january somehow equals march weather
Today is freakishly warm. I almost don’t need my coat and scarf and gloves and two sweaters. Hmm! I could get used to this! And to hearing the birds singing and actually feeling like the sunshine is doing some good for some plants somewhere deep in the earth.
J-term is coming to an end, which is mildly tragic. It’s such a good break between the normal semesters. For me, though, J-term break means more research! I won a library research grant last semester, and am going to use it to visit Vassar College in New York. I will research Elizabeth Bishop like crazy once I’m there, reading her manuscripts and seeing some of her original artwork, and hopefully coming to insightful conclusions about her method of working and her attitudes about revision.
Hopefully.
I’ll admit, I actually don’t like research. But I love Elizabeth Bishop. I started reading her work in my First Year Seminar class and have loved her ever since. I actually didn’t start seriously writing poetry until then, either, and have been loving that ever since.
If I could give one piece of advice to incoming freshmen it would be this: don’t worry so much about whether you’re qualified to study at the college level! I’d never studied poetry in my life, but once I got around to it I understood it (with some work!) and loved it. Just because you didn’t have a good art or chemistry teacher in high school doesn’t mean you can’t study art or chemistry and love it (and maybe even be really good at it).
Maybe all freshmen know that nowadays. But I was kind of a neurotic freshman, and thought that I should be good at everything because I made it into college. Hah!
Does giving all this advice make me an old lady, now? =) Being a senior definitely makes me want to adopt a lot of freshmen and tell them all the things I’ve learned so far about coping with homework and making great friends and making good meals for yourself and pursuing your discipline with passion and yes, even all I know about dating someone in college (really now, keep the public affection to a minimum!).
I think that means I’m going to be a crazy aunt someday? With lots of unwarranted advice? But hopefully I’ll be one of those old-lady aunts who’s hilarious and mildly crazy but lovable.
Or maybe I can be that kind of professor someday. Heck yes!
Filed under general | Comments (2)“only when they spread their wings are they wakers of a wind”
When I heard Maria Louisa’s voice coming from my roommate’s computer, I couldn’t believe it. I know my generation is supposed to be wildly techno-savvy, but the idea of video conferencing over the internet with friends halfway around the world still seems like science fiction to me. Maria Louisa, one of the Colombian students who joined us on the Orvieto study abroad semester, is one seriously funny girl, and hearing from her last Sunday made my entire week at least five times better. She’s in her first year of college and loves it. In Melagine, where she lives, it’s 80 degrees and the college students are in the midst of their long break from school. She had a webcam, so although she couldn’t see us, clustered around Elena’s computer in our on-campus apartment avoiding the cold, we could get a mini-tour of her grandparents’ study and garden. We could even hear birds singing outside!
Oh, it made me miss the people I studied with. Immediately afterwards, my roommates and I watched clips from our favorite Italian movie, even though we didn’t have subtitles. And shed a few tears.
But, as Dr. John Skillen, the director of our program, keeps urging us — don’t give in to nostalgia! The past is important, but it’s most important as it affects the way we make our future. What matters is how we take those experiences and actively use them to continually enrich our lives and work.
Dr. Skillen came to campus this week to do an informational meeting about the Orvieto semester, too, and graciously agreed to go out to dinner with us on Thursday. Talking to him about adjusting and about the Orvieto program’s evolution was really wonderful. We we took him out to enjoy some Japanese food at Tokyo Diner (there are actually a lot of good sushi places only 15-20 minutes from campus, and Tokyo Diner is one of them). Dr. Skillen led us by the hand through the difficult first few days in Orvieto, and I missed having his guidance and parenthetical lecture style during the transition back to the United States.
Dr. Skillen is also treating us more like adults now that we’re alumni of the program! Calling him John seemed absurd at first, but I like the thought that soon we’re going to be adults.
We’re going to be adults soon? If video-phone-calling via the internet seems like science fiction, so does the idea that we’ll be grown-ups soon! I feel ready for it, certainly, thanks to college. I just also remember very clearly being nine years old and hiding under my stuffed animals at night so that if my nightmares came true the aliens would take them first and leave me alone.
Filed under general, Italian experiences, Dr. Skillen, Orvieto | Comment (0)So this is the new year!
J-term! It sounds odd to have one class for a month, three hours a day, but I’m unabashedly enthusiastic about January term. Focusing on one class means that you can really devote yourself to the subject matter. In past years I’ve taken Intro to Graphic Design and Intro to Creative Writing (and really liked both!). For creative classes, where the focus is on spending large quantities of time making things, I love the mandate to spend all your time practicing your craft. And without the need to juggle work for five or six classes, I almost always do a lot more socializing and sleeping in J-term.
I did take full advantage of Christmas break while I had it, though! I watched a lot of old westerns with my dad, had a bonfire and de-veined shrimp on New Year’s Eve, caught up on sleep, decorated and then took down the Christmas tree, watched Pride and Prejudice (the 6 hour BBC version) with my mom, found out my brother spent his first semester in college being hilariously social and upholding the (absurd and wonderful) traditions of his dorm, and got to see my youngest brother do responsible things like drive and go to work.
What? My youngest brother is old enough to drive?! My other brother is old enough to be in college?! And my mom is (apparently) old enough to go back to school to get her master’s degree in nursing?!
All in all, I think this will be an eventful new year for my family. With three of its members enrolled full-time in college, it will undoubtedly be a challenge.
Thinking back on New Year’s Eve, though, the bonfire keeping away the cold, the fireworks’ cacophony suddenly disrupting the quiet of the middle of nowhere, and the stars slowly becoming visible after the fireworks’ glow faded, I think I’m ready. The year will undoubtedly also include a few beautiful things.
Filed under general, fish-eating, Christmas, food | Comment (1)