Listening, Learning, and Laughing

This morning I didn’t want to get out of bed. I was really feeling the time difference so it felt like four in the morning for me. Luckily it didn’t take me long to get ready and walk to the dining hall so I was able to get to class early and review the homework.

We started off class with a short introduction and check in and then went to a listening workshop. It was lead by Kisa Takesue and she did an amazing job. The workshop was very interactive and engaging because she made us split into pairs and practice our listening skills. We were taught about three aspects of listening: nonverbal communication, the importance of open-ended questionings, and the difference between summary and reflection. We were able to test out all of these skills and notice how they come up in everyday conversation.

After the workshop I went to get lunch with some of the ILC’s as well as other friends from our Woman and Leadership class. We talked about some of the issues that we do in class and how we notice these differently in our different school communities. It is really great to finally feel like I am getting to know new people. I feel like I am finally able to meet people that I really like and who have interesting things to say.

Once lunch was over we went back up to class. In class we spent the afternoon discussing issues of dominant groups in society. We contemplated how these groups were formed and what kind of advantages dominant groups have. To examine this even more we watched a video where a man was completely putting down a woman who was examining how she felt about dealing with catcallers on the streets of New York City. The man refused to examine the feelings that the woman expressed. At the end of class I got time to work on developing ideas for our action plans. This was much more exciting than I had anticipated. I got to talk individually with a bunch of different classmates who really helped me develop my ideas.

Once class finished I headed out to the main green with a few classmates. The goal was to do henna and study. Since I was the henna artist I ended up doing more henna than studying but I was still able to get some work done and discuss articles from our class.

I got to go to the Global Hunger Banquet. This was really interesting because we were separated into three different groups that represented three classes and were given food options based on that. I was put in the middle class group and was given rice and beans which is enough to give me protein but still a very simple diet. The lower class was just given plain rice and no utensils. We watched a slideshow and discussed hunger issues and ways that we can solve them in society.

The rest of the evening I spent hanging out with some of my new friends on the green we talked a lot about our homework then walked up on Thayer St. It is exhausting but fun to be social all of the time. I love hearing everybody’s passion for the topics that we are studying. Now it’s time for me to finish all of my homework and hopefully get to sleep on time.