Wednesday March 31, 2004
March 30, 2004
What a busy day! It was the first day of classes so that made things intersting. First was Spanish 2A. That won’t be a very difficult class, but I hope less people are in the course, since more people than are allowed to showed up today. Since I had Professor Hae-Joon last quarter, I should be able to get a spot in the class. Next was Introduction to Asian American Cultures. Wow, about 100+ people showed up for this class (a seminar). Almost all were Asian and they all seemed to have friends there. Phoebe, Mary, Harry, and I wanted to check it out, so we went. The Professor knew there were going to be a lot of people showing up today,. since the class fulfills two GER’s; however, after he explained what the course was going to be about, I wasn’t really thrilled or excited about the course. Basically, it seemed like a lot of reading, and then the lectures would just cover historical background on Asian American history. It would be a repeat of last quarter, except more reading. Plus, there’s going to be section for this class which would meet Thursday late afternoon. So, basically not too thrilling.
I ate lunch and hung around my room until PWR. Judy told me that the class she shopped, The Rise of Scientific Medicine seemed really cool, so I decided to shop that class on Thursday.
PWR was interesting. We did the two truths and a lie to meet eachother. One guy castrated a cow and another girl’s cousin married Jack Johnson, so it was pretty interesting. The classroom that I’m in for this class is ridiculously nice – we’re talking 6 giant plasma TV’s hooked up to Dell computers, nice ergonomic chairs, 2 large screens on the wall that are hooked up to the internet and you can put a special type of pen on the screen and that will act as a mouse. It’s really execessive, but I guess it’s on the cutting edge of learning. We’re not going to use any of the giant plasma TV’s, but it sure looks nice. A lot of us commented before class that it definitely seems excessive, and that we should put the money towards other uses, but I guess if one class uses the equipment, then it has served its purpose. I’m getting a good education here, so I can’t really complain.
I returned to Cedro after PWR and got Harry to come jogging. Theo came along to, and we did the freakin’ Dish. I was able to run for a little bit, but the hills are unforgiving, and about a fourth of the way through the Dish I gave in and walked for a bit. Harry and Theo jogged the rest of the way, so I made the best of my tired state and walked and jogged for a few minutes here and then for the rest of the way. The view there is so beautiful, so it really does make me want to eventually jog the entire thing. That’s a very lofty goal for me at this point, but I guess doing a little more everyday will help. Maybe if I also don’t jog to the entrance of the Dish, but rather bike there and then jog the Dish I’ll save a lot of energy.
That took about an hour to complete, and after jogging back Harry, Theo and I stretched on the first floor alcove. I showered and got milk and two bananas from the dining hall. I took an orange from Jon and that was my dinner. I had to ate kind of quickly, and I ate by myself in my room because I went to a student initiated course called “Mixed Race America: Context and Controversy.” Jon came along, which was cool. The course seems really interesting, because it discusses (obviously) mixed race and whether or not that is an appropriate qualification or not, in addition to understanding how that label has been and is being applied in America as well as in a global context. I guess I’m interested in the course because of its format, just discussing and sharing beliefs – and the thing is, since this is such a new topic and the “teachers” are students like us, there really is no right answer to any of the things we are talking about. Today we talked about race, ethnicity, and mixed race, and the various interpretations of those terms. It was interesting to hear what people had to say about everything; since a lot of the people in the course are of mixed backgrounds I enjoyed hearing about some of their experiences as being a mixed race – identifying with possibly with only the minority group of their mixed race, being mistaken for another race, or deciding which box to check on standardized tests. It seems to be a very poigant issue, especially since my children will most likely be of mixed race.
Well that was that. I hung out around the dorm for the rest of the night. Mickey and I owned for three straight games in foosball, but then got beaten by Jason and Quinn in a 14-12 marathon game. That was a lot of fun. I also filled out a job application to work in Wilbur dining hall. That should be fun if I get to stock food or something. Food is yummy. My job would deal with food. Therefore, my job would be yummy.
So this quarter should be interesting. I have yet to attend IHUM lecture. That starts tomorrow. My classes should be interesting and fun – I still feel free to take whatever I want, but I already see myself narrowing in on history and cultural study type classes. I really want to check out the Human Biology core next quarter, and also check out the International Relations, and Political Science courses. Okay, so I’m not entirely sure what I want to take yet.
Did some other hanging out with friends. Now it’s late. Time for bed. At least my earliest class this quarter will meet at 10:00AM. That is not 9:00AM. So, that is much better.