the midterms, the packing, the travel, and the announcement!

Well we have reached the midpoint of the spring semester.

Midterms ended on Friday, and I have an alright feeling about them. I didn't have a lot of work - just a 5 page paper for Shakespeare and an exam for my Cultural Studies course... but the week was very stressful with and added French test and a quiz for my Intro to Lit class.

Unfortunately I do not have a charger for my camera. I tried to buy one and have it shipped to my house in the States, and then have my parents ship it to me, but the item was backordered and the company never shipped it. I scoured the city of Lugano, looking in department stores of all kinds. Two had the product, but it needed to be pre-ordered and took one to two weeks.  My next idea was to search the campus, talking to a bunch of students that I'm not even friends with! I was so desperate and talked to about ten people with Nikons, none of them had the same charger as me. 

Therefore, I will be tackling this Academic Travel with my iPhone. The quality will not be incredible, but the iPhone still has a decent camera. I hope I can get some great shots to share this experience with you.

It's going to be a crazy three weeks. I fly out of Lugano at 1:30 pm today (since it's already Sunday here in Switzerland) and arrive in Hamburg in the late afternoon/early evening.  We spend three days there, travel to Rostock (also in Germany) for another three days. Then we travel to Copenhagen, Denmark, where we will spend the last four days. One of those includes a day trip to Malmö, Sweden. Then we fly back to Lugano from Copenhagen.

I return on Wednesday the 21st and will try to get some updates in, internet access pending.

On Thursday the 22nd, my friends (Kaitlin, Emily, Michelle, Medina, and Lexie) and I are taking the latest train from Lugano to Milan and then taking a shuttle to the Bergamo airport. Friday morning we have an early flight to Thessaloniki, Greece. We're spending the weekend (Friday the 23rd through Monday the 26) in Greece. I'm excited because Sunday the 25th is Greek Independence Day! Should be a lot of celebrations and great fun. 

OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS FOR EVERYONE.

I recently mentioned that I had some big announcement, and I'm not sure if any of you have heard, I'm sure some of you may or will not be surprised if we've talked recently!

This is going to be my last semester here at Franklin. 

It's been a difficult decision that I've gone back and forth about, and there is a variety of reasons contributing to this decision.

The top of this list is the lack of a writing program here. Franklin's "Creative WRiting and Literature Major" is a major in Literature that also takes two classes in Creative Writing with a focus in Fiction of Poetry. In essence, it's a Lit major with two supplements.

On top of the lack of program, they are having difficulty even keeping it around at all. My current Lit professor, also the Department Head for Literature, told my class they are looking into starting a petition for the major, which to me suggests that if not enough interest is generated they are going to scrap the program altogether. 

I'm taking advantage of every opportunity that I have while I am here, and have no regrets with my decision to come to Franklin. It was an experience I will never forget, and am glad to have and be able to share all of this with you. I will continue to travel, regardless of where I end up next (I'm currently looking at Roanoke in Virginia, and Roger Williams in Rhode Island). 

I have really appreciated all of your support throughout this past year. It means a lot to me to know I have such a phenomenal family that believes in me. So thank you to all of you, and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store! 

The Classes pt. 2

So I'm just going to interject between travel posts (I have a few more photos to edit before I update about Lausanne, Geneva, and Neuchâtel) and update about the future of my Franklin College career!
I don't know if it's actually a big deal, but on Tuesday I had to register for classes for the first time on my own. It was really exciting and somewhat stressful, but I'm really excited for it. I got the classes that I wanted (that were still available by the time Freshmen were allowed to register) so I'm actually pretty happy with that I'll be taking next semester. So, without further adieu.....

POL 253 - United States Foreign Policy: Credits 3.00
This course will describe and analyze the political, strategic and economic dimensions of American foreign policy. Special focus will be directed toward the issues that have confronted American decision makers since 1939. Examples and case studies drawn from American relations with the USSR, Europe, the Far East, the Middle East and Latin America will be studied in detail. The global implications of American influence and hegemony in the international system will be analyzed from the standpoint of trends and developments since the end of the Cold War and the attack on the Twin Towers. 


LIT 242 - Contemporary African Literature: Credits 3.00 
This course is a study of fiction, drama, and poetry from Africa. The course will focus on contemporary literature and our main concern will be the work of the postcolonial African writer. The continent of Africa includes diverse peoples, cultures, languages, customs, economic circumstances, and responses to colonialism. With such diversity comes a broad wealth of literary production. Thus we will read texts from various countries and from different cultural or gender perspectives. Although the subject of our study is literature, we will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, understanding literary works as products of cultural, historical, social, and political circumstances. Our understanding of each text will be complemented by a study of its context. Throughout the course we will explore such themes as the relation of English-language writing to indigenous languages, to orality, and to audience, as well as images of pre-colonial Africa, and the issues of creating art in a world of suffering and of de-colonising the narrative of history. At the end of the term, students will be expected to have gained insight into contemporary African literary tradition and will have been introduced to literary criticism of African literature.


FRE 101 - Introductory French, Part. II | Credits 3.00 
The beginning courses stress the understanding and speaking of the language. As students progress through elementary conversation, more grammar study is introduced, and reading and composition skills are developed. 


LIT 208 - Shakespearean Drama | Credits 3.00 
An introduction to Shakespeare, and Shakespeare studies, across the full range of his work: poetry, history play, comedy, tragedy, and "romance". The Shakespearean universe is approached through a consideration of the society and thought of his time in an endeavor to place the work in its living context. Special consideration is given to the texture and detail of Shakespeare's language and its relation to characterization and theme in the plays.


CLCS 110 - Reading Cultures: Intro to Cultural Studies | Credits 3.00 
This course has two primary goals: to introduce students to the history and theoretical writings of various strands of cultural studies, and to acquaint them with some of the intersecting axes - race, class and gender - that energize the field. Close attention will be paid to issues such as the shaping of identity, forms of representation, the production, consumption and distribution of cultural goods, and the construction of knowledge and power in a host of cultural practices and cultural institutions. 


And finally (MOST EXCITINGLY!!!) My Travel course for next semester is......


TVL 285 - Hamburg/Baltic Sea/Copenhagen | Credits 1.00 
Hamburg prides itself on being Germany's "Gateway to the World". It is Germany's largest harbor and, historically, it connected the Baltic Sea region with North Sea access. In recent years, Hamburg has had to manage the challenge of globalization by developing new economical areas in cooperation with the surrounding communities. Copenhagen has to face the same situation and its answer is similar: building a metropolitan area with a diversified economical structure. We will spend several days in Hamburg, visiting the harbor, wharfs, the Airbus site, a publisher, and an advertising company (Hamburg is Germany's center of print media and is a leader in the field of advertising). We will also visit Luebeck. Then we will travel to Copenhagen, enjoying the countryside and the Baltic Sea on our way. Students will study how major cities deal with economic changes and will consider the problems harbor cities face as they make the transition to a global market. 


I am so incredibly excited for this travel. I originally wanted one to Bloomsbury, London/England because it focused on publishing, which is something I am considering doing with my life... however, I want to see as many countries as I can, and England is a place I can go on my own, though the experience is still something I want from a publishing aspect.. regardless. This travel goes to Germany (Hamburg), and Denmark (Copenhagen), and from what I hear from upperclassmen, it also goes to SWEDEN! I am so excited to go to Sweden because... well, I' Swedish and I think that would be awesome. My RA, Dani, who is a good friend of mine, told me that one of her friends went on this travel and fell in love with Sweden that she actually "dropped out" of Franklin, moved to Sweden, and is currently studying as an undergrad in a Swedish University. I'm so pumped. 


That's all for now - I'm trying to finish editing tonight so I can update about the rest of travel tomorrow, hopefully, or this weekend at the latest!