This year has been quite an adventure. I have been at the University of New Mexico for three semesters now, and every semester is different from the next. I'm currently a Sophomore majoring in Languages, and I love every minute of it. Last spring I took French, German, Psychology, Physics, and Survey of Mathematics. At the time, I also got a job at Super Suppers working 15 hours while going to school for 16 hours, which was pretty hard for me. My job was tons of fun, though, because I got to work with food, and everybody who works there went to high school with me so we all knew each other pretty well.
Last summer was pretty eventful. I took French and English, I crashed my car, I went to my first baseball game of my own accord, I discovered I can fit in a dryer, and I went to Arizona for my brother's wedding.
This past semester I took German, Philosophy, Piano, Yoga, Bowling, and two French classes, but I only worked at Super Suppers on the weekends. I moved out of my mom's house in August just before school started, and I now live in a house with three music majors (fun stuff) who all go to the University of New Mexico as well. On the weekends, I stay at my mom's house on the other side of town because my job is over there, and I like the Singles Ward better than the one by the University. Living on my own has been an interesting experience. My roommates are never home (again, they're music majors) so I spend a lot of time alone with the two cats.
One time, I had to break into the house through the kitchen window because I forgot my keys, nobody was home, and I really needed the bathroom. (Also, the landlords that live next door weren't home.) The kitchen window is five feet up, but it's the only one that's ever left open. I had to stack a chair on top of two tables to get in, but I felt a small sense of accomplishment afterwords.
The landlords are the grandparents of one of my roommates (Laura), and they are really sweet people. Laura's grandma always brings us raspberries from their yard and pizza from Costco. I ride my bike to school (about 1.5 miles) every day because, as I already mentioned, I crashed my car at the beginning of last summer. Besides the cold, I really like riding my bike better than I ever liked driving. (I actually hate driving.) That's basically it for this year, however, I do expect many more exciting changes for next year.
Super Suppers is not doing very well, and I have lost my job as a result. I'll be looking for a new job so I can stay with my roommates, but we'll see what happens. I've already registered for classes, and I'll be starting next week. I'm taking French, German, Latin, Piano, Modern World Languages, and Living World Religions. The one thing I'm most excited about for year 2009, though, is that I'm going to be an Aunt in February.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Elkinds vs. Sedaris
I don't feel like typing up anything intelligent or profound at the moment, mostly because that brain power needs to be put to better use. (I should be typing up the final draft of an English paper.) Also, nobody is going to read this anyways. I just wanted to get out my feelings about the rainbow people and bilingual education. When I say rainbow people, I'm talking about homosexuals, but I'm doing so with racism in mind. I have grown tired of the constant comparison of the two; orientation preference and race should not be compared. Whether our sexual tendencies are our choices or not, they can always be fought. Race is not a feeling and therefore cannot be fought. If people want to support homosexuality, they need to stop using race as a comparison. Going further, homophobics cannot be compared with racists. I think the issue is much more complicated than that. This is the first part of my complaints...against Sedaris. I had to read a short story by him for my English class. The story is a nonfiction one titled "I Like Guys," which honestly caught my attention before I knew I would later be required to read it. I have to say, I was disappointed. I wanted something deeper.
And what about bilingual education? Well, I feel that it is only fair to offer education in English as a second language for anybody who is looking for it. I guess my complaint about bilingual education is that some people are not interested. I do not feel too passionate about this just yet because I feel way too biased. I love languages, it's what I do. Other people might not feel the same way, and they don't care about practicality as much as their heritage. I wish I could see it from their point of view, but my "heritage" is practical. I can easily go the rest of my life without learning a second language. That is a luxury that I don't care for, but given the evidence of a growing number of monolinguals in the United States, others actually do care. Many of my fellow Americans have taken advantage of the fact that there is no need for them to learn a second language. These people are just people, and I believe they could have been born in a different country and grown up wanting the same thing...in a totally different way. I guess it just saddens me to know that there are actually a good number of people that would prefer to remain monolingual. Well, that's my ranting and raving of the day...maybe even of the month or year. (This is honestly not common for me, and I guess I just wanted to type out my feelings, which makes this a real blog, right?) Oh, I almost forgot...this second half is a response to another short story I had to read by Elkinds. He describes how I feel, but it's very one-sided. I really wanted the other side. Sheesh, I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with what I read.
And what about bilingual education? Well, I feel that it is only fair to offer education in English as a second language for anybody who is looking for it. I guess my complaint about bilingual education is that some people are not interested. I do not feel too passionate about this just yet because I feel way too biased. I love languages, it's what I do. Other people might not feel the same way, and they don't care about practicality as much as their heritage. I wish I could see it from their point of view, but my "heritage" is practical. I can easily go the rest of my life without learning a second language. That is a luxury that I don't care for, but given the evidence of a growing number of monolinguals in the United States, others actually do care. Many of my fellow Americans have taken advantage of the fact that there is no need for them to learn a second language. These people are just people, and I believe they could have been born in a different country and grown up wanting the same thing...in a totally different way. I guess it just saddens me to know that there are actually a good number of people that would prefer to remain monolingual. Well, that's my ranting and raving of the day...maybe even of the month or year. (This is honestly not common for me, and I guess I just wanted to type out my feelings, which makes this a real blog, right?) Oh, I almost forgot...this second half is a response to another short story I had to read by Elkinds. He describes how I feel, but it's very one-sided. I really wanted the other side. Sheesh, I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with what I read.
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