Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015 | TechNews oprmon@technewsnt corn AUSTlN G NZALEZ Jalapeno, Peanut Chocolate. Good or Bad?3 Khaleela Zaman DISTRIBUTION MANAGER What goes through your mind when you see a Belgian milk chocolate, jalapeno, and peanut bar? Is it excitement? Disgust? Confusion? So many different emotions are being evoked by all the new, exotic flavors of chocolate now being sold on campus at Global Grounds. While restocking their chocolate, the variety has increased greatly to include fla- vors like red velvet cream cheese, milk choco— late and edamame, and even peanut butter and jelly. When asking those who have already tried these strange new chocolate bars, most of the time they respond with “It’s interesting...” But what really is it that makes them so inter- esting? Hong Le likes the edamame and red velvet cream cheese flavors a lot, even confess- ing to have a stash of at least three edamame bars waiting for her in her room. She thinks the edamame bar is, “Kind of salty, but its sa— vory,” and that the red velvet cream cheese is, “Actually really good...it’s like a creamier choc- olate.” But her reaction to the Belgian jalapeno and peanut milk chocolate was a little different: “I’m going to regret this. Okay so it’s normal chocolate; I don’t taste any peanuts...and then it’s spicy and I hate spicy...I feel like I’m going to die. It’s the weirdest feeling in the world.” Interesting, right? Different people respond to the Bel- gian jalapeno and peanut milk chocolate in different ways, but that first bite and those first couple of chews, followed by the hesitant first swallow—everyone experiences the same sur- prise. At first the well-known sweet creami- ness of milk chocolate enters the mouth, then the subtle crunch of minced peanuts, and as you humbly swallow, all of a sudden the spice kicks in and a firework goes off within your mouth down to your throat. Kathleen Mullin experienced this feeling after she reluctantly took a tiny bite of the jalapeno and peanut chocolate, and as she chewed she finally admit- ted, “It’s not fun at all, not fun at all.” The ele- ment of surprise is always there, without fail. Aslinur Taskin, when asked if she wanted an— other piece, screamed out “No! I wanted choc- olate, and that was spicy,” and then she recalled her initial reaction to her first bite: “I don’t feel the spice. Oh wait, it just hit me.” Some people ended up enjoying the chocolate and even asking for more. Subarno Saha was eager to try his first piece, and he chewed thoughtfully for a while before an- nouncing his decision: “Hmm...I definitely taste chocolate, and I taste peanuts, and there’s a burn on the back of my tongue. And the burn is still there. Can I have another piece?” Similarly, Evan Osgood really liked it: “It skips your mouth and it goes right to the throat. It is magical.” Inspired by the positive reactions . of Subarno and Evan, John Ramirez tried the jalapeno and peanut chocolate: “I don’t know how to feel about this. It has a little bit of spice. Oh, the spice is the aftertaste...” Seemingly traumatized at first, Shreya Iha took a bite and seemed fine, until her face contorted in a strange way: “It’s like someone punched me in the mouth delicately, or in slow motion. It’s like Voldemort’s hor- crux.” However, a few minutes later she was asking for more. Then, an hour after her first taste, she was warning others not to try the ja- lapeno and peanut chocolate: “Don’t eat that— its pain personified!” Perhaps the people who end up enjoying this exotic flavor of chocolate like the taste and enjoy the pain. Even if spicy is not your thing, an experience of the surprise firework hidden within the innocent black wrapper of the Belgian jalapeno and peanut milk chocolate bar is worth a taste. Photos by Khaleela Zaman Surviving midterm trauma, stress Shireen 6111 CO PY E D ITO R Exams and shots are two words that instill fear in you no matter how young or old you are. No matter how hard you try to hide it, you do have it somewhere in your heart. Whether or not you choose to show it is a dif- ferent issue. Exams can often be traumatic and give you a hard time; however, I believe that some stress can actually work as a good moti— vator. Being too nervous or tense for any situa- tion is not the solution—in fact it can make the situation worse—especially if it interferes with your test—taking attitude. When do your exams become a problem for you? Yes, you are right—when you start studying for them the night be- fore—but that’s not the right way. When less than two weeks are left before your midterm, it is time to focus on what you can do to get yourself through this demanding time. I know you promise yourself every time that you will start preparing for your next exam early but you always break your promise. AHH! Not a good thing. You should know how to keep your promises and be a person of your word. Preparation for exams should begin earlier than the day before the test. You can’t cram an entire subject in one night. Pity yourself and get started at least a week before the exam. It can be a hard thing to do, but give it a try. Begin by making yourself a cal— endar outlining a daily schedule of topics for review. When making the calendar, tell your- self loudly, “YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW IT OR ELSE YOU’RE A DEAD RAT!” Cover a small amount of material for each subject each day. Every time you complete a topic, give yourself a mini—review and pat yourself on the back for keeping up your word. If you are having trouble memoriz— ing something, or a particular concept is just not sinking in, get help before it’s too late. Ask your teacher to go over a glitch you might be having, or engage your family members to quiz you with index cards. In the end, all I have to say is sleep well. I know most of the students prefer stay- ing up all night to study so they can be ahead the next morning, but this is not the way. You need at least seven hours of sleep a night to let your brain function properly. The exams are designed to make you think. If you are sleep- deprived, you won’t be able to remember any of the information you worked so hard to cram into your brain. 50 sleep well, and wake up fresh. I wish you all best of luck with your midterms. You’ve got this; all you have to do is to believe in yourself and just know that nothing is impossible in this world. Also, don’t forget you can use the same tips for your final exams; I have tried them all, and trust me, it did help me.