College Wide Event

PLease post a blog on the college wide event you attended.

I attended the Men's Hockey game at the O'Keefe Center. I went with my sorority, Theta Phi Alpha (although the event was college wide).

It can include the link to the event, ticket stubs, photos.

Reflect on why you chose this event, is it the original event you thought you would do at the start of the course?  Reflect on what you thought of it and how it might have contributed to your own sense of place in Salem.  Was it the attendees, the presenters, the venue, the vibe, the topic?  Share your perspectives

I chose this event for multiple reasons. I love hockey, and find it an exciting sport to watch. I also felt like it would connect me with the university more. Plus, my sisters were already going, so I thought it would be fun.

This really made me feel a sense of place. I loved the atmosphere of the game; I hadn't experienced anything like it since I had come on campus. The energy from the crowd was amazing. I think being in an event with a lot of people feeling the same thing makes everyone connected for that one short moment. 

Thanksgiving

Blog about the way you celebrate Thanksgiving. 
1. Share your traditions. Explain them in depth

- My Thanksgiving traditions are, as I imagine, like most families. My mother makes a large dinner (with a turkey) while my sister and I watch the parade and help her clean. My father, for a while, usually worked to make the family a little money. However, after his surgery, they changed his hours, so we were able to eat together. After we eat, I watch the dog show, because I really like dogs.

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

- Though the number and people have changed, I usually share it with the same people - my mother, father, and younger sister. My mother cooks. My sister will sometimes help, but she usually sleeps. My father will also help.

3.Draw or photograph your celebrations and traditions.

4. Share where you tend to be when you celebrate.

- We celebrate at home, and occasionally go out with friends or family.

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

- The meaning, to me, is to spend time together. The idea behind Thanksgiving was to celebrate how the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims survive their first winter. However, the story ends with the Pilgrims giving the Native Americans smallpox in order to take their land. Because of this, I choose to look at the actual message instead of the historical celebration.

The Other Park Trip

1) Please post about what this trip did for your sense of place, and be honest, if it did nothing, then state why.  If it was contributing, state why.

- This trip contributed to my sense of place in several ways. The first was it allowed me to learn about my environment. I discovered a place where I could visit and hang out on my free time. Another is that it made me feel at peace.

2)Explain where we were.

- We were at a park at the end of the bike path. It also had some marshy areas and a forest.

3) State how you liked this trip, and why or why not. Expand on this in a paragraph.

- I enjoyed this trip. It allowed freedom, so we could explore our surroundings and take photos. I also enjoyed being outdoors. Usually, I'm inside most of the week because of my classes. This trip allowed me to view the world in a different way.

4) I will, on Thursday, make those pictures and movies into a slide show or combined movie for each. You can post a link to that too if you want. In addition, please talk about that experience and why you thought the ipad experience and the trip  was valuable or not valuable. State what you thought about taking the pictures and movies on the ipads. What would it make it better as an experience?  I experimented with this for the first time and your input on this would be great. I thought integrating art might be a different way to connect.

- I thought it was cool to take photos with the iPads. It let all of our classmates feel our different experiences. I don't see how anything would make it better, it was pretty simple and didn't feel demanding enough to intrude on our experience.

5) Look at the movies I post and tell me what you think looking at them afterwards. They will be available on Thursday.  Explain your thoughts...You can also post them here.

- My thoughts are that everyone felt a sense of place on this trip. Our classmates experiences were different, yet personal.

Triad Experience

Blog about your triad adventure!

1)  Post pictures of your trip here!  

2)  Let us know where you went and why you and your group chose this spot.

My triad and I went to the Salem Wax Museum. We went because it sounded very interesting.

3)  Share what you did to contact or set up your appointment or meeting time.

We didn't contact anyone - we looked to see when it was open and agreed to meet at a time that was good for all of us.

4)  List the questions you prepared for your contact and/ or experience.

- When was this established?

- What sort of wax statues are there?

- Are there similar places like this in Salem?

5) Write a reflection on what you learned, what you found most interesting and why.  This should be a couple of paragraphs. You can also include what was not interesting and why you thought that too.  Demonstrate critical thinking skills here from the SHUSHAN book.  Explain explicitly what strategy you are using.

I learned a lot about Salem's history in this wax museum. A lot of the statues depicted things that happened during the Salem Witch Trials, like people being hung because they were accused of witchcraft. The other parts of the museum focused on sailing around this time period as well. What I thought was interesting was the witch trials. I learned about them in school and have always found them fascinating.

The strategy I used most on this trip was applying. This is because I took what I learned previously about Salem and applied it to the visit.

6) Write about how this contributed to your sense of place in Salem or did not contribute?

This contributed to my sense of place because I felt like I learned much more about the towns history. However, I felt like it didn't at the same because it seemed like a tourist trap more than anything.

7)List off new questions you have and what you wanted to learn more about.

- How many people were accused of witchcraft?

- Are there tours that will show me more of Salem?

8)  What did you choose for a topic for your research 2 pager paper?

I chose the topic of the Witch Trials.