Except I'm not even sure that this is the correct date. I've noticed that during some months, I find it very difficult to keep track of what the actual date is. February is one of those months, as is September, and November is as well. That problem is only exacerbated by the fact that it matters more what day of the week it is here, rather than the date, since if something is happening everyone sends out an email saying 'come to this activity on Tuesday at 19:00' or 'don't forget to sign down for a calendar by Friday' and things like this. If you took a slice out of the emails we get, you would have no idea when the emails were sent, until you came across Nick Lush's ten-day calendar reminding us of important things the school wants us to know about.
But anyway, this marks the beginning of the last real week of school! Our monthly grades are due by Friday, and the next week we only have 3 days of codes. Then we have a 'cleaning day' on Thursday, and we leave either that night or the next morning! I cannot believe my first term is coming to an end. It still feels like I just arrived, or just finished Induction, or just returned from half-term. I can't wait to be home, but I am shocked at how quickly I'm returning to Florida.
Christmas is in the air! You can see it, feel it, and sometimes even smell it if you go to Cardiff Street Market to see the roasted candy nuts being sold, along with lots of other holiday wares. Our houseparents have put up some great decorations in the house, including a table-sized Christmas tree with lights and some wreaths. There is a Christmas crafts fair on campus today, and I saw it advertised all the way in Cardiff, so I except quite a few people to show up. It is a strangely beautiful day, and since we've been getting a lot of rain lately, I'm sure the whole school will be out to soak up some sunshine.
Thanksgiving was a fun affair, as all of the Americans got together and made a dish to contribute to our own little celebration. About 30 of us crammed into the Globe Lounge in the castle, and there was a pile of delicious food and good company, which made for a lovely evening. I made Mom's green bean salad, which turned out very well, and the vegetarians were very happy to have it since they don't eat turkey.
I also got to talk to my family and some of my extended family, which I definitely enjoyed, especially since I won't see some of them this year at all.
Last week was the 'Culture of Consumerism' Focus Week. During focus weeks, codes and activities continue, but there are generally workshops or activities that you can attend that have to do with the topic of the focus week. My second-year, Luke, created this focus week because he is very interested in what he calls the 'pseudo-spiritual culture of consumerism' that has been created in the west. So there were lots of discussions and workshops about our current economic system and if and how it should be reformed or changed completely. I went to one of them, and I wish I had had time to go to more, because it was an incredibly interesting discussion, and no one took it personally or got mad with anyone else. That's something I love about living here. Last week I had a very intense debate with one of my co-years in Spanish (which made it much more difficult) about gun control in the USA. We were both pretty passionate, but in the end we respected each other's opinions and put it away after we left class. That's how discussions and arguments should be, and I'm lucky enough to have them every day.
Well, I'll be seeing some of you very soon---I can't wait!
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and have a good week!
Madi
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Diploma Week 2: Critical Engagement
Hello everyone!
Sorry I missed the update last week---we were away in Oxford at Shared Planet Conference, which was basically a weekend full of sustainability and human rights initiatives. It was a really interesting experience, and I got to go with a lot of fun people. I took away some good ideas from the conference, especially for Made in 48, an activity that I am a part of at school that deals with workers' rights. However, parts of the conference were a little extreme for me, and many of the participants have been arrested in the UK for protesting and regularly choose protest as a way to express their displeasure with 'the system' in general. At a school like AC, where we work to find peaceful solutions to problems interculturally or within our own countries, protesting (particularly violent protesting) doesn't seem like the best option most of the time. I did attend one very interesting workshop on how to encourage sustainable food consumption by buying locally or setting up a student-run co-op, so maybe that will be an option for AC.
Gallivanting about Oxford was also fun. Ok, it wasn't really gallivanting, but we did explore up and down Cornmarket street, which is this lovely pedestrian road near the Town Hall, and we ate food that wasn't from the canteen and spent an inordinate amount of time at a bookstore like the nerds we are. Amy (UK), Luke (USA), and I split the cost of the fourth book of the Eragon series three ways so that we each only paid 3 pounds for it. Oxford is a beautiful place, and many of my American co-years fell completely in love with it and are absolutely convinced that they will go there for university.
One of the strangest things here in the UK is how dark it gets and how quickly the sun goes down in the winter. In the summer they get a lot of daylight, but in the winter---well, it's 3:30 right now and it is beginning to get pretty gray. It will be dark by 5. That makes running very difficult, and Heidi and I have had to cancel our Friday afternoon runs because by the time we get out of classes at 4:45 (Friday is a long day of codes) you can't see anything! I've been swimming with Kate and Paula instead, and we have found that morning swims not only wake you up for the day but also allow you to shower in the pool room with some actual hot water!
I had a really lovely dinner on Tuesday evening with Heidi, Heidi's mom (who came to visit and take a few of us out), Paula, Hans (from the Netherlands, he's a second-year in my house), and Chloe (France). We went to the pub and had some great conversation and good food. It was a bit of an impromptu arrangement, but those are the only ones that truly work at AC, because you don't have to look far to find someone who is up for whatever you are doing.
I'm looking forward to going home for the break and spending Christmas with family---the Christmas decorations have been up since before Halloween over here, and holidays are in the air. I can't wait to see everyone!
Ok, the actual purpose of this post was to talk about our current diploma period on Critical Engagement, but I might have to finish that in another post, partially because it is not over yet and partially because I have another workshop in 5 minutes! But I'll put everything in as quickly as I can.
This Diploma Period is designed to get us to think more about our own identities and the identity we have at AC as a community, and use this knowledge to interact positively with others here and outside of the college. We've spent the morning in theoretical sessions about topics like diversity and identity, trying to figure out where identity comes from and how much diversity can create conflict or resolutions. The afternoons are devoted to action workshops: for instance, I just came from a workshop on engaging in conflict where we tried to find a resolution to the new night rule everyone is upset about by identifying the needs the staff had when they imposed it and how we can work with those.
I know that's a spotty explanation, but I really have to go, so until I can post again, everyone have a great weekend!
Madi
Sorry I missed the update last week---we were away in Oxford at Shared Planet Conference, which was basically a weekend full of sustainability and human rights initiatives. It was a really interesting experience, and I got to go with a lot of fun people. I took away some good ideas from the conference, especially for Made in 48, an activity that I am a part of at school that deals with workers' rights. However, parts of the conference were a little extreme for me, and many of the participants have been arrested in the UK for protesting and regularly choose protest as a way to express their displeasure with 'the system' in general. At a school like AC, where we work to find peaceful solutions to problems interculturally or within our own countries, protesting (particularly violent protesting) doesn't seem like the best option most of the time. I did attend one very interesting workshop on how to encourage sustainable food consumption by buying locally or setting up a student-run co-op, so maybe that will be an option for AC.
Gallivanting about Oxford was also fun. Ok, it wasn't really gallivanting, but we did explore up and down Cornmarket street, which is this lovely pedestrian road near the Town Hall, and we ate food that wasn't from the canteen and spent an inordinate amount of time at a bookstore like the nerds we are. Amy (UK), Luke (USA), and I split the cost of the fourth book of the Eragon series three ways so that we each only paid 3 pounds for it. Oxford is a beautiful place, and many of my American co-years fell completely in love with it and are absolutely convinced that they will go there for university.
One of the strangest things here in the UK is how dark it gets and how quickly the sun goes down in the winter. In the summer they get a lot of daylight, but in the winter---well, it's 3:30 right now and it is beginning to get pretty gray. It will be dark by 5. That makes running very difficult, and Heidi and I have had to cancel our Friday afternoon runs because by the time we get out of classes at 4:45 (Friday is a long day of codes) you can't see anything! I've been swimming with Kate and Paula instead, and we have found that morning swims not only wake you up for the day but also allow you to shower in the pool room with some actual hot water!
I had a really lovely dinner on Tuesday evening with Heidi, Heidi's mom (who came to visit and take a few of us out), Paula, Hans (from the Netherlands, he's a second-year in my house), and Chloe (France). We went to the pub and had some great conversation and good food. It was a bit of an impromptu arrangement, but those are the only ones that truly work at AC, because you don't have to look far to find someone who is up for whatever you are doing.
I'm looking forward to going home for the break and spending Christmas with family---the Christmas decorations have been up since before Halloween over here, and holidays are in the air. I can't wait to see everyone!
Ok, the actual purpose of this post was to talk about our current diploma period on Critical Engagement, but I might have to finish that in another post, partially because it is not over yet and partially because I have another workshop in 5 minutes! But I'll put everything in as quickly as I can.
This Diploma Period is designed to get us to think more about our own identities and the identity we have at AC as a community, and use this knowledge to interact positively with others here and outside of the college. We've spent the morning in theoretical sessions about topics like diversity and identity, trying to figure out where identity comes from and how much diversity can create conflict or resolutions. The afternoons are devoted to action workshops: for instance, I just came from a workshop on engaging in conflict where we tried to find a resolution to the new night rule everyone is upset about by identifying the needs the staff had when they imposed it and how we can work with those.
I know that's a spotty explanation, but I really have to go, so until I can post again, everyone have a great weekend!
Madi
Monday, November 7, 2011
What Week Is It Now?
After a friendly prompt from my mother (thanks Mom), I have remembered to update my blog, albeit one day late.
Change is coming in our house and at AC. Some of it is welcome and some is less welcome, and since everyone has a pretty strong opinion, it's been discussed a lot in the past 24 hours since we were told what is happening.
We were told last night by our Student Council reps at House Meeting that academic teaching staff will begin receiving copies of the nightly reports with names of students who are staying up late either studying or socializing. The night reports go out every morning to houseparents and some other related staff detailing what happened in the house each night: who was in the quiet room working, until what time, who was using the dayroom after lights-out, etc. The teaching staff would only receive a list of students staying up late working or socializing, not any of the details involved, but nearly every student is very strongly against this new policy. I haven't actually met a student who is in favor of it, and it was clear at our house meeting that most of us find it really unfair. Whether intentionally or not, impressions of us will be made by the teachers, and as a student body we generally feel that our life outside of classes is our own and when we choose to study is our own affair. That's the overall sentiment. I don't have a major problem with the new policy, but I think it will cause a lot more stress than any positive benefits that would come out of teachers having this information.
On the good side, my friend Sara Al-Masri was elected to be our new House rep to Student Council, so she'll be inheriting this lovely issue. Also, we started Secret Santa within our house, so that will be very exciting!
One thing I'm looking forward to at the end of this week is Shared Planet Conference. About 60 of us are going to Oxford for the weekend to particpate in a two-day-long conference meant to bring different colleges and student populations together to plan and discuss initiatives at our respective campuses. It's basically a mixing bowl of ideas that we hope to later adapt to our own schools and implement later. Portions of it remind me of our Diploma Period, which was fantastic, so I am very excited.
We have another Diploma Period coming up next week at the end of the week....this one is entitled Critical Engagement. We haven't received many details yet, but the word from our second years is that it was a great time and really worthwhile.
We are in the process of planning an American Thanksgiving celebration---I'll be sorry not to spend the holiday with either the Baltimore family or the Jacksonville family branch, but AC Thanksgiving should be a fun bonding session with the American national group. Speaking of Baltimore, we just got word that they beat the Steelers in a final-8-seconds-touchdown yesterday....my seconod year Eliza and I were upset. I like the Ravens, but the Steelers are my team, so it was a bummer to see them get beat again. We can sometimes feel a little isolated from American daily life here, so it's good to get a glimpse once in a while.
There is a double-showering-birthday celebration for two of my lovely second years in Morgannwg tonight: Happy Birthday to Penelope and Vincent! I think they are both turning 20. It should be lots of fun!
That's all for now...please everyone enjoy their week!
Madi
Change is coming in our house and at AC. Some of it is welcome and some is less welcome, and since everyone has a pretty strong opinion, it's been discussed a lot in the past 24 hours since we were told what is happening.
We were told last night by our Student Council reps at House Meeting that academic teaching staff will begin receiving copies of the nightly reports with names of students who are staying up late either studying or socializing. The night reports go out every morning to houseparents and some other related staff detailing what happened in the house each night: who was in the quiet room working, until what time, who was using the dayroom after lights-out, etc. The teaching staff would only receive a list of students staying up late working or socializing, not any of the details involved, but nearly every student is very strongly against this new policy. I haven't actually met a student who is in favor of it, and it was clear at our house meeting that most of us find it really unfair. Whether intentionally or not, impressions of us will be made by the teachers, and as a student body we generally feel that our life outside of classes is our own and when we choose to study is our own affair. That's the overall sentiment. I don't have a major problem with the new policy, but I think it will cause a lot more stress than any positive benefits that would come out of teachers having this information.
On the good side, my friend Sara Al-Masri was elected to be our new House rep to Student Council, so she'll be inheriting this lovely issue. Also, we started Secret Santa within our house, so that will be very exciting!
One thing I'm looking forward to at the end of this week is Shared Planet Conference. About 60 of us are going to Oxford for the weekend to particpate in a two-day-long conference meant to bring different colleges and student populations together to plan and discuss initiatives at our respective campuses. It's basically a mixing bowl of ideas that we hope to later adapt to our own schools and implement later. Portions of it remind me of our Diploma Period, which was fantastic, so I am very excited.
We have another Diploma Period coming up next week at the end of the week....this one is entitled Critical Engagement. We haven't received many details yet, but the word from our second years is that it was a great time and really worthwhile.
We are in the process of planning an American Thanksgiving celebration---I'll be sorry not to spend the holiday with either the Baltimore family or the Jacksonville family branch, but AC Thanksgiving should be a fun bonding session with the American national group. Speaking of Baltimore, we just got word that they beat the Steelers in a final-8-seconds-touchdown yesterday....my seconod year Eliza and I were upset. I like the Ravens, but the Steelers are my team, so it was a bummer to see them get beat again. We can sometimes feel a little isolated from American daily life here, so it's good to get a glimpse once in a while.
There is a double-showering-birthday celebration for two of my lovely second years in Morgannwg tonight: Happy Birthday to Penelope and Vincent! I think they are both turning 20. It should be lots of fun!
That's all for now...please everyone enjoy their week!
Madi
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