Blog 10: THANKSGIVING BLOG

1. Share your traditions. Explain them in depth

This Thanksgiving we had dinner at my apartment which was the second we have have hosted Thanksgiving.  Usually, Thanksgiving on my mom's side is held at my grandparent's house, but this year my mom wanted to host it, to relieve my grandparents, especially my grandmother, of the stress of cooking and cleaning up afterwards. My mom did all the cooking this year and with me helping out a little bit. We typically eat early, around 2pm.  Overall, my Thanksgivings are usually pretty laid back and involve me seeing family I don't see often.

2. Share who you share the holiday with. Describe them.

Our guests consisted of my grandmother and grandfather, my great aunt, my uncle, and one of my mom's friend. Usually on Thanksgiving I visit both my mom and my father's side of the family but my Aunt and Uncle who usually host dinner at their house, went to visit my other relatives in Pennsylvania.

4. Share where you tend to be when you celebrate

I am usually at my house, my grandparents house in Millbury, my Aunt's house in Holden, and this year I spent the evening working.

5.  Share the meaning of the holiday to you, in depth.

For me, Thanksgiving is time to see those you don't see on an everyday basis. It is also a time to eat good food that has meaning/history in your family. Since I am part of diverse family, after eating my mom's food, I go over to my dad's side of the family and eat both "traditional" thanksgiving and Kenyan food.  Also, I work at a movie theater and we are open everyday of the year with the exception of bad, snowy weather and since I was used to spending all day with my family, it definitely was weird to be working. Although, seeing that I got paid time and a half for Thanksgiving, I could deal with it.

 

Blog 9: The Other Park Trip

1. The walk down towards Marblehead on the bike path contributed to my sense of place because I had been on the bike path before, as it is behind my dorm hall, but I had never been down that far. I did not know the bike path went down that far and it is cool to think how close I live to the ocean.

2. The bike path runs right behind the Bertolon School of Business, Marsh, and Atlantic dorm halls. We walked from Sullivan down to the School of Business and went on the path from there. It is not where the path originates, but it is a point of origin for most who walk it.

3. I already knew the bike path existed, but again I didn't know the extent of its length. It was nice to walk it as it was a nice day and it was good to get to know some new people.

4. I liked this trip because it was a nice escape from the same,boring classroom routine that I have to deal with in some of my other classes. Also, I got to see a part of Salem that I have never seen before.

5. I could not find the movies.

Blog 8: Triad experience

2. Our group chose the Peabody Essex Museum because we had never been there before and it is in a convenient location. Also, we knew it would be a great place to find a topic to include in our research paper.


3. We created a group chat and we talked about what time would work best for us. One of our group members could not make it on the day we went.

4.  We did not speak to an individual since this was a museum and it was mostly just observing, but for the experience overall I had:

• What exhibit struck me the most?
• How was the museum set up so that it remained interesting? 

5.  Going to the museum allowed me to learn about topics ranging from Ancient China to Native American. These cultures were displayed through their art. What I found most interesting was how prevalent glass production was here in Massachusetts. Glass products were very elaborate and important in colonial America, so much that they represented one's social status in society. Throughout the experience in the PEM , I used observation strategies to help me learn new information.

6.  This contributed to my sense of place in Salem as I had passed this place many times before, but I had never made it inside. I now can say that I have been here and will most likely be back.

7.

• Who determines the type of exhibits that come to the museum?
• How does the museum get its collections besides donations?

8. I am going to talk about the glass-making industry in colonial America.

9. The link did not work, but my triad knows what we are doing for our presentation next week.

Sense of Place at the nearby Park

3. There are many ways interconnectedness is seen throughout the park. From my point of view, the trees provided shade on the sunny day we were there. The leaves that made the ground orange, were once part of the tree. The squirrels running around in those leaves, find shelter and food up in the trees. The trees contribute greatly to the park and we are just spectators.

4. The park is a nice gathering spot not too far from campus. It is a good place to relax either with others or by yourself.

5. I went to this park for the first year day of service I did in early September. We picked up trash and learned about the marine life on the shores of the park. I have been back a few times with friends since it is a convenient walk from campus.

6. I liked the free time we got to just absorb our surroundings. It was a nice laid-back class on that Monday after a tiring weekend. It was sunny out that day, so it was a nice day to go to the park.

7. I like little excursions like this where the walk is not too far from campus and the assignments are independent or in small groups.