Gypsy Jess

Onward

2011-12-27T08:24:00.000-06:00

2011 is nearly over, and I'm reminded of a post I made back in June. In it, I acknowledged that I had a rough start to the year while challenging myself to have a better second half.

As it stands, I was somewhat successful: I've made many positive changes since June. For one, I have a job. Being unemployed weighed very heavily on my mind all my last year of college and the first few months after. So that's a big deal. With my job came other unexpected perks-- I've always wanted to live somewhere warmer and near the water, which of course I now do. (Note because I can't say it enough: when I left Biloxi it was in the 70s whereas it's currently snowing in Indiana. Yeah.) I'm getting good experiences both professionally and socially (and sometimes intellectually), so that's also good. My biggest joy for the year was adopting Biloxi. And she continues to bring me joy. So yeah, definitely an improvement from where I was last June.

At the same time, I'd hoped I would do better in some areas. For one, I'm still working on recovering from my illness last spring. There was a part of me that thought I'd be better by now, but that was an ambitious goal. I'm working on being ok with that. I'm just tired of all this and the uncertainty it brings. I'm ready to be healthy again. I'm also disappointed in my current living situation. I miss my apartment and living alone, even though I save tons of money and have a more active social life. I generally think I can get along with anybody, but some of my roommates have been challenging that thought. I've thought about moving back out, but if I'm patient my roommates will change in a month anyway as the old interns move on to new adventures. So basically, I have to hold out just one more month. I *can* do this.

What it comes down to is life is too long. I'll explain more in another post. Point is, life is too long to spend it tolerating rudeness or cruelty or deceitfulness. You end up spending years and years with people being rude, cruel, and deceitful towards you. How can you enjoy life like that? Again, more to come.

2011 still has one big show in store: Ringfest! Yep, it's actually happening this year. This week, even. Even though I have wonderful new friends in Mississippi, no one can top my childhood friends. I love them so much. Seeing them all again might be enough to erase nearly every negative memory from 2011.

Fall

2011-10-23T20:44:00.000-05:00

It's autumn in Mississippi. The weather is cool and sunny, some of the trees are changing color, and everyone is eagerly planning their Halloween costumes.

I'm moving into a new house next weekend; today I started taking some things over. It should be a good move. Lots of benefits. For one, the yard is fenced-in, so Biloxi will have a place to play outside (at least as long as the chickens are in their coup). It's closer to work, and I won't have to cross a bridge, so biking every day is much more feasible. It's also on the peninsula, so I'll be within a 5-10 minute walk of both the sound and the back bay (currently I'm just close to the back bay). I'm looking forward to taking morning rides/runs along the sound; it's really pretty and about the only place in Mississippi where the sidewalk is wide enough for a bicycle. Of course, my cost of living will drop since I'll have roommates again. Roommates are also nice just in terms of being social. I happily have many friends in my current apartment complex, but I usually eat alone and I'm the only one available to let Biloxi out when she needs to go. It'll be nice to have people around most of the time again.

So I'll be cleaning/packing/moving this week. My parents are coming to visit this week, too, so that will be a nice change of pace. Not the most exciting post, but it's what I have. :P

Humbled

2011-09-18T11:13:00.003-05:00

I found out last week that there were over 100 applicants for the job I currently have. I had no idea. And I'm too dumbfounded to make any sense of the information.

I'd never imagined I could be competitive in the job market. Ever. I mean, I know I've had some opportunities that others haven't, but I don't necessarily connect those opportunities with being more competitive. Especially in my current job. I work with truly amazing people who inspire me; in no way am I on their level. I kind of thought I was hired because I was easy and convenient. It never crossed my mind that they might have actually wanted me. I'm just a crazy kid barely keeping her shit together-- how did I end up being selected out of over 100 people for a job that tons of people in my profession wish they could have?

I partially know the answer: one of my friends told me some of the applicants were over qualified. So that makes sense. And others were perhaps under qualified or not a good fit. *Maybe* that would narrow the applicant pool down to 50. I also know one of my friends put in a good word for me when I applied. I'm convinced that's what made the difference, though it's hard to believe I was chosen even with someone saying, "Hey, you should be sure to read my friend's application." His words must be very powerful.

And now I feel a bit of pressure, too. I mean more pressure. I want to do well. I always have. But now I also need to do well to prove I was a good choice out of those 50. To uphold whatever kind things my friend said to convince my boss to read my resume. To do justice to the other 49 or so people who really wanted to be here but aren't.

All of this makes me feel profoundly humbled. This past year I've been learning some hard lessons about not getting what I want, so I was genuinely shocked when my friend told me I should apply for this internship, which seemed to be (and is) pretty much exactly what I wanted. Nothing else had worked out, so why would this? I was even more shocked when el Jefe offered me the job. To think of the level of despair I was in before I knew about this job in comparison to now. . . . How could I have been chosen?

I've been going around so inwardly-focused and contrary I missed the opportunity to fully comprehend just how lucky I am to be here. I remember something I posted a few years ago when I was in Egypt when I was kind of in an opposite state: I was completely happy and fully aware of my fortunes. I'm so ashamed that here I am now, just as fortunate-- if not more fortunate-- and I haven't taken the time to fully appreciate my circumstances. I've been taking everything for granted. I'm ugly, spoiled. How could so many truly wonderful people have gone out of their way to help me? How can I ever repay you all? I don't even know where to begin.

Maybe I should begin by asking your forgiveness. You have all given me these opportunities, and I haven't been even remotely as appreciative as I ought to be. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I promise to try to do better in the future. Because really, I am grateful to be here; and I'm constantly aware that I didn't get here alone. You have made all the difference in the world to me, and I thank you for that.

Images from the Coast

2011-09-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

Some pictures to share from the Gulf Coast:

The path down the "canal" where I walk Biloxi

More of the same path

The "pond"-- it's even stocked with fish

My first loaves of bread in my new home

Dining room, pre-furniture

Living room

Kitchen

Fireplace and entry (left)

The bayou where I've been working on a restoration project

Bayou restoration

More bayou restoration

A bridge at a nearby arboretum

Bridge detail

After one of the heavy rains from Tropical Storm Lee

The water rose over the inlet pipe (it's usually about halfway up the pipe)

A family take a walk between downpours

Loxi liked watching the storm from the balcony

Here you can see how she has to sit funny because her body is long and her legs are short

We're Not Doctors

2011-08-31T10:20:00.000-05:00

People are funny creatures. In some instances we're all too happy to pass responsibility to people we deem better able to manage our problems. We readily take medicine doctors prescribe us, rarely understanding how or why the medicine works; we allow engineers to determine the specifics of our sewer pipes and electrical lines, again rarely understanding the work that goes into our infrastructure; and we rely on lawyers to prosecute and defend us to keep everyone accountable to the law. We assign these people a certain power and are content to follow them (for the most part).

We do this because we recognize that some people have the knowledge it takes to solve certain problems while others don't. We value certain knowledge over others, and we evaluate who has that knowledge based on accreditations, certifications, degrees, and job positions. A doctor is only a doctor because he or she took many years to learn medicine and pass a slew of tests and training. Same thing for an engineer or a lawyer. Or an accountant. Or any other profession that requires licensing.

Any other profession, that is, except landscape architecture and perhaps architecture. In the professional fields of design, people spend years on education, training, and licensing to learn the best ways to shape the physical environment. Like medicine, design is complicated, intricate, and sometimes uncertain. There are very technical aspects of design and some more subjective aspects. It takes a certain skill to be able to successfully navigate the realm of design.

And yet, few communities or developers rely on landscape architects in the way people tend to rely on doctors, engineers, or lawyers. Even the best designers face community meetings stuffy with the residues of NIMBY attitudes. Even that's an accomplishment: it's enough of a challenge to be invited to the meeting to begin with.

So why is that? Are people overly optimistic about their abilities to address the same community planning challenges as a skilled, trained, and licensed professional? Is the profession overly simplified so that people have the perception that anyone can do it? Should landscape architecture even be a profession, considering so little value is placed on the practice?

Or maybe landscape architects should be more aggressive in the workplace? Maybe landscape architects should push for more power in the design and construction world? What if it were illegal to build a community without the assistance of a landscape architect? What if it were illegal to perform any construction at all without a landscape architect's approval?

It's not such a leap: medicine cannot be prescribed without a doctor's approval. That's for everyone's safety. I might argue the same could be said of landscape architecture. Who else is in a better position to understand the full implications of construction and community development? Who else is better qualified to weigh the economic, social, and environmental costs of building? In the past we haven't had anyone monitoring human expansion, and look where that's gotten us?

Food!

2011-08-20T12:38:00.001-05:00

Biloxi had a vet appointment today in Ocean Springs. She's healthy and much loved by all who met her. Since we were in the area, I decided to check out the Ocean Springs farmers' market-- many of my friends have been suggesting I go there. Well, the trip was a HUGE success.

First, I finally found local, free-range meat! There's a family farm about an hour inland that raises goats and sheep. Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys! The family also sells bones for dogs, goats milk products, and soaps. It's the best thing in the world to say I wash my hands with soap that comes from the same animals I eat, get dairy product from, and feed my dog with. It's even better when I add that the animals lived within a short drive of my house. I can barely contain my glee.

I also found a local creamery. I now have access to milk, cheeses, cream, sour cream, and cattle-based soap products. The milk isn't homogenized, so I can even use it to make cheeses of my own! Or I could make my own butter! It would be amazing if they sold ice cream, too, but the gentleman I spoke with said they don't have a way to transport it yet. Key word: yet.

So basically, I'm living it up down here on the Coast. My food is tasty, guilt-free, and better for the planet. Come visit me and I'll treat you to the best local flavors the Gulf has to offer. :)

Today's Musings

2011-08-11T23:26:00.000-05:00

My absolute favorite thing to do is to be in a room with people who think about the world differently than I do. It affords me the occasion to evaluate what I think about various topics and exposes me to perspectives I haven't had the chance to entertain before.

For example, as part of my internship people from my studio gather once a week to discuss a reading or a presentation or some such thing. Tonight we read about leadership. The author makes a distinction between leadership with authority (such as that of the President Johnson) and leadership without authority (such as that of Martin Luther King, Jr.). The author describes the importance and nuances of each type of leadership with examples from the Civil Rights movement. Our group discussion about these readings has left some lingering thoughts, some of them more relevant than others.

I learned some things about the Civil Rights movement today. Namely, the various layers of strategy employed by both Civil Rights activists and opponents impressed me. I'd been unaware of many of the nuances of the movement. For example, I was unaware that part of Dr. King's ideas of peaceful protest involved the hope that the opponents would react violently, thus giving his cause much-needed media attention. Which brings me to my first musing: it bothers me that a type of protest that measures its success on whether or not the opponent reacts violently is called "peaceful." Likewise, it bothers me that the intention of the Civil Rights marches were to provoke a violent response that would be captured on television. I'm not saying all marches and sit-ins were like that, but the ones documented in our reading apparently fit that description. So I voiced my surprise about the indirect use of violence to achieve a political end. The group's response was that the indirect use of violence was different than the direct use of violence, and perhaps could even be considered "good." There was little agreement with my observation that the indirect use of violence was shameful. In my mind, there's an important difference between staging a protest with the intention of provoking a fight and staging one that intends to remain peaceful. The author leaves little doubt about the intentions of the protestors in his example: after describing a horrific scene of police brutality and murder the author states, "At once.... King and the demonstrators had won" (Pg. 216).

Now, there are many counter-arguments to my thoughts on this topic. For example, one could point out that the demonstrators were attacking the violence more than anything. It was as if they were saying to the rest of the world, "See? This is what they do on national television--imagine what they do when the cameras aren't around. You are witnessing what our people have been putting up with for more than a century. Are you going to continue to allow this to happen in our country?" In that sense, the demonstrators were less provoking their opponents than they were exposing their opponents (though the author uses the word "provoke"). And maybe that's why their "peaceful" protests were ultimately so successful.

Another point against my assessment could be that intentions don't amount to a hill of beans-- regardless of what the protestors wanted to occur, they did not initiate any violence nor respond to the violence with violence. Their actions were peaceful, and ultimately actions are what define a person or movement. We can only speculate on others' intentions.

Which brings me to the bulk of my musings and a question I've puzzled over consciously since my freshman year at college: Are actions more important than intentions? "They" say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, which I suppose perpetuates the idea that intentions aside, your actions are what matters in the end. And while I can absolutely see the merit with that thought, I also have trouble dismissing a person's intentions completely. For example, suppose one woman accidentally gets pregnant and insists that the unwilling father help raise the child while another woman "accidentally" (read: "intentionally and against the man's desires") gets pregnant and insists that the unwilling father help raise the child. While both situations are tragic in their own ways, certainly there's slightly less sympathy or acceptance for the second woman. But again, how do you prove another person's intentions?

As another and significantly less controversial example, I have some friends who were raised in deeply religious families. Some of those friends have since decided to part with the church, much to their families' dismay. In some instances, the families' actions are to proselytize all the more vigorously in hopes of "saving" their beloved family member from eternal damnation, often belittling or insulting the beloved family member in the process; however, their intentions are positive-- they want to share the security and joy they feel in their faith with someone they love. Does that make up for the insults or belittling? No. But in my opinion it does help to take out the sting.

Long story short, I haven't made much progress on answering my question. There are numerous examples in my life where the only reason I've been able to forgive someone for something they did to me was because I could take comfort in "knowing" that person didn't intend to hurt me (again, can we ever really know?). I'm sure I've hurt people in my life without intending to, and I hope they forgive me even though my actions did, in fact, hurt them. After all, we all tend to be self-centered, and that makes it difficult for us to see how our actions affect people around us. If I can ask for forgiveness on the basis of "I didn't mean to hurt you," then surely I can give forgiveness on similar grounds?

Conversely, since it's difficult to assign legitimacy to what people "meant" to do, maybe it is wise to discount it. Maybe it's better to examine only people's actions. Someone close to me hurt me very deeply; he didn't mean to, but he did. And because he did, I can be angry at him. I don't have a reason to forgive him because he's no longer in my life, so why would I? It takes much less effort to simply hold a grudge.

In some ways I can get behind that line of thinking, but personally, I doubt I'd ever forgive anyone because the act of forgiving would be so exhausting. It's exhausting because I don't have the strength to "forgive and forget" without a reason. I imagine I'm in good company on that point. Most of us forgive because it's too inconvenient not to, not because of any virtue of our own-- if you fight with a sibling, it's typically (though not always) much easier to forgive her because you'll have to continue spending at least some time with her for the rest of your life. And I'll bet none of us forgets an offense regardless of whether or not it's been forgiven (which then begs the question, did you really forgive?).

Some people have a talent for forgiveness, which I imagine takes great strength. I also imagine people with that talent either see the world from a "well, she didn't mean to hurt me" perspective or else they think holding a grudge is too exhausting and have found a way to achieve forgiveness simply to relieve some of the burden of holding a grudge (as opposed to finding forgiveness too exhausting). The first way of forgiving I find much easier; the second way I find nearly impossible, though I've read about people who seem to do it on a daily basis.

Point being (as I ramble along), I haven't gotten anywhere on this question. It seems my mind takes me in circles.

Miss Loxi Biloxi

2011-08-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

I ADOPTED A PUPPY!!!!

Really, I did. And she's about as cute as a bow-legged little mutt can be. And I mean that with all the love a new petowner can possibly have. I mean, just look at her:

She's just over 8 months old, so a lot of the destructive puppy phase is out of her, which suits me just fine. She's been an angel. I think I'm going to call her Miss Biloxi, or "Loxi" for short. I'll be adding much more detail about our adventures together, so be looking forward to it!

Payday!

2011-07-30T19:24:00.000-05:00

I've finished two weeks a the GCCDS, which means I've received my first paycheck. Go me! I'm earning money now! Too bad most of it's going to pay bills.....

The past two weeks have gone by quickly, but there have been a few distinct moments from Day One to Paycheck. My first day was a rush: I spent the morning with my new boss, let's call him "el Jefe," and various smaller groups of my co-workers talking about the various projects I'll be working on. After that, el Jefe left on a two-week vacation, and I haven't seen him since that first day. Kind of strange to start a job without a boss, but it's been nice in terms of getting used to the place without the added pressure of a direct supervisor.

I spent that first afternoon working on a site plan for our Bayou Auguste project. That's the project that's been taking up the majority of my time. The first few days I was doing digital design work, so after a while the thought crossed my mind, "Wait a second, I'm doing exactly what I was doing in college, and I didn't really like doing it then. Shit. How did that happen?" And to Ball State's credit, it really was just like college, or maybe college was just like work? We work in a studio much like the ones at CAP, everyone works on their own projects, and we frequently assemble to discuss our progress. It turns out my education did prepare me for the workplace. Who knew? Anyway, the more I thought about the similarities the more uncomfortable I got. And then I had a wonderful realization: No! This is exactly different from college! I'm getting paid to be here! Not the other way around!

After that my perception of working in the "real world" dramatically shifted. And the next day so did the nature of my work. It turns out I've spent around half of my working time outside or at least out of the office the past two weeks. And I think that's how it's going to be.

Remember the bayou project I mentioned? Well, we don't have a contractor building the structures, which means I get to be onsite doing construction. I'm thrilled. I've been building gabions, hauling crushed concrete, and digging trenches for a wall structure we're putting in. For the most part it's been me and two others doing the work, though this past week we had several volunteers come to help. I couldn't be happier with this aspect of my job. Seriously, it's great.

And I have to mention another great aspect of my job: the registered landscape architect, who will be called Ustaadh. Ustaadh is a great teacher-- he's brought me to all of his project sites and he's started teaching me Mississippi's plant palette. He even requested a detour on the way back from a meeting in New Orleans to take the interns and me to an arboretum. When he introduces me to clients or partners, he refers to me as the studio's new landscape architect, which is technically not true. You see, until I'm licensed I can't legally call myself a landscape architect; however, it can be a bit tricky to eloquently explain to people what it is that I do without using the words "landscape architect," though I do my best. Some RLAs get really protective of their title, and while I can't blame them, I really appreciate that Ustaadh isn't like that. It makes being around him and learning from him very relaxing.

First Day in Biloxi

2011-06-29T21:03:00.004-05:00

Today was my first day in Biloxi. To be honest, it got off to a horrible start. I was incredibly nervous about meeting my new co-workers. I woke up anxious and none of my clothes seemed to be appropriate for the daunting task of the day. I made it to the studio though, and while I met the people I'll be working with (and learned there was nothing to be nervous about), my mom explored the coast and took these photos:

I stayed at the studio most of the day. My new boss took me to some of the sites the studio is working on, and the RLA took me to a small community meeting for a historic preservation project. Everyone else was super friendly and included me in all their activities-- we went to lunch together, chatted together, and I even attended the weekly staff meeting with everyone else. An overwhelming day? Yes. But a successful one nonetheless.

My mom picked me up for a late afternoon apartment search. We made it to two apartments before they closed, then we decided to get dinner. We ended up at a nice restaurant a gentleman from the visitor's center recommended, and it was GREAT! Our waitress was really nice and gave us great recommendations. Plus, she took time to teach us how to eat crab claws. How fun is that? I ended up getting local shrimp over grilled flounder. Delicious!

Huh

2011-06-06T17:07:00.000-05:00

I was just looking through my blog, and while 2009 generally kicked butt, 2010 wasn't my favorite on record. 2011 got off to a shaky start, and it could continue to be stressful, but I wonder what I'll say about it after it's gone? There are definitely elements I'm hoping to forget, but some really incredible things happened, too. Which will stand out more vividly to me? Luckily, I'm not the kind of person who dwells on unpleasant memories, so I imagine I'll retain only the positive. Heck, even though 2010 wasn't what I'd hoped for, I still have mostly good memories. My brain even turned some less happy memories into happy ones. And 2011 is just halfway through. I still have six months to rock my world for this year. Maybe I'll have a gathering of friends and loved ones to have a half-year celebration to wash off the ugly karma from New Year's and the ensuing months. I'll set myself up with good karma and love all around me as I head off on my next adventure. It's a tempting thought. I do love gatherings. Not to mention, my best friends and I missed our annual Lord of the Rings Fest last winter. Maybe that's why I've felt a bit off? I'll give it some thought beyond my musings here.

M-I-SS-I-SS-I-PP-I

2011-06-05T13:50:00.001-05:00

Well, things are moving along. I accepted the internship in Mississippi, and to be quite honest, I'm pretty excited.

I'll be working for the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio. It's a fairly good gig. The studio is connected to Mississippi State University, and the internship includes a study component. In addition to working at the studio, I'll be earning a Certificate in Public Design from MSU. I'm not completely positive, but there could be a chance to apply some of the graduate credits I'll earn during this internship to my graduate degree I'll eventually earn in the next few years (depending on where I decide to do that).

So, I'm off to Biloxi, MS. I've been looking online for a place to live, some climbing walls to frequent, and some parks to play in. I'm very seriously considering getting a puppy, but that will depend on if I have roommates, if I can have a dog in my future residence, and if I'll have the flexibility in time to care for the puppy properly. One of my goals is to become a "regular" somewhere. We'll see how that goes. I also want to find a nearby farmer's market where I can get good food-- I've heard the Gulf Coast has some delicious cuisines, and I hope to master as many as I can.

I think I'm going to like the Gulf. It almost feels like I'm going back to my roots-- my family hailed from parts of Arkansas, and while I recognize that's a long way from Biloxi, it still seems that Mississippi and Arkansas have more in common than Arkansas and Indiana.

.... and two hours later I've started a family tree to try to find out where my great-grandmother grew up, gotten frustrated, and deleted said family tree. Apparently I'm easily distracted today.

Anyway, I have this romantic ideal of the Southern US, one where good manors abound, food is flavorful, and people are friendly. I imagine an easy-going, steady rhythm to life along the Gulf Coast. It will be fun to see how wrong (or right?) I am.

When it Rains, It Pours

2011-05-29T09:10:00.000-05:00

This will be a big week.

First, I will finally be finished with all of my undergraduate coursework. Since I missed the last month of school for medical reasons, I've been working to wrap up my classes before the grace period ends. My thesis presentation is scheduled, and assuming I can get in touch with someone in the Communications Department on Tuesday, I'll be set to finish by the end of the week. If things work out, I'll still have a May graduation date, and I'll be able to pretend my last month of school never happened.

But finishing school, while stressful, isn't entirely enough to make this week a "big week." Instead, I'll have to make some decisions about what kind of position I'll accept for the summer. I'm already gardening and landscaping part time (and not much recently since I've been working on school), but I've learned I could start an AmeriCorps job as early as next week. Likewise, I've been applying for jobs as far apart as Mississippi, San Francisco, and Seattle, and I expect to hear back from at least one of those opportunities this week as well. What will I do? What's most important to me? Location? Money? Serving? I don't have enough information right now about any of it, so I'm presently stumped.

It's also a big week because the lease on my darling Muncie house ends on Tuesday. I still have some things-- ok, a LOT of things-- in the house that I need to move out today and tomorrow. Moving out is bittersweet. I already miss my house, but now that I might be accepting a job soon, I feel like it's appropriate to move on.

Wish me luck! I'll see you on the other side.

I Wonder if I can be Settled on the West Coast by Thanksgiving?

2011-05-23T14:21:00.000-05:00

I just sent out another application, this time for a position in San Francisco. I'm moving towards just going to the West Coast, with or without a job. My preference is definitely for Seattle, but I'm thinking if this job falls through I'll start seriously considering Australia. If only I had money....

Looking for jobs tires me. I spend so much work creating the "perfect" resumé, portfolio, cover letter, and the rest of it.... and for what? It's so hard to believe anyone actually sifts through my application, let alone the hundreds of other applications. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe something amazing will happen, and they'll call me for an interview. Maybe someone will offer me a job doing something I can feel passionate about. Maybe.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy summer. It could be my final "free" summer (granted, I haven't had a truly free summer since 1998, but heck, why not dream big?). I'm so tired. I don't think I slept well last night. I'm kind of hoping for a storm to come in this evening. No real reason, I just like storms. Maybe I'll work on my new website later? We'll see....

Omg, Seriously Adobe?

2011-05-18T07:06:00.000-05:00

I just learned that if I'd bought my Adobe CS5 a mere six weeks later I could have been eligible for a free upgrade to Adobe CS5.5. I'm more than a little ticked. I put a LOT of money into getting that program, and that was at the student discounted rate! I might be further irritated about all this because I just made an impulsive move that goes against years of personal technology theory: I just bought a Mac. I'm fairly confident that my current (and now outdated) version of Adobe Creative Suite won't work on the Mac. Honestly, if I can't figure out a way to put my software on the Mac, I'll have to take the computer back. Which kind of ticks me off. I guess on the plus side, if I do end up taking the machine back because of compatibility issues, I can be even more justified in my Mac loathing. You know? I'll be able to tell smug Mac owners, "Hey, I gave it a chance, and it failed."

Ok, World, It's On.

2011-05-16T14:24:00.000-05:00

Ok, it's time. Finally. I'm going to take on the world. I'm officially saying "Screw you!" to everything that has ever made me suspect I can't have my dream job, or my dream life for that matter. Let's take a quick inventory of what I have going for me right now:

I'm young. At ripe young age of 23, the world is my oyster. I have plenty of potential to learn, grow, and mold myself into whatever I want.
I'm fairly intelligent and resourceful. If I can learn to speak a new language in 2 months on three different occasions, I can do anything.
For all practical purposes, I have my first degree. Sure, I don't have it in hand yet, but once they mail that SOB, I have proof that I can do something most other people can't.
I have some really suburb friends. No, really. If all else fails, I can rely on them to stand by my side and encourage me.
I'm not pregnant, married, divorced, or afflicted with any other form of permanent attachment. I currently stand mostly alone, and I have the freedom to do and go where I please.

Sure, I have plenty working against me, too. For example, the economy sucks, I don't actually have a clear vision of what I want for myself, and I'm dirt poor to boot, but hey! who really cares at this point? I have a place to live, a modest income, and plenty of gumption to throw myself at anything I find interesting. I also have the luxury of changing my mind about anything. That's right: today I might like the idea of becoming a fabulously wealthy accountant, but I give myself permission to change my mind whenever I want. Actually, I already have. Because I can.

So once again, I recite "Screw you!" to anything that tries to discourage me or get in my way. Screw you.

Now, Not Then

2011-05-13T19:59:00.001-05:00

Now that I've moved my blog to Blogger and it's no longer connected to the Ball State website, I imagine few, if any, people will read my blog posts. On the plus side, now that my blog isn't connected to the Ball State website, I can post about anything I want and worry less about promoting Ball State. That's not to say I fabricated any positive feelings in my previous posts, but I tried to play down the negative stories in my life. Maybe I'll continue to do that, and maybe I won't. I have more freedom in the blogoshpere now, and I suppose with that comes more responsibility.

I imagine most of my posts in the near future will be about trip planning and making/saving money. I might also talk about searching for a job-- possibly in Australia? I'm thinking about moving abroad... permanently. We'll see though. I have a lot to work through before I'll be able to make those decisions. At any rate, I am definitely working with my friend, "Nadia Lieben," to save the money for the trip of a lifetime.

Game. Over.

2011-05-03T18:58:00.000-05:00

This looks like it'll be my last post as a (current) Ball State student. Five years and four continents later and I'm finally finishing up! I've already posted my graduating senior musings, so instead I'll just give a more normal post and tell you what life looks like as a college student while I still am one.

I've had a bizarre final month. For one thing, I left Muncie about a month ago to mange some personal things at home (hence few posts recently). Some of my friends reminded me how lucky I am that I'm still in college for that-- my professors are being very understanding and are working with me to make sure I finish everything up. I'm not sure the "real world" would be so understanding and accommodating.

I officially have my first degree-related job: I'll be working as a gardener for the summer. I'm beyond excited for this position-- I actually get to spend my summer outside! I couldn't be more thankful for the chance to delay working in an office in front of a computer. Plus, I'll get to spend large chunks of time doing one of my favorite things: pulling weeds! I also learned today that I'm still a candidate for an AmeriCorps position that would start in early September. If that works out I'll be building houses for the next year, again delaying the office life. If I'm super savvy, maybe I can avoid office life altogether? Wish me luck on that endeavor.

Along with the end of college comes moving out of my house. I'm going to cry. I love my house in Muncie and the people who live there with me. I thankfully have until the end of May to pack and move, but still. In so many ways I wish I could just freeze everyone in a perpetual state of young twenties living in a college house. I'm going to miss them tremendously. But, alas, I guess we all have to grow up and contribute to society sometime. It just sucks that the time has come.

The campus is beautiful, the air is slowly warming up, and soon I'll be gardening. Overall not a bad time. It would be nice if there were more job opportunities (as far as I know most of my peers have no jobs lined up), but then again a high school friend and I came to an important, life-changing realization last weekend: no jobs, no commitment, and no family means we can literally do whatever we want. In our case that means we're going to save money over the next year or so, then take off on a worldwide adventure that will last as long as we have cash. We've been doing all kinds of research on this. If we can find some jobs along the way (which we totally can!), we're thinking we'll be gone at least a year. I'm hoping longer. We want to hit all the continents and as many countries as we can. Biking and CouchSurfing will save us tons of money, which we can then spend on delectable food and extreme experiences (my friend is SCUBA certified, so that's definitely going to happen). The beautiful part is that since we have no commitments and nothing in particular to come back to, we can take our time and mosey around at our leisure.

So, that's how I'm finishing college, wrapping up one adventure and preparing for the next. Life is as it should be.

Songs of Experience

2011-04-08T08:20:00.000-05:00

My freshman year I was part of a special integrated class. We met for six hours a week, read on average a novel and a half a week, and spent hours discussing what we read and relating it to our lives. It was by far my favorite class I've taken at Ball State. Without question, I learned more from those readings and discussions than I've learned in all of my other classes combined.

I was remembering today that we read Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience by William Blake, who apparently looked like this:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="William Blake"][/caption]

Poor guy.

Looks aside, he was evidently a pretty good poet. I don't remember what all he talked about in his poems, but the titles have always stuck with me. Looking back now, five years later, I can see freshman me singing my own Songs of Innocence (though I would have scoffed at you if you'd told me so). I came to college from a small town, like most students here. I had my troubles and triumphs growing up, but not a lot of exposure to the outside world. I had ideals and grand visions for myself. I very likely thought I knew just about everything. I still thought the world was fair, that hard work and wishing would get me whatever I wanted, and that people generally have good intentions.

A lot happens in college beyond academics. I've watched friends fall in love and get married. Some are divorced, some have children, some are still building their lives. I've fallen in love, had my heart broken, made lifelong friends, traveled the world, had my beliefs shaken, reinvented myself, grown, matured, lived, learned. . . . And I wouldn't change a thing.

I came to college thinking I should feel like a grown up, but I didn't. Now I'm supposed to be a grown up, but I know I'm not. At the same time, I can feel a shift towards my own Songs of Experience. I'm not a total pessimist: I still think the world should be fair, hard work and wishing will get me most things I want, and it turns out that people really do generally have good intentions. I still have my Songs of Innocence that I cling to, but my Songs of Experience have much deeper meaning and have shaped who I am today.

I know many of you are trying to choose a university to go to. Some of you already have. Let me tell you that in most ways, the university you choose won't matter in the end. What will matter are the people you're going to befriend and love, the adventures you allow yourself to have. The sooner you learn that academics are secondary, the sooner you'll get to the real learning.

Flowers and General Misery

2011-03-25T10:47:00.000-05:00

I have good news: Daffodils are abloom all over campus. And they're pretty. Maybe even cheerful.

In the meantime, school grinds on. I'm having a horrible time concentrating. This week was positively grueling, albeit for otherwise good reasons. I had three job interviews this week, plus I gave a presentation at the CAP Faulty and Student Symposium. I had a test this week, and I'm in general preparing to submit my thesis for consideration for various awards. Of course, that's contingent on me actually finishing my thesis, which is becoming a concern because I'm having a horrible time concentrating. I am encouraged though. My professors are really supportive, and really when it comes down to it, if I work diligently for the next week and a half or so I'll be set to finish the semester strongly.

I guess in that vein, I have more good news: I still really like my project, and when I can summon the energy to focus, it's really easy to write or design for my thesis. And my other classes seem to be going smoothly. Well, the key word is "seem." I haven't seen grades for any of them, so technically, I have no idea how I'm doing in any of them. It's a little frustrating that Ball State provides professors with the means to communicate with us about grades, assignments, and other course-related materials instantaneously via Blackboard, but few professors actually use the system to its full potential or even use it at all. I've heard some complain that it's too complicated, but I've also been in classes where professors have really maximized the potential of the Blackboard website. My guess is it's "complicated" because it's different, and if a professor actually sat down to learn the program he or she could do it. I wish more would take that initiative. Better yet, I wish it were required for professors to use Blackboard to communicate grades, share course documents, and submit assignments. It would really simplify things, at least for students.

I think I'm getting a little complain-y, so I'll cut myself off here. Honestly, I'll paint a bleak picture, but things aren't that bad. Spring is coming, and there are many festivities in the making that will help the last few weeks go quickly.

Ball State has Money for You

2011-03-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

This is really neat. I just read this article about Ball State's new scholarship opportunities that have resulted from the Bold Campaign. Seriously, scholarships are the way to go if you can get them. Especially for your undergraduate degree. I have no idea what scholarship opportunities look like at other universities, but it seems that Ball State has many more opportunities than other nearby schools. For example, all Honors College students get the Presidential Scholarship, which awards the student the equivalent of half of tuition for four years. We also have these other in-house scholarship opportunities. Not to mention the national and international scholarship opportunities that my office promotes. Point being, Ball State is a good deal to begin with, but it's made even better because of the many opportunities to earn scholarship money. Yay for the Bold Campaign! And thanks to our many donors! We appreciate you!

Spring is in the Air

2011-03-16T14:27:00.000-05:00

Today was lovely. Or so I heard. I was working on the computer for most of it. But I had enjoyable bike rides to and from school. I also noticed the flowers are beginning to peep through the soil all over campus. Ball State is beautiful in the spring. I can't wait to see everything in full bloom. If predictions are accurate, I'll even be able to open my windows and enjoy the fresh air by the end of the week. Won't that be charming?

Warm weather and sunshine definitely help take the sting off of still being in school. Nearly everyone I know is ready to be finished. It's been five years for most of my friends. We're all looking for jobs or trying to get into grad school. It would be nice if graduation were somehow staggered so that the job market isn't flooded every May. I guess that's the nature of the beast though. I'm feeling pretty good-- I have plans to visit some firms next week. With the economy how it is, I'm not terribly confident that I'll find my dream job; nonetheless, I'm still focusing only on firms that could offer me my dream job or at least bring me a step closer to it. I suppose if I'm still unemployed in October I'll broaden my search to include more variety. We'll see though.

Anyway, I'm not really sure what this post was supposed to be about. I guess I'm writing because I expect to be swamped the rest of the week. The good news is that my classes are all coming together. The bad news is I have significantly less time for the things I enjoy, especially climbing and biking. Maybe if I tough it out and get ahead (dare I dream?) I'll be able to make some time for fun next week.

School comes in Waves

2011-03-08T11:30:00.000-06:00

Seriously, school comes in waves. I just passed through the midterm wave, though the dregs of that will wrap up next week with a speech for COMM 210 and an engineering midterm about materials in the built environment. Importantly though, I finished my thesis midterm presentation strongly. As promised, I'm posting my presentation, though it makes a LOT more sense if you can hear me present it. :) Nonetheless, you'll be able to see some of my drawings and some of my research.

Struggling, but the Weather Keeps Me Positive

2011-02-17T11:40:00.000-06:00

Well, for all the hard work TechTime and I put into saving my computer's life, it seems that the problem is the motherboard. The tech people tell me a new motherboard is about the same cost as a whole new computer. So. . . yeah. For all my optimism, ultimately my computer is dead. I'll be spending lots of time in the Ball State library until May. R.I.P. dear computer.

Likewise, my thesis is getting me down. I can see it's coming together, but I've been asked to do it differently than I would typically do it. I guess I'm learning a new way to approach a design problem, but in the meantime I'm feeling the stress. I have a midterm presentation in a little over a week. I'll post it on my blog when it's ready so you can see a bit of what an LA thesis looks like. Hopefully it makes sense to more people than just me.

In better news, the weather has been lovely the past few days, and it's a welcomed change. I've noticed that I emotionally respond to the weather more and more as I get older. So for example, on a day when I'm feeling really stressed about my school work, I can take a walk and refocus with fresh air in my nose and birdsong in my ear. Soon I'll be riding my bike to school again, which will be *amazing*. Before I know it, I'll be playing frisbee near the Duck Pond without a care in the world because I'll have finished my projects and my degree!

Still Struggling, but the Weather Keeps Me Positive

2011-02-17T11:30:00.000-06:00

The Perks of Being a Ball State Student

2011-02-10T12:22:00.000-06:00

Wow, I have a lot to cover this week: TechTime, Student Voluntary Services, the Career Center, and a thesis update. When it rains, it pours! Oh yeah, and I have some photos. Whew!

So first, glory of glories! My computer has been fixed! It's been acting up (read: blue screening every few hours) since December. The grand finale occurred last Sunday when it refused to turn on, instead favoring a black screen with the words "Operating System Not Found." That's a BAD thing! The good news is that Ball State offers FREE computer repair services to its students. So Wednesday I took my misbehaving computer to TechTime. Two hours later my computer had a new operating system installed and was completely repaired! On top of that, because I'm a student, I was able to buy the new OS at a discounted rate-- only $27. Go me! And a HUGE thanks to TechTime staff! You guys are amazing!

While I wasn't battling the technology gods this week, I was searching for a job and trying to figure out my thesis. I decided to look at the Career Center for job opportunities since the market for aspiring landscape architects is rather bleak at the moment. I've used the resources at the Career Center before to practice interviewing, to learn "proper" etiquette at formal meals, for my campus jobs, and I've attended a few career fairs. I've just learned about another of their services: Cardinal Career Link. This system allows me to upload my resume and CV to make it available to prospective employers. It also contains a database of jobs, employers, and other career-related opportunities that I can search for new prospects for after graduation. Perhaps the best part: Career Center staff review any documents I upload and offer feedback on how to improve. I'm hoping this will be a valuable tool as I move forward in my job search.

As far as my thesis. . . There were a few hang-ups last week. They mostly involved miscommunication between my professors and me about certain elements of my project and a misunderstanding of the schedule I should be following. Thankfully, we were all able to meet on Tuesday to figure things out. I'm now spending nearly all my free time working to make up missed time. Which has been a little stressful.

I'm the kind of person who uses volunteering as a stress-management technique, so I've started volunteering with Motivate Our Minds (MOMS). I volunteer as a tutor for students in grades 5-8. So far it's been challenging and fun-- exactly the kind of distraction I need during the week. It's nice to get off campus, interact with people not affiliated with the university, and (hopefully) make a positive difference in the community that's been hosting me the past five years. As a shameless plug: MOMS needs more volunteers!!! Contact SVS if you're interested.

Another distraction that started this week are dance classes. I'm not a dancer. At all. BUT Ball State's Recreation Center offers instructional courses for a small fee. My friend and I signed up for two of the classes, so hopefully by the end of the semester I'll be able to hold my own on the dance floor. I've also bought a fitness pass, which gives me access to any of Ball State's fitness classes. I'm particularly fond of zumba. And of course, I'm still having a BLAST on the climbing wall.

And finally, here are some images from around campus:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="336" caption="My friend scraping ice."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="336" caption="The ice was REALLY thick! "][/caption]

Most people reading this will probably remember the ice/snow storm that covered the country last week. Those photos were taken a few days later. Many cars were literally frozen to the ground. The campus staff are STILL working to clear all the sidewalks. It's slowly getting better though.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="336" caption="First year projects brighten up the architecture building."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="336" caption="More first year projects."][/caption]

These projects are from the CAP First Year program. They've been popping up all over the building. Quite frankly, I think they're lovely!

Cool Academic Opportunity

2011-02-03T12:06:00.000-06:00

As promised, here's the explanation of why I was a week late to school: I attended a two week academic seminar in Washington, DC, called Camp David III: Negotiating the Path to Israeli-Palestinian Peace. The program is coordinated by the Washington Center, which is an intern/educational organization separate from Ball State.

Overall, the program was super neat. We spent the first week and a half covering the history of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the last three days in a peace negotiation simulation. For the simulation each of us represented a real person involved in the conflict. I was Tzipi Livni, who is an Israeli political leader. While the lectures and simulation were interesting, the real value in going to this conference, at least to me, was in hearing our guest lecturers. We went to several embassies in DC including the Israeli, Egyptian, and French embassies, and we went to the home of the Ambassador from Syria. We had speakers from the Israeli far left and far right, and speakers representing the Palestinian interests, even a speaker who studies Hamas. As far as equal representation goes, this program offers a remarkably balanced perspective of the conflict.

All in all, it was a great start to my last semester. The topic ties into my thesis, I met a bunch of really neat people, and I was able to get some travel time into my last year of college. Good times.

Fun Academic Opportunities

2011-02-03T11:54:00.000-06:00

Ugh. . . Computer Problems. . .

2011-01-27T11:06:00.000-06:00

I know I promised an explanation about missing the first week of school, but my computer is completely freaking out. I'll have to update you when I'm on campus with a reliable computer. In the meantime, if anyone knows of good hard drive deals for HP laptops. . . let me know. : P

The Beginnings of My Final Semester. . .

2011-01-20T12:21:00.000-06:00

This is the first of many posts from my final semester!!!! I missed the first week of classes (I'll explain why in my next post), so this week was my first week of this semester. Here are some of my initial thoughts:

1. I have senioritis SOOOOO bad. Remember, I'm in a five year program, so I've been a senior for two years! It's just about killing me at this point. I'm ready to see what's next.

2. My schedule pretty much rocks. I'm taking only 15 credit hours (I've always taken 17-18 in the past), so I have more free time than normal. Tuesdays in particular are exciting: I have only one class from 9:30-12:15, then I'm FREE! I'm hoping to use my extra time to volunteer more this semester. More on Student Voluntary Services later.

3. Planning for my future is a little nerve-wracking. Any seniors in high school out there can relate, I'm sure. Fortunately, we live in a day and age where we can pretty much do whatever we want. Unfortunately, that means we have significantly more options to sift through when making decisions. Currently I'm wrestling with the seemingly huge dilemma of what to do next year: grad school? travel? work? Yeah. . . I have no idea.

4. Spring semesters are so much better than fall semesters. I *love* spring semesters. Granted, they start off snowy and icy and really cold, BUT it goes only uphill from there! Days are getting longer, soon it will get warmer, and before you know it, you're playing Frisbee outside without a care in the world! For some reason it's much, MUCH easier for me to be motivated and focused in the spring as opposed to the fall semester.

5. Building off of my love for spring semester, I also love spring break. Sure, we don't get any breaks between Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the second week of March, but it's so worth it! We get a whole week off of school! In the fall we get only a day or two here and there, and most of those coincide with holidays, so your "free" time is usually pre-planned with lots of family stuff. Spring break is the real student vacation time. There are so many more opportunities for your break when you have an entire week without classes or obligations. For example, this year I'm hoping to travel to Jordan. Yeah, try doing that over a three day weekend. That's right. You can't.

6. Working on a thesis makes my education seem worthwhile. I'm finally learning exactly what I want to be learning. It's so liberating to plan, direct, and complete your own project. The cherries on top are the people I get to work with. I have a thesis adviser and three studio professors. My adviser is the chair of my department, and I respect her immensely. Every time we talk I leave the conversation completely inspired and elated about whatever we'd been talking about. My professors are equally inspiring. I've had two of them before, and I've loved the classes I've had with them. I've been good friends with one of them ever since I went to Mexico-- we've worked on several of the same international projects, and he's helped me a lot with my global networking efforts. The final professor is new from Istanbul. I've spoken with her only once so far, but she's very impressive. She's also offering a valuable perspective on my thesis, which is titled "Rebuilding After Conflict: An Examination of Refugee Camp Design in Jordan."

Those are my initial thoughts. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on what my tenth semester looks like!! Happy New Year everyone!

Holiday Cheer

2011-01-07T03:50:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!!!!!

I don't know about you, but this has been by far one of the best holiday breaks of my life. Let me tell you why. : )

The end of my semester was predictably hectic. I had many, many pages to write for all of my classes

Winter Wonderland[scape] Formal

2010-12-14T08:16:00.000-06:00

You know what's awesome about being in college? You get to do whatever you want. For example: a few months ago people in my studio were talking about how much fun it would be to have a formal for the landscape architecture department, so one of us went ahead and planned it. Last weekend I went to a formal that a classmate completely organized and coordinated.

First off, HUGE props to her for all the work she put in. We had music, food, and a venue (Muncie Cornerstone Center for the Arts). I have no idea how she pulled this off, but we're all very grateful for her. We had a TON of fun that evening, as the photographic evidence suggests:

My date and me before the dance.

A common theme from the dance: studio love.

More love.

Even more love.

Maybe too much love?

Probably my favorite photograph from the evening: do you see the stalker?

*****

Fun fact: I live with five other people and at no point in history have all six of us been in the same room. In an effort to remedy that, I offered to make my Muncie family a holiday meal Sunday evening. The meal was great-- my roommates latched onto the idea and everyone pitched in to make a delicious meal. All but one roommate. *sigh* We still haven't all been in the same room together!

Neither of these gentlemen is my roommate, but they were welcome nonetheless.

Setting the table. We've never eaten at the table before. Never.

We even busted out some napkins. And a center piece. That's how fancy this dinner was.

After dinner we pulled each other around the neighborhood on a lunch tray behind a truck. (Again: college = do whatever you want!) Which was doubly awesome because you ended up looking like Frosty the Snowman by the end of it. His pip was completely packed with snow.

They were really proud of themselves.

Finals Week

2010-12-06T19:18:00.000-06:00

It's finals week! Well, at least it's finals week for people in the College of Architecture and Planning. Because it takes professors a long time to grade all of our projects, they end up being due this week instead of actual finals week (which is next week). It's a little tough to finish up projects, but it ends up being great because we tend to not have any finals during finals week.

I lucked out this year. I have no final tests, just final papers. It's a little unfortunate that I have to write so much, but I like the way my classes are challenging me to think critically about what we've been doing all semester. Along that vein of thought, I had a presentation in my Research Methods class today, and I think it went well. At least, a professor who tends to be hard to please said she likes my project, and the chair of my department has been supportive. That's something I like about my college: all the professors are involved in your education the entire five years you're here. I like that nearly all the professors in my department know me by name, and those that don't at least recognize me. It's nice to have that kind of community. Even though I'm excited about graduating, it'll be sad to leave the people who have been so supportive over the years.

First They Came. . .

2010-12-02T15:36:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking a lot recently, especially about why I want to do what I want to do, which is to work with refugee communities. As I was pondering my motivations, I remembered this poem by Holocaust survivor Pastor Martin Niemöller:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

I started thinking about what Niemöller was communicating: we're all in this together, and we need to support and stick-up for each other, even when we otherwise might not be directly involved. At the very least, we should do this because we will encounter times in our lives when we'll need someone to support us. At the most we should do it because compassion is the one redeeming quality of humanity.

So maybe I'm interested in working with refugees because I hope that my actions will in some way help to offset the horrible things that sometimes happen in our world. Maybe I'm doing it because I'm selfish, and I think my actions will somehow offer me security if I ever experience disaster. Maybe I hope to join the group of voices speaking out against injustice. Maybe it's all of the above. Maybe it's none of the above.

Anyway, I've just been thinking a lot recently.

Islam Awareness Week

2010-11-29T05:00:00.000-06:00

Last week was a fun time for after-school events. For starters, the Muslim Student Association sponsored Islam Awareness week. Unfortunately, I didn't hear about that until about halfway through the week, so I was able to go to only two events, a panel discussion on Islamophobia and a panel discussion on the hijab. Both were interesting and kept me thinking long after they had ended.

Two points of observation/possible places for improvement: it would have been nice to have a woman on the Islamophobia panel and it would have been nice to have a man on the hijab panel. In respect to the former, some women in the audience had a unique perspective on Islamophobia much different than that of the men. While the men on the panel discussed media portrayal of Muslims, women in the audience talked about discrimination against the hijab in the workplace. One woman shared a horrifying story of how a boy had pulled off her daughter's hijab in school and had used derogatory names against her. Having a woman on the panel would have given clearer voice to Muslim women's concerns about Islamophobia.

As for the second point, there is a bit more of a background story. First, the three women on the panel were fantastic. Really, truly, an inspiration to listen to. The biggest fault on the panel was a lack of diversity. All three women wear the hijab (one also wears the niqab), all three agreed that the Quran says Muslim women should wear the hijab, and all three were women. Again, some men in the audience did enter the discussion and added their perspective to the mix, but it would have been nice to hear from a man on the panel. Also, I've heard some heated arguments amongst Muslim women and men about what the Quran says and doesn't say about the hijab. I'll also add that the arguments were among native speakers of Arabic, so the idea of "bad translations" doesn't really carry the discussion (which was the perspective mentioned on the panel, ie: that the translation from Arabic into English was partly responsible for any confusion). Not being Muslim, I don't have an opinion on the matter-- everyone is free to worship as he or she chooses; however, I thought it was dishonest to not give voice to both sides of an important issue on the panel. Most sad about the lack of diversity was the fact that the "discussion" did get preachy towards the end. I ended up not remembering the question I had wanted to ask until after the discussion was over. I'll ask it now in hopes someone can answer me:

Regardless of what the Quran says or doesn't say about the hijab, it seems that everyone agrees it does tell Muslims-- men and women-- to dress modestly. I applaud and respect the Muslim women on campus and in the Muncie community who choose to wear the hijab or niqab despite the discrimination they may face because of it. I also applaud and respect Muslim women who dress modestly without the hijab or niqab-- in the Muslim-majority countries I've lived in, that usually means keeping arms and shoulders covered and wearing long skirts or loose-fitting pants. Which brings me to my point: in the Muslim-majority countries I've lived in, men also wear a distinct type of modest clothing, characterized by loose pants and a longer shirt, like this for example. While I see Muslim women in Muncie dressing modestly, I can't say I've seen the same of the men. And that irritates me. Why not? Even the Muslim men who spoke up at the panel in support of the hijab weren't dressed particularly modestly-- they wore tight jeans and short-sleeved shirts. Again, I do think everyone has the freedom to dress as he or she sees fit, but it seems, well, hypocritical, to be a strong advocate of the hijab while not maintaining similar standards for yourself. Maybe it's just me, but its been on my mind since the panel discussion.

Hunger Banquet

2010-11-28T05:05:00.000-06:00

Last week was Oxfam's Hunger Banquet, co-sponsored by the Social Justice League. When attending a hunger banquet, you are assigned a class when you first enter-- lower, middle, or upper. Lower class individuals sit on the floor and are served small pieces of bread with water (sometimes colored brown to represent unclean water). Middle class individuals sit in chairs and are served bread and butter with clean water. Upper class individuals sit at a table and are served a real meal, in this case peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, lemonade, and a cookie. Each group represents the same statistical group of real-world lower, middle, and upper class people. So really, it's a very interesting idea. Here are some photographs from our hunger banquet:

Opening Remarks.

Here you can see the lower class and the upper class. Something I learned: if you make more than $12,000 a year, you're considered to be among the top 15% wealthiest people on earth. Now there's some perspective.

Middle class, where I was. Not many of us here.

Interesting information on what Oxfam does around the world.

Learning about world hunger and economic non-equality.

Preparing our middle class meal.

Talking while we eat.

Nom, nom.

It gives "middle class" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

Rhodes Finalists-- I told you it's a big deal!

2010-11-16T06:08:00.000-06:00

Here's an email the Ball State Communications Center sent across campus yesterday:

Two vying for Rhodes Scholarships

A pair of Ball State University students have advanced to the final round of the Rhodes Scholarship selection process, the first time in school history that two students have reached the last stage of competition for the world's oldest and most prestigious international graduate scholarship.

Abigail Shemoel and Matt Tancos, both members of the Class of 2011, will participate in final interviews with members of the Rhodes selection committee on Nov. 20 in Indianapolis.

Shemoel is a landscape architecture major and international resource management minor from Kokomo, Ind., and currently a Udall Foundation undergraduate scholar at Ball State. Also a past recipient of the National Garden Clubs Scholarship, she already has studied the effects of environmental management on ecotourism in Costa Rica and recently completed an internship in Argentina with the Foundation for Sustainable Development. She'll spend her final semester as a Ball State student conducting additional research on sustainable community development in Brazil.

Tancos, from Valparaiso, Ind., is a biology major and chemistry minor concentrating in genetics and ecology. He previously earned an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greater Research Opportunities Undergraduate Fellowship and has completed research internships at both an EPA lab and Cornell University, investigating the microbiological treatment of drinking water for arsenic removal, microbial biofilms on lead drinking water pipes and pathogen diagnostics, in addition to his studies at Ball State.

Administered and awarded by the Rhodes Trust (Cecil John Rhodes, 1853-1902, was an English businessman and founder of the De Beers diamond company), Rhodes Scholarships provide recipients with up to three years of graduate study at Oxford University, U.K. In addition, scholars receive a monthly maintenance stipend to cover accommodation and living expenses.

Scholarships have been awarded to applicants annually since 1902 and are widely regarded as the most distinguished graduate awards in the world.

Landmark event

Ball State has never had a Rhodes Scholar and only a handful of candidates have made it to the state semifinalist stage (a category no longer used; finalists now are selected from specified geographic districts), reports Barbara Stedman, director of national and international scholarships. She calls Shemoel and Tancos' advance "historic" and proof of the university's strategic plan that emphasizes attracting greater numbers of high-achieving students, as reflected in the growing percentage of entering freshmen holding the Indiana Academic Honors Diploma from high school.

"The Rhodes not only is the most prestigious of graduate scholarships it's also the most rigorous in terms of its academic standards and other requirements," observes Stedman. "That two of our students have reached this level in the selection process this year, I believe, speaks loudly to Ball State's success in increasing the overall quality of our students and giving them the additional tools, through immersive learning and other opportunities such as research assistantships and study abroad, to achieve still greater things. This is a landmark event for Abigail and Matt, certainly, but also one in which the entire university community should take great pride and satisfaction."

If successful in her Rhodes bid, Shemoel expects to pursue a master's degree in environmental change and management at Oxford. She sees the opportunity as especially fortunate. The Oxford program is among the best in the world, she says, reckoning that the Rhodes committee probably doesn't see too many landscape architecture majors.

"But that's what I love most about landscape architecture - it's all about good stewardship of the land," says Shemoel, who hopes to make a career working internationally on the issue of adequate and sustainable shelter for millions of the world's poor, possibly with the U.N. Centre for Human Settlements.

Tancos also has international career plans. He will seek a master's degree in plant sciences in Oxford's equally renowned Plants for the 21st Century program. Ultimately, he intends to earn a doctorate in plant pathology in preparation for joining the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) or similar nonprofit organization working to improve crop production in impoverished countries.
The world's fertile soils will soon be pushed to their limits as human population growth becomes a formidable "resource vacuum," says Tancos, who was raised on a farm and learned early "how intricate and connected life is."

While environmentalism typically emphasizes protection of nature, Tancos says, "I believe protection of people should come first and agree with Indira Gandhi that 'poverty is the greatest environmental threat in the world.' Humans will attempt to survive by all means, which include poaching or clear-cutting forests in order to acquire new fertile soil and resources. Plant technology, however, offers one way to alleviate famine and its environmental consequences."

Instincts to lead

Although popularly perceived to be largely a reward for academic performance, the Rhodes Trust also establishes that candidates be adjudged for their "literary attainments" and "energy to use one's talents to the full" as well as their "truth, courage, devotion to duty . moral force of character and instincts to lead."

Only 32 American students are chosen each year as Rhodes Scholars. Notable past U.S. winners include former President Bill Clinton and his one-time senior counsel, now ABC News correspondent, George Stephanopoulos as well as singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, film director Terrence Malik ('Badlands," "The Thin Red Line"), feminist author Naomi Wolf and current Newark (N.J.) Mayor Cory Booker. From Indiana, current U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, a graduate of Denison University, earned his Rhodes Scholarship in 1954.

Today was a Long Day. . . And it's not even over yet!

2010-11-10T11:54:00.000-06:00

Something unthinkable happened to me on Monday: I got excited about a studio project. No, really. I was legitimately excited to design, develop, and create an idea for Seattle's waterfront. Likewise, my group members were equally jazzed about the project. You should have seen us: we had the trace paper outside, our pencils and pens scratched away, and I'm pretty sure there was some squealing.

Surprisingly, we were still excited about the project today. Then we had a crit, which is when professors come to your desk, look at your design, and tell you how to make it better. Our crit was. . . less than satisfying. Our professor brought up good ideas that we're going to look into more, but we never really got to talk about our ideas for the site. *sigh* I guess we'll just keep going as we're going, then try again on Friday.

In the meantime, the semester is picking up again. I've realized most of my projects are due in less than a month. Ick. I have a lot of work to do. But there is always a silver lining. Today's silver lining is multifaceted-- I really, genuinely love all my classes and really enjoy the work we're doing; I'm starting to get back into a "normal" pattern of activity here in Muncie (after being abroad last year); I'm beginning to look into graduate schools and other opportunities for next year; and I'm almost certainly graduating in May.

Something else that's been good: Students for Peace in Israel and Palestine has been picking up. We now have a mission statement AND our first event planned. Our mission statement is:

"Students for Peace in Israel and Palestine is dedicated to promoting peace, human rights, and equality in Israel and Palestine for all people, regardless of ideology, ethnicity, or religion. The Purpose of SPIP is to be an educational resource on Ball State's campus, encouraging understanding and promoting peace through public events and philanthropic endeavors."

Not bad, huh? Our first event is this Friday, 12 November, at 6:00 in AJ 175. We're screening Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. It's a really interesting movie about the ways Arabs are portrayed in the film industry. You should come!

Tonight is a panel discussion about Islamophobia at 6:30 in SC Ballroom. Be there, or be square. (BTW, I've never fully understood that expression. And it kind of sounds threatening for some reason. Huh.)

Congratulating Rhodes Scholarship Finalists by Day, Drag Show on the Weekend

2010-11-03T17:55:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's right. Ball State is the proud university of TWO Rhodes Scholar finalists. One of them happens to be a friend of mine, and we're all SO PROUD of her! Actually, we're proud of both of them--I work in the office that helps students find and apply for scholarships, so I can say firsthand that our two students are legit. I've never read their files--because that would be a gross invasion of privacy--but everyone speaks very highly of them, and--geez! They're flippin' Rhodes Finalists! So, congratulations and the very, VERY best of luck to both of you!!!

On to other news, Spectrum hosted a fund-raising drag show last weekend, so as a straight ally with an empty Saturday night, of course I went. : ) I also convinced a few of my roommates to go, and we had a great time of it. Here are some highlights:

Yeah, she's really singing.

And here are some drag kings representing.

This was just a fun performance.

I'm not sure if that's me singing along or not. As you can see, they're REALLY working the crowd. They were stellar.

Online Classes: The Final Verdict

2010-10-25T12:02:00.000-05:00

I mentioned ages ago that I took some online classes while I studied in Brazil last spring. Any Ball State student can take online classes, although Distance Education does charge an extra fee. I opted to take some online classes while I was in Brazil because I wanted to take a full course load, but I didn't want all my courses to be in Portuguese. Distance Education gives two online class options: 10-week courses, and 9-month courses. Both my classes (Geography 101 and History 413: Recent American History) were 9 months long. Well, I just finished my lass assignments, and here's what I think:

1. The pace of both my courses was pretty conducive to a hectic life style. Both classes were arranged to have only 2 assignments a month. However, I'm a procrastinator, so I completely put off doing my assignments until the last minute. That meant I had A LOT of work to do over the past two weeks, which kind of sucked. I should have taken the 10-week courses to be more crunched to finished them before this semester started. As it was, you reap what you sow.

2. Taking one of my core science credits online was probably wise. I hate labs, and online classes don't have labs. There was a lot of reading, but honestly, each assignment took less than an hour. I definitely didn't learn nearly as much as I would have had I taken the "real" course on campus, but the class is also one I don't necessarily need for my career. All classes are valuable, but some are occasionally *less* valuable. (I'm wincing as I write this because I'm trying to walk the line between being honest and not encouraging anyone to slack off in a class. . . which I DON'T support!)

3. My Recent American History class was fantastic. Probably one of the most interesting classes I've had. And I really, really like the professor who teaches it. Which sucks because it would have been even better as an on-campus course. Never again will I take a class I'm really interested in online. Never.

4. Some professors "get" the whole online class thing better than others. For example, my history professor gave us a combination of assignments and essays for the course, and each chapter came with a video of my professor sharing a historical "artifact," which we then had to write about. For never seeing my professor face-to-face, the class was really good. It was dynamic, interesting, and varied. Now, take that compared to my science class. Again, it wasn't my favorite topic to study, but the entire class consisted of reading chapter after chapter in a textbook (read: BOR-ring) and answering 30 multiple-choice questions about each one. So yeah, it wasn't the most intellectually challenging course I've had. BUT it was still a good class because it was easy. Some videos would have been nice though. Maybe some demonstrations of the experiments we're not getting since we don't have a lab. Just a thought.

5. Some professors are better at responding to emails than others. If you have a question about the course or are concerned about your grade, you can't necessarily count on the professor getting back to you. And in one sense, why should (s)he? You're taking the class online. Take campus courses if you want interaction.

So, FINAL VERDICT:

If on campus, I wouldn't take online classes; however, it was really convenient to get important course credit while I was abroad. The one exception I have is this: if there's a topic you really don't like--and it's a 100 or 200 level class--then I would consider taking the course online. At least then you don't have to sit through something you hate for three hours a week. An exception to the exception: if you're a procrastinator (like me), don't take online classes. You'll end up with a boat load of work all at once that you may or may not get done.

Rock Climbing/ My Parents are Awesome

2010-10-24T18:57:00.000-05:00

I just had a great weekend. My parents came to Ball State last Wednesday for an awards dinner, and they decided to stay until Saturday evening. While I regrettably had some homework, which kept me from spending as much time with them as I would have liked, we did have time together nearly every evening. We had a stellar time. Saturday was particularly exciting because I got to spend nearly the whole day with them. We went out for breakfast, walked around Minnetrista, and bought some goods from the farmer's market. Then we went to a sports bar and watched football. (Michigan State won! Yay!) After my dad's college team won (just barely), we went rock climbing on campus.

So, in case you're skimming and not really thinking about what you just read, read again: my totally awesome dad in his mid-fifties went ROCK CLIMBING with me on Ball State's campus. My mom was equally awesome and documented the whole thing. : )

There he goes!

I'm so proud he's my dad. I mean, really: how many dads would spend their weekend climbing walls with their daughter?

There I go! It had been a while since I'd been in the gym (silly homework), so it felt SO GOOD to be back on the wall.

The two of us together. We should have gotten a family shot with my mom, too.

This is his second time up. With just two times he was already improving.

See? Look at him go!

My second time up.

I mentioned in a post before school started how excited I was about the rock wall, and it has lived up to ALL of my expectations. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love climbing at Ball State. The staff is friendly and REALLY helpful, new routes are constantly being mapped, and it's free to climb! All you need is a Ball State ID.

CAP ANNUAL FIELD TRIP! TO BOSTON!

2010-10-17T17:41:00.000-05:00

Reasons I like my major: yearly field trip to awesome places. This year? Boston, Massachusetts (which might be the most difficult state to spell).

Ok, Boston in and of itself it super cool. It's one of the oldest cities in our country, tons of historical things have happened there, and it's surprisingly pretty and easy to walk around. Even when it rains for four days straight. Which it did. :/

Boston was also exciting for me in particular because I have several friends who live in the Boston area and who I don't get to see very often. I was able to meet up with two good friends I met while I was in Egypt a few summers ago. I was thrilled beyond belief I got to see them. :)

And so without further ado, enjoy the photographic evidence of my journey!

I like the white print on the window. Classy.

I also *love* copper. Especially when --everything-- else was brick.

We found many small doors.

Oops! Someone got a ticket!

I even like this vinyl siding just because it's different than the brick. Tackiness aside, the brick was boring.

Pizza box! No idea why it was on the car though.

This is an entrance to one of the coolest parking garages ever.

See? It even has shops on the ground floor to make it even more brilliant.

We passed this train station several times in our wanderings....

*This* is much more my preferred city. I love the canyon appearance. It's so grand, but also somehow intimate.

Gateway to Chinatown. We met the people who helped design this.

This water feature is just inside the gateway in Chinatown. I'm pretty sure it's symbolic of something, but I can't remember what.

I love the red poles that form cages around the bamboo screens.

We also take time to meet with firms while we're on field trip. This landscape architect took time to tell us about his firm and some of his projects. I really liked the style this firm had--very clean and simple.

Landscape architects also design cemeteries.... which isn't depressing at all. This photo was taken in the first LA-design cemetery in the U.S.

Still in the cemetery. This person wanted to be remembered with a giant sphinx. I just hope he or she was Egyptian.

The first of several photos I took of Sasaki's parking lot. I could have stayed in their parking lot for hours.

There were so many details.

I love how they used paving to mark the spaces.

The ginkgoes add so much character to this space. And I love the color against the gray.

Such a stylish entrance.

Again, fabulous paving patterns.

And you have to love the sleek benches.

They even pulled some of the landscape elements into the building.

Near the Christian Science Center.

The Christian Science Center

4-acre reflecting pool near the Christian Science Center

Get it? Get it? We're the tortoise and the hare! (I was having trouble using my foot to scratch my ear like the statue.)

Bioswales hold runoff water to give it a chance to sink into the ground. This bioswale is beautiful and on MIT's campus.

Looking at myself in a Frank Gehry building on MIT's campus. By the way, I liked MIT much more than I liked Harvard. Just saying.

My friend with her new walking, plastic nose.

Someone from the Travel Channel was filming at Salem while we were there. Ten points to whoever can tell me his name!

I have a relative who was hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. This is his memorial marker near the cemetery.

Apparently all the "witches" were put into a mass grave that has since been lost. So now each victim has one of these stone memorials instead of a tombstone.

The ship is technically less of a pirate ship and more of a merchant ship, but being a pirate was way more fun than being a merchant. :)

The Importance of Presentation. . .

2010-10-07T18:36:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm beginning to better understand what's going on here. When we were creating Students for Peace in Palestine we thought a lot about what topics the group would discuss and what we wouldn't. We talked about outreach programs and ways to begin a dialogue on campus about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We talked about information we knew and information we'd like to learn. We briefly talked about the name of our organization, chosen to affiliate us with the national organization.

We did not talk about what "Students for Justice in Palestine" would sound like to someone who knew nothing about our organization, nor did we discuss whether or not the name reflected our intentions or goals. As it turns out, presentation is everything (my design professors were right!). We began questioning our name just a few weeks after we created the group and decided to change it to "Students for Peace in Palestine." It sounds a bit less militant, if you will. I just got off the phone with my dad-- someone I regard as one of the wisest people I have access to-- and he brought to my attention that our name still doesn't convey who we are. In fact, one could read our name and assume we're pro-Palestine (and maybe by default anti-Israel). Perhaps "Students for Peace in Palestine and Israel" would be better? Maybe "Students for Better Understanding of Human Rights Violations in the Israel/Palestine Area"? I'm honestly not sure. Maybe we should simply join with a campus human rights group like the Social Justice League and create a sub-committee.

Be that as it may, we are a campus organization and the people who might be upset about our name have already heard our name. So maybe now it's a moot point. I'll admit, when I first heard the organization's name I was hesitant. I'm still not a member of the Facebook group just in case it bodes ill for a job application. I understand those who have initial reservations about Students for Peace in Palestine based solely on the name, I really do. In a perfect world we would all do independent investigation to learn motives and reasoning behind controversial subjects, but we don't live in a perfect world and few people have time to learn both sides to every issue.

From that [newly found] observation, it's a shame my organization didn't give our name more thought at the beginning. The importance of presentation cannot be questioned, and now we're dealing with some complications that *maybe* could have been avoided.

I'm still disappointed about the lecture though. And more determined than ever to find a solution that works.

So Disappointing. . .

2010-10-07T04:39:00.000-05:00

I'm so disappointed right now. I've been working really hard to get a lecture series going for Students for Peace in Palestine (formally Students for Justice in Palestine), and our first lecture was supposed to be tonight. However, it appears that our campus Jewish organization, Hillel, was making plans to "derail" the lecture. I don't know many details yet, but the lecture has been canceled until further notice.

Everyone has a right to free speech, so at blank value I don't mind that Hillel was going to protest our lecture; however, considering we're a brand-new organization that is concerned about violations of Palestinian rights as well as violations of Israeli rights, I think their decision was very much a knee-jerk reaction-- I wish they would have let us have our first lecture so they could see that we're NOT anti-Israel or anti-Jewish. We're pro-human. Maybe I can understand their fear, but I wish they hadn't decided to pre-judge us. Again, I'm sooooo disappointed.

So, if you're a member of the Hillel group or have been watching SPP with a wary eye, please understand that our group just wants to bring awareness that there are people--Jewish, Arab, Christian, and a host of other identities-- in the Israel/Palestinian region who are being denied their basic human rights. When we DO have our first lecture, I hope that you come, listen with an open mind, and bring your perspective to the discussion. Please consider joining the conversation we're trying to have on campus rather than stifling it.

Because the only way to promote peace is to promote understanding.

To learn more about Students for Peace in Palestine, read the Daily News article announcing our group.

Three Words: Human Hamster Ball

2010-09-27T10:29:00.000-05:00

I had a GREAT weekend. It began Thursday afternoon when I saw this after my last class:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="448" caption="The timeless way to lure students to your event."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="448" caption="Human Hamster Balls!"][/caption]

Intrigued for obvious reasons, I wandered around to find out more information. The University Program Board had arranged not only the human hamster balls, but also had provided free pizza and hot dogs, tie-dying, and make-your-own-frosted-cookies. UPB organizes a lot of fun activities throughout the year, such as the Friday Night Filmworks. After my delicious hot dog, I made my way back to the main attraction and found myself inside a clear, plastic beach ball.

After my frictionless adventure, I went to a Students for Justice in Palestine meeting. SJP is a new organization on campus (actually, we're having our "coming out" meeting this Thursday at the Scramble Light!). Despite the suggestive name, we focus on human rights issues in Israel and Palestine and try to stay out of political debates. It's been a good time so far with information sharing and meeting new people with similar interests. I'm sure I'll post more about the group in the future.

I went home Friday night to spend some time with my family and go shopping with my mom to find her a new dress. Going home is usually a treat, but this year promises to be more fun than usual-- nearly all my high school friends have graduated and are living either near my hometown or in Chicago. It's very convenient for visiting purposes. Actually, I just learned that my two best friends will be sharing a house in Chicago with two of our other friends. I'm incredibly jealous to say the least. Muncie's a fun place, but my two best girlfriends are holding down a place in Chicago without me. Grrrrrr.

I had a great time with my mom and dad when I was home. One nice thing about getting older is that you get significantly closer with your parents (at least I am). Then to finish up my weekend I visited my two cousins in Indianapolis. They both have babies, so it was fun to hold them and catch up with my cousins. My cousin Sarah is studying to be a beautician, and she trimmed up my bangs, which look fabulous (Sarah's so talented).

So yeah, great weekend. Now I'm getting ready for a hectic week. I have a Mitchell Scholarship deadline this week, and my studio is preparing for our field trip to Boston. I ate some rancid veggies today and am experiencing a sore throat and achy stomach as a result, so I'm basically taking it easy today and working on my online classes until I feel less food poisoned. In the meantime, I think it's raining again. Ick.

Living Lightly Fair

2010-09-21T07:11:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was a great example of why Muncie can be much more fun that you'd expect. On Saturday I went to the Living Lightly Fair at Minnetrista, which is just a ten minute bike ride from campus. My roommate and I got there in time for the weekly farmers market, where I bought some homemade tea (I drank the sage tea yesterday, and it was yummy). Then we saw all the vendors. I ended up buying a new scarf and a small bag to hold my phone. All around a good time. My biggest complaint was that there were far fewer food options this year after the farmers market ended. On the plus side, the local boy scouts had a hog roast at the fair grounds across the street, so we just went over there and delighted in our hearty barbecue pork, baked beans, homemade applesauce, and baked potatoes. They also had a rummage sale--nearly everything was $0.25! I bought a new skirt AND a black dress that will serve nicely as this year's Halloween costume (I'm going goth!), for a whopping total of fifty cents! I could pick up that much money from the streets! Naturally, I feel rather successful.

My Professors Know Everyone, Everywhere

2010-09-13T06:19:00.000-05:00

I'm *thrilled.* I'm applying for a Fulbright Grant to do a research project in Jordan after I graduate, but as a part of the application I need a "letter of affiliation" from an organization in Jordan that says they'll give me support. I've been trying to make contact with people from universities and organizations for about a month, but to no avail.

But today, everything changed. Have you heard of the Six Degrees of Separation? Well, it's true. As it turns out, the Chairperson for the Department of Urban Planning just returned from Jordan. To make my life more perfect, he also has contacts at the University of Jordan, which is where I'd like to study. So he's sending an email to his contacts today, and *hopefully* I'll hear back from them sometime this week.

Isn't that grand?! :)

Video: A Few Minutes in an Honors Science Class

2010-09-04T09:17:00.000-05:00

I'm finally taking Honors 296: Inquiries in the Physical Sciences. From what I gather, we'll be talking about the scientific discoveries from the past 400 years or so (since Newton basically), and figure out what it all means and how it relates to the collective "us." That in itself sounds pretty baller to me, but after the first class I can barely contain my optimism about this subject.

This is a few minutes of my professor on the first day talking about why math and science generally disinterests students:

And then my battery died. (Those who know me won't be surprised.)

After that segment, my professor then proceeds to scrawl "2+2=4" on the board while passionately questioning, "Why are we ever taught to believe this in grade school?" He then scribbles "50 lts oxygen + 50 lts hydrogen = 50 lts H2O" to make his point. He then says, "One drop of water plus one drop of water makes one, bigger drop of water."\

Yeah, I'm going to love this class.

Video: A Few Minutes in an Honors Science Class

2010-09-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

New Year, New Blog

2010-08-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, first thing's first: Don't you *love* the new blog host? It may look more or less the same to you, but I've been messing around with it for a few days and it can do neat things my old blog couldn't dream of. I mean, really, check out the categories on the right. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm thrilled. Look forward to all kinds of fun this year.

Speaking of this year, it STARTS on Monday! It's pretty surreal for me; it's my last year as an undergraduate (assuming everything goes according to plan). The new Student Recreation Center opened yesterday; I'm still in my hometown, but I'll be visiting the rock wall almost as soon as I get to Muncie. And believe me, I'll be blogging about it.

I have graduate schools and scholarships to apply for, tests and classes to take, speeches and theses to make, and some lingering online assignments to finally annihilate. I'm peer mentoring again, and I'm determined to take a zumba class. All in all, things are looking up-- busy, but up.

So here we go: Round five of college! Bring it on 2010/2011 school year!

Save Money on Books

2010-08-17T05:28:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm about to tell you a secret. A big secret. One I hope will help you save money. Here it is: How to get college textbooks for cheap.

Ok, so you have your textbook list, right? How about getting your textbooks for free? In that case, check Bracken Library and borrow the books that they have. They don't have it? Then get them through Interlibrary loan. This system allows Ball State students to browse other schools' libraries for the books they want. When they find what they need, the library will send the book to Ball State-- all for free! Honors College students have a leg up here since they can borrow library books for the entire year as opposed to a few weeks (Although Interlibrary loan items usually have a two week limit for everyone), but with some planning you'll be able to get all the information you need from a book in two weeks. And if not? Just check it out again.

Let's say that's a little too much planning and effort just to save a few bucks. In that case, try sharing books with classmates. This works really well for textbooks. Just split the cost of the book with a friend and share the book. It's also nice because you'll always have a study partner. At the end of the semester, sell the book to someone and split the proceeds.

Still want to buy your own books? That's ok, because the internet is full of deals. I just learned that amazon.com has a student offer-- free two-day shipping on books. Nice, huh? But before you buy, be sure to compare prices at half.com, textbooks.com, and on Facebook Marketplace. There are tons of other places to look, so ask around and get some recommendations.

And while you're asking, find someone who has already taken your class and ask to buy their old books. It's true local bookstores will buy back books at the end of the semester, but the price they pay is usually a joke. You can offer to pay more than the bookstore, but less than what the bookstore is reselling it for. That way, everyone wins (well, not the bookstore, but whatever).

And of course, if you're in a bind or running short on time, you can always purchase books the old-fashioned way at the bookstores around campus. A word of caution: have the book list BEFORE you go to the store; I've had a few occasions where the bookstore has insisted something is required for the class, but it really wasn't. If they're selling the books in a package and it includes items you don't have to have and don't want to buy (*cough*physicalfitnessclasses*cough*), ask them to sell you only the items you need. You do not HAVE to purchase those packages, so don't let them make you spend unnecessary money.

That's it! I hope it helps.

The Internet Brings People Together. . . and Apart

2010-08-01T07:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been back in the States for about two weeks now, and it's been great. But first let me talk about my trip back.

I knew it was going to be a long haul-- I had three stops and hours-long layovers in each location; however, something rather. . . unsettling. . . happened when I got to the airport in Porto Alegre that kept my mind busy for the first two legs of the trip. I was checking in my bags and trying to negotiate them all the way to Chicago (no luck) when a young man approached me and questioned, "Jessica Lee?" After a second I recognized him as one of the Brazilians who had friended me on Facebook-- I had accepted his friend request even though I didn't know him since we had some mutual friends in Brazil; however, after he started commenting on all my posts and our mutual "friend" told me she actually didn't know him that well, I felt uneasy about the situation and deleted him from my friends list.

So here I am speaking to this man for the first time. . . in the airport. As I'm leaving the country. Hmmmmmmm.

Naturally I asked, "What are you doing here?"

His response? "I'm going to Chicago!"

Oh, shoot. Chicago? Really??? Now my mind is racing. Why is he going to Chicago? Is he stalking me? Should I be worried? To his credit, he's a really friendly and charming guy in person. Had I met him at school or with some friends I would have liked him immediately. But that's not how I met him. I met him in the airport going to the same place as me. He approached me after creepily friending me and apparently stalking me on Facebook. And now we were at the airport. Could this guy be for real?

Of course, before I can ask any more questions that might help me figure out if I'm in any danger he says he needs to finish checking-in and that he'll find me later so we can talk. He hurries away and I immediately scurry to finish checking-in and find a place to lie low for a while. I had arrived pretty early to catch my flight, and this was a busy airport. I figured if I just hung out in a crowed place in some remote corner of the airport I would be safe and he would catch his plane and that would be the end of it.

Traveling can be dangerous, especially when you're moving from city to city. Whenever possible, it's a good idea to keep family and friends updated on where you are, who you've seen, and where you're going. Taking precautions may seem paranoid to some people, but I've always thought that I'd rather come off as paranoid or cautious than dead or missing. My problem was I was completely alone and didn't know anyone in the next city who I could meet, so there weren't many precautions I could take. I basically had 32 hours of travel in which I would be completely off the grid-- if something were to happen to me, no one would even suspect something was wrong for nearly two days.

Still, I had several things on my side. I was traveling by plane, so there were people everywhere. I'm a firm believer that if there are people around, then you are safe. Sure, someone might pick your pocket, but no one is about to kidnap you. Also, I knew the name of the person I was suspicious of. As I waited for my flight I sent a text message to my roommate in the States telling him that if I went missing he should tell the police to investigate this guy. Even if he were completely innocent, he'd seen me at the airport and could recognize me, so he'd be the best bet for an investigation.

Right before my flight, I quickly cleared security and got to my terminal. I didn't see the guy (let's call him George) anywhere, so I figured I was in the clear. I boarded the plane and settled in for the ride to São Paulo.

Once in São Paulo we got off the plane and into shuttles that took us to the terminal. My shuttle was very crowded, but I was in an elevated part of the bus and had a good view of everyone else. Which is why it was super easy for me to find George looking right at me, trying to make eye contact. As my heart raced I gave him a puzzled look that I hoped would communicate, "Why in God's name are you here on the shuttle with me?" He held up a finger as if to say, "Don't worry about it, I'll explain later." Ha, not if I could help it.

Once in the terminal, I rushed to get into a crowed place. I took a turn that led me away from the terminal I was supposed to be at. I found a crowded restaurant, sat down, changed my shirt, put my hair up, and waited.

I feel compelled to remind you again that had I met him in other circumstances I wouldn't have been so jittery. I've just read so many stories about kidnapped Americans or people who trusted strangers and things turned out badly. I know these occurrences are few and far between, but at the same time I really didn't want to be a statistic. I've done plenty of dangerous things while I travel, including sleeping in bus terminals or even just sleeping in the street. I've gone home with strangers and hitchhiked on the rare occasion. While I don't recommend that travelers do this as a rule, my gut always told me things would be fine in those situations. And they were. Some of my best memories are when I let myself do something risky and got to know new sides of the country I'd been traveling in.

But here I was in São Paulo, and my gut was telling me to be as cautious as possible. I wasn't convinced that George had bad intentions, but I wasn't convinced I could trust him either. I tried to think if I'd posted anything on the internet that would give him access to my flight information, and I couldn't think of anything. I have extremely tight security settings on my Facebook profile, and I don't even have my full name on there (though it's not difficult to figure out since I have this blog). All the same, I couldn't think of a single thing George would have access to that would tell him about my flight information. Heck, my flight schedule hadn't even been finalized until the day before I left. This information helped me calm down, though I stayed in the restaurant until the last minute.

After a few hours I got on my next plane. I didn't see George again. He did send me a Facebook message a few days later explaining that he was in Chicago for a conference, so I guess the flight thing was a coincidence. I suppose I believe him. After all, we had only one flight together, and he did let me keep my space. All the same, I was one freaked-out traveler for a while.

Ta, Beijos, Tchau

2010-07-11T07:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, I leave Brazil tomorrow. Yay! We finished our semester strong. Yay! I have 32 hours of travel ahead of me. Ya--. . .wait, that's not cool. *Sigh*

As promised, here's the project that I really like from this semester. Each image is linked to a higher-quality image in case you want to see anything in better detail. I'll save the semester summary for when I'm home. :)

Enjoy!

Pode Ser. . .

2010-07-06T05:23:00.000-05:00

I recently finished the class I was having problems in. As it happens, things turned out ok. My partner and I passed, which is a huge relief after receiving a C+, C, and an E on our project. We ended up with an A-. No, I don't understand either. And no, I'm not going to question it.

I thought I'd post our finished project on here so you can see what a landscape architecture project looks like in Brazil. To be honest, I'm neither proud nor pleased with the design, but it's what the professors wanted. Soon I'll post my favela project. . . I'm pretty excited about that one.

OMG THIS IS SO COOL!!!!

2010-06-29T14:46:00.000-05:00

So I was trying to find some more information about Ball State's new Irving Gym, which should open this August. Specifically, I wanted to learn about the rock wall. I learned to climb while I was in Mexico, and it would be nice to start climbing again; however, I'm a horrible climber and very weak, so I'm wondering if there will be classes offered to low-level climbers like me. Anyway, as I was looking for images and information, I found this. Basically, there's going to be a whole section of the new recreation complex devoted to helping students enjoy the outdoors. I can't imagine anything more fabulous. There will even be organized trips and fun activities to take students biking, rafting, and climbing. Wild.

Also, check this video out. It's a "fly-through" of the new facility. AHHH!!! I'm so excited! (If I don't exercise a LOT this year, some one PLEASE call me out on it!)

He calls it "bufniţă," but I preferred "cursed"

2010-06-28T09:13:00.000-05:00

Sometime earlier in the semester, my roommate and some of his friends watched a scary American movie with Portuguese subtitles with the occasional Romanian word. For some reason the translators chose to use the Romanian word "bufniţă," which referred to the movie's evil spirit or demon. Since then my roommate has attributed anything that goes wrong in Brazil to the bufniţă that apparently lives in our apartment.

While I wasn't there watching the movie, since I've moved into the apartment the bufniţă has shown its cruel face on many occasions. At first I ignored his insistence that there was an evil spirit in our midst, but now too many uncanny things have happened for me to continue ignoring the bufniţă.

For starters, everything breaks. Everything. The glasses broke, the shower broke, the lights broke, the windows broke. . . You get my drift. And when something breaks, it tends to have lethal implications. For example, this is the note my roommate left me after the shower broke one morning:

Why electrocution? He wrote this for me after trying to shower and seeing sparks. Because our building doesn't have a water heater, the only place in our apartment with hot water (namely, the shower) needs to have electricity flowing around the water to warm it up. *Our* electric shower heater has exposed metal wires and fun stuff like that. Did I mention the standard voltage here ranges anywhere between 140-200? I recently read 100 volts is enough to kill some people. So. . . yeah. Bufniţă. We didn't shower in the house for about a week. Even after that we were nervous. Heck, I'm still nervous.

(And a really quick aside to anyone who may be developing electric water heaters. Give the user more heat options than "summer," "winter," and "none." Now that the weather is cold, we're avoiding the shower for two reasons: the risk of electrocution and the fact that the water rarely gets above 65 degrees.)

Other bufniţă stories include turning on lights and watching them smoke (after not even having lights for a few months), things disappearing, and windows that just won't close; however, the bufniţă extends its reach beyond our home life. I've had my flight home changed three times, each time giving me a mind-achingly longer layover in the murder capital of Brazil. My roommate just found out he may not get into graduate school because his GRE scores arrived the day after he sent his application. And even then it was three weeks after they were supposed to be here. Not to mention endless headaches we've been having in one of our classes. The bufniţă just won't quit until either we're permanently stuck in Brazil, or dead (which I suppose could permanently keep us in Brazil as well).

After some thought about the situation, I think someone put a Santeria or Candomblé curse on us. We've been seeing signs of the religions around town, mostly in the form of chickens heads and bodies on the odd street corner.

The person living here before me had a bad breakup, and I wouldn't put it past the injured party to pay for someone to curse this apartment in revenge. Maybe a long stretch, but it's actually the scenario that makes the most sense to me at this point.

. . . And the Wisdom to Know the Difference.

2010-06-22T06:37:00.000-05:00

God grant me the
serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living
one day
at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold
Niebuhr

I'm not exactly a religious person, but sometimes the religious thinkers say it best. I've had something come up at school that I find offensive and unprofessional, and I was trying to change it; however, after many roads have been blocked and losing my last asset to what I see as university politics, I think it's time to accept that I cannot and will not be able to do anything about the situation. It's time to move on, try to enjoy what time I have left here, and shake the dust of Brazil from my feet when I leave. So goes life, and I suppose now is as good a time as any to learn how to accept injustice in one's life.

So I offer this to whoever reads my blog: Sometimes the cause you're fighting for is completely worth it, but even so it's possible to remain powerless. Do as the disciples did and put the situation and the people from your mind. Just move on to the next thing.

(But if you can make a difference, do!)

Festa da Comida Internacional

2010-06-21T12:55:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are all the fun details of my international food party!!!

As far as a party goes, it was pretty typical: friends came, ate, we had fun, and felt happy at the end of the night. We had it on the roof, and even though it was raining, we stayed under the covered part and were pretty comfortable. I think the photos really tell the story better than I can. What the photos don't tell you is that partway trough the night I accidentally locked my keys in my apartment (oops!). I had a good time with a couple friends trying to break into the apartment. It took us about an hour, but eventually my neighbor and my friend Bernardo were able to remove my doorknob with a screwdriver and turn the interior knob though the door to open the door. Yay! Things I learned that evening:

1. Always check to be sure you have your keys when leaving the apartment. Especially if there are no spares.

2. When faced with a locked door, most young adults will first try anything they've seen work in movies before calling a locksmith. (True story, after we'd tried credit cards, plastic bottles, hairpins, and the like, my Spanish friend said, "Wait, you're American. Just shoot your way through!" It was hilarious.)

3. Brazilians want you to wear shoes. Always.

Enjoy the photos!

Making Japanese soup.

Oh yeah, mad chopstick skills.

Gals from my landscape class showing off the pão de quiejo.

Japanese soup and negrinho!

Why does the Mexican have pancakes and the Japanese gal have apple pie?

I swear this is an exact quote from my Brazilian friend, "Oh, my God! American Pie! Like the movie! Quick, take a picture!"

Guacomole with tortillas and apple pie, but not together. :S

Nearly the full spread.

Spanish omelet. . . I had only a small piece and it was soooooooooooooo good. I want more. Now even.

Brazilian food: cheese-based quiche (left) and pão de queijo (right), which happens to be my favorite Brazilian food.

Close-up of pão de queijo.

Translated, this is called something like "little balls of rain." It was like elephant ear bites. *Yum!*

Pancakes with cinnamon. (Writing this post is making me hungry.)

Spanish omelet before we devoured the whole thing.

Negrinho-- I'm not really sure what it is other than some form of chocolate covered with sprinkles.

Cousins.

Guacomole (Mexico)

Tortillas (Mexico)

Having a good time. I was probably downstairs trying to break into my apartment.

Japanese soup. Really, the Japanese have very good food.

Maybe pão de quiejo?

Brazilians!

My neighbor and her boyfriend. These two people have been the best, most helpful people in Porto Alegre. Everyone send them happy thoughts and wishes for good luck and prosperity in life. No, really, stop reading and send positive thoughts their way.

I'm pretty sure she's scolding me for not wearing shoes. Brazilians really like shoes.

Teehee. Everyone's mouth is full.

Towards the end of the night-- notice how nearly all the food is gone.

Freshman Packing List

2010-06-15T05:52:00.000-05:00

It seems like nearly all the high schools are wrapping up their graduation ceremonies, which means Ball State’s new class is officially done with high school and ready for college! Yay! My friends back at home have informed me that Ball State’s freshman orientation has officially started, too. Double Yay!

I spent my summer before college working and planning. My favorite thing to plan? What should I bring to school??? If you’re reading this and wondering the same thing, have no fears. It’s easier than you think.

I brought a lot of stuff with me to college on my first day. No, really—A LOT. We actually rented a small U-Hall to help. We have an SUV. So. . . yeah. Some might call my over-packing a mistake. At the time I would have called it being prepared. Now I call it a learning experience. Did I really need all my stuff? No, not really. Was I frequently comforted by familiar things in an unfamiliar environment? Yes, absolutely. So, rather than tell you to take a minimalist approach for this one, I offer more comprehensive advice.

1. DO remember the
necessities. You can forget
everything else, but remember these things:

a. Prescription medications w/
the prescription (for refills)

b. Glasses/contacts

c. Basic toolbox (with hammer,
screwdrivers, etc.)

d. An umbrella (Really, bring one. It rains a lot.)

e. Anything else you use every
day that you can’t buy in the store

Have those in your bag? Good. Now as for toiletries, you might be surprised to learn that Muncie has a Walmart, Target, Meijer, and several other stores well equipped to supply you with many things. So,

2. To make the first
few days easier but still have room in the car for more interesting possessions,
pack. . .

a. a toothbrush

b. enough shampoo/conditioner/lotion/toothpaste
to last for two weeks (I find the airport 3 oz. bottles work nicely for this)

Why for only two weeks? That’s about how much time you’ll need to get settled in and learn how to take the bus to Walmart to buy bigger bottles. Also, you end up saving some room in your luggage, which is all too nice when what you’re really interested to pack are...

3. Things that feel
familiar to you. . .

a. Bring a picture of your
family and/or people who are important to you

b. At least one item from your
bed at home (pillow, blanket, etc.)

c. At least one decorative
item from your room (lamp, candle, photo, etc)

These are the things you’ll find yourself staring at during the first semester, partly because you’ll miss them and partly because they’ll bring back happy memories. Try to stick to just a few items though, because. . .

4. Bring something
completely new

This could be a new bedspread, sheet set (most residence halls have twin extra-long mattresses. . . normal twin won’t fit!!!), pillow, blanket, art. . . really whatever you want. The idea is you’re moving to a new place, and while you’ll want to feel
at home (which is why you’re bringing stuff from your old room), you’ll also
want to give your new place an identity of its own. Having a roommate helps this since you’ll have to mesh your and his/her things together, but it’s nice to have something new for yourself.

The rest is up to you, but here are my suggestions:

5. On clothes: bring all your fall clothes that you’d
normally wear, plus two summer and two winter outfits. Over fall or Thanksgiving break, switch your
fall clothes for winter clothes, leaving two fall outfits. Bring one formal outfit and a towel. Recap:

a. Fall wardrobe (including
light jacket and shoes)

b. Two summer outfits

c. Two winter outfits

d. One formal outfit

e. Towel

6. Things you might not normally think of:

a. Shower shoes/flip-flops to
protect your feet

b. Shower caddy to haul your
stuff around

c. Bathrobe to walk around in (knee
length is good b/c it will keep you covered but won’t drag on the floor and get gross or wet)

7. On bedding: As already mentioned, beds are twin extra
long—make sure your bottom sheet fits! I recommend two pairs of sheets simply because it’s easier to have a clean bed while one is being washed. Remember—your bed will also be your couch, homework space, lounge space, and social space. Making it comfortable is important. I found a *great* deal at Bed, Bath, & Beyond on a down mattress topper—I bought it for around $20. It’s my favorite thing I brought to
school. Seriously. My absolute favorite thing. My bed was/is heaven. Talk to your roommate about temperature—do they like it warm or hot in the room?
Let that conversation help you decide how many blankets you need. Recap:

a. Twin Extra Long sheet set
(two?)

b. Comfort-related items
(pillows, toppers, comforters. . . decide what you need and go for it, but you definitely don’t need all of it for a great bed.)

c. One or two blankets

8. On shared items: Most roommates coordinate who’s bringing
certain “big” things. Try to be sure one of you is bringing these items:

a. Microwave

b. Mini-fridge

c. Couch/futon/chair
(something to sit on that’s not your bed; this aids in making friends since people have a place to chill in your room.)

9. Still have space? How about some luxury items:

a. Small bookshelf (I’m an avid reader) with favorite books

b. Marker board (for the door... we use them a lot to communicate for some reason)

c. Musical instruments
(guitar, harmonica, flute. . . whatever gives you a thrill)

d. Rugs (sometimes you can get
these after you arrive for REALLY cheap)

e. A floor or hanging lamp;
most rooms have florescent lights. It’s
like being in a fish bowl. Give yourself
the calming effects of incandescent. I
had a cheap Chinese paper lantern hanging from my bed, which was lofted. Actually, I still use that lantern.

10. Things to get AFTER
you arrive and unpack

a. Shampoo, conditioner, etc.

b. Food

c. The little things you forgot or didn’t know you’d need or saw in someone else’s room and coveted

d. School supplies

e. Curtain with rod/hanging mechanism; once you get settled in you’ll know if it’s possible to section off a private space with a curtain. It’s
easiest in Johnson Complex because of Z-shaped rooms, but any bunked bed can become private. Remember: you can’t hang
anything from the ceiling!

11. And my final
tip? If you’re not sure if you should
bring something, pack it. You can
always take it back over fall break if you don’t need it, and if you did need
it, well, then you have it. :) Remember, you'll be living here for the majority of the year (nearly 10 months of the year!), so make it your home.

Just to Tease You for What's to Come. . .

2010-06-09T07:20:00.000-05:00

Posts coming soon about: international food party with my friends; my two school projects; life events; and probably some random musings thrown in for flavor.

I've been working diligently on my school projects, and they've been top priority for a while. I'm hoping to submit one to the Open Architecture Network. But soon, I promise, I'll give you all the lovely, gritty details.

Oh yeah, be excited.

A Brief Episode

2010-05-29T06:58:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I really lament that I'm not completely fluent in Portuguese. Like today, for example.

I'm planning a party where my friends from all over the world are making food from their countries and bringing it to my place. It should be fun. I'm going to *try* to make apple pie and pancakes.

So I'm at the grocery store, and I get in the shortest checkout lane, which is what I would have done in the States and have been doing here since February. After a few minutes, a woman comes up, glances at me, and cuts me. Puzzled, I casually step back to my place in line-- Maybe she just wanted to get out of traffic? We do this dance a few times, when suddenly she starts yelling at me in Portuguese and pointing at a sign above the register. She's speaking entirely too fast for me to understand, so I calmly say, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Portuguese very well, I can't understand you." This just inflames her more and makes her point even more earnestly at the sign, the sign that is composed entirely of words I don't know. At this point, all I know is she's angry and she feels the sign in some way justifies that she be in front of me. Still clueless as to why, I just gave up and said, "Ok, I don't understand anything you're saying. Just tell me where to go."

What I really wish I could have said is, "I don't understand you or the sign. I just want to buy my apples, go home, and make a pie. I'm tired. I'm tired of people like you assuming I'm trying get one over you, especially in petty situations like the grocery store line. I'm tired of trying to be a 'good American' by constantly trying to use your language and accepting your norms. My fourth language is Portuguese, so forgive me if I don't speak it perfectly yet after just three months of not even studying it, just trying to pick it up in my classes and in the streets. How many languages do you speak? Have you ever made a mistake in a foreign country and been publicly yelled at? Do you know how it feels? Would it have killed you to show some compassion on a lonely, lost American girl? No, no it wouldn't. Shame on you and how you're treating me. It's not acceptable. Even here."

Instead I silently moved to a different line.

Iguaçu Falls

2010-05-15T11:36:00.000-05:00

First, I want to set the scene for where I'm writing from, because it's perfect.

I'm on my building's roof, the sun is just setting, and the sky is all kinds of purples, peaches, and most recently magentas. I can hear the soft sounds of traffic coming up from stories below, and my iTunes is softly playing the Dave Matthews Live in Central Park CD. My laundry sways gently in the breeze where I've hung it, and the soft aroma of my laundry detergent floats in the air. I'm sitting at a picnic table, and I've been enjoying this space since early afternoon. I'm up hear with only the plants and the other rooftops for company. Actually, here're a few pictures to give you an even better idea.

The little nook with plants.

Looking down the street I live on.

Same view, several minutes later.

*****

Ok, now that that's taken care of, I'll begin my post. Last weekend I met a friend at Iguaçu Falls. We stayed on the Argentine side of the falls, and it was heavenly. The town we stayed in was sleepy and relaxing. We spent every night strolling the streets, looking in shops, and chilling in cafes. We spent the first day getting to know the town and just detoxing from
city life (she's been living in Buenos Aires).

Things you would never see on an American flight: The cabin door is wide open. And was the entire flight.

My first official view of the falls. The lines are from my plane's propellers. Yeah: It had propellers.

Unpacking in the hostel.

Coffee and cheesecake!

*****

The following day was spent in the national park. We saw wildlife, the waterfalls, and the rain forest. We even took a boat ride "under" the waterfalls to get to know them more intimately. And yes, we were soaked.

No fear of people. None.

Pretty.

And big.

And watery.

With rainbows.

And colors.

Did I mention it was pretty?

Like, really pretty.

That's the boat we went on.

Us after the boat. :-)

Giant spider we saw while hiking.

Toucan we saw while hiking. Actually, we heard it first. Then saw it.

*****

The following day we decided to try to find some Jesuit ruins a taxi driver had told my friend about, but the bus ticket lady misunderstood and sent us to the Mines of Wanda instead. While we were quite confused when we got off the bus, the mix-up turned out to be fantastic-- we couldn't have planned a better day. Besides, when we got back to the hostel, we were informed the ruins would have been a five-hour bus ride away. Definitely the best mistake ever.

What we saw when we got off the bus.

Confused-- Where are the ruins?

Oh! A creek!

Ooooh. . . MINES! And here's the entrance. Fancy.

And getting fancier.

Amethysts as big as your head? What?

Our guide told us to put our hands on the stone for three minutes for three wishes.

That's right, they have so many precious stones laying around, they literally walk on them.

*****

Our last day took us to the "Casa de los Aves," which is a rehabilitation center for injured wildlife, especially birds. Once again Mother Nature wowed us with wild monkeys, parrots, toucans, anteaters, and many more creatures.

Parrots are bigger than I thought. . .

See?

Toucan!

Not sure, but he looked angry.

I love how they look like people. Or maybe people look like them? Hmmmm.

Dunno what these are called, but I want one.

Red turtles. So cool.

They put birds they're about to release outside like this so they can get used to not being in a cage. It's also nice for them since they don't have to be in a cage.

So neat.

Looks angry, but I bet he's a softy inside.

Not sure if these are rehab fish, decoration or food for. . .

this guy.

Strange *cough* I mean, Argentine small deer-like creature.

See? I WAS there. With my backpack and all.

The spider bite I had at the end of the day.

*****

After our tour, I high-tailed it back to Brazil just in time for my flight home. On a plane that looked like this.

See? I told you it had propellers!

Everyone Graduated. And here am I.

2010-05-14T17:59:00.000-05:00

Everyone Graduated. And here am I.

That basically sums up how I've been feeling. Nearly all of my friends are on to the next thing, whatever it happens to be. For some of them, it's marriage and a job. For some it's graduate school. But most don't have a clue what's next. I'm not there yet since I have another year, but watching my friends now is giving me a terrifying glimpse into what's ahead. I don't want to get married or have a job. I could be ok with graduate school, but I was hoping to get some "life experience" first, whatever that means. I'm finally entering that part of my life that's completely unknown. Until now, everything has more or less been planned for me. School, more school, and university-- these are all things my parents chose for me to do. I had little choice in the matter.

And now here I am, on the brink of having a choice. And I don't have a clue what's next. Watching my friends graduate and move on both encourages me and saddens me. I'm encouraged because I get an extra year to get my ducks in a row. But I'm saddened because I know I won't see these people anymore. They'll have families and responsibilities soon. Not to mention it's not likely I'll magically figure my stuff out with my extra year. I feel like I'll always be wandering at least a little. So I guess overall I'm sad now that my friends have graduated. I'm growing up; but being a kid is so much easier. Can you blame me for wanting to resist?

"Merdalândia"

2010-04-28T08:15:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure PUCRS hates it's students. At the least it doesn't trust them.

Today is an absolutely stunning day-- the sun is shining (for once), and the temperature is perfect for doing work outside. But, alas, this is strike one for PUCRS, there are no outlets outside, which means students can't work outside longer than their computer batteries will last, which for me is about 25 minutes. Resigned to the fact that my initial wish is impossible here, I decided to work inside, but near a window, maybe even an open window. Of course, that too is too ridiculous to ask for; I don't know of a single building on campus with a student lounge that has tables, chairs, and outlets together. I could have used a classroom, but I would have to leave as soon as the class came. Utterly ridiculous.

Finally, I decided I would just work in the library. It's not my favorite choice-- I had entered the library only once before, and it hadn't been exactly a pleasant experience. No open windows there, but at least there would be electricity and work spaces; heck, maybe they would even be together.

I'm writing from the library right now, and to get here was like
entering a war zone. First I had to swipe my student ID to enter, then I passed through some scanners (presumably scanning for books, but who really knows?). Then I passed through ANOTHER set of scanners so I could lock my bag in a locker, because, you know, who would need their things while doing homework in the library? I clumsily gathered my computer, cord, mouse, sketchbook, notebook, and some pencils into my arms but was promptly told to turn around and take my computer out of its protective case-- absolutely nothing that closes is allowed beyond the entrance. Already frustrated, I obliged and regathered my things into my arms, but this time I was increasingly nervous I would drop something important or that I had forgotten something I might need. Then I passed through a THIRD SET OF SCANNERS to come upstairs. Once at the second floor, I passed through a FOURTH SET OF SCANNERS to enter the area with books and work spaces. Seriously PUCRS? Four sets of scanners, an ID check, plus security guards at the entrances and I can't even bring my laptop cover up here? Either your books are the most precious collection in Porto Alegre and it's your job to protect them from your evil students, or you have serious trust issues, both in people and technology. I have an exchange student friend who has started calling campus "merdalândia." "Merda" means "shit" in Portuguese. . . . Really, I can't blame him.

In any case, now I'm here, and I luckily found an outlet near a window. At least that much was successful. A big fail, however, is the lack of desks and chairs near windows. I've settled for a semi-comfortable chair near a window and an outlet, but no desk. Thank goodness laptops were invented. At least I can get some work done now.

Things I miss about Ball State

2010-04-20T06:06:00.000-05:00

Now that my Brazilian classes are in full swing, I'm really beginning to realize what a great university Ball State is. So, I've compiled a list of things I miss about Ball State.

1. Laser Cutters! In the College of Architecture and Planning, we do occasionally make models, but we have these fabulous laser cutters that make the process so much easier and professional looking. Ball State students have the tools they need to make professional quality models and presentations, which brings me to my next point. . .

2. Plotters! Ball State has several plotters, used for printing poster-sized project presentations, scattered around campus, but the College of Architecture and Planning has several in its building for student convenience. And they are of high quality to boot.

3. The CRC (and other easily accessible supplies stores)! I know of one place where I can buy supplies for class here at PUCRS. Yes, it's located on campus (in another building), but it's crazy expensive and doesn't have everything I need. I've been asking around, and there don't seem to be any supplies stores within 30 minutes of PUCRS. Compare that to Ball State-- we have the CRC supply store in the basement of the College of Architecture and Planning, PLUS we have supplies in the bookstore, in the village, and can even go to Hobby Lobby. True, design supplies are never cheap, but at least we have options and can shop around for the best deal.

4. Convenience Hours! At Ball State the library is open everyday, all day, and well into the night. Additionally, students have access to their buildings 24/7. Also, during finals week most buildings go on special schedules to be open longer to students. So, if you need a resource on campus, it's likely available to you at any hour of the day and most of the night. At PUCRS, everything closes for two hours during the day for lunch. And it happens to be the same two hours my partner and I are available to work, which we can't do until later.

5. Ample vegetarian meal options in the dining halls! Dining services at Ball State offer a variety of meals (including vegetarian options). While special diets are never quite as easy to maintain as the more standard diet, I do think Ball State does a good job of offering enough variety to make it possible.

6. Outdoor seating areas with outlets and wifi! At Ball State, I can use my computer anywhere outside. Not only do we have wireless access anywhere on campus, but there are plenty of outdoor outlets available if your battery starts to run low. So when the weather is nice, you'll see many students relaxing in the grass while doing their homework (or checking facebook). :-)

7. Indoor seating areas with outlets and wifi! Likewise, every building has at least one lounge area with wireless and outlets. Most have several places to relax and work, making it easy to find an unoccupied space for your studies.

8. Individual Studio desks! I always knew I was spoiled by having my very own studio desk in college, but now that I've had the luxury, it's really difficult to do without it. It's so incredibly convenient to have a space you can call your own, where you can keep your design supplies, drawings, and models. Plus, there's an added benefit because you always know where to go when looking for classmates who are working on the same project. Thanks to the studio desks, the architecture students have a very strong camaraderie that I think the other colleges don't have as much of-- we spend all day and night in a studio together working on projects and goofing around. I like that I know nearly everyone in my college at least by face, and I think that's mainly due to all of us having our own space in the architecture building to work in.

9. Studio-style classes! Perhaps the scariest thing about studying architecture are the required studio classes, which are twelve hours a week every semester (with one exception for landscape architects); HOWEVER, they are by far the most instructive classes I've had. Studio is the place where theory meets reality, and it's so convenient to have professors moving around studio criticizing your designs, fellow students frantically trying to get work done, and those who have a loss for ideas roaming around checking out their peer's work. I don't know of another situation that would yield better design results or learning.

10. Free public transportation! This may seem trivial, but having access to free public transportation in Muncie really is quite wonderful. The transportation system is so effective that I went completely without a car for three years in Muncie. Heck, last semester when I DID have a car in Muncie, I barely used it in favor of my bike and the bus (at least until it got REALLY cold and my roommates and I worked out a car-pooling system, but that is mainly due to living off-campus away from the bus route). Point is, I use the bus in Muncie to get nearly everywhere I need to go in Muncie-- shopping, volunteering, downtown, and around campus. And it's all FREE! Who could ask for more?

11. Free Exercise Facilities! Ball State lets all students use the gym for free and each residence hall has an exercise room available to it's residents. Now, I don't know how much you know about human health, but exercise is pretty important to just about everything. Getting it for free is amazing, and I miss it (even if I don't use it as often as I should!).

Now, are all these things absolutely necessary to the learning process? Maybe not. But now that I'm learning at a highly-respected university that doesn't have these ten conveniences, I'm really appreciating how much easier my life is with them.

A Much Needed Long Weekend

2010-04-20T05:15:00.000-05:00

Anyone who read my last post may have guessed that I really needed to get out of the city. Well, I did! :-) And unlike my spring break experience, this time everything went really well.

I spent last weekend in Florianopolis, or "Floripa" to locals. It's on an island with 47 beaches. Now, I've been craving to go to the beach since I arrived here, which was two months ago. I can't even tell you how excited I was to be at the beach, enjoying nature, and in general just relaxing. So, with no further ado, this is what my weekend looked like:

Boarded a bus Thursday night for an overnight drive to Floripa, arrived just as the sun was rising. Went to hostel, changed clothes, went to the beach. Slept on the beach, talked with friends, ate, climbed rocks, and enjoyed the view. Went back to hostel, ate dinner with a bunch of backpackers, enjoyed meeting new people, went out to the bars, came home, slept. Then I did it all again on Saturday and again on Sunday. Then I boarded a bus Sunday night for my trip home. Fabulous.

And this time I remembered to charge my camera's battery!

Walking down the street to our hostel, Tucano House. It boasts being the best hostel in Brazil. It is.

View of the beach from some rocks we climbed.

That's my "my mind is blown" face.

Guy surfing in front of the rocks we were on in the first two photos.

This is what most of my weekend looked like.

Group photo! Represented are France, Mexico, and one finally-happy American.

"I'm on a boat"

My feet at the beach. On my right ankle you can see the enormous bug bite I got this weekend. It really hurt; one friend suggested it was from a bed bug in the hammock I had been chilling in. Ick. (Don't worry, Mom. My doctor friends said not to worry about it.)

A surfer busting out some yoga before diving in.

A different beach we went too. This one was even more beautiful.

I want one at my house.

I'm so happy to be at the beach!

And finally, some "Engrish" for you to enjoy!

Some weeks are more stressful than others. . . Guess what kind of week I had!

2010-04-15T12:10:00.000-05:00

This was a big week. I had projects due, models to build, and the REALLY BIG task of finding and moving to a new apartment. Not to mention packing. Oh, packing, what a hate-hate relationship we must share. . . . I'm only halfway through my trip, and I'm already panicking about how I'm going to get all my stuff back to the States. Packing to move across the city was such a pain-- I hate packing anyway, but it was far worse when I realized I am already maxing-out my luggage space. I'll have to find a cool bag somewhere to have enough space to get my things home. Crud.

So while I was looking for a place to live last weekend and worrying about getting my projects finished, I received an email from Expedia that my flights have changed. They said I won't be able to know the changes until I call; however, I didn't have a phone. So I buy some Skype credit and make the call. But of course I end up talking to a computer, and it's one of those voice-activated ones to boot. And of course it can't understand me because it hears the ample traffic screeching just outside my window. After about five minutes of trying to say "existing itinerary" in between va-rooms, I just hung up. So add that to the stress list. :-)

Now that the week is winding up, some things have improved. For starters I'm officially in my new apartment. I'll be sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the living room for the next week, but it's already a huge improvement in other ways. For starters, the rent is a mere $150 (ish), compared to the lavish $550 (ish) of my former place. But my personal favorite part? There are absolutely, completely, positively NO BARS ON THE WINDOWS!!!!! *Sigh* Happiness.

Now, if all goes well I will hopefully be on a bus to Florianopolis later on tonight. If successful, I will get to be on the beach soon. That's a big if though; the bus leaves in a few hours, and I have no idea if I even have a ticket. I suppose Stress will be my companion for at least a while longer. . . .

Uruguay. . . I'm a Guay!

2010-04-11T08:31:00.000-05:00

Mission: Spring break 2010. In Uruguay.

Spring break isn't a week long like it is in the US-- we get just Thursday and Friday off.
So really, it's a lot more like fall break, which makes sense since it's fall here. All the same, I prefer the week. :-)

The thing about spring break is that everyone has time off, so everyone
is traveling that weekend. Kind of like Thanksgiving. So when I wanted
to go to Montevideo, Uruguay, and figured I'd just buy the tickets the
day I wanted to leave, I was S.O.L.; every ticket to Montevideo from
Porto Alegre was sold. Lesson learned: when traveling in Brazil, just
buy your tickets in advance.

I ended up traveling with a tour group , which is something I'm not likely to do ever again. (I say that every time, but emergencies do come up. . . ) We were set to leave at
10 Thursday evening, but since it's Brazil and all we didn't actually leave until about 1 am. We were supposed to arrive in Montevideo around 9 in the morning, but since the driver decided to pull over so he could sleep we didn't actually arrive until 5 in the evening. Are you beginning to see the trend?

I had wanted to go to Montevideo and then Punta del Este, but the group just went straight to Punta. I'm actually glad about that. Punta was beautiful, even though it was a little chilly and very windy, which meant not so much fun on the beach, but really nice for walking around and getting to know the city. Also, I made plans to meet an American friend there, which I did.

Even though it wasn't my favorite vacation, I did end up having a lot of fun. Here are some random musings about my trip:

Our hotel was supposed to have an "amazing" breakfast. Seriously, everyone and their brother talked about how great this breakfast was going to be. So much in fact that my friends and I decided not to go to sleep after a night out just to make sure we got some. And you know what? It was cereal, yogurt, croissants, and cheese. Damn you, American continental breakfasts, for giving me high expectations!

*****

The one nice thing about being on a bus for 16 hours is that it was this bus. The seats were huge, comfortable, and had plenty of leg room.

*****

Punta is an extravagant resort town, people like Shakira and Michael Jordan own houses here. And what resort town for the wealthy would be complete without a casino? And what trip to said resort town would be complete without losing $2 at the penny slots?

*****

Before we left we saw some street performers dancing capoeira. It was pretty cool.

*****

On the way back we stopped at a border town to buy electronics and perfume and related expensive things that were "cheaper." It was all priced for about what you'd pay in the US. Naturally, we tried on hats instead. Now I understand why my exchange student friends in the US go ape-wild for buying clothes and electronics in the US: we really do have the best prices!

*****

Brazilians LOVE McDonalds. Really. When I say "love," I mean really love. McDonalds. I kid you not, I was in a McDonalds this morning at 5:30 in the morning and waited in line with my friends for thirty minutes because it was that full. It seems like every Brazilian goes to McDonalds after spending the nights in the clubs. It was wild!

*****

500 Uruguayan pesos is worth about $25. Uruguay uses three curencies: USD, Uruguayan pesos, and Brazilian reais. Maybe they use Argentine money also? In any case, I never really got the hang of it.

*****

Some guys in our group really love music. They all brought instruments and played nearly the full 16 hours on the bus. You might think that would be annoying, but they were actually pretty good. I have no idea when they slept though.

*****

The ocean was beautiful. I hope I get to see more of it.

*****

There were wild sea lions that were basking in the sun at Punta. One of them bit my French friend when she tried to touch it. She ended up with lavish bruises all down her leg. Thank goodness it didn't break her skin! (Another lesson learned: just because it's fat, seems lazy, and is super cute doesn't mean it wants your attention! It's still wild and likes it that way!)

*****

And here are some photos generously donated by my friend Abigail:

This is a white castle at the tip of the peninsula. We arrived too late to enter, but it was really neat from the outside!

Giant hand rising from the sand.

Harbor

The guys who played music nearly non-stop the whole weekend.

My American friend (Abigail) and my French friend.

Us again!

Things Positive -- OR -- I Made a Mistake? Ah, Well, Let's Laugh About It :)

2010-03-29T14:38:00.000-05:00

So you may have heard that I learned how to make video work in my blog. This is true. However, it's a lot of work, and I'm tired right now, so maybe I'll add video later. :-P

I've decided to be positive in this blog post because, really, there's a lot in my life to be positive about. For starters, I've signed up for my fall classes. Yippee! Also, I'm keeping up with my online courses, which actually shocks me a little. Usually I procrastinate, but for the moment I'm keeping to the deadlines I've given myself for my online assignments. Wild, I know. At this rate I could be finished with some of my classes months before they end, and wouldn't that be nice?

Things are going well in my classes. My professors are really understanding about the language-barrier thing, and I think they're doing a great job balancing being fair to the whole class and helping Tyler and me out when we don't understand something. Something unexpected: we turned in our first project for our landscape class, and even though I was sure the professors would hate it (the design is completely different from all of my classmates' designs) it turns out they really like it and want to show it to their other classes. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I'm flattered nonetheless.

Portuguese is getting easier; I actually have some Brazilian friends now who will speak to me more in Portuguese than English. I still blush and deny my language skills when my friends introduce me to new people and tell them I speak Portuguese, but at least I'm getting better at carrying a conversation. Actually, one of my new friends just invited me to her birthday party, something I'm very flattered by because she told me it's for her 24 closest friends (which when you remember that "close friends" in Brazil includes cousins, sisters-in-law, and other family members, you begin to realize that being in the top 24 isn't too bad). Not too bad for just a month here. It helps that Brazilians are very friendly.

Speaking of Portuguese, I'm still having troubles with select words. For example, the words for "to live" and "to die" are annoyingly similar: "morar" and "morir," respectively. I keep getting them confused when I'm talking, so I end up with sentences like, "Someday, I'd like to die in a rooftop apartment with a garden in a big city." Not good, but very funny. :-) The looks people give me when I make this mistake say it all-- "Umm, I'm not sure if I should laugh or not, but. . . I'm not sure. . . Maybe it's because she's American? OHHH!! She meant "to live!"

Yeah, that's about how it goes. :-)

Learning to Live Together

2010-03-22T07:26:00.000-05:00

Today is the day we sign up for courses. So far I've signed up for LA 403: Urban Design, LA 451: LA Research, Honors 296: Symposium on the Physical Sciences, and ID 161, 162, and 164: Dreamweaver, Flash, and Illustrator, respectively. Total count: 13 credit hours. I'm hoping to add a history course to the mix, but I can't find one offered next fall that I would be really jazzed about taking. *sigh* So it goes.

In other news, I'm all about living with strangers and such, but I'm becoming increasingly aware that it's good to have a chance to talk to your future roommates before actually moving in, just to be sure you're on the same pages when it comes to housework and study schedules. I'm also becoming more aware that typical differences between roommates get exaggerated when you're dealing with different cultures. For example, coming from a middle-class American family that values independence, I think I should clean up after myself, rarely if ever needing someone else to clean up after me, and I expect my roommates to show me the same curtesy. Compare that to another culture that, say, is used to women or maids cleaning up after them. You see where I'm going with this?

So yeah, I'm having trouble learning to live with one of my roommates simply because we have very different expectations from each other, especially concerning how to maintain our common spaces. What complicates this more is that we have a language barrier as well as a cultural barrier. I have trouble expressing why I think he should, say, wash his dishes when he's finished eating, and he has trouble expressing why he shouldn't. This makes it very difficult to find a common ground and compromise. In this particular situation, I got frustrated and behaved like a child-- I called in our host "mom" to help. Through that I think we agreed on something, but who really knows? I'll just have to wait and see. If nothing changes I'll just have to decide if I can live with it or not. I hope something changes. I'm tired of scrubbing pans for half an hour just so I can make dinner.

Scheduling Classes. . . What a Headache

2010-03-17T12:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm supposed to schedule my last fall semester of classes at Ball State this Monday, and so far it's giving me a headache. I know a week from now everything will work out, but it's the in-between time that's tough for people who tend to plan ahead (like me). Most departments haven't posted their course offerings yet, which means I still don't know which history course I'm going to take to finish my minor. I would like to take History 434: American Life and Thought, but who knows if it will be offered this fall? *sigh*

In related news, I've decided to drop my Spanish minor. The only reason I would want it would be to have it as a representation of my Spanish skills, but I've come to realize that's not the only measure of one's language skills. If I end up in a job where I'll be required to use Spanish, I expect they'll just conduct the interview in Spanish and see on my resumé that I lived in Mexico for six months, so I don't really see a need to take the three more Spanish courses I'm missing for the minor.

INSTEAD, I've decided to take some courses on the Adobe suite, including courses for Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Flash, which are all various types of media editing programs that I think would be useful to me in the future. I already know the basics in Photoshop and Illustrator, but there is so much more the programs can do that I haven't learned about yet. Ball State's Emerging Technologies department coordinates the courses, and I must say I wish I knew about the program a few years ago. Having a better understanding of all these programs would have helped me in nearly all of my classes, especially when it comes to creating more professional-looking projects. While Emerging Technologies has posted its fall schedule on its website, Ball State's course planner still doesn't recognize the courses, which is a little nerve-wracking since I would like to have all my courses laid out before Monday to make registration easier.

Part of my headache, too, is just that Ball State is going through a website update, so much of the course planning and registration portals have moved. In my ever humble opinion, now it's a lot more complicated than it needs to be. I'm not a fan of needing to click through several webpages just to register for classes, but maybe that's just me. Has anyone else been annoyed with course sign-ups?

Vila Fatima; One of Porto Alegre's [Former] Favelas

2010-03-15T17:04:00.000-05:00

I went on a site visit with my studio class today. This is the class where we'll be working in a more economically challenged neighborhood to try to raise the standard of living (that's my group above). Here is what we saw:

The neighborhood is located near the top of a hill, so many places have great views of the city.

Evidence of children and parents trying to protect their families.

Beauty is in the details.

Horses, motorcycles, cars, and pedestrians all share the streets.

Most (all?) of the homes are built by hand by their owners.

Children will be children.

This type of brick is a common building material.

This gentleman wished to remain anonymous, though he talked to us about his home.

Our class group drew a lot of attention. Some of the residents showed an open interest in our work.

Drinking the traditional tea, chimarrão.

Our presence distracted him as he played in his yard.

Delivering produce on a lazy day.

Putting the finishing touches on his home's concrete floor.

My professor giving us instructions.

Overall, the neighborhood is a little better off than I expected. It has water, drainage, paved roads with curbs, and electricity, not to mention a soccer field to play on. My classmates tell me that the neighborhood began as a favela, but then the residents petitioned the city government to give them infrastructure. The problem now is that the residents have the infrastructure, but can't afford it. So the costs of using it are passed on to Porto Alegre's tax payers, who resent that they're paying for someone else's electrical bill. I'm still not sure what our architectural project is yet, but I imagine it will involve trying to find low-cost ways to supply the neighborhood's necessities while easing the burden on the tax base. We'll see.

Drugs

2010-03-09T12:09:00.000-06:00

I'm irritated. Perhaps enraged. Definitely pissed.

My studio project here in Brazil is about how to increase the standard of living of people living in some of Brazil's favelas, or urban slum communities. To prepare, we're all researching various aspects of favelas and the people who live in them.

As it turns out, the drug cartels basically rule the favelas, especially in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Maybe that's not very surprising. What is surprising is that these cartels have enough weapons, influence, and money to basically wage war on the county's (admittedly corrupt) police force. According to this documentary, "children living in favelas are eight times more likely to die violently than those in the West Bank."

Maybe it's because I lived in Monterrey (a large Mexican city near the US-Mexican border where there's a lot of drug violence), and maybe it's because I've spent about 16 hours in the past two days learning about favela life, but quite frankly I'm disgusted with drug users. All of them. Even if they use drugs just occasionally for "fun," THAT is part of the violence and those children's blood is at least partially on the drug user's hands. If there were no market for drugs, there would be no drug cartels. Purchasing or using drugs gives the cartels a market. Shame on those who use drugs.

See where drug money is going.

Still not convinced? Watch this.

How could America, as the number one drug consumer in the world, be so horribly vile?

I know there are many different theories about how to end drug-related violence in the future, but you can choose whether or not your money is going to fuel the violence today.

Discuss:

Campus Food

2010-03-03T14:20:00.000-06:00

Here's a quick rundown of all the places to eat on campus, based entirely on my opinions and tastes in food (so, grain of salt and all that jazz).

Campus food is generally good, though the different places vary. The best place to eat on campus is in Woodworth. They have the best salads (made to order and spun in front of you), plus they rotate Asian and Mexican food, both of which are made to order and very good. It just opened last year, so everything is new-- the seating is comfortable and fresh, and the lines flow quickly and easily. However, since it really is so delicious, it tends to be crowded around mealtimes, so I suggest eating a little before or a little after the12:00-1:00 and the 6:00-7:00 rush, unless the crowds don't bother you.

The library's Bookmark Cafe is one of my favorite places to eat-- I like their Chai tea and their soup selections, which are very satisfying on cold winter days. They also have a nice pastry selection, which can help make long hours of studying more bearable. My suggestion? Get some tomato basil soup and some cheese cubes, then put the cubes in the soup to let them get all soft and melty. . . yummmmmmmmmmmmm. :)

I also eat many meals at Noyer. They have a salad bar and made-to-order wraps and subs. I'm a huge fan of the salad bar in particular-- you can pile on the kidney beans (yum!) and leave out the carrots (ick!). They also have a place called "Mom's," and it usually has typical Mid-western foods like meat and mashed potatoes, and it's usually good. The real jewel of Noyer is the International Cafe, which has a menu that rotates every semester (it seems), so every day of the semester has something different, ranging from brats to streak. If you can be there on the right day, they have this eggplant grilled sandwich to die for. Actually, I like everything in Noyer Center except the hamburgers, which taste like what you might expect from a gas station. If you're in a hurry they're fine, but otherwise Noyer has more to offer.

Noyer also has one of the campus's buffets, called The Retreat. During the day it's reserved for professors and staff, but it's open to students in the evenings. It works like a normal buffet: you pay one price for as much food as you care to eat. The menu changes daily, and it's posted outside the entrance so you can make your decision before you pay. It's always been good when I've gone, plus they tend to host special meals for holidays, including a Thanksgiving Feast and Cajun food for Mardi Gras.

If you're looking for fast food, the Atrium has Chick-Fil-A and Sbarro. If you're looking for a GREAT hamburger, go to the Atrium. They have bread bowls for soup, which again are really nice on cold days.

The Student Center just opened this year, and it has Taco Bell. Enough said. (For the record, I could eat Taco Bell most days of the week.) :)

The remaining places to eat are Elliot Dining, which I've never been to (but I think it's a buffet), and LaFollette, which boasts really good sandwiches and a great breakfast buffet, but little else. In my experience, you won't really eat at either of these places unless you live near them and it's convenient. I lived near LaFollette for three years, so I ate there a lot; however, Elliot is literally on the opposite side of campus and not really near any buildings I have class in, so to date I've never been there. Neither one is considered students' favorites, but sometimes they can be nice for a change of pace.

If you're still curious about Ball State dining, I highly recommend coming for a campus tour. When I toured as a prospective freshwoman, Ball State gave my family dining credit so we could all try Ball State cuisine for ourselves. Your tour guide might end the tour in the Atrium, but you'll be free to try food wherever you want. I suggest going to Noyer or Woodworth; if in doubt, ask your guide for directions to his or her favorite place to eat on campus.

First day of Class—or—I’m from Chicago, erm, I mean, Indiana

2010-03-02T15:38:00.000-06:00

So my classes here are a little different. For starters, I have each class only one day
a week. That means that I won’t go to my
Monday class until next Monday (classes began on Tuesday). That class will be from 2:00 until 5:00,
three hours in one day. Isn’t that
different?

Today I had my first Portuguese as a Foreign Language
class. It was pretty introductory—we introduced
ourselves in Portuguese and took a brief tour of our enormous campus, just
touching on the more important places. . . you know, where the clinic is (yes,
Mom! I’m covered if I get sick!!! And
they keep an ambulance on hand in case it’s REALLY bad), where our classes are,
and where our coordinator’s office is in case we need some help. My classmates are from places like Mexico
(all my roommates are in the class with me), France, Spain, and there’s another
gal from the US. Which leads me to a story.

When I travel I usually just say I’m from Chicago. No one has heard of La Porte, Indiana, and
heck, many people don’t actually know where Chicago is either. On that basis, many of my friends make fun of
me. It’s a regional joke to say you’re
from Chicago when in fact you live in Northwestern Indiana, and those actually from
Chicago usually laugh the hardest.
So I felt pretty stupid today when in class the other American
introduced herself and said she was from Chicago and I replied, “Me, too!” Upon further examination, however, she really
is from Chicago. As in, she lives
about two blocks from Navy Pier. So when
she asked me what part of Chicago I’m from, I blushed and replied, “Indiana.”

*****

After class I saw this:

Format: wmv
Duration: --:--

*****

Also after class, my professor asked me if I would like to come
to her advanced English class later. Since
I’m still working out my Portuguese I could have misunderstood, BUT I THINK I get
to help her students practice speaking English with a native speaker. And I get to make Brazilian friends. Hooray!
Everyone wins!

*****

SO, assuming I understand everything correctly (but I
probably don’t), I have class from 2:00-5:00 on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday,
and each day is a different class. I
*think* that means I have Wednesday and Friday off; BUT I ALSO think I heard
something at the end of Portuguese that implied we would have class more
frequently than that. I’ll have to ask
my roommates—they understand a lot more than I do right now. I’m so lucky to have them around. Seriously.

*****

Tomorrow I get my student ID card and will hopefully gain
access to the campus’s internet connections.
I think I’m going to try to spend most of my time on campus, but we’ll
see how that goes. For the life of me I can’t
find a suitable place to plug my computer in! There are plenty of benches and
related resting places on campus but none seem to have outlets anywhere
nearby. Maybe Ball State has spoiled me
with campus-wide wireless and digital media basically at my fingertips no matter where I am on campus.

Getting Used to a Foreign Country

2010-03-01T15:23:00.000-06:00

I've been here (in Brazil) for a few days now, but not quite a week. Still, I have a few things to say about Brazil.

First, it's much different than most of the other countries I've been to. There are many people here from European decent, along with people of African, Asian, and Hispanic heritages. It's very eclectic as far as that goes and reminds me of larger cities in the United States. I actually blend in on the streets, something I've experienced in a foreign country only in England. It's also fairly obvious Brazil is enjoying a rather healthier economy than the majority of its neighbors-- houses are large, cars are new, and the streets are clean. In fact, it's almost too clean for me (those of you who have been to Rome or other Mediterranean cities will understand what I mean when I say I like "dirty" cities). Still the people are incredibly friendly and open; it feels very much like American here. Except that everyone speaks Portuguese. Yeah, that's the biggest difference so far.

Second, registering a visa isn't fun, no matter where you do it. My roommates and I went to the federal police station today to register our visa, and we were there for FOUR HOURS. It was like a demented version of the DMV. The best part? After all that waiting, I was turned away because my photos were the wrong size by a few millimeters. Ye-ah. I asked if I could just cut off the extra, but the lady (who, to be fair was super friendly and helpful) said that I couldn't do that because the image itself needed to be within certain dimensions. So I'll be going back there soon. Hopefully I get there early to be one of the firsts in line.

Third, I have a weak stomach, and even without that excuse it's hard to escape the dreaded traveler's gut rot. I have no idea what I ate, but by the end of the day my stomach was lurching. Fortunately, my host family has what must be magic tea-- after drinking one cup I felt immensely better. I have no idea what kind of tea it is, but it worked miracles.

To make things more interesting during my digestive dilemmas, my host mom cornered me while I was feeling poorly to tell me she doesn't think I'm eating enough. To which I replied (in my head) that eating was what made me ill in the first place! The first few days I was here I ate lunch with my host family; however, I've decided to procure my own food for the rest of the semester. Granted, my host father is an excellent cook and I really enjoyed eating with the family, but it appears that Brazilians eat significantly more meat than I ever do. In one meal we had grilled steak, pork, and sausage with a side of potato salad (read: mayonnaise). Now, I almost never consume red meat (as in, maybe once every month or so), and I consume chicken or fish about two or three times a week, so as far as I'm concerned I could have gotten ill from eating so much meat without giving my body time to adjust. All things said and done, I'm going to stick to my normal diet so that I stay healthy enough to try any new foods I can find here in Brazil.

Finally, I've begun to realize what a great housing deal I have here. For about $550 per month (depending on the exchange rate) I get a fully furnished room, my own bathroom, utilities, a laundry service, a cleaning service, and a constant supply of food in a kitchen I share with other students, none of whom speak English natively, so I also get frequent practice at two of my foreign languages. Not to mention, I live within walking distance to campus. Seriously? I spend $300 per month in Muncie, plus utilities, which got to be around $125 or so during the cold months, but I still had to buy all my own food, do my laundry, and clean up after myself. (Though I do have a lot more room in Muncie, and my living situation there is also a great deal.) What I'm trying to say is, $550 per month seemed steep at first, but I'm beginning to see where I'm getting my money's worth.

Tomorrow classes begin. Look for a post covering THAT coming soon!

I'm in Brazil!

2010-02-26T10:15:00.000-06:00

OK, now that I'm south of the equator, I know many of you are super curious about what's been going on. But first, I'll cut to the part I know you're ALL most interested in: DOES THE TOILET WATER SWIRL BACKWARDS?????

Northern and Southern Hemisphere Toilets:

Format: wmv
Duration: 00:21

Answer: Nope. Though Montevideo's toilet was much more suction-y.

This is a big disappointment to me, as I'm sure it is to you. As it turns out, the whole thing about water swirling the other way has been exaggerated. In order for it to work, you would have to do a lengthy experiment; and it's not likely to ever work in a toilet due to the water jets on the sides of the bowl. Bummer all around.

*****

So now on to other news.

Saying goodbye is-- by far-- the most difficult part of traveling. I've grown really fond of my roommates and my friends and I've even grown closer to my family, so it was really hard to say goodbye to them and realize I wouldn't see them again for about half a year. I admit, I cried.

Packing for this trip proved to be more difficult than I remembered. I usually travel with a checked bag, a back pack, and a small purse. Somehow, hours before my flight, I ended up with four bags. No good. SO I had to do a final filter on everything. Even then I ended up with one checked bag, a backpack, and a carry on. I still don't have a clue what's taking up more room than usual, and I somehow forgot the set of photos I had printed especially for this trip. More bags and less stuff? I'm baffled.

I flew out of Chicago Wednesday evening to Miami. From there I flew to Montevideo in Uruguay, and spent 5 hours in their airport, which is the nicest airport I've ever been in. I would really enjoy returning there this semester to look around and go to their beaches. From Montevideo I flew to Porto Alegre, which is where I am now! My new host family was there waiting for me at the airport.

Airport in Montevideo, Uruguay (It's much better in person.)

I really like where I'm living in Brazil. My host family built student apartments into their home, so I'm getting the best of both worlds: intimate experiences with natives while living relatively on my own. There are six exchange students here: me, three guys from Mexico, and two gals from Japan. I have my own room (which came furnished, YAY!), and my own bathroom (again, YAY!). All the students share a common room and kitchen, which is separate from our host family's common room and kitchen. We have our own door to enter the house so we don't disturb the family if we're out late. Really, it's quite nice. Our host mother provides snacks for us, cleans our rooms and bathrooms, and does our laundry (wow, I sound spoiled when I write it out!). We also have the option of eating lunch (which is the "big" meal of the day) with the family for a small fee more. I haven't decided if I want to pay the fee or not. It will depend on how my schedule turns out when classes start.

I've met the three Mexicans already, but the Japanese gals won't be here until next week. They all speak English, but I've asked them to stick to Spanish or Portuguese so I can practice. One thing I've learned already is that I need to learn a lot more Portuguese before I'll be able to understand someone speaking at a conversation pace that's not artificially slow for my benefit. :) I'm told that once I learn to hear the differences between Spanish and Portuguese it will be a lot easier. I'll keep you posted.

Classes begin on Tuesday, and I think I'm ready. It will be nice to have things to do again.

Coffee

2010-02-23T19:50:00.000-06:00

This is in response to a comment from another post, which asked if there are any good coffee places in Muncie near campus. The answer? YES!

As far as cafés ON campus go, there are two Starbucks available to students (as you might have expected). Personally, I'm not much of a Starbucks fan, so I go to the Bookmark Café in Bracken Library. I like their chai tea, and it's right in the library, which screams convenience. To add to that, students with meal plans (which includes everyone living in the residence halls) can purchase food and drinks at the Bookmark Café with their meal plans. Seriously, when I lived in the dorms I ate there nearly six times per week.

If you're looking to get OFF campus for your coffee, MT Cup is a good place to start. It's located in the Village (an area just south of campus that has many businesses that cater to students). They have friendly service and wonderful outside seating for when there's warmer weather.

If you're willing to go for a short drive, bus ride, or walk, I also recommend the Blue Bottle in downtown Muncie. It has a more "urban" feel than the places I've mentioned, so it can be fun to go down there for some joe, if nothing else for a change of scenery. There are plenty of other places for good coffee in Muncie, but I've never been to them since I'm not much of a coffee drinker.

I invite anyone who reads this to post a comment about their favorite coffee shop in Muncie-- I'm sure you have far better advice than I do!

Also, as a quick note about music, again I'm not the best person to tell you about all of the opportunities there are to hear live music in Muncie, but even in my lack of knowledge I can tell you there are MANY places where local musicians of all genres perform. One particular event comes to mind: Muncie Music Fest.

Again, if you're reading this post and know of any fun places to go to hear live music or poetry, please leave a comment and tell us about it!

Things that Rock about College

2010-02-18T17:59:00.000-06:00

For one, you can listen to your friend DJ-ing one of the school's radio stations. That's right, I'm listening to my friend right now rocking out on the airwaves. I'm so excited for her-- she's always had an interest in music, but recently she's really been pursuing it and that pursuit has lead her to hosting/co-hosting two radio programs. Seriously, she's so inspiring. Kids, this is why college is awesome. And *maybe* I'm a little biased, but so far she rocks. She really knows her stuff.

On other news, I was cleaning up my hard drive and I found this video my mom sent me a few years ago. It's pretty baller. Hopefully I can get it to work. . . and it turns out I can't. :( Oh, well. Just click on the link and download. . . it should be fine.

Format: wvx
Duration: --:--

Victor's House of Gyros and Pancakes. . . ooooooooooooooooh yeah!

2010-02-13T06:28:00.000-06:00

So, I'm always looking for new places to go in Muncie for delicious food that's not very expensive. My latest find? Victor's House of Gyros and Pancakes. It's exactly what it sounds like.

My friend and I found it on our way to the newly-opened Little Caesar's Pizza on Tillotson Ave. (Side note: Little Caesar's Hot-n-Ready $5 pizza=perfect match for college kids!) Victor's is on the same road but on the east side. Seeing a sign advertising gyros and pancakes, my friend and I quickly decided to eat there the next day. And I'm so glad we did.

It seems like the place is relatively new in Muncie; according to this article the place just opened a month ago. I give my props to the business genius who finally recognized that Muncie needed a gyro place (the next-nearest one is about 30 minutes away). And this place is well worth it.

We were greeted by the friendliest people ever when we entered the restaurant, and the service went uphill from there. Our waitress was very friendly and good at her job. She was quick to bring us refills and clear plates, and was never over-bearing. We both ordered the gyro platter, which consists of a heaping plate of lamb with cucumber sauce, tomatoes, olives, and onions, and your choice of three sides (I chose potato soup, rice, and green beans). Seriously, I ate my fill and still had enough food left over for two more meals (my friend--ex-football player-- ate his fill and had enough for one more meal). Each meal was about $9, which works out to about $3/meal for me since I got three meals from the deal. And all the food was delicious.

My new favorite restaurant in Muncie? It's Victor's House of Gyros and Pancakes! Now I just need to go for breakfast and try out their pancakes! :)

What is Landscape Architecture?

2010-02-12T12:40:00.000-06:00

I had the idea of writing about this from a comment from one of my readers (like you!!). I'm studying landscape architecture, but what the heck is it?

Many people think landscape architects landscape gardens, but in reality that's like saying architects build houses. Think about what architects do: they design buildings, make technical drawings, and inspect the construction of the buildings. Now, just replace "buildings" with "landscapes" and you have the definition of a landscape architect in a nutshell: we design landscapes, make technical drawings, and inspect the construction of the landscapes.

Many of us see the landscape as a purely natural thing, but in truth much of the "natural" world around you has been thoughtfully designed and planned. Some are more obvious than others, but each of the following places had landscape architects' vision and design behind them:

Environmentally friendly ally in Seattle.

Student courtyard, Chicago

Fallen Police Memorial, Washington, DC

Near the American Indian museum, Washington, DC

Meridian Park, DC

Constructed wetlands/environmental rehabilitation, near DC

City street, Chicago

Public plaza, Portland, OR Environmentally friendly gutter system, Seattle

Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle

Public fountain, Seattle (maybe Portland?) Another part of the same plaza

Ira Keller Fountain, Portland

Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle Public park, Seattle

Public plaza/constructed wetlands, Portland, OR

Troll under bridge (haha!), Seattle

Public plaza, Chicago

River walk, Portland

Public plaza, Portland, OR

Ira Keller Fountain, Portland, OR

ASLA headquarters roof garden, Washington, DC

Community vegetable garden, Chicago

Japanese style garden, Chicago Botanic Gardens

Contemplation space, Chicago (I'm pretty sure it's near or in Lincoln Park Zoo)

The best part? All of these photos are from each of the annual field trips I've gone on with the Department of Landscape Architecture. All College of Architecture and Planning students have the opportunity every year to go on field trips to various places across the country to experience design first-hand. Time well spent, eh?

Distance Education and Online Courses

2010-02-11T06:05:00.000-06:00

This semester I signed up for some online courses. While I firmly believe nothing can compare to having face-to-face contact with my professors, the two classes I signed up for (Earth, Sea, and Sky: A Geographic View and Recent United States History: 1945-Present) will fulfill some of the requirements for my core science classes and for my history minor. It made more sense to me to do these courses online while I'm in Brazil than to try to find course equivalents taught in Portuguese. I've had my history professor in previous classes, so I am familiar with his teaching style and I know what he expects from me. I've also heard positive things about my geography professor, so hopefully I will do well in his class. The best news is that by taking these courses now, I'll graduate on time. (Yippee!)

I've only just started going through my coursework, which is clearly presented on Blackboard (it's the website Ball State uses to handle online course communication between professors and students). The professors have video lectures and assignments for their students; I've already watched a few of these lectures, and I'm impressed with their high quality. Soon I'll have my books and I'll get to work on my assignments. The courses I'm taking are 9 months long (there is also a 10 week "fast track" option), so I'll have to manage my time so I can complete the requirements to receive credit. I like that there are no real deadlines for the courses-- this is ideal for my travel plans since I can study when I have time and let it be when I don't. The biggest catch is that it costs a bit more per credit-hour to take online and distance education courses. For now though, the cost is worth it to me. I'll keep you posted on how things go.

Best Advice to Freshmen

2010-02-04T19:48:00.000-06:00

I had a scholarship interview today. It went well I think; if nothing else I enjoyed gabbing with the Garden Club ladies who interviewed me. One of their questions has stuck out to me though: What is my best advice for incoming freshmen?

Looking back, I decided it was to explore everything you can. I mean explore classes, activities, countries, cultures, friends. . . anything that sparks your interest.

Best idea: come to college and don't declare a major-- even if you've known what you wanted to be since you were three. Take a variety of courses in topics you've never studied before, and do it your first semester in college! Be daring, take risks. Give yourself the freedom to take ridiculous classes you'll love-- who cares if they won't count for your eventual major? There's so much time to do what you have to do, but there never seems to be enough time to do what you want to do. College is your chance, sometimes your only chance, to wander down any paths you can find.

Freshman, I'm telling you now, the best advice you'll receive about college is this: give yourself the chance to explore your options. You'll be surprised at how many paths are available to you.

And the Next Chapter of my Study Abroad Preface. . .

2010-02-03T05:05:00.000-06:00

So, after all the hassle I had when I returned from break, things are starting to look up. The study abroad office found an angel to work with the three of us who are going to Brazil. In fact, for the rest of this post, I will refer to her as "the angel." I can't do justice to my personal gratitude to her for what she's done to help us figure things out for our trip.

For starters, her appointment as the person who handles the Brazil study abroad program completely proves I was correct about needing to work with the study abroad office for my exchange and the woman who basically told me to take a hike was very misinformed. That in itself makes me feel better about the whole situation.

More importantly, the angel has worked diligently to get all three of us our acceptance letter from our Brazilian university. She did an excellent job, and all of us now have our letters. She met with the coordinator of our program so they could work together more effectively. She wrote a letter for the three of us for our visa applications, and she made sure we all knew what we have to do to apply for our visas. She's prompt in responding to emails, and when she doesn't know an answer to a question she finds out the answer rather than turning us away or telling us to ask someone else. When I met her in person she was vibrant and friendly. In absolute sincerity, I have to say she is wonderful and I'm so happy someone had idea of putting her in charge of us.

All I really have to do now is make my way to Chicago to apply for my visa. Assuming that goes well, I'll have everything I need about a week before I leave, which is in just a few weeks! Soon I'll have to start packing, but I usually put that off until the day before I leave, so in the meantime I'll just try to spend a lot of time with my friends. I'm already starting to miss them. . . .

UGH! Everything I HATE about Study Abroad Wrapped-up in One Hellish Week

2010-01-12T05:32:00.000-06:00

First off, let me apologize to all my devoted readers (if there are any)-- I haven't written in a while, and here is why:

It all started last December. Remember that application I needed to send? Well, I finished it and took it to the study abroad office to have the proper signatures and what-not on it. Then, since it was pushing the deadline and the university needed the information ASAP in order to start processing my application, I took the documents and scanned them for an email. After I sent the email, I returned to the study abroad office with my application. I spoke with a woman at the reception and was assured my application would be sent to Brazil through FedEx (the carrier didn't matter so much to me, but she insisted it was FedEx).

This is where my story gets frustrating.

Later that week I left Muncie and returned home to my family for an enjoyable holiday break; however, coming back to Muncie on the 1st of the year I was surprised to find my application waiting for me in my mailbox. *Someone* in the study abroad office had dropped my application in the mail without postage.

Confused, and admittedly quite angry, I called the study abroad office to find out what happened and to figure out the best course of action to fix the problem. I figured I could send the letter myself, but based on precedence I wanted to be sure the study abroad office knew what I was up to. The woman who answered the phone cut me off before I could explain to her my problem and patched me through to the wrong person, who then returned me to the front desk. Then the front desk woman, speaking to me in a way that made me think I was the largest inconvenience in the world to her, put me through to a voicemail. Needing to handle the situation immediately, I hung-up the phone and redialed. The same woman answered. As calmly as I could muster, I explained that I needed to speak with someone now and that a voicemail wouldn't do. After being treated very rudely again over the phone, I decided to just make an appearance in the office and have face-to-face conversations.

I received a less-than-warm welcome when I arrived. I entered and the two ladies at the reception almost immediately left the desk, leaving me alone and wondering if one of them was going to get the person I needed to talk to. As I waited, a wonderfully nice woman approached me and asked if I was being helped. I confessed I wasn't sure, explained my problem, and she cheerfully said she'd go find who I was looking for. True to her word, the woman I needed came out to meet me shortly after that.

I had never met this person before, so I was especially surprised when she treated me just as rudely as the reception had. She talked down to me as if I were stupid, informed me that the study abroad office "never" sent applications, and that as far as she and the office were concerned, I wasn't even going abroad. They had "no file" on me and wanted nothing to do with me. At this point I can barely describe how I felt. I explained to her that I had studied abroad every year since coming to college, that I had always gone through the study abroad office, and that if the office didn't send applications, they should NEVER have taken mine and told me they would send it. Even if someone had made a mistake, they should have called me instead of dropping it in the mail if there was a problem. All the same, the woman held her ground and tried to make it all out to be my fault. I left the office and sent the application myself, and it arrived a day late. Thank goodness the people I've been working with in Brazil are incredibly forgiving and were able to pull a few strings for me.

Even with the strings pulled, this fiasco has caused me a GREAT DEAL of trouble. First, I couldn't sign up for classes until my application arrived in Brazil, and without Brazilian classes I have no Ball State classes since they substitute for each other. That means it was January and I had no spring semester schedule. Next, I can't get my grant money without my acceptance letter from the university, which won't send an acceptance letter without an application from me. SO, I had to buy plane tickets with money I'm borrowing until my grant comes through, AND I had to buy them at a higher price since I was foolishly waiting all through December to receive my acceptance letter and didn't know I wouldn't be able to receive my grant money in time (in fact, I still don't have my money!). FINALLY, I can't apply for my visa until I have my acceptance letter since that letter is part of my visa application. And again, I don't get accepted until I apply.

Now, here's my perspective of the situation: I've studied abroad every year of college in various programs for various lengths of time. In EACH SITUATION I've had to go through the study abroad office in some way for some reason. In short, I think it's safe to say I know what I'm doing in this particular situation. In the other instance when I've studied for a semester on an almost identical program I had to file paperwork through the study abroad office for things like insurance and medical records. My grades were sent to the study abroad office, and nearly all "official" communication was through this office. I know for a FACT the study abroad office sent my application last year to Mexico. And again, even if they have stopped providing this service, dropping an unstamped envelope in the mail was absolutely irresponsible on their part. Here I am, weeks later, and I still don't have my grant or my visa, and I've only recently been able to work out my class schedule. My only consolation is that I am going to leave the country in a month, with or without my visa.

er⋅i⋅na⋅ceous [er-uh-NEY-shuhs] (adjective) : of the hedgehog kind or family

2010-01-11T14:06:00.000-06:00

Now that the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" is finally drifting from memory, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the last few weeks of 2009.

After my finals week (which for architecture majors is the week before finals since our professors need time to grade all our projects), my life got better quickly. For one thing, I had time to relax. And let me tell you, after a week of getting about two hours of sleep a night, relaxing is like taking a vacation to Hawaii and spending the day in a beach spa with "Jorge" the cute masseur rubbing your shoulders. It felt amazing. I also had time to see some of my friends who I'd been neglecting because of my busy schedule. I went a few places, did a few things, and saw the biggest Christmas tree in Muncie. :)

My friend and I went to Minnetrista (which is this really neat cultural center near campus) for it's annual Christmas shindig. They had the Ball brothers' mansions open to the public. They were fully decorated for the season with places for crafts and such.

All the paths and streets were lined with candles, which needed to be extinguished at the end of the night. As it turns out, they use leaf-blowers for the task. Way cool.

Afterward, my friend took me back to his fraternity house to show me their awesome Christmas tree. I don't know if you can tell, but they hung a bunch of plastic army men from it. teehee.

To finish the holiday celebration before I traveled home, my roommate and I did this:

(Don't worry, he loved it!) :-)

I also had time to attend a white elephant exchange at another friend's house, and while I don't have photos from that event, I DO have the glitter lip gloss from the gift I chose. We had a great time together.

Home was equally refreshing. Usually I like to keep my time at home to a minimum since I tend to have so many things to do here in Muncie, but this break was fabulous. My classes in Brazil don't start until March, so I'm basically on summer break with few things to do. I'll still be working in the scholarships office, but other than that my time is my own, which is quite rare and exciting. It made for a realatively stress-free break. I still had family to see and friends to catch up with, but that was it. I got some reading done and did some more work on my travel plans.

Now I'm back in Muncie, classes have started for my roommates, and I'm whiling away the hours preparing for my next adventure. But more on that later.

Scholarships 101: How to Compete for Some Major Dough

2009-12-17T04:21:00.000-06:00

As some of you know, I'm the student assistant to the director of national and international scholarships, which means I get to work with scholarships A LOT! My position is an undergraduate fellowship, which means I actually spend most of my time researching scholarships and related materials for Ball State students. Scholarships are money awards to students for their education that do not have to be repaid. As such, they're incredibly useful for reducing--and sometime eliminating--your college debts.

Now, our office doesn't handle freshmen scholarships (ie. we don't advice high school seniors on what scholarships to apply for), but in my searches I frequently find some fabulous scholarships for high school and freshmen students. Normally I just send these to my mother, who works as a high school guidance counselor, but I've realized I can reach a LOT more students via this blog. And really, more students should be applying for these scholarships-- you'd be surprised how much money you can make. SO, here's the scoop. . .

First, always, ALWAYS file a FAFSA. In most cases, you must have one filed to qualify for scholarships (not to mention financial aid).

To find scholarships, here are some starting points:

If you're applying to Ball State, start with our freshman honors scholarship database. Also, be sure to check the website of the department you'll be in (for example, if you're studying education, check the Teacher's College web-page). If you can't find information, just send an email to the department head and ask if any are available.

There are also many online scholarship databases:

I'm in charge of the database Ball State keeps for its students. Check it out here (and feel free to complement me on a fabulous job well done!). :-)
While you're there, check out our Scholarships Resources and Frequently
Asked Questions.

(*****This database/website is primarily for
currently enrolled Ball State students; high school students might have
better luck here, though they should still check the other out!)

Perhaps you've heard of Fast Web or have joined? It's a good resource, but I think Dr. Torres' Scholarship Database is better. For a full list of helpful databases, go to our Scholarship Database List. Also, search engines like Google or Bing can give you some good ideas.

Finally,
remember to check your local community for scholarships. If they are
not immediately apparent, just go to your high school's guidance office
and ask.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now you're all scholarship savvy and prepared, but how do you become competitive for scholarships? Well, to help you prepare for your scholarship application, I've decided to provide you with the information we give to our students! This information will help you with ANY scholarship application for ANY school.

Most scholarships are going to ask you about your. . .

1. Academic Achievement

While this does have to do with your GPA, it also involves whether or not you were involved in a special learning experience (for example, did you take many AP courses in high school?). When you're evaluating your academic achievement, ask yourself questions like, Did I take the most rigorous coursework my high school offered? Did I earn an Honors Diploma or the equivalent? Did I have to overcome any hardships to do well in school? Did I participate in or do anything extra-ordinary that my peers did not? Did I study abroad or work with international communities? Did I join any academic honors societies? You do not have to answer "Yes" to all of these questions, but they do give you a starting point for filling out an application.

2. Strong Record of School Involvement and Leadership

What do you do in your free time? Maybe you play on a sports team, are a musician, or are active in some clubs? This section looks at how you're interacting with your peers in non-academic settings and whether or not you've assumed leadership roles. As a note about leadership, this doesn't need to mean you were elected as your class president (though it could). You can show leadership in many ways. Maybe you tutor other students, edit the school's newspaper, or lead a committee. If you're not sure how you've shown leadership, just ask someone who knows you well. (Mothers and loved teachers are a great resource!)

3. Strong Record of Community Involvement and Service

This is the one that most students stumble on. I can't say it enough: volunteer! Find something you're interested in and do it! You can tutor other students, work in an animal shelter, help in a hospital or nursing home, work with the Red Cross, build bird housed for your town's parks. . . . Really, the list goes on and on! I was involved in band in high school, so I helped teach beginning music to incoming sixth graders.

Here's a HUGE tip for you: Scholarship committees like to see dedication. It is better to spend one hour a week for a year volunteering somewhere you feel passionate than to spend 10 hours one week doing something you never return to. Find something you enjoy and stick with it. You don't have to spend much time doing it, but consistency and dedication really will win the race.

4. Outstanding Letters of Recommendation

You need someone to verify how awesome you say you are, which means you need to get to know some of the adults around you. Teachers, religious leaders, coaches, employers. . . all these people work well for letters of recommendation. Do not, I repeat, do NOT use family members for this. You need to branch out and ask other people.

When you ask for a letter of recommendation, give your letter writer at least a month to write your letter. Also, follow these tips for success we give to all Ball State students.

5. Excellent Writing Skills

Not a good writer? That's fine, just have your English teacher proofread EVERYTHING you submit. Are you an excellent writer? That's fine, just have your English teacher proofread EVERYTHING you submit. Bottom line, HAVE AN EXPERT IN ENGLISH PROOFREAD EVERYTHING YOU SUBMIT!!!! Encourage them to be critical, honest, and tough. I literally go through 8 or 9 drafts before I submit any given essay for a scholarship. Choose your words carefully, be precise, give examples, and take gender-bias out of your writing (ie. choose "firefighters" over "firemen"). Your audience is usually comprised of highly-educated college professors; so let someone who's been in that arena proofread your work.

6. Drive and Vision for Learning and for your Future, Your Career, Your Contributions to Society or Your Discipline

Does this mean you know exactly what you want to do with your life? NO! But you should have passion about something. Have a vision for how you might conduct your future. Vague is better than nothing. Ask yourself, What do I feel passionately about? How can I see myself contributing to society? Usually students are already doing something related to their passion or vision, but not always. Give this one some deep thought, and if you need to, try bouncing ideas off of someone you respect-- a lot of times these people will help you think more critically about yourself.

***For scholarships with an interview, you must also have. . .

7. Excellent Speaking Skills and Personal Presence; Ability to Think on Your Feet; and a Sense of Humor Helps!

Practice makes perfect. Ask your guidance counselor to help you prepare for an interview. Be sure you have at least one practice interview and get feedback!

8. Awareness of National and World Issues and Current Events, and Ability to Speak Easily About Them

Read the newspaper or watch the news EVERYDAY! This will be enough to prepare you. I'm fond of online news sources since they're free (and I haven't owned a TV in four years. . . yeah. . .). I'm a BBC fan, though the New York Times, CNN, or The Economist are all good sources of information. I also listen to NPR on my radio. The important thing? BE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON!!!

While My Pot Pie is in the Oven. . .

2009-12-08T12:32:00.000-06:00

It's Tuesday, my last Tuesday of the semester. Al-humdullilah. Seriously. Tuesdays wear me out. I have plants class bright and early (8:00 am), which goes until slightly before 11. Then I work for and hour and a half. Then I go to engineering, followed by Portuguese, which goes until 5:00 pm. No breaks. Then I get to take an hour or so to chill and eat dinner--sometimes the first meal of my day. Luckily, I got delicious lunch today from Noyer (which boasts scrumptious wraps and a salad bar. Yum!), so I'm not particularly famished at the moment. All the same, I have a long night ahead of me: after my current break and delicious pot pie, I have three hours of Geography 121, which take me to about 9:00 pm before I can even begin tackling my vast amounts of homework, most of which is due tomorrow by 5:00pm. So, of course, I'm all set to pull another all-nighter. Hopefully, with enough caffeine and personal motivation I will finish tomorrow with a beautiful studio project to show for it. (Ok, I'll be honest, it's mostly caffeine. Maybe all caffeine. And I'll be lucky if my project is beautiful.)

BUT! Hope is on the horizon! This is my last Tuesday of the semester! In exactly one week, I'm finished with fall semester of fourth year. All I can say now is: Thank Goodness!

You Can Tell its Crunch Time

2009-11-30T13:10:00.000-06:00

I was just looking through some of the other Ball State blogs and I realized most of us haven't posted very much recently. It occurred to me that the last four weeks of the semester are quite demanding. While my fellow blogger Mike has some excellent tips for success, even they are not enough to ease this time of the semester.

For example, my studio final project is due in a week-and-a-half and my engineering construction documents are due the day after that. Now, those two projects consist of a LOT of work! But then I have projects for my plants class and my geography class. Not to mention studying for finals, finishing up my Brazil application, and taking care of random stuff that pops up around my house. Whew! I'll be amazed if I can get it all done without some major late-nighters.

I'm not really sure where this blog is going other than in general trying to wrap my mind around what's expected of me in the next few weeks. I expect it to all go by in a blur.

So seriously, just bring on Christmas already!

Paper and Markers and Pens, Oh My!

2009-11-29T16:22:00.000-06:00

The Department of Landscape Architecture does the craziest
thing: once a year we invite a well-known landscape architect to Muncie, cancel
all architecture related classes (including studio- Yippee!), and engage in a
days-long, intensive design “charrette,” which is just a fancy word for group
design done at the speed of lightning. We call this lovely ordeal "Design Week," and it is both loved and hated by its many participants.

So, the way Design Week works is the ENTIRE department gets separated into "vertical teams," which means there are students from every year on your team. For example, the team I was on had two graduate students, a fifth year (who unfortunately didn't show up), two forth years, two third years, and two second years. After the initial kickoff, the teams assemble in the main atrium of the architecture building and design like its nobody's business while professors, stakeholders, and community members stroll around offering advice and recommendations. Joining the general hustle and bustle is our guest project leader and keynote speaker, who is generally a prestigious landscape architect from anywhere around the world.

This
year we were pleased to have Mr. Fumiaki Takano of Takano Landscape
Planning join us from Japan. He's a pretty amazing designer. If you check out his firm's projects, you may come across the Children's Playground in Takino Hillside Park, which is definitely the coolest park I've ever seen-- I can't wait for an opportunity to go see it in person. I also really like his approach to design-- he showed us pictures from his projects and described his design process, which includes HEAVY community involvement, extremely intricate designs using on-site materials, and creating 1:10 scale models in the dirt outside his firm's office just to watch how the sun sets on it. Basically, the guy is pretty baller.

The project site is in Muncie; there are a few closed industrial parks in the area that are to be rehabilitated to create a "gateway" into Muncie plus some connections between the greenways in the area. The problems we were addressing involved how to successfully redevelop a brownfield (in other words, what do you do with land that's been contaminated by decades of industrial waste), how to alter the aesthetic of the area to create a more welcoming atmosphere, and how to protect-- if not enhance-- the ecology and natural environment of the area. It was actually a really interesting project with a ton of potential, especially to me since my preference is in urban design (whereas I've been laboring through regional design all semester, but more on that some other time). This semester's design work has been mostly on the computer, so it was such a relief to get back to doing hand drawings and messy concept ideas. Those are the things that make me really enjoy my major.

Now for the nitty-gritty; Design Week is incredibly time consuming, tiring, and frustrating. For starters, it began this year on Sunday at 1:00, and it continued well into the evening (many stayed until 9:00 or later; last year I remember staying until 2 in the morning working on some rooftop design), lasting all day Monday and finally drawing to an end Tuesday afternoon before Thanksgiving Break. I admit I did not stay very long on any of the days-- one of the difficulties of vertical teams is that you suddenly find yourself on a design team with people you know nothing about with varying interests and skills. Normally I would find such a situation exciting and challenging, but this year it was just challenging for me. From my perspective, the best design contributions came from the second year students (they had probably the strongest designs), but they were a little shy at first (thankfully they got over that). The challenge for me came from someone who we'll call "The Team Member," and let's just say The Team Member had many good ideas, and it was best if the rest of the group just went along with them. Since that type of "teamwork" is not my favorite, I ended up not spending very much extra time at Design Week.

So my actual design experience was a bit of a letdown, but I still gained plenty from Design Week. I have to say that I absolutely applaud whoever decided to bring Mr. Takano to Ball State. I found his work completely inspiring, I thoroughly enjoyed his lectures, and I learned new ways of tackling design problems during his critiques with our group. I am especially interested in his community-based design methods, which seem to be what makes him unique among landscape architects. While most landscape architects base their design in community interests (hopefully), Mr. Takano actually gives community members paper and markers and asks them to help in the preliminary design schemes. He has community members so involved in every part of the process that they apparently help build and maintain the spaces as volunteers. They take complete ownership of the space, and that-- I think-- should be every designer's goal. If absolutely nothing else, I feel like Design Week was worth it because of Mr. Takano's presence.

I guess we'll just see how next year goes!

My Cozy [Mouse-Infested] Off-Campus Home

2009-11-12T04:21:00.000-06:00

"Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!"

Is what she said. . . Except she said it because she found a dead mouse in her sink. And yes, I am said "she."

Living off campus is full of ups and downs, as is living in the residence halls. I lived in the Johnson complex for two and a half years in Botsford hall. Until this year Johnson housed the honors students, so I was in good company. I permanently moved out of the dorms last winter, unless you count my dorm life in Mexico. Meh.

Anyway, now I live in a hundred-year-old house off campus. It's a great living situation for me-- I live with four other people, three guys and another gal. My landlord is a student my age at Ball State, and since he lives in our house the repairs are done fairly quickly. He's also super understanding about issues like rent. His younger sister also lives with us (she's the other gal besides me), and she gets this week's prize for innovation: Needing more storage space for some chili she made for the week, she put it in a beverage container. It's pretty fabulous. One of the guys is from China, so he's really interesting to talk to when I can catch him-- which unfortunately isn't often since he seems to spend most of his time on campus. My last roommate studies landscape architecture and is in most of my classes. This works great since we end up working together on some of our coursework.

We also have a cat, Lord Watson Bartholomew, and a dog, Sam.

I like living off campus much more than I thought I would-- and I went into it thinking I'd love it. My lifestyle is basically the same as when I lived on-campus, but I get to come home to a home. I think I took that for granted. When I come home I see my "family," clean up around the house, play with my pets, and cook food with ingredients I bought. Especially as one prone to wandering, having a home is priceless. Don't get me wrong, the residence halls do everything they can to create a "homey" feel, but it's still a dorm. You're still sharing some sort of space with perhaps 50 other people, and you can't decorate however you want. (Funny story, my sophomore year I painted my dorm room gold to try to "home-ify" it a little, and while I was largely successful, I still had to pay $200 at the end of the year.) That said, I still think everyone should do at least one year on-campus. I'm glad I did.

Now, to make off-campus living worth it, I offer these three tips:

- Live with students, and with at least three people: Students study, and they are respectful when you need to study. Go for at least three in a dwelling in case there are any disagreements--- I have friends living in twos, so when something goes wrong there's no neutral third-party to mediate the situation. So to make life easier, go for three.

- Live within walking distance to campus: If you still want to drive, fine, get a parking permit (I personally don't have one), but it's nice to have the option of biking or walking to campus on nice days or when your car decides to die. Plus you can save TONS of money in gas expenses if you're not driving everyday.

- Live with people you wouldn't classify as your best friends: You hear this all the time as a freshman choosing a roommate, but that's because it's TRUE! For some reason best friends usually don't do well in living-together situations. The nice thing about living with good friends or casual friends is that you get the opportunity to develop your friendship while living together; I think it makes it easier somehow. If you're getting to know each other while living together you can learn to live with them. And if your friendship doesn't work out, then you can grow to be considerate roommates instead, and there're no hard feelings since you weren't great friends to begin with.

I lucked out in my house quest in that I landed all these things in my first time off-campus. From talking to my friends I've learned to value these things quite a bit. Now that I have my home in Muncie, I want to keep it as long as I'm studying here.

Even if there was a dead mouse in my sink.

Studying Abroad. . . Busting out the Portuguese

2009-11-05T04:02:00.000-06:00

So, as some of you know, I'm planning to study abroad next semester in Porto Alegre, Brazil. I'm going through a College of Architecture and Planning program. The way the program works is this: I receive a grant to help me buy my plane tickets, to cover the cost of housing, and to have a little left over for traveling. When I get to my host university, I find the coordinating professor and together we set up my coursework, which is all related to sustainability and landscape architecture. The "catch" is that I have to coordinate nearly all of it myself. Thankfully, I studied abroad on a similar program last year, so I have an idea of what I need to do. Right now the most pressing matter is applying to my host university; however, the application is completely in Portuguese.

So, in order to apply, I need to master enough Portuguese to fill out an application and write a one-paged essay about why I want to study in Brazil. My coordinating professor here in the States has set up a Portuguese class for the three of us who are going to Brazil this spring, and we've been learning a LOT. Portuguese is my fourth language, but since my second language is Spanish, I'm learning Portuguese pretty quickly. Already I can read most Portuguese, or at least guess the meanings of words I don't understand. I suppose that's good for filling out my application; however, I have trouble when speaking Portuguese-- I mix in tons of Spanish, which sometimes works and sometimes fails miserably. Writing the application essay is going to be challenging, to say the least. And I'll have to have my professor proofread it several times before I'll be willing to send it in. I guess it's all a part of the process.

My other big dilemma is trying to decide which classes I want to take. I'm 99% positive I want to go on CAPAsia next year, which should be my last semester at Ball State; however, if I do this I may not graduate on time. I've been putting off some of my core classes, so if I can't get credit for these in the next two semesters I'm stuck here for another year. My biggest concern is an Engineering 2: Materials class I didn't take last spring (since I was in Mexico). As of last year the professor was of the opinion that I need to physically be in Muncie to learn the information. Now, she is the professor and knows much more about the subject than me and therefore is in a much better position to decided whether I could learn the information in an independent study, but still. The more I hash out the numbers, it looks like the only class that has a good chance keeping me from graduating. And it seems silly to finish all my coursework but one class in the spring of 2011, start working, and a year later take the one class in the spring of 2012. (Did I mention the course is offered only in the spring?) Silly as it sounds though, it may be worth it.

So that's where we are as far as studying abroad. Step 1: find a program and funding. Check. Step 2: Apply for admission and decide on classes. Working on it.