Thinkin' about RA application, Black-out Party, Physics exam, Math quiz, Paideia Paper!

Trust me when I say this past week has been extremely hectic for me. I spent my weekend studying for my Physics test on Monday. Our Physics Professor already told us it was going to be HARD and told us the usual average in his tests [I won't give you the figures but trust me it's not very encouraging]. So, full of anxiety for this test, I spent my whole weekend studying thoroughly. On Sunday night (around 8 pm), the Professor actually came to do some final revision with us [really nice of him]. 

On Monday morning, we took the test and it was actually harder than I had expected. There were several of those times where you look at a problem but just cannot figure out what to do [absolute brain freeze!] I left that exam knowing that I had bombed it. And that has kept me a little down for a while. In any case today, two days after the exam, the Professor returned our sheets to us and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it would be. Here's the thing with my Physics class and many other similar classes at Luther. Sometimes, there's no fixed boundary for grades. What happens is grades are curved and an individual's grade is determined based on the performance of the entire class. So, although my score wasn't very high, I'm glad that based on the curve, the grade it will get me won't be that bad.

Now, about more fun stuff. Yesterday, I had my Resident Assistant (RA) interview. As of yesterday, there were a hundred and fourteen applicants for just twenty-eight slots! This is clearly extremely competitive. So, after turning in my application form and three recommendation letters, the next phase was to go for a group interview. The idea behind this interview was to assess how well we could work each other to carry out a task. Overall, I would say it went okay. However, I also think so many other people did well and these group interviews might not be sufficient to select the twenty-eight needed. And this explains why we have private interviews next week.

At this point, I realize that many times, all that is required in college is having so many projects, exams, and deadlines looming and still being able to manage all this and stay on top of things. Right now, I'm in such a situation where I really need to stay on top of things. On Saturday, the Hall Council is organizing a Black-out Party for Energy Evolution Month [and I'm sort of heading that]. In Paideia, we're currently working on a Research Paper and I don't seem to be making that much progress [I've been distracted so much by the demands of other classes]. I also have a Math quiz on Friday to think about... 

Nevertheless, the good thing about all this is that you get better and better at managing your time. You keep discovering new techniques to make your schoolwork easier and you find out what work is necessary and what is not necessary to do. For example, I realize that there are clearly some reading assignments that you don't really need to do; many times, all you need to do to keep up in class is just a quick skim [take note, though, that this doesn't necessarily apply to Paideia; it's almost like you have to read everything]. So, although work load increases, you'll find that things get easier. 

Take Care!

Ethnic Arts Festival - "Love"

Hi. Last week, the diversity center held an ethnic arts festival themed 'love.' It was on Valentine’s Day, and being my first Ethnic Arts Festival at Luther, I was both curious and excited about seeing how it would turn out. The festival comprised many events, including cultural display, a dinner, and an evening show. It was indeed a colorful day at Luther, with the international students beautifully dressed in their cultural attires [I know... This isn't my cultural attire. I later went to change clothes]. I had my Ankara and local beads on.

At one o’clock that Saturday afternoon, international students set up tables for the various countries represented at Luther, displaying items peculiar to their home cultures. A student was present at each table to talk about his/her country and the various items displayed. These items included works of art, clothing, musical instruments, jewelry, photographs, maps, currency and lots more. And while some of these items were provided by the Diversity Center, some were brought from home by students. At the Nigerian table, I actually had a slingshot [I played with that a lot as a child] and many records from Nigerian artistes. More people than I had expected – both Luther students and visitors – came and were very interested in knowing more about my country. With great passion, I told them even more than they needed to know!

At four o’clock, we dissembled our tables and headed to the dinner in the Noble Room at four thirty. Tickets for the dinner were available for sale (although I got a free ticket for participating in the events). I don’t think I’ve ever eaten as ‘diverse’ a meal! It was a really nice buffet with delicacies from India, Ghana, Jamaica, Mexico and other countries. It was really good food, too. Although there were so many people there at the Noble Room, there was more than enough to eat. After the meal, we spent time taking lots of pictures, after which we went to the Center for Faith and Life (CFL) for the performances to start at seven o’clock.

The event kicked off with a display of each country’s flag. At the mention of our countries’ names, “flag-bearers” walked into the CFL to display our countries’ flags and walked across the stage. Written beautifully on the stage was the word ‘love’ translated into several languages. Following the flag-carrying were presentations from various groups. Among the presentations were dances, songs, dramas, a fashion parade and more. The presentations were indeed amazing and the audience seemed electrified by the performance. There was an interesting slide show presentation titled “The Africa They Don’t Show You.” It displayed pictures of really stunning sites in Africa and their exact locations. I was so excited when I saw the picture of Zuma Rock in Abuja! After two hours of presentations that had been nothing short of extraordinary, the Ethnic Arts Festival came to a close.

Concerning school work, right now in Paideia, we are supposed to be researching about a particular topic of interest. Each Paideia class has a topic chosen by the professor and my class is focusing on the Blues. Our research paper is supposed to take about 35% of our final grade. Frankly, I think this will be a lot of work, probably more work than I will have to do in my other classes. I really have to try to find a balance because my other classes are also pretty demanding. On Monday, we'll have our first Physics exam. Our professor already told us outright that he likes to set HARD questions so I have to stick my nose to that huge physics textbook all weekend [I don't expect it will be so fun a weekend]...

My First Birthday at Luther

Welcome to my blog. The Spring Semester has just started and I'm already feeling overwhelmed by homework. It seems like this semester might be a lot more challenging than last semester; and certainly, the classes are much more difficult.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I had about 15 calculus homework problems, a calculus mastery test, a religion homework that took forever to do, and seventy pages of Paideia reading! As you might expect, I wasn't able to finish all my homework; I still had to finish it up today. Nonetheless, I was glad I took the mastery test and passed [a mastery test is an optional test in my Calculus II class; you get 15 extra credit points if you pass it the first time]. So, I can slack a bit on my future calculus homework [well...not really].

Last Sunday was my birthday. I turned 19 [the legal clubbing age here in Iowa] and I wanted to exercise this legal right by going to Roscoe's on Saturday night/Sunday morning [In case you're wondering, Roscoe's is pretty much the club in Decorah - patronized primarily by Luther College students]. It would not have been a prudent use of my time [and money] to go after 12:00 midnight so I had to go around 11:00pm. The problem, however, was that if I went at 11:00pm on Saturday, I would technically be an hour short of being 19 years old. All the same, I still decided to go, keeping in mind that I was born in Nigeria [currently 7 hours ahead in time]; which means I was actually already 19 years old by 11:00pm. But now, when I come to think of it: Why was I even bothering myself about all these things? I would have been let in anyway...

It turns out, I was indeed bothering about things that didn't matter at all. The guy collecting the money simply looked at my ID and let me pass without asking anything. I was very curious to see this Roscoe's that everyone talks so much about. And, apparently, it isn't famous for its beauty or any rare marbles in it. What makes it fun, as I discovered that night/morning, is the fact that the place is full of many of your friends who, like you, want to have a good time and relax from the rigors of college work. And Roscoe's is certainly efficacious for that purpose; I really had fun. I got back to my room around 1:00am and, fully aware that I had lots of events lined up for that day, I set my alarm to wake up 8:30am [I had no choice; there was so much homework to do].

I had received a heart-warming call from my parents at 10:30pm the previous night to wish me happy birthday [I was already 19 in Nigeria] and my brother and sister also called me in the morning. After doing homework till about 11:00am, I went with my friends to the Noble Room for Peace Brunch for two of my other friends' and my birthday. [Peace Brunch is a really fancy meal on Sunday; it's much more expensive than regular meals, but the food is great]. We ate, made jokes, had fun, and everyone sang happy birthday to the three celebrants [although there was a bit of confusion at the "Happy birthday dear........." part]. I wish the celebrations continued till now but, sadly, I'm back to dealing with the challenges of college life.

I am currently applying to become a Resident Assistant (RA) for the next academic year. Although there's a lot of sacrifice involved, it gives you a lot of leadership experience and the pay is quite attractive [free room and board]. However, from what I can see so far, it's going to be really competitive, with over 200 people expressing interest and only 20-30 available slots! It seems like it's going to be interesting, though; we are going to have group interviews and private interviews and we have to ask our current RA's and Professors to write recommendations for us. By Spring break, we'll know whether we were selected or not...

Thanks for reading...
Take Care!

J-Break

It's been a wonderful break so far. The temperature has been just a little below 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the last couple of days and, for the first time in two months, I've actually been able to go out of my residence hall without wearing my coat. I've also been able find time to catch up with the CAF food [I'm still not up to a quarter way through my freshman-15].

On Wednesday, I had my philosophy exam. Fortunately, it went quite well. The questions seemed relatively alright and there was ample time to write as much as I wanted. As a result, many of us exhausted the space given for the essay and even got extra paper. Hopefully, when the results are out on Tuesday, they will be satisfactory.

For some reason, Luther isn't nearly as empty as it usually is during the breaks. Only one of the four RA's on my floor is not around, there is a good number of non-international students in my hall, and the CAF is usually quite full. We are currently rehearsing for the Ethnic Arts Festival on Valentine's Day, which I'm really looking forward to.

Generally, I think the break has been helpful in preparing my mind for the anticipated rigors of next semester, with eighteen credit units and fifteen hours a week of work-study to take care of. It's next semester that I write my twelve-page Paideia research paper and find out whether the scary stories I've heard about my next Physics class are true. No doubt, on Wednesday when classes resume, I'll be able to verify them. And hopefully, I'll be able to handle it. We're going to be just about seven in the class so things should be a lot easier.

Although I'm not really looking forward to next semester [at least as far as classes are concerned], one thing still excites me. Next week, I'll be turning nineteen! It might seem like just another birthday but it actually holds some significance. It means, legally, I will have more options during my weekends at Luther [I can now go to the club Roscoe's]. Don't worry, I'm only curious to see what it's like, even if it means just taking a peek; it's not like I'm aspiring to become a "Scoe's regular" or something. In any case, by next week, I'll be able to tell you how everything, including my birthday, went.

Until then...
Take care!