Yale

Busy

Sterling Memorial Library

Busy week!

The finance minister of India, P. Chidambaram (with a name like that you know you're going places) came to Yale today. He gave a fairly long talk on the emerging economy of India and dealt with the issue of outsourcing, defending the right for India to provide human resources. I actually heard only criticism of what he said (vocalized by people asking questions of him). The main concern was that he was presenting an overly simplified vision of what India was really like.

Later that day, I met Paromita Goswami, a major activist in India who has marshalled nearly 6000 workers in the rural parts of India. She presented the same view; saying what Chidambaram had said didn't sound like her India. She is one of 16 Yale World Fellows- really important people from around the world who have come to America, mid-career, to network and learn. Because I had e-mailed one of the organizers beforehand, I got to have dinner with her (and about 10 other people).

We went to Mory's, which is this very exclusive eating place on campus; the entire place reeks of old money. You have to have an invitation to get in, there is a requisite stuffy waiter, and the people who go there are all dressed to the nines. The couples I saw seated there, none younger than 50, reminded me strongly of Emily and Richard from the Gilmore Girls. They were sitting there, watching one another, not talking with surly expressions. They looked terribly important.

In any event, the food was awful. Since Mory's has become so inextricably entrenched in Yale traditions, I don't think they really feel any pressure to serve quality food. I swear they bought the ice cream from the nearby superstore, the cheese ravioli tasted worse then a frozen TV dinner, and the "cold soup" was actually very close to salsa. The waiter, though properly distant, dropped a bun from the customer's plate (then picked it up and put it back where it came from), knocked over a glass in an attempt to put a plate down and then gave the most comical expression of resignation anytime anyone ordered something.

But the company was great. There were actually two other world fellows there, besides Mrs. Goswami (one a famous lawyer from Israel and the other a famous lawyer from Nigeria). They were all uproarious, vociferously brilliant and really clever. The topic of conversation ranged from enacting social justice to coonialism to, well, Dr. Ruth.

It made me realize how lucky I am to go to such an amazing university.

_

Also, some of the marks have been filtering back in. I was really nervous about these; now that I'm at Yale, the curve from high school and the IB program has significantly changed. Even though Yale hasn't launched any crazy attacks on grade inflation (like Princeton and Harvard have), the fact remains that there are a lot of smart people here and only 40% of them will get A's.

Which is another problem. Everything I get is graded on a 100 pt scale, just like high school, but somehow it all translates over into As and Bs and Cs and pluses and minuses are thrown in for the sake of it. I don't know this translation works, exactly, or how they get converted into GPA. If someone knows, enlighten me!

Anyways, everything has been in the high 90s so far. I don't think that I'll--revise, I know that I won't--be able to keep that momentum up with my English paper. Our professor promised no As on the first essay.

_

I've had two articles published in the Yale Daily News! I'm not going crazy with it, like some people are; I write only occasionally, like every other week or so. I'll include links for them, though, just because I'm cool that way.

Click here and here!