of the SGA.

Jessica: What made you decide to run for

SGA?

Anayo: SAIS has an amazing student body.

SGA's role in helping to improve the stu-

dent's experience of SAIS sparked my decision to run.

Jessica: What made you interested in this position specifically?

Anayo: The technical aspects of accounting and succinctly communicating

information attracted me to the position of Treasurer.

Jessica: What do you hope to do as a member of SGA?

Anayo: I hope to build on the successes of the previous SGA to improve

the transparency and responsiveness of the SGA to the student body.

Jessica: Is there any issue you want to tackle right away?

Anayo: I'd like to improve the feedback mechanism between the SGA and

the student body.

Jessica: What are your main responsibilities as a part of SGA?

Anayo: My main responsibility is to account for the budget of both SGA

and the respective student organizations.

Jessica Lambertson is a second year M.A. candidate in Latin America

Studies.


Interview with Anayo Osueke

er joint event in the spring. I'm really hoping that this can become an annual

thing to build a better relationship between the schools.

S: You've lived in Latin America and Europe, and worked for a think tank,

Amnesty International, and the World Bank, and are now at SAIS. Where do

you go from there?

P: I'm hoping to move to New York next year. There are a couple of PhD pro-

grams in political science I'm interested in. I'm married, and my wife really

wants to go do her residency in New York.

S: Are you thinking of going into academia?

P: I haven't decided yet. I'd like to go into teaching, but I'm not sure about a

tenure track position at a university. The thought of teaching 200 18 year-olds

in a lecture hall is not appealing. You may as well just put that up on YouTube.

I really liked working at the World Bank, and I wouldn't mind going back to

work there and teaching some classes at night.

S: You could be a professor at SAIS.

P: Exactly.

S: Finish this sentence: “Thanks to the SGA, SAIS students...”

P: Get cheap beer every Friday.

S: What's a fun fact about you that you'd like to share with the student body?

P: I love, no, I'm addicted to ping pong. So, if anyone wants a game, just come

find me and I'll be up for it.

S: Do you want to play?

P: Now? Sure.

Scott Abrahams is a first year M.A. candidate in China Studies

By Jessica Lambertson

I traveled, volun-

teered, and sought

adventure. In spite of

myself, I survived.

Along the way I

refined my interest in

development and com-

munity involvement.

Interview with SGA President Paul AloisBy Scott Abrahams

Next issue: Interview with Social Chair May Nguyen

and the to-be-named M.I.P.P. representative. (First year repre-

sentative Vadim Gorbach declined to be interviewed).

The main perk is that

you get to really be

completely immersed

in the school, the cul-

ture, the people, and

learning about the

administration.

The number of clubs

this year is bigger than

ever. I think that five

years ago there weren't

any student clubs at all,

and now there are over

35, and coordinating all

of that is pretty

challenging.

Anayo Osueke, SGA

Treasurer

Paul Alois, SGA President

Sebastian Muehlbauer is from Vienna,

Austria and naturally grew up with a pas-

sion for classical music. He sang in a

choir since he was 12 and was the singer for a

rock band for 2 years. As he grew older,

Sebastian also began to explore a wide variety

of other interests and initially chose to study

German, French, politics, and communications

in university. A pivotal moment in Sebastian’s

life came when he studied as an exchange stu-

dent in France through the Erasmus (European

Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of

University Students) Program and fell in love

with the city of Paris. He finished his degree at

Paris III: Sorbonne University with a degree in

Business, French, and Italian. He continued to pursue his master’s degree

there and spent one year at NYU studying politics.

Last year Sebastian studied at the SAIS Bologna campus where he was

in charge of organizing the annual Bologna Austrian Ball, a tradition that

has been ongoing for 30 years. Sebastian and other Austrian students

brought over 200 students to Vienna and the event was an astounding suc-

cess. His experience organizing the Austrian Ball inspired him to take a

leadership position at SAIS. Says Sebastian, “I felt I had gained the trust of

my fellow students. I genuinely cared for their opinions and needs. I hope

to continue to build my leadership skills and serve the students at SAIS.”

Sebastian feels that the relationships he built in Bologna were extremely

personal rather than political. He is especially concerned with helping for-

mer Bologna students transition to life in D.C., and clear up any misconcep-

tions students from different campuses may have of each other.

Sebastian himself is still trying to figure out D.C. He loves the rush of

I had the opportunity to interview new SGA represen-

tatives Larina Helm, the Bologna Representative, and

Sean Healey, one of two first year representatives.

What follows is the personal interviews of these two

new SAIS figures in the SGA.

Jinny: Tell us a bit about your background.

Larina: I'm from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I studied

international relations and economics at Boston

University and I’m studying Energy, Resources

and Environment Policy here at SAIS. I plan to work in the U.S. Foreign

Service after SAIS. I enjoy traveling, cooking, eating, watching great movies,

being outdoors, rooting for the Boston Red Sox, and spending time with

friends and family.

Sean: I grew up in Long Beach, California. I come from a working class

background, I was the first from either side of my family to attend college.

After graduating from high school, I moved to New York to do my undergrad-

uate studies at NYU. I double-majored in Film and Politics, with my home

college being the Tisch School of the Arts. After graduating in 2004, I started

working at the Council on Foreign Relations. After working at CFR for about

7 months, I joined the Benenson Strategy Group, when it was still small. It

was a great place to get my feet wet as I instantly had much more responsibil-

ity there than I would have had at a bigger firm. We did a lot of great work,

culminating with Joel Benenson, the founder, leading the polling team for

Obama's Presidential campaign. I left BSG in Sept 2008 to move to China. I

received a scholarship from the Chinese government to study Chinese at a

university in Beijing. By that point, I had already been thinking about apply-

ing to programs like SAIS or Georgetown for nearly a year, so I thought it

would be a great experience before my graduate studies. I studied for one

year in Beijing and returned to the US right before Pre-Term. I am concentrat-

ing in China Studies and will also complete a specialization in international

finance. I'm interested in working in China and Hong Kong, ideally in the

areas of private equity, consulting and banking.

Jinny: What went into your decision to become representative?

Larina: I love my Bologna family, and I loved helping out with events and

making student life enjoyable last year in Bologna. For this year, I wanted to

help the Bolognese integrate into the greater SAIS community, as well as con-

tinue facilitating a fun student environment at SAIS. This is something I real-

ly hope to achieve.


Sean: SAIS is a dynamic community with people from

all backgrounds. Being the representative seemed like a

great way to get to meet everyone, especially those who

are not MA1's. I also enjoy planning events (talk to

anyone who went to my elaborate birthday party two

weeks ago!) and seeing my friends having a good time.

Additionally, this is my education and I want my

voice and views to be considered. What better way

to do that than getting involved in the SGA?

Jinny: What the best thing abut getting elected as a representative

Larina: More emails!

Sean: I received a lot of congratulatory emails,

Facebook posts and kind words from people

about the election. It's always inspiring to hear

people express their thanks. Since the speeches

last Friday, I've also had a number of people

come up to me with suggestions for the school.

I like being the sounding board for their ideas

and constructive criticism.

Jinny: What are the major things that you

would like to change, improve, or work on at

SAIS?

Sean: I think the 2nd year officers have a better

grasp of what needs to be fixed or improved.

They also know where to go to get things done and what's been attempted in

the past. I'm still learning! I do want to ensure that we have a lot of fun,

inclusive events that brings our school together. But my biggest priority is to

gather feedback from the students and ensure that their ideas are implement-

ed, or at the very least, seriously debated and considered by the senior offi-

cers and administration. Compared to the monstrosity that is NYU, the

bureaucracy at SAIS seems minimal. Hopefully that will means we can

affect change easily.

Larina: I'd really like to organize some events that help bring the whole

SAIS community together, and to better integrate Bologna and DC 2nd year

students with current first-year students. These events will hopefully bring a

little slice of Bolognese life to DC, as well as bring Washington to life for

those who are here for the first time (or the first time in a long time) so that

we can all share some of the best that Italy and Washington have to offer.

Jinny: Has Washington DC served you well so far?

Two for one: first year, Bologna reps share thoughts

living in big cities such as Vienna, Paris, and New York. However, D.C. is an

odd mix of both; a provincial-looking city that has both a metropolitan and

suburban feel. He says, “I know that D.C. is a city with motivated and busy

people, but I hope we can take the time out to get to know each other. We are

not a big school and the SAIS experience is special but fleeting.”

At SAIS, Sebastian is an IPE and Finance concentrator. He hopes that he

can learn to think more professionally this year at SAIS. Sebastian has interned

for 2 months at the United Nations in the Economic and Social Council and

enjoyed the experience tremendously. However, Sebastian will probably not be

interning this year at SAIS. “I generally don’t support students interning while

studying because it takes from the experience of school.” This semester he will

be taking Multi Corporate Finance, Financial Derivatives and Risk

Management, Russian & the New Eurasia, and Global Business Strategy. Also

he is learning Russian.

As for the SGA experience, Sebastian is extremely excited to be working

with the current team. “Paul was a 1st year representative last year so he is

very organized and knows everything that is going on. Anayo is great with

numbers, May is so active and helpful and Larina does a great job of caring

about issues concerning former Bologna students.” Sebastian has a special

interest in academic affairs and has already held a meeting. He was very happy

with the large turnout and believes the student committees will greatly increase

academic quality. He says, “I love to complain about what is wrong. I am not

afraid to express my opinions and I believe that this will help stimulate

improvement.”

The SAIS school year looks to be an exciting one and Sebastian will sure-

ly try to participate fully in student life. As a final message to students,

Sebastian hopes that we can all come together and get to know each other more

closely, “Our experience here at SAIS is truly special. I hope all of us can step

back from their professional focus and be more of a student.”

Chris Liu is a first year M.A. candidate in Korea and Southeast Asia

Studies

By Jinny Lee

My biggest priority is

to gather feedback

from the students and

ensure that their ideas

are implemented, or at

the very least, serious-

ly debated and consid-

ered by the senior

officers and adminis-

tration.

Interview with SGA Vice President Sebastian MuehlbauerBy Chris Liu

SGA Vice President

Sebastian Muehlbauer

Continued on page 4

First-year representa-

tive Sean Healey

Bologna representa-

tive Larina Helm


Truth and Fiction, SAIS and the real world: A CommentaryBy Nikolas Foster

As the craziness of the first month of the

semester dies down, it is high time to review some

of the axioms of SAIS education and how they are

applied in practice. As the joke goes, when you

pull a blank during orals, just answer “Free Trade!”

and the examiners will give you that $60,000 nod.

But, there is more. During our stint at SAIS, we

budding free marketers are steeped in the truisms

of perfect information, perfect competition, dereg-

ulation and other fundamentals of that good ol’

W a s h i n g t o n

Consensus.

Yet, certain

activities here seem

to undermine the

core of these cher-

ished maxims.

Shocked, we see

how even before we

test our economic

skills, in that world outside of the Nitze Courtyard,

our dearest theories are stabbed in the back by -

gasp- that same institution that preached these mar-

vels in the first place!

Let’s lay out the indictment: Perfect informa-

tion is one of the fundamentals of good decision

making- be it for Goldman Sachs’s decision to buy

another high frequency trading super computer, or,

the even more relevant need for perfect information

to base our decisions of the choosing of classes.

For the students, at least, there are syllabi and eval-

uations at hand so that we can see how our prede-

cessors fared in the preceding semesters.

You can only imagine the perturbation stu-

dents went through when one of these two tools

was snatched away. There are, for example, no

evaluations posted for SAIS course 400.808. This

is quite strange, since I remember my Fall 2008

classmates filling out reviews and evaluations very

diligently as they had a thing or two to tell succes-

sive students interested in taking this class. Have

they been lost? Suppressed? Data glitch? J’accuse!

Next, is a rite of passage that has been driving

graduating students ad delirium during that special

time at the end of their academic career. It is the

custom of experiencing how the monopolist inter-

sects the marginal cost and marginal revenue

curves and from that intersection draws a line up to

the demand curve at- hang on- exactly $60 for a

musty cap and gown. No competition, no other

provider, no recycling of that same looking college

gown that’s been hanging out in your drawer for six

years- nada. A measly six hours of sweaty poly-

ester-ness for what you could rent a tuxedo for a

night. What’s up with that?

Last on this enumeration of duplicitous deceit-

fulness is our one chance to venture into strategic

thinking and betting outside of the classroom- the

bidding process. Lucky are the few that hedged

their points and enter their last semesters with

bountiful quadruple digits in the bidding bag. Yet

our free points-for-access trade scheme is rendered

useless by an archaic leftover of the pre modern

times: nepotism, born out of class sizes so limited

that they can only admit their own. If thou aren’t

of the brotherhood of Strategic Studies you can

propel your 1500 bidding points up your derrière.

May the highest bidder win? Nope. Non-concentra-

tors trying to get into a class with Cohen, Kilcullen,

or whoever the latest hot shot du C.O.I.N. might

have no chance in overcoming their Most Un-

Favoured Nation status in the bidding world.

It’s been a rude awakening. For all you fellow

disillusioned, I feel for you. Maybe SAIS is just

trying to teach us about the difference between

practice and theory by employing a giant reality

show called the real world versus micro-macro-

trade-monetary-plus-two-econ-elective-palooza.

Oh well, I hope this doesn’t get me voted off….

Nikolas Foster is a second year M.A. candi-

date in Energy, Resources, and the Environment.

Moscow politics continuedContinued from page 1

know my opinion of everything. I stumbled over

where to begin in explaining my views on such a

broad topic, and was quickly prompted to answer the

forefront question in every Russian mind upon meet-

ing an American - how do I feel about Obama? We

promptly exhausted my Russian vocabulary on the

topic, allowing me to turn the tables, asking them

their views on American politics. Valode really was-

n’t sure how to answer, but my host, as a professor of

history and political science, was apt and happy to

catalog everything wrong with this great free nation

of ours.

She listed, without hesitation, the following:

Number One. Americans are not smart about the

decisions they make and, as a young nation we have

no sense of real history.

Number Two. Americans have global control.

Number Three. Americans don’t have any real

strategy when it comes to international relations.

I was then asked my thoughts on what might be

the fourth thing wrong with American politics. I love

being put on the spot when people know that you are

in graduate school, studying international relations.

Not only do they want to know your opinion, but

have also stacked every question to set you up for

failure. It’s a game really. “Well, this person is sup-

posed to know everything about everything in the

history of international relations, so I’m going to

stump them and show I know more than they do.”

Try playing this game in Russian. It’s even better. I

mumbled something about U.S. politics of the last 8

years as my easy-out fourth choice. You can’t imag-

ine how hard it is to explain these things with the

vocabulary of a fourth grader.

Back to Americans not having a sense of strate-

gy globally. According to Valode, this is because we

do not study chess when we are children. He asked

me if I know how to play chess. I do understand the

basics of the game, but not wanting to invite another

challenge to my intelligence and the intelligence of

all Americans, I said no. And then it was settled. We

were going to play chess and he was going to teach

me. So on this unassuming Friday night, instead of

going out to weave my way through another bizarre

and colorful night in the infamous debauchery of

riotous Moscow, I learned the “classic” strategy of

chess… po - Russki! There was very little help from

a dictionary. We played out all kinds of strategies and

spoke literally maybe five English words all night.

Two of these were something that he learned some-

where else – “cool move.” Every time I would make

a strategically respectable move he would say, “cool

move,” slowly and in a very heavy Russian accent.

And every time I was getting myself into trouble he

would say ehhhh… His helpful grunts were clearly

designed to give me just enough confidence and

direction to make the game interesting while pre-

serving victory for himself. About seven-eighths of

the way through the game I started thinking the full

five moves ahead and saw a bright little glimmering

spot of hope on the board. Innocently enough, I

declined his advice and ignored his protests and

played those five moves through. In the end, much to

Valode’s dismay, I won.

Number four? Americans do not know how to

play chess.

For more bizarre anecdotes of politics and peo-

ple from my first time in Moscow visit:

www.nadineinrussia.blogspot.com.

Nadine Szablya is a 2nd year MA candidate in

Russian and Eurasian Studies.

reports, but I also learned an immense amount

about the countries analyzed in Nations in Transit

through the process of editing. Additionally, thanks

to Freedom House I went to a European Union

Human Rights Conference at the Hungarian

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by a cruise on

the Danube River, in

the pouring rain.

Budapest looks amaz-

ing from a boat at sun-

set, by the way and I

have a lot of photo-

graphic evidence testi-

fying to the fact.

Budapest is a beautiful city with a fairly effi-

cient transit system. It is a great place to just walk

around and take in the sites. Budapest has an

absolutely stunning National Opera House, built to

rival the Paris Opera and admission for a perform-

ance is less than USD5. The largest synagogue in

Europe, second largest only to Temple Emanu-El in

New York City, is also there. While theaters are

numerous, it is odd to find American musicals,

entirely translated into Hungarian, prominent within

them.

The dessert and coffee culture is vibrant, as is

amazing food that comes to you in portions large

enough to feed a family of five from the west, or

possibly an entire small island nation in the Pacific.

Additionally, Budapest also has thriving Argentine

Tango and Salsa scenes. I loved dancing Tango out-

side of the Royal Palace on the Buda side at sunset.

Budapest is centrally located, allowing for bus

or train travel to a number of other European capi-

tals. A weekend in Zagreb with friends was just a

six hour train ride, while 3 travel hours got me a

weekend in Vienna. The train to Vienna has the

added benefit of using your train ticket to Vienna

for the public transport system in Vienna as an

unlimited weekend pass. The opposite is also true

if you are traveling from Vienna to Budapest. Sadly,

even though I am a pretty good language student (I

speak seven languages, some better than others),

unfortunately, I was unable to pick up more than 4

words in Hungarian in my eight weeks in the coun-

try.

Bumming around Europe was just a teaser of

travel, so I decided to join the SAIS mafia, the sum-

mer in Syria chapter, for three weeks. I arrived in

Damascus with the express goal of learning more

Arabic, where to my dismay I discovered that I am

petrified of speaking with strangers! A room at a

house with six other SAIS students was open and in

broken Arabic, I negotiated my three week rental.

The house was absolutely gorgeous and the roof

was the best feature. From our roof you could see

the entire old city. The roof of our house hosted

many dinner parties with discussion of current

events as well the overall political situation and key

players in the region. Our house was next to the

Sayyida Ruqayya mosque, in the Old City in

Damascus. A friend told me that Nouri al-Maliki

Iraq’s current Prime Minister, while in exile lived in

the Old City and sold trinkets in front of that very

mosque. Walking around this Sayyida Ruqayya, I

had this feeling that I was the only person driving

the wrong way down a one-way street. The funny

thing is that this feeling occurred irrespective of the

direction I was walking in. Living back in the

Middle East I rediscovered three dormant skills: the

art of elbowing people around me to walk from

point A to point B, pushing my way to the front of

the line (lines don’t actually exist in the region, it is

Hungary continued Continued from page 3

As the joke

goes, when you

pull a blank

during orals,

just answer

“Free Trade!”

I loved dancingTango outside of theRoyal Palace on theBuda side at sunset.

Continued on next page


Afghanistan continued

surgency seminars, training courses, and visits to

the Afghan National Army (ANA) training facili-

ties. Shortly thereafter I flew out to a Forward

Operating Base (FOB) about 20 miles from the

Pakistani border in

Khost province.

From the FOB in

Khost, I traveled by

Blackhawk up to

Gardez, in Paktia

province, and down to

Sharan, in Paktika

province. In all three

provinces—Khost,

Paktia, and Paktika—I was fortunate enough to be

able to interview a wide range of civilian and mil-

itary personnel. DoS Foreign Service Officers,

USAID reps, Human Terrain Team (HTT) mem-

bers, US Army Corps of Engineers, USDA reps,

DoD civilians, Afghan interpreters, contractors,

military personnel, and intelligence officers were

all extremely helpful, often taking an hour or

more out of their busy schedules to answer my

questions. I had a great experience out in P2K, as

the region is known, but the summer was not

without its challenges.

There were two challenges in particular that

really stand out. First, there was the challenge of

just finding people that were qualified to answer

interview questions. The main problem was that,

just prior to my arrival in Afghanistan, many of

the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs)

rotated out, meaning that in some cases I had

more in-country experience than the people I was

interviewing. Making matters worse, the trans-

mittance of institutional knowledge from one

unit to the next is not the PRTs’ strong suit.

Thus, in many cases PRT members could not

even relay information or lessons that they had

learned from their predecessors. Fortunately,

many PRT members had been in country before,

and there were always those government

employees, contractors, and soldiers that were

not attached to the PRTs and had been in-country

longer. Furthermore, I was able to (legally)

acquire a collection of government documents

that have proven to be invaluable sources of

information.

Second, logistical issues, especially travel,

were a frustrating exercise. I spent several days

in mid-July sitting at airfield in Kabul trying to

hitch a ride on choppers heading down to the

southeast. Every time an overloaded Chinook

(think olive drab, flying school bus) would

swoop in, I would be engulfed in a

cloud of dust and pelted with mar-

ble-sized pebbles.

Inevitably, the tail-gun-

ner would run out, we

would try to communi-

cate over the din of the

idle chopper; he would

shake his head, and off

they’d fly. Eventually,

though, I did find a spot

in a Chinook for the

one-hour flight to Khost. A few

weeks later, when the time came to

leave, getting out of the province was

another ordeal. I spent five days

waiting for the weather to improve so

the choppers could get over the pass

that led out of the Khost bowl. On

one occasion, I was treated to a

romantic, moonlit Blackhawk tour of

half a dozen Combat Outposts

Continued from page 1

I had a great

experience in the

provinces, but the

summer was not

without its

challenges.

Larina: Yes. Quite.

Sean: DC is actually a lot cooler than I originally

thought it would be. The Dupont area reminds me a

lot of the West Village and Chelsea in NYC, where

I lived for a number of years. Unfortunately, I

haven't had much time to enjoy the DC cultural

sights. The library seems to monopolize too much

of my weekends!

Jinny: Choose one word in each category and

explain why. Beer or Wine.

Sean: Beer. Because the French would never call

Moet "the beer of champagnes."

Larina: If I had to choose I'd say beer in DC, wine

in Bologna.

Jinny: Nitze or Rome

Sean: Nitze for the win. It has a much more vibrant

energy than Rome. It has group study rooms, the

library, events in Kenney, the ping pong table and

my locker. And all my favorite ladies working in

the cafe making me pizza and sandwiches.

Larina: Rome. Duh, it has the Colosseum!

Jinny: What is your dream honeymoon spot?

Larina: Well I suppose I'd have to examine the

opportunity cost of some place tropical and exotic

versus some place more traditional...

Sean: I've been fortunate in that I've already done

quite a bit of traveling. I would probably either

choose India or motorcycling through Eastern

Europe. Patagonia would also be incredible.

Larina, Sean continuedJinny: Anything you want to say to your fellow

SAISers

Larina: Enjoy the year, and please let me and any of

the other SGA members know if there is anything

we can do to make this year a great year at SAIS!

Sean: Get involved in school, whether it be the

SGA, a club or just throwing parties at your house.

We have a few different committees with the SGA

and we'd love to get more 1st year and MIPP stu-

dents involved. The Career Services people were

right when they said that fellow SAISers will be

your best resource once you've left the school, so

you do yourself a disservice if you don't meet as

many people as possible. So don't live in the library,

it probably won't help you get that first (or sixth)

job. Additionally, if you're unhappy with something,

get involved and let your voice be heard. The

squeaky wheel gets the oil, right? I like hearing

your complaints, but also let us know what is going

right at the school. When we know what you like,

we will make sure those things happen again. Also,

I've found that a "thank you" goes a long way with

administrators, school staff, professors and TA's.

Remember to say it and they'll be happy to help

you out the next time you need a favor.

Jinny Lee is a second year M.A. candidate in

International Policy-Environment.

Continued from page 4

more like a beehive formation), and yelling in a for-

eign language to get my point across.

A few days after my arrival I started taking

private classes with Basel Nejem, an excellent

Arabic tutor in the Christian Quarter of Damascus.

After several two and a half hour (10 minute juice

break, creating the distinct feeling of summer

camp) sessions of Arabic, I discovered that I was

able to engage random people in conversation by

both asking for help and just talking about every-

day things. Shedding my inhibitions about talking

to strangers in Arabic really helped me learn more

and get more confident expressing ideas in Arabic.

As a result of my Syria adventure, I am much more

confident speaking in class, which recently culmi-

nated in a two hour conversation entirely in Arabic!

Syria is a beautiful place with warm and friendly

people. I feel fortunate that I had an opportunity to

travel to Palmyra, Bosra, and two medieval crusad-

er castles with my SAIS classmates. In terms of

Arabic study, the Arabic in Syria is the closest to

the Modern Standard Arabic that we study at SAIS.

Very few people speak English there, which means

that if any of you are looking for complete Arabic

language immersion, Syria is the place to go.

Masha Bolotinskaya is a second year M.A.

candidate in Eurasia Studies.

(COPs) along the Pakistani border, only

to be deposited back at the FOB that we

had flown out of two hours earlier.

For a guy that has spent a good por-

tion of the last five years of his life

studying Afghanistan and counterinsur-

gency, my experience this past summer

really was more than I could have hoped

for. Not only was I able to make some

great connections, and learn about the

lives and work of the folks serving in

Afghanistan, but I was also able see what

it’s like to be near the front lines in a counterinsur-

gency campaign. Based on what I saw over the

summer, I think that our people in Afghanistan—

civilian and military—are the most capable, quali-

fied, and dedicated people that our country has to

offer, and, given enough time, resources, and guid-

ance, they will be able stabilize the country.

Paul Kane is a second year M.A. candidate in

Strategic Studies.

Paul (right) with fellow Strategic Studies stu-

dent Gabriel Serrato. just before their last con-

voy out of Camp Julien on 3 September.

Camp Julien, Kabul, Afghanistan.

G.I.s waiting for a 5:00 a.m. departure from the Sharana

airfield. Forward Operating Base, Paktika Province, Afghanistan.

Hungary continuedContinued from previous page

On one occasion, I

was treated to a

romantic, moonlit

Blackhawk tour of

half a dozen Combat

Outposts (COPs)

along the Pakistani

border.

healthily. You can mix the ingredients before going to sleep and turn it

on before you leave for school. When you arrive home the next evening,

supper will be ready to go.

Pre-cut your vegetables: Set aside a bit of time on the weekend to

prepare vegetables for the upcoming week. That way you can do the

clean up only once and have fresh food at-hand. These are also perfect

as a substitute for those Doritos if you need a snack.

Cook larger batches and then store them for later: Just don’t use

this as an excuse to eat the same thing Monday through Friday.

George Forman Grill: While they may be a bit of a pain to clean,

the Forman Grill was invented with the student in mind. Why? Because

the big man himself says so.

Canned Tuna from Trader Joe’s: Great tuna at a good price can be

used to create salads, dips, and grilled patties (assuming you like tuna).

Curing your cooking regress-itis will take several weeks, and may

only happen after midterms. In the meantime, my advice would be to

stay away from Five Guys (food coma anyone?) and embrace the $2 dis-

count at Baja Fresh (just remember to fill out that survey online and

bring the receipt back!). If worse comes to worse look for the Southeast

Asia studies lunch on Wednesdays, it’s by far the best. Strategy and

Policy only has brownies.

Jamie Huckabay is a second year M.A. candidate in Canadian

Studies

Dear SAIS Guy:

I’m mired in my first semester at SAIS and I can’t find

time to cook. Any ideas?

- Ravenous in Rome

Dear Ravenous in Rome:

They didn’t tell you in the SAIS calendar,

but a serious (and common) side-effect of starting graduate school is

cooking regress-itis. This is the technical term for regression to the state

of a college junior who lives on cafeteria

pizza slices and anything they can scrounge

from events in the Kenney Auditorium.

Those of us who can’t kick the problem by

second term discover that empanada store

on Connecticut and argue that a different

filling constitutes an entirely different meal.

I’ve heard all the arguments. It’s the

evening classes on Mondays and Tuesdays;

I live way out in Bethesda; I only have a hot

plate; the macro mid-term is coming up. The bottom line is that sophisti-

cated, urban SAIS students preparing for future leadership should not be

eating yogurt past 8pm, nor should we eat the same thing four days a

week.

However, there is a rare breed of students out there who have found

a path out of this quagmire. I’ve searched them out asked them their

suggestions on meal ideas and strategies that can cure your problem.

This ain’t your mama’s cooking, but it should be a step up from what

you’ve been having.

Use that slow-cooker: These contraptions aren’t just for Sunday

lunches with your family, they are actually a very simple way to cook

Dear SAIS Gal:

My first semester is going pretty well, but from what the second-

years tell me, my workload is going to be like the cafeteria during cook-

ie hour: caffeinated and jam-packed. During undergrad people at my

college usually hibernated in the library to get all their work done. I will

go crazy if I spend my whole week reading Arroyo's Monetary notes

alone in the newspaper room and talking to myself about intertemporal

trade. What's a girl to do?

- Fearing Waking Up Drooling in the

Library

"Being a graduate student is like

becoming all of the Seven Dwarves. In the

beginning you're Dopey and Bashful. In

the middle, you are usually sick (Sneezy),

tired (Sleepy), and irritable (Grumpy). But

at the end, they call you Doc, and then

you're Happy."

- Ronald T. Azuma

Granted, most of us aren't getting doctorates, but these stages defi-

nitely still apply. I myself am already into the Sleepy and Grumpy stage,

and it's only three weeks into the semester. According to the deluge of

official Hopkins emails, my likely infection with swine flu--thus the

Sneezy stage--is also right around the corner. I'm not going to discuss

how you too can prevent swine flu. However, avoiding sleeping and

grumpiness, as much as possible, is key to success in your academic

work and your relationships with your classmates. No one wants to be

shunned from their Corporate Finance group for snarling or falling

asleep during your collaborations.

How to keep a little bit of joy in your life?

Many SAIS students enjoy kicking back with a beer

(or several) at happy hour on Friday, which is definitely

one of the best deals in the neighborhood. Where else

can you go to get cheap drinks and eats? Wing Night on

Tuesdays at the Big Hunt is a well-known classic for

imbibing on a grad student budget. Cafe Citron, also on

Connecticut, has cheap drink specials every night of the week.

Get a Zipcar, or a friend with a car, and get out of town for a while.

Last year, I went to a Haunted Farm out in Maryland, and it was great to

hang out with friends (and scream in the woods).

Set aside some time to exercise. Your body and mind will thank

you, especially if you've been sitting at one of the eighth floor carrels all

day long. Contact Richard Kaufman if you want to join the SAIS run-

ning club.

This semester, I took the time to

make a master reading list for all my

classes, and a calendar plotting out all

my work for the semester. Nerdy, I

know. However, I'm much more on

top of my game than I have been in

previous semesters. Now that I'm

starting to apply for jobs for next year,

each extra moment counts. This

method also allows me to schedule time when I don't have to think about

school.

Hulu.com. This free service allows you to watch tv programs on

your computer. I personally like Arrested Development as a good dis-

traction from reality.

Erin Kelley is a second year M.A. candidate in Middle East Studies

and Development Economics.


Ask the SAIS Guy

The bottom line is that

sophisticated, urban

SAIS students prepar-

ing for future leader-

ship should not eat the

same thing four days a

week.

Set aside some time to

exercise. Your body and

mind will thank you, espe-

cially if you've been sitting

at one of the eighth floor

carrels all day long.

Avoiding sleep-

ing and grumpiness,

as much as possible,

is key to success in

your academic work

and your relation-

ships with your

classmates.

Ask the SAIS Gal

By Erin Kelley

By Jamie Huckabay

Introducing a new format to the beloved “Ask the SAIS Guy” column, the responsibilities for passing on life’s wisdom to SAIS students in need will be shared by

Jamie Huckabay and Erin Kelley. The SAIS Guy and SAIS Gal answer your questions each month on love, life, and President Obama’s second coming. Today’s

topics: cooking tips and finding balance.

Suggestions? Email them along with questions for future issues to [email protected] or [email protected]. (And, for those who may be wondering, no sex-based preferences were used in the determination of the placement order :)

Documents

September_2009-FINAL