ASC Campus, Spring and Cherry Blossom

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     My Dear Beautiful Ladies!

     I am glad to be with you again!

     This Monday grey clouds suddenly vanished from the horizon and Agnes was exposed to the most beautiful February day! Sudden inspiration made me get out of the apartment and take photos of my gorgeous Agnes campus. Later I thought it would be helpful for you to see the pictures I have taken. Thus, I decided to share them with you and pass on little piece of the sunny atmosphere that we had on Monday! Moreover, I remember the number of Agnes’ photos in Internet did not satisfy me, as I wanted to see the whole campus, every corner! You guys are lucky, because I have it all done for you in the most comprehensive way! Enjoy! 

Eternal question: WEATHER IN GEORGIA

 

Here we go again, my dear Ladies! I hope you are doing well and doing your best at planning your trip to join us here, at Agnes Scott!

I would like to talk about weather conditions in Decatur and Georgia, the items you need to bring from your home country and tips for your traveling.

            I remember asking my host advisor about weather conditions in Atlanta. She told me it might be 110 degrees Fahrenheit  when I would arrive. To be honest, I am the person, who is used to Celsius degrees, just like the rest of the world, so I was shocked when I saw 110 degrees! When we used to 100 Celsius to indicate the temperature when water boils, 100 Fahrenheit used in the USA shows it is normally hot – 37.8 Celsius. Thus, please have your converters ready ladies! You will need them to convert temperature, length, and weight.

            Back to the weather – August is the time of extreme heat and humidity in Atlanta. It is pretty hard to breathe, if you were born in the country with dry climate like Kyrgyzstan, for example. Moreover, it is not possible to wear one T-shirt for two days if you are outside all the time. Temperature in the buildings is usually cool, so you are fine as soon as you are inside.   When I first came I was trying to be inside as much as possible, and used to ask the sky for  rain every time I stepped outside. It was funny when it finally rained for the first time. I ran outside, but very soon realized that rain did not help at all. It was again hard to breathe; it was still hot. However, in two and half weeks I was okay with the weather, I got more or less used to it! Then, September brought cold Northern winds and weather was just perfect!

            Fall is extremely beautiful and long in Georgia. We wore shorts till November, as it never got too cold! Everything I would advise you to have for the autumn is a proper windbreaker, umbrella and rain boots. If you do not have rain boots or they are not popular in your country, do not worry, you can get the boots at Target (your host advisors will drive you to Target during the orientation). I would also advise you to bring a proper camera, or buy one here, as the fall in Georgia is worth capturing!

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Winter in Georgia is not the winter I am used to living! It usually snows in my country and temperature gets down to -20 Celsius. I haven’t seen snow this winter! It rains a lot, the wind gets wild, but it barely snows.  Temperature extreme is 0 Celsius average. Thus, consider taking a good coat, scarves and, as important, a nice hat! Please, take care of your head, as wind here is merciless! One thing that I love about Agnes Scott is beautiful campus with green grass even in the middle of January!

            It is my first year at Agnes Scott College, so I do not know what the spring will be like! I am expecting rains, and here is one more thing I want to tell you about Georgia rains.  A majority of the time “it rains cats and dogs”, extremely heavily. Water puddles  are everywhere so it can gradually ruin even the best shoes. That is why people in Georgia are so wise to wear the rain boots and raincoats. Moreover, I am stressing again, get a proper umbrella. If you are an exchange student, you usually do not plan to get a car in the USA, which means you will walk a lot. Umbrellas that are sold in the pharmacies or shopping chains are usually unreliable taking into account Georgia wind. Thus, you should choose whether to buy an umbrella of good quality at home, or here in the US.

            Well, let us check what you need to be ready for Georgia weather: 

·      Rain boots

 

·      Windbreaker

•       Coat

 

 

·      Umbrella 

• Scarf

·      Cap

•       Cotton T-shirs

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            That is all I wanted to tell you about the weather, please let me know if you have any other questions.

           Thank you for spending your time reading this information!  

Faithfully Yours, 

Nagima Kulbaeva 

Agnes Scott after the winter rain

Newest Blogger: Nagima Kulbaeva

Buttrick Hall, Agnes Scott College

 They say being a student is the most interesting, entertaining and gripping period of your life. Both my mum and dad, for example, recall the times when they were university students with unconcealed pleasure and joy. Personally, my university life was always peaceful and days passed preparing for classes and having fun with friends. However, it all changed when I got a letter on a sunny afternoon May 2012, a letter saying I was accepted to Agnes Scott College as an exchange student for a year. I was literally thrown away from my usual peaceful life pace as I started looking for any information about Agnes Scott. As a matter of fact, the scholarship program I applied to did not allow its applicants to choose the place of study. Thus, when I got the letter with Agnes Scott’s name I had no idea what the college was like or where it was situated. It all happened eight months ago, eight months that transformed curious unconfident girl from a tiny country in the very heart of Central Asia to an independent woman with a clear vision of her life. My name is Nagima, I come from Kyrgyz Republic and I am here to share my experiences as an exchange student at Agnes Scott College. 

 Firstly, I would like to tell you about getting ready to go to Agnes Scott College. Actually, I did not have an opportunity to surf the Internet for hours, as I was working during the summer. However, I researched  Agnes Scott,  Decatur, Atlanta and Georgia. I was surprised to learn that Agnes was a college for women! This fact was directly associated with strict female boarding school. I thought Agnes would be a very conservatively built society. Then I have read about campus, its old and sophisticated buildings with towers. This fact made Agnes look like a school for young fairies and magicians, or something else (maybe from Harry Potter as well). The turning point of my research on college was when I learned Big Momma’s House 3 was filmed on the ASC campus. Of course, I rushed to watch the film. Moreover, I liked the campus in the movie and liked the image it gave about the college life. Plus, I watched the videos about the dormitories and only then stopped worrying about my future study abroad experience. Finally, one factor that helped me a lot was correspondence with my host advisor from Agnes Scott; she was very nice and answered each of my countless questions. 

Piedmont Park, Atlanta

Secondly, I was extremely interested in my host “off-campus” community. Decatur was the city I was going to live in. Wikipedia told me this city had only 19,000 residents. I could not imagine a city that small, as my hometown had more than 200,000 people. However, one thing I loved was Decatur’s proximity to the city of Atlanta. I knew a lot about Atlanta and never knew I would ever spend a year right next to it! Now I know both Decatur and Atlanta pretty well for an exchange student and can say a lot about both of them. Decatur is a small American city with its own unforgettable, very peaceful atmosphere, many little restaurants and shops with outstanding design. I love this town for being extremely safe and for neat pretty neighborhoods. Decatur is also known as “city of schools, homes and places of worship”, which is absolutely true! 

Well, when it comes to Atlanta, my English vocabulary is too poor to draw the proper image of the city to impress you as it impressed me once! My love to the city started when I was driving to Decatur from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and saw the skyline. The Coca-Cola World, Georgia Aquarium, CNN Headquarters, Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Atlanta Botanical Gardens are the top places to visit. However, every time I go to Atlanta I discover it from the new side. Piedmont Park is my favorite place to go so far. Atlanta is the biggest city in the South of the USA, so ASC is certainly lucky with the location. 

Evans Dining Hall before Date Raffle, Agnes Scott College

                Well, here I am, studying at Agnes Scott, the world for women. I get to meet lots of amazing independent women and try to learn the best from them. Moreover, there are around 900 students, which may seem to be a very small college. On the other hand, this 900 people comprise the tight community that can support you anytime and accept you just as you are. In my case, I never thought about being discriminated or treated improperly, I never had any fear of inequality because I was different. However, I was still surprised by Agnes community’s hospitality, moreover, they taught me to cherish and never forget my identity, my roots, and my home country. Next, the campus is more than just beautiful, it looks magnificent! Our library and dining hall, for example, make you feel you are studying in Hogwarts (I had a right feeling there was something from Harry Potter)! Studying at Agnes is not easy, but then, it is a women college and you are expected to be more focused. Ultimately, at Agnes you are taught to cherish your femininity and work on your identity, this eternal question of “who am I ”!

                I will try my best to show Agnes as I see it, and wish future Agnes Scott College International students the best of luck! 

 

Faithfully yours,

Nagima Kulbaeva 

Photos by Nagima Kulbaeva

Guest Blogger: Meerim Ruslanova

      “The World. For women,” were the first words I read about Agnes Scott before coming over to the States for my exchange semester. Back in August, I did not pay any attention to the logo. But my experience at Agnes indeed has shown me a new world, and what kind of potential women might have.

      The first and the most important characteristic of Agnes Scott is its friendly, respectful, educating, and liberal environment. No matter what you stand for or what you represent, the college will always try to facilitate your development in any kind of way. Being different is normal in this school, as well as being tolerant, smart, and ever-learning. Here, everything and everyone stimulates critical thinking, from small class sizes, to enormous work loads, which are in a way pleasantly painful.

       The second elements of Agnes that makes it Agnes, is its people. Here, you generate true friendship with students, faculty, and personnel, the kind of friendship that does not melt over distances.

And, Atlanta itself, of course, makes Agnes experience even more bright and engaging. The Big city is there for you to entertain, teach, and live. Day and night, Atlanta has always different things to offer, you only need to wish.

      Personally, I did not expect my exchange semester to be SO enjoyable. I even extended my stay for a year, so I can fully experience Agnes and Atlanta. And, honestly, there are no such words to describe the world you can find here. If you are still not considering this school, this is the time open your eyes wider.