After a wonderful winter break visiting friends and family, seeing New Mexico, going to Puerto Rico, and chillin (as we ALWAYS say here in my dorm), I am back at school and done with my first week of winter quarter.
I had a dramatic and horrible time getting bags so I have been busy all week adjusting to my classes and dealing with that. But, I finally got my bags today, about a week after I left arrived back at school. I have to thank my mom for all the hard work she put in with helping me figure things out. From being on the phone with her, FedEx, Southwest, and sometimes at the same time, I now very much appreciate having my stuff with me. Thank you also to my friend Maia who let me borrow some clothes.
Anyway, I can put that behind me and get ready to start my 2014 time at Stanford. Happy holidays and Happy New Year to everyone as well!
I missed my dorm very much over winter break and I was very ready to see them when I got back a week ago. After many hugs though, I had to sit down and start to study because I had 120 pages of reading to do for my class the very next, and first, day.
This quarter I am taking:
International Security In a Changing World - this is exactly what the title says. We look at international security issues. Currently we have been hearing a lot about democratic peace theory, which essentially states that no two democracies have ever fought each other. Condoleezza Rice spoke on Wednesday and really emphasized the United States assisting in worldwide democratization. She believes that spreading democracy is important for the security of the United States and has good moral ground as well. Professor Snyder, from Columbia University, however, points out that the democratic peace theory applies when there are specific definitions of democracy and way. He argues that countries are often forced or pushed to hold elections before they have the proper institutions in place to build an effective and peaceful democracy. When rushed, democratic elections often raise greater racial and ethnic problems and countries have a greater likelihood of violence and war. The main component of this class is a United Nations simulation (like I participated in high school Model United Nations) where the topic will be the Iran situation. I am really looking forward to it. I have also noticed that people in this class are very nicely dressed. My classes last quarter that were more technical, seemed to have a lax dress code, meaning most people wore sweats every day. In this international relations class, however, I find that people put a lot of effort into their outfits.
Spanish - Otherwise known as my Monday-Friday 9am class. College students complain about any class that is held before 11am. When I was in high school, waking up at 6am every morning, I promised myself that I would never complain about a 9am class. So, I am not going to complain about my 9am class this quarter. If I start to complain, stop me. I will learn a lot in Spanish and it will be a wonderful challenge. I love the language and this class will really challenge me to speak and listen a lot. I am not comfortable yet, but I hope I will be by the end. I have to write a research paper and give a presentation in Spanish. My subject is La Segrada Familia, Gaudi's cathedral in Barcelena, Spain. Luckily, I have Daniel, a student in my dorm who is very fluent and whose family is from Mexico. We had a whole conversation last night with me in Spanish. He is very patient with me. He listens and waits until I finally get some kind of sentence out and then corrects the mistakes I make. It is really nice to have him practice with me.
Advanced Yoga: Despite the fact that this a one unit P.E. credit class, I am going to mention it because I love it! I did not like the yoga class I took here last quarter and was worried that I wouldn't find wonderful teachers like the ones I had in Albuquerque. But I love my teacher. She is very warm and embodies the yoga spirit. The class is more challenging as well. It allows me to find my center in the midst of my busiest day so that continue my day at peace. I am so grateful to be able to practice yoga and have it in my life.
The Art of Living: This is my first introductory seminars. Introductory seminars are small classes for freshman to take to explore new or familiar areas and really get to know professors and other students in an intimate setting. My class is in the philosophy department and examines how people and how we, as students, chose to live our lives. We do readings (Enchiridion, Plato, Nietzsche, Toni Morrison, Hamlet, Kirkegard) and then discuss the readings in class the next day. It is so simple but I already know that it will be a very motivating class. I really appreciate the introspection and opinions of the other students. They really care about discussing the material and they have really interesting things to say. Everyone comes from very different backgrounds so there is a lot of diverse representation.
The Ted Commandments, The Art of Effective Public Speaking: I am taking this class to keep up on my public speaking practice. I think it will help me with that. However, it will also be really neat because it is all centered around TED talks, which are wonderful to watch and change the way you look at your day, or even your life. They are absolutely wonderful. The first TED talk we watched was by Brene Brown, and it is about vulnerability and leading a compassionate life. You can find it here. We then watched one by Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. You can find this one here. I highly recommend this one because it makes you value classical music so much. You fall in love with it in twenty minutes and if you already love it, you will love what he has to say about it. And if nothing else, hear this quote: "Success is measured by how many shining eyes are around me." Your eyes will be shining by the end of this TED talk, I promise.
Strengthening the Heart Through Compassion: This is another simple, one unit course that only meets once per week. The class is focussed on meditation and journaling. I am taking it with Ben, my RA and a good friend. I haven't been to the class yet because I just signed up but I am looking forward to it next week and will tell you more about it then.
Well, that is a good start isn't it?
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