Milenko Fadic's Blog

PVI

Hi Guys. I wanted to share with you a project I am doing with an organization called soliya. Soliya is a non-profit that connects students from the West with the Middle East. Each Tuesday I have a conference with people from Egypt, Palestine, Italy, and other countries to discuss many important issues. This is for a Middle East Media seminar and it has been a rewarding challenge.

This week we have to do a project with a partner from the Middle East called Perspective. The goal is to discuss a common issue and learn the other’s side perspective. I am working with a colleague from Palestine and we are discussing the US role in the conflict between Gaza and Israel. Here is the first post:

 

By doing the project this past month, I have learned and become more involved about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict. I think that before we talk about the role of third parties in the conflict, we need to discuss the facts about what is happening. By watching different debates and dialogues between the Palestinian side and the Israeli side, I see that both parties are hearing but not listening to each other. There was an interesting debate I watched in YouTube which was transmitted by Al-Jazeera English in a program called Riz Khan. In it, college-age students were discussing the conflict. At first the dialogue was civilized but it quickly became heated. I think that because there are so many emotions in this conflict, we impede from seeing the other’s side version of the truth. Anyways, after the students started arguing, it was obvious that they were not trying to listen to each other but state their position.

I wanted to write the things which I think are facts and allow other to correct them, support them, or criticize them in a logical manner. For instance, when I watched some comments about the video in YouTube, most of them used stereotypes and clearly show a lack of insight about the intricacy in the region.

I’m going to start in the 20^th century because, from what I researched, it is when the conflict started.  Due to Zionism ideology, many Jews started migrating to the region of Palestine. This region has some historical and religious importance for Jews as well as Muslims. After WWI, the British acquired the region. During that time, tensions between “Israelis” (not yet a country) and Palestinians increased and as a result in 1947 Britain gave the land to the U.N.

The U.N. tried to partition the land by issuing a two-state solution which divided the land in approximately equal area. This infuriated the Arab population because between the Arab people and Arab government, they possessed the majority of the land. In 1948 Israel declared independence and some Middle Eastern countries invaded it. Israel won an annexed more territory and in 1967 some more. Israel occupied the land until 2005 when they pulled out. In the process, there has been two intifadas, numerous conflicts, and thousands of deaths.

Palestinians are currently living among unemployment, poverty, and economic strangulation. Israelis are living a comfortable lifestyle with a GDP per person of about $19,000. Israeli’s argue that they have the economic and military pressures to stop attacks against their infrastructure and to ensure national security. Palestinians argue that Israel is responsible for their situation due to their actions (I.e. building a wall, closing, discrimination.)

I wanted to get some input on my ideas and wanted to see on the things we agree and on what we disagree. With your input I would like some support for your ideas.

 

I hope you enjoy it,

Thanks

Some Humor

Here is a good application essay I found in the Internet written by Hugh Gallagher. I post it to put a little humor into your day. I hope school is going well. For me, I am working on a huge project called Soliya. The program brings students from all over the world to talk over the Internet about certain issues. For this project we have to create a video and an editorial. It is really interesting to be able to hear news perspectives and learn something different every day. Fortunately I obtained the Resident Assistant position for next year! I am really excited to be able to help the school and know new people. I also reapplied for CUB and next year am going to be the Co-chair of the service committee. As you probably know, March is a hectic month full of work and exams which has had me running back and forth (kind of like a ping-pong ball.) Without further due, here is the essay:

3A. IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row. I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400.

My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me. I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations with the CIA.

I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid.

On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prize-winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin.

I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

(The author was accepted and is now attending NYU.)

 

Have a wonderful Day

HEY YA

Dear Friends

I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Here at school everything is going very well. Classes are picking up and are starting to get a little bit harder and more challenging. At the same time, however, we have been packed with fun activities that CUB had prepared for us.

Last week was homecoming and it was an amazing week. There was an activity every night of the week and each one was better than the previous one. Some of the activities that went on during the week included  Fast Food Hero, which is a combination of Guitar Hero and Fast Food. ,blue and gold day, in which students showed their school spirit by wearing the school colors, game-show night, and of course, the homecoming pep-rally.On game show night, there were  games which allowed members of the audience to win prizes. The games consisted of Not yet Weds game show which is Queen’s version of Newlyweds. One of our bloggers, Maya, participated in the game with her boyfriend. It was a really fun activity.

Valentine’s weekend was the Presidential Scholars weekend and it was really good to see so many intelligent people.

I hope everything is going well,

Milenko

And we are back

 

I am so happy to be writing this Sunday January 25th of 2009. I wish you had a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and I wish that you have hope for a better future. One of my resolutions for 2009 was to be more thankful for everything that surrounds us and a little bit more systematic……let’s see how long that lasts!!

Last year I left off telling you about my exams. Luckily my grades were good and I ended up the year on a very good note. After classes were over, I decided to stay here at school for a week and then left for Columbia S.C. I spent one week in S.C. and I got to see my beloved family and totally relax and truly be able to do absolutely nothing.

After one week in S.C. I headed up to New York City to meet some friends from Ecuador I had not seen in 6 years. Unfortunately I decided to take a bus north and let’s say that “it was a horrible ride” would be an understatement. When I got there, however, my mood changed drastically. I was astonished and totally amazed to see the architecture and all the diversity of NYC. It was an amazing experience and one that I would definitely do again. Nonetheless I was extremely happy when I got back to Charlotte to my normal life.

Here at school everything is going great and I am really enjoying my classes this semester. I am taking public speaking, world of work, calculus, French, managerial accounting, microcomputers, and Middle Eastern media. It is really fun when you wake up in the morning and go to classes you really like.

Last Sunday CUB took a group of students snowboarding. I was one of the lucky who got to go and even though I fell probably about two thousand times I enjoyed it greatly.

Yesterday a group of students and I went to Charlotte Emergency Housing. The place is an organization that provides temporary housing to families that need it. There we got to cook for them, socialize, and really live by Queens’s motto. After the soup kitchen, some friends and I went to see the “Barber of Seville.” It was my first time going to an opera and it was an extraordinary experience.

Next week we have Homecoming and CUB has planned a very exiting week. Saturday is the big game and I am sure we will WIN! Saint Valentine’s weekend is going to be Presidential Scholars Week; we are really exited of seeing prospective students participate for the scholarships and I know that is going to be an awesome week.

I hope you all are doing great

Hope Senioritis is not kicking in

Take CARE

MILENKO

I hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving break enjoying with family time. Luckily for us, we have an entire week of break from school. Most of the students went back to their homes in order to celebrate with their families. I stayed in campus until Wednesday and then drove to stay with my family.

 

Last week was packed with papers and tests that teachers wanted to receive before break to facilitate the grading. Last week was also the Bachelor and Bachelorette auction an it turned out to be a success. The bachelors did a good job walking down the stage and modeling. Fortunately, Dr. Harper, a psychology professor, did the auction and which had us counting pennies to see if we could bid on her. Regardless of our efforts we could not compete with the business professor Dr. Cox who ultimately won the bidding.

 

Friday one of my friends and a blogger, Maya, turned 21 so we went to celebrate. We went dancing at Latorres; in the morning we ate breakfast then went to eat again and finally ate again.

 

Now I am just relaxing at my house finishing some work I have to do because when we come back it’s study time.

 

Thanks Guys

 

Another week bites the dust…..

 

Dear Diary,

 

It has been only about a week since the last time I wrote but I have many stories to tell you. As I you all probably know last Saturday was Casino Night; this year I did not loose all my money in one hand- I lost it in two. I know, Texas Hold Them and I do not get along and unfortunately I am the one that always lose. However, due to the wisdom of another student at

Queens

, I saved two thousand Rex Dollars and was able to get to tickets for the raffle they had that night. It was nerve racking to listen to the girl saying the numbers….4….2…..7…1….4…and……...Noooo. I was one number short from winning a fifty dollar Target gift card. Despite my lost of money I must say that the food was exquisite, the dancing amusing, and the people incredible. That night was definitely a night to remember.

 

On other note that weekend was nice seeing some prospective students go to Discover Queens. I got to mingle with some very interesting and highly intelligent future college students and I was pleased to see the caliber of students that will be my future classmates.

 

In respect with my classes, I am going use an analogy to describe my feelings towards them. I feel as if I were a cyclist in the Tour de France; now I am climbing the highest hill of the competition. Even though I am tired, I know I have to give my biggest greatest effort in order to finish up with the best in the race. Likewise in school, I am going to work as hard as I can in order to wrap up the school year in a positive way.

 

In regards with the Bachelor & Bachelorette Auction…..(I know, I know, you are probably tired of hearing about this, but it will be over Tuesday 18^th)……..in regard with the auction everything is starting to wrap up. We have signups in Trexler and so far, people have responded very well. Today I am going to buy some materials and get ready for another night to remember.

 

I was being nosy and reading other student’s blog and realized that I have never given my e-mail. If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, or anything just shoot me an email at Milfadic@hotmail.com

 

Thanks,

See you soon

 

 

 

But I digress…..

 

So……… I think I must first provide you with a captivating excuse in order for you to have   compassion and forgive my tardiness and irresponsibility and not informing you about my life here at Queens. To be utterly honest, my schedule and activities this year have made it very complicated to create a routine while balancing everything. During my past two semesters I had it all planned out: Mondays I studied, Tuesdays I enjoyed, Wednesdays I read……..you get the idea. Unfortunately this year, all my classes and activities seem to fall under the same week and thus I have a completely hectic week followed by a serene one. To give you an example, last weekend I had an ambassador’s duty to go to Discover Queens and I had the son’s obligation to attend my mothers birthday. The chaos during that weekend made it difficult for me to study for the THREE tests I had on Monday, followed by the meetings the reports, presentations, and tasks that had to be done. But wait! Don’t you get discourage because you see me “distressing” (for lack of a better word) about my situation. I love what I do here at Queens and that is the reason I do it!

 

So…………I think I must know “catch you up” with what has happened. I will start with Friday the 24^th of October which was were I left off last time. That Friday was fantastic! And it was fantastic because our wonderful student life staff planned an event called Fantastic Friday (get it?). That day we had a live performer at the cafeteria come and delight us with his mellifluous voice and sing some tunes that ranged from oasis to Dave Mathews to his imagination. After the ROAR (Recognizing Our Awesome Royals) I attended the basketball show-off; Tyler Rauch, one of our bloggers, was the emcee for the night and did an amazing job. During the event there were games, prizes, and a dunk contest. In order to take full advantage of my well deserved weekend, some friends and I decided to go uptown and dance the night away (literally). It was really nice to be able to relax and express yourself while dancing; it was also very interesting to see all the fancy moves that dancers perform (I saw some 45 year old do a splinter).

  

Unfortunately, the day after my night of dancing I had to wake up at 7:45

in the MORNING for a Discover Queens. That morning, however, it seemed that I had eaten about 2 poundsof sugar because I was bouncing around and very happy. As you might imagined, when the event was over I went to my room to get my beauty sleep. After my short 2 hour nap, I drove thirty minutes to my mom’s house to celebrate one more year of her existence. While at my mom’s house, my dad, sister, and I were able to bond and have much fun by playing games like celebrity, “chanton”, and “parame la buseta.”

 

The next day I had to leave early my mom’s because I had to prepare for three major exams and a country report. Have you ever heard of a country called Bhutan? That was my country for the presentation and I tell you I am glad that I am a little less ignorant about the world than I was before the project. I know that you would love me to elaborate in the multiple step income statement method for financial accounting, or in the test of proportions that I learned in my stats class, or even the different types of market structure utilized in my economics class, but I have tosave those words for a rainy day.

Halloween week was packed of activities organized by several clubs and organization here at Queens. There was the Ghost stories, an event in which a selected member of the staff retells some terrifying stories; the costume ball, an event of CUB which was a costume party and turned out to be amazing; and finally the cafeteria had some fun activities for the students.

 

So…………..guess what? Last weekend some friends and I decided to go camping to Mount Pisgah, a beautiful place in Ashville; unfortunately, our medium of transportation could not make at the last minute so we had a dilemma: to go or not to go. Being the adventurous and courageous college students that we are, we decided to take the 3 hour journey in a two passenger car. I am going to allow you to do the math: my farmer’s truck (as some friends call it) is a 1986 Mazda truck that has only two seats; the total number of heads for the trip was 6; it was analogous to a game of Tetris to fit us all there. Ah! But that is not it, while going to the mountains we had to stop at a gas station in order to put air in the tires. When I was ready to turn on my car…..it did not turn on. Have you ever seen the scene in Little Miss Sunshine when the family has to push the car in order to start? My friends and I had to push the car in order for it to start which caused all our energy and dignity to stay there in that little town in the middle of nowhere. While driving up the mountain, we were able to see the most beautiful landscape, the changing of the color of the leaves, the numerous stars, and have peace. It is incredible the joy that little things can bring you. But the story does not end there! At night, after we had eaten s-mores, played the guitar, and eaten hot dogs, I suddenly realized that the tent I had brought only accommodated three people. We did not sleep that night. The next day we were able to wake up just in time to see the sun rise at an elevation of 4980 feet- no words can describe the view. We got back Sunday to a warm comfortable bed and sleep as if we had not slept in years. And that is all I have to say about that

 

So……..this week. This week is an excellent week to notify you of the activities happening for virtually the rest of the semester. This Saturday we are going to have out traditional Casino Night! Everyone here at Queens is exited about this night because it truly is a night to REMEMBER. Last year I lost all my money in the first hand of Texas hold them, but this year I am going to win! Ha-Ha. Following Casino Night is the event that the Service Committee is planning: the Bachelor Auction. My friends are tired of constant questions I asked them (food, music, prizes, decorations) but I really want this to be an outstanding night. For the rest of the week I have meetings regarding the auction and I also have some studying to do. I am also waiting for a response from a job I applied to…………….stay tuned for the next episode…….next week same time, same place.

 

 

LOVE (look at picture)    

 

Milenko

 

 

Hey Friends

It’s Fall Break!! Yes, it’s finally time for a well deserved break for all of us hard working college students. In order to celebrate our break some of the student body went home, whitewater rafting, and some on vacation. I decided to stay here at school in order to get “some work done.” Well… it’s almost Saturday and I have not gotten anything done.

Ha-ha.

So…..where do I start? This week has been really exiting. This week my classes were not so demanding so I took time to relax. Last Friday I went to Scarowinds with some of my friends. For those of you that are not from the Charlotte, Carowinds is a theme park with roller coasters and some fun rides. For the month of October, Carowinds became Scarowinds so there were some haunted houses and random monsters.

On Saturday there was an Italian heritage festival at the Wachovia building in uptown. My family and I attended it and ate some Italian cuisine and listened to Opera. After the festival we went to eat once again to the high school cafeteria.

One of the cool things that I am planning for November is the Bachelor and Bachelorette auction. This event is a tradition here at Queens where we sell our bachelors in order to help the annual Katrina Relief Trip. This year my CUB committee is responsible for it so this year is going to be outstanding.

Guys I hope you are all enjoying you years at school

Bests

“I’m on a perpetually accelerating wheel, heading towards an ultimate end”

 

            Hello guys, again I ask you to find it in you heart to forgive me for the delay in writing. This two weeks have been filled with hard work, stress, joy, study time, happiness, among others which I am allowed to name.

Where do I start? I guess from the beginning. During the incipient stages of my week, all my time was consumed with the Campus Union Board in our silent auction. This silent auction was organized by the Service Committee and it was my duty as co-chair to make it happen. The process was long and tedious but it was definitely worth. In order to get the baskets we asked for contributions of different Queens departments. The end result was that the committee raised $817, money which is going to Life Span, a local non profit that enhances the quality of life of children. The event took place during family weekend.

            Some of the events that took place during family weekend were the fall festival where we had food, fun and the soccer game. Another cool event was the poetry slam. There were several artists that came and recited their lyrics which were powerful.

            Another interesting event that occurred during the weekend was the Trip Around the World. During this event, each dorm room becomes a different country. The students then are tourist and go to each building to try the food and get to know the culture. This year we had Thailand, Ethiopia, Greece, and Spain.

            Last Sunday was one of my good friend’s birthday. In order to celebrate one more year of life, a group of my friends went to the Cheesecake factory for dinner. The meals were delicious and they even got him a candle! The same weekend my mom and sister came to visit me. I took them to our dinning hall and we spent some quality time together.

             Unfortunately, my evening with my mom and sister was very short. Monday I had three exams. In college, exams count for a big portion of you grade so that day, sleeping was not in the list of things to do. The exams went pretty well but at the end of Monday I looked like a Zombie from a horror movie.

            Another exiting event that occurred during the weekend was the meet the mascot event. During this event, the dinning hall became an auditorium and the emcee introduced us to the Cheerleaders and the mascot. The food was good and we had an awesome time answering challenging question’s and winning prices.

            

            At the end of my weekend I had the chance to go toTennessee. It was awesome. The reason I went there was for a conference for campus union boards all over the country. The event had music bands, comedians, magicians and hypnotists. In addition we attended several seminars on how to organize, market, and make our events FUN.

Thanks for you patience guys

Ill be writing to you soon

Milenko

Hey Guys

Well hello again…………

First I must apologize for breaking my promise and not writing during this summer. To be honest this summer was a little hectic with everything. For starters, my family and I had to clear the house because my mother and sister were moving to Concord(about 30 minutes from Charlotte.) At the same time I was working one full time job at the hospital and another part time job at a furniture store. So if I were to have written I would probably complain about the stresses of the jobs. Like they say if you are not going to write anything good, do not write anything at all.

Tip of the day: Please devote time to your education because if you do not you will end up having to work 12 hours days. Plus the money you make there will probably fly away.

During the summer I did take a nice little vacation to nowhere else than Miami Beach. It was a very exiting experience and to be honest I felt like I was at home. Even better was that the hotel which we got had a beach view. Miami’s diversity was astonishing, everywhere I went I could hear ten different languages, or eat anything from cow tongue to bull’s….stomach.

After the summer I came one week before to serve as a Peer Resource for Orientation aka PRO. The PROs are the students that help with freshman orientation by doing icebreakers, talking to people and having fun. The freshman class this year is very diverse and highly intelligent. Good job admissions.

On August the 25^th classes finally started. It is a new school year, a new opportunity to prosper and learn. Curiously, my schedule turned out to be almost as hectic as my summer. On Mondays, I have classes from 10 inthe morning to 4 inthe afternoon, then I have a meeting from 5 to 6 and end up on class again from 6 to 9. Those days are killers.

The school year thus far has been good. It was really good to see those friends who you missed, the long deep conversations, the stupid laughs, and all the joy that few people can bring to you. Even though it is very early in the year, I already learned many new things not only in the academic part but in life.

 

It was a pleasure writing to you and I look forward to sharing more experiences with you.

Best regards,

Milenko