Back to School: The "Last Semester" Edition

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been MIA for so long. I've been crazy busy trying to adjust to my new schedule and get back into schoolwork.  I'm officially back for my last semester in college as an undergrad... EVER. As weird as it is, I've made it my mission to make the semester count by keeping up with classes, making some awesome final memories with friends, and doing activities I have not done yet (like going to the Mardi Gras parade in Burlington or going on LEAP).  So far, it's been a good two weeks back and I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester.

One big change from last semester is I have a new roommate, Amanda! My roommate Jill graduated a semester early, so Amanda moved in with us after returning from studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain.  I miss Jill A LOT, but Amanda is turning out to be a pretty awesome roommate.  Since pretty much everyone knows I will take just about any opportunity to talk about studying abroad, it has been really fun to bond with Amanda over all of our experiences.

From left, Tori, Amanda and me on the bus back from Burlington.

My class schedule this semester is pretty awesome, and I'm more than happy to say I am back in Bergeron again in full force.  Last semester, I had no classes in the journalism building (and really had no good reason to be there), so I felt pretty displaced.  I am taking both Social Media - Theory and Practice and working on The Defender again as well as spending time working on my senior seminar book with Gabbi, so I will be in Bergeron A LOT this semester. I am more than ok with that.  I really love all my journalism classes, especially the social media class. This is the first time St. Mike's is offering a social media class, so I am really excited about the skills I will gain from the class that I will be able to take with me into the 'real world'.  For example, we recently got to follow the Inauguration via Twitter feeds and Facebook pages of different news sites and later analyze how the different news sites used the tools.  It was really fun.  Never have I ever heard the words, "Ok class, grab a computer and log onto Facebook," until now.  The final class I am taking right now is called "Deviant Women," and it is also super interesting.  We are currently learning about witches, and will be learning about more women who 'misbehave' throughout history during the semester.

Lastly, I've been trying to spend time with friends.  This past Friday, I met up with my friends Suyeon (from South Korea) and Akane (from Japan), and we went downtown to Starbucks.  I was able to have dinner with them and more of their international friends downtown at the Asian Noodle Shop afterward.  It was a lot of fun, and definitely an interesting cultural experience!  Instead of giving the food recommendations, I was able to be given recommendations for food at the restaurant.  It was a little intimidating to have to use chopsticks in front of all my international friends, but it was so much fun in the end! I really enjoyed the experience.

It's a little blurry, but (from left) Ah Young, Suyeon, me and Akane on Church Street last Friday!

From left, Akane, Suyeon and me at Starbucks on our coffee date!

Also on Friday, I was able to cover a concert downtown at a place called Nectar's.  I went with another Defender editor who was writing the review, and I took pictures during the concert.  The coolest part was we got to get in for free because we were "with the press," and the music was REALLY good.  The main act was a band called Spiritual Rez, a reggae funk group based out of Boston, MA.  Not only  were they impressive, but their opening act (Richard James and the Name Changers) was also really good.  Of course, the way they caught my attention was by playing a lesser known Beatles song, "Taxman," and turning a two-minute song into a really funky eight-minute jam.

If you have any questions about my life at Saint Michael's College, do not hesitate to email me (emurray@mail.smcvt.edu), Tweet me (LizMurraySMC) or ask me a question on Formspring (lizmurray3), and I will do my best to answer them!

Ciao ciao for now :)

Sharing Christmas Traditions

Hi everyone!

Today I want to tell you about the special opportunity I had this Christmas.  As you may know, I am one of the founders of P.A.L.S (Partners Applying Language Socially) which pairs international students and four-year American students together based on similar interests to enrich the college experience for both partners. My P.A.L. Suyeon (from South Korea) and I have become GREAT friends, and I consider our friendship one of the many success stories we've had with P.A.L.S. so far.  Before the holiday break, Suyeon and I were sharing stories about our different holiday traditions.  This was when Suyeon told me that she had never had a real Christmas, which had always been a wish of hers.  Suyeon said it was because her family was not religious, so her parents never felt the need to celebrate Christmas.  This left Suyeon to have little celebrations with her friends, including decorating a mini-tree and exchanging presents.

So, my family and I made it our mission to give Suyeon her first real Christmas - an American Christmas! My family invited her home with us for about two weeks, and she became practically another member of our family.  Though Christmas activities were spread out over the two weeks, we still kept ourselves busy! Not only did we go Christmas shopping to find presents for family members, but we also...

Putting the first ornament on the tree! 

Ta-da!!

Me and Suyeon in front of the finished tree :) 

Making paper snowflakes!
 

Oooh how fancy! 

Our "special" snowflakes.

Homemade chocolate chip cookies before the oven...

...and after the oven. We didn't add enough flour, but they tasted pretty darn good! 

Decorating Christmas cookies :)  

Aunt Jackie helps out! 

Suyeon got to keep the first ornament she put on the tree! 

 Suyeon even came with my family and me to a Catholic mass on Christmas eve, and then to my aunt's house for a pre-Christmas gathering.  On Christmas morning, she got to share in the excitement of opening gifts, eating Christmas dinner, and spending quality time with the family.

Christmas morning! 

Christmas break wasn't all Christmas preparations though.  We also attended my sister's high school's production of A Christmas Carol and visited the fourth grade classroom in which my mom is a paraprofessional.  Suyeon is an English and Education major, so she told me it was really interesting to visit an American classroom.  The fourth graders were able to ask Suyeon about South Korea and her experiences in the US so far.  Suyeon didn't think the children would ask so many questions, but they really knew nothing about South Korea so they were very curious. Does Korea have television?.... Did you drive here?... Can you say something in Korean?  It was all very interesting to watch and listen to Suyeon's reaction afterward.

The best part of Suyeon's visit was the little things – the inside jokes, learning Korean, trying to find English subtitles for movies, trying out a Korean aloe face mask.  That is only the short version of the many memories though – there are too many to count! We both had so much fun together, and I think I can speak for Suyeon when I say she gained an American family.

Asian pose :) 

Me, Suyeon, John and Katie.

Suyeon and Dad.

Suyeon and Mom.

Uncle Tim, Suyeon and Aunt Jackie when we dropped Suyeon back off at SMC!

If you have any questions about my life as a student at Saint Michael's College, do not hesitate to contact me via email (emurray@mail.smcvt.edu), Twitter (@LizMurraySMC) or formspring (lizmurray3).

Ciao!

My History Major Side

Ok, so I know the title of my blog says I'm a journalism major... But I actually created this blog before declaring a double major at St. Mike's.  This was before the 4-4 curriculum (4 classes per semester, 4 credits each) was implemented and it was no longer required to have a minor with a journalism major.  Before this, history was my minor since I came in with a lot of history credits from AP classes and an introductory college course I took one summer.  I declared a double major when I figured out I had room in my schedule to do so when the 4-4 curriculum was implemented.  So, if you want to read more about the journalism major, click here. My friend and senior seminar project partner Gabbi Hall gives a GREAT description of what the journalism department is all about.  However, I want to talk about my history major since it was this semester more than any semester that I really got in touch with my history major side.

Even though this semester has been one of my most challenging as far as the history department goes, I've really come to love the history department as much as I love the journalism department.  Even though I'm a self-declared American history nerd, the department has really helped me broaden my history horizons.  I've taken classes like Modern East Asia, History of Rome, World War II in Europe and Race, Women and Culture in the Americas while at St. Mike's (not to mention History of the Italian Mafia while I was in Italy).  Each class has sparked my interests in a different way.  It is required by the department to take a variety of history classes in a variety of historical areas to fulfill the major.  History majors can even specialize by adding an American Studies, East Asian Studies or Medieval Studies minor.  It is also required to take a certain number of introductory courses as well as some upper-level seminar classes (which are usually smaller and more specialized).

I have found history classes especially useful in learning research and presentation skills, since those are also vital skills in my journalism major. This semester in particular, I had the opportunity to do some research in the St. Michael's library archives regarding the Edmundites during WWII in England, and it has been one of my favorite projects I've ever done in college.  I also wrote a senior thesis this semester that combined history, media studies and politics (one of my other interests that did not pan out into a major or minor). The professors in the history department were all very supportive and helpful throughout the entire process. Both of these projects required a lot of long-term research, self-motivation and patience.

Me holding my finished senior thesis - Media Effects on Presidential Elections: Television vs. the Internet.  This was the longest thing I have ever written, numbering 64 pages by the end (not counting bibliography or cover page).  I was recently given Honors Program credit for it!

As is true with many other departments on campus, history professors are very approachable and more-than willing to help students. It's a pretty small department like the journalism department, so it's easy for students to get to know the professors outside of class too.  After studying abroad in Italy, I was told by both Professor Dungy (Latin American studies) and Professor Dameron (Medieval studies - with a focus in Tuscany in Italy) that they wanted to meet with me so I could tell them all about my trip.  The best part about the history professors at St. Mike's is they are passionate about their areas of research.  Professor Purcell (British history) is constantly saying, "I'm so excited about this! Aren't you guys excited?" when teaching about a specific topic in her World War II in Europe class.

Being a history major is awesome, and I highly recommend it.  It has been really fun getting to know the history professors in the department and get to go more in depth about really cool history topics.  The classes (especially the upper level seminar classes) have really sparked my interest in a variety of topics.  The last class I will take in the history department next semester is called "Deviant Women," and I am SO excited to dive right in!

If you have any questions about the History Department or about my life at St. Michael's College in general, do not hesitate to email me (emurray@mail.smcvt.edu), Tweet me (@LizMurraySMC) or ask me a question on Formspring (lizmurray3).

Ciao!

Update

Hi all!!
Just writing a quick post to let you know I'm still alive and will be getting a real blog post together really soon! I really did not have much time during Thanksgiving break (ironic, huh?) to actually sit down and get things done, and this week is going to be VERY busy since I have my presentation of my history thesis and my journalism senior seminar proposal both due by the end of the week.  Alas, the life of a college senior. I will do my best to write again as soon as possible! Thank you all for understanding!
Ciao!
Liz

Thanksgiving Excitement!

Hello!

A week from tomorrow, I will be heading home for Thanksgiving break.  This will be my first time home from school since the year has started, and I CAN'T WAIT!  This will be a very needed break since my classes are becoming much busier with the final fall semester push.  Within the next few weeks, I have my MJD senior seminar proposal due, my History senior thesis due, a thesis presentation, and a final archival research paper due.  Hopefully, I can come back from break all charged and ready to take on the last few weeks!

I got to spend Thanksgiving last year with my friend Rui from Japan!! We made hand turkeys!! 

In an attempt to keep my spirits high while I trudge through my massive pile of work, here are some things I'm looking forward to during Thanksgiving break:

1. Home-cooked food – Though learning how to cook in my townhouse this year is fun, I've gotten rather lazy during the past week or two and have visited Alliot more than I would have liked.  Alliot food is good for the most part, but nothing beats a home-cooked meal. I can already taste the turkey and stuffing!

2. And did I mention, apple pie? Yes, folks, that's right. I am REALLY looking forward to apple pie.  Every year, my family and I make several apple pies from scratch.  We have it down to a science now, with an assembly line-fashion preparation: I peel the apples; my sister Katie cuts the apples up; my brother John makes the special mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg etc. that goes with the apples; and my Mom makes the crust.  It is absolutely delicious, and the house smells like pie for days.  I. Can't. Wait.

Yum! Homemade apple pie! 

3. Family and Friends – Since I haven't seen most of my family members or friends from home since I was dropped off in August, it will be really nice to see them all again.  I even have one friend with a countdown on his phone to mark when I will be coming home! I am so excited at the prospect of sleepovers, bowling matches and movie nights.

4. A break from studies – And, boy do I need it... Senior year is great, but there is so much to do in so little time!

5. Turkey Tap! My tap teacher from high school has invited several of her "former" students (well... we're still kind of her students) to gather during break to tap all together! I love any opportunity to tap with my teacher and fellow tap friends. I always end up learning so many new things!

When I come back from break, my roommates and I will be ready to start celebrating Christmas! We have already had Christmas music playing in our house even though it's still more than a month away.  We're obsessed with Christmas, but we're ok with it! :)

If you have any questions about my experience as a student at St. Michael's College, do not hesitate to email me (emurray@mail.smcvt.edu), Tweet me (@LizMurraySMC) or ask me a question on Formspring (lizmurray3).

Ciao!

Reverse Culture Shock: Looking Back Six Months

Two days ago (Nov. 4) marked six months since I officially came back the United States from Italy.  I used to refer to this jokingly as the worst day of my life, but I have found ways to use my study abroad experiences in my life now and enjoy any opportunity to help enrich the campus community with my experiences.  Working for the study abroad office has given me quite the outlet, as well as participating in PALS.  I'll pretty much jump at any opportunity to talk about Italy, and my friends find this quite amusing to say the least.  So yes... I've held off for a while, but here's a post about Italy (or rather my experiences after Italy).

Anyone who knows me knows that I had a bit of trouble adjusting back to the United States when I came back (aka reverse culture shock).  I compared everything to the Italian equivalent, yelled at the Olive Garden "Taste of Tuscany" commercial, still wanted to say, "Ciao, grazie," when I left public establishments, and talked about Italy non-stop. I was – and in some respects still am – an Italian snob. Yes, I'll admit it, I was a bit out of control.  But, can you blame me?  I had just returned from the four most wonderful and adventure/experience-filled months of my life and had an intense passion for the Italian culture as a whole.

I first went through sadness of leaving Italy.  Then there was the excitement of being home and being able to tell all my stories to more than willing ears.  Then when those willing ears diminished in number, there was denial that I was actually back in the US for more than a week.  After a few weeks of being home, I moved to Boston to do my internship.  That was a bit of a distraction from my obsession, but I still felt rather sad and alone when I thought of Italy and how much I wanted that experience back.  I started journaling about everything Italy and writing down memories.  I even read "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Eat Pray Love" among other books to curb my obsession.  I'm still quite obsessed six months later, but the aching for Italy has become happiness that I had the opportunity to experience studying abroad in the first place and still missing Italy a little bit when reminded of my experience.

Right after leaving Italy, my group of friends and I made a private Facebook group for just us so we could all keep in touch, exchange phone numbers and US contact info, and obsess over Italy in private. I probably would have gone nuts if not for the messages from the girls and numerous Skype sessions filled with, "Oh my gosh, nobody understands," and, "Today I spoke to an old woman in the supermarket about my experience because my parents are sick of Italy stories."  My study abroad friends became my support system, and I still love hearing from all of them about junior/senior year in college.  When Hurricane Sandy hit a week ago, there were messages of "Stay safe," and "Love and miss you." Now and then, there is still the occasional post about certain fashion shows happening in Italy or encounters with Italian students/speakers on our various campuses.

During the summer, I made a list of all the things I experienced during my reverse culture shock. Here are some of the top things I can remember right now (the list was pretty long).  Everyone goes through reverse culture shock in some way, but everyone experiences it differently and for varying amounts of time:

1. I thought I broke the toilet on the day after I came back from Italy.  I forgot that American toilets had standing water in the bowl, so when I looked into the toilet, I had this awful sinking feeling in my stomach that something was wrong. In reality, there was nothing wrong, and I quickly remembered I wasn't in Italy any longer. 
2. Hearing English and only English again was really weird.  On the other side of that, not having to prep myself in another language before speaking to a native was also really odd.  At first, it was nice to be able to understand everyone, but after a while I really missed hearing the musicality of different languages being spoken all around me. It also took me a lot of effort not to respond in Italian in certain situations.
3. Food was a HUGE adjustment.  I was definitely spoiled because of my meal tickets while I was abroad.  These tickets allowed me to eat out at Italian restaurants for most of the week.  My program, AIFS, really understood that food was a huge part of the culture and one part we should not miss out on.  Americans just cannot do Italian food well because they end up complicating what should be simple and delicious. 
4. Going from a beautiful half-medieval city with cobble-stone streets and buildings so close together you could practically reach across the street from your window and touch your neighbor to rural Adams, Massachusetts, was really weird. I went from having everything to do to nothing to do and from walking everywhere to driving everywhere.  
5. As I mentioned, I talked about Italy non-stop when I came home.  Everyone was really interested at first, but this interest quickly went away.  It was also really difficult to tell stories to people who had not lived in Italy for four months and did not understand Italian culture the way I knew it.  Explaining the layout of the city was really difficult too until I figured out I could show everyone a satellite view on Google maps.  Unfortunately, interest had gone away by the time I discovered that. 

This might sound like a depressing return to the US, and it was for a little while.  However, now I'm just really thankful that I was able to experience everything in the first place and that I'm able to share my experiences with my peers and family members (in a less overwhelming way now, of course).  Right now, it would be culture shock for me to go back to Italy since I've adjusted back to the American culture so much (though I resisted for a while).  Someday, I will return and will probably still remember my way around and be bombarded with all the memories I made during my four months there.  I look forward to that return trip, but I know I have important things to complete in the US first.  Until then, I hope I can a way to use my study abroad experience during the rest of my college life and afterward.

My friends (excluding my friend Ryan) on one of our last evenings in Florence on top of Piazzale Michelangelo.  Photo courtesy of Molly Byrne.

If you have any questions about my study abroad experience or my life as a student at St. Michael's college, please feel free to email me (emurray@mail.smcvt.edu), Tweet me (@LizMurraySMC) or ask me a question on formspring (lizmurray3).

Ciao!!

Exploring WWII Edmundite Archives

This semester, I had the privilege to take a World War II in Europe history seminar class.  It is taught twice per week by the history department's British historian Professor Purcell, and it has easily turned out to be my favorite class this semester.  I had never taken a class with Professor Purcell before this semester, so I did not really know what to expect, especially since this is an honors section of the course. She has turned out to be an awesome professor – high-energy, thought-provoking, witty and creative.

For the first half of the semester, we read (lots of reading) about WWII from its very origins to the end, even breaking it down by country.  The class was broken into three groups: USSR, Germany and France.  Professor Purcell is currently teaching the British part of the course since that is her area of expertise.  Each group had to lead discussion for two consecutive classes on the WWII experience within its particular country.  I was excited to get Germany, even though all of the countries are interesting in their own way.  It was fascinating to look even further into each country and discover things I never knew about the war! I was a bit disappointed that Italy was not one of the countries examined (since I'm a little obsessed...), but I quickly got over it when I found out that Italy was a player in the war, but not a gigantic player.

Now, we're getting into what I think is the best part of the semester so far: exploring archives! Professor Purcell had not planned to do this when she originally wrote the syllabus, but when she discovered that there were archives from WWII era from and about the Edmundites in Britain, France and Vermont, she changed her mind. Instead of spending more time discussing and reading about the war, our class gets to explore these archives and try to create some kind of storyline about the Edmundites during WWII.  These archives range from photos and correspondence to ledgers and personnel files.  It is SO exciting to be some of the first people to work with these archives and make sense of them.

My part in the project is to write a biography from the correspondence and personnel file of Fr. Olivia Langlois, who was an Edmundite priest connected with St. Michael's, but who was at the church in Whitton, England, throughout the war.  So far, I have mostly been reading Langlois's correspondence to Fr. Nicolle (for whom Nicolle Hall is named), who was residing in Vermont at the time, and Langlois has turned out to be a very interesting person! His personality shows right through his writing, and I have found him to be very witty and rather blunt at times.  He definitely sends lots of tidbits of gossip from Whitton back to Fr. Nicolle throughout the war.  It is also fun to see other "characters", like Fr. Cheray (for whom Cheray Science Hall is named) pop up through my reading!

This is definitely one of the most fun projects I have done in any of my classes at Saint Mike's.  Hands-on learning activities like these are one of the many reasons why I love Saint Mike's so much.  It really is enriching academically, and it adds to the research training I have already gained through both my majors.  So far, there have not been many challenges for me other than trying to make out Langlois's handwriting, but I'm expecting some to pop up through the process of writing his biography.  I am really excited for what else is to come from exploring the WWII archives!

If you have any questions about classes at Saint Michael's or my life as a student, please feel free to email me (emurray@mail.smcvt.edu), Tweet me (@LizMurraySMC - I recently changed this, so be careful not to type @LittleLizzie33 anymore!) or ask me a question on formspring (lizmurray3).

Ciao!