A requirement for my education class (Literacy in a Cross-Cultural Perspective) is that we have to participate in a Community Based Learning project that entails us going to area schools to tutor kids learning English as a second language. I signed up to work in an after school program with the Garden Club at the Gerena school in the North End of Springfield and today was our first day! The North End is the poorest neighborhood in Massachusetts and I believe in the top 10 for the nation and Gerena was established as a Montessori school in the community.
There were only 5 girls present (Tatianna, Victoria, Vanuschka, Samantha and Miriam) though the teacher, Gabbie, told us that 13 kids had sign up. Somehow, I found out that Gabbie went to Newtown Friends School but that she would have graduated before I could have been playing sports against them. Go Quakers!
The first thing that we did with the students was go around and introduce ourselves and say our favorite fruit and vegetable. First we had to establish what makes a fruit a fruit and a veggie a veggie--using the tomato as a trick question.
My favs are mangoes and snap peas....and my name is Erin but you should know that and if you don't well.....why are you here??
After that, we went down to the storage room to show the kids all of the different gardening tools and to get a wheelbarrow to carry everything outside in. Gabbie explained to the kids what a grant was and how the school was able to buy everything they needed to start the Garden Club.
The literacy component that was worked into the day's activities were that everyone was given a scavenger hunt list about things they would see and find in the garden and the girls would have to read the questions and write answers about their discoveries. The is also a cooking component to the club and once we start doing that they will be responsible for writing recipes and I hope that we can put together a book for them to take home at the end of the semester as a souvenir. We did some weeding, general clean up and started a compost pile but the best part was watching them get excited about identifying what each of the plants were. Realizing that inside the paper lantern shaped orbs tomatillos were growing and that the huge sprawling vines and flowers were going to be bringing us pumpkins was super cool.
I have also never seen a group of young girls that were so into bugs. Victoria ripped open a tomatillo 'lantern' to find a green and pink catepillar and spider that were eating an afternoon snack and got everyone to look and touch. Again, super cool.
I was surprised that the Smithies were as quiet and shy as the students but I of course was trying to break the ice right away to let the kids know I was excited to be there and that they could open up to if they wanted. I hate awkward but it seems like a necessary social phase sometimes.
okay I have to run to an Anthro Club meeting now and then to my museum class!!
love to all
emr
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Party at my inner poet's place
**knock knock**
**knock knock**
?Who's there?
!!Mary!!
?Mary Who and When?
!!Mary Oliver in 19 hours!!
:) victory dance :)
**knock knock**
?Who's there?
!!Mary!!
?Mary Who and When?
!!Mary Oliver in 19 hours!!
:) victory dance :)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
An attempt at poetry
where fortunes press
small lines meet
like Horizon and Valley
we nest
here in my palm
heaped under the shadow
of round fingers
brightened by blood
the weight of fallen fate
parts skin
down to the muscles
where memory is sleeping
in hollow wells of tissue
remember our tenderness
as it continues
up river
up river
up river
across my lifted hand
small lines meet
like Horizon and Valley
we nest
here in my palm
heaped under the shadow
of round fingers
brightened by blood
the weight of fallen fate
parts skin
down to the muscles
where memory is sleeping
in hollow wells of tissue
remember our tenderness
as it continues
up river
up river
up river
across my lifted hand
BIg Mamma on Campus
"Hey, kid. Can't you break a leg in a couple of weeks? This is great!"
-Donna Russo
Apparently, my mom loves shaving my armpits.
A lot.
This week was dedicated to taking it easy. I didn't realize how much I was struggling until my mom started helping with all kinds of daily activities and got me to sit back and rest for a little. For those of you who know the both of us, it is hard to imagine that the Russo girls could lay low for 78 hours without multitasking 7 different projects and saying yes to every inquiry and opportunity presented to us-but we did! Aside from a shoe shopping excursion, a couple of walks and going to class we managed to keep a low profile. I was allowed to leave the room once without her to go to the Anthropology Club's World Game Night but only so my mom could finish her write-up for her summer grant.
We decided to make it a family affair and got Karen to come up for the weekend which has only added to the goofiness and giggles. While I volunteered at the Harvest Fest at Nuestras Raices yesterday they went for a hike at Mount Tom and got some good eats at the State Street Deli in town. Today it is supposed to be rainy but we have made plans to see a lecture by a well known Zen Buddhist monk on campus and hopefully will partake in a competitive Scrabble tournament. I am the reigning champion to this day and Karen can hardly stand it.
Mom is counting down the minutes until we have to check out of the hotel so I better get going. She still hasn't brushed my teeth and done my hair yet!
just kidding just kidding.......
well, maybe not
xo
e
-Donna Russo
Apparently, my mom loves shaving my armpits.
A lot.
This week was dedicated to taking it easy. I didn't realize how much I was struggling until my mom started helping with all kinds of daily activities and got me to sit back and rest for a little. For those of you who know the both of us, it is hard to imagine that the Russo girls could lay low for 78 hours without multitasking 7 different projects and saying yes to every inquiry and opportunity presented to us-but we did! Aside from a shoe shopping excursion, a couple of walks and going to class we managed to keep a low profile. I was allowed to leave the room once without her to go to the Anthropology Club's World Game Night but only so my mom could finish her write-up for her summer grant.
We decided to make it a family affair and got Karen to come up for the weekend which has only added to the goofiness and giggles. While I volunteered at the Harvest Fest at Nuestras Raices yesterday they went for a hike at Mount Tom and got some good eats at the State Street Deli in town. Today it is supposed to be rainy but we have made plans to see a lecture by a well known Zen Buddhist monk on campus and hopefully will partake in a competitive Scrabble tournament. I am the reigning champion to this day and Karen can hardly stand it.
Mom is counting down the minutes until we have to check out of the hotel so I better get going. She still hasn't brushed my teeth and done my hair yet!
just kidding just kidding.......
well, maybe not
xo
e
Monday, September 21, 2009
Legend of the Fall
One would think that after several days of praising the earth and my fellow man God would be diggin' me, wanting me to soar like a big red balloon away from the grimy clutches of a snotty child- my inner doubt. I had been taking morning walks, visiting the Peace Pagoda, going to mountain tops to see the sunset, kayaking down rivers loving my fellow women--I have pictures to prove it! Look! Look!
But you see, people, my untimely accident had nothing to do with the Big Guy. This is obvious because I am still alive. It was the Academon! The academically demonic woodland sprite that has been haunting and taunting me since I arrived here at Smith. I would have told all of you beforehand but to be honest I didn't think much of it myself. I shall explain:
For several weeks I have been having dreams where I am actually possessed by a ghost that is either trying to harm me or force me to do horrific things to other people. On my morning walks, acorns crash to the ground right in front of me and yesterday a monstrous chesnut bounced off of a building and whizzed by my head. There are no chesnut trees on that street.
What I have to work with here is that, basically, Little Dude will stop at nothing short of breaking my clavical to strike fear of the outside world into me so that I will hole myself up in my lovely little room and study study study for the rest of the year. Perhaps he is right that I shouldn't get carried away by the many wonderful distractions and possibilities Western Mass presents to its visitors. This year I am a student not a freelance...whatever! But did he really have to take MY big red balloon and pop it on a metal fence at the bottom of a steep hill that was meant to be rode down fast enough that you become air and hair and smiles on one of the most gorgeous days of the season?? (gasp)
yes. apparently so.
and that is all i am going to say about that.
goodnight and farewell to left arms!
er
Friday, September 18, 2009
R-2010 headed this way!
The first week of classes is like getting hit by a train. You probably won't feel much even though you're moving forward at 100 mph.
Despite all my readings and preparation for upcoming papers I have been able to witness and partake in various activities around campus that are just soooo Smith.
Every morning I wake up around 6 to take a walk along Paradise pond and back into the quiet neighborhoods where the houses are adorned with gay pride and buddhist prayer flags, the driveways sport hybrid vehicles, and everyone's lawn is immaculate. I take the time to do this because I know that soon it will be too cold to even look outside and if my mother and my grandmother do it than they must be on to something. Besides, it's one of my favorite things about our campus.
My next favorite thing about Smith are the Smith women. For example- the other day, several students had set up a table on Chapin lawn at the center of campus and were advertising free smoothies. I overheard them explaining to a passer-by that all that was required was to pedal the bike they had set up in order to power the blender. Now I don't know if they were members of a class or a campus organization but the point is HOW COOL IS THAT?! I feel like everyday I am witness to the multitude of active and creative minds here at Smith and the fact that we share our passions in some many ways with one another is freakin' awesome.
I had another chance to see an exhibit put on by Smith students in the Botanical Gardens. Each student chose a flower, photographed it and "analyzed its spatial character in terms of certain organizational principles." The idea was that they would recognize a "visual language" and go on to design and build cardboard models of a theoretical pavilion for flower display next to Paradise Pond. I will try to post some photos later because the ones on the website are impossible to see.
Finally, I attended the Constitution Day lecture given by a Smith Alumna on the School to Prison Pipeline. First of all, how many other people know that we now have a Constitution Day to reaffirm our national identity as Americans? I'm sure everyone but me but hey...crazy stuff.
Anyway, her focus was on several "stops" that students make on this imagined pipeline that include the over use of suspension/expulsion as a method of punishment that she described as "zero tolerance"policies, the handing over of administrative responsibilities to police forces and the tendency for juvenille court systems to provide little resources for young criminals to transition back into academic or, for that matter, social life. The Neilsen Browsing Room in the library hosts many wonderful lectures and I already have marked on my calendar the next one that will discuss the 2012 Mayan prediction.
As for the weekend, I'm going to a faculty rock band concert tonight, The Distractions, and tomorrow is the Connecticut Kayaking trip with the Smith Outdoors Club. YIPPPEEE!
wishes for a funky friday filled with fortune for all!
e
Despite all my readings and preparation for upcoming papers I have been able to witness and partake in various activities around campus that are just soooo Smith.
Every morning I wake up around 6 to take a walk along Paradise pond and back into the quiet neighborhoods where the houses are adorned with gay pride and buddhist prayer flags, the driveways sport hybrid vehicles, and everyone's lawn is immaculate. I take the time to do this because I know that soon it will be too cold to even look outside and if my mother and my grandmother do it than they must be on to something. Besides, it's one of my favorite things about our campus.
My next favorite thing about Smith are the Smith women. For example- the other day, several students had set up a table on Chapin lawn at the center of campus and were advertising free smoothies. I overheard them explaining to a passer-by that all that was required was to pedal the bike they had set up in order to power the blender. Now I don't know if they were members of a class or a campus organization but the point is HOW COOL IS THAT?! I feel like everyday I am witness to the multitude of active and creative minds here at Smith and the fact that we share our passions in some many ways with one another is freakin' awesome.
I had another chance to see an exhibit put on by Smith students in the Botanical Gardens. Each student chose a flower, photographed it and "analyzed its spatial character in terms of certain organizational principles." The idea was that they would recognize a "visual language" and go on to design and build cardboard models of a theoretical pavilion for flower display next to Paradise Pond. I will try to post some photos later because the ones on the website are impossible to see.
Finally, I attended the Constitution Day lecture given by a Smith Alumna on the School to Prison Pipeline. First of all, how many other people know that we now have a Constitution Day to reaffirm our national identity as Americans? I'm sure everyone but me but hey...crazy stuff.
Anyway, her focus was on several "stops" that students make on this imagined pipeline that include the over use of suspension/expulsion as a method of punishment that she described as "zero tolerance"policies, the handing over of administrative responsibilities to police forces and the tendency for juvenille court systems to provide little resources for young criminals to transition back into academic or, for that matter, social life. The Neilsen Browsing Room in the library hosts many wonderful lectures and I already have marked on my calendar the next one that will discuss the 2012 Mayan prediction.
As for the weekend, I'm going to a faculty rock band concert tonight, The Distractions, and tomorrow is the Connecticut Kayaking trip with the Smith Outdoors Club. YIPPPEEE!
wishes for a funky friday filled with fortune for all!
e
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Nuestras Raices
Being that its is my first weekend back at Smith and school work has not yet become a crippling burden, I wanted to do some things that I have never done before as a student here.
At 8 o clock on Saturday morning, myself and 15 other girls went to a community farm in Holyoke called Nuestras Raices (Our Roots) for the chance to participate in a community service work day. Nuestras is a gorgeous 27 acre property outside of the city that boasts 1/2 acre lots for $25 a month. Their main goal is to provide training and workshops for beginning farmers and sustainable, local and fresh agriculture for the urban population. Besides UMASS and one Indian lady all of the plots are maintained by Puerto Rican individuals or families which means no matter where you are there is a PR flag waving or a colorful tropic scene painted on the side of a building. When we arrived, there was a strong smell of pork in the air and our guide/boss-for-the-day, Amy (a recent Ag major from UMASS) explained that the farmers all chip in so they can have a pig roast every saturday to raise money for the organization. Another fun side note is that they just recently built a horse stable to rent out stalls and a man was out working his stunning paso fino stallion. I know from watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations that the paso fino is a heralded Spanish breed and has a very distinct ride style. check out for a little flavor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tJARMFTVqk&feature=PlayList&p=72A72180378ECF32&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=10
Anyway, the point of me sharing this experience was that we got to do some smelly, dirty, awesome manual labor including weeding, trash dumping, spreading wood chips, setting up canopy tents with metal poles covered in slugs, and putting up fence. I was amused when Amy asked us how many people knew how to use a weed whacker and I was the only one to raise my hand although she decided not to cut the grass because it was so wet. I brought my camera but again had terrible results-i think that i keep forgetting to check the shooter settings. im probably taking videos without knowing it. sorry mom. i know i know...it's sad. Because the farm is only a 15 minute drive from campus I'm really hoping that I will get the chance to volunteer there as often as possible this year. Not only do I think that volunteering is important as a member of a community but it is also good to know what a broccoli plant looks like. I wonder how many of us don't realize how detached we are from the foods we eat and the places and people that they come from? good good stuff man, nuestras raices.
I also made it to the Smith Art Museum's Night at your Museum event that takes place every second friday and this week hosted the final days of Leslie Dill's exhibit. She is a Smith alumna and my new favorite artist. My fingins are tired so I will provide a web address for you to check her out so I can feel good about not completely writing off the experience because her work is incredible. She draws her inspiration from Emily Dickinson poems which were included in the write-ups next to each piece which was great for me because I don't remember ever really reading Emily's work which I found to be complex and difficult to navigate at times. great poetry but hard too.
http://www.huntermuseum.org/exhibition/7/i-heard-a-voicethe-art-of-lesley-dill/
okay shower time!!
good vibes and sunshine
love
e
At 8 o clock on Saturday morning, myself and 15 other girls went to a community farm in Holyoke called Nuestras Raices (Our Roots) for the chance to participate in a community service work day. Nuestras is a gorgeous 27 acre property outside of the city that boasts 1/2 acre lots for $25 a month. Their main goal is to provide training and workshops for beginning farmers and sustainable, local and fresh agriculture for the urban population. Besides UMASS and one Indian lady all of the plots are maintained by Puerto Rican individuals or families which means no matter where you are there is a PR flag waving or a colorful tropic scene painted on the side of a building. When we arrived, there was a strong smell of pork in the air and our guide/boss-for-the-day, Amy (a recent Ag major from UMASS) explained that the farmers all chip in so they can have a pig roast every saturday to raise money for the organization. Another fun side note is that they just recently built a horse stable to rent out stalls and a man was out working his stunning paso fino stallion. I know from watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations that the paso fino is a heralded Spanish breed and has a very distinct ride style. check out for a little flavor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tJARMFTVqk&feature=PlayList&p=72A72180378ECF32&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=10
Anyway, the point of me sharing this experience was that we got to do some smelly, dirty, awesome manual labor including weeding, trash dumping, spreading wood chips, setting up canopy tents with metal poles covered in slugs, and putting up fence. I was amused when Amy asked us how many people knew how to use a weed whacker and I was the only one to raise my hand although she decided not to cut the grass because it was so wet. I brought my camera but again had terrible results-i think that i keep forgetting to check the shooter settings. im probably taking videos without knowing it. sorry mom. i know i know...it's sad. Because the farm is only a 15 minute drive from campus I'm really hoping that I will get the chance to volunteer there as often as possible this year. Not only do I think that volunteering is important as a member of a community but it is also good to know what a broccoli plant looks like. I wonder how many of us don't realize how detached we are from the foods we eat and the places and people that they come from? good good stuff man, nuestras raices.
I also made it to the Smith Art Museum's Night at your Museum event that takes place every second friday and this week hosted the final days of Leslie Dill's exhibit. She is a Smith alumna and my new favorite artist. My fingins are tired so I will provide a web address for you to check her out so I can feel good about not completely writing off the experience because her work is incredible. She draws her inspiration from Emily Dickinson poems which were included in the write-ups next to each piece which was great for me because I don't remember ever really reading Emily's work which I found to be complex and difficult to navigate at times. great poetry but hard too.
http://www.huntermuseum.org/exhibition/7/i-heard-a-voicethe-art-of-lesley-dill/
okay shower time!!
good vibes and sunshine
love
e
Thursday, September 10, 2009
dear mommy,
yes, the mattress pad fit perfectly. now, it feels like i'm sleeping on damp, squishy cardboard shreds instead of dried up stabby ones. thanks for asking! xoxo
emr
emr
okay class... Inspiring thoughts for the day
Women and Modernity in Asia:
Discourse on the history of Asian personalities/national figures (namely Memoirs of a Geisha) in American film. For example: the dragon lady, the docile female slave, the untrustworthy courtesan etc.
1. How can we explain/author/illustrate cultural difference without making the "other" radical.
2. Orientalizing as a tool to homogenize and dichotomize a cultural group- using the paradigm of "us" and "them".
3. Unlike the Black experience in America, Asian stereotypes were/are fluid in Asian-American communities as they are directly associated with whatever the current political relationship between Japan/China and the U.S. happened to be. Positive and negative film personas shifted back and forth from war to war and political movement to political movement depending on US sentiment towards Asian people.
4. The concept of "distant intimacy" as a narrative strategy for authors and screen writers to engage a (white) audience. Essentially, being able to access and experience the minds/story of a person who are geographically and culturally distant so that one's fantasies can be maintained and contained within the reality of a film or book. Often these are not historically or culturally accurate depictions because they are largely, if not wholly, made for entertainment purposes but these racialized images can penetrate the viewer's psyche much deeper than realized.
I was going to go into another class but I think this is enough intellectual rhetoric for one entry...
love sunshine and happiness
e
Discourse on the history of Asian personalities/national figures (namely Memoirs of a Geisha) in American film. For example: the dragon lady, the docile female slave, the untrustworthy courtesan etc.
1. How can we explain/author/illustrate cultural difference without making the "other" radical.
2. Orientalizing as a tool to homogenize and dichotomize a cultural group- using the paradigm of "us" and "them".
3. Unlike the Black experience in America, Asian stereotypes were/are fluid in Asian-American communities as they are directly associated with whatever the current political relationship between Japan/China and the U.S. happened to be. Positive and negative film personas shifted back and forth from war to war and political movement to political movement depending on US sentiment towards Asian people.
4. The concept of "distant intimacy" as a narrative strategy for authors and screen writers to engage a (white) audience. Essentially, being able to access and experience the minds/story of a person who are geographically and culturally distant so that one's fantasies can be maintained and contained within the reality of a film or book. Often these are not historically or culturally accurate depictions because they are largely, if not wholly, made for entertainment purposes but these racialized images can penetrate the viewer's psyche much deeper than realized.
I was going to go into another class but I think this is enough intellectual rhetoric for one entry...
love sunshine and happiness
e
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
oooh ahhh flowahs
I was doing homework but the light coming through my window was beckoning me and my camera out the door. i don't exactly know what my camera is going through because it has been choosing to distort images in strange and exciting ways but you can still enjoy the gardens with me...
AND WE'RE OFF!!
Today was the first day of classes and it began with me getting kicked out of two classes at 9 am who had no room for me to enroll (Archaeology and Poetry). My good friend, Sarah, and I were able to look online to find yet another option which wound up being Intro to Black Culture with a prof who I have heard wonderful things about for years, Kevin Kwashi. I knew that I too was going to be a huge fan when the first thing he had us do in class was listen to Erykah Badu's 'Green Eyes' and try to glean whatever culture significance we could from the piece and discuss it as a group. Even though he is a self proclaimed introvert he has a comforting and engaging presence and can crank out one liners like nobody's business.
My second class of the day was my seminar title Anthropology and History which will give me an opportunity to pick a topic related to either a historical process or narrative and do a lot of research on it for a whole semester, basically. Professor Armstrong-Fumero reminds me of a Bacchanalian character like a devious satyr. He might transform in the night to a half man half goat creature who performs various rituals surrounding young voluptuous women, red grapes and shots of sambuca with his large dashing eyes and Cheshire cat grin.
My third class, Women and Modernity in East Asia, seems like it will be fine. I can't quite gauge what Ms Gottschang will be like as a human or a professor but I liked the syllabus she put together. She kept us for maybe 15 minutes and seemed anxious at how many people showed up so that is the excuse I am making up for her exasperated disposition. Looks like we will be have some guest speakers and artists which is usually a positive experience in a class.
Right now, I have a few hours before my night class on contemporary poetry and just got back from getting my ticket to the Young at Heart concert this Thursday which I am super duper psyched about since I have been wanting to see their movie now for a year. Check out this website if you've never heard of them: http://www.youngatheartchorus.com/
Tomorrow I have a meeting with the class dean to make sure that I can be an accelerated senior and that all my other ducks are in line. I also can't forget to get that precious precious parking decal for little Lolita the golden Saturn...
must do some homework now.
love and happiness to all
e
My second class of the day was my seminar title Anthropology and History which will give me an opportunity to pick a topic related to either a historical process or narrative and do a lot of research on it for a whole semester, basically. Professor Armstrong-Fumero reminds me of a Bacchanalian character like a devious satyr. He might transform in the night to a half man half goat creature who performs various rituals surrounding young voluptuous women, red grapes and shots of sambuca with his large dashing eyes and Cheshire cat grin.
My third class, Women and Modernity in East Asia, seems like it will be fine. I can't quite gauge what Ms Gottschang will be like as a human or a professor but I liked the syllabus she put together. She kept us for maybe 15 minutes and seemed anxious at how many people showed up so that is the excuse I am making up for her exasperated disposition. Looks like we will be have some guest speakers and artists which is usually a positive experience in a class.
Right now, I have a few hours before my night class on contemporary poetry and just got back from getting my ticket to the Young at Heart concert this Thursday which I am super duper psyched about since I have been wanting to see their movie now for a year. Check out this website if you've never heard of them: http://www.youngatheartchorus.com/
Tomorrow I have a meeting with the class dean to make sure that I can be an accelerated senior and that all my other ducks are in line. I also can't forget to get that precious precious parking decal for little Lolita the golden Saturn...
must do some homework now.
love and happiness to all
e
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Held together with...
The day began with an early rise at 4 am to clean up the cabin where the girls had spent labor day together and to start the trek northward.
mama and i arrived in time to go through check-in and unpack both cars (involving many trips up narrow dorm stairs, mind you.) to go out for a wonderfully yummy lunch and a stroll down the creek. i was pleased that she was able to meet a crucial member of northampton's (noho) community, Al, who is best known for his pithy conversation and wacky uncle personality. he gave us great one-liner as he was describing the local bar named the Basement that he does routine maintenance on saying that "the walls are held together with nicotine..." Classic Al.
if i were a room, my walls would be held together with Fluff. Mmmmm
im attempting to make a fluffer-nutter with my tube of mascara as a knife because a forgot silverware as i type this...
i couldn't believe how absolutely gorgeous it was outside and felt like it was a good omen, not only for the anticipated new england fall/winter weather, but for my overall reintroduction to campus. the priority for the day, however, involved the rearranging and set-up of THE ROOM. the picture here is a fair representation given that the other half of the room where i was standing when taking the photo is unseen. take my word for it-it will be a sanctuary among sanctuaries when i'm through (which probably will take until spring finals but hey!)
I got a flyer on the various Smith Outdoors Club trips in my mailbox and have already pre-registered for a rock climbing trip this sunday and a kayaking trip down the Connecticut next Saturday. May the best year ever commence!!!
cheers y'all
e
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