Wednesday night, seven-thirty, we metin the courtyard. Ten students, wholargely had never met, piled into two

cars and ventured out together to the Palisades,seeking the adventure of unknown cuisine. Wewere united by a love for food, and not only didwe leave the library for an entire evening tohave all our desires for fantastic Japanese cui-sine fulfilled, we met amazing classmates whowe perhaps otherwise would not have hadoccasion to meet.

The Ethnic Dining Club is new to SAISthis year, and after thoroughly enjoying myevening, I decided to sit down with the Clubleaders and find out more.

Maany Peyvan, a 2nd Year IP student, andDon Morton a 2ndYear ILaw concen-trator started theEthnic Dining clubwith one thing inmind – their lovefor food. Maany,who lived in DCfor a year beforecoming to SAIS,and Don, who grewup in the area, both knew of great dininglocales, but they noticed students were alwayseating at the same boring places aroundDupont. Hindered by a lack of time, transporta-tion, and money, it is hard for students to getout and experience all of the culture that DChas to offer and consequently sometimes peo-ple view DC as kind of a void – Don wasn’tstanding for this.

At the start, the club was about eatinggood food with friends, which is not somethingthat sounds like it could be a school sanctionedclub, but as the idea developed, the possibilitiesunfolded. Don and Maany started thinkingabout lectures on food policy, sustainable fish-ing, molecular gastronomy, resource manage-

ment, agflation, andwhat it means to be agood and responsi-ble eater. They alsonoticed that there arecoverage gaps in theRegional SAISclubs, where EthnicDining could fill in.

There is an intrinsic value to sitting andsharing a meal with people. Food has such abroad appeal and the act of sharing food initself is a bonding experience. A cross-concen-tration dinner with people you don’t know,where everyone is hungry – sounds like theperfect recipe for new friends.

Initially the club had a signup of over 100members and for each dinner, there is space for

For those who delight in takingadvantage of the little price-quality arbitrages in life, I high-

ly recommend exploring the variousquality restaurants and music venuessprouting up around the H Street cor-ridor. One such restaurant is 1905,located at 1905 9th St. Surrounded bygrungy basement jazz and reggaelounges; its dark non-descript awning

is easilyoverlooked.Inside, how-ever, on topa narrow setof stairs, laysa DC take on aFrench bistro—com-plete with dark woodpanels, antique chan-deliers, and populatedby ever so slightly

trendy scenesters.The restaurant recently obtained Executive

Chef Anthony Marini who specializes in takingSouthern Comfort food and turning it up a fewnotches. The menu, which changes every fewweeks, features classic dishes, prepared withfresh, locally sourced ingredients, designedwith the fine dining experience in mind. Start

November 2009 Volume 9 No. 11 The Newspaper of the Johns Hopkins University Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

Ethnic Dining in DCBy Nadine Szablya

The Economics of Eating in DC

By Sophie Liu

Continued on page 11Continued on page 10

with a first course. The perennial favorite is agood choice: $100 potatoes, fried in duck fatwith crème fraiche, apple wood smoked bacon,scallion-truffle pesto, and American caviar.Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try the potatoessince they ran out (insert platitude aboutAmerican over consumption here). I orderedthe spicy tuna tartar with whipped wasabi limecrème instead. The delicate pieces of high-grade tuna, marinated in soy sauce and lacedwith chilies, packed great flavor and left apleasant after-burn.

For the second course, I hands-down rec-ommend the 1905 Burger, a blend of prime

Both knew of greatdining locales, but

they noticed studentswere always eatingat the same boring

places aroundDupont

Information technology in theHopkins system has caused majorconfusion for students across the

SAIS campus. Even those not techno-logically challenged have difficulty nav-igating the multiple websites, laboriousdirections, and missing staff links.

George Petasis, Chief InformationOfficer and newly appointed Head ofthe Advanced Technology Team atSAIS, has set out to help smooth the dis-connects in the IT department at SAIS.He shared with the Observer, his longterm and short term plans for the SAISIT Department.

“We’ve been working hard since Igot here, about a year ago, to stabilize andimprove the IT infrastructure,” explains Petasis.Through his help, the school has created a num-ber of strategic goals, each aiming to make“technology a tool to uncover, connect, and sup-

port physical assets and human resources.”Even in the short time that Petasis has been onstaff, the department has gone through a large-scale transformation.

The first step was to create an IT AdvisoryCouncil (ITAC). Petasis expects ITAC to serve

By Jessica Lambertson

SAIS’s IT Department to undergo largescale, multi-year upgrading process

Continued on page 11

Arbitrage at the H St Corridor

A cross-concentra-tion dinner with peo-ple you don’t knowsounds like the per-fect recipe for new

friends

The perennialfavorite is a goodchoice: $100 pota-

toes, fried in duck fatwith crème fraiche,apple wood smokedbacon, scallion-truf-

fle pesto, andAmerican caviar.

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 2

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

The SAIS Observer

Editors-in-ChiefSamatha WatsonAndre Castillo

Graham Bocking

Contributors

Paul AloisMasha Bolotinskaya

Kevin CrossJamie Huckabay

Richard KaufmanErin Kelley

Jessica LambertsonJinny Lee

Sophie LiuNeil Shenai

Nadine Szablya

The SAIS Observer is a news monthly written, edited, and produced by

the students of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

(SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University.

SAIS students, faculty and members of the administration at the

Washington, D.C. campus, Bologna campus, and the Hopkins-Nanjing

Center are encouraged to submit articles, letters to the editor, photographs,

cartoons, and other items for consideration.

Material for consideration or inquiries may be sent to : observer@jhu.edu.

The SAIS Observer is an approved SAIS student organization. Opinions

expressed in the SAIS Observer are not necessarily the views of the edi-

tors, SAIS, or the University.

The Observer welcomes accolades, denials,comments, critiques, and hate mail at

observer@jhu.edu.

Photos:Paul AloisMasha BolotinskayaShannon DrakeJamie HuckabayPaul KaneErin KelleyEric Seilo

Diversions:Keep your eyes and ears open and contribute to the sections

below! Email us at observer@jhu.edu with submissions

The OstrichWho’s having a good month, and whomight want to stick their heads in the sandand hope for better luck next month?

LosersHalloween costume: Best Group

The Kill Bill girls! Tiffany Chow, LibbyHugetz, Mikela Trigilio, and Sophie Lu.

Halloween costume: Best Male

Federico Qüerio for Sexually ConfusedMan in a Pink Shirt!

Halloween costume: Best female

Shannon Drake for the Day of the Dead!(“El Dia de los Muertos”).

Halloween costume: M. Ahmadinejad

Congratulations again to the Iranian dic-tator for another award! Your stayingpower continues to both baffle andamaze, both at home and abroad.

NWU StreakerA streaker arrested at NorthwesternUniversity on October 23 promptly beganvomiting while talking to police. He blamedit on swine flu.

Australian taxpayers

Have a bad case of wild camels, whoapparently destroy $14M AUD worth ofinfrastructure each year.

Students with swine flu at Johns

Infectees have been dubbed as “pigs” atthe home campus, freshman arereferred to as “piglets.”

Philadelphia Phillies

Loser of the World Series to the nowresurrected Evil Empire, the New YorkYankees. There’s always last year, fellas.

VerbatimWhat politicians andthe SAIS community

have been saying

Winners

Dear SAIS!

You rock! [Sorry, felt like inserting that

as I sit here and finish editing this letter -Andre, the Observer layout editor] [Anyway,

back to Graham.] Well, here is our second tolast issue of the SAIS Observer for the calen-dar year and for our time as editors. It isamazing how fast time flies! October was ahectic month with midterms, papers and thenever ending job hunt but we managed to getsome fun in there too. Halloween in particularwas a great success [particularly for those

who enjoyed the booty poppin’ beer glass

shatter, ©Andre 2009!] , as you can check outin our Halloween picture spread [not the

booty pop though]. There were some greatcostumes, and a lot of imagination! [w00t

w00t!]Of course, we would also like to thank all

of our wonderful writers who contributed tothe paper this issue [you rock!], our tirelessregulars and those brave new souls whoagreed to write for the first time [hit us with

some editor apps!]. To all those who have notyet contributed to the Observer, you have onemore chance to immortalize your thoughtsand dreams (at least for calendar year 2009!)with our upcoming last issue [so get on it!].With so little work in November (year right)[hey, my thoughts exactly!] it’s a perfectopportunity! Thanks again to all and we hopeyou enjoy the issue!

Sincerely,

Graham Bocking [Graham, you rock!]

Samantha Watson [aka “awesomeness”]

Andre Castillo [w00t w00t]

Correction from last issue: Paul Kane wasmistakenly listed as a Strategic Studies con-centrator. He is a South Asia Studies concen-trator. [That one was all me too. Sorry!]

40

2.1

130

11

1

7

40,000

By theNumbers

million. The estimat-ed number of house-holds without creditin the US.

million. the amount ofmoney grossed to dateby “Michael Jackson’sThis is It.”

130 – the average num-ber of friends aFacebook user has.

The number of poundsof chocolate the aver-age American eats ayear (the average Swisseats 21 pounds a year).

Billion – the number ofsmokers in the world

The maximum numberof times you can fold apiece of paper.

The number of dollarsAmerican Airlinessaved in 1987 by elim-inating one olive fromevery salad served infirst class.

“Some argue, yes. Obviously, the other answeris no.” - Anonymous SAIS professor

“Taiwan hasn’t joined the OECD. Whenyou’re a renegade province you’re not allowedto join.” - Anonymous SAIS professor

“We love paradoxes. Paradoxes are likework programs for economists - you gottaresolve it.” - Anonymous SAIS Professor

“But if there’s no war, we won’t have anyjobs.” - Anonymous SAIS student com-

menting on the possibility of world peace

“When you do your readings for class, don’tread it like the Bible, be very critical, ask ques-tions.” - Anonymous SAIS professor

“Barbed wire is not very useful for attackingsomeone. Well, maybe in some cases.” -Anonymous SAIS professor

tions, how to get out of a war (de-escalate the conflict), joint coordi-nation, and the United States as arising power. Each student and fac-ulty member was assigned a rolebased on the aspects of the cam-paign the group was studying andthe participant’s personal interests.The trip included war profiteersand sailors, senators, an Americanpresident and his wife, the Britishforeign minister, Emperor orGeneral (depending on how youfelt about him) Napoleon, andmany more.

Each student and facultyreceived a role and was responsiblefor research of a few questions

about the historical figure. The par-ticipant was free to interpret his roleto his taste and talents, and during

various points of the Staff Ride each participant made short presentation,appearing as their historical figure. Costumes, wacky accents, and ostenta-tious and sometimes outrageous claims are made during these Staff Rides.

Ramblings on a SAISer’s Summer Travels

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 3

It seems like only yesterday that SAIS students were returning from thefour corners of the globe, ready to start the semester, catch up with oldfriends, and meet new people. And now… midterms have passed us! Onceagain we find ourselves recovering from sleeping in the library, subsisting oncoffee and peanut butter, and wondering why we went to a school that empha-sizes economics.

Lucky for you, SGA members have been completely ignoring theirschool work in order to make your life better. On the networking side ofthings, several weeks ago we invited the GU School of Foreign Service toHappy Hour. 15 of them RSVPed… and about 300 showed up! We ran outof beer at 7PM, ordered more, and then ran out again at 8:30PM. By the endof the night we were selling tequila shots in styrofoam cups (keepin’ itclassy). In any event, we showed the SFS a great time, and they are hopingto return the favor next semester.

The Halloween Party went off in style. This year’s costume compe-tition winners were: Sexually Confused Man in a Pink Shirt (Best Male); LaDia de Los Muertos (Best Female); The Kill Bill Girls (Best Group);Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

On a less exciting note, the SGA has improved several logistical issues.We switched beer vendors for Happy Hour to a store that gives us a betterrate, so clubs should be making about $50 more. The SGA has streamlinedcommunications at SAIS to minimize the number of emails you get each day.Lastly, we are working with Academic Affairs to improve the bidding systemand increase the response rate for class evaluations.

The International Dinner will be December 5th, so start planning tomake, share, and eat some delicious food!

Paul Alois

SGA Monthly ReportThe student government chimes in with announcements and remindersBy Paul Alois, SGA President

SGA Social Chair Opens Up

Second Year Student, Ehab Tawfik had thechance to sit down with May Nguyen, andask her about herself and her plans for the

position of Social Chair.

Ehab: Tell me a little bit about your background.

May: I attended Amherst College, class of 2004.After Amherst, I went to work in Vietnam on earlychildhood care and education and then worked onthe campaign to combat sex trafficking of childrenfrom Vietnam. Hurricane Katrina hit my home-town in New Orleans, LA and so I went back tohelp with the rebuilding process, particularlyaddressing small business development in theVietnamese community (yes, there’s a Vietnamesecommunity of over 8,000 people in New Orleans).Prior to SAIS, I completed 1 year at UCLA Schoolof Law.

Ehab:Do you have any plans after SAIS?

May: I will return to law school to finish my JD. Hopefully I can delaythe job search process a bit!

Ehab: Why did you want to become the Social Chair?

May: SAIS is a very unique community comprised of the most diversestudent body. Last year I had a blast at all the SAIS events, especiallythe International Dinner before Winter Break. In social engagements,SAISers have this incredible ability to be both relaxed and engaged at thesame time – makes for a very good time. Being the Social Chair meansthat I get to interact with all the different corners of SAIS and help buildthe community.

Ehab: What are your main responsibilities as Social Chair and what new

ideas do you hope to bring to the Social Chair position?

May: I organize the major SAIS social student events. Please contact meif you’d like to be a social organizer for any of the events this year. I alsomanage the Student Foundation. The Student Foundation is an accounttowards which we put all the money we raise during the school year fromthe social events. At the end of the year, graduating 2nd years get to voteon how we would like to invest the money. Typically, this money will go

towards something for SAIS (e.g. a scholarship for a second year studentfrom a developing country).

As for big ideas, I think our social events have been great in the pastyear and I hope to fill the big shoes of my predecessors. I’d really like tofocus on how we invest our student foundation money this year. I’ll keepy’all posted on options.

In the meantime, if anyone has ideas, feel free to let me know.

Ehab: Is there something you would like to say to the student body?

May: I understand that exam periods are usually very stressful so pleaselet SGA help you take a break with the International Dinner, Mr. SAIS,etc. Enjoy the rest of the school year and we’ll be in touch.

Ehab Tawfik is an M.A.3 in Strategic Studies.

By Ehab Tawfik

Did you ever wonder what all those cleverFSR advertisements around campus were allabout? The FSR stands for the Fall Staff Ride, aproud military tradition of taking a group of mil-itary personnel on a tour analyzing and dis-cussing a particular campaign, hence whyStrategic Studies students organize this eventthree times a year.This tradition dates back to themid 1800s, when the Prussian army began takingmilitary groups on such trips. This idea waspicked up by the United States Army in the early1900s and still takes place today.

In the case of the SAIS Strategic StudiesStaff Rides, although this trip is organized andsubsidized by the Strategic Studies program, theStaff Ride is open to students of all concentra-tions at SAIS. This past weekend 44 Staff Ridersand three professors and distinguished guestsbraved the cold and damp weather to study theforgotten war of 1812 or the Chesapeake cam-paign. Of the 44 participants, 20% of the students came from a non-StrategicStudies concentration. The Staff Ride was organized by two strategic studiessecond year students, Gabe Serrato and Adam Pappas. The organizers hadseveral goals in mind: looking at how strategy and logistics shape opera-

Dolly Madison (portrayed by Mikela Trigilio), wife of then PresidentJames Madison, fleeing the White House.

Continued on page 9

By Masha Bolotinskaya

An interview with May Nguyen

May Nguyen rockingthe Luigi costume onHalloween at the SAISHalloween party.

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 4

SAIS Halloween Bash 2009! Wooooo!!!111oneoneone

Name 1 & Costume

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November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 5

Find your friends! Guess the costume! Win a prize!

Name 1 & Costume

Name 2 & Costume

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Name 3 & Costume

Name 4 & Costume

Name 1 & Costume

Name 2 & Costume

Name 3 & Costume

Name 4 & Costume

Can you complete this chart? Well, see if you have what it

takes to win the SAIS Observer’s ZombieChallenge by raising from the dead SAISers’ memories

of Halloween. Fill in as many names and costumes as youcan! Work alone or with a crew of flesh-eating zombies, asyou prefer. Submit your copy to the SAIS Observer byFriday, November 20th by dropping your copy in the SAISObserver mail box in Rome building (by the first floorvending machines). The winner will be announced in the

next issue and receive a $25 gift certificate to theSAIS student store!Questions, concerns? email the SAIS Observer at observer@jhu.edu.(thanks to Shannon Drake for the zombie art!)

Name & Costume

Eric Seilo

Photographer Extraodinaire

(aka The Vaudeville Mime)

A big thank you to Eric Seilo for hisexcellent photography skills for tak-ing these photos! Visit his websitefor more -www.flickr.com/ericseilo

ggrrrrrr aaaaaarrr

uuuuggghh!

...psst...reaaad the reeeesst of

the the Observer for hinnntssss!

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 6

Named a ‘non-resident alien’ upon entry, I am neither advan-taged nor disadvantaged by the current health care reformprocess. Nevertheless, just-over-a-year living experience in

the U.S, I have come to find that South Korea’s system outranks theUS system in quality and affordability.

Getting medical attention here is quite difficult. First, I had tofigure out which clinic I should go to from my provider’s website.Then, I tried to make an appointment. Nothing was available for aweek, so I waited. In the end, it was a simple check-up, lasting about10 minutes. The cost: $100. I could not believe my eyes. The worthof two weeks’ groceries and socialmoney spent on a 10-minute check-up.The administrator said I should payimmediately and get the reimburse-ment from my provider, which seemedto be a complicated procedure. “Whatif they decline the reimbursement?” Iasked. “You have to figure it out,” sheanswered indifferently.

At that moment, I made up mymind that I would never be sick whileI was residing in the U.S. I pledged myself to eat healthyfood and take vitamins in order not to get sick in this for-eign soil because I deserve to have better health treatment.

South Korea provides universal health care coverage.Every South Korean, by law, mandatorily buys healthinsurance through either an employer or their local govern-ment. Based on your income, a monthly insurance fee ispaid, which varies from 20 to 200 dollars. When you aresick, you can just go to whichever hospital or clinic youchoose, and pay about 30% of the actual cost. Typically,people just walk in to clinics, wait less then 30 minutes,and pay about 3 dollars for general consultation or check-up. I personally had never paid more than 10 dollars forany visits, except dental clinics. If going to a general hos-pital, a wait period of 2 weeks is common. Of course thereare some people who are unable to afford to pay themonthly insurance fee, but even if you are under deficit,you can still get treatment. No one is denied insurancebecause of previous illness or goes bankrupt due to a surgi-cal treatment.

When I first heard stories about Americans sufferingfrom the private insurance system, I could not believe thatthe U.S has such a backward system. America, the epicen-ter of human rights and democracy cannot provide basichuman needs to its own people?

I don’t understand the opponents of the current healthcare reform bill. They argue that the government-run insurance optionwill create a big government and it will add more deficits to the cur-

rent account. The also complain that it will impair competitiveness ofa private insurance market andincrease taxes on American house-holds. Why do the Americans gen-uinely shun the increasing role ofgovernment in such an important sec-tor like health care?

America! You will not become asocialistic country just because every-one gets health insurance qualityhealthcare. As President Obama put itin his speech at the joint congression-al session in early September, we shall “not accept the status quo asa solution. Not this time. Not now.”

Having said that, I am really glad to see that the Senate FinanceCommittee passed the reform bill with a 14 to 9 vote on October13th. This seems to be a big achievement. In fact, it is not an auda-cious dream. I fully support Mr. Obama on this and believe in hisstrength to realize this long-term dream.

Conversely, South Korea’s government recently tried to reformits lovely health care system. It has adopted the U.S system, where-by government can allow more private insurance companies to enterthe market, competing with the government option so that consumershave choices in various health care plans. The goal is to minimizethe deficit in government health care system. This means that therich will definitely go with a private insurance option, paying muchmore and getting much better treatment. The poor will remain stuckwith a government health care plan, which is good at this point.

But I would like to point out that all men are equal and thisshould apply to the health care sector as well. The rich pay more onhealth care bills so that the poor can get equal treatment, then howwonderful it is! To President Lee of South Korea: Please don’tbenchmark the American system. We are better off with our own.

Jinny Lee is a second year M.A. candidate in International

Policy.

A South Korean Perspective on Health CareBy Jinny Lee

In fact, [health carereform] is not an

audacious dream. Ifully support Mr.

Obama on this andbelieve in his strength

to realize this long-term dream.

At that moment, Imade up my mindthat I would neverbe sick while I wasresiding in the U.S.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continues to push for a Congressional health bill, passing the SenateFinance Committee with a vote of 14 to 9 on October 13th.

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 7

Recently, and particularly in cinema, authors have not only writtenthemselves into their stories, they have inserted themselves into sto-ries about themselves writing stories. Because it blurs the bounds

between the real and imagined, critics call this postmodern, implying devi-ousness on the author’s part as he deconstructs our perceptions.Deconstruction has become a buzzword, a subversive act now brought toyou by everyone from ad agencies to nation building forces. In this age ofavatars and identity without borders, the crumbling of boundaries is morethan a buzzword of the most useless tribe in the faculty lounge—it’s thespirit of the age.

Despite its tweedy connotations, the term deconstruction is useful fordescribing what Shahriar Mandanipour does in his new novel, Censoring anIranian Love Story, in which Mandanipour deconstructs the IslamicRepublic of Iran, a regime whose fundamental purpose is to resist and haltsuch deconstruction. Mandanipour, however, is no mere revolutionaryshouting, as recent protestors have, “Death to tyranny!” His heroine holds asign reading, “Death to Freedom, Death to Captivity.” Certainly, this is astrident slogan, but what does it mean? Mandanipour’s novel is full of suchriddles; it is as if Mandanipour, once himself an author who faced the cen-sorship of the Iranian regime, is still wary and has encoded his feelings deepwithin the story.

Code, in fact, is a recurring theme of the novel. The lovers speak toeach other by placing dots in books they borrow from the library, the lovestory must—to escape censorship—bury the lovers’ lust for each other inmetaphors and “...”, finally, in the unfamiliar—the deconstructed—structureof Censoring an Iranian Love Story, we must decode the many riddles ofMandanipour’s narrative.

The decoding can be confusing and frustrating. The reader suppressesoutrage, “Just explain to us the evils of censorship, Mr. Mandanipour,instead of beating around the bush!” we implore. We are confused, becausewe are used to love stories that move in the way that love stories move -

It is with this phrase, that Shahriar Mandanipour begins and ends his psy-chedelic and quirkily humorous novel, Censoring an Iranian Love Story.Mandanipour has taken a unique approach to the romance novel and pres-

ents the reader with an entirely new kind of experience. If his love storyseems disjointed and fails to inspire lovers the way most traditional love sto-ries do, it is because Mandanipour intends the book to be a satire on theIranian political system. By portraying two young lovers Dara and Sarah andtheir inability to enact humanity’s simplest and most popular narrative - thelove story, Mandanipour implicates the Islamic Republic and its supporters instifling basic human emotion. The story revolves around political protest;from Sarah’s initial attendance of the university protest where she almost getskilled, to Dara’s past as a political protester. A telling example is the story ofDara’s father, a “defeated communist”, who was imprisoned and tortured bythe Shah’s regime and liberated by the revolution only to be jailed under theIslamic Republic once more for the same reason, being a supporter of thecommunist party (pp 199-200). The interrogation methods described at thebureau of The Campaign Against Social Corruption are reminiscent of infa-mous internal security networks such as the East German Stasi and theRussian KGB. By naming the censor, Mr. Petrovich, after a detective in aRussian novel, Mandanipour could be leading the reader to make unconsciousparallels between the Islamic Republic and Stalinism.

Nevertheless, Mandanipour does not reserve all his criticism for the cur-rent regime. By drawing from historical examples of poetry such as Khosrowand Shirin, he pokes fun at his own culture the way only a native can.Mandanipour’s irony hints that Iran’s plight can neither be blamed on malevo-lent outsiders nor a single regime. Instead, he blames his country’s plight onself-serving Iranians who he typifies in his characterization of Sinbad. Sinbadis not a supporter of the revolution at the outset. Rather, he is simply an apo-litical and hard working young man, until he receives a magically fast-grow-ing beard and wins support among the Islamic revolutionaries. It is solely hisoutward appearance, in the form of his magically growing beard, which gainshim his position.

In contrast, Mandanipour portrays Dara’s character as a poor housepainter and former political dissident who has no money and little hope ofmarrying a beautiful and virtuous woman like Sarah. In this sense,Mandanipour shows some Marxist leanings in his book. However, it is notonly the rich elite who are an obstacle to Dara and Sarah’s happiness. Theirparents and neighbors also stand in their way.

Not only does Mandanipour’s book carry some strong political mes-sages, the author also comments heavily on social norms such as genderequality. This is especially true in Sarah’s comments about the headscarf.“How can you keep silent when they have forced this headscarf on myhead?” she demands of Dara (p. 183). Here, Mandanipour implies that bynot objecting to the subjugation of women for example, everyday Iraniansare liable for the injustices practiced in their own country.

Mandanipour equates censorship with murder. In his introduction ofhimself into the narrative in the form of the assassin who is trying to killDara, Mandanipour creates the metaphor of himself having to remove Darafrom the story in order to please his sensor Mr. Petrovich. In this way, andin the way that he has been forced to censor many characters, words andactions from books that he did manage to publish, Mandanipour believes theregime is suffocating him and his countrymen. In a vein reflecting EdwardSaid’s notion of Orientalism, Dara shouts at his maker, “You shouldn’t havewritten me like this… [y]ou wrote me so that no matter what they do to me,all I can do is squirm and bear the pain. You wrote me like this to pass yourstory through censorship.” (p. 231) Yet rather than it being the outsider’sdepiction of Dara that turns into a self-fulfilling prophesy, as the IslamicRepublic wants people to believe, Mandanipour’s version is different. In hisversion, through state-sponsored censorship and ordinary people turning ablind eye, Iranians are forced into writing themselves this way.Mandanipour’s message is that we are all responsible for our own collectivefate.

When Sarah finally commits herself to Dara, Mandanipour writes ofher, “[a]nd she starts to walk against the current of the stream.” (p. 278) Thisstatement is suggestive of the role every-day people must play in ending thetyranny of censorship that Mandanipour sees enchaining his land. As thePersians have for so long shouted “marg bar Amrika, marg bar komunisi…”Mandanipour now calls on them to reject blanket ideologies and think forthemselves. Perhaps this is what he means by, “Death to freedom, death tocaptivity.”

Richard P. Kaufman is a second year M.A. candidate in Middle East

Studies.

Death to Freedom, Death to Captivity

toward tragedy or union and bliss. Authors don’t show up in their love storiesand give their hero a stern lecture and yet, that is precisely what ShahriarMandanipour does.

Censoring an Iranian Love Story is, as the title implies, not a love story; itis rather a story about writing a love story in Iran today. The love story trope ismerely one of many structures Mandanipour flouts. He is, in fact, quite a com-pulsive nose-thumber: he flouts the boundaries of authorship, stealing hisantagonist, Porfiry Petrovich, from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment (sig-nificantly, the character is neither Muslim nor Iranian, nor indeed much likeDostoevsky’s Petrovich); he steals his lovers, Sara and Dara, from the oldIranian reading primer where they had, until the 1979 revolution, performed therole of Dick and Jane; he includes text that he crosses out; he kills thenobliquely resurrects each of his lovers in turn; in short, he deconstructs.

Thankfully, the novel’s unconventionality yields profundity, at least tothose willing to think about the purpose of the unconventionality. For example,by stealing Petrovich - a creation of the Iranian censorship regime - from litera-ture, Mandanipour likens the founders of the Iranian Islamic Republic to agreat novelist—a rich comparison. Like writers, they actualized an imaginedstory; only they did so in a state rather than merely on paper. In doing so, likeMandanipour, they too were deconstructionists—how else to describe theirattempt to deconstruct the real and the imagined?

In his essay, “Wheatfields or Apple Orchards,” Mandanipour likens the actof creating a story to growing wheat and uses the image to make a plea forindividual self-expression: “What is important is for each of us—all the story-tellers of the world—to bring our own apple orchards, or wheatfields, to har-vest, in our own time and our own seasons.” In the end, in Mandanipour’sdeconstructed world, the best we can do is to scatter our seeds to the ground—not only to love, but to try to tell the story of love—and thus construct our ownstories.

By Richard Kaufman

By Kevin Cross

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 8

Shahriar Mandanipour and the Failure of Love in Iran

Dual book reviews on a recent Iranian novel

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 9

The audience, in character or as today’sstudents of history, asks well informedquestions about this situation. This was nota re-enactment, but a serious study of amilitary campaign from the perspective ofthe group from that time period as well asfrom todayand is both alot of funand incredi-bly informa-tive. Forexample, I learned that the Star SpangledBanner, the United States national anthemwas written during a decisive battle duringthis war. Mostly forgotten (placed in the Hall ofForgotten Wars in the Navy Yard Museum), thiswar played a pivotal role in the shaping of theUnited States.

But what StaffRide is not completewithout DollyMadison, in costumeand freezing, fleeingthe White House,called the PresidentialMansion at the time,or outrageous claimsand egos presented by

both faculty and students? I am including a few

choice quotes to give the reader just a taste of theexperience:“ …had the technology been invented, Iwould have been sent into space…and if youaddress me as Emperor, I will now take your ques-tions,” Andrew Rothgraber as Napoleon Bonaparte,“Great men are often ahead of their times…so Ihad to kill myself,” Mateo Faini as the BritishForeign Minister, and my personal favorite “saythat you entered an eating contest and you find outthat it is gefilte fish that you will be eating. Nowlet me ask you, is it really worth it,” Sam Abramsas Lord Liverpool. I find Strategic Studies StaffRides first and foremost a lot of fun, very educa-tional, a chance to be a tourist in the DC-VA-MDarea, and a great opportunity to connect with stu-

dents and faculty in a meaningful and enter-taining way.

If you missed the Fall Staff Ride you willhave two more chances to go in the spring of2010. The two staff rides that are coming upare the International Staff Ride where luckyStaff Riders are going to study the fall ofFrance at the beginning of World War II andwill jet to France and Belgium and applicationsfor that Staff Ride are coming out this week, Ibelieve. The other Spring Staff Ride will takeplace after finals in May 2010, the campaignthat the Staff Riders will be studying is yet tobe determined. Don’t miss your chance toexperience this and apply!

Masha Bolotinskaya is a second year M.A.

candidate concentrating in Middle East and

Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Staff ride continuedcontinued from page 3

Complaints About SAIS:

A CommentaryBy Neil K. Shenai

I’ve been affiliated with Johns Hopkins SAISsince 2006, first as an MA student (Class of2008) and currently as a first-year Ph.D. candi-

date. As a TA for both the International Economicsprogram and a functional studies program, I have akeen understanding about the average SAIS studentpsyche writ large. This psyche can be distilled intoone simple observation: we students really like tocomplain.

Over the period ofa week, I tried to do anon-scientific studyabout the tendency ofSAIS students to com-plain. Here’s a sampleof what I heard second-hand in public settingsat SAIS:

“Why do profes-sors assign so much reading? Between four classes,a language, my clubs, and career services, I don’thave time to do it all!”

“The printers in the computer lab never work.And I am already out of free pages!”

“Professor X teaches too slowly.”“SAIS’ health insurance doesn’t cover my acne

cream!”Etc.It could be that I simply surround myself with

pessimistic people. I’m not above sampling bias,after all. To prove this for yourself before you go on,perform the following thought experiment: whenwas the last time you said something resoundinglypositive about SAIS? When was the last time youheard one of your fellow students do the same?Now, think about the times you heard somebodygripe about some aspect – any aspect – of thisschool. Count them in your head. Which categoryhas more? I would betthe latter.

This complainingepidemic plagues ourstudent body. And it hasto stop.

Nearly all of uselected to come to SAIS. There’s no law of naturethat says that we need to be enrolled in a terminalMaster’s program in International Relations. Wechose to be here. Period. SAIS is routinely rankedamong the top IR schools in the world. In cominghere, did you expect to earn this degree easily?

Among us, we are supposed to have the nextWolf Blitzers, Timothy Geithners, MadelineAlbrights, Francis Fukuyamas, and yes, dare I say,even Paul Wolfowitzes. For most of us at SAIS, wehave to learn a new foreign language, get the equiv-alent of a rigorous undergraduate degree in econom-ics, read reams of theoretical political science aca-demic writing, form a regional or functional expert-ise, and manage a social schedule of clubs, careers,friends, and family.

Think about your average day at SAIS. Youprobably interact with top scholars in their field.Your peers will soon be leading members of the for-eign policy community directing the behavior of themost powerful country in the world. You might evenattend brown bag lunches with elite government offi-cials. All SAIS asks in return for providing this spe-cial environment to you is that you work hard.

Yes, hard work sometimes sucks. And it’s funto complain about how much work we have. Ishould know; I am a reformed complainer. As aMaster’s student, I would routinely complain abouthow much work I had – how unreasonable the myri-ad deadlines I faced were, and how much I hated thestacks of reading I had to complete. But then I leftthe SAIS bubble and entered the real world. Coming

back to SAIS this time around, I have a unique per-spective of the benefits and costs of attending aninstitution like this. Given my experience, I have anewfound appreciation for how special SAIS reallyis.

Here are seventhings to keep in mind,then, to help you fightagainst your natural ten-dency to complain:

Realize that toppeople in their fieldrarely complain about the hard work associated withit. They don’t have time to do so – they’re too busysucceeding.

Understand that there’s a certain pedagogicalapproach of the school that its founding membersenvisioned. This approach is meant to stress you out,to give you more work than you can reasonablyaccomplish, and to push you in different directions.This cauldron of stress will help you push yourboundaries, and this is a good thing.

Being optimistic is the harder choice. I’m notsaying you should walk around school with a fauxsmile, raving about how excited you are to sink yourteeth into the latest edition of Keynes’ GeneralTheory. But you should realize that being happy tobe at SAIS is a choice. The easier choice is pes-simism, but the more rewarding one is optimism.

Complaining scales exponentially. As a corol-lary, complainers tend to move in herds. If you havefriends who moan about their SAIS experience, you

are more likely to do so yourself. This will likely be the last time in your life

when your only job is to learn. Learning is a lotmore fun than doing. As tough as SAIS is, it is farmore sympathetic to your personal development thanthe real world.

Do something about it – top students work instudy groups, divide up readings, find new ways topractice their languages, and work the system in sucha way to get the best results with an efficientapproach. If you notice a grave injustice, mention itto the readily accessible deans and the SGA. If youdon’t try to do something constructive to fix yourown problems, you don’t have the right to complainabout them.

You being here means that somebody else isn’t.Many prospective applicants to SAIS would salivateat the opportunity to be a student here. Respect that.

In short, being a student at SAIS is a privilege.Yes, the school has some sub-par aspects. I wish wehad a proper campus. I wish Nitze had wood paneledclassrooms with mahogany conference tables. And Isure wish that all printing could be free. But by andlarge, things at SAIS are good. We learn from veri-table geniuses in their fields. Our peers are some ofthe smartest in the world. And the SAIS name willbe a badge of honor we will wear for the rest of ourcareers. It’s time we stop complaining and startappreciating the beautiful hand we’ve been dealt.Life could be a lot worse.

Neil K. Shenai is a Ph.D. candidate studying

the political economy of financial crises.

“Great men areoften ahead of theirtimes…so I had tokill myself,” Mateo

Faini as the British

Foreign Minister

Top people in their fieldrarely complain...They

don’t have time to do so– they’re too busy suc-

ceeding.

The average SAISstudent psyche canbe distilled into onesimple observation:we students reallylike to complain.

Over 50 SAIS students participated in this year’s Fall StaffRide organized by the Strategic Studies program.

From right to left: Daniel Katz, Emily McLeod, and EhabTawfik describing battle plans from the War of 1812.

“I should havedone I-Dev.” -Adam Aviles.

This complainingepidemic plagues ourstudent body. And it

has to stop.

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 10

Ethnic dining continuedContinued from page 1

only 8-10. The club is structured so that every-one gets a chance to attend a dinner, and therehas been great turnover in the dinner attendees.The target cost is $20-30 per person includingalcohol, and everyone is encouraged to bringcash for ease of settling the bill. Allergies andpreference for a particular cuisine are taken intoconsideration and, if upon signing up, you letMaany and Don know what kind of food youlike to eat, they will send you the eventannouncement for that cuisine before everyoneelse.

It takes all the hassle out of trying a newrestaurant. When dining with the Ethnic DiningClub, you know the cost, you know the trans-portation will be organized, you know the foodwill be good, and you know the conversationwill be kept to a minimal number of econ jokes.(Ok, that’s not one of the guarantees.)

What’s on the menu for the rest of thesemester? The club wants to venture into someThai, Soul, BBQ, Vietnamese, and Lebanese,but also wants to expand the idea of “ethnic”dining to include as many cuisines as possible.As Don put it, “The great thing about ‘ethnic’dining is that it’s a catchallphrase in the food world.Everything is technicallyethnic, so (the club) placesno boundaries on thecuisines we will explore.”Especially with the hugenumber of international stu-dents at SAIS, “ethnic” willprove a hugely inclusiveand highly interpretablequalifier.

After sharing somesake, kamameshi, maguro,unagi, and the most amazingred bean ice cream mochiever, we were all a bit wiserin our knowledge ofJapanese cuisine, a bit moredeveloped in our palates, a bitmore impressed with DC, andenriched with 9 new dining partners.

I asked Maany and Don what are their Top10 ethnic dining restaurants in DC.

Here they are in no particular order:

1. Korean Bulgogi Cart - 14 & L at lunch time, great bibimbap2. Great Wall - 1527 14th St, Chinese takeout, with an incredible Szechuan menu3. Loeb's Deli - 832 15th St, The only good Jewish deli in DC4. World Bank Cafeteria - Get a SAIS alum to take you to lunch, you'll be amazed by the prices and the selection5. Oohhs and Aahhs - 1005 U St, Great soul food, mac and cheese to change your life6. Tackle Box - 3245 M St, Sustainable fish, grilled or fried, tasty and good sides too7. National Museum of the American Indian – at 4th and Independence, Many would “rather eat at [this] cafe thansome of the best DC restaurants.”8. Thai X-ing - 515 Florida Ave, Best Thai in DC, hands down, but expect a long wait. Only one chef who cookseverything himself!9. Vace Italian Delicatessen – 3315 Connecticut Ave, Unbeatable pizza and sandwiches, takeout only.10. Taqueria Distrito Federal – 3463 14th St., The only great, authentic Mexican place in DCOh, and Kotobuki – 4822 MacArthur Blvd NW, the Ethnic Dining Club’s favorite so far.

Hungry yet? You can join the SAIS Ethnic Dining club by emailing sais.ethnicdining@gmail.com and letting them know what you like to eat!Nadine Szablya is a second year M.A. candidate in Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Top 10 Ethnic Dining Restaurants in DC

Many people would rather eat here, the National Museumof the American Indian, than at some of DC’s best restau-rants.

Taqueria Distrito Federal at 3463 14th St. is the only great, authenticMexican place in all of D.C.

Korean bibimbap. The Korean Bulgogi Cart on 14th & L has great bibimbap, but is served at lunch timeonly.

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 11

H St. Corridor continued

beef and tenderbraised short ribsstacked on a foiegras butteredbrioche buntopped with Amishcheddar cheeseand marinated redonions. The burgerwas generous inproportion (nomini-burgers here), and perfectly cooked to aslight medium rare that allowed the flavor ofthe high quality beef to speak for itself. TheAmish cheddar had a great nutty, sharp flavorthat was balanced by the sweat and softbrioche bun. My only complaint is that mari-nating actually dulled the taste of the onionsinstead of bringing out their flavor, so theydid not contribute much to the burger.Another divine dish was the Kentucky friedquail that came accompanied by chanterellemushroom succotash, whipped sweet pota-toes, and red wine roasted chicken gravy. Thefried quail was surprisingly light on batter,which was good since the result was still

crispy but did not mask the flavor of themeat. The succotash is beyond description—the best combination of earthy summer veg-etables I have ever tasted. Wash all this richfood down with a couple glasses of wine andhello, foodie heaven.

The best part of this whole deal is thatdespite the quality of execution and liberaluse of expensive ingredients, a completemeal will likely cost you less than $30.There aren’t many places in DC where youcan get a first course AND second coursethat both involve some mad expensiveFrench import (like foie gras or truffle oil)for that cheap. So while a meal at 1905 willcost more than a happy hour special, it’s stilla great deal when you’re looking to impressa date that is just a little too cultured for you.

Be warned however, 1905 occupies onlyone floor of a town house sized building. Ifyou go without reservations, expect to waitat least a couple hours for a seat. The spaceproblem will likely go away in a few monthssince the restaurant is planning to buy thedownstairs. The downside of that of courseis that once the restaurant expands, it’s beenofficially “discovered” and those $100 pota-toes are going to come a lot closer to theirname. So hitch a $5 cab ride over to the H Stcorridor and try the place out before the mar-

Continued from page 1

as a mouthpiece for the wider campus and helpcreate a dialogue about IT concerns and ques-tions. An immediateimprovement result-ing from this efforthas been the installa-tion of a service deskand call center for allstudent and facultytechnology issues.This means studentscan get any IT relatedquestion answered oncampus between 7:45AM and 5:00 PMdaily. Support isavailable for in-class-room problems until7:00 PM.

Further integration and consolidation havebeen planned through the use of SharePoint andJHIM, says Petasis. He describes a “comprehen-sive IT Budget for FY10 and onwards thatincludes a refresh of all technologies currently atSAIS.” These “refreshed” technologies arealready popping up on campus. In fact, eachclassroom now has a computer with recordingcapabilities, and all computers over five yearsold were replaced in early October.

Some of the changes initiated this summer,including a new admissions online applicationand a switch to a new email platform for firstyear students, should usher in more permanentand drastic changes in the coming years. Thereis a move to integrate and collaborate acrosscampuses– and Petasis hopes to “extend enter-

SAIS’s IT upgrades continuedprise applications to Bologna.” Not inconse-quentially, the IT department also renovatedtheir website. Students, faculty and staff nowhave access to greater information to help themnavigate SAIS’ IT system.

More improvements are planned for com-pletion by the Spring Semester. First on theagenda are network upgrading and wirelessrooftop links. The Computer and ForeignLanguage Labs will be equipped with new PC’sand access will be granted through JHED pro-files. More importantly, a remote server connec-tion is planned to allow access to SAIS applica-tions remotely.

The team is also thinking about mediumand long term planning as well. In the mediumterm, Petasis discussed extending all enterprisesystems to Bologna, implementing a recordsmanagement system, and improving customer

service – fine tuningthe initial set up.Perhaps most excit-ing, Petasis talked ofintegrating multifunc-tion copiers into thePharos system (whichmeans students won’tall be waiting onDouble Sided PrinterB).

For those stu-dents that are coming back to SAIS next year,there will be some impressive improvementsthat meet you. Currently, all first year studentsuse Outlook Live for emails (us poor secondyears do not). Next fall, all students will be on

Continued from page 1

1905 H St. Restaurant. If you go without reservations,expect to wait at least a couple hours for a seat.

I hands-down rec-ommend the 1905Burger, a blend of

prime beef and ten-der braised short ribs

stacked on a foiegras buttered brioche

bun topped with

the Outlook Live system. ISIS enhancements are also planned: you’ll

still have to bid on overfull classes, but you’llhave fewer problems with the drop-down menu.Blackboard will be used University wide as thecourse management system. They’re also fur-ther improving the application process online.

Also exciting will be the shiny new technol-ogy in Nitze and Rome. More power adaptersfor laptops will be installed, and the smart pan-

els currently beingused will be replacedby Sympodiums(which is really excit-ing for professors, butless so for students).In the larger classes(read: International

Monetary Theory), there will be listening equip-ment made available as well.

Of course, there are still problems now, butPetasis and the rest of the IT department is com-mitted to clearing up problems now and workingto prevent them in the future. To check out thenew and improved IT site, head tohttp://www.sais-jhu.edu/it/. If you have anyquestions for the IT department, you can head totheir support desk Monday to Friday -- 7:45amto 5pm, email them at mailto:saishelp@jhu.eduor call xhelp (use 202.663.5666 from outsideSAIS).

Jessica Lambertson is a second year M.A.

candidate in Latin America Studies.

Some of the changesinitiated this summer,

including a newadmissions onlineapplication and aswitch to a new

email platform forfirst year students,

should usher in morepermanent and dras-

tic changes in thecoming years.

Also exciting will bethe shiny new

technology in Nitzeand Rome

Perhaps most excit-ing, Petasis talked of

integrating multi-function copiers into

the Pharos system(which means stu-dents won’t all bewaiting on DoubleSided Printer B).

ket catches up with you.Sophie Liu is a first year M.A. candi-

date in China Studies.

Canada, including my new favorite band – The Rural AlbertaAdvantage. Canadian indie might not be your thing, but there are plentyof other shows to check out.

What is more, H Street has tons of cool pubs and restaurants tocheck out. They’re definitely worth the effort of getting out to NE.

Church Street Playhouse

Tucked away on Church St. between 17th and 18th Street is thisintimate playhouse put together by local artists. With only about fiftyseats, this is a great way to break the library rut. The playhouse eventcaters to students with a donation-only night every Thursday. Just give afew bucks and get cultured again!

Lunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill

Your education in DC is more than classes. Take this opportunity todon your best jacket and head to the Old Ebbitt for a power lunch.Gourmet lunch for $10-12, which is only a few more than Chop’t.Besides, you can plot your strategy for getting an interview at theTreasury Dept. just across the street.

Washington Capitals

It’s a bit cliché for the Canadian to be telling friends to attend hock-ey games. But, I really think this is worth a second look. The Capitalshave one of the best players in the game right now, who seems to scoreat will – The Russian Machine, Alexander Ovechkin. Tickets start at$35, but I bought cheaper tickets from the scalpers outside (keep thatbetween you and me).

Jim Huckabay is a second year M.A. candidate in Canadian Studies.

Dear SAIS Guy: It’s November and I haven’t seen any-

thing in DC except the 7th floor of the library and the

Airline Pilots Building. You got a prescription? – Bored in

BOB

The first week of November is to SAIS whatthe inter-war period was to Europe. It’s the eye

of the storm between midterms and the onslaught of final papers andexams.

That’s why my motto is to push offwork on term papers for a little mid-semes-ter break. Washington is a great city, but wejust need to crawl out from our over-stresscages to see the light. After all, final papersaren’t due for another few weeks and wehave a little blessing called Thanksgivingvacation approaching. What good is a vaca-tion if it’s not spent frantically working tocatch up, right?

For my part, I’ve already had two mini breaks this month. You maythink that’s negligent, but they were actually selfless acts of sacrifice todo research for this column. You can thank me later.

The Rock and Roll Hotel

My first discovery was the Rock and Roll Hotel (rockandroll-hoteldc.com) on 14th & H Street NW. This is perhaps the best spot tosee indie rock bands coming through DC on their tours. The first floor isan intimate concert hall set up for the live acts making their appearance.Just up the stairs is perhaps the funkiest bar in DC, semi-private roomswith vintage furniture, etc.

I successfully dragged a few friends to a show by two bands from

Dear SAIS Gal,

I came back from a summer abroad where the food was terrible and

I lost 20 pounds. Now I've returned and am looking for jobs, and none of

my clothes fit. I look like one of those Oleson twins during their hobo

stage. How can I replenish my wardrobe to look more put-together dur-

ing interviews? I know every little bit counts.

Signed,

Mary-Kate and Ashley's Triplet

Dear M-KAT,

You've hit the nail on the head: thecliche "dress for the job you want and notthe job you have" is still applicable and relevant. And unless the job youwant is as a permanent grad student--and I know some of you are outthere--having a polished look on the outside projects that you are organ-ized on the inside and helps to make a great first impression. TheDistrict may not be known for its cutting edge fashion, but you don'thave to entirely outfit yourself from the clearance rack at Ann TaylorLoft to restore your closet. So how to achieve that look on the cheap?

A good suit. You really only need one suit; mixing and matchingwhat's underneath will provide enough variety. The key to a good suit isthe fit. You can get a decent suit from a discount store, such as Filene'sBasement (in Dupont Circle or Metro Center) or Loehmann's (inFriendship Heights) and then have it tailored to make sure that it fitswell. Bringing a friend along will not only make shopping more fun but

that other perspective can help you decide if that particu-lar suit is the right one for you or if it at least has poten-tial.

Tailoring may also save some of the clothes that no longer fit you. Atailor can reasonably take in an item by one size; anything more thanthat and it is not cost-effective. This is a great option for quality piecesto continue their life. Most dry cleaners have tailoring, or it might beworth asking a friend with a sewing machine.

Naked Lady Party (although this works for guys too). One of thebest ways to cast off your rejects and find new treasures is to organize aNaked Lady Party. Get a group offriends together and trade all yourunwanted clothes over snacks andwine. Privacy is also key, as everyoneends up in various states of undresswhen they try on their new finds.There are actually East Coast andWest Coast rules for these parties. Onthe West Coast, everyone dumps their clothes in a big pile and has afree-for-all. On the East Coast, guests "auction" off their items. If morethan one guest wants the item, the group decides after the item is mod-eled.

Erin Kelley is a second year M.A. candidate in Middle East Studies.

November 2009 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 12

Ask the SAIS Guy

Washington is a greatcity, but we just needto crawl out from ourover-stress cages to

see the light. After all,final papers aren’t duefor another few weeks.

One of the best ways tocast off your rejects andfind new treasures is toorganize a Naked Lady

Party.

The cliche "dress forthe job you want and

not the job youhave" is still applica-

ble and relevant.

By Erin Kelley

By Jamie Huckabay

Introducing a new format to the beloved “Ask the SAIS Guy” column, the responsibilities for passing on life’s wisdom to SAIS students in need will be shared by

Jamie Huckabay and Erin Kelley. The SAIS Guy and SAIS Gal answer your questions each month on love, life, and President Obama’s second coming. Today’s

topics: cooking tips and finding balance.

Suggestions? Email them along with questions for future issues to jamie.huckabay@jhu.edu or kelley.erin@gmail.com. (And, for those who may be wondering, no sex-based preferences were used in the determination of the placement order :)

Ask the SAIS Gal