Blue Dragon

One of my classes in London is a Theatre course. We went to our first play on Wednesday night, The Blue Dragon by Robert Lapage. The play was staged in the Barbican Theatre in central London. I think that most of the class was a bit ambivalent about the theatre experience. Most of us had only seen student theatre or popular musicals, "real" theatre was a bit foreign to all of us. Blue Dragon was a bit of an intimidating, but also wonderful introduction to theatre in London. Blue Dragon is the story of a French-Canadian ex-pat living in China and his relationship with his ex-wife as well as his involvement with an up and coming artist. The play uses English, French, and Mandarin to tell the story, with subtitles of course. The play gets rave reviews in the daily papers. The spectacle of the show is enough to keep you glued to your seat for 2 hours. The play uses projection images and lots of interesting technical tricks to drive the plot of a rather slow moving play. I definitely recommend catching this show, especially if you want an introduction to the relationship between the west and China.All in all it was a great experience!

A scene from The Blue Dragon.

Things To Do in London When You're Dead (Tired)

Sorry its been so long since my last post. London, as you can tell from the title is exhausting. This post will be about getting to London, which was an adventure in and of itself. I left for London ,Tuesday the 15th, with the expectation of arriving in London on the 16th. I am happy to report that is just what happened. The flight was lovely and I caught up with a fellow Centre student on my flight from Atlanta to Heathrow Airport in London. My baggage even arrived on time! Two Centre students and I took a rented car from the airport to our flats. That was definitely a good decision. The late flight made arriving in London at 9am a bit disorienting. The driver was very pleasant and helped load our considerable amount of luggage into his van. When we go to the flats it was time for showers and a quick nap. That evening our program directors showed us the neighborhood and took us out to a quaint little Italian restaurant that is across the street from our housing complex. One of our quick stops was the British Museum which is about a 5 minute walk from our classroom. It was gorgeous and I am sure I will go back many time while I am here to explore the exhibits.We also got our first introduction to English grocery stores (definitely not Walmart, but more on that topic later). By the time we crawled into bed there was no question that we would all sleep well.

London Calling

On Tuesday I leave the states to spend my last semester of college living in London. I am so happy to be going abroad! One of the reasons I came to Centre was the promise that I would have the opportunity to study-abroad, have an internship, and graduate all in four years. At the end of the this semester I will have taken advantage of all of those opportunities. Given the general panic that I will be thrown in trying to pack and get acclimated to the city, it may be a few days before I get back to blogging. Wish me luck in my travels!

Why I Love Centre

One of the regular features of this blog will be a reason why I love Centre. It can be serious or silly, and given my general disposition, let's go for silly this time.

Flash mobs have become a common feature on many college campuses. They a fun way to use technology and live out your secret ambition to randomly dance in public (with a legit excuse to do so, of course). Centre did its own flash mob a few months ago to Glee's version of Teenage Dream. What makes this flash mob so freaking fabulous is not just the sweet dance moves, or the tunage, but how uninhibited everyone looks. Some flash mobs have people who are so focused on appearances that they do not seems to enjoy it. The Centre folk look pretty darn happy by my own estimation. The improv moves only add the ambiance. Its the people and how happy they look to do this with their friends/classmates that makes this mob one of the reasons why I love Centre.

P.S. I was not there :(, I was sleeping because one my professors cancelled class that day. I regret it, but I am happy to report it was the best night of sleep I got all semester.

I Need a Hobby!

With graduation approaching and my activities winding down, I have a fear of boredom. Centre has always kept me busy. Now I am afraid that I won’t be busy enough. This blog is one hobby, but there are lots of other things that I would like to do with my free time. One thing that I haven’t really done in college is explore my creative side. In high school I acted, wrote scripts, designed costumes, and painted sets. Likewise, I also used to be relatively athletic; playing basketball and going to the gym on a regular basis. Over the years I have also given up horseback riding. None of this was intentional, over the years I replaced one activity with another and now that I will be leaving college I hope to have more free time on my hands.

Here are a few ideas that I have come up with:

-Quilting

            I have always loved working with my hands. When I was making my tutu for Bid Day this past weekend I realized how much I missed creative, hands-on activities. I put a few quilting books on my Amazon.com wish list. I hope to read a few and then maybe get a sewing machine this summer.

-Running

            It’s been a really long time since I have done anything athletic. I’d like to get back in shape, start out walking and build up to running.  Or maybe I could get a bike and try something like that. My one problem here is allergies. Spring and fall can be the worst for being outdoors. I would like an athletic hobby I could take indoors if I have to.

I am open to suggestions. Leave comments or premature requests for a quilt :).

Why Blog?

I have played around with the idea of creating my own blog for the past several weeks. Several of my friends have blogs; some are about crafting and organization, others are about study abroad adventures, and one is even a movie reviewer! I don't believe that this blog will fit into those categories. I do not have the domestic skills of Martha Stewart. I am studying abroad, but I would like this project to be much more comprehensive. Likewise, I don't believe I have anything that profound to say about a particular topic. This blog is just about me and how I relate to the world because of my life experiences. I am a soon-to-be alum of a fantastic liberal arts college, a sorority woman, a Kentuckian, and a dog lover. Of course there are  many more adjectives to describe me, but I think writing helps you find out who you are and lets other people know how you think. Since becoming a student at Centre I have done my fair share of writing. Particularly this past CentreTerm. I took a class called Sociology of American Religion. Why I took this class requires some background explanation-

One of my reasons for attending Centre was the reputation. Centre is known, particularly in the South, as a great school. It's difficult, but the alums are doggedly loyal because of the relationships they build at the college and the life-altering experiences that students have inside the classroom. I was eager to experience all of this, but not always so eager to tackle the general education requirements of the college. They are extensive and for good reason. A liberals arts education is an endeavor to create a well-rounded citizen. The gen ed I was the least excited about was religion. The department is notoriously tough and I put off finishing this requirement as long as possible.

By the spring of my Junior year I decided to take my last gen ed and to finish up my major so I could take nothing but electives my Senior year. I had taken World Religions as a Sophomore and it was interesting- I learned quite a bit, but it was not my favorite class. The last religion course I had to take would be one covering Christianity. I could opt for either Biblical History and Ideas or The History of Christian Thought. I chose Biblical History and Ideas with Prof. Jefferson. I didn't have the highest of hopes going in, I feared that it would be a Sunday School repeat and that I would be bored by it. Still, I was determined to keep an open mind. As it turns out, I loved the class! I saw my own religious heritage in a new light and even found a way to weave what I had learned in that class into my History Seminar paper. That class lead me to take the next class in the Religion sequence- The History of Christian Thought. The fascination grew and led me to the Sociology of American Religion with Prof. Weston .

This CentreTerm course is famous for its trips to various religious institutions around the state, most notably The Creation Museum. Still, I was afraid of this class. It was not only difficult, but the class time was long, the homework was plenty, and the level of critical thinking was beyond demanding. However,I am proud to say that I have been bold and have taken some of the most challenging courses at the school.  One part of this class that made many students leery was the daily papers. We were required to turn in a paper of at least 500 words almost every day of the term, including weekends. Between that, the reading, and the field trips, I had very long days and nights as well. At first the papers were frustrating, they were a combination of a journal entry, an essay, and a summary. That is how I approached them. But by the end, they were so much easier to do. It almost became fun. I learned about how I think and where I place myself in the American Religious landscape. That brand of self-discovery was fun and a bit addictive.

They say it takes around 3 weeks to develop a new habit. This is where my desire to blog comes in. During my 3 week CentreTerm adventure into the world of American Religion I developed a new habit-writing for pleasure. So here I am, I have a blog.

Wish I may...Wish I might... We got the wish we made last night!

Sunday was Bid Day for the sorority community at Centre College. It was a great day! My sorority brought home 27 new Alphas! Alpha is the ADPi term for a new member. Each of the women who came home to us is fantastic. We are truly excited to have a wonderful new member class.

Bid Day is not only exciting for the new members, but for the initiated women as well. Its our chance to celebrate our sisterhood and dress up in silly costumes. This year's theme for ADPi bid day was fairy tales. We had everyone from Little Bo Peep and her sheep to Cinderella and her ugly step-sisters. It was quite a sight. I was signed up to be the queen and went all out for the occassion. I sewed my own tutu and had a crown in addition to my zebra print cape.

The most exciting part of the day was getting a grand-little. Last year I got a little diamond, Jordan, and this year it was her turn to get her own little diamond. My grand-little is named Laura and she is fabulous! Jordan and I are so excited for her to join our diamond family.What can I say? I love the Pi Life <>!

This is my Diamond Family!<> From left to right: Jordan, Laura, Me<>

<>The Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi at Centre College- Bid Day 2011<>

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

No, its not Christmas, that's in December silly. Today is the first day of sorority recruitment here at Centre College. We have around 100 women who are signed up to go through the recruitment process. Tonight is the first round of recruitment known as philanthropy night. The potential new members (PNMs) will go to each of the four sorority houses to learn about their individual philanthropies and make a craft at each house. It's win-win situation; the PNMs get learn about greek life and help sorority women do something for a fantastic philanthropic organization. I am an ADPi and our national philanthropy is the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The organization provides a home-away-from-home for the families of sick children while they are receiving medical treatment. My sisters and I like to help out at the Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass by cooking dinner for the families, providing supplies for the house, and raising money for them throughout the year. I love our philanthropy! It's one of the many reasons why I became an ADPi.

Here is a photo of me making cookies at the Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass in the Fall of 2008.

Welcome!

First of all, the contents of this blog are not representative of the opinions of the college nor is it endorsed in any way by the college. This blog is simply the combined ramblings of one college undergraduate that has been so profoundly affected by her college experience that she has named her blog in honor of it. The writer of this blog also makes no guarantees on grammar, or anything else for that matter. Now let's get on to the good stuff, shall we?