Tuesday, November 29, 2016

インターナショナルオフィスのカウンセリングサービス - by Miku

12月16日の秋学期終了まであとわずかとなってきました。そろそろ次の学期に向けてクラスを選び始めなければいけない時期です。日本の大学と違い、アメリカの大学では自分の取るクラスを完全に自分で選ばなければなりません。たとえ専攻が同じでも、それぞれの学生が、それぞれに違うクラススケジュールをくみます。自分の好きなクラスを取ることが出来る良いシステムなのですが、学位を得る為に必要なクラスを全て自分の責任で調べて取らなければいけないので、大変でもあります。学位に必要のないクラスをたくさん取ってしまうと、お金と時間を無駄にすることにもなりかねないからです。このような事態を防ぐ為に、私たち留学生はどうすればいいでしょうか?
ミラコスタカレッジのインターナショナルオフィスには、二人のアカデミックカウンセラーがいます。私たち留学生は、クラススケジュールを組むために、そのカウンセリングサービスを無料で受けることが出来ます^^




一人目のカウンセラーはKhrystyn Pamintuan先生です。

彼女自身、コミュニティカレッジから大学へ編入した経験を持っています。その当時の経験から、編入に関してたくさんの知識を持っています!













二人目のカウンセラーはJose Orrantia先生です。

彼はインターナショナルオフィスのカウンセラーだけでなく、トランスファーセンター(編入に関する相談専用の施設)のカウンセラーを何年も務めています。編入のスペシャリストといっても過言ではないでしょう!













ミラコスタに通うたくさんの留学生が彼らを頼りにしていますので、予約を取るのが難しいです。カウンセリングを受けたかったら、出来るだけ早く予約を取ることをお勧めします。自分の目標に直線距離で到達できるように、このシステムを有効活用しましょう!

Use Counseling Service in International Office! - by Miku

This fall semester will end on December 16.   It means that we need to choose the classes for next semester.  Did you know that in the U.S. each student has to choose their own classes??  Yes, that is right.  Each student a different schedule.  It is fun to choose classes because I can think about what I like to do. But I have to complete all the requirements or I will waste my time and money.  To prevent to choose wrong classes, what do we international students have to do?
In International Office in MiraCosta college, there are two academic counselors.  We can use this counseling service for free.






First counselor is Ms. Khrystyn Pamintuan.

She has her own experience which attended a community college and transferred to an university. Because she also think about her future at that time, she knows a lot of things about transferring!




Second counselor is Mr. Jose Orrantia. He is not only an international office counselor but also have been working as a transfer center's counselor for many years. So he is a specialist about university transferring!



















Because a lot of international students count on them, I recommend you to book as soon as possible.  To achieve your goal smoothly, use this great service!

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Halloween Party for International Student - by Miku

Hello!

Last week was Halloween week.  I hope everyone enjoy their Halloween events.

I am a member of MiraCosta College Japanese club.  This year, our club did big Halloween night event.



This event was for all of MiraCosta students, especially international students. Also they invited Palomar college's international club. They provide free food; pizza, hotdog, and cakes.


There was a stage, so they did costume contest. Everyone's costume was really nice!  After the costume contest, DJ play music and everyone was dancing! That was so fun.












There was a special activity; Hunted School!
Many MiraCosta clubs helped for it. Before the event, we changed the campus to scaly one and prepare the actors.


The picture is our Japanese club's actors.
I tried this Hunted School, and that was so scaly. I screamed a lot. The actors' performance was really good.  This event was so fun! I enjoyed that.

My Classes of This Semester - by Miku

Hello!
Today, I will introduce my current classes.

In this semester, I am taking four classes equal to 13 units; CHNS 101, CSIT 125, CSIT 128, and SOC 101. This is full-time classes and typical schedule for me. 

SOC 101
Sociology 101
This class is Tuesday & Thursday 7:30-8:45, and the instructor is Mr. Brian L Harris. This is the most basic sociology class, so I am learning a bunch of topics like social structure, culture, norms, and so on. The picture is my notebook for exams.

The instructor is really good! His lecture is easy to understand and the class is so fun. The tests are kind of hard, but he gives us some extra credit opportunity and a lot of attendance points.


CHNS 101


Chinese 101
This class is Monday & Wednesday 17:00-19:20, and the instructor is Ms. Aubrey Kuan Roderick. I am learning the most basic grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation in this class. Because I am Japanese, I already knew a lot of Chinese characters, so I have an advantage to learn Chinese. The pronunciation is so hard though.



The instructor is also a counselor of international office in MiraCosta College. So when I have a question, I always go to the office and can ask her. She answers very kindly.
Her lecture is really fun. For American students, Chinese characters are completely new thing. So she thinks out a method or a way to teach characters.  This is my favorite class in this semester. I strongly recommend to take this class!


CSIT 128

Computer Science and Info Technology 128
This class is Tuesday 19:00-21:45, and the instructor is Mr. Timothy McLean.
This is a Microsoft Excel for business class. I am learning what I am able to do in excel.

I have never used Excel soft, so it is kind of hard. But his lecture is so slow and care all of students. Thereby I can understand even though I am not good at computers.





CSIT 125
Computer Science and Info Technology 125
This class is online class, and the instructor is Ms. Debra Savble-Thornbrugh.  This is Microsoft Word for business class. I am learning how to use Word. 
As I mentioned above, my computer skill is really low. I have used Word, but I just write sentences and save it on computer.  Now, I have been learning two month. And I can create the newsletter like the picture. This is my Midterm project. 


Even though this is online class, but the instructor gives us the video of lecture, so I have never feel inconvenience.
Online class is always harder than in-class class, but if I study hard, I will get good grade.








Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Go to Climbing Gym in Oceanside! - by Miku


Hello!
This week is a very important Midterm week, so every students are studying so hard!

After Midterm exam, I recommend to go to a fun place, Vital Climbing Gym Oceanside!
This is my one of the most favorite place.
Lets go there and relieve all of your frustration from the exams!


This is my climbing video.
This course is a kind of hard, but there are many kinds of level, so don't worry about that! Everyone can climb^^

I am a gym member, so I can climb 24 hours and the cost is just only $55/month!
If you want to try just only one day, it is $15/day and the time is 11am-9pm.
Also, if you go to there Friday 5-9pm with your student ID, you can get discount and the cost become just only $10/day!

I hope every MiraCosta students enjoy Oceanside life!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

BBQ Party with Palomar College - by Miku

Good morning!
Today, I am going to write about the International BBQ party with Palomar College students^^
The party was at Oceanside Pier on September 9 to start the new school year.  Palomar College is located 20 minutes away from Mira Costa College.  They have a lot of international students also, so we sometimes do events together.



The day was good weather and the ocean was so beautiful. 


They really enjoyed the party!
They were dancing, singing, and some students were swmming. But they looked so cold. lol


Here is the picture of them.









Many students bring some foods and drinks. Also both colleges' international club provide some.  That was so tasty^^










Many students joined to play volleyball include both Palomar and MiraCosta. We could make a lot of new international friends.


That was really fun and good event!

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Sunset Market with Fuji city - by Miku

Hello everyone!
As I mentioned before, Fuji City is one of sister cities of Oceanside.  In the beginning of September, they went here again to join the Oceanside Sunset Market.  I worked as a volunteer with them.
(The article of their first visit is here)



Sunset market is located in downtown Oceanside and opened every Thursday evening.  It is really good event.  There are a lot of kinds of street stalls such as food and clothes.  In that time, they joined it for handing out Japanese green tea and some special products of Fuji city for free.


Because this year is 25th anniversary of friendship of Oceanside and Fuji City.

Fuji city booth
This is Fuji city booth.Fuji city has a lot of trees because it is located the foot of Mt. Fuji.
So they are known as making paper^^











茶娘




Some Japanese Mira Costa students helped them as volunteers. They costumed 茶娘(Cha-musume) which is a girl who work in a tea plantation.

Almost all Japanese people love green tea.
But it has a unique taste.
So American people drank it with great interest.













Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Fuji City - Our Sister City- by Miku

Fuji City from Japan is one of sister cities of Oceanside.  In August, people from Fuji city came to Oceanside in two times!  I worked as a volunteer and help their activities.



First visit was the beginning of August. Junior high school and high school students came and see the City of Oceanside.





They joined 'College for Kids' which is trial classes program by Mira Costa College for 6-17 years old. There were art, cooking, and science class. It was so hard for them to communicate to American students, but finally, they got a lot of American friends!








They also joined Mira Costa ELI (English Language Institute) class.
The teacher did really fun lecture, so they enjoyed a lot!








They took a picture with Oceanside mayor

Fuji city students met Oceanside mayor!
He guided them in his office.
He was really sweet, friendly, and kindly person^^







Tuesday, August 30, 2016

About Miku

Hi! I'm Miku, Mira Costa international student from Japan. My major is liberal arts with an area of emphasis in business and technology. I've been here for one year. My hobbies are rock climbing and playing the piano. I love to hang out with my friends from a lot of countries!
こんにちは!ミラコスタカレッジに通っている、日本人留学生のみくです。ビジネス&テクノロジー分野の一般教養を専攻しています。ここに通って一年になります。ロッククライミングとピアノが私の趣味です。色々な国の友達と遊ぶのが大好きです!

Friday, August 5, 2016

The Chariot -- by Maiko

Hello guys! How is your day going? Recently I've learned surprising news about MiraCosta College, so let me share it here today!

MiraCosta has an original news paper and it's called "The Chariot." They release both paper-type and online-type newspaper. (Here is the website link☞The Chariot)

And guess what! Chariot ranked 10th in the nation for college news paper ranking! Wow!! It's wonderful, isn't it?!

Since it's a college news paper, of course students can be the Chariot staffs if you meet some requirements they offers. You can see the requirements here ;)
If you're interested in medias, press, or journalism, let's join them!

Monday, May 30, 2016

Hi from MiraCosta students (English) - Maiko

Hello everyone!
I hope you enjoyed my introduction to MiraCosta in my video "Oceanside Campus Tour.". Today I'd like to introduce other Japanese students from other MiraCosta students!

The MiraCosta students I interviewed for this blog were all Japanese students who will graduate this spring. In the videos, they are talking about their majors, their college lives at MiraCosta, advises for future MiraCosta students etc.

They are short videos separated by each majors, so you can take a look at the one about your interesting major! ;)



Accounting



Child Development



Psychology



Art



Theater



How were they? Hope you guys enjoyed them :) And, I am very glad if it helps you to imagine your MiraCosta College life or decide your major! Since MiraCosta students are all gentle and friendly, you would enjoy MiraCosta life :)

Friday, May 27, 2016

卒業式!

皆さんこんにちは!
本日5/27はミラコスタカレッジの卒業式です!
私も今日でここを卒業し、今年の秋から4年制大学へ編入します:) とーーーっても楽しみですXD

カレッジ生活を色々思い返してみて、ミラコスタカレッジは本当に楽しかったと思います!ミラコスタカレッジ大好きです<3

そして、この一年間ブロガーとして働き、様々な情報を皆さんとシェア出来て、とっても楽しく嬉しかったです。ありがとうございました!

Hi guys!
It is the commencement day at MiraCosta College today!
I'll graduate from here and transfer to four-year university :) I'm so exited and can't wait XD

Looking back my college life, MiraCosta College was really fun! I LOVE MiraCosta <3

And also, I was very glad to be able to work as blogger and share various information with you guys. Thank you very much for visiting and reading my blog!!

Good luck on all of you guys' future & see you!!!



Friday, May 20, 2016

Hi from MCC students(日本語)

皆さんこんにちは!
以前動画を作成してミラコスタカレッジのキャンパスの風景を紹介したと思うのですが、今回はミラコスタカレッジに実際に在学中の生徒からの生の声をお伝えしたいと思います!

今回インタビューさせてもらったのは、この2016年春のセメスターで卒業する日本人の生徒の皆さんで、それぞれのメジャーやミラコスタでの生活、未来の生徒へのアドバイスなどについて話していただきました。

メジャーごとにわかれたショートビデオなので、自分の興味のあるメジャーなどぜひご覧ください!;)


Accounting




Child Development





Psychology





Art





Theater




楽しんでいただけたでしょうか?:)
短い動画でしたが、少しでもミラコスタでの生活をイメージする時やメジャーを決めるときの助けになれば幸いです!ミラコスタの人達は皆本当に優しくてフレンドリーなので、楽しいカレッジライフを送れると思います:)

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

How to get a driver license

Hi guys! As you read the previous one, now you can see that you definitely need a driver license, right?! So, here is a useful link explaining about steps to get a driver license!


DMV.org
remove preview​
California New License Application Info | DMV.org
How to get a driver's license with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV): Visit your local CA DMV office. Complete a Driver License or Identification Card Application (Form DL 44). Provide proof of your identity. Pay the $33 driver's license fee. Pass the written test. Pass the road test.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Why you need a car to live in Oceanside

Hello! How are you guys doing? In MiraCosta College, last week was spring break. So, I went to a lot of places and had really great time with my friends!! That was the third time to have a spring break in MiraCosta College for me, but this year’s one was the most active spring break. Why? That’s because finally I got a car!!! “If you live in California, you need a car!” You probably have heard such kind of things at least once, and it’s definitely TRUE!!


Why? Here are some reasons!

  • Both buses and trains do not come frequently and most of them do not come on time
Most buses come every twenty or thirty minutes, and it's not surprising that buses come 10-15 minutes late.


  • It takes a lot of time to go out by bus
For example, supposed you want to go to Oceanside beach. If you drive, it takes only about 15 minutes. However, it takes 45 MINUTES by bus!! Additional 30 minutes! That's a lot, isn't it?!

         ↓By car  ↓By bus
  • Not every bus stop has their time schedules
As we can see from the picture, there is no crew to know what time a bus comes at a bus stop. Also, even on a time schedule sheet, there are schedules for only some bus stops. It is really INCONVENIENT!! :(


  • It is too dark to wait a bus alone at night
It's really dark at night in USA! So, it's scary and dangerous especially for female. Maybe it makes you unable to take a night class or stay in library to study.
  • You might have field trips as class materials
You might be assigned to go to a place where you don't think you can go only by public transportations. You cannot go because no transportation accesses the place, or because it takes too much time and you cannot make it etc.

  • Parking permit is much cheaper than monthly bus passes
In MiraCosta College, a parking permit is only $35 for the whole semester while a monthly bus pass costs $44.


I've felt "My life is kind of limited because I don't have a car!" many times before I got a car, and it was really frustrated. I know getting a car is not cheap and easy, but I strongly recommend you guys to have a car in order that you can enjoy your Cali life!

Thursday, March 31, 2016

4年制大学への編入の仕方 Steps to apply for a 4-year University

皆さんこんにちは!
早いもので、スプリングブレイクも終わり、このセメスターも半分が過ぎてしまいました。通常この時期(3月〜4月)は4年制大学からの合否の結果が出る時期で、今とっても旬なトピックだと思うので、今日は4年制大学へのトランスファー(編入)のステップについて書いていきたいと思います! 

以前、他のミラコスタブロガーさんが同じトピックの記事(Steps to apply for a four-year university)を英語で書いていたので、今回はそれを元に日本語でご紹介していきます。



1. 志望校を決める                 
まず何よりも最初に、自分の編入したい学校を決めることが大切です。カリフォルニア州だけでも沢山の学校があるので、志望校を決める上で迷ってしまうことも多いと思いますが、これから紹介していく項目を参考にしていくと決めやすいかもしれません。




2. ロケーション
キャンパスや周りの環境が綺麗で住みやすいか、勉強しやすい環境が整っているかなど、 ロケーションは大学を選ぶ上で大事なポイントの1つかと思います。また、学校終わりに近くで遊べる場所があるかどうかもキャンパスライフを楽しむ上では重要かもしれませんね!やはり写真や人からの話だけではわからないこともあるので、可能であれば実際にその学校に行って、色々見てまわってみることを強くオススメします。




3. 学費   
留学生活を続ける上で、学費はかなり重要なポイントだと思います。ハーバード大学やUCLAを目指してプランを立て始める前に、授業料などの留学にかかる総額費用をチェックした方がいいかもしれません。大学での2年間の費用はいくらで、それを負担するのは誰なのか。学費の援助や奨学金を得ることが出来るのか。各学校によって、学費や提供している奨学金プランにもかなりの差が出てきます。留学生の場合は、州外民として追加の料金(UCLAの場合:$26,682)を払わなければならないことが大抵です。最終的な決断をする前に、予算のチェックとリサーチをしましょう!



4. 専攻
やはり大学を選ぶ上で、自分の専攻に強い学校を選びたいですよね!例えば、カリフォルニア州立大学はビジネスや会計学、生物学、看護学等に様々なプログラムを持っています。その学校には何学部があって、どの学部が強いのかを自分の専攻と照らし合わせてチェックしていくとよいと思います。



5. カウンセリングをする  

一度志望校を決めたら、トランスファーセンターやインターナショナルオフィスのカウンセラーとカウンセリングをすることを心からお勧めします。あなたの目標や志望校に応じて、カウンセラーが必要なクラスをまとめてプランを組んでくれます。又、Assistにも専攻や学校に必要なクラスのことが載っているので、自分でも検索してみるといいと思います。



6. 自分のプランをこなす 
カウンセリングをして自分のプランを決めたら後はそのプランを消化していきます。 ミラコスタカレッジでは、毎セメスターの終わり頃に次のセメスターの為の履修登録が始まります。ですので、履修登録が始まってしまう前に早めに次のセメス ターでどのクラスを取るかスケジュールを立てましょう。何か履修漏れはないか等トラブルが起きるのを防ぐ為にも、毎セメスター必ずカウンセラーと会って、プランの進行状況を確認することを強くお勧めします。


7. 願書の用意
大学によって、願書の受付期間は異なります。ですので、自分が出願するそれぞれの学校の願書受付期間を把握しておく必要があります。例えば、UCは通常次の年の秋のセメスターの為の願書の受付を11月1日に開始し、11月末日に締め切ります。又、多くの学校が出願にはオンラインシステムを採用しており、紙の願書を各学校に郵送するのではなく、ネット上で必要な情報を入力していきます。ミラコスタカレッジでは出願の時期が近づくと毎年、UCやCSUへの出願のためのワークショップが開かれるので、自分が出願する年には一度は必ず参加した方がいいと思います。



8. 出願と更新   
全ての願書の入力が終わり確認をし終えたら、必ず締め切り前にsubmitボタンを押して提出することを忘れないようにしましょう。又、一度提出したらそれで出願プロセスが全て終わった訳ではなく、その後に秋のセメスターの成績をアップデートしなければいけないので、忘れないように気をつけましょう!



9. Good Luck! 


Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Transportation

Hello everyone! How's everyone doing? It has been very cold these days in Oceanside, so you need some warm jackets if you possibly come to MCC this winter. Oh, and also! You definitely need information about transportation when you visit here, don't you? So, my today's topic is transportation; yet, Sam already explained about transportation from LAX to Oceanside, so if you travel through the route, let's visit his page! Well, then, I am going to introduce local transportation.


These are ones you will possibly use:

<Buses>

 - Breeze Bus  Is the bus system that travels in North County in the cities of Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, Encinitas, Cardiff, San Marcos, Escondido.  
      *Fee: One-way $1.75 / One day pass $5.00
      *Monthly pass available for $44 per month for MiraCosta students.  Also valid on Sprinter!

 - Greyhound Travels around the United States
      *The ticket price varies depends on the distance.
      *You can buy tickets both at the station and online.


<Trains>

 - Sprinter Train that travels East-and-West from Oceanside to Escondido, California
      *Fee: One-way $2.00 / One day pass $5.00
      *Monthly pass available for $44 per month for MiraCosta students

 - Coaster Train that travels North-and-South from Oceanside to San Diego, California
      *It runs from San Diego to Oceanside.
      *The ticket price varies depends on the distance.

 - Amtrak Train that travels around the United States.  Great way to travel from Oceanside to Disneyland, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco
      *It runs across the whole land of the USA.
      *The ticket price varies depends on the distance.
      *You can buy tickets both at the station and online.


<Cabs>

 - Uber
      *It's kind of a private taxi.
      *You need to download the app and sign in to use it.

 - Taxi


You can click each item and go to their web pages for more details.
Hope these information will help your trip. Thank you for reading! See you next time!