Cloud Nine

On My Own Cloud Nine

This year I decided to try something new. I saw the audition signs for the upcoming theatre production of Cloud Nine around campus. I love watching theatrical productions, especially musicals. I knew that I did not want to be an actor but thought it would be fun to be somehow involved in one my greatest interests. I spent a week contemplating whether I should go and ask if they needed any help back stage. On Monday morning, I woke up with my mind set- I would walk straight to the theatre and ask. But then when afternoon hit I got cold feet. I would not know anyone; I would be the outsider trying to weasel my way into what appeared to be a close-knit group.

Monday came and went, then Tuesday was gone. I played tug-of-war with myself on whether I should go with my gut instinct. All my friends were telling me just to do it, but I was nervous. Finally, on Wednesday I marched to the theatre and signed up for back stage help, not knowing exactly what that meant.

Two weeks had gone by with no word from the Theatre, I just assumed that they had found someone else. Then I received an email from the two stage managers asking if I would be interested in being the Property Mistress. I was extremely excited but nervous at my new title.

I was more or less handed a script and list of all the props needed in order to successfully run the show. I started out by just going to the prop shop and doing what I could and then leaving. I was not really socializing with anyone. However, over time I started to spend more time with Bev and Tori in the Costume Shop asking questions. Eventually I just started doing all my projects in there with them, with my new friends.

I have made so many new friends by leaving my comfort zone of familiar friends and people. Spending so much time at the Theatre and with all the amazing people there has been the time of my life. The experience I have had by trying something new on campus has shown me that I wish I had started with the theatre sooner! Everyone has been so welcoming at the Theatre considering this is my first time. I also cannot forget to thank my amazing Office of Admission for being so understanding with sharing my time between work and props.

I write this the morning after our last performance night. I have on a production t-shirt that all of the cast and crew are wearing today. Last night went amazing. Being backstage and being a part of the theatre I have never seen before brings a smile to my face. All the organized chaos backstage during performances was so much fun to be apart of.

It is now over and I am slowly coming down off ‘my’ cloud nine. But not for long- signups for the next performance are this week!

Inger

Will I Get In?

I'm often (well, at least a couple times a year) asked, "Will I get into Warren Wilson College?" And I usually reply, "Why do you want in?" I'm not trying to be glib, but the reality is that your motive for wanting to attend Warren Wilson is important to those of us in the Admission Office who make decisions about who we admit. Of course we look at grades, test scores, and high school course selection, and we read each and every essay and letter of recommendation. But your motive is what sometimes makes the difference. You need to know -- Why Warren Wilson.
The fact that you are reading this probably bodes well for you. The fact that you have explored the web site this deeply illustrates how hungry you probably are for information.

As we state in our viewbook, "Warren Wilson is not for everyone." Some other small colleges seem to preach to college-bound students as if you are all alike. Well, I've meet very few "alike" students at Warren Wilson. This college is so unique that we scare some students away the minute they read a piece of our literature, and that's okay. The idea of working hard in a campus job, performing service for the community, and balancing a full load of challenging academics along with work and service might not seem like the sort of college experience many of your classmates are looking for. But that's the point - - we're not for everyone. The selection process starts with your interest in finding the right match, and if you have read our material, you are well on your way to being able to tell us if you are a match -- and why you want in.

So, in answer to your question, will I… "get in?" If you are a solid academic student and been engaged in your academic endeavors, if you are someone who cares about making a difference in the world (not just through words but through actions), if you are environmentally aware, and if to you, service means what you can offer others (and in return learn from those you serve) and not how fast you can get fries to go with a customer's coke. And if you can work really hard and work really well with others. Yes, you'll have a really really good chance of "getting in."

Richard for the Admission Staff
(Guest Blogger)

Expo

Warren Wilson is a unique school and when I started my search for the perfect college that was one of the reasons I was drawn to WWC. I was drawn to the triad, the campus and the one of a kind student body. As an immigrant from the United Kingdom, a published author and entrepreneur, I suppose I qualify as unique.
This school is full to the brim of unique students and that’s why I am in love with this place. Alas my commitments to my work took me away from the beautiful Warren Wilson campus last week. I flew from the tiny airport that is Asheville Regional Airport to the one of the largest airports in the country, Orlando. From Orlando I drove down to Miami to attend the Performance Marketing Expo.

I had been booked as a speaker for this event since February. I was speaking on social media (facebook, twitter etc) and how companies can use social media to grow their business. At the conference there were representatives from such companies as Google, 123 print, Finish Line and more. The conference was held at a beautiful Hotel called the Eden Roc right on South Beach.

I have spoken at various conferences before since I have been speaking professionally for almost a year now. Apart from speaking at Girl Scout events every time I have spoken the audience is older and more experienced than me. The Performance Marketing Expo was no different. The closest attendee to me in age was 23. However I have learned that everything in business is about attitude. Regardless of how young or inexperienced you are if you carry yourself like you know what you’re talking about, people assume you do.

On the day of my presentation I donned my business suit, did a walkthrough with the AV tech for the room I was presenting in and listened to other speakers as I waited for my presentation in the afternoon. During the day as I networked many people asked me about my business and why I was at the conference. When I told them I was one of the speakers the shocked looks were plentiful.

Finally my time to speak arrived and as always the butterfly’s were playing havoc in my stomach. I listened as I was introduced to the audience. They clapped out of habit and I took the stage. The first moment before I start talking is always the most daunting. I look out into the crowd and see the audience with their arms crossed waiting to be impressed. In that moment the audience is judging me and in a way I am judging the audience. It’s at that moment when I can allow my nerves to take over or remind myself that out of thousands of potential speakers, they picked me. I was chosen to be there and thus I had a responsibility to do my very best.
As I have done with every professional speaking engagement I take a deep breath, glance at my notes and begin my presentation. I suppose speaking is like riding a bike the first time is always the hardest and the first moments are always the shakiest. Once I get past those first few moments I begin to speak my material with confidence because I know its content inside out. After the first moments I run through my presentation without a hitch. A couple of times I forget my place but the audience never picks up on my momentary confusion. At the end of the presentation I thank the audience and as they applause, they thank me.

I am now back on the WWC campus and I have to admit it feels like two different worlds. The world of my business and the world of college are as different as can be. However both are a part of me and what makes me unique. I am only one of the students here at Warren Wilson and as this series continues you will see just how truly special our student body is.

Grace

Uppsala Redux

How to put into words...

It has now been a few weeks since I landed back in the States- after a summer in Sweden. I was enrolled in the Uppsala International Summer Session, which is a language course designed for international students of all ages and levels. This year, there were over 200 students from 17-75 year’s old, representing 32 different nations. In the morning, we all went to our respective level of Swedish Language. I already have a good understanding of the conversational aspect of the language, but my grammar was lacking. Now after a summer of intense classes, my vocabulary and grammar have become much better.

Every morning we took a traditional coffee break called fika. This involved taking a break from class to drink coffee with cookies and an open-faced sandwich. Mmm. In the afternoon, we all reconvened for various afternoon classes- I took Conversation and Grammar. After classes ended for the day at 3:15, I had the rest of the afternoon to do as I pleased.

My friends and I would go out for coffee (again) to one of the many cafés or go exploring around the city. Everything was in walking distance and there was never a reason not to go on an adventure. Some evenings my friends and I would go to the University Botanical Gardens or to a student nation for dinner. Student Nations are these pubs sprinkled around the city for university students with ID to go eat and hang out for much cheaper than a regular restaurant.

Every Friday we had a "field trip" of sorts to some city or site. My favorite place we went was an old copper mine, which was once the third largest exporter of copper in the world. They had guided tours of down inside the mine which was by far one of my favorite Friday trips. It was cold, wet, and eerie. In one very large part of the mine, they blew out all the lights and we all stood in complete and utter darkness.

On the weekends, we were free so I typically took the 45 min train ride south into Stockholm. My grandparents and rest of my family live in Stockholm, so I would spend the weekends with them. The first week I was in Sweden, I spent it in southern Sweden with my aunt and two cousins in Malmö. Then I spent a week in Stockholm before I moved to on my own in Uppsala. I flew straight from Stockholm to Asheville two days before classes started. Once back I was having a hard time with being away from my grandparents and family, it is always hard to say goodbye.

I had a hard time leaving my family and my summer life in Sweden. Luckily, I have great friends to come back to- they have made all the difference. Let the countdown begin to my next trip to Sweden.

Inger

Ronan’s Blended Family

As many first year college students will explain, leaving a pet behind to pursue educational endeavors can be as challenging as parting with a human family. As I enter my senior year at Warren Wilson, I can reflect on my many tearful comings and goings. Several times per year I travel from my home in New York to this beautiful valley. While Warren Wilson has truly become my home away from home, Wilson is also home to my beloved dog, Ronan.

On one fateful spring evening last April my friend called me to explain how he happened upon a stray dog. However, the docile black lab was not a stray, but a loved companion also residing on Warren Wilson Road. The following morning the sweet dog, named Ducky, was joyfully reunited with his mom and dad. Upon returning him, Ducky’s parents gave me the gift of a lifetime- an eight week old puppy. Ducky’s parents had recently rescued a pregnant pooch during the great snow storm of 2010. Ducky’s dad explained that my little black puppy was so special that they called him “Duckling.” I renamed the baby, Ronan, meaning “little seal” in Gaelic.

When the school year commenced, I brought my puppy home to his temporary residence in New York. He has grown from a tiny puppy to a sixty pound dog almost over night. Ronan loves his new family on Long Island including our miniature dachshund, Delilah. However, I long for the moment when Ronan and I return to our home together. Hopefully, he will be joining me for family weekend in the meantime!

Cait

Great Expectations

My expectations of college before I actually got here was that it is cold and institutionalized. I also had the eerie expectation that during the transition to college I would feel alone and like a stranger among new faces and new buildings. The expectation that I had of the work program was a negative one due to a previously bad experience as a computer technician that I had for a year and a half during high school. Included in that negative expectation were some concerns about having to create a relationship with the work crew. Living in my home town and seeing people say one thing and do another left me questioning “Can a college actually practice what it preaches?” or is it just a bunch of talk to justify not following what they preach?

In reality Warren Wilson is much more than I could have ever expected.

The atmosphere is friendly and full of people who are willing to help with anything that is needed. All you have to do is ask. I never expected that any “American” college would be so open and excepting of so many people of different races, creeds, beliefs, cultures, and backgrounds. It is such a great feeling to be accepted as who you are and for your skills rather than the pre-constructed norm that society imposes on us from the time we are born. Also “Camp Wilson” is a lot more like a “summer camp” that I would have ever expected, but I know that the pace is about to be quickened and that summer camp feeling is about to disappear.

The transition from high school to college has been much easier than I ever expected due to the ability to share ideas freely and openly without the worry of being judged. The transition was also helped along by the fact that things shared in a peer group are done with a certain level of confidence that increases as the bonds forged get stronger.

Work. The work crew assignments although may not be what you were hoping for will probably be a good fit after we are able to adjust to the somewhat random order of the assignments. I like working. I’m just not fond of workplace politics.

It was refreshing to have my expectations shattered when it came to seeing how Warren Wilson practices what it preaches. I’m glad to see for the most part the staff and students pitching in to help “walk the walk” instead of just talking. One good example is service day 2010, in which the freshmen peer groups went out to local community gardens to help give notice to the issue of food insecurity. This is also a way of giving back to the community that helped to start the college. Another area that Warren Wilson practices what it preaches is in using bio-fuels to power almost all of the vehicles used on campus. Giving back to a community can be a very rewarding experience, because it allows a younger generation to see that there is more to life than computers and technology.

All in all college is what you make of it, that means not being hold-up in your room on your computer but experiencing all of what Warren Wilson has to offer.

So Long Ago... So Far Away...

I started the applications for Teach for America and graduate school just this week. I am beginning my senior year at Warren Wilson in two weeks. As I look forward into this year, I cannot help but look back at how this whole amazing journey started with a letter four and a half years ago.

I can still remember the day I got my first information packet from Warren Wilson. I had been searching fruitlessly for the right college for months. No matter what college search site I used, all my searches came up empty. When I got the envelope from Wilson, I did what I did with all college mailings; I tore it open and glanced at the first page, prepared to throw it into the recycling. Instead, I burst into tears; I had finally found my school. All I had to read was “work program. . .service requirement. . .working farm” to know it was perfect. I visited on my 17th birthday, applied early decision, was accepted, and arrived in August of 2007. From the beginning, I loved Warren Wilson despite the fact that I lived in Sunderland next to one of the loudest residents in the dorm, and I worked on dining, two things many incoming students may dread. By the end of the year, I had managed to accumulate 97 service hours, learned to drum, attended every contra dance except one, avoided getting the flu when it ran through Sunderland, started singing (a lifelong dream), went to yoga twice a week every week, completed training to become an advocate for Our VOICE, the Asheville rape crisis center, and declared a History major with a Gender and Women's Studies minor. It was, without a doubt, one of the best years of my life.

When we let out for summer, I counted the days until I would be back at Wilson with my friends, in a new dorm, Ballfield B, and on my new crew, RISE Project (www.warren-wilson.edu/~rise). I re-declared my major as Gender and Women's studies with a History minor and then added a second minor in Music. By the time summer arrived, I was already counting down the days until I would be back at Wilson for my junior year. When I got back home to New Mexico, I realized something had changed. In the past, the trip to New Mexico was a trip home. That summer, the trip to New Mexico was a visit home. Warren Wilson had become my real home, a place where I had built a family of amazing, strong, and wonderful friends, had a job, and had established myself as part of the community.

Back at Wilson that fall, I face the most stressful year to date. I was returning to school after a lot of drama at home during the summer. I needed time to process and recover but school was in full swing before I really got the chance. My high stress made it hard at times to function and when I came down with mono, the situation did not improve. I made it through the fall semester still in good academic standing but completely exhausted. Spring semester, I decided to take both the capstone (thesis) classes – Feminist Thought and Gender and Social Change – for my Gender Studies major. After turning in my two 21 page papers which completed those classes, there was nothing I wanted more than for the year to end. Academia seemed to be getting the best of me. I began to worry that the dreaded senioritis had arrived a year early and I might have burnt myself out for my senior year which I had been looking forward to.

My dread evaporated about half way through the summer, turning into overwhelming excitement to see my friends again, move back to my old room, sing with the college chorale, work on my old crew (RISE), and try to squeeze in as many service hours as I can manage even though I don't technically need them. It is strange getting to the place in school where I am finishing things. It's both happy and sad to realize that fall semester I will be taking my final gender studies course, my final general education course, and my final elective for my music minor. Come spring, I will be preparing for my senior solo voice recital and sorting through my various belongings to decide which ones are going with me wherever I go next. Finally, I will be walking across the stage to receive my diploma. It is surreal, wonderful, and sad. I cannot believe my time here has passed so fast. Of course it hasn't always been an easy or fun process but on this side of things, it is much easier to see the good in everything I have learned while at Wilson. Attending Wilson has been and I know will continue to be a gift which informs every action in my life. In the end, what can I say but, thank you to everyone who has made this experience what it is.

Victoria

Been there, done that - But not really...

When I first came to WWC, I was not planning to study abroad. I had traveled all over the world working with my mother and thought I would not like a trip where I was learning rather than working. However, when I saw my name on the list of eligible study abroad students for the 2009/2010 year, I decided to check out the trips just in case I wanted to do one of them. I wasn’t interested in going to London, Costa Rica, Italy, or Mexico. However, when I saw there was a trip going to Ghana, I knew I had to go. It was a short-term study abroad course called Globalization, Culture, and Development in Ghana. Short-term study abroad courses meet for a semester and then go to the place of study for a couple of weeks during winter or summer break. I applied for the trip and was accepted. Every Monday at 4:00 during spring semester, I met with a group of seven other students and my professor. We learned about the many cultures in Ghana. We learned to critically look at the term “development” and understand the real implications behind “globalization.” We started learning a little bit of Twi (pronounced “tree”), one of the main languages spoken in Ghana. We had a lot to learn but we also took time to get to know each other. It was a very diverse group of students and we weren’t sure we could all get along for two weeks.

Finally, it was May 19, the day of our departure. I got up at 5:30 in the morning, cooked myself breakfast, checked my email one last time, and walked across campus to meet the bus to the airport. Three plane flights later, we were in Accra, the political capital of Ghana. As soon as the plane touched down, all the Ghanaians on the plane erupted into applause (something or professor told us they would do) and for the first time it hit me that I was finally in Ghana. Over the next two weeks, we did a lot of things. We were based in home stays in Accra but also spent time traveling outside of Accra to see various sites around Ghana. It was an eventful trip about which it would take pages to write. However, there were a few days which stood out.

The day after we got to Ghana, we went to a restaurant called Chez Afrique where every Friday a live band plays Highlife music. Highlife is Ghanaian music which mixes Ghanaian drum beats with western instruments. We danced from 8:00 PM to 12:30 AM. While it would have been nice to sleep in the next day, our bus picked us up at our home stays at 7:00 to go sight seeing in Accra. For the next couple days, we traveled around Accra, visited a primary school in Pima (a very poor, coastal section of Accra), and had a generally fantastic time. Six days after we got to Ghana, we headed out to Cape Coast to visit Ghana’s most popular tourist attraction, Elmina Slave Castle. Elmina is a beautiful fishing town on the coast of Ghana. Elmina Castle was built by the Portuguese to assist with gold exportation and later was used in the exportation of slaves. The castle consists of a chapel, dungeons used to hold the people before they were loaded onto ships, and officer’s headquarters. While I have seen first hand the legacy slavery has left in the US, it is different seeing the legacy slave exportation left in Ghana. We were shown around the castle and given vivid descriptions of what the people taken into slavery would have experienced before being loaded onto ships. We were given the opportunity to look out the “door of no return” which leads out of a room whose walls are now lined with wreaths in memory of people’s friends and family. While looking out the door of no return, I started crying and could not stop until well after we were back on the bus. It was a hard morning but I am very glad I got to have that experience.

That afternoon, to help us unwind from a very intense morning, we drove to Kakum National Forest. There, we took a walk on a swinging canopy bridge and got to see the incredibly beautiful Ghanaian rainforest from the tops of the trees. That evening, we drove to Kumasi, the cultural capital of Ghana. There, we toured the Asanti kings’ old palace which is now a museum, and visited a couple of villages which make beads, Adinkra cloth, and Kente cloth. Then we drove back to Accra. After two nights back with our families, we were on the road again, this time heading for the Volta region of Ghana. The drive was spectacular. We drove much of the way next to the Volta River which looks something like what you would expect to see in a fairytale. The water is almost silver; small, multicolored fishing boats can easily be seen floating along catching fish; the banks of the river slope up into mountains which are silhouetted by a beautiful blue sky. On our way to Ho, the capital of Volta, we stopped at a community-run monkey sanctuary where we fed bananas to a troupe of Mona monkeys.

We spent the night in Ho and in the morning headed to a secondary school for the service section of our trip. There, we were working with a group of students age 15-22 teaching them internet skills. Because there were not enough computers at the school for each of the people in my class to teach on one, I opted to stay outside with my professor and the students waiting to go into the computer lab. Outside, we danced, played circle games, and sang with the students. By the end of the morning I had exchanged email addresses with around 20 of the students and was thoroughly sunburned and exhausted. I was glad to get back on the bus and head back to Accra. The next day was our last day in Ghana so we went souvenir shopping at an incredibly overwhelming art market. At 5:00 the next morning, we were headed to the airport to catch our plane home. For me, coming home was the hardest part of the trip. The entire group had gotten really close during our travels (we all got along the entire trip) and I knew I was going to miss them a lot. I had also fallen in love with Ghana. My last taste of Ghana came when we touched down in New York and yet again all the Ghanaians burst into applause. This time, we joined them as well.

Victoria

8 hours x's 5 days = 40 hours

I’ve got a week of working eight to five (minus the 12 o’clock hour for lunch) under my belt. One down, eleven more to go. This summer, I opted to remain at school and work a forty-hour contract twelve out of the fourteen weeks of summer vacation. I work in the Advancement Office (which handles Alumni, Community, and Church relations for the College, as well as Fundraising), and while there are certainly some students who might disparage office work in favor of something less white-collar, I find myself aptly suited for the task. Maybe it’s because my parents are fundraisers. Maybe it’s because the majority of my previous work experience is office work. Maybe some mixture thereof. Who knows?

This will actually be the first time in my life where I’ll have been employed full time for such a long stretch. I did work fall break and the last couple of weeks of winter vacation as well, but now I’ll be working for three months. So far I’ve found that while doing the same task for eight hours a day may grind a little, the trade-off is that, unlike classes, the work doesn’t follow you home. I’ve also been asked to join in on the weekly Monday morning staff meetings, which has added some more context to the work I do in the office. The harder I apply myself in my work, the more responsibility and independence I’m being given, which is a liberating experience.

I’m also excited to be around campus this summer. In Advancement, we’re all gearing up for Weekend at Wilson in June, where people can register to participate in a series of workshops. Besides that, I’m especially looking forward to the return of the MFA Program to campus. I got to attend the evening readings over the winter break, and found it, as a Creative Writing major, both intimidating and inspirational.

A part of me is also impatient for summer to end. Working for Advancement this summer is sort of bittersweet, for while I do enjoy my work, it will be the end of my time on the crew. When the academic year begins in August, I take my position as Student Caucus Co-Convener and begin applying myself to facilitating the student end of Shared Governance at Wilson. With a Governance Task Force convened to review Shared Governance as well as a new Dean of Students, it’s a bit of a crucial moment to be one of the people at the helm of student governance.
Still, I’d like to make it last. My transfer credits give me only two years here at Warren Wilson, and I feel like I need to make the most of them. So, even though I’ve already finished one week of work, I still have eleven more to enjoy.

Alex

What's An Uppsala?

62 days and counting until my summer officially begins. On June 21st I head to the airport to start my journey to Stockholm, Sweden. I have been many times before, however this time is different. I plan to spend 9 weeks studying at the Uppsala International Summer Session (UISS) which is 1.5 hours north of the capital. UISS is a unique program designed for international students, ages 18-65, from all over the world to come together and study Swedish language and culture. I am excited to find out who I will meet and from where. I applied last October and almost cried of happiness when I received word of my acceptance.

I will be taking an intensive language course to perfect my Swedish as well as Modern Swedish History. In addition to all my class time and studying, I will be given opportunities to explore a different city other than Stockholm.

The reason I chose Sweden and this program is not just because of my academics but for a much more personal agenda. I am very proud that I have dual citizenship with Sweden and love everything about Sweden. I am very close with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Sweden and see them as often as we can all make the trip across the Atlantic. So I am going to Uppsala because I want to know everything there is to know about the history and language. I have only gone to Sweden with my family to see my family. I think I will greatly benefit from seeing Sweden from a different perspective- on my own. I will be positively forced to practice my Swedish and test my comfort zones.

The independence I will be given this summer both terrifies and thrills me. I am beside myself with happiness at the prospect.

I will come back after 9 weeks of complete fun just two days before classes start for the fall. I know I will be tired and jetlagged but I also know that my best friends from Wilson will be waiting for me when I walk off the plane to my second home.

Andrea

Reaffirming Work

Firefighting in Buncombe County

At the beginning of the semester I took a Wildland Firefighting course sponsored by Forestry. In the Swannanoa Fire Department I learned how to fight wildfires, which on paper is a great way to boost a resume. The theory behind the class was that when the siren on top of Gladfelter went off three times, there was a wildfire in Buncombe County, and any Wilsonites with a certificate and a pair of good boots could come running to fight a fire. Having committed already to a play and 18 credits of classes, I honestly thought I would never answer the call.

On work day, the fire siren went off. I had a choice – answer the call and miss the communal joys of Work Day, or head off into the scorched earth.

I was part of a three-man crew that fought fires for thirteen hours straight on Work Day. While it may seem like grueling work that tears you down (and indeed it does) it is also the most relaxing and rewarding work I have ever done. Climbing down a mountain to put out spot fires isn’t particularly glamorous, and it is exhausting, but it is simple. You can lose yourself in your work, and spend hours upon hours thinking of only one thing, and everything else – your exams, homework, term papers, arguments, frustrations – simply does not exist.

While patting mud balls onto smoking bits of wood, I found myself wondering where else could I have opportunities like this? Warren Wilson values work – real work that has more meaning than just a dollar value. Firefighting is an experience I never planned to explore before I cam to the Swannanoa, and I am eternally grateful. The thrill of answering the air-raid siren in the middle of a class is like nothing else I have ever known. There is a camaraderie among firefighters that isn’t limited to counties or states. All firefighters have done the same backbreaking work of digging a fire line and smiled through a layer of soot into a smoke-filled sky.

Warren Wilson values work, and this value means more in the adult world than many people realize. Warren Wilson’s work program prepares students to fully commit to their work and earn a place for themselves in whatever career they may choose.

Diana

Ties That Bind

Junior Rachel Rasmussen is spending a semester with Warren Wilson’s newest exchange partner, the Universidad de Oriente in Valladolid, Mexico, where is she taking courses in linguistics, Mayan culture and culinary arts. Rachel and her host family recently visited the Mayan ruins of Ek Balam. Valladolid is an important center for contemporary Mayan culture, and the Universidad de Oriente offers Mayan studies as one of its major focuses, as well as linguistics, education, sustainable tourism and gastronomy. By equipping its graduates with practical as well as academic knowledge, UNO hopes to generate more local employment and opportunities for young adults in the Yucatan region. Rachel writes:

"After two months of studying in the Yucatan, I finally feel less like the funny-looking new kid and more like I actually live here. I´ve noticed a difference in other people, too: less awkward stares, less taxi drivers mistaking me for a tourist, and less people not understanding my Spanish. Now, I can confidently make my way around town, have substantial conversations with my host family and teachers, and even get some of the jokes my classmates make (though often when I try to make jokes of my own, I wind up having to re-explain myself and the joke tends to get lost in translation). Being the only non-Mexican student at a small university of 600 seemed like it would be a daunting task, but I have a great support group of teachers, students, and host family. I'm actually glad I´m not here with a large group of Americans, because total immersion is helping me dig deeper into this unique culture.

And it really is a neat cultural blend of Mayan tradition, modern Mexico, and the odd pop-culture references from the US (think Lady Gaga and Britney Spears). In my Mayan culture classes, we take on these topics of `living in two worlds´ and what it means to be a young person with Mayan heritage living in `the modern world´. We wonder about the complexities of Mayan philosophy, analyze how Spanish colonialism has influenced traditional Mayan beliefs, listen to stories of Mayan mythology, and even contemplate about the astronomical meanings of 2012...no worries, it doesn´t predict the world will end.

So yes, a lot of things are definitely different here-they speak Spanish everywhere, nobody lives in a dorm, I drink bottled water, I spend much more of my time in class and much less doing homework. And there´s certainly familiarities and people that I miss at Warren Wilson. But in the end, one of the biggest similarities I find between my life in the Yucatan and my life in Carolina is in the quality of the people and the opportunities to connect with their stories."

Hey, warm those hands lady!

Saturday I decided to try something new… milk a cow. I have quite a few friends on the Farm Crew, so I thought it would be fun to tag along with Alice on her Saturday morning milking. Why not? It’s not like every college student has opportunities such as these. I had it all planned out. I borrowed muck boots from another friend on the farm and knew to meet up with Alice at promptly 7am. I woke up before the sun rose and dressed warmly for it snowing and cold.

It was beautiful walking down to the farm with snow flakes being illuminated by all the light posts. As we walked past all of the dorms I knew that everyone was still sleeping bundled up in their beds. We finally made it to the farm and took off a couple layers because being so close to Katie, our milking cow, would get warm.

First we had to clean Katie’s udder and underside completely before we began our milking. Once that was complete, we set up two stools on either side and started milking. It was so much harder then I would have ever imagined. I was “in charge” of one teat and struggled to get any milk to come out. It was not until after Alice had finished her 2 teats that I eventually got into a rhythm. Afterward we brought our pale into the farm shop and filtered it into 2 large mason jars. Ready for consumption.

I am just so happy that I got to have the experience of milking Katie. I continued my day with making muffins for breakfast with Katie’s milk, which were delicious. Then I was back to the grind stone with homework for the rest of the afternoon.

This past Sunday I also decided to try something new again…bake bread. I realize that many people bake bread all the time; however I have never done such a thing. I found a recipe online, bought some yeast and ingredients, and proceeded to go to the kitchen and figure it out. Luckily someone was in the kitchen at the same time who makes bread often and was willing to show me a few tricks when it came to kneading. However, other then that I did it. It was so gratifying after 2.5 hours to pull two large rounded loaves of bread out of the oven. It tasted so good to eat something that I made myself.

So this has been a couple weeks of new experiences that are just two more reasons why I love Warren Wilson.

Andrea

How Green Is My Valley

As a Warren Wilson student, I was given the opportunity to apply for the Irish-American Scholars program, which exchanges students from universities in the US and Northern Ireland. Now fully into my sixth month at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, I can finally say that I am undeniably homesick.

Don't get me wrong--I love Northern Ireland. The people here are ridiculously nice, and I'm surrounded by incredibly beauty (that photo is from my bedroom window!). I've met some amazing people here that have challenged my conceptions about identity, culture, and lifestyle. I have plenty of leisure time, and I've travelled about the British Isles extensively and have plans to go further. I've still got some money in the bank from summer work and I can walk to the local pub whenever I want.

But, and this is the life-altering bit--it's not Wilson. My favorite flannel, stolen from my father in high school, still gets lumberjack jokes. I haven't found a piece of kale YET. For what is not the first time in my life, I am the hippie weirdo that thinks too hard about food, empathizes with cows, rabidly recycles, does not own a proper "party dress," and aches to work.

Writing an email to my WWC international studies advisor (who happens to be married to my academic advisor, making communication between all of us a breeze), I had a realization: my culture shocks did not come mostly from a change in currency, weather, lifestyle, food, or ideology. My time at Wilson has made those differences seem so superficial that the switch has been at times comical but never overwhelming. Truly, my culture shock comes from leaving Wilson and attending a big, "real" University. I get lost in the crowds and lost in the hallways. I pay for coffee at a coffee shop, and I cook by myself in my flat. Failing a year means a tuition-free do-over year, so there's really no incentive to pass. In my massive 40-person lectures (in a legitimate lecture hall!!) half the students are texting, a fair proportion are on Facebook, and the others look like they want to die. I am forced to make way too much awkward eye contact with the lecturer because I am the only person making an effort to express interest.

This is not to say that Wilson lectures don't ever include someone dozing off or not paying attention, or heaven forbid, not attending. Sure, that happens in any classroom. But overall, my classes at Wilson have been stimulating, precisely because the students care about the topics, and therefore the professor cares. I have sat outside Carson many a time and continued a discussion carried over from class that made me late for lunch. I bring up readings with my friends because they made me see the world in a slightly different way. There is a conscious effort in so many Wilson situations to make the material applicable to life, integrating experiences and seeing the interconnectedness of everything you do. Your social life melts into your work life, which informs your academics, which stimulates service, which creates your dreams. If you don't care about what you're learning...you leave. You go somewhere else, do something else, try something else.

So, here I am, in the midst of what is supposed to be the Time of My Life, pining away for a little piece of land across the ocean and feeling pretty silly about it all. I know that time passes oh-so-quickly, and as much as I try to live in the moment and learn from the here and now, I can't help but know that Wilson is where I belong, and I look forward to my homecoming.

Michelle