International Symposium Day

So yesterday was International Symposium Day, which occurs every fall and spring semester. International Symposium Day basically consists of students giving half hour symposiums to the rest of the student body throughout the day about some aspect of either their venture grant, special project, or study abroad experience. Classes are canceled for the day and students get to go to however many and whichever symposiums they choose. I still had to work on Int. Symposium Day, so I didn't get to go to as many as I would have liked, but I did manage to pop in on two: 'The Oddity of My Presence in India' and 'Increasing Literacy Levels in Ghana, One Book at a Time!'. The first symposium was about one Beloit student's journalism internship in India over the summer and she discussed how both her identity as an American and her Asian facial features affected how those around her responded to her. The second symposium was given by my friend Nana Akosua, who spent some of her summer doing a venture grant in her home country of Ghana. She spent a month working with and teaching a group of 35 children (who had never before owned books of their own) living in a rural area outside of Accra how to read.

(Fun fact: the first time I ever stepped foot on campus as a prospective student was international symposium day, so I always get a good dose of nostalgia with my symposium days.)

Here It Goes Again

Phew. This last week was a crazy roller coaster of school work insanity (and I'm about to ride it again. oh boy.). Here's a quick summary:
Halloween!: Possibly my favorite holiday of the year. My friends and I went on the annual ghost walk put on by Beloit College students. (Of course my FYI professor's house was mentioned as being haunted. Hey! I have to work there, you know!) We also went to see a VooDoo Barbie performance (Beloit College's improv comedy student group), which was made even more awesome with everyone in costume. This Hallowen, I went as a girl scout, since I have an old, vintage uniform from the fifties hanging up in my closet. A trip to Jimmy John's was made and I got my usual: No. 6 Vegetarian Sub with BBQ Jimmy chips. Yum!

Presidential election: No matter what your politics, it's hard to argue that this wasn't a historic election. All of campus exploded when it was announced that Barack Obama had won. Later that night I grabbed all the Obama posters I could find and plastered them all over one of the bathroom stalls on my floor in a post-election frenzy. We now call it the Barack Obathroom Stall.
Study Abroad interview: I submitted my study abroad application this past week and also had my study abroad interview. (Beloit College encourages every student to study abroad, but they really want to make sure you're studying abroad for both academic and personal growth. Not just for the fun of it.) I was pretty nervous, but I think I did all right. I've done a lot of research on England and Lancaster University, so I was able to answer all the questions with a fair amount of confidence. I'll find out if I'm approved for study abroad sometime before the semester ends. Fingers crossed.
Last weekend: On Saturday evening some of my friends and I drove to the movie theater in Beloit to see The Secret Life of Bees. It was a little too melodramatic/lifetime channel for me, but I was in the minority. (Side note: Even if you don't have a car/don't have friends who have cars, it's still fairly easy to get out and about in Beloit. The College provides shuttle vans to take students to the movie theater, on shopping trips, etc.) After the movie, we came back to the college, had an impromptu dance party, and wound down the evening with a game of Boggle. On Sunday, I drove out to Kauffman's Country Store, which sells homemade deliciousness like fresh pies, bread, and cookies. During September and October, they sell baked goods at the farmer's market downtown every Saturday morning. The city of Beloit partitions off two streets downtown and local families and businesses set up stalls to create an open air market. It's always a great start to the weekend.