I realize I left off rather abruptly last time but in my
defense there was a family and a puppy looking for me. Caramel's developed a habit of looking for me
whenever she hears my voice coming out of the computer. It's adorable and makes me miss my baby so
much more than I already do, she looks so sad when she can't find me; she
hasn't figured out that I'm in the computer yet, she just knows I'm not
there. After we'd sufficiently explored
the grocery store, we'd packed our newfound foodstuffs into backpacks
(apparently this is a city thing, relatively unknown to those who don't go to
school in them, who'd've thunk it?), and made our way back to the flats. I spent the rest of my evening making dinner
and using the rest of my MBs on skype.
Yesterday was Ultimate Day. Even
though it wasn't technically as good a day out as last week, it was still loads
of fun. I'm loving being out on the
field again and teaching new players the game.
Somehow, I've become one of the 'old' players. I've been playing for about 5 or 6 years now,
since sophomore year of high school but it's been so much fun that it doesn't
feel like that long and I know there are so many better players out there than
me. Yet somehow, I'm realizing that to
someone just starting out that I, Kimberly/Kim/Zolla, am the old, wise player
schooled in the intricacies of the game; it’s a concept I'm still wrapping my
head around. I'm also discovering that
there are downsides to this 'status' like that I now have to handle sometimes
because I have passable throws, or that the cutting lane will be chock full of
rooks for the time being. There are
major upsides though as well, teaching and helping people fall in love with a
game I love is so rewarding. There's
something special about seeing a disc fly flat and straight for the first time
and their face light up, knowing you had a role in putting it there, or
watching someone score their first point, make their first real cut and
catch. I remember what that felt like
for me and I'm really enjoying teaching new people the game. After frisbee we grabbed some food and then
the roommates and I had a bit of a chill night in, everyone curled up with a
book or a movie. Today I'm at the
library all day so not much of interest to report except that for only having 2
traditional classes there sure is a lot of work to be done on other things! I'm currently taking a break from the grownup
world of figuring out how I'll be getting to my first day of work, working on
grad school applications, and researching my dissertation to write this and
clear up some random thought that have been on my mind.
Random Thoughts:
Yesterday was our 2 week anniversary as a program and it
feels like it was so much longer ago than that.
The best way to describe a study abroad program may be as a crash course
in social dynamics. For the most part,
it feels like I've known these people way longer than two weeks and yet others
I'm still getting to know. I think part
of it may be due to the 24/7 mentality of the trip. We arrived here in groups for the most part,
so there were tran-Atlantic flights and arrival adventures to bond over. We live together in flats of 4, and all the
flats are in the same little hallway. We
go to school together and are the only pupils in our classes. We essentially do everything together from
work, to travel, shop and play. Even
though these past two weeks have been long, I have a sneaking suspicion that
this trip will be flying by pretty soon, it's already October 9 which means
there's less than 2.5 months left!
I'm back to reading the BBC regularly now that I'm here. It's like having to read the Times for an American
Politics class. One of the things I
noticed was that next to an article about a release from the British Treasury
was accompanied with an interesting sidebar.
In a drop-box there was a massive list of banking terms, all linked to
easy-to-understand definitions. It struck
me how widely the financial crisis has struck the world. Some of the terms were simple but others
delved into the complex financial world.
Somewhere in the past few years, it became necessary for everyday people
to make sense of these terms in order to keep their daily lives in order. Ten or twenty years ago, no one needed to
know what these terms meant or how they worked, you simply mailed your check to
the bank every month to pay your mortgage with little thought to how the macro
machine functioned. I can't tell if this
new need for knowledge is the sign of a smarter investor and consumer or of a
more dire financial situation but either way it is a definite departure from
the old. A lot to get from a drop-box
but it just got me thinking!
Finally, the news of Steve Jobs' death made big headlines on
this side of the pond as well as back home.
I'm a PC girl all the way, yet I can't deny the impact Jobs made. As I type this I'm listening to music on my
ipod which is an achievement unto itself, and this ipod is much smaller than
the black and white click wheel I first bought myself years. Jobs had a tremendous impact on the technological
world and I have little doubt that it would look vastly different - and likely
not in a good way- without him. I'm
intrigued to see what Apples first post-Jobs big idea will be and if it will
possess the same innovation the world has come to expect from Apple. Even beyond technology, the man seemed to be
fascinating and the kind of thinker that will be sorely missed.
If you haven't seen his commencement speech at Stanford a few years
back, I suggest you check it out either in print (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html)
or video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc)
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