http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=463cJdlIcek
Here is our final video. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone in these last few weeks. I have learned so much, this has truly been a great experience!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Coming of Age as a Global Citizen
This week we wrapped up the class with our final theme, coming of age as a global citizen. I think our novel, The Buddha of Suburbia, really shows how difficult it can be to come of age as a global citizen. It means you need to be aware of both your surroundings and the world around you.
Becoming a global citizen involves learning to see the world from different points of view, just as we saw London from a new point of view while on the London Eye. In our book the main character Karim struggles to look at the world from different perspectives.
As people begin to travel they began to learn what the world has to offer. In the Vatican I saw many globes all with different colors and ideas. You could see the view of citizens changing over time and travel. It shows us that sometimes becoming a global citizen means not just exploring new places but also exploring history.
It takes time and effort to to learn about the world. Often times we leave our comfort zone and immediately want to go back to what we know, but after a little time we usually adjust to our new area. As we see in the book Karim deals with the fear of leaving his comfort zone.
" I wanted to run out of the room, back to south London, where I belonged, out of which I had wrongly and arrogantly stepped." (Hanif Kureishi, 148)
While in the V&A Museum we had the opportunity to see costumes from the Lion King theater production. Its amazing to see how costumes can represent both humans and animals. The outfits really reflect the culture of Africa. I think television, movies, and play's help us to better understand the world around us without leaving home.
"The jungle itself, its trees and swamps, the many animals, fires and huts, were to be fashioned from our bodies, movements, cries." ( Hanif Kureishi, 145)
To me coming of age as a global citizen means that your mind needs to be in constant motion. You should constantly be learning about the world around you, because it doesn't sit still.
As people begin to travel they began to learn what the world has to offer. In the Vatican I saw many globes all with different colors and ideas. You could see the view of citizens changing over time and travel. It shows us that sometimes becoming a global citizen means not just exploring new places but also exploring history.
It takes time and effort to to learn about the world. Often times we leave our comfort zone and immediately want to go back to what we know, but after a little time we usually adjust to our new area. As we see in the book Karim deals with the fear of leaving his comfort zone.
" I wanted to run out of the room, back to south London, where I belonged, out of which I had wrongly and arrogantly stepped." (Hanif Kureishi, 148)
While in the V&A Museum we had the opportunity to see costumes from the Lion King theater production. Its amazing to see how costumes can represent both humans and animals. The outfits really reflect the culture of Africa. I think television, movies, and play's help us to better understand the world around us without leaving home.
"The jungle itself, its trees and swamps, the many animals, fires and huts, were to be fashioned from our bodies, movements, cries." ( Hanif Kureishi, 145)
To me coming of age as a global citizen means that your mind needs to be in constant motion. You should constantly be learning about the world around you, because it doesn't sit still.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Coming of age as a writer/during war: Atonement
This week we talked about what it meant to come of age as a writer during war. Our book, Atonement was about a writer coming of age as a writer during World War II. I think coming of age as a writer during war gave you so much to write about, there was so much emotion, and tragedy happening all around you as a writer it would have been hard to not record or escape the world in which you were living.
This bust of Anne Frank in the British Library,
really shows a girl who embodied what it meant to come of age as a writer during war. During World War II she kept a diary talking about her everyday life in hiding from the Nazi Regime. She also talked about the world outside of her hiding spot and about her beliefs on many subjects. She offers insight into a world many of us would not know about, without her diary.
This piece of the Berlin Wall that was outside of the Imperial War Museum visibly shows the barriers that war can bring to countries and to people. I like that this piece says, "Change Your Life". I think for many writers that is what writing does for them- it changes them. In our book Briony writes about how she hoped her life would have turned out, given a few changes.
This letter from the Imperial War Museum, seemed to be the most direct connection to our book. It is a letter from a Captain describing his experiences of evacuating Dunkirk. This letter could have easily been a letter that would have been exchanged by Cecilia and Robbie.
These illustrations with captions show a young writer in the early stages, trying to get her point across as best she can. The little girl, Dorthy King, is an evacuee writing to her mother to tell her that she is safe. The first P.S. explaining that she as not been hit by a bomb; the second that she has not been gassed; and the third that she has not come in contact with a gun. This shows how writers coming of age during war had to draw from events we would not expect young writers today to draw from.
These journals of children kept during World War II show young writers practicing there skills, through diary entries and short stories, often meant to entertain other members of there family.
Even during times of war children still had to go to school and learn what it meant to be a writer. For many this was probably a great way to spend their days, since playing outside was not as much of an option due to things like air raids.
At the Florence Nightingale Museum we learned that Florence was extremely well read and could write very well. She came of age as a writer moving from short stories as a child to books, pamphlets, articles, and letters. She was meticulous in her notes on patients and her attention to detail helped her improve the medical world.
Out of all the short stories and letters that I observed this week the most heartbreaking were the letters from The Holocaust exhibit. People would throw letters off the cargo trains to try and get word to there families about there location and condition, hoping someone would walk along the train tracks pick it up and mail it. Unfortunately many of them did not get to experience what it meant to come of age as a writer because of the high death tolls. It is sad that so many actual and potential writers couldn't share there gifts with the world.
This bust of Anne Frank in the British Library,
really shows a girl who embodied what it meant to come of age as a writer during war. During World War II she kept a diary talking about her everyday life in hiding from the Nazi Regime. She also talked about the world outside of her hiding spot and about her beliefs on many subjects. She offers insight into a world many of us would not know about, without her diary.
This piece of the Berlin Wall that was outside of the Imperial War Museum visibly shows the barriers that war can bring to countries and to people. I like that this piece says, "Change Your Life". I think for many writers that is what writing does for them- it changes them. In our book Briony writes about how she hoped her life would have turned out, given a few changes.
This letter from the Imperial War Museum, seemed to be the most direct connection to our book. It is a letter from a Captain describing his experiences of evacuating Dunkirk. This letter could have easily been a letter that would have been exchanged by Cecilia and Robbie.
These illustrations with captions show a young writer in the early stages, trying to get her point across as best she can. The little girl, Dorthy King, is an evacuee writing to her mother to tell her that she is safe. The first P.S. explaining that she as not been hit by a bomb; the second that she has not been gassed; and the third that she has not come in contact with a gun. This shows how writers coming of age during war had to draw from events we would not expect young writers today to draw from.
Even during times of war children still had to go to school and learn what it meant to be a writer. For many this was probably a great way to spend their days, since playing outside was not as much of an option due to things like air raids.
At the Florence Nightingale Museum we learned that Florence was extremely well read and could write very well. She came of age as a writer moving from short stories as a child to books, pamphlets, articles, and letters. She was meticulous in her notes on patients and her attention to detail helped her improve the medical world.
Out of all the short stories and letters that I observed this week the most heartbreaking were the letters from The Holocaust exhibit. People would throw letters off the cargo trains to try and get word to there families about there location and condition, hoping someone would walk along the train tracks pick it up and mail it. Unfortunately many of them did not get to experience what it meant to come of age as a writer because of the high death tolls. It is sad that so many actual and potential writers couldn't share there gifts with the world.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Coming of age as a beliver and a skeptic
Earlier on this trip I climbed up The Monument that was built to commemorate the Great Fire. I was very skeptic about climbing up The Monument, just as Charles was very skeptic about his religious beliefs. The Monument leads up 311 winding steps. Your reward is the view of London and a certificate for making it to the top. Even though I was skeptic I am so glad I participated.
This weekend while in Paris I had the chance to not only visit but also to attend mass at the Notre Dame. After seeing the beauty and reverence it is hard to not believe in faith. At the end of our book this week Charles sees the importance of both faith and the Church, something he has struggled with throughout his life.
Another place we had the chance to visit this week was Oxford. While we were there we saw the room that made up the great hall in the Harry Potter movies; it was pure magic. The room makes you want to be a believer.
While visiting Hampton Court Palace we saw many fountains, similar to the fountain in our book, on the grounds representing the wealth that the previous owners had. Each fountain is representing something unique and different about the person who put it on the grounds.
Our last day of class this week we walked from the Kenwood House to Hampstead Heath. It was amazing to walk through open fields that have been virtually untouched, it really made you want to think about your beliefs. I can see now how it was and still is easy to get lost in your thoughts and beliefs during Charles time.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Coming of Age as a Traveler
In the book, A Room With a View, by E.M. Foster, the main character Lucy learns about herself as she travels to both Florence and Rome. It gives her a new view on life and on love. Ironically that new view on life is exactly what we are given as study abroad students.
We have been traveling a lot by way of the underground. Slowly but surely we are picking up on the routes and the quickest circuits to get from place to place. It is giving us a sense of independence that you gain as you successfully travel from one place to another. Like Lucy we are becoming more confident in our selves, the more we travel.
When Lucy visits Florence she observes at art and culture that she may not be able to experience at home. In observing things about others she learns about herself. Her thoughts and perceptions begin to shift. When you experience other cultures you begin to compare them with your own. I had the chance to experience an opera for free and discovered that they are really beautiful and fun to watch.
I also had the chance to visit the Roman Baths. In this picture there is a woman who is dressed in the traditional Roman clothing and is applying traditional “make-up”. It is interesting to learn how they did things back then versus how we do them today. In a way it is like seeing a view from the past, while staying in the present.
Another view I had the chance to see was the view from Churchill’s War Rooms. It was amazing to see where the war was fought from a military perspective. The map room was my favorite room within the bunker. It was amazing to see all of the tacks that marked the spots that Churchill was monitoring. When I think about WWII I have a tendency to forget that so many countries were affected. So many people had to come of age in a world that was being torn apart.
This photo is a picture of the painting Judith by Liss, in the National Gallery. The painting is narrating the story of a woman who is fighting back from oppression. This relates to Lucy because she is fighting back with society for her room with a view.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Coming of Age as a Worker
For one coming of age as a worker everyday tasks were difficult; a basin like this had to last workers like Jane Eyre a whole day in her kitchen, unless she wanted to empty and refill it.
Worker’s chances of advancement in society were small as communication lines were more limited than today. As the only form of communication was by letter and newspaper.
Not only were lines of communication fewer and farer between but so were chances of transportation for workers, making it difficult for people to change their situation.
By learning and gaining new knowledge, workers could begin to have new thoughts and new possibilities.
Just as the Berlin wall is a concrete symbol of separation, there was an invisible wall that separated not only different classes and genders but also separated people within those categories.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Laura as a Horned Frog
To be honest I had never heard of TCU until my senior year in high school when I randomly chose TCU from the list of schools on the common application. When I got my acceptance letter in December my parents and I decided to take a look at the campus and I've been a horned frog fan ever since.
My friend Leslie and me at a TCU football game.
I am an elementary education major. I spend the majority of my time in Palko Hall, it’s become one of my favorite buildings on campus.
I'm a member of Sigma Kappa sorority at TCU.
Texas is one of my favorite places to be, my Mom say's she has lost me to Fort Worth. Last year my friends even wrote it on the back of my car.
I love my family and I love to travel.
Most people say I'm shy, but once you get to know me I talk all the time.
I think this poster explains how I want to or try to live life.
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