Raisin

These past couple of weeks have been hectic but amazing! Here's an overview in slightly chronological order:

• I turned in my papers for Art History and Social Anthropology, did my Art History presentation, and took my Italian grammar test all on Monday of last week. My presentation, which was on the Brancacci Chapel frescoes done by Masolino and Masaccio, went pretty well I think. I am scared to death of public speaking, but have been better about it since the speech I had to give earlier this year for National Charity League. My main problem is that I freeze up and cannot "think on my feet" while in front of many people, so talks I give must be very scripted and I have to prepare myself for questions that I think will be asked. I didn't do particularly well on the Italian test, I just get so confused when it comes to grammar. I always mix up the different tenses and irregularities.

Brancacci Chapel collage I made for my title slide

• I went to the Design Team EGM meeting thinking I would just observe and cast my vote in the committee elections. It turned out that only four of us showed up, so I actually got a position on the committee without having to make a speech- it was really awesome! I am now the "Special Projects Coordinator" and will be helping to facilitate some of the larger design projects. On my own I've been studying the course material for the Adobe Associate's Certification for Photoshop. I want to eventually go to a computer center in Edinburgh where I can take the certification test.

• I went to a talk on Ancient Monsters in Legends and on Maps, which was really fascinating. The lecturer was mainly interested in what people of the day believed was real- not their myths or folklore. I liked one slide he showed us where a woolly mammoth skeleton was reconstructed into the skeleton of a giant- a possible explanation for why ancient people believed they existed.

• I met with my academic sisters for coffee last week before Raisin began. We thought up lots of fun family excursions we could go on- such as ice-skating in Dundee or having a cathedral graveyard picnic. I hope we'll actually do some of the things we planned!

• I've been getting a lot of Etsy orders lately, which is very nice. Unfortunately, it has been awkward trying to use the kitchen oven to bake the minis- I usually cover them with a paper towel until they go into the oven, just so I don't get the confused stares of people wondering how I'm going to eat such tiny loaves of bread!

• Last Saturday I went on an Art History field trip to Edinburgh. We visited the National Gallery of Scotland and went on a walking tour of the New Town. In the gallery we were given talks on Renaissance artists, and got to see many famous works up close. However, I enjoyed the walking tour a bit better because it was more "practical" (for lack of a better word). It reinforced the fact that art is all around you, especially in the form of architecture, and there are often stories or hidden symbols if you look around. I learned a lot about the classical orders because examples were close at hand, unlike in a classroom setting. I never realized before and loved the fact that classical architecture has its roots in old wooden construction methods (e.g. a column represents an upright tree trunk). After the tours I had some time to myself before the bus left, so I walked down Princes Street and took some photographs. I had just enough time to climb to the top of the Scott Monument- which has 287 narrow winding steps. The view was absolutely spectacular! I can't wait to explore Edinburgh some more in the future!

Edinburgh Panorama

At the top of the Scott Monument

• The Raisin Weekend activities were really exciting- to tell the truth, I was super nervous at first, but everything ended up fine and I had lots of fun. On Sunday morning, I met up with my academic relatives from my dorm and walked over to my academic mom's house. When we got inside I gave my mom a traditional present of wine and raisins (and for fun some baking supplies) and she gave me an awesome penguin Raisin string to go on my red gown. We proceeded to play a lot of party games- some which were really unusual. I ended up winning a game called After Eight where you try to get an After Eight chocolate from your forehead to your mouth without your hands- don't ask me how I did it, I have no idea. Other notable games were Mafia, Wink-Murder, bobbing for apples, doughnuts on a string, pass the parcel, Spoons, and trying to pick up a cereal box with your mouth as it gets cut down progressively smaller.

Raisin Gifts and Shaving Foam

Playing After Eight game (photo credit: Lizzie)

Doughnuts on a String (photo credit: Josie)

After my mom's party, I went over to Sallie's basement for my dad's. This party was quite a bit bigger and more drink oriented. Every family member was "initiated" by drinking a very vile shot called Unicum (which I later looked up to be the national shot of Hungary). I spent most of the party with my academic sisters. We were given drinks by our father, but since he knew we were mostly inexperienced drinkers they weren't so bad (don't worry readers, we did have the option not to drink, it was not a peer pressure thing). I had quite a bit of hard cider and some disgusting Skittle-flavored vodka- overall I ended up just slightly tipsy, and it wore off within an hour. I felt comfortable with the amount of alcohol I had, it seemed like a good "maximum" level for me (especially since I felt completely normal in the morning). We ended up leaving the party at around midnight and getting some pizza (or in my case some garlic bread). After that we went to Sallie's quad where I filmed my dad and sister singing Aquarius from Hair. Then we went over to my academic sister's dorm to watch a bit of The Princess Bride. Everyone was falling asleep, so we all decided to say our goodnights and head home.

On Monday morning a met up with my academic mom in my hall and got dressed in my costume. She dressed me as a pirate, with a twirly mustache and handcrafted sword and hat. Then I was sent off down Market St. to my dad's house. I met one of my academic sister's outside, and we went up to his apartment. I gave him his Raisin gift, and he gave both of us our Raisin receipts which happened to be pieces of an Irn Bru staff of sentimental value (see earlier post) he had made in another year. He scrawled "LATIN" across them, and wished us luck in the foam fight. We waited a while to see if our other sister's would show up, but couldn't find them, so went to the fight as a duo, armed with our foam and receipts. At the entrance, they collected our receipts, then we put on our goggles and went into the fray. Our tactic was to wait near the entrance and attack those not yet covered in foam. At the end of the fight we met our academic moms. I changed at my academic aunt's house and said my goodbyes, then attended my Art History tutorial. The weekend was so fun it went by like a breeze!

Pirate Costume with Streetlight Costume (photo credit: Lizzie)

Covered in Foam with my sister (photo credit: Lizzie)

• Halloween this year was a bit of a let-down, but it was still pretty nice. I guess it just didn't feel as Halloweenish as I'm used to- this is the first year I haven't carved a pumpkin, trick-or-treated, or gone to a Halloween party. I went to my Italian class in the morning, and in the afternoon went with the Canoe Club to the Cambo Estate to help with some forest maintenance. We were basically cutting up and sorting some felled trees into piles (logs, poles, medium sized branches to be made into charcoal, and small bits to throw in a bonfire). It was fun, and I was happy when I created a little system for myself. We were all completely covered in mud and soaking wet by the end.

"The Tree Team"

Velma

I went back to my dorm, cleaned up a little, and got into my Halloween costume. I couldn't give up that tradition- I make a costume every year, and felt like I would be betraying myself if I didn't. I actually made a steampunk costume over the summer, but left it at home, so I had to come up with something else. I decided on being Velma from Scooby Doo because I had everything I needed in my room. I went out wearing the costume with a sweater and without the glasses, so I basically just looked like I was wearing fancy but normal clothes (I was secretly dressed up, only for my own enjoyment, I know it is sad). I walked over to the "Castle", the home of many Canoe Club members, and watched two Halloween movies- Ghostbusters and Friday the 13th. Everyone screamed at the end of Friday the 13th, it had a really shocking finish. I left at around midnight and walked home by myself. It was rather terrifying, especially because I saw a person wearing a mask of one of the movie characters down an alleyway!

• I've also been studying Arthurian legends again on my own- a little nerdy side hobby of mine. I'm reading the Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend alongside The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends, as well as Tennyson's Idylls of the King and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, and comparing and contrasting information with things I've seen in movies or read in contemporary fiction such as The Mists of Avalon series.

• The weather has changed much faster than I am used to. Fall kind of happened in a week- leaves fell off the trees almost overnight- and now it feels like winter is coming (not intended to be a Game of Thrones reference). Yesterday morning on my way to Italian, I skidded across what I thought was mud from the rain the night before and found that it was ice. We also had our daylight savings time change, so now it gets dark starting at around 4:30 in the afternoon.

• As for theater tech, I've still been just slightly involved. I helped find flowers for Hair last week, and helped a little bit with setting up lighting for the production yesterday. They didn't need me for the actual show, so I went to watch. It was really well done! I was surprised at the difference between the movie, which I've seen many times, and the musical itself. The musical is a lot more free form, with less emphasis on individuals and more on the overall group. I found it kind of ironic that one of the hippies handed me a flower during the performance.

• Oh yes... I also finished knitting Nessie!!!

Nessie

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