I’ve only got one more class, and then it’s Thanksgiving
Break! I’m flying out tonight to Sacramento, where my mom’s going to pick me up
and take me home. I am really excited to see my family. I'm not as excited as I was
at this time last year, since that was my first year in college and I was
moderately homesick by mid-November. This year I am more settled in and more
used to the whole living-in-another-state thing, so going home doesn't feel as
necessary. Regardless, I am still pretty stoked to be heading back to
California.
Although I am going home for Thanksgiving, I’d say about
half the people I know are staying here. There are a couple different on-campus
activities that people attend to celebrate the holiday without having to buy
an expensive plane ticket home. For instance, I've heard the sports teams are holding a Turkey Trot fun run on campus that is also a canned food drive. There are also at least two Thanksgiving potlucks I've heard about. One of them is sort of designed for international students so they get the
chance to celebrate an American holiday and because most of them do not have
the chance to fly all the way home for such a short break, but anyone can come. The other is a student-run thing that's vegan-friendly. Also, some of the students who live near Portland will sometimes invite their
friends over for Thanksgiving. Last year, my roommate and a bunch of other
people went to my friend India’s house because her parents live in Portland. I didn't go, but I heard it was a lot of fun to hang out with her pets, meet her parents,
and do “home” things that people sort of forget about while living on campus –
like sitting in a quiet dining room for dinner, or using squishy towels in the
bathroom instead of paper towels. So, I guess what I'm getting at is that there are plenty of options for you over the breaks. I
just tend to choose to go home because I like to do that at least once per
semester. Hopefully, I can not only see my family, but some of my friends from
home as well.
However, I will only have so much time to do all that. I'll have a lot of work to do. For my education class, my professor asked everyone
who’s going home for the holiday to find a recent article about educational
reform in their hometown and also get some local opinions from family or
friends. Then, when we get back from break, my class is going to discuss any
differences or similarities in schools and school reform from different states
and cities in America. Education is so relevant, so important, and so
controversial, and I am really excited to do that assignment, as I am with
basically all of my work in that class.
I’ll also be starting my final English paper, which is going
to be on Milton’s Paradise Lost. I’m
not entirely sure yet, but I think it’s going to deal with the recurring word “wanton”
as used to describe both Eve and the Garden of Eden, and how that is indicative
of the inherent deviance of Creation. I think a lot of ideas I’ve gotten from
my philosophy class will play into my writing, like how
omniscience/foreknowledge can indicate lack of free will, and things like that.
It’s really cool to see overlap between my classes like that. Making
connections across disciplines is my favorite thing about college. Speaking of philosophy, I'll also be starting my final philosophy paper on the separation of church and state. I'm less excited for that one because I like English papers more than philosophy papers, but it should still be really interesting.
And of course, there’ll be plenty of Japanese studying going
on. I’m going to be reviewing all of the vocabulary and all of the kanji
characters we’ve learned. Plus, when I get back, I am filming a skit with four other people from class, which I am super excited for. We wrote the script last night and it's going to be hilarious. The premise is a trip to Hawaii gone very wrong.
Kanji.
Anyway, hope all of you have great Thanksgiving breaks! If
you have questions, just email me at jessicakostka@lclark.edu.
Jess