Fort Sumter and little French songs

Hello again!

Well, it's 12 April: the day the American Civil War began, with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter. I'm very pleased with the timing: I had American History this morning, and I had to give a presentation on antebellum presidents... anyway. Supposedly, the only casualty on the 12th was a horse, and three Union soldiers died on the 14th when a cannon misfired during the surrender ceremony.

Anyway.

I spent the weekend in the New York, so I could see Rebz's senior musical, which was amazing, as expected. It's her last in high school, and I couldn't imagine myself missing it... so yes. Rebz: I've told you before, but really. You have such fantastic talent. I'm sure the Ursuline theater program is going to miss you greatly, and you are going to be such an asset to whichever college you chose. I also got to see Trevor, as well as Ben, which was... well. I had almost forgotten how easy it is for certain people to make me laugh.

Speaking of theater and of French-speaking friends... last week, Goucher had students from Marseille over as part of the French Theater program. I didn't get to talk to them much, as I'm not in the theater program, and I don't speak French (cue feelings of inadequacy), but they seemed very nice. An acquaintence of mine from my American History class in bilingual (her father is French), and she got the job of giving the students a tour of Baltimore, via the Collegetown Shuttle. Perhaps not the best way to go about it, but still. Anyway, the entire group of them were on the shuttle while I was taking it to Penn Station, to catch my train to New York. Half of them were sitting in the back, improvising these odd little a capella songs... I really wish I had recorded them.

We also had GIG on Friday: that is, "Get Into Goucher" Day, which I suppose is something like Spirit Week is in high school, except we've managed to consolidate it into one day (thank goodness), and it involves a lot more watching drunk and high people do stupid things. At least, in my case. I may be the only one who does that. Anyway. It was surprisingly fun... there was a big barbaque lunch, and lots of good music, and the dance department got to show off... not bad for my first GIG. Apparently, its a lot more fun when it's not raining torrentially and all the events happen outside.

Moving on... I register for classes on the 14th, and I am... well. I'm really excited. Of course. I can only take 18 credits (that's the limit for all non-freshman students), and with all my other scheduling issues, it may get quite complicated. But I've got a list of classes I want to sign up for, and a list of classes I can take just in case I can't get into one, or a few, of those on the original list.

Original List:



HIS 235: The American Revolution


ANT 275: Language Myths


HIS 220: Imperial Russian History (Peter the Great to the Revolution) (Taught by my current European and Russian History professor, who I'm hoping will be my advisor once I declare my History major.)


HIS 241: The Vietnam War


AST 110: Astronomy






Alternatives:


PSC 111: Theories of Citizenship (aka: pre-requisite to every Political Science and International Relations class ever. Grr.)

ENG 241: Archival Research Methods


MUS 101: Music Theory


MUS 182: Piano


(or MUS 183: Organ, or MUS 184: Harpsichord)


HIS 254: The Jews of Russia
SP 130: Spanish


So, of course, I'll write up my new schedule here as soon as I've finalized it on the 14th.

That's about it, really... nothing very interesting to say. It was 80F yesterday, and very sunny, so the entire student body of Goucher spend the day outside on the quad, getting either pleasantly tan (as in Kaira's case), or turning into a tomato (as in my case). Heh... I'm not really that burned. I actually tanned a bit, for once! I have a really pale strip of skin where I left my watch on... it's sort of amusing.

Anyway, I'll write again soon, when I know more about my plans for the coming summer/fall. Until then, my love to all,
Tasha

Visits and Papers

Well, it's been a long few weeks... I really dislike February. It is the shortest month of the year, in terms of actual days, but I don't think any month manages to drag on for this long...

Thankfully, I've had plenty to keep my spirits up. The weather in Baltimore gets warmer sooner than it does in New York... which I'm less happy about in autumn, but at around this time of year, it's wonderful. There's a bit of a shorter wait for spring. I've also been very happy with how my classes have been going (for the most part). My first paper for American History had me a bit nervous, as I very unwisely assumed I could leave it 'till the last minute, and I didn't think I did as well on it as I could have... to be honest, I thought it was awful. I just got it back last Thursday, and --surprise of surprises-- I got an A on it.

I'm starting to think Karia has a point when she tells me to calm down about these things. (Actually, I've been hearing that from a lot of people recently. They may have a point.)

I also got back my first paper for this semester of European History the other day. It was really fun to write-- the premise was a bit more complicated than this, but essentially, I got to blather on about the Enlightenment for 5-7 pages. Of course, being that the Enlightenment is my favorite time period, and I've managed to keep everything I learned about it in high school stuffed in my head, I had a lot of material to work from... so,  yes. My paper is ten pages long. And I could have written at least five pages more. And I'm definitely not going to let it get to my head. In any case, Professor Fraser writes really detailed comments, and for papers, she actually types out a separate page of comments. Personally, I think this is a brilliant system-- I wish all the professors would do that. But anyway. I now have a page of what is, essentially, her going on about... well. Here's what she said:

"Comments:



Natasha, this is excellent- not only for a first essay of the semester or for the level of analysis I expect for this introductory class, but as a proper historical essay that succeeds on a much higher level. You write very well, using clear, concise prose, and your analytical observations are astute and sophisticated. Your attention to chronology in these documents and how they compare to each other is very good, and you have shown an understanding of these documents that far exceeds my expectations at this level. Well done! I sense that you have even more going on in your brain than you could fit on the page, so throughout the semester, something you can work on is achieving even more succinctness and clarity with your arguments and examples. History writing can be particularly challenging because there is always so much we can include! I have no problem with the length of your essay here, but I think you can also work on conciseness and precision- and practicing the always difficult decision-making process about not only what should be included, but also what can be left out. I almost hate to give this grade on the first assignment of the semester, lest it indicate there is no room for improvement, but this really is very well done. Keep it up!


Grade: A "

Yep... I'm happy. Historic Preservation and Russian History are going just as well, though I wish I could say the same for Art History. It's not that I'm doing badly... I just don't have quite the same level of enthusiasm for it as I do for my other classes. I'm sure it's just the way this professor is teaching it, and that I'll be a lot happier once we get to the survey part of the class (where we actually learn history), but right now, we're just going over all the theoretical stuff. There really is a certain type of person who is cut out for it. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm one of them.

Ah well. I honestly cannot complain. Too many good things going on to be able to grumble because I have one class I'm slightly frustrated with.

Daria, my sister, visited the weekend before last! It was great to see her again... unfortunately, it turned out to be a really busy weekend for me in terms of work (both for class and for, you know, actual work), so we couldn't do anything interesting... I feel really bad about it. But I suppose that's the way things happens sometimes... next time, I'll have to make sure I have a enough free time to go around to museums and such. We did manage to get to the Paper Moon Diner, after a bit of an adventure in wandering around Baltimore at 7.00 in the evening, and Daria finally got to meet Kaira and Ellie, so I'm happy about that at least. (By the way, if you're reading this Daria: Kaira and Ellie say "hello.") We also went to see a friend of mine play at the Gopher Hole (the bar/coffee shop of Goucher campus), which was really fun. And... that's about it. I'm a very boring older sister. (Sorry.)

Speaking of work... I've been looking to get another job, since I'm now only working at the stables on the weekends, and at a really inconvenient time too. I wouldn't mind that, if it were a job that was actually helping my resume, or my major, or my education in general, but... well. Feeding horses doesn't do any of those things. So I'm looking into getting a job at the library for next semester (or for the remainder of this one, if possible). If I do get a job for this semester, the hours are likely to be a little odd, as the library is open 24/7, and nobody really wants the 3am-6am shift... but if it gets me time to do my work on the weekends, I'm happy.

Anyway... that's about it for now. It's been pretty dull around here, to be honest. I've been rather slowly working on A History of the English Speaking Peoples, by Winston Churchill. I'm about halfway through Volume II (so just around the Spanish Armada), and I'm hoping to read The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco, after Volume III... so I'll be needing book suggestions for this April-May. Ideas, anyone?

My love to all,
Tasha

ps. I've had a lot of Edward Elgar running through my head lately as well.

Rousseau, "The Marriage of Figaro," and unseasonably warm weather.

I often wonder why it is those three things (yes. Jean-Jacques Rousseau is now a thing. I'm sure he would have appreciated that.) always seem to coincide in my life... A word of explanation: I'm working on a paper about the Enlightenment for my European History class, which requires me to talk about The Social Contract quite a bit. Actually, I've gotten quite good at it over the three years I've had of European History. I'm listening to Marriage of Figaro (that's rather self-explanatory). And it is 60 F out.

It's fantastic. This is the most content I've been in weeks.

Honestly, I'm starting to think I like talking about the Enlightenment a bit too much. This paper is meant to be 4-6 pages long. It is now 9 pages in length, and I still have to write a conclusion that will be at least two paragraphs long. And there's no way I'm editing out more than I already have.

Anyway. It's a really nice change, especially since the past week has been... less than good. It has been downright dreadful for Kaira. It started with our window shades falling on her and slicing her finger open, and did not end with the stitches ripping.

My side of it hasn't been very interesting... mostly, it consists of some very uncomfortable moments in American History, and agonizing over what should have been a simple paper for said class. Basically, we were meant to write a few pages on early Colonial history based on the statistics she gave us in class. Sounds fairly easy. Should have been very easy.

Unfortunately, I chose the night before it was due to have massive writer's block. Of course I got it done, but I'm not happy with how it turned out. I haven't gotten it back yet, so I don't know for sure how I did, but I'm sure I don't want to know. I'm going to give it to Kaira, and only have her tell me what I got if it was over an 80%.

As for the class itself, I like it... but I'm still getting used to it. I haven't taken the subject in two years, and it definitely shows. Not that this means that I'm not doing well-- most of the people in the class haven't taken a history class at all since high school, and analyzing documents is analyzing documents, no matter where they're from. But it's still a bit awkward when we discuss John Locke, and I'm thinking more about tabula rasa than property rights.

That settles my choice in concentration, I suppose.

In other news... well. I have one part of my summer plan worked out! I am enrolled in Medieval Studies at Cambridge University for this August! I'm just hoping that if I manage to get an internship, it will be one of the internships that is more flexible in terms of timing, or ends before I have to be in the UK... but anyway. At the moment, I'm just very nervous about the internships in general. They tend to be very competitive, and my resume isn't exactly the strongest at this point. Most of my experience is in politics and writing, and my actual jobs have consisted of being a counselor at a day camp, and working at the Goucher stables.

I suppose it could be worse... But I keep wishing I had worked at a museum at some point.

Well. Hopefully, I'll hear something soon, and hopefully it will be good news, so I'll be able to stop worrying and get back to basking in the light of a way-too-warm February and my Dean's List status.

... I'm still a little bit in shock about that. But unfortunately, that hasn't stopped me from bragging to myself every now and then.

That's about it, really. I'll write again as soon as something interesting happens.

My love to all,
Tasha

Good news for Oliver Cromwell...

...bad news for Christmas puddings everywhere. Just in case you were wondering, on this day (30 January) in 1649, Charles I was executed, leaving power in the hands of the Rump Parliament and Oliver Cromwell.

It's also the day on which, in 1972, The Bogside Massacre (more commonly known as "Bloody Sunday") took place in Northern Ireland. Supposedly, the annual marches on the date are stopping after this year.

But anyway. What is is somewhat more relevant to this blog is that I have now not posted in about a month.

...sorry 'bout that. It's been busy.

Well, first things first.

I ended up in Mallorca with my Mum for about a week during my holiday, and it was wonderful. I got to see my godfather, and friends that we haven't seen in a rather long time. I've included a few of the pictures, but I have a more detailed slideshow I've put together for my old European History professor that I can send. If you're interested, let me know, and I'll email it to you.

In any case, I got back to Goucher about a week ago. It's nice to be back... especially since we've had our share of snow delays and snow days.

So, that's been interesting.

And, of course, I've started my new classes! My Soviet/20th Century Russian History class and my European History class are taught by the same professor, and she seems very good. She's relatively young, Canadian, and her research is in 20th century Russian history-- particularly soldier's lives and masculinity. So, it's nice to be in a class that is all about what she's researching. And European History is European History. Not much to say about that, except that we're getting into my favorite time period just now: The Enlightenment, and the earliest revolutions that followed it (American and French).

I've only had one American History class so far, because of the snow delays and snow days, but... well. It should be interesting. I haven't taken an American History course in... well. About a year and a half. And if familiarity with the events described in the textbook are any indication, I remember less of it than I thought I did. A bit disturbing, I'll admit, but I'm not too worried. We're just past Queen Anne's War (begun in 1702; ended in 1713 with the Peace of Utrecht), and to be honest, we never really went over much of what happened before then in AP American History in high school, so, it's to be expected. It seems like it's going to be a good class, though. I'm excited about it.

Unfortunately, I'm a bit less enthusiastic about Art History, after my first class on Friday. It's not so much the subject so much as the professor that is the issue: she handed out a "syllabus," which isn't really a syllabus. It says we're going to have assignments, and what they will be: it doesn't way when they are due. It doesn't say when readings and minor projects are due. It doesn't even say when we'll be covering what material. The professor herself said that we probably wouldn't get through the entire course, but "not to worry," because she won't test us on anything we don't get to. Honestly... I don't care about what she's gonna test us on and what she's not. I'm there to be learning the material. The fact that she doesn't know how much of it she's going to teach us is really... well. It bothers me. A lot. And we had better cover everything the course is meant to, because if we don't get to Renaissance art, I'm going to be very disappointed.

And then, of course, I have the next Historic Preservation class, and it is tiny. Really. There are eight people in the class, including me and the professor. That is going to be, I think, really nice, but it could also be a bit annoying, since I'm now expected to hold up an entire 1/8th of the conversation. (Not that I couldn't-- I just tend to be rather shy, as most of you will know.) It doesn't help that four of the students in the class are seniors, majoring in either History or American Studies. One is a sophomore majoring in International Relations, and the other is a freshman who actually lives on my floor, so... anyway. I'm feeling a bit nervous about this class. It's sort of intimidating to be sitting around the table with a bunch of people who know exactly what they're talking about, when I'm still just learning most of the material.

I'm sure it will be fine, though. I had the same professor for my first Historic Preservation class last semester, and I'm rather fond of her.

Speaking of professors that I'm rather fond of... one of my best friends here, Ellie, is taking Anthro 107 with my old Anthropology professor! So now there's somebody else who thinks he's fantastic. It's not just me. (Yes, that comment was intended for somebody in particular.)

Also speaking of professors that I'm rather fond of, I ran into my old European History professor the other day while heading to Art History. Nothing really happened, except that we talked, she told me about a British History class she's teaching at Johns Hopkins next year that I should take, and I told her I would stop by and visit her soon, but... it was just really nice to see her.

...and that's about all I can think of. I'll write again very soon.

Love to all,
Tasha


ps. I just have to add... I've been working on Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, and... wow. I can't say much more than that. Just... wow.