Muhlenberg College Blogs

Right now I am sitting at gate B10 at the Philadelphia International airport, anxiously awaiting the plane that will take me back to Chicago for the first since the beginning of January. Finals are over. And I am officially a Junior in college. I can’t believe it.

The last couple weeks of school are always an interesting mix of work, stress, fun, friends and good-byes. Although good-byes are always hard, I got to say farewell to the school with style! I went to the Muhlenberg Theatre Association formal at Brewworks the Friday before finals. It was a fabulous way to blow off steam before we all had to hit the books for finals.

MTA formal was a blast (albeit a little sweaty), and when I returned to campus I got to celebrate one of my favorite events on campus….Midnight Breakfast!

From 11-2am, the Friday before finals in the Spring semester, the administrative staff prepare and serve breakfast to hundreds of hungry students. Pancakes have never tasted so good.

When I then woke up on Saturday, I hit the books and started working on several term papers and began studying for exams and preparing for scene presentations….Phew.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the Muhlenberg Tour Guide community. The exec board planned and organized a tie-dye and ice cream get together. I was very adamant about the tie-dyeing part…who doesn’t like tie-dyeing? No one. That’s who.

Since I am going abroad next Fall, I will be relieved of my tour guide/tour guide exec  duties. We had a lot of good times this semester, and I will miss it a lot!

Me and the rest of tour guide exec board (Minus Avi and Josh)

After that, I was done with study breaks for about five days. I spent what felt like hundreds of hours in Seegers Union, and drank what felt like gallons of coffee, but despite the work and the stress, I got the opportunity to spend some quality time with my friends.

The papers were written. The scene presentations were performed. And the exams were completed. And now I am here. With about ten minutes before I board the plane – the only thing between me and home.

I am going to miss the Seniors terribly. These were the people that I looked up to the minute I stepped on this campus, and now they are moving on to the real world. I know we will keep in touch. Among the hardest people to say good bye to was Ari, my MTA big:

—->Note the sad look on my face.

It was also hard saying good bye to some of my friends that I knew I wouldn’t see for the next eight months as I journey to London for the Fall. It is sad, but I cannot wait to begin this exciting chapter of my life.

This is my last blog for the year. It has been a pleasure writing for it. I hope everyone has a fantastic Summer!

Peace out!

Hello Everyone! I gave this blog post the title of “Winding down,” however, my work load and the business of life here at Muhlenberg College is nowhere close to winding down quite yet. We have a little more than a week left here, and tomorrow is the last day of classes! Finals week at Muhlenberg College is filled with many things. There is a picnic for chemistry majors, a dinners for head tutors, the Track and Field Conference Championship, senior celebrations and FINALS! Life would be far too simple, though, if there were not papers, lab reports, notebooks and research projects to wrap up My father always tells me, “You know you love it.” And, despite everything, he is so right! There is something awesome about approaching the end of the semester and knowing that you just have to complete a few (or many) more things before you get to leave for summer. It is exciting and sometimes exhausting, but at least the end is in sight. I also have the excitement of going to Disciple Maker’s Christian Fellowship FOCUS Conference four days after my last final to look forward to. Wish me luck

The DCF Gang

What an amazing couple of weeks it has been! The year is coming to a close, and it seems like this year saved the best for last. No doubt there is some stress creeping into my body, but I am enjoying myself and friends while school is still in session.

Part of the reason I am getting as much time in with my friends as possible is that next Fall I will be studying abroad in London at Queen Mary College, University of London. All through the year, I have been filling out forms, getting signatures, and going to meetings in order to go abroad. Tomorrow, I have my advising with The Office of Global education to discuss what courses I might take next Fall. This is starting to get very real. I am extremely excited and grateful to experience Europe. I know I will miss the ‘Berg, but I can’t wait to have a new and enriching experience.

The past couple of weeks have been rich with opportunities to learn outside of the classroom.

Have you ever heard of the HBO show In Treatment? If you haven’t, you should definitely check it out. It is composed of hour-long episodes that document the goings-on of a therapists office. In Treatment was originally an Israeli show called B’Tipul. One of the original writers of the Israeli version, Eran Kolirin, came to Muhlenberg last week to discuss the show. He would show clips of a segment from the Israeli version, and show the parallel segment from the American version. The scripts were about 95% the same, and yet the style, location, and tone between the two versions was striking. As someone who is interested in acting, writing, and Israeli politics and culture, I found this lecture/discussion very enlightening and interesting. Here is a short clip which shows both the Israeli and American versions of the show..

In Treament/B’tipul

Last week was Queer Week, and Muhlenberg did a great job celebrating and recognizing. The key note speaker was Tim Miller, who is an extremely influential queer performance artist.

Tim Miller

Hundreds of my peers joined professors in the Empie theatre and listened to Tim Miller speak and saw a couple of his original performances. Very inspiring stuff. I felt very lucky to have heard such an influential and accomplished artist.

I have written in the past about The New Play Reading Series, but I will refresh your memory. NPRS is a Muhlenberg Theatre Association’s initiative to produce student-written work. It is a fantastic opportunity for playwrights, actors, and directors to work on new work. This past Friday, the play I wrote, “Brushstrokes,” was presented as a part of the series. It was an excellent opportunity to workshop a new play and get some valuable feedback. I look forward to continuing on in the writing process, and I felt very inspired by the fabulous director and actors I worked with.

Me and the fabulous cast and director of "Brushstrokes"

It has been a crazy couple of weeks, and I know that the next 20 days of school (!!!!) are going to be stressful, fun, and exciting. Let’s do this.

I had a hard time starting this blog honestly, because I knew it meant that I was writing about my last moments here in Perugia. I have and will spend my last moments here soaking the beauty of Perugia and capturing the last memories with friends that I have made. My experience this semester has truly been incredible. I have learned so much about myself. Everyone says that study abroad changes you in some way, and I absolutely believe that, because I have truly been changed by this experience. I don’t know if I can pinpoint exactly when it happened, but it has, and I am so grateful for the experience.

I have had the opportunity to live in a foreign country for four months. I have been able to learn and speak a foreign language and immerse myself into the culture of Perugia, Italy and Europe. Things are different here, and I learned that through my experience. I have gained a greater knowledge of culture globally, and it has opened up my views of the world.

I have been able to travel to so many exciting and beautiful places, and I learned a lot about being independent on the way. Whether it was traveling by myself, missing trains and figuring out what to do next or trying to communicate with my little Italian to someone who doesn’t speak English, I learned a lot, and I feel stronger and more independent because of it. I feel like I can go out on my own and conquer a lot more now because of my time abroad.

I have been able to learn really interesting and cool things in the classroom and then actually go out and see the real pieces. I never thought that I would take a Leonardo Da Vinci class and then go and see the Last Supper and actual pieces from his notebooks. It is almost surreal. Nothing has been more rewarding than having Italian class about traveling and directions and then going to travel that weekend and being able to talk to the train conductor about which stop to get off at the where to go from there.

And last, but not least, I have made incredible friends for life. We have been through so many experiences together, and whenever anything good or bad happens, we are here for each other. I have had amazing roommates this entire semester. Since the first week, we have been having dinners together for hours so that we can sit and talk together. They have always been there for me, and I have been so lucky to have them as my roommates and friends. For them and the other friends I have made here, I cannot thank them enough for how they have come into my life and helped shape me to who I will be in the next stage of my life. I think it takes a certain kind of person to study abroad, and all the friends I have made are incredible people. I will miss them and will go to incredible lengths to keep them a part of my life.

Perugia has been an amazing experience for me. Every time I left for a traveling I would say, “I can’t wait to get back to Perugia.” But a couple of weeks ago, when I was coming back from a trip, I said, “I can’t wait to go home to Perugia.” Perugia has become another home for me. While I may not still have an apartment here at Via Benincasa 24, I have a place filled with memories that will stay with me forever and I can’t wait to share them with everyone at home. I will be sad to say goodbye, but it won’t be forever. If I have anything to do with it, I’ll be back.

Hello Everyone!

I am currently writing to you from an airport as I wait for my plane to take me back to Muhlenberg. I just spent the past few days resting and relaxing with my family. It was a much needed few days! The weeks leading up to Easter break were filled with exams, projects and lots of research. I did a chemotaxis odorant assay with my C. elegans to try to learn if the worms had certain types of neurons. I also completed Bioinformatics assignments for Biochemistry, took a Biochemistry exam and wrote two Organic Chemistry lab reports. Needless to say, it was a very busy few weeks!

There were many highlights over the past few weeks. I found out that I was accepted to Vanderbilt’s Undergraduate Clinical Research Program! I’m really excited! Basically, I get to spend my summer in Nashville doing research with a physician and shadowing doctors at Vanderbilt’s Hospital. What a dream Last weekend, I went to Women’s Conference with Disciple Maker’s Christian Fellowship. We all had an awesome time in fellowship and in God’s word!

DCF Women's Conference

The last few weeks of the semester are definitely going to be crazy. Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry exams, research projects and presentations, head tutor interviews, track meets (I get to race again soon!), as well as anything and everything else that comes by. I am looking forward to it all and will keep you updated!

I hope you all are enjoying Spring!