get to the point

I'm in a writing class this semester under a professor that I very much respect... but her class is kicking my butt a little bit.

I got to sit down with her one-on-one today and walk through the first paper I submitted. When I received it back I felt guilty - as though I owed her 13 cents - because I'm fairly certain an unfair amount of red ink was used on my paper. It was actually quite comical.

And call me a nerd, but I grew eager with the challenge. I love writing. I knew I wasn't great, but I had no idea how much room I have for improvement.

My greatest grammatical weaknesses: redundancy, vagueness, unnecessarily dramatic transitions, and adjective over-use. Today my professor took entire groups of sentences in my paper and summed them up in one noun or verb. It was beautiful to watch her do this.

Far be it from my expectations, it helped to emphasize what was supposed to be emphasized and maintained readability and creativity.

She says all I need is practice.

We both hope she's right :P.

culture, culture, culture

I love to eat with my hands. I'm not going to lie. Even when I use a utensil, I sometimes find myself pushing the food onto it using my hands. I'm going to go ahead and assume a handful of you are trying to hold in a "gross!". I know, I know... I'll try to act "civil" if you eat a meal with me. However, add this to the list of reasons I so appreciate other cultures - most are unashamed to eat with their hands.

Language is also fascinating to me, (of which I'll include accents as well). I've studied a limited amount of Spanish, but I hope to someday have the time and resources to really explore some languages. The variety and creativity is as beautiful as music; playfully incorporating tones, rhythms, and all things linguistical. In fact, I wouldn't mind listening to an Australian read my class syllabi or a Nigerian reading the nutritional labels on cereal boxes - I don't need anyone to tell me that I'm not hard to please, haha.

Not only am I interested in learning what it means to talk the talk cross-culturally, but also how people walk the walk - as defined internationally. Social interactions is something I have little knowledge about in cultures other than my own. This morning I had breakfast with a friend from Southeast England. I asked him what he missed most about home. He explained that here he usually feels as though he's fighting being perceived as rude. Though we, as Americans, may be welcoming; we also hold to a certain social status in which everyone actively participates in conversation and events. It's an enjoyable emphasis, but undoubtedly overwhelming (even for me, a born-and-raised, occasionally).

I also learned of how uniquely competitive America is. Admittedly I've wrestled with this at times. I'm all about having a good time. I enjoy pushing myself and competing, but usually if what I'm participating in has lost the primarily goal of enjoyment - I'm out. My England friend was reminiscing about playing soccer back home after asking me about volleyball. He was saying they would practice one day a week for a little over and hour, and then play a game each week as well. He couldn't believe that it was status-quo for athletes here to practice multiple hours each day, year round; and train outside of their scheduled times as well. In this he shared that the game of soccer, overseas, has a sort of creativity woven into it. Players explore new things and the game stays fresh and interesting to viewers. America so emphasizes the training/conditioning/fundamental aspect of it that it seems creativity is limited by the player's fear of making a mistake.

What's better or worse? It's all debatable. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know and haven't experienced. Is my love for studying international relations increasing? Absolutely! Am I humbled as my school and city challenge my world view to grow? Continually. What do I do with these passions and interests? I haven't a clue :). So I'll be satisfied in living as a learner; content in enjoying the complexity of human nature.