Week 2: The Real Work Begins

Week 2 is when the real work begins. On Tuesday, the class went on normal with the professor actively reviewing us for the quiz after class. You can tell when a professor does their best to ensure your success in the course. The professor allowed us to take the quiz offline because she trusts us and stated there is no reason to cheat if we want to learn.

The class assignments are not difficult. These are often due before class starts and usually take a maximum of two hours. I usually spend two hours after class to review the learned material and do the homework the day of class because it is at 6 in the evening. I also try to do extra reviews for 3-4 hours each week on Fridays or the weekend.

We are currently reading this book in class called The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. It is about Western medical practices when it comes to different cultures and languages. In this case, the culture is of the Hmongs, and it revolves around the case of a Hmong family with an epileptic little girl, Lia. We are asked to write discussion posts each week on specific chapters of the book. I think it is a great way to make you think as well as learn from others what they think because these practices can be quite controversial.

The activity I did this week was going to my campus. My two friends and I walked around the campus to see the new constructions being done on the school to get our steps in. I also had to print some things for the class. If I had been able to do my studies in person, I would also do the same thing to discover my new campus.

My friends and I had a lot of fun, but it was crazy hot. We escaped the heat by going to the Blaffer Art Museum. It is located on campus and admission is free for everyone. The museum is currently exhibiting the artworks of Jamal Cyrus, Jagdeep Raina, and Martine Gutierrez. It was very interesting and beautiful to see how the artists interpreted their background, culture, and history of them and their people through their interests and skills.

After leaving campus, we went to El Bolillo Bakery near campus. Everything looked so delicious and fresh that I had to stop myself. The pastries look like they would be super sweet being coated in sugar, but the sweetness was very mild, and the texture was all so soft in the mouth. To top that off, they were super affordable! Thank goodness we did 6,000 steps on campus earlier!