Starting off Strong

Usually when I come back to school, it feels like I never left, but this time was different. Granted, this is the first time in a long time I’ve been in the same place two semesters in a row, but somehow, my room didn’t feel familiar. I remembered that I’d done things in it, but I felt disconnected from those experiences. And of course, upon coming back to school, I needed to have a space I could feel connected with and call my own. So I set about redecorating.

You can compare the results with the pictures of my room from earlier blogs. I discovered a way to attach all the summer scarves I won’t be needing to the wall, and decorated accordingly. I took everything out of each and every box, drawer and shelf, and then set about reordering it all. I was quite pleased with the result.

I’m also pretty happy with my schedule this year, although I have a few things that have yet to be scheduled. Because I’m taking two NS classes, I have ROTC pretty much every morning, but on all but one day, I’m done with my other classes by 1:00, and I have space in between ROTC and my Harvard classes to work out and get ready for the day, which adds a novel regularity to the week. ROTC hasn’t started yet, though, so we’ll see if the theory works in practice next week.

At the moment*, the only class I’ve actually started is Arabic, although I’m heading to my other two Harvard classes in about half-an-hour. Arabic class did feel like I’d never left – you had the same teacher giving the same format of lesson to the same students, with the same amount of homework as always. I won’t say I loved it, but it went fine. After this semester, I’ll be done with my formal study of Arabic, if all goes well.

I’m also continuing my German class from last semester, if I can fit it in. For NS, which starts next week, I have Naval Weapons and Navigation, so we’ll see how those go. As far as the Middle East goes, I’m taking History of the Modern Middle East, which is actually in the History department, but counts for concentration credit.** I’m taking one more class, but it’s still in flux, so I’ll let you know how that goes next week.

I’m still planning on doing a joint concentration in Philosophy and Middle Eastern Studies. My relationship with philosophy went through a rough patch last semester due to my Personal Identity tutorial. For one thing, all the course’s basic assumptions about the world ran almost directly contrary to all my basic assumptions about the world, which made it difficult to get anything done, because nearly everything that I was interested in was then outside the scope of the class.

For another thing, philosophy, at least of the Anglo-American variety, is – well, nit-picky. About everything. You must always be defining things, listing assumptions, explaining what you’re not arguing, heading off misunderstandings, and giving long adjectival phrases to clarify everything, and for a while I’d given up hope of actually getting anything done in the forest when you always have to be working leaf by leaf.

However, lately I’ve been reading quite a bit of Christian philosophy which does say something meaningful, and is as annoyed as I am with these problems, so things are looking better. I will probably never be a philosophy professor, but I’m still excited about being a philosophy undergrad. If one takes the broad definition of philosophy – thinking carefully about what the world is and who we are in it – then I can think of few better things on which to spend my time.

Philosophy is a powerful tool, and I’ve been using mine to re-shape the way I see the semester. I’m attempting to constantly remind myself to see both ROTC and my classes as, first and foremost, areas for personal growth and development, for the glory of God, and not as imposed duties (although there’s a good helping of that as well). And as long as I remember that, I’m excited about what the semester will bring.

*As of writing, not as of posting; I've had other classes now, but they'll keep until next week.

**concentration=a major at Harvard

Pictures:

My redecorated room:

 The view from my window:

 The mandatory back-to-school selfies:

 My dorm:

The philosophy building at Harvard. As the story goes, they asked William James what to carve over the entrance, and he said it should be Protagorus' "Man is the measure of all things." When the building was finished, he showed up and found they'd instead carved "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?"

 My first assignment of the semester/calendar year:

The sheer number of language textbooks on my shelf (and this is leaving out my Spanish and Hebrew books at home) begins to make me nervous.

Plans and Planes

Well, here I am again on a plane to Boston. This time it’s only for seven weeks – I’ll be coming home for Spring Break for the first time in my college career – but that isn’t going to make Boston any warmer. But I’m not there yet; I’ll talk about that when I start my weekly blogs. This is supposed to be about my break, and there’s a lot to tell; the holiday included not only a great time with family, but also a quick trip to Nicaragua.

It’s been about a month since I left Harvard. December (and Christmas) was wonderful; I saw my grandparents and aunts and cousins and ate a great deal more than I should have and had long talks with my parents about practically everything.  It was warm in Boston and cold in Texas when I headed home, but now things have returned to the order of nature, so it’s going to be boots, coats, and gloves when I get back.

About two weeks ago I headed to Nicaragua with my dad on a short trip to visit a lady from our church who runs a girl’s home there. I’d never been further south than Mexico, so it was a very neat experience, especially since I was doing the translating and had the opportunity to practice my Spanish. We spent a very pleasant three days there; pictures are below.

Nicaragua is about what you’d expect if you combined a general idea of Central America with your idea of a third world country. You’ll find crowded open markets, rows of brightly-colored cinder block houses, narrow streets, stray dogs, and lots of Spanish. After dashing around Europe this summer, where everyone immediately switches to English if your accent is a little off, it was very refreshing to be in a country where you actually need to know the language.

The first day was the most tiring. We arrived at the home at about 2:30 am (same time zone as Texas) and got a little sleep before getting up to look around the property and go shopping in town. I played with the girls for a little while – not my forte – and translated the Bible study that night. After everyone figured out that I actually did speak Spanish, things went more smoothly, which was good, since the next night they had a party for us, which involved a lot more Spanish but was quite enjoyable. The third day we did a ridiculous amount of sightseeing, including an active volcano, and bought souvenirs, and then it was time to head home.

And of course, now I’m off again. I’ve gotten quite a bit done over the holiday – I’ve completed a semester’s worth of Classical Greek, done a lot of creative writing, finished most of the Norse Eddas, and read a book or three. I don’t feel particularly rested after the break, but I didn’t feel particularly tired after last semester, so I guess it evens out.

My schedule is looking fairly regular this coming semester, but I’ll write more about that on Tuesday, when I write my first official semester post. I have two ROTC classes, so it’s going to be an early-to-bed-early-to-rise sort of semester, but that isn’t a bad thing.

My first year-and-a-half of college were difficult; their memory evokes an atmosphere of ‘always winter never Christmas.” The two semesters after that, I learned how to relax, but now it’s time to start taking charge of the free space in my schedule, not by scheduling more things, but by delving deeper into the things I’m already doing.

Being me, I’ve developed and refined a three-page document listing my overall life goals and how they play out specifically this semester. (This has actually expanded to a file that includes several subsidiary documents.) This sort of plan is nothing new for me, but this one in particular is more thought-out than those of prior years. This time, I’m not just going back to school. I’m making a concentrated, thoughtful effort to grow as a person. We’ll see if it works – here’s to all our New Year’s resolutions!

Pictures (thank you to my dad for taking many of these):

Nicaragua:

 With a few of the girls.

 Sightseeing:

 I miss her when I'm gone. Somehow, she gets cuter as she gets older.

 Christmas dinner, complete with the chicken fried steak and Blue Bell!

 *cough* Texas:

 Massachusetts:

 Why do people live here again?

 Home sweet home.

Ready to start another semester. Here it goes!

Wrapping Up

I apologize for posting this blog a day late, but in my defense, it is the last one of the semester, and I had my last final to worry about yesterday. I think my finals went well; I knew what all the questions were asking and most of the answers, although I can never tell how much I’m supposed to write on the essays. They’re over, though, which is the main thing.

I had my first exam (Music) on Saturday and the second and final (History) yesterday. It was much easier to study for music; there was vocabulary, and you could listen to the pieces we studied over and over. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to hear Beethoven’s 9^th again. History, though, was the history of philosophy, and it’s rather difficult to study philosophy by rote, so I did more general reading and reviewing of theories.

My free time has been spent going back to the lake for long walks and memorizing German vocabulary. It still hasn’t snowed – not once! – and the weather has been very nice, so the walks have been frequent and allowed me to do some deeper thinking. The vocabulary is progressing nicely, even if it does mean many hours staring at a computer screen. Helen gave me a book of “things to memorize” for Christmas; she knows me well. The rest of my time has been spent dabbling in Norse mythology through the elder Eddas, which I’ve finally found online.

The Eddas are interesting, although I probably like them better because I can’t read them except through the lens of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Still, I can’t see as humans differ much over time or space. For instance, see how you sympathize with these Norse sayings (I paraphrased the translations):

The early wolf catches the sheep.

Where there’s a wolf’s ears, there’s a wolf.

A witless man, when he meets with men/ Had best in silence abide/ For no one shall find that nothing he knows/ If his mouth is not open too wide.

And of course I went to a few events and said goodbye to everyone; for once, I’ll be in the same place when I come back, so the goodbyes weren’t that hard. And I’ll have a great many hellos to say soon. I’m not sure exactly what my break plans are, but I’ll resume my blog when I get back in late January. As I think I can say is traditional by now, I’ll do a little reflection on the semester/year before I go:

Classes were easier this semester, even though I had six of them. They were more sedately paced, and they gave me more time for reflection. They connected in various ways: the philosophy of personal identity made its way into my history class, and my reflections on Nietzsche from German related to the pieces in Music, and in Arabic we were talking about social and political topics that fell under one or another of these umbrellas at times. It’s given me a lot to think about; I love connecting things.

Outside classes I think I’m still seeing the effects of study abroad: more independence, more perspective. They’re easier to see now that I’m back in my normal environment. I can plan trips; I’m organizing my whole life, not just my studies; things are in perspective. And I’m driving here now – that’s a big thing, although I haven’t had to deal with snow yet.

One of the biggest changes since the last time I was at Harvard, which is due both to my development and having more free time, is friends. I’ve learned to better relate to and invest time in people, and that productivity and independence don’t have to mean shutting people out. As a result, I have more substantial relationships with more people now than at most times in my life.

I have to admit I get travel-sick sometimes; I miss all my studies abroad. Still, it’s good to be back in the States, although I may have had more culture shock coming from Texas to Massachusetts than I had in any of my other location-changes (probably because I wasn’t expecting it). I hope that in the future, I’ll have more time to spend adventuring, but I’m also glad I’ve had time to stop and reflect – and even more, now that the semester has ended.

Time is flying by; it won’t be long until I’m back at school and then done with school. Until I write again, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and best wishes!

Pictures: Sorry for all the scenery; it's just been really pretty around here lately.

In case you're wondering, this is getting near sunset, but that's because it's around 3:30 in the afternoon.

 Our dining hall: the extroverts and the introverts

 One of the side entrances to my dorm/a basketball court (this is sunrise - ROTC):

 About to take my music exam in the Science Center:

 It was just a really pretty day:

 History exam:

Last pictures of the lake (for this year). I promise. :)

A Period of Reading

                Classes are over! A week from today, I’ll be done with my last final for the semester and packing to head home for Christmas break. As far as schoolwork goes, things have been very calm; for possibly the first time this semester, I’ve gone a day without checking my to-do list, and nothing disastrous has happened. Of course, there are always the little things, and in about a day or so I’ll have to start preparing for finals, but right now I’m taking a sort of Sabbath, and it’s going very nicely. Before the free time, though, there were a few events. I’ll list them in order:

                First, on Wednesday, I and 11 other MIDN/cadets from the MIT unit (4 from each branch) met with the Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, for a very nice lunch. The lunch ended up being delayed, and we couldn’t eat or sit down until he got there, but when he did arrive we had a slightly nervous but enjoyable time (I had the privilege of sitting next to him). He was accompanied by the very first female fighter-pilot, who had just made general. We took pictures afterwards.

                On Friday evening I went to see a choral performance of Handel’s Messiah. They sang the entire first section and selections from the other sections (you can’t leave out the Hallelujah Chorus, after all). It was beautifully done, even it if was about an hour longer than I’d expected. This was mainly due to the introduction, which turned out to be extensive and conducted by my music professor. It was an abridged version of what we’d spent several weeks on in class, so it was a good review, even if I’d already heard all the punch lines.

                It was strange to enjoy overtly Christian music in the middle of Sanders Theater, but even stranger was not knowing if those producing the music believed it or not. The irony was highest at the very end of the peace, because it involves swelling repetitions of “Amen,” which is the root in Hebrew (and Arabic) for truth or belief. How many people believed what they were pronouncing as truth?

                On Sunday I went into Boston with Helen to watch the Nutcracker. The theater and the effects were elaborate, and we felt very cultured, having dressed up to go to the theater (the effect was lessened by multiple selfies and the fact that ushers were passing out paper crowns). I’d forgotten how sweet the story is, being about a child, and very much enjoyed the performance. The most confusing part was the ethnic dances, which weren’t danced to ethnic music or by ethnic dancers. For instance, one of the leads in the Chinese dance was from Paraguay, and was paler and blonder than I was. It took the parasols to realize what was going on. Still, we had fun.

                The rest of the weekend has been spent doing my own reading and studying. I started the Count of Monte Cristo in German, and I’m actually making pretty quick progress, although I was switching it out with other reading every other section or so. I’ve been reading a lot of C.S. Lewis, Chesterton, and MacDonald lately, which has given me a lot to think about. I also discovered a lake about a fifteen-minute walk away from my dorm, so I spent an hour walking around it through the park, which was refreshing.

                I realize my last couple of days must seem terribly dull when I write them down here; the best part of them was spent in bed with tea and my laptop, reading or thinking. But I’ve found them perhaps the most interesting part of the week. I’ll list just one of the dozens of things that have been swirling around in my head; maybe it’ll make sense, even if you don’t think it’s as interesting as I do:

                I’ve been considering borders for a while now. I live in a generation that intensely dislikes all limits, but limits aren’t just limitations; they’re delineations. In Hebrew, the word “to define” literally means “to make fenced;” things exist because they exist distinctly. This is part of the case for natural, intrinsic limits (those of morality, logic, and etc). More difficult is the consideration of man-made limits. Artificial limits or, as some critics call them, “constructions,” are what they sound like. They’re artificial. They’re erected by cultures and societies. There’s nothing intrinsically un-masculine about dressing in a pink robe or taking up embroidery. There’s no inherent reason a female ballerina can’t whirl her partner around in the air or a hideous orc can’t be the misunderstood hero. And yet, I think artificial constructions are as necessary and as natural as the cultures and societies they make up.

                I’m going to be honest; I just wrote half an essay on this topic and then erased it; there’s no space, and your time is valuable. But this is just one of the more minor thoughts passing through my mind right now; more has happened in my head in the past few days than has in perhaps the last couple weeks combined. I don’t know what I’ll end up doing with all these thoughts, but they keep life interesting. I wish you all happy pondering and, until next time, a joyful almost-holiday week!

Pictures: 

It was a dark and drizzly night...

 I completely forgot to mention, among everything else, that my music class attended (and sponsored) the world premiere of a piece called "When Music Sounds." It was for choral and piano, and it was a great way to start a Thursday morning. I've had a very musical week.

 The Boston Opera House apparently cost $50 million to restore. You can tell.

 The ushers direct traffic to allow you to take pictures by the tree.

 A rare moment when no one was at the John Harvard statue.

My lakeside adventure:

 I think the word I'm looking for is grand. (I take pictures with my phone and my camera, and they upload separately; that's why you're getting the same chronology twice).

With the SECDEF. Thank you to whatever DoD personnel were responsible for this picture; you were very efficient.