Bruin Blog

Escape in Nashville

2009-11-06T18:43:39Z

Perhaps one of the main reason students come to Belmont is one of my favorite escapes from the stresses of class/life: the music. It's the time in the semester where everything seems to be due all at once and I'm constantly in a scramble.

Thankfully, however, there are endless opportunities to "take a night off" and go to a show to escape from life for a few hours. This last weekend, in fact, I got to see one of my favorite bands, Paramore, perform at the Ryman. It was just an awesome and fun show.

It was funny reading the tweets of the Paramore members and watching them on stage because they were very nervous. Performing at the Ryman, the former Grand Old Opry, is a huge honor and they were all well aware.

Perhaps my favorite part of the night was when Hayley and Josh unplugged everything (no mics, no amps) and performed an old Loretta Lynn song, You Ain't Woman Enough. It was really cool for me to see and hear the way music was performed originally in the venue, especially at a rock show.

Rain + Movies = Perfection

2009-11-05T20:50:53Z

Time flies so fast. As I plan my schedule for next semester and think about purchasing "souvenirs" for family and friends, it's hard to believe that my time here in Spain is coming to a close. In just 40 days I will be boarding a plane to return to the United States... what a bittersweet thought that is! As anxious as I am to be reunited with my family and friends, I don't want to wish these final weeks away.

I was fortunate enough to experience a very mild autumn here in Santiago de Compostela. There were several sunny, 70º days - which is pretty awesome for September/October! This week, however, the weather changed drastically.
Rain, rain, and more rain! The temperature has dropped to 50º (which might not sound that cold, but when you combine it with wind and rain, it becomes penetratingly cold). As much as the rain makes me want to stay inside all day, curled up on the couch reading a book, the people of Santiago don't let it stop them from venturing out and participating in their daily activities...so neither do I!

I am really looking forward to spending a few rainy days at the theatre, watching some of the movies that are featured in Cineuropa, Santiago de Compostela's international film festival. Every day from now until December 2nd, six different movies will be projected. Most of the showings begin at 8 pm and continue until 12 am. The best part is that each ticket only costs three Euros! I'm excited to see movies from Germany, Japan, China, France, Spain, and (of course) the US!!! Although it's technically Cine (movie) de Europa (of Europe), there are still several American films in the program. I certainly don't mind though; sometimes it's nice to have a break from Spanish. :)

Sevilla, Santiago, Madrid...and 10 days with my mom!

2009-10-26T21:53:06Z

The last two weeks have been somewhat of a blur for me. I've been running on minimal sleep at maximum speed, but loving every minute of it. I met my mom, my aunt and my uncle in Madrid two weeks ago, and we traveled to Sevilla together to spend the weekend there. It was wonderful but - to be completely honest - I have decided that I don't particularly care for the south of Spain as much as I adore the north.
From what I have experienced, the people are more hospitable, the food is better (especially the bread!), and the landscape is much more beautiful in Galícia. But that's just my humble opinion. ;)

After spending the weekend drinking sangria, watching a traditional Flamenco dance, shopping, and riding around on those oh-so-wonderful tour buses, we returned to my home sweet home: Santiago de Compostela.
I had a great time being "tour guide" for the week! I took my family to all of my favorite restaurants, bakeries, and (of course) I introduced them to chocolate con churros. I loved being able to teach them about this incredible city and to show them what my everyday routine is.

We spent our last weekend together in Madrid. The highlights of our time there included visiting El Museo del Prado, Reina Sofia (I saw Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" in-person!), El Palacio Real, and...eating THE BEST pastries I have ever had in my life. There is this amazing pastelería, Mallorquina, that makes incredible napolitanas de chocolate (chocolate-filled croissants).
They were so good that we had one for breakfast, and then decided to have another for dinner. There's nothing like being on vacation. :)

I was sad to say goodbye to my mom, but I know that I will see her soon. She asked me if I wished I could go back home with her, but I honestly don't. While I am anxious to be reunited with my family and friends in the U.S., I am very content here and not quite ready to leave. Give me two more months and I know I will be ready to come home and spend Christmastime with my family. Although there are many wonderful places in the world, there really is no place like home.

Fun in Philly

2009-10-23T01:11:43Z

So the trip to Philadelphia was all that and a bag of chips. We got into Philly Thursday evening and ate dinner at this place called Father and Sons Pizza, which was a little lacking, if I may be honest. But, aside from that, we spent the night in circle of hope church (http://www.circleofhope.net/blog/) a really awesome church in Philly that's got two other sites, one in Philly and the other in Camden, NJ, right across the bridge. Friday the conference began and we got to see Nekeisha Alexis-Baker again. She's so much fun, and I love the way she lives her life. She's really one of my favorite people.

The main speaker was Ched Myers, and he was cool, but my favorite speakers were Andrea Ferich (an urban gardener in Camden - see: aferich.blogspot.com), Jenn LeBlanc, and Lily Mendoza, all three of whom were idigenous woman. The way in which they spoke of their experience was really quite moving and encouraging for me.

I also got to meet a lot of cool people (http://www.myspace.com/sethmartinsmusic) and have a lot of good conversation. I also got to go downtown, check out the Liberty Bell and Independance Hall, and eat some cheesesteak and really amazing Carribbean food from one of the street vendors we'd planned to check out. Overall, it was an awesome trip and I'm really glad I got to go.

The Joys of Service Learning

2009-10-21T16:22:43Z

Something I really like about Belmont is our "requirement" to take Service Learning courses. However, I've easily gone above and beyond the requirement because every time I take a service learning course I not only end up with something good to put on my resume, but I feel like I get far more out of it than most of my other classes.

For example, last year, I served as an English Writing Fellow in a course called "Peer Tutoring." I sat with a class of about 20 freshman for a semester in their Freshman Seminar and had the opportunity to tutor them all with their final papers. In my class, we spent time discussing and reading theories about teaching/tutoring. We explored every idea from 'how much help is too much help' to 'how might my comments help or hurt this writer's future writing?' Things like this were very helpful and when I got to actually read through all of their papers and hold conferences with each of them, I learned something new and gained perspective and insight to teaching with each student.

This semester, I've taken two Service Learning courses. The first one just wrapped up as an 8-week course all about Grant Writing. For those of you who don't know, nonprofit organizations get their funding from funders (the government, foundations, corporations, etc.) by writing grants. I just finished a $70,000 proposal grant for the HCA Foundation to fund a children's mental health organization in town--and it was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. HOWEVER, I loved it. I got to interview my organization and learn how their nonprofit works and what they do to benefit society and children. Then I sat down, looked up the funder's guidelines, and wrote the grant. It took me a really long time and ended up being 9 (single spaced) pages, but I was really happy with it and felt like I really accomplished something I never would have had the opportunity to do without this class.

Right now I'm taking a class called "Writing in the Community." Basically, this is a story telling class. I'm interviewing a student from Glenncliff High School and together we're going to write her story in a memoir. We've spent the semester so far learning about writing memoirs, reading them, and discussing ways to get a good story by asking the right questions. My teacher has encouraged us saying, "Everyone has a story worth telling." The student I'm working with is a refugee and I'm very excited to work with her and write her story.

Philadelphia

2009-10-13T14:40:48Z

So for Fall Break this year, 3 of my housemates and I are going to Philadelphia for the weekend. I'm really excited as I've never been there before. We're attending a conference called "Gathering Around the Unhewn Stone: Biblical Explorations of Nature, Civilization, and Feral Faith." I'm really looking forward to a lot of the speakers and panels, and we'll get to hook up with Nekeisha Alexis-Baker again who came and spoke at Belmont a few weeks ago.

Me and my housemate Justin are really looking forward to trying out some of the local street vendors in Philly, he's already made a map of them and everything. Since we're going to drive up Wednesday, stay over in Dayton, OH for a night, and then finish the drive, Thursday we decided to use Thursday as our site seeing day and hit up LOVE park and the Liberty Bell and other cool sites like that.

I'm really hoping to meet up with our friend Emily as well. She's currently in Philadelphia as a part of Mission Year (http://www.missionyear.org/philly/). She was in Belmont's Service Year last year, and so now that's carried her on into more service. I'm really excited to hear about everything she's involved with and the way God is moving in her community.

But before I can have all this fun, I've got two midterms, and a 5 page book review to write, so I'll have to hold off on fun for a little while longer.

International Food Hoorah

2009-10-08T23:30:10Z

This week in the Hillside Apartments (on-campus housing) we had an International Food celebration program where we had food from France, Malaysia, Spain, Argentina, and Kenya. All of the dishes were made by Resident Assistants who had studied in each of the countries. We also had the director of the Study Abroad program as well as a representative from 10,000 Villages present.

Seventy residents (many of whom turned out to be from these different countries) enjoyed Chapati, a traditional Kenyan dish; Tortilla Espanola, the Spanish version of a tortilla which is much more like a fritata or crustless quiche than what we think of as a tortilla; Malaysian Popiah, also known as Spring Rolls; French dessert crepes, cooked by yours truly; and an Argentinian specialty called Milanesa a la napolitana con fritas a caballo--or in other words a veal and french fries.

With international music playing in the back ground, it was a wonderful opportunity to discuss Study Abroad trips and the experiences we all had with our residents.

Life Lessons

2009-10-08T21:45:13Z

There are some lessons that simply cannot be learned in the classroom. There are certain things in life that we must experience - people we must meet, places we must travel, things we must try - in order to better understand, well, life. I know that sounds like such a simple statement, but it's so very true! I think about what I've learned from my experiences in Spain (thus far), and almost all of those lessons have been learned outside of the classroom...

1.) Getting to know people from other countries has taught me that love is a universal language, and that a genuine smile goes a long way. This week two of my friends, Olga and Carina, left to return to Germany. I don't think I processed the fact that they were leaving until it was time to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes! (Especially when you aren't sure if you will ever see the other person again in your life!) Before she left, Olga said something that really left an impression on me. She looked me in the eyes and said, "Alex, I just think that you will always be happy. You will be happy for the rest of your life. You're so sweet and kind and easy to get along with... I know you are going to find someone who you really love and who loves you back." It was one of the most heartwarming and most sincere blessings that I have ever received! :)

2.) You have to break free from the shackles of fear in order to take advantage of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. When did I do this? On Monday night, when I decided to try octopus. Yes, you read that correctly...OCTOPUS!!! I sometimes worry about trying new foods because I would hate to have an allergic reaction (especially in a foreign country), but life really is too short to let petty fears like that one get in the way of priceless experiences. Octopus actually has a great flavor! If you can get past the texture, it's quite delicious!! I would definitely eat it again.

3.) Mastering a foreign language requires you to be confident AND to be okay with making mistakes. It's all part of the learning process. While I don't always perfectly roll my "rr's" or correctly pronounce the letter "c" (it's more of a "th" sound in Spanish), I know that I am improving every day - getting closer and closer to becoming fluent.

Well, it's almost midnight here...so I'm off to bed! This weekend my friends and I are going to A Coruña (approximately 70 km from Santiago de Compostela) to shop. I can't wait :) Next weekend I'm going to meet up with my mom, my aunt, and my uncle and the four of us are going to Sevilla!! I really can't wait for that!!!

First Concert of the Year

2009-10-05T16:27:18Z

Last Friday was my first concert of the semester. The newest large ensemble at Belmont, Concert Band,

performed an outdoor concert in the atriums between Massey and Wilson music buildings. The concert was a huge success, the ensemble playing well overall and having a great turnout for the performance. There were many students and faculty who attended the concert along with a local school who decided to come. Belmont's concert band is unique because it offers an opportunity for students of all majors to perform challenging music in a relaxed and friendly environment. It is also an excellent opportunity for music education majors, like myself, to play a secondary instrument. So I have been playing bass clarinet in the concert band.

Now it is not unusual for many students at Belmont to play multiple instruments. For me personally, I play alto saxophone in my lessons and in wind ensemble. I play baritone sax and bass clarinet in jazz ensemble. My secondary instrument is clarinet, so I play soprano clarinet in my lessons and bass clarinet in the concert band. I am also learning how to play the cello for my string methods class. In this class we a being prepared to teach students how to play string instruments and we are learning the techniques of teaching a string ensemble. Although I am very busy this semester with rehearsals, classes, and homework this year has been very rewarding and it is remarkable to see the growth that both I and others have achieved since my first semester here.

A Garden's a Garden No Matter How Small

2009-09-29T20:52:55Z

Here’s a shot of our lovely new garden beds. Justin and Aaron found some unloved wood and used it to construct the beds, then the two of them and I filled them with horse manure. It’s really awesome, and is actually quite large. I’m excited to see what we’re going to grow for the spring. We haven’t quite decided, though Austin’s also working on learning to grow mushrooms, too, so that should be fun.

In other news, I started tutoring at the Edgehill Public Library. I helped two girls with their homework a couple of weeks ago, but I mainly working with one awesome student right now. I feel good about helping with homework, though I always wonder how good I am at explaining and clarifying areas where they might be confused. I’m sure I’ll hit my stride soon enough.

What’s really exciting is that we hosted Nakeisha Alexis-Baker over for dinner about two weeks ago. She’s founder of Jesus Radicals, a Christian Anarchy organization, and was one of the speakers for Belmont’s spiritual emphasis week. I’m super excited, especially because she’s a woman of color and I always find it neat to see and hear the radical ways in which women of color are living out their lives. And then, we hosted a discussion after her talk in the evening which I was excited about.

Our first discussion night went really well, and we even had members of another community house nearby come over. We’ve had a lot more interest from other people who want to come over as well. I’m really expecting some great things to come. Tomorrow night is our first potluck so I'm hoping we'll have a good time together breaking bread.

The Best Birthday

2009-09-24T16:21:58Z

This week I turned 22 and I have to say it's the best birthday I've had in a really long time! Between classes being canceled, my first show with my band (The Sweet Irony), and a wonderful evening with friends, next year will have to be out of this world to top this year's celebration.

I think maybe God had a hand in this, but ALL of my classes got canceled (ahead of time) on the day of my birthday. Not that I mind going to class, but it's nice to have a random day off, let alone your birthday. So, I went home for lunch and hung out with my parents. It was really nice to catch up with them. It's funny, I only live 20 minutes away from my parents, but I'm always so busy between work, school, and friends, I feel like I don't see them that often. When my dad went back to work, my mom took me shopping and we had a really nice time together. I got a new purse and wallet for my birthday.

Then my sister and boyfriend came and joined us after their classes were over. It was just a really nice calm evening with cake and pizza, until my friend Becka and her boyfriend, Cale, came over to practice for our show the next night. Since my mom recently had surgery and can't walk we knew she wouldn't be able to make it to our show. So, as a surprise for her we did our final run through at the house. She cried a little, which was to be expected, and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

The next day we had our show at Bongo Java. We had a lot more people show up than I thought there would be! It was really great to be up on stage again and singing the songs Becka and I have worked on over the past year, as well as a few fun covers. Hopefully we'll be playing again soon.

Finally, Saturday was the last day of celebration. A group of my closest friends and I got all dressed up and went to a really nice restaurant called Sambuca. We all enjoyed talking and catching up over dinner while a jazz band played. Although I'm usually never shy, for some reason I got really embarrassed when the singer announced it was my birthday and the whole restaurant clapped for me.

After Sambuca's, we went back to my apartment where we played Beatles Rock Band (my boyfriend's gift to me) and enjoyed ice cream cup cakes. The night was filled with laughter, music, and friendly conversation and I wouldn't have changed a thing. :)

Two Weeks.

2009-09-21T19:21:17Z

It's hard to believe that I've officially been here, in Spain, for the last TWO WEEKS! Somedays it feels like I've been here much longer than that, and other days it feels like I just arrived. My Spanish has already improved immensely; I can't even imagine what it will be like after spending 90 more days here!

A typical day in España involves...

8 am ~ Wake up, get ready for school, eat breakfast with my host family.
9:15 am ~ Leave for school (it's a 10ish minute walk - perfect!)
9:30 am - 12 pm ~ School! Usually involves a combination of lessons in grammar, vocabulary, history, and literature. There are six other international students in my class: 2 are from Japan, 2 are from Germany, 1 is from Lithuania, and 2 of us are from the United States.
12 - 12:30 pm ~ Coffee break. :)
12:30 - 2 pm ~ More school. This time we focus more on practicing our speaking skills. Sometimes we have debates, sometimes we play games. My favorite game that we've played so far is "Simón dice" (Simon says). Who would have thought that such a simple game would be an awesome way to practice "vosotros" commands??
2:30 pm (sometimes a little later) ~ Lunch. Always the biggest meal of the day (and my favorite!).
3 pm - 7 pm ~ Hanging out with friends / walking around the city / shopping / eating churros ... etc. Enjoying the beautiful weather!
7 pm ~ Homework...yes, it exists in study abroad programs too! Luckily, it hasn't been too terribly difficult yet. When my host mom's son, Nicolás, has English homework, I always enjoy helping him with it!
9 pm ~ Dinnertime. This has been one of the hardest things for me to get used to. I always eat around (sometimes even before) 6 pm, so waiting until 9 pm is somewhat difficult! However, as long as I have a few snacks during the day, I can usually curve my appetite.
9 pm - 11 pm ~ Watch TV, finish up any remaining homework, and read for a little while before heading off to bed! On the weekends, this is the prime time to go out for tapas.

Tonight, I went out for chocolate con churros with Cam and Ateia (the other two Belmont students who are here with me), and two girls from Japan.
We had such a great time!! Churros are, essentially, sticks of fried dough that are rolled in sugar immediately after frying. They are served with a delicious, sinful cup of hot chocolate. BUT this is not your typical cup of hot chocolate...it is infinitely richer. Almost like pure melted chocolate! It is absolutely divine. I could eat chocolate con churros every day, but I'm going to try to limit myself to once every few weeks. Or maybe once a week. ;)

*Photos*

1) La Universidad de Santiago de Compostela!
2) Chocolate con Churros. :)

Exordinary Piano Techniques

2009-09-21T03:45:36Z

Last Friday, my friend Sara and I attended a very interesting music lecture in which some unique ways of playing the piano were demonstrated. Dr. Kevin Richmond, a piano professor at the University of Memphis demonstrated some modern and new ways to play the piano. Not only did Dr. Richmond talk about these different ways to play but he was able to demonstrate them using one of Belmont's pianos. I could really tell that Dr. Richmond enjoyed teaching this unique form of music along with performing the actual music.

So you may be wondering what is so unique about the way Dr. Richmond studies. Well, he covered 5 different
areas of modern music, the first being the cluster. Playing a cluster on the piano is when you play all the notes between two noted at the same time. A composer who uses clusters usually tell whether they want the pianist to play only the white keys, the black keys, or both by the color the of the note on the music. You can play these notes either with your fingers, knuckles, hand, one arm, or both arms depending on how many notes the composer wants you to cover.

Another area of modern music that he cover was sympathetic vibrations. Sympathetic vibrations are very cool, it is the technique of playing certain notes on the piano in order to hear other strings within the piano. The sound is completely different than just playing the note because the note isn't really being played by the pianist but instead it is ringing because of the frequency of the actually note being played and its overtones.

Dr. Richmond also demonstrated how some composers even have a musician strum the strings inside the piano like a harp this creates a very unique sound. I really enjoyed the music lecture because it is music that isn't heard that often. Next week, though, there is going to be several music presentations on African drumming that I am sure will be fantastic.

Saludos desde España!

2009-09-09T18:40:48Z

Greetings from Spain!!! I have dreamt about being in this country for years...it's hard to believe that I will actually be LIVING here for the next four months of my life. I am LOVING everything about it so far! I arrived last Sunday, so I've been here for almost one full week now.

My host family is wonderful. I live with a Spanish professor, Antonieta, and her 10-year-old son, Nicolás, in a quaint apartment on Rúa do Vilar (a street that runs through the heart of the city). When I arrived in Santiago de Compostela, I was met by one of the professors at the university, Pacho, who drove my friend Ateia and me to our homes. After about 15 minutes in the car (which was actually a van…and thank goodness because I wayyy over-packed!), we turned onto a very heavily populated cobblestone road, which didn’t appear to be a road at all! It is known as la Praza de Toural – appropriately named for its popularity with tourists – and it is basically the heart of the older part of Santiago. While “older” might not sound like a good thing, it’s actually quite fantastic because I am surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful architecture. Antonieta is incredibly sweet and always wants to feed me as much as I can possibly eat. So far she’s made empanadas, tortilla española (like an omelet with potatoes and onions), homemade vegetable soup (delicious!), and chorizo and cheese grilled sandwiches (did you know that chorizo comes in deli slices, like turkey or ham? I didn’t!). I am still adjusting to the mealtimes…for breakfast we have café con leche (yes, that’s typically all), around 11:30 am we have a small meal (usually a “bocadillo,” a small sandwich) or more café con leche, around 2:30 pm we have lunch (which is the largest meal of the day ~ yesterday I ate at a restaurant and had fresh salmon, potatoes, a small salad, and gelato), another snack during the siesta (anywhere from 4 pm – 6 pm), and dinner is usually served at 9 pm. The Spaniards actually consider 9 pm to be the afternoon! Nighttime isn’t until 10 pm!! From what I can tell, the streets are fairly quiet until 10 pm, but after that…it’s crazy! There is lots of music, dancing, eating, drinking, etc. etc. etc.

Although I miss my family and friends dearly, I am really having an extraordinary time. I can already see HUGE improvements in my Spanish speaking abilities and I’ve only been here for a little over 24 hours!
In my opinion, studying abroad is the only way to completely master a foreign language. When I wake up, I speak Spanish…when I go to school, I speak Spanish (for the most part)…when I go out to eat, I speak Spanish…when I shop, I speak Spanish…when I need help, I speak Spanish…every interaction forces me to confidently step out of my comfort zone and trust myself. I also have to remind myself that I don’t have to be perfect; it’s okay if I forget a word or incorrectly conjugate a verb. Life goes on! And usually, people can figure out what you meant to say. Since she’s a Spanish professor, I asked my host mom to please correct me if I say anything incorrectly. That should be a tremendous help!

All is well in España, and hopefully it is in the United States too. Adios! :)

*Photo Descriptions*

#1: The view from my window!
#2: Rúa do Vilar
#3: The famous cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

So Much Fun, So Little Time

2009-09-07T14:53:06Z

Wow, let me just say, it has been a whirlwind of a past few weeks. I started my final year of undergraduate school on August 26th, but about a week and a half before that, I moved into a house with 5 other people (and our lovely exit signs) as a part of Belmont's 15th Avenue Community through University Ministries "Service Year" program. Basically, we all come together to live in community with one another, while also learning what it means to serve in the broader Nashville community. For me, that is doing after school tutoring at the Edgehill Public Library, just minutes away from campus. For others, it's working with the feeding programs for the homeless around Nashville, and learning how those work, for some it's being an urban gardener for a foodbank on the east side of Nashville. A lot of great things are happening in small ways around here, and I'm excited to be a part of it. So, not only have I had the pleasure of taking a bunch of classes I really like this semester (Yay for Gender Studies and Eco-Justice and Faith!), I've also had the pleasure of learning to live with 5 very different, but all very amazing, people. And we've only been at it for a few weeks now, but I already feel like I've learned a lot about myself and about community and what that means for Christians. In addition to serving the Nashville community, we also try to serve the Belmont community by having two nights a month set aside for discussions about issues: the Church, and it's role in society and our lives; service and what that looks like and actually means; race and it's pertinence in our lives, how it divides and how we can be reconciled; and whatever other issues may be on the hearts of our fellow students. Finally, we have a potluck once a month, where can all come together and simply celebrate being together in community over good food. I'm so excited for this year I can't even put it all into words, but I will definitely try!