FL2015 Classes

I've finally had all 5 of my classes so here's a summary.

Personal Narrative and Memoir Writing- The teacher is really nice and funny and approachable and uses her first name. The small class is full of people I feel comfortable around so that's good for a writing class. I'm looking forward to writing.

African Civ- The professor is awesome. Not quirky or anything but a really forward thinking guy. It's gonna be a fantastic discussion class. People are willing to talk which makes class a lot easier. There's a lot of reading of course, but I'm gonna learn A LOT. I love history classes. They're SO much fun, and so far the deepest thinking ones I've had.

Human variation- The professor is old, and all the stereotypes apply. A bit bumbling, plain white slides, never finishes what we're supposed to learn in a class period, somewhat dry lectures. Apparently the book is heavy reading, but it hasn't arrived yet. The professor is a nice guy though and progressive on race (because he studies adaptation). My TA from last semester that I babysit for is also the TA for this class.

Abnormal psychology- The professor teaches barefoot. Casual dress. Had an Indian wedding with his Indian wife and has a cute mixed baby (whose footprint he has tattooed on his own foot). Flipflop tan. Paces back and forth across the entire stage. BUT he's a really nice dude with progressive views on mental illness and very anti-stigma. He introduces himself with his first name. I talked to him after class. He's a cool, chill guy. He gives an interesting lecture.

Photojournalism- I'm trying to decide whether or not to drop this class because the professor is unbelievably annoying. She won't shut up. Talks loudly and is all over the place. Tells uninteresting anecdote after anecdote instead of teaching the material. Is very blunt, even obnoxious. BUT I really want to learn how to work a camera and take good pictures, so I'm struggling with my decision. It's 2.5 hours at night. So I have to sit through 2.5 hours of her yelling things and expressing her own opinion like the one truth. I don't quite know what to do.

I've been biking to campus every day. Today I biked in a dress. It's an easy ride and I wear my helmet (which isn't very common/cool). I'm still trying to find a nightstand. Our apartment is coming together and is looking pretty cute. I'm going to start cooking tonight. The light in my room wakes me up by 8 every day. I'm in bed by 10 every night. I have lunch every day at the Rodriguez table so I get my socialization in. Things are alright. My cold is slowly getting better. So far so good!

Update

I'm missing you, Mopp. Sometimes I'm sure you'll be there when I get home. But you're not. I'm using your furniture in my new apartment. Including the dry sink:) Grace and I love it. Thank you. I just started my third full year of college (see next post). I'm feeling better than ever. I'm being more sociable and outgoing and I'm really trying to enjoy life. It's working. I wish you could see me now. I promise I'll do my best to stay on the upswing. I'm going to save the world, Mopp. Even if it's just one person at a time. Now that school has started I'm thinking of you even more. You'd love to hear about what I'm taking and what I'm learning. So I'll tell you here I guess, just to make myself feel better. You won't ever read this, of course, but maybe I'll be breathing some of your carbon or the same breaths you took while I write this.
I love you, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.

Sunday September 7th

My Dear Mopp,

Raspberries were $1 per box this week at Schnucks so I bought 10 boxes. I ate a ton. This morning I boiled the rest of them into a compote. Now I can put them on EVERYTHING. I made myself a little study corner on my bedroom floor where I've been most of the day. Except I took an hour off to go to an Indian dance workshop at school. Now I can't move my legs. I rode my bike yesterday. I tried to go to Barnes and Noble to study but when I got there I realized I couldn't open my bike lock so I had to go back home. Did you watch football yesterday? Missouri and Penn State both had morning games, at the same time. Penn State should've played better.
That's all the news from this side of the state. I'm thinking of you, as always.
Much love,
your muffin
xo

9/4/14

My Dear Mopp,

Being back at school after a care-free Labor Day weekend has been rough. My body is still all out of whack. Hopefully that will improve soon. It's been boiling hot this week as I'm sure you know.Today I learned about the history of tattooing. The most ancient known instance of tattooing is on the Iceman Otzi over 5000 years ago. He had 58 tattoos, mostly parallel lines. They're thought to be therapeutic. And there has been tattooing ever since. The Egyptians did it, the Peruvians, Siberians, etc. I didn't know how prolific it was in history. That's probably the most surprising thing I've learned this week. I'll keep you updated as I learn more cool stuff:)

I love you!!!!!
Kat

5/26/14 Day 03

Every day we buy our lunch in the university cafeteria. They offer Bangali food and also fried chicken. I generally get their vegetable and egg rice along with a sweet. Their selection of sweets is quite odd. They’re not traditional, more like bastardizations of western sweets. I’ve had some sort of caramelized peanut cake, a custard tart, and a roll spread with vanilla whipped cream, maybe? We also get coke in glass bottles that say Coca Cola in Bangla on the side. Today we sat by a girl and actually had a little conversation with her in a mix of English and Bangla. We had plans to have dinner at the house of a woman who helped translate our research documents. Her house was near language school so the plan was for Emily and me to stay at the school for several hours after class until Dr. Shenk came. We waited and waited until 6 when the office got a call from Dr. Shenk who had fallen asleep and slept through multiple alarms. We got a rickshaw to go back to the apartment. After 20 minutes, it became clear that our driver had no idea where he was going. We had been fairly clear in asking him if he knew where our place was. He had said yes. He stopped to ask someone and then changed his direction. 15 minutes later we were still nowhere near our place and he stopped to ask someone else. He turned us into these narrow alleys full of people and shops. While it was fun to see, it was utterly humiliating being two white girls on a rickshaw in a place that didn’t quite fit a rickshaw (though we saw a few others). After 45 minutes of riding on this rickshaw, he pulled over to a group of rickshaws to ask for directions AGAIN. Finally another rickshaw driver gestured that he knew it and we got into his instead. We paid our driver the fair he would have gotten had we reached our apartment and he angrily stuck out his hand for more. By this time I was MAD, so we just left. The new rickshaw took us straight home and it turns out we were VERY far away. It took us an hour to get home. It was quite the experience.

My biggest lunch so far at school

The vegetable fried rice that is SO good!

5/25/14 Day 02

Today was our first day of language training. The work week starts on Sunday here because Friday is a religious holiday. On our way there we passed street shops selling live chickens and pigeons and countless varieties of fruits. Near our apartment is a plant “shop” with rows of plants in hemp pots along the sidewalk. Jackfruit trees are everywhere. They have huge globular fruits that hang from the tree trunk. Our language class is held in a swanky university for the rich city kids. The rooms are frigid from AC but it’s got a lovely open courtyard. Today there was a rain storm and the students were whooping and yelling in the courtyard getting wet. Apparently it’s been blisteringly hot these past few months and the rain is a great relief. They were certainly rejoicing. I am so happy to be back in a language class again. It’s just the two of us (the other student and myself) in class with several professors that take turns. We learned so much today I can’t even believe it. After class (which is 10am to 3pm with a 1 hour break for lunch) we took a CNG to go grocery shopping. Unfortunately we found ourselves in a rather swishy semi-Western style grocery store. Grocery stores here are all more like Walmart. They have food, fresh produce and meat etc, but they also contain every other item you could possibly want. Clothes, electronics, household items, toiletries, stationery, candy and more, all crammed into a small multistory space. But this one was spread out and not cluttered, so not very normal here. They pack your groceries in muslin bags instead of plastic or paper anywhere you go. Milk comes in plastic bags instead of cartons. The bread is very square. Everything is just a tiny bit different and I revel in each difference.

The courtyard at the university where we have Bangla classes

My notebook

5/24/14 Day 01

After a drive to Chicago we began our 20+ hour journey to the other side of the world. We rode a dumpy American plane to Manchester. Manchester accents are fabulous, by the way. I must spend more time in England if only to hear the accents. Then we rode Etihad (based in Abu Dhabi) to Abu Dhabi. The Etihad plane was a veritable palace. It was new and clean, no crumbs in the seats. It had a TV on each seatback and hundreds of on demand programs. The female flight attendants wore lovely hats with scarves attached. They served nice meals that tasted good. It was lovely. All our connections were tight, we had to rush through both airports. I remember feeling a particularly strong affinity towards Abu Dhabi, though I can’t pinpoint why. I just remember thinking this is somewhere I want to be. Our flight to Dhaka had a bit of a rocky start. A woman was in my assigned seat because she didn’t want to sit next to a man (a religious preference, but additionally the flight was full of migrant workers who are notoriously obnoxious). It was okay for us to be split up as long as she found a seat where she felt comfortable, but a flight attendant took it upon himself to find us seats together. We were given two seats towards the back in a majority male section. After that everything went smoothly. We arrived in Dhaka at 4:50 am with fat ankles and sore necks.

I cried when I stepped out of the airport. After so many problems and breakdowns and all the hard work to get healthy, I was finally here. It was muggy and loud and I loved it. There is so much life in this city. It’s all I thought it would be. So far the pollution is only bad when you are stuck in traffic. It makes me cough. Otherwise I don’t notice any difference. We arrived early in the morning, and after a nap we went out shopping for clothes. We have to wear traditional dress here. We took a rickshaw (!) to the first shop. I loved it. It seems to me the best way to see the surroundings. The rickshaws are beautifully decorated with bits of tin and bright colors. The drivers wear button down shirts and lungis, a sort of wrap skirt. The streets are full of different vehicles. Cars with metal bars on the bumpers, presumably to prevent damage. Green CNGs whizz along like little bugs. Brightly painted but dilapidated busses. I even saw a few double deckers. There is so much honking. Vehicles come within inches of each other. There seem to be no rules other than try not to hit each other. Pedestrians cross busy roads whenever they like. It’s a madhouse, but somehow it works. Lots of people stare at us, but that’s normal. We are told they are likely fascinated by our pale skin. Pale is considered more beautiful than brown skin. There are billboards with ads for skin lightening cream. In fact, all the models on the billboards are nearly white, some not even South Asian. How depressing it must be to grow up looking completely different from the people you see in magazines.

Rickshaws from behind

Looking down a main road

Gulshan 2 Circle

I miss you so much. Things are hard. I can't wait to come home. At least the weather is nice finally. I hope you're well. I love you.

Wild and Crazy Night

I submitted my proposal!!!!! Yay!!!!! So I went out to party:
Addy asked me if I wanted to go to a free sushi night with her, and I said sure because why not. So we walked across campus to the north side in the snow only to see a poster that says it's on the other side so we walked all the way back and found the right place. It was a really long line but then we saw Kristen and Renee (from our floor) so we waited in line with them and talked. Then we MADE our own sushi like put it together and rolled it up. Then we sat and ate it. I wasn't feeling it much but I had some eel and that was really good. Then Kristen and Renee said they want to go to this thing called 'hot pot' (also free) and Addy got very excited so we went and waited in line there and basically they just boil some water in a big pot and add really thinly sliced meat and fungi and other things they don't sell in Schnuck's and just cook it all together then spoon it into bowls. It was pretty good. So we ate that. Then Addy wanted to go so we left Kristen and Renee and go to Ursa's (the cafe on campus). Then we got a milkshake and a smoothie and now I'm back in my room haha. I love Addy so much, and I don't even know why. Also, I learned some Chinese. And this was all on campus in different dorms. I think perhaps this is what people call 'life'.

Counting Down to Spring Break

Apart from my mental health, the rest of my life seems to be coming together. My proposal for summer research is due tomorrow, so it's coming to a close. I declared my major and more or less planned out ways to fill my requirements. I start volunteering at the New Americans Preparatory School (the public school for immigrants/refugees/non-English speakers) this coming Tuesday. I'm really excited for that. I am going to a group lunch with my major adviser and Cultural Anthro professor tomorrow, which I am also excited for. This Saturday I am attending The Book of Mormon, the musical at the FOX with a couple Rodriguez friends. It's part of an outing sponsored by our residential college. We get to see the show and have dinner for ONLY $10. So I'm taking advantage of that. Then Sami is coming to visit Sunday because the snow and exams have caused more than a month break since we've seen each other. I have a paper due and an exam next week, but then it's spring break! Friday night I'm taking the Greyhound bus to Decatur, where Katie goes to college. Then she and I are driving back to Columbia on Saturday, likely via Lincoln's Presidential Library.
I have a really busy spring break planned once I get home! I'm going to visit my ELL kids at school often, and I'm attending the Life Sciences and Society Symposium about kinship. And I'm also going to walk in the first ever Columbia National Eating Disorder Association walk to raise money. And I am also going to spend time with you, mom and dad, and Sami. I can't wait to see you!!!

Also, I'm having severe pet withdrawal.

Love,
Kat

Dad took this picture of the snow at home on Thursday. Isn't it incredible? Also, welcome home Mopp!

I am now an Anthropology major.

I got a free t-shirt too. And my Cultural Anthro teacher as an adviser.

Summer Plans

I don't know if mom and dad told you about this already, but I'm trying to go to Bangladesh this summer to do field research. Remember the anthropologist I worked with last summer? Well she is going to Bangladesh this summer and asked me if I would like to write a proposal for funds to go with her. So for the last few weeks I've been figuring out what I want to study. I think I've settled on the social effects of microfinance, but I have to make it unique. Then I write 3 pages about the concept and why it's important and my plans etc., and attach a budget. It's due March 1st, which means the coming weeks will likely be stressful as I haven't started writing yet. My doctor said I could go if I'm weight restored by that time. It's a good motivation to keep eating. If I got the grant, I would spend a month or so in Bangladesh, splitting my time between the capital Dhaka and a rural site. It would be INCREDIBLE.

Home Plate

This afternoon I participated in Home Plate. It's a program where they pair students with local families who bring us to their homes and cook us a home-made meal. I kind of signed up by accident but that's okay. I went with a friend from my floor and some other kid that I didn't know. Our family was a pretty standard white American couple. They have two overweight dogs. The man is stout and laughs loudly and jokes a lot. The woman is always on a diet and goes to the gym and doesn't cook much. Pretty stereotypical. But they were extremely warm and welcoming. VERY friendly. We had vegetarian lasagna and salad with ice cream and cookies for dessert. It was very good. I felt at comfortable at times because we don't have much in common and I'm not really their type. I'm quite nerdy and don't get out much. But it was really nice to have contact with affectionate animals and people off campus. It was fun.

Sami sent me flowers for Valentine's Day! He was supposed to visit but he had a physics exam that night and I had a psych exam the next day so we postponed it. This is very uncharacteristic of our relationship. We rarely celebrate anything. But it was lovely:) They're lilies, you'd like them. They're stinking up my room. In a good way.

I was feeling really homesick this week, but this made me want to stay. This is my valentine's strip, I guess you could call it. My friends on the floor all wrote really sweet messages on it. It made my week:)

I made it!

I finished the week of madness. I finished all my tests (did really well on my anthro one), and revised my paper. And I'm almost caught up from last week homework-wise. I'm even feeling better, not so sick (knock on wood). Mom and dad came to town and took my to breakfast. It was awesome. I miss talking with you guys so much. They also brought my old laptop, yay! I didn't get the blogging job:( but my application to volunteer in the St. Louis Public School District was processed so soon I can start volunteering at the New American Preparatory Academy. It's a relatively new school for immigrants and refugees. It's about an hour by bus, but it'll likely be worth it. Once I get that schedule solidified, I'll start looking for other job opportunities with flexible hours. I'm finally starting to create a life for myself here. We'll see how it goes :P
xoxo

I stayed up to watch Murphy, your Wheaten Terrier:) now it's bed time.

Dog Show

I never like any of the dogs they pick. I like the weird looking ones like the GIANT dogs or the pekinese with all the hair. The beagle better not win again. I guess I'll probably go for the sheepdog, but hopefully I'll be asleep before best in show. This is so funny, I don't even like dogs that much, but you've trained me to love dog shows :) haha

Job Interview

Well, I jinxed it. I woke up this morning sicker than yesterday. My sinuses are on fire and I constantly feel like I'm about to sneeze. This makes sleep rather difficult. I tried to sleep all day, and was rather successful, but in the afternoon I had an interview. I applied to be a university admissions blogger and write about college life. I'd already rescheduled the interview because of classes so I was reluctant to cancel today's meeting. I took a lot of medicine and a long nap and decided I wasn't going to be a trainwreck if I went. I sounded congested and I didn't feel too great but I think it went well. I'd like to think I wooed them with my charm. I wasn't at my best, but I think I was still good. I should hear back about that soon. Now I have a test tomorrow night to study for. Wednesdays are my busy days because I have my normal morning classes, plus therapy which I take the bus/walk to, and my nighttime class. And tomorrow I have an additional review session for my Friday test. I'm super tired so I think I'll have some dessert to compensate for not eating well today because I was sleeping so much, and I'll watch some of the dog show to relax. Then to bed. The shower will have to wait, as it often does.

Monday, February 11th

I had my first anthro test tonight, and it was my first night test too. I'm choosing to be confident about how it went. After the test I bought two desserts because I didn't gain weight this week because I got sick so I need to work harder. I was looking forward to settling into the dog show, but it turns out I don't get the channel so that ruined my plans. I'll just watch something else to celebrate finishing the test and then go to bed early and start working early tomorrow. I'm feeling more functional, though I'm more congested and coughy. It's getting better. Tomorrow I'll watch the second half of the dog show on the other channel. I hear your arm is still funky, that's not okay. Keep me updated. xoxo

I'm Sick :(

I'm sick. I think I got it from Kyra. Now she has a secondary infection. I slept all day Thursday. Today I went to my classes today and then came back and went to sleep. I've had trouble sleeping today so I've just been laying around in bed. I feel awful. I'm all congested and my throat hurts and I had a fever yesterday. I have three tests and a paper revision due next week so I hope this clears up soon. I'm feeling a bit better tonight (knock on wood). I'm going to take medicine and go to sleep soon and then see how things are tomorrow. Being sick makes me miss home:(

You'd better be watching Nature

I want to be David Attenborough. That's what I want to do with my life. He just travels around the world messing with animals, like getting cicadas to mate with his fingers and such. They'll be filming something and they'll zoom out and he'll be there, just sitting with birds or meerkats. How does he do that???? Does he have to sit there for hours until they're comfortable with his presence??? Some of it is green screen but not all.  It's like he OWNS nature. This world is HIS. I think I might finally have an idol. He's SOOOOOOO cool!

The Nacirema is a parody

Nacirema= American

just in case you didn't catch that.

Linguistic Anthropology

I LOVE BIRDS

We must watch The Life of Birds when I get home, with David Attenborough. I love him. I want to be him. I just watched the episode on mating, of course. It's amazing. So many species I've never seen before. Birds do crazy crazy things. I wish they had an ornithology class here.
Did you know it takes the Frigate bird 20 minutes to inflate it's chest balloon?
Also, we must go to New Guinea.

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema
We read this in anthro. I love it so much. Who are these people?

Friday, February 1st

It was 10 degrees out this morning. But don't worry, Mopp, you taught me well. I wore leggings, long underwear and jeans, three shirts, two sweaters, two pairs of socks and then of course hat, gloves, scarf, and coat. I come prepared.

Uh Oh

I just watched an episode of Nature about the birds of paradise and now I'm very excited about that as well. But I picked the wrong school for large scale biology so I guess that will have to wait. I suppose that degree can be a summer project, or just a hobby. Who knows. All I know is that I love it too.

Time To Declare???

I think I may be ready to declare my major as Anthropology. I'm tentative though because I could just be exceptionally excited due to hormones. But the point is I LOVE anthro and my anthro class. I really love my teacher. I had a meeting with her last Friday just to talk and ask some questions and it was AWESOME. She's fabulous. She's the kind of woman I want to be. I don't mean have the same life or anything, but she exhibits the qualities that someday I'd like to exhibit as well. It's amazing that I could get paid to do the things I do and think the things I think every day. In Cultural Anthropology we're reading about the things that have been on my mind for the last 5 years. I get exceptionally excited about it, sometimes to the point of hand-flapping. It's certainly not the only thing I'm interested in, nor will it ever be, but it's one umbrella that encompasses a lot of my interests. Maybe it's not the only thing I want to do, but it is something I want to do.
The following are selections from Queer Customs by Clyde Kluckhohn, which we read in class, which make me want to declare.