The third Thursday of November is fast approaching and here at Swat-land, there are bursts of bright fall colors on the branches one day and then on the ground the next.
At Swarthmore, I'm a vegetarian. But outside the bubble I'm a flexitarian, meaning I'm flexible and will usually eat meat if it's served. But I'm thinking about all the turkeys we kill during our November holiday and the histories of colonization and hurt that we inflicted on Native Americans (and many many other people) which is forgotten when we celebrate Thanksgiving. My friend asked me the other day what I was doing for Thanks-taking and I thought it appropriate to call it that. Sarcastic yes but it gets us talking about everything that has been swept under the rug.
I hope we can all start talking about our unsustainable traditions surrounding food.
Anyways.....
We just pre-registered for classes today and *gasp* it's my last time pre-registering at Swarthmore! I can't believe how quickly the semester has gone by and that I only have one more semester left.
I'll be continuing with my senior art workshop in preparation for my senior show. Other than that I'll be taking a double-credit honors seminar on Lu Xun, a famous Chinese writer's works.
3 credits! I'm trying to convince myself that less is more in this case. With preparing for honors exam and my thesis show I know I'll be super busy regardless.
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I just got back from a really great conference at Columbia University for Japanese culture groups at colleges and universities on the East Coast. Swarthmore's Dean's Office funds one conference per year so it was great to have that support to network with other students involved in Japanese culture groups.
At Swarthmore, me and a few other students started the group Kizuna last semester when the earthquake/tsunami hit Japan. So it was really amazing to hear about what other groups did for that and what they continue to do to promote Japanese culture on their home campuses.
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Okay so that was pretty scattered but that's what's been going on these days at Swat! Hope everyone has a great break!
