Winter Break Fun

Winter break has been very relaxing so far. Dad took Wenhao and I out to find a good Christmas tree. We picked out a really big one (it looked so much smaller in the field!). I got to cut it down for the first time, so that was exciting. Next we got out all the Christmas decorations from the attic and made an evening out of decorating the tree and the house, which is actually my favorite part of Christmas. I think it is so exciting to unearth the decorations from their boxes, and with them memories of Christmases past. I especially have plenty of fun with the tree ornaments. Also, my mom has amassed an enormous collection of Santa Claus figurines that infiltrate the house and line up in large battalions on the mantelpiece every year.

I left my shopping until very late this year, so Wenhao and I went shopping one evening. The next day I showed Wenhao how to wrap presents. Wrapping is another one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Normally people find wrapping gifts to be tedious and boring, but I love it. I do a lot of origami, so I love folding in the first place. My sister and I usually try to get very creative with the way we present gifts, either in how they are wrapped or with a special package topper of some sort. This way, gift wrapping is not so boring, and it shows the recipient that you put some extra time into that gift. For example, I wove a bird out of ribbons to top Wenhao's gift. My favorite one was my sister's present (I always try something extra creative with her present). I attached the two presents together asymmetrically, just to switch things up. I decided to give her lots of cans of Play-Doh as a sort of fun de-stress toy topper. I attached them to the package as if they were a giant arrangement of string lights. I hope it didn't look like a bomb as it went through the mail...

Also, my dad's birthday is tomorrow, on New Year's Day. He always likes handmade gifts, so I made him this dog out of paper loops. It's included in the slideshow of pictures I've taken so far this break:

I am working for the most part of the break. Last night I met up with a bunch of my friends from high school for a New Year's Eve Eve party. We all dressed up a little and went out to eat at a nice restaurant called Bravo's. It was great to see all of my old friends again and to hear how they are doing in college!

The End of my First Semester

Well, the year winds down to an end. At the end of this semester I had to finish writing two papers and study for my final exam. The two papers included my last field report for the Hudson High School visit and finally we had to write our personal credo for our philosophy of education. The final exam was pretty stress-free because it was not accumulative, but we had three exams throughout the 3-week term that split up all the material. Don Guenther, the professor, brought cookies for us all.

Everyone is looking forward to a nice, relaxing break. It felt sort of strange to see all the friends I've made, packing for break and leaving.

Also, my roommate Wenhao will be spending the break with my family. This will be his first Christmas and should be quite a new experience for him!

Three Crazy Weeks

So the 3-Week session is under way, and I must say that I have never been busier!

My 3-Week class is "Education in Culture, and Society," with Don Guenther, a truly awesome professor. This class is the first step toward becoming a teacher. The coarse reminds me of a sociology course, but geared towards teaching. Part of the class includes visiting four different schools that cover the gamut of types of schools. First we are visiting Buhrer Elementary in Cleveland, which functions under a unique dual-language program, structured so that studetns will be fully bilingual in English and Spanish by grade five. Next we visit Eastwood Elementary, which has a 100% African American student body. Next is Maple Middle School, in a rural area where three districts were combined into one. Finally is Hudson High school, where passing levies are windfalls. The fieldtrips cover a broad range of schools in terms of social, ethnic, and economic diverstiy.

The class itself is very enjoyable. "Education in Culture and Society" is normally a class during the 12-week, meaning that we cover the same amount of material in 1/4 the time -- talk about a very focused workload! So while most 3-week classes are worth 3 credit hours, this one is 4 credit hours, and meets four hours a day, four days a week.

While my afternoons are spent in class, my evenings recently have also been taken up by practices and rehearsals for the next play, The Laramie Project, which will be showing at Hiram at the end of January. So these three weeks will definitely test my time management as a college student!

Blitz!!!

This weekend we had the second Blitz of the year. A Blitz is 24-hour theatre. That is, the theater guild throws a party at 9 pm on Friday and, depending on who shows up, they pick a play to perform. They come up with a set, basic costumes, and props and run through a handful of times so that the play will be performed at 9 pm on Saturday. It's a lot of fun, especially if you are looking for a good excuse to stay up until odd hours of night.

This go round we performed The Eight: Reindeer Monologues. The play is simply eight monologues, each told by one of Santa Claus's eight reindeer. Without going into too much detail, the story revolves around a sordid scandal in the North Pole.

Each of the reindeer are bold caricatures: Dasher was portrayed as a gung-ho general who was "number one from day one." Cupid was the flamboyant reindeer; I played Prancer, the self-centered actor; Blitzen was an ardent feminist; Cupid was the troubled buck who was taken in and reformed; Dancer was the only Jewish reindeer; Donner was the good-for-nothing father of Rudolph; and Vixen was the promiscuous doe that started the whole scandal.

It was jolly fun.