Grade Comfort

That's comforting...got back my first two assignments today.
Philosophy: perfect 4.
Modern Jewish Thought: 9.5/10.

Good start to the semester!

ANP 840 Sadness

I'm so excited for one of the core courses of the Anthropology degree - Biocultural Evolution. And I noticed that the grad-level course fits better in my schedule next year. Through the Honors College, we're allowed to take grad courses as H Options. So I sent an email to the Anthro department asking if I could take the course. They told me to talk to the prof. And...
"Hi Rebecca. I am sorry but the class ANP840 is not open to undergraduate students."
Meanie! Very tempting to fight it...but I won't. I will simply take it as a sign that I should make the undergrad one work. But seriously. MEANIE!

Gender and Global Change Specialization

I was originally planning (hoping) to do a Gender and Global Change additional major with my International Development degree. But the two are actually coded under “Global and Area Studies” together, and I can’t major in the same thing twice. So I was playing around with things, trying to figure out what I might do. The Gender and Global Change specialization is available, but I thought I was going to have to do some serious cajoling of an advisor to make the requirements line up. Nope! She made it easier on me than I was planning…so there it is. How fun! Go, advisor! Go, go, advisor!

The Wallet Fiasco

Oh, do I have a humdinger for you. Yesterday's epic adventure:

After getting out of a meeting with my PA prof (Peterson, chair of Philosophy Department), I decided to do some massive indulgence and get some Taco Bell after running a few errands. So I parked my bike and went in.
And the guy at the counter was high on something. Maybe it was only life. But there was definitely something going on that made him able to perform his job but be incredibly, absurdly...outgoing, shall we say? I know that I'm "the second Rebecca [he's] messed with today" and his first girlfriend was named Becky. I also received a free soda. Yeah. Not my fault.
Anyways, I went from Taco Bell to my next class, not very far away at all. And realized about ten minutes later that my wallet had fallen out of my coat pocket - probably in my quick attempt to get away from Taco Bell so I could laugh hysterically without hurting anyone's feelings and escape the awkwardness that is a guy asking "So, what's your thought process right now?" in a vain attempt to score.
I had a few minutes before class, so I biked back over, scouring the ground as I went. No luck. I had to go into class panicking. Contacted a friend who lived nearby and asked him to go into all the restaurants and businesses asking if anyone had turned in a wallet. No luck. Then my phone vibrated. Unknown number coming in from Iowa. I had a hope, a prayer. After class, my voicemail sang out the "Hallelujah Chorus" to me. A nice TA in the Pyschology Department picked it up and got it back to me that night. La vie est belle!

Life is good, by the way

I haven't posted in a while...'cause I'm too busy loving classes and life. : )

Ah, Advisors

I had a meeting with my Arts & Letters (main) advisor today. She hasn't seen my full big proposal of five bazillion degrees, which is probably just as well. I did email it to her, but it must have been lost in the shuffle. I'm still playing around with it, though, and it's definitely changed since I emailed it, so it's all good. I have meetings with a few other advisors in the next few weeks and hopefully things will get ironed out.
That said, the meeting today was a bit pointless EXCEPT...
The College of Medicine is working to create a 4+1 bachelor's + master's of public health degree. Essentially, I could get my master's in one year of online courses and a 4-week practicum if I dropped some undergrad credits. My epidemiology professor has been pushing this the last couple of days. I was getting kind of jazzed about this idea, though I'm not sold on online courses. And then Dr. Fryer looked at me and told me that I should probably be going to Harvard or Yale for my master's. At which point I remembered that I either will be doing random work in Africa helping people in a completely non-bureaucratic way, in which case no one cares if I have my MPH, or I'll be doing something incredibly high-profile and be an academic snob, in which case I want my MPH plus other stuff with as big a name as possible. Good point, Dr. Fryer. No online classes for Becca!

Favorite Quotation from ANP 201H

Good moment today from our wonderful professor:
“You guys are young and stupid right now, so we’ll forgive that.”

My friends

are such utter freaks. No, seriously. They have recently created qUALMS, the /q/ Undergraduate Association for Linguistics at Michigan State. Christine is the Bibliophibian. Yeah. And Bailey is Arch-Chancellor of the Exchequer. Uh huh. Freaks. Just sayin'.

ANP 201H

Becca is happy she's being trained as an anthropologist. This is fun.
Becca is perhaps happier that she's being trained as an anthropologist and a politician and a biologist. It's understanding the assumptions and thought processes in all of the disciplines that leads to really fun observations.

Oh, heavens...

Today's starting topic in Anthropology 220 (Gender Roles):

Wealthy men give women more orgasms
(That's a link, by the way.)

Yeah, so that's fun.

The Common Good Problem of Herd Immunity

Was reading an assignment for my PHL: Ethics of Global Public Health class. It was talking about the ethics of mandatory vaccinations. And it put herd immunity - the idea that when most people in a population have immunity, everyone's safe from it, for the most part (even the 2% or so who aren't immune), because the disease can't spread easily - into common good language. If most people are vaccinated, we get this "common good" of herd immunity. But those who don't get vaccinated (i.e., don't take the risk or engage in any cost) then become "free riders."
I love when I can use one class's concepts in another. Great stuff. At the end of the day, there are connections to my random academic interests.

Meeting with Bess

I had a meeting (made by me) with Bess German today (the Associate Dean of the Honors College). We just chatted and caught up. 'Twas grand.

Wednesday Night LBGT Classes

I'm teaching a small group with Kennetha at University UMC during our Wednesday nights UUM-C-U-on Wednesdays program. We're watching bits of "For the Bible Tells Me So" and discussing LBGT issues in the church, as well as looking at the anti-homophobia resolution General Conference passed in 2008 and the language regarding homosexuality in our Church's Book of Discipline. Last night we had nearly 15 persons present, which is a decent number, especially for the first night. We watched two of the stories from the film and then just did a general talk. I'm excited for next week because we're going to be discussing heterosexism and, instead of watching some film segments, we'll read the resolution and I'll lecture a bit about gender theory! Woohoo!

Over-Achiever!

I got to my 8:30 class today before 8 am...and someone else was already here! And they call me over-achiever...

ANP 201H: Sociocultural Evolution

Class began at 10:20. Prof got here around 10:25. It's now 10:34. We're done. Yep. Love it.
Seriously. Ran through what we'd talk about and assignments by name only. And a syllabus is on the ANGEL course site that is not yet up. Whatever. I shall have time for all my errands.

ANP 220: Gender Relations

First class was this morning. Very recently, Andrea Freidus became the instructor for this course. She wasn't originally slated to teach it. Bailey had her for 220 last year, and she was my TA in ANP 270 last semester. Funny because I saw her in the library yesterday and we chatted. She saw me this morning and was all like, "Why didn't you tell me you were in my class?" 'Cause I didn't know you were teaching it! lol. (I checked while I was signing up, hoping she was.)
Anyways, it was your basic "oh, look. Class" first day. We got into a bit of discussion, though. Andrea wouldn't let me talk. "How many of you have heard of Malawi? (pointing at me) Don't raise your hand!" and so forth. I laughed. Anyways, it was fun.
And here comes my prof for ANP 201H: Sociocultural Diversity. So here we go!

PHL 453 First Day

Well, that went well. Had a lot of fun in PHL 453: Ethical Issues of Global Health Care. There was a reading I hadn't done; luckily, though, it was regarding Paul Farmer, someone I've studied. I've read a few of his articles, so I was able to join in discussion decently well-informed. It is, though, vaguely possible that I used the phrase "Americans are assumed to be more smarter." Yep. Proved that one well, didn't I? lol.

That's fun...

My EPI 390 (epidemiology) professor has an awesome accent. Can't quite place it. But I likey. lol.

Heeheehee! He also just said "It’s the equivalent of turning your cell phone to ‘happy mode’ – having it vibrate in your pocket."

This isn't good...I so do not need to be in love with another professor. lol. But seriously. He said "chat to me." Heehee! Love.

Ah ha! He's from South Africa.

(In case you couldn't tell, this post has been edited four separate times throughout the course lecture.)

Oh, Ben

In first session of REL 411: Modern Jewish Thought with Ben Pollock, my Judaism prof from last semester. Love. Love, love, love.

PHL 453

Well, that was exciting. I just did a very abrupt and impromptu self-introduction to professor and associate chair of philosophy Gifford, asking for an override into his PHL 453: Ethics of Global Health class. Granted, though he now probably finds me slightly insane. Meets Monday and Wednesday afternoons...so here we go!

ANP 491 is cancelled...

Deep, deep sadness. ANP 491 is cancelled. Whatever shall I do? No Islam in Africa. Sad Becca. Must figure out what to replace with...

And here we go...

International Relations II starts in seven minutes. Here we go, world. Professor Axelrod is in the building. (Well, classroom. But that doesn't sound as cool.)
Have a glorious day - I'm certainly going to!

Applied for Israel!

I applied for the Israel study abroad program today! Good to have that off the to-do list. Sadness is that neither one of the programs involved required an essay. I assumed they did and so wrote one. Oh well. Such is life. Got me started on the scholarship essays, so that was good.

The Beauty of Non-Science Courses...

I have so much time! Seriously. I'm taking 20 credits, and yet it feels like I'm barely ever in class, as opposed to last semester.

The Schedule:
Monday
8:30 International Relations 2
10:20 Modern Jewish Thought
12:40 Disease in Society (Epidemiology)

Tuesday
8:30 Gender Relations
10:20 Sociocultural Diversity
12:40 Disease in Society (Epidemiology)

Wednesday
8:30 International Relations 2
10:20 Modern Jewish Thought
12:40 Disease in Society (Epidemiology)
1:50 Islam in Africa
5:30 Church

Thursday
8:30 Gender Relations
10:20 Sociocultural Diversity
12:40 Disease in Society (Epidemiology)

Seriously. I'm done at 1:30 every day but Wednesday. And I have no classes on Friday. What on earth am I going to do with myself?

Home!

I am, happily, home. Woohoo! And despite my having turned the heat completely off while I was gone, no permanent frozen pipe damage seems to have been done. Yay!
Thank you, Mum, Papa, and Granna, for a lovely time in Florida. It's good to be back in the tundra...
: )

Back in Mount Pleasant

We have all survived the drive from Florida and Mum, Dad, and I are back in Mount Pleasant. Will hang out for the rest of the day with a few folks, stay the night, and go home tomorrow. Vacation was lovely, but I will be glad indeed to be home.
Love you all - Happy New Year!