ihma outlook issue 2 (may 2013)

Featuring IH’sConcertPianist BoAnLu

Featuring IH’sDeputyDirector KatyCuthbert Movietowatch in JUNE

Monsters University

MAJOReventin JUNE

STUVAC Suppers

UTLOOK

2013 Issue 2: May 2013

EXEC’sR

EPORT3

Hey guys! It’s your IHMA secretary here! We are nearing the end of semester with the threat of EXAMS looming up ahead. OH NO! Don’t fret though; we still have some awesome IHMA events com-ing up to make your lives better.

UpcomingIHMA events to look after you and your exam stress! by Bernie Lim

End of Semester PartyOur last party for the semester promises to be a great night! The theme for the party has yet to be decided, but check out some photos from last year’s ‘When I Grow Up’ Party!

STUVAC SuppersDuring STUVAC, IHMA holds ‘Stuvac Suppers’ every night in the dining hall. Each IHMA subcommittee will host a supper, serving different types of junk food each night. As tradition holds, the IHMA exec will cap off the week with their ‘Midnight Breakfast’ (well, 10pm breakfast). Get excit-ed!

Warm & FuzziesWarm and Fuzzies will run again this semester! For those of you who are unfamiliar with this phenomenon, the basic premise of this activity is to show your appreciation for your fellow residents. Each resident can pin up an envelope, in which other residents will deposit kind mes-sages (warm & fuzzies). No ‘Cold and Pricklies’ are allowed! This event will run through the duration of STUVAC and Exam Week in the Wool Room. We suggest that you refrain from looking at your messages until after semester has ended, as they will serve as a great reminder of the semester.

Table Tennis CompetitionThe sports coordinators are hosting the inaugural Table Tennis Competition on the 25th May. Grab your bats and ping pong balls and get a-practicing! Sign up sheets and rules are on the Foyer Notice Boards.

Pool CompetitionSignup sheets for this event are also displayed on the Foyer Notice Boards. As this is a new event, here’s a picture of 5-year old pool prodi-gy, Keith O’Dell Jr.

On behalf of the IHMA execs, we wish you the best of luck for exams. Happy Studying!

FOOD,E

NVIRONMEN

TALAND

WEL

FARER

EPORT

We hope you enjoyed the Food Fair! We had fourteen teams participating this year, and although finding enough kitchens, woks, pots and pans was difficult, you were all really resourceful and coop-erative. Congratulations to everyone who helped prepare, cook and decorate, we know it was a lot of work, but it definitely paid off and everything tast-ed great! A big thank you must go out to those in the Maze Units who lent their kitchens and equip-ment, and our five excellent judges. They awarded the Hong Kong and United States of Noodle teams the two Best Food prizes, and Norway received an honourable mention for their delicious apple cake. The prize for Best Presentation/Creativity went, unsurprisingly, to the Korean team, who had not only awesome decorations, but also costumes – one of the highlights of the evening was seeing resi-dents’ reactions to KPop sensations Bo An, Jeffery, and Donny, with their skinny jeans, eyeliner, and pink hair. Thank you also to the kitchen staff and, of course, Les, who put an exceptional amount of work into making the night a success.

More Suggestions Please!IHMA is always looking for ways to improve the IH meals, so keep the suggestions coming! by Tess B, Evan V, & Bella D

We have also had our second restaurant night of the semester, at the popular Sultan’s Table restaurant in Enmore. We strongly recommend trying some of their pide (Turkish pizza) and shish kebabs if you’re ever in that area, they’re delicious! Keep an eye out for the next restaurant night, which will be held in the next few weeks. The sign-up sheet will be posted outside the dining room.

Remember to keep the suggestions coming, by writing a note and placing it in the Food Suggestion box outside the dining room. We are always looking for ways to im-prove the IH meals, and have adjusted many meals al-ready this semester to suit your tastes, as well as adding extra little things you have requested, such as Milo, iced tea, dumplings for breakfast, green tea, no more plastic cheese etc. Also keep an eye on Facebook for a food survey which should be coming in the next few weeks, it would be really great if you could all participate.

Have a great week everyone!

Hope everything's going smoothly with assignments and exams.There are just a few more weeks until the winter holidays, so keep up the hard work!!!

Have you been thinking about volunteering lately? It is National Volunteer Work in Australia between the 13th to 19th of May! So if you are willing to help the community and give back to society, let us know! We are associated with the Rotaract Club of the University of Sydney. Their next event is The Red Shield Appeal, on 25-26 of May. The Red Shield Appeal is The Salvation Army’s primary annual fundraising drive! Contact us if you are interested and join the club!

Otherwise, don’t forget about Meat Free Mondays and recycling!

Have a Think about Volunteering by Ashan D and Kelly T

FEATURE

5

Featuring

KATY CUTHBERTWant to know some of the secrets of the omniscient superwoman behind-the-scenes of the IH community... including who the best-looking IH resident of all time according to Katy is? Read on! Questions by Jieyang Low

Q. One word to describe yourself: At the moment? An Egg.

Q. Any favourite ways to pass the time other than working and studying:Yes, playing soccer, managing soccer teams, organ-ising soccer events – and watching soccer too. I am learning to play the violin and take singing lessons. I like to go to folk music gigs and festivals around Sydney and Australia. We went to the National Folk Festival in Canberra at Easter. This is a great 4-day event, you camp onsite, do music and danc-ing workshops in the morning, there are talks and recitals and then the music starts! It is a great mix of amateurs getting to learn new skills and amazing musicians giving great performances. Also because it is 4-days it is much more relaxing, most perform-ers play 2 or 3 times, so you are not rushing around like you do at the Big Day Out or Falls. I also like a bit of craft, crocheting and making bunting are my primary activities at the moment.

Q. How long have you been working at IH?2 and half years.

Q. Describe what you think of working at IHI love it, for many reasons. It is very satisfying hav-ing a job that incorporates my variety of interests, degrees and experiences. I was a third culture kid, born in England to Irish and South African parents; we lived in England, the USA and Denmark before settling in Australia. I studied part of my degree in South Africa (where I lived in college) and lived twice in Ireland in my twenties. When I studied at Sydney Uni I was very involved in Campus Life and was director of the Verge Festival in 2006. I have a teaching qualification as well as a Masters in Edu-cation, so I feel a bit like I have found my perfect job. The highlight is of course the people you get to meet – both staff and residents, but I also enjoy the constant problem solving and surprises that are involved in running and nurturing a community.

Also everyday something happens that makes me laugh out loud.

Q. What has been your favourite event so far in IH?Of all time? It has to be Charity Night. I love seeing how generous the community can be - and it is usu-ally pretty funny (the eating competition has me in tears.) But what really makes it fantastic is the swap-ping of skills and talents that occurs amongst the community. To create a community of International Understanding you have to have both a macro and micro approach. We run big House events, like formal dinners and food fair – and these are important, but meaningful cultural exchange happens in small groups or partnerships outside of the formal events calendar. Fostering these small, quality exchanges is a really im-portant part of our mission and Charity Night creates these micro communities

“...this place is an absolute gift, as is Uni – so take full advantage of both. Fit in as many experiences and events as you can, but try to save some time for reflection. You need to really get to know yourself in this time and what it is that is really important to you.” -Katy’s Advice to Residents

Photo From Katy’s Words of Wisdom

FEAT

URE

by encouraging pairs or small groups of residents to come together in order to learn or appreciate some shared in-terest, talent or knowledge.

Q. What has been the crazi-est thing I have seen at IH?This is a hard one; as I mentioned above, everyday something hap-pens that makes me genuinely laugh out loud. This is normally because of the bizarre nature of an incident. We live and work in a very unique context and the clash of cultures (both national, gener-ational, academic and sub) is the perfect set-up for the crazy. In the last month, for example, I have: had my office re-named Tessa’s Of-fice as she used it as a sweatshop sewing room for Food Fair; seen 2 of the Maze children rewarded with Kinder Surprises for learning the word “Supercalifragilisticex-pialidocious” (one is only 2 years old!!); been asked if the Office would accept the delivery of a hu-man-sized teddy bear; marvelled at the artistic merit of whoever it is draws those stick figure toilet posters; chatted to Ladu about the logistics of hiring trucks to cross the Uganda/ South Sudan border; considered a request to implement an IH watermelon policy; been giv-en a comprehensive guide to noo-dle restaurants in downtown Hong Kong. Nothing is unexpected.

Q. What is your favourite thing on the menu at IH? (You’re going to say ‘Noodle Day’ aren’t you?) No comment.

Q. What does it take to be your chosen resident of the week? Firstly you have to be a resident who stops by the Front Office on a regular basis. We love you pesky residents coming to get your par-cels, ask us for change or just letting us know how you are. It is so easy to duck out that side gate and nev-er walk past Reception, but then our working lives would be duller. So visiting me is the first criteria. The second is doing something a little standout for the community.

Q. How long will you go on ma-ternity leave and what is your biggest fear when you return? I am going for 9 months, so I’ll be back in the first weeks of Semester 1 2014. My biggest fear is that Yang and Jay will have left the House.

Q. Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized horses? And, more importantly, why? It has to be one hundred duck-sized horses. Whilst I have much respect for the mighty horse, I think left to their own devices they would not be able to organise themselves militarily. So I would expect a sporadic and very disor-ganised attack, leaving me time to use my sweeper skills to clear indi-vidual horses up the pitch. A horse-sized duck would have a seriously large beak and no one wants to face that (though imagine the pan-cake you could make afterwards).

Q. Do you have any advice for the residents of the House?My main advice is, this place is an absolute gift, as is Uni – so take full advantage of both. Fit in as many experiences and events as you can, but try to save some time for reflection. You need to really get to know yourself in this time and what it is that is really important to you. The best way to do that is to experience things, make mistakes and then have a think about how happy you were with your actions/ behaviours/ choices (although if you make too many mistakes, you will probably get called in to see me and I will help you scrutinize your actions / behaviours/ choices).

Q. Who is the best-looking IH resident of all time and why is it Jonathan Choo? It has to be; it is his perfect combination of wisdom and freshness that will never go out of fashion. This guy always has time for everyone, and every time I chat with him I learn some new incredible fact about his life. He has energy and a kind of ground-ed serenity that makes everyone want to be around him and we miss him.

Katy’s Words of Wisdom: Advice, Reminders, IH Resident-of-the-Monthshttps://www.facebook.com/KatysWordsOfWisdom

The Green Hair Mohair Suits: Katy’s Music Recommendationhttps://www.facebook.com/thegreenmohairsuits

Q: Any bands to recommend to residents of the house?“Yep, my brother’s (nepotism much?) You can see them round Sydney. They are called “the Green Mohair Suits” which is a phrase from a Gram Parsons’ song. They do Australian Blue Grass – don’t know what that is? Then check out their facebook page. They play gigs around the place, the Vanguard, the Union, the Mac.”

FEATURE

7

Featuring

BO AN LUBo An, as everyone knows from his daily morning practice routines, is one of IH’s finest pianists. Not only is Bo An a gifted musician, he is also a Senior Resident of the House and is highly regarded by his peers, both within and outside the House. Interview by Shannon Tay

For 20 year-old Bo An Lu, making music has always been a part of his life. The Perth-born Australian, who currently re-sides at the International House at the University of Sydney, is also undertaking studies in Law and Math. The oldest child of first generation Asian immigrants, Bo An is a highly respon-sible young gentleman. As a close acquaintance, I’ve had the chance to sit down with this semi-professional classical pianist as I quizzed him on some of his life decisions, outlook on music as well as his upcoming concert. Despite his talent and young age, Bo An exudes a humble and mature attitude with a strong confident undertone at the same time, something I feel that is hard to find in today’s young artists.

ST: Can you tell me a little about yourself and how you got started with music?

BA: I started playing piano when I was 7, and I’ve been playing for nearly 13 years now. I also played the violin for about 8 years and found later on that I don’t have enough time to do both so I decided that I want to play more piano and resolved with that and dropped violin.

ST: I’m aware that eventually you obtained 2 diplomas in piano performance?

BA: Yes, at least for piano I had done my associate diploma and licentiate diploma. Both of them re-quired a recital performance of around 45 minutes and consisted of 4 contrasting works from different periods, so you’re meant to present a balanced program.

ST: So you’ve done a lot of music! Did it ever cross your mind to study music at the Conservatorium?

BA: Yes, I’ve done a lot of music, I spend a lot of time practicing and just thinking about music. It did cross my mind to pursue music when I was leaving high school but it wasn’t really a serious option at that time, but I sort of decided to pursue music on the side as I thought it probably wasn’t going to be a career for me. Its quite difficult making a living as a musician.

ST: That’s interesting because you’re going to play with the NSSO [North Sydney Symphony Or-chestra] and have taken the first steps to become a concert pianist.

BA: Yep, so I was fortunate enough to win a competition, and as part of the prize I was given the oppor-tunity to play with the North Sydney Symphony Orchestra so that’s very exciting.

FEAT

URE

ST: Cool. What competition did you win?

BA: It was the 2MBS Young Performers’ Award, [the station] which is now being relabeled Fine Mu-sic FM and they’re basically the classical music station for Sydney. I also did the ABC Young Perform-ers’ Award in 2009 and yeah I did fairly well in that and managed to play with the West Australian Symphony orchestra and Adelaide Symphony orchestra so that was [all] very exciting. I’ve done a lot of small competitions when I was younger, just a lot of state and local small competitions here and there. Apart from competitions I think I’ve also played in a few concert series like Government House [recitals] when I was younger but as you get older and you don’t go down the music path I find that its harder to find more performance opportunities so you have to generate them yourself.

ST: So what drives you to go for these competitions? Does your teacher just sign you up or are you self-driven to go for these things?

BA: I think the reasons people join are different at different stages of their musical career or life. When you’re younger its more at your teacher’s and parents’ urging, its good motivation and some-thing to aim for. As you get older you still do it because its something to work towards, it sharpens your skills more so that playing in a recital would so it forces you to up the ante and such. But at the moment where I am, I’m trying to cut back on competitions and play just more for fun in the sense rather than necessarily working towards a competition, just learning a lot of music.

ST: So, I’m sure you would agree classical music can be quite competitive and elitist to a certain extent, especially for instruments like piano and violin, so what do you think of that?

BA: I guess depending on what aspect of classical music you’re focusing on, all industries are com-petitive so if you want to become a concert pianist, that’s extremely competitive, because its sort of becoming a superstar, there’s not a lot of people who can become superstars. And whether or not you make it is a mixture of skill and luck and chance. As for competitive aspect when we’re young, I guess humans just enjoy watching competition. We love watching competition all the time no matter what field its in, whether its sports, academic, or in this case artistic. Its just part of human nature I’d say that humans enjoy competition, its almost a form of entertainment.

ST: What motivates you to practice? What are you thinking of when you’re walking towards the piano [to practice]?

BA: Generally, it really helps when you got a goal that you’re working towards so say ‘okay I’ve got a concert in 2 months, I’ve got to learn this piece, I’ve got this many bars to learn andI want to make it sound as good as I can’, so that’s a pretty strong source of motivation. If you haven’t got something you’re working towards then slightly more difficult to be motivated, but if you can just enjoy the aspect of exploring new music that could be a strong source and possibly a more sustainable source than enjoyment.

FEATURE

9

ST: Would you have any advice for anyone who’s getting started on the piano and wants to get good at it?

BA: I’d say definitely get a teacher, self-teaching is very difficult. Practice consistently, so that requires a cer-tain amount of dedication, tenacity and discipline, and try to enjoy the whole process of learning, its quite exciting I think.

ST: What’s your favourite kind of music? Do you only listen to classical or what else do you listen to?

BA: I think what music I listen to is highly dependent on what mood I’m in. So I definitely do not just listen to classical music, although its very nice I definitely enjoy the classics, a lot of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, its all really good. On the more modern scene I would listen to any of the top 40 that’s going on the radio at the time and enjoy that side of it as well.

ST: Lastly, would you like to tell us about the program of your upcoming concert?

BA: So, my upcoming concert is with the North Sydney Symphony orchestra, as alluded to earlier, and basi-cally what I will be performing as part of that program will be Liszt piano concerto no. 1, and the NSSO will also be playing a few works of their own, including Schubert symphony no. 9 and Dulcie Holland[‘s Summer End], it is the anniversary of Dulcie Holland which is why we’re having this program. I’ll also be playing a [solo] work by her entitled ‘3 dances for a new doll’.

Bo An will be playing with the NSSO on the 1st of June, Saturday, 8pm, at the Smith Auditorium, Shore School, Blue Street, North Sydney. Conducted by Steven Hillinger. Tickets are available here:

http://nsso.org.au/

Photos by Shun Yang Ch’ng

Thingsto

doinSYD What’s up in Sydney?

So, you’re bored in Sydney (completely understandable) and you are wondering what you can do. Fortunately, there is actually quite a bit to do in Sydney...

Supanova Pop Cul-ture Expo: Let your geekiness run wild at Syd-ney Olympic Park! Starting in the middle of the exam period, if you find that you can find time to fit it into your schedule, we strongly suggest that you go. Tick-et prices vary, but are well worth the amazing experi-ence, with James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley!) making a guest appearance! Meet the il-lustrators and writers that bring life to your favourite Superheroes, such as Spi-der-Man and Wolverine!

Sydney Film Festival: Are you truly a film fanatic?

Celebrating its 60th year, the festival, held all around Sydney, starting on the 5th of June, will present cinema from all across Australia as well as around the world,

reflecting on the historical development of the Austral-

ian film industry. Feature films are not the extent of the festival- included are

also documentaries, short films, animations and more.

Jesus Christ Super-star: In the early half of

next month, the Sydney En-tertainment Centre is very fortunate to be the hosting venue for this award-win-

ning rock opera, based loosely on the Gospel’s

accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life, from his arrival in Jerusalem to the cruci-fixion ending. The famous

musician Tim Minchin and actor Ben Forster will play Judas and Jesus, respective-ly. Ticket prices run steep, but you are assured a good

show.

Doctor Who Pop-Up Store: A glitch in space and time might’ve turned out well for the people in Newtown, as the iconic

TARDIS (Time and Rela-tive Dimensions in Space) has materialized! Offering

a whole bunch of merchan-dise for avid Doctor Who fans, it is rumored that the glitch will fix itself on the

20th of June, which is when the TARDIS will once again journey through time and space. Hurry on down to

Newtown!

International Ice Hockey: We just know there are hockey enthusi-asts in the house, and in the middle of the exam

period at Sydney Olympic Park’s Allphones Areana,

get a slice of icy of some of ice hockey’s international superstars, that will all be

jetting over to Sydney from North America to battle it

out on the ice in what’s con-sidered one of the toughest,

fastest and most intense sports on Earth.

Toy and Game Expo: It is well known that within the walls of IH, only those

with the best Nerf Guns can be considered champi-ons. Nerf Guns are pretty cool toys, and speaking of which- if you love toys or know anyone who does, head on over to Sydney

Olympic Park for this event, grab a ticket, and check

out the neat Lego, Nerf and board games.

Movies-to-watch in JUNEDespicable Me 2 Those familiar with the first movie need no reason as to why this movie is a must watch. A movie for those of all ages, it’s definitely one of those that’ll be frequently rewatched and talked about long after its release. Humour as well as cute animations make this movie a solid one to watch. As of typing, this movie’s release date is on the 20th of June.

Monsters UniversityAny movie involving Pixar and Disney is almost guaranteed to be a good one. If you think you feel old, here’s one for you- Monsters, Inc was released twelve years ago. It’s been a while, and it’s about time we see another movie related to the blue fuzz and his one-eyed pal. Set to be released on the same day as Despicable Me 2, there is no choosing- both have to be watched.

REC

OMMEN

DED

11

Dream Theater - the award-winning progressive metal band has been around longer than a lot of you residents have been alive, and are still producing some very fine songs.

30 Seconds to Mars - with a fresh album this year, the amazing rock band has gained significant fame over the years from their creative and experimental music.

Jack Johnson - this folk-rock singer is your perfect companion on those days when all you feel like doing is sitting by the beach and chill.

The Veronicas - the dynamic rock duo from Brisband had their golden moments with their chart-topping singles and are planning to release a new album after a long wait.

1. Dream Theater2. Jack Johnson

Have some music recommendations to share for IH residents? Contact the IHMA Publication Offices: Shun Yang Ch’ng or Jieyang Low.

Recommended Music

1 2

CONTACTUSif you guys have any questions, comments, opinions, recommendations, suggestions

Shun Yang Ch’ngJieyang Low

[email protected] Sugianto - Chairperson

Bernadette Lim Lo Suy - SecretaryNeil Chen - Treasurer

Neil Fraser - Social CoordinatorAmar Arsiwala - Social Coordinator

Jess Hoorda - Social CoordinatorKatie Croaker - Social Coordinator

Gautam Bhanot - Shop Coordinator Tecwyn Lim - Shop Coordinator

Jeffrey Kittichaiwong - Shop CoordinatorDamian Adil - Sports Coordinator

Bo Yun Lu - Sports CoordinatorBella Draeger - Food CoordinatorEvan Voroney - Food Coordinator

Tess Bennetts - Food CoordinatorElaine Xue - Intercollegiate Rep.

Shannon Tay - Intercollegiate Rep.Shun Yang Ch ng - Publications Officer

Jieyang Low - Publications OfficerKelly Tung - Environmental/ Welfare

Officer Ashan Dias - Environmental/ Welfare

OfficerJulie Chow - Photographer

Timothy King - PhotographerFei Xue Jin - Advertising Officer

Karina Sathar - Advertising OfficerJun Ming Kong - Advertising Officer

ihma outlook issue 2 (may 2013)

Documents

ihma outlook

ihma execs

ihma subcommittee

ihma secretary

stuvac suppersduring

duration of stuvac

great night

awesome ihma events