mid-semester already?

the college lifestyle phenomenon has begun to sink in even more lately- although i'm guessing it could be due to the fact that i've been hanging out with mostly seniors who are constantly thinking about graduation and beyond.

last night i went to a great concert- diapensia, the papercuts, and baltimore big name beach house- in an odd abandoned warehouse-turned-hipster art gallery. i was most certainly the nerdiest person there, but the music swept us all away.

classes have been going well, but have begun to increase in pressure a bit lately. that's probably a good thing or i would have begun to feel really guilty about having too much fun. i have three papers due next week (i had two due last week), so it's another friday night in the library for me! i really like my anthro and soc classes.

i am currently searching for part-time summer jobs in the baltimore area...if anyone happens to know of any (in basically any field), please let me know. thanks!!

on a more random note, if you have a free minute and are an obama fan, you should check out these bizarre websites i heard about: www.barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com and www.michelleobamaisyournewbicycle.com.

i hope you have a fantastic day.

college lifestyle #2

as of this weekend, i really feel like i've led the college lifestyle. it's sunday afternoon and i have not begun my homework! that's the first time this has happened...ever.

i went swing dancing on friday night at johns hopkins univ. and had a wonderful time. it turns out some of my acquaintances here at goucher are nationally renowned lindy hoppers...they taught a class and we danced to live music! it was awesome with the exception of the sweaty old guys that go to dance with college girls. i also noticed the differences between goucher and hopkins make me thankful that i go here instead. they may have ground-breaking math and science programs, but their lack of arts programs (ie. no dance classes at all!), extremely pedestrian advertisements around campus and conversations with students made me appreciate goucher's emphasis on humanities, studying abroad, and being well-rounded and creative.

on saturday, i went to the baltimore book thing, a book recycling center where you can donate and pick up as many used books as you'd like. also wonderful and made me appreciate baltimore. the weekend just got more fun as some friends and i went to a party in the chic neighborhood of charles village. it was quinceanera-themed birthday party at a rowhouse, and turned out to be pretty ridiculous. we kind of (half intentionally) misunderstood the theme of dress and instead of going with formal wear, we wore the most flameco- and mariachi-looking clothes we could find. all went well until the police showed up and told us all to leave... another first for me! we went to an awesome diner called the papermoon after leaving the party and enjoyed the cheapest snacks on the menu. this morning i went out to breakfast at the college hotspot towson hot bagels with a few of my closest friends.

it has been the most enlightening and least productive weekend of my college career.

even more south africa pictures

here are more south africa photos- from kwazulu natal. the beach pictured is the indian ocean!

also, if you need more of a travel fix, check out my good friend sally's blog as she studies in istanbul for the semester: http://sallygordon.livejournal.com/.

rollercoaster

we are approximately nine days into the spring semester and it has already been quite the rollercoaster. i feel like drama has been dominating everyone's lives these days, both positively and negatively. it began with our seemingly eternal journey home, then continued with one of my closest friends leaving for the semester last weekend. she had to go abruptly for personal reasons and, although i know she'll be a stronger person for it in the end, i can only imagine how frazzled and uncomfortable she feels right now. my thoughts are with her.

the string of unfortunate events continues into my own family, as my grandmother is in the hospital recovering from a nasty fall. times like this remind me just how far i am from home, and i feel guilty that i can't be of any help to my family right now. i hope this situation goes as smoothly as possible because it sure seems like a troublesome one.

despite the groundhog's prediction that it will be winter for another six weeks (i'm assuming this...i haven't really looked into the matter), i feel like the usual spring semester giddiness is already upon us. romantic drama seems to be sweeping goucher and i know quite a few seniors who are already itching to leave. that, and baltimore's recent weather has been in the upper 60s and feels like april. this should be an interesting semester considering all that has occurred so far.

in terms of classes, i have been pleasantly surprised so far. i had pretty low expectations going into nearly all of my classes but have in fact really enjoyed all of them. it turns out that practicing methods of social sciences is much more fulfilling than i imagined! on top of that, we are off to a strong start on the newspaper staff and all of my jobs are looking bright. my newest job in the graduate program for education has been a pleasant challenge already- they are counting on me to redesign and maintain their website!

below you will find more south africa pictures. these are from grahamstown... more to come.

photos #3

more cape town-

1. view from the cable car at table mountain. frightening but amazing.
2. crowd at the kristenbosch botanical garden gearing up for the afrikaner punk group "fokofpolisiekar." an odd but fun show.
3. the district six museum, commemorating those who were forced to relocate during apartheid.
4. penguins at boulder beach. they smelled horrible.
5. some of my classmates at the victoria and albert waterfront, equivalent to baltimore's inner harbor.