Friday, January 27, 2012

Iluzion

Okay, so J-term is over and I have an Iluzion performance under my belt so let's talk a little bit about both.

We had two Iluzion performances this week and they went pretty well.  It was the same dance for both, but the first one was a little rough, but the second was better.  So, for your entertainment, here's the second day's performance...
I hope you enjoyed it.  I look forward to sharing our future performances with you as well.

Okay, now let's talk about the ending of J-term and the upcoming Spring semester.  My J-term class ended awesome.  My group and I gave our lesson this past Wednesday and it went really well. :)  I seriously am so happy with the field I have chosen to go into!  It feels so great to know that I'm doing the right thing.  Anyway, our lesson was one on the Wallace line and it was meant for middle schoolers.  The Wallace line is a line through the islands of Indonesia and on the west side of the line there is completely different flora and fauna than on the east side of the line.  It's actually really interesting and our lesson included making a compass and "traveling" to the different islands (stations) to explore the flora and fauna on each island.  It was so fun and we got a good grade! :)  On our last day of class, we skyped a scientist, which was something that I've never done in class before, but it was fun, too.  Before skyping the scientist, we watched a documentary called Flock of Dodos that talks about evolution and Intelligent Design and the scientist we skyped actually appears in the film.  It was really interesting to talk to him and to hear his opinion on the issue.  We also sent out a survey to students on campus and to international students so it was interesting to see those results because really the United States is supposedly the only country where there is a controversy about evolution.

Anyway, my J-term was really good.  My last and best J-term. :)  I won't be taking a J-term next year because I will be student teaching!  Now, let's talk next semester...I'm taking six classes and I'm anxious for all of them.  One class is my Spanish senior thesis, which is kind of a big deal (and by kind of, I mean it's a really big deal).  I also have two important education courses.  Then, for fun (and for my minor), I'm taking a jazz class and a choreography class! :)  Then, the last class is a required one and it's only a seven week class called Concepts of Physical Fitness.  I've gotten all of my books and my jazz shoes ordered and I'm almost ready for the semester.  I'm on J-term break this weekend and I start class again next Wednesday!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!

Lastly, I want to point out, just in case you don't already know, the new Miss America 2012 graduated from Carthage!  How cool is that?!  Good night! :)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Los Pinzones

Sorry for the late post, even though I really don't have a schedule for when I write yet.  Once second semester starts, I will have a regular routine and I can figure out when the best time for me is to blog (maybe, I hope).

Anyway, one of the most exciting things that happened within the past couple weeks was that Tonisha came to visit me!!!  She came two weeks ago and we had a blast!!  Except for some reason, we forgot to take pictures!  So I have no pictures of Tonisha's first trip to Carthage. :(  But, that's okay because it was so fun!  We went shopping and out to eat at Marina Garden, which is an awesome restaurant here.  Also, Carthage always shows movies on Wednesdays so we went and saw the movie Tower Heist with Ben Stiller, which was really funny!  I was so happy to have Tonisha meet Carthage and all of my friends here!!  I talked about it so much while I was in Peru that I'm sure Tonisha was happy to see and meet people as well!

My class is going really well still!  We had a creative assignment last week where we had to do something creative (write a poem, draw a picture, etc.) and relate it to the book, The Beak of the Finch, that we read.  Well, I like to cross-stitch so I found a cute and small golden finch pattern and I did that for my project which was fun.  I really like to cross-stitch.  It's relaxing for me and I haven't done it for awhile so it was the perfect stress reliever.  Thank you to my mom, grandma, and aunt for passing down such a creative skill that I will someday pass on to my children, too.  For your entertainment, here's the finished product...

So, more about my class, I guess... Last week, we were supposed to go to the Field Museum in Chicago because there is a big evolution exhibit there, but there was a snowstorm and a train derailment so let's just say that we didn't go.  I was actually a little bummed that we didn't go because I don't remember the last time I was there, but I did take the opportunity to stay in bed for the majority of the day and catch up on sleep and relax.  It was awesome!  This week for class we have our final group project due, which I actually am excited for as well.  We get to teach a lesson to the class and my group is teaching a middle school social studies class.  We have some really fun activities planned for the lesson and it's funny because you can really tell that I want to be a teacher when I get giddy about writing a lesson plan. :)

Okay, I think that's it for talking about my class.  Now, let's talk about how I gave a 20-minute presentation on Peru last week in Spanish to another J-term class.  Oh boy was that complicated.  Reason one why it was complicated:  How do you put 4 1/2 months into a 20-minute presentation!  I had so many problems trying to figure out what to talk about.  Reason two:  After one month of not speaking Spanish, I was nervous, but I did well, so all is well. :)  But, really though, I had so many pictures and I actually talked really fast cuz I was afraid I wouldn't get everything in 20-minutes.  It was good practice for my thesis presentation that will be coming up this semester, too.

Other than class and work, I've been spending a lot of time dancing and with friends!  Two of my favorite things!  One of my girlfriends 21st birthday was this past weekend which was really fun and tomorrow is my first Iluzion performance!  Iluzion is the hip-hop dance team here at Carthage!  I'll try to get it taped and put it on so that you can watch it!  Other than that, I get to go home this weekend for J-term break and then I will be starting my crazy second semester next week!  How exciting!  I really am hoping to get some kind of schedule set up for this blog so that you know when to check, but in the mean time, just keep checking randomly. :)  Have a great day!!!!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Mi regreso y evolución

So I have returned to Carthage for J-term.  For those of you who don't know, J-term stands for January term and here at Carthage it's supposedly the best time of the year.  What happens during J-term is that you take a class for three hours a day everyday for the month of January and you usually get 4 credits for it.  How great is that?!  In my opinion it's a great way to get those extra credits in during the year and it's the best way to either have fun with your class or take a class that you don't want to take for an entire semester!!  So what's my class this year do you ask?  Teaching Evolution Theories!  What the heck is that?  Well, it would be a class that combines both Biology and Education.  It deals with evolution, the controversy of evolution, and how/if it should be taught in schools.  I wasn't really looking forward to taking the class at first, but surprisingly I have really enjoyed it so far!  For the past week, we have been learning about evolution and I read a book called "The Beak of the Finch" in a matter of five days and it was actually a pretty good book.  It talked all about studies that have been done on the finches and their evolution on the Galapagos Islands (near Ecuador).  I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Oh no, Andrea is going to start believing that we evolved from apes and all of that non-sense!"  Well, if you actually take the time to learn about it that's not what evolution is at all.  Evolution just deals with the changes and development of species and according to science it is a fact.  Also, come to find out, evolution doesn't say we evolved from apes because if that were true then there would be no apes on the earth today.  It just says that we have common ancestors.  Well, I know that this may still conflict with some of your religious views, but no worries.  Tomorrow, we are starting our "Controversy" section and we are going to begin discussing Evolution vs. Creationism so I will be able to fill you in on that more later.  Anyway, I guess the jist is that I'm really liking my J-term class for the first time in the past two years and it's cool to learn about something that I've never really bothered to learn before.  My first test is tomorrow so wish me luck!

Anyway, although I like my class, this has been an interesting week.  I didn't really experience culture shock when I first returned to the U.S., but coming back to Carthage it kind of hit me that I wasn't in Perú taking Católica classes with all of the wonderful people I met there.  I had a few days of missing Perú, but I'm kind of over it.  But, of course, there will always be a part of me that loved Perú and all of the things I experienced there.  Also, Tonisha is coming to visit me this week which is beyond exciting!!!  I'm sure I'll blog about our adventures in Kenosha at a future date!

Okay, now on to the not-so-depressing "I miss Perú" spiel.  Let's talk about the great things that have been happening to me since I've been back.

1. Tonisha is coming! :)
2.  My roommate, Taylor, and I got to sit down and watch Grey's Anatomy together and we will also be watching Glee tomorrow night!
3.  I went shopping with three of my best friends and got a new skirt and dress that I don't really have a use for yet, but that are super cute!
4.  I got the chance to eat dulce de leche ice cream which is similar to manjarblanco in Perú!
5.  I become thoroughly excited every time I hear someone speaking Spanish, which has actually happened more than I thought it would (especially at the mall).
6.  I got the chance to talk to some of my fellow study abroaders who studied in Spain last semester.
7.  I have come to really like sushi and we have it on campus now so I am usually satisfied with the food I'm eating, even though it's no lomo saltado.  Oh, by the way, I have made lomo saltado once since I've been back.
8.  I have been dancing...A LOT!!  This is probably my number 1 favorite thing about being back!  Remember my New Year's Resolution workout... Yea, well I've only done it once because I decided that I would only do it on the days that I don't dance.  I mean I have missed two days of the workout, but come on!  I have dance practices/rehearsals for five days out of the week!  And guess what?  I'm not complaining at all!  I LOVE IT!!  I love being back on the Iluzion Hip Hop dance team and I'm loving rehearsing for two of the pieces that I will be in for our Spring Dance show!

So pretty much although it has been a little difficult getting back into the swing of things, it's been great being back, especially because of dance.  No matter what negative feelings I may be having at some points in time, whether it be stress, reverse culture shock, sadness, etc., I always feel better once I'm dancing. :)  Which is just perfect!  Do you have something that you like to do to relieve stress?  If not, you should find something! :)  Also, having friends helps!  That's another thing, I have loved being able to catch up with all of my friends!  Anyway, I hope you are all having a wonderful week!  I'm sure I will talk to you soon!!