Lucky Number 4

As I tried to sit down and write this post, I was at a loss for words. I didn't know where to start. There seemed to be no way to sum up the time I had spent abroad. No way, that is, until I started to think back further to my trip to Israel. That's when I realized today's date, and suddenly, everything came together.

Exactly 4 years ago today, on June 23, 2010, I left on my first trip abroad. I packed my giant suitcase and a small overnight bag and piled into the car. At JFK Airport, I met the 25 other students I would be traveling with that summer for the first time, and boarded my first international flight. We studied and traveled together for 45 days, and I will never stop being grateful for the friendships I made and the ways that travel changed me.

Fast forward to today. Not only has it been 4 years since my first trip began, Saturday marked 4 weeks since my semester abroad - which lasted 4 months - ended. A journey that started when I first landed in England on February 4 came to its conclusion at JFK Airport, where my first journey had begun.

At times, it feels like lifetimes have passed in the last 4 years. I'm so different today from the girl I was then. Even spending just 4 months abroad has changed me in so many ways. In the weeks since my return, I've started to pick apart the 4 months I spent in England, and here's what I've boiled it down to.

Number of visits made to St. Andrew's: 10 (to a class of 23 students)

The school placement program was one of the main reasons I had initially chosen to apply to ASE. I liked a number of things about the program, but the education program had been the first thing that pulled me to it. Thanks in part to friends in Rochester who listened to me rant about ASE and another program that had accepted me, I eventually decided to go to Bath for the semester, which was the best decision I could have made. The students in Year 4 welcomed me with open arms, and I had a fantastic time joining their class every week. 

Number of formal essays written: 6 (plus a 40-plus page education portfolio)

That's right, I did take classes this semester. It's called "STUDY" abroad for a reason. I did plenty of reading, took lots of notes, and even learned a few things in the classroom. As torturous as my Shakespeare class was, it taught me quite a bit. My Tudors and Stuarts course was equally as informative, although significantly more enjoyable thanks to a friendlier environment. My favorites by far were the education courses (one theory and one based on our placements) when the seven of us in the education program basically just hung out with Mike Rix and Andrew Butterworth. 

Number of cities visited: 19 (spanning 6 countries)

Traveling, whether with the program or for personal reasons, was one of the most fun things I did all semester. I took more train rides than I can count, and saw more landmarks and museums than I'll probably remember. I got a taste of so many incredible places, which only made me want to see more. 

Number of blog posts related to my trip: 38 

Even though I knew not many people would probably read my blog posts, I was so glad I decided to write about my journey. I would get back from a new place and pour all the memories out. I realized I became a bit of an adjective junky, but I simply couldn't find any other way to describe all I had seen.

Number of photos uploaded to Facebook: 1252 (plus 1 video)

Where words failed, my camera at least came closer. So many people have yelled at me for not being in many of my own photos, but as cliche as it sounds, I loved the way that the world looked through the lens of my camera. There were so many moments I wanted to capture, and looking back, I'm so happy I did. 

And, of course, the reason you all probably read this post, my grand total.

Number of miles logged: 269.28

I still can't believe all of the experiences I had this semester, or how long it's been since I returned. Looking back to my first summer abroad, I never saw this coming. I never imagined these opportunities, or the wonderful people I would meet along my journeys.

Here's to my next 4 amazing years.  

Midterms

Originally, I decided I was going to post this blog to chronicle my travels through knitting and college. It seems fit, therefore, that I would go from my injury in November to midterm season, which it fell in the middle of.

Personally, I'm not really a fan of midterms. Not only because they all seem to occur during the same time in the semester, or because suddenly the library is packed, or because I can study for days and still walk into the exam feeling completely unprepared. While those are all valid reasons to despise midterms, they aren't mine.

Midterms have become the sole method of evaluating students' understanding in most college courses. While elementary, middle, and even high schools have begun to move away from formal midterm exams - allowing teachers to decide how they wish to evaluate students at the mid-way point - colleges still rely on them heavily. For many classes the midterm and final exams make up the entire grade for the class. No other assignments, no essays, just exams. This isn't true for smaller discussion-based classes, only for larger lecture classes. However, when your classes fall between "big" (over 100) and "small" (20 or less), the evaluations tend to lean more towards examinations, which most of my courses have done so far.

So that's the problem. What's the solution? Consider what some of my Psychology professors have adopted:

We have exams that evaluate our understanding of the material. There are three during the semester, and each covers 4 chapters of our textbook, paralleled by about 4 weeks of lectures in class. During these 4 weeks, 3 smaller assignments are administered. Each is about 1.5-2 pages in length, and tests our ability to apply the material we have been studying. The material goes beyond the classroom.

However, the system isn't quite where it should be. While these smaller assignments are extraordinarily valuable, they count for very little of our grade. In fact, all of the smaller assignments combined are worth less than a single exam. In some ways, this makes sense - on average, students spend less time working on a smaller assignment than studying for an exam. On the other hand, by valuing the exams - which only occur 3 times during the semester - over the more constant smaller assignments, universities promote cramming & other forms of last-minute studying. By increasing the value of the smaller assignments and diminishing the impact of exams on grades, students may not need to cram as much, having reviewed and applied the material prior to exam period.

That said, let's get on to the fun part of my blog: my knitting.

The scarf pictured above was my project during midterms. The yarn came from my former dance teacher, who donated much of her yarn to me before I left for my sophomore year. The entire collection is made up of wool and wool blends - this particular yarn is virgin wool. The red caught my eye as soon as I first spotted it - not too bright, but still distinctly red. I designed the diamond lace pattern on a study break, experimenting with different ways to create the corners and different sizes for the diamonds. After playing with a few different options, I settled on a pattern that was 12 stitches across and laced it on a stockinette background. I love the way that the scarf curls back when I base my pieces in stockinette. I had considered blocking the scarf, but decided that I preferred the additional warmth that comes from a scarf that curls in on itself. Overall, not including the design stages, I spent about a week on the scarf, including putting on all the finishing touches. For more information on this scarf and my other works, check out my Facebook Page

Pictured is Alesa, one of my closest friends ever since I started college. Special thanks to her for coming out on a chilly day (there was snow on the ground the night before and the night after, but it was gone when we took the pictures around midday) and to my wonderful photographer Emily.