University of New England: Alexandra Panaitiu

Hi, everyone!
I just thought I’d drop a line while I have the chance – until things get too crazy around here.

First of all, it is FREAZING outside. It wouldn’t be that cold if it weren’t for the annoyingly strong and icy wind. Of course, you guys probably don’t care about that or my wining, but I got back from Portland a few hours ago and I’m still trying to recover some sensation in my toes, so bare with me…:)

Moving on to something actually relevant and of interest – what was I doing in Portland?
Well, in case you don’t know this already, today is MLK Day, a holiday in honor of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. In light of the holiday, there are no classes today, but rather a number of events and activities around the country. Among them is the function I attended in Portland this morning, namely the 27th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast Celebration, organized by the NAACP Portland Branch at the Holiday Inn By the Bay.

You’ve all probably at least heard about Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a civil right’s supporter; a believer in equality between individuals, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender, background, etc.; an activist in the movement for freedom and nondiscrimination… The title of the speech he gave during the March on Washington, in 1963, “I had a dream,” is familiar to everyone today…

The theme of this year’s breakfast event was “Building on a Legacy: The Construction of Social and Economic Justice.” The event was intended to also mark what would have been MLK, Jr.’s 79th birthday and, at the same time, 40 years since his assassination.

The function room was packed with people, there were a lot of guests, important figures, and, of course, the head table – the speakers and special guests. Among them were: the president of NAACP – Rachel Talbot Ross, the Mayor of Portland – Ed Suslovic, Governor John Baldacci, Congressman Tom Allen, and, last but not least, the keynote speaker – Dr. Susan Rice.

They all spoke on the topic at hand – the theme of the celebration. Dr. Rice gave a long and interesting speech, in which she portrayed an “America of the future,” one that, according to her, would have matched MLK’s “vision,” his “dream.” She touched on current social, political, healthcare-related, cultural, economic, legal, commercial, military, educational, and other aspects that concern US citizens, in a national as well as in an international context. She spoke not only for or about people of African-American descent, but for and about all people, around the world.

A touching moment was when, after ending her almost one hour long speech, Dr. Rice was handed a special surprise – a framed high-school photograph of her mother, in the company of her grandmother, that the Portland Press Herald managed to “dig up.” The gift was handed by President Rachel Talbot Ross, who spoke in the beginning, talking about MLK’s Freedom Movement, about the dynamics of the term itself and how because it implies “motion,” a Movement is not something that ends at a given date. It was also interesting how she began her speech: “I woke up this mornin’ and my mind was stayed on freedom” – paraphrasing the lyrics of a song a well-known song.

I was able to attend the event as part of a UNE initiative, made possible through the Office of Multicultural Affairs. There were 12 of us there, I believe. Also as part of a UNE initiative are the activities that will go on this week here, on campus. Check out the university link for the details:
http://www.une.edu/studentlife/multi/multicultural/mlk.asp

Coming from Eastern Europe, from a part of the world confronted with a very different social and cultural context than the US and where the presence of individuals of African descent narrows down to a few doziness, maybe hundreds, across the entire country, I wanted to participate in the event in order to get a better idea and understanding of issues that are specific to the US society and culture.

On a different note, as you all know, classes started last Wednesday. I haven’t had all of them yet, but so far I’m really excited about the courses and the teachers, and about everything else that’s going on around here. But I’ll write more about this probably at the end of the week. Till then, I hope to get the chance to talk to some of you (as many as possible) on Wednesday’s chat, at 6.30 PM.

In the meanwhile, take care, everyone!

-Anda-

Posted by Alexandra Panaitiu at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, so if you've seen my previous entry, you should know that there's something missing from it. I uploaded some photos from the Museum of Science, in Boston, but I wanted to make a sort of image slide template that scrolled on the screen... However, the software had a different opinion; guess who won... Anyway, this means that you get a bonus entry from me:) One exclusively dedicated to some of the pictures I took that day. And this time I'm not going to try anything fancy, I promise. So, here goes nothing:

My first glimpse of Boston:

And this is the museum's entrance:

Talk about hanging decorations, huh?

A few images from the section called "Mathematica" (Caryn and I were both crazy about it):

This one is really neat - look at it closely: to the left you'll see me and to the right you'll see Caryn (or part of us, anyway):

Check these out:

There's no connection, I just felt like uploading them:))

Also, I was telling you how you can weigh yourself on the Moon or on Jupiter:

These two show a model of a hypothesis describing how the pyramids were most likely built:

Now, you can picture this sequence as sort of following the "evolution" of transportation:

And then, an alternative :))

What you don't see in the picture is that in front of this handsome lad was another bike that the visitors could hop on; as they peddled, so did the skeleton. Neat, huh?

My "muse:"

From the astronomy section:

And these are from the really loud, really "sparkly" lightning show:

And since it was around the holidays:

Doesn't he look festive?

Before putting an end to this entry, let me introduce you to my newest friend:

This computer had a palm recognition device in its proximity and if you placed your hand inside and typed in your name, it "talked" to you, offering information about the museum and things like that. Also, it is programmed to "remember" you through this palm-scanning mechanism. So, as it "told" me, I now have a friend in Boston:)

That's about it where photos are concerned...

Today everyone returned on campus and classes start tomorrow. It's been a really hectic day but now that everyone is back it actually feels like there wasn't an entire month in which we weren't here...

Ok, take care, everyone! Keep in touch!

-Anda-

Posted by Alexandra Panaitiu at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope you had a great time during the holidays – I know I did. In my last entry I mentioned that I was staying with one of my friends and her family for the first two weeks of break, while the campus was closed. Well, I’ve been back on campus since it reopened on Jan 2nd and I’ve been working full-time at the library. After almost a month of break I have my batteries fully recharged, I’m anxious for school to start, and ready to fill you in on the last two weeks of 2007!

So, I left campus after my last exam during the last week of school. The drill is that each student has to check out of his or her room before 8 PM on the day of his or her last scheduled exam. The first two weeks of winter break are the only ones when the campus is entirely closed and no one can remain here. So, since traveling back home to Romania wasn’t exactly an option on such short notice and for only a couple of weeks, I went home with Caryn, a friend who lives in Milford, New Hampshire (about an hour and a half away from UNE). We were in the same bio and philosophy classes and since we did such a great job growing mustard plants in the bio lab together and all that, it seemed like a good choice:)) I have to mention that a number of other people offered to take me in during that period, which felt really nice. So, thanks to all of them.

I got luckier than I could have hoped with Caryn’s family. They received me as if I were a member of the family, including me in all the holiday traditions and activities. I had never stayed with a family other than mine even back home, not to mention in another country, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But I ended up having a great time, so this experience is another one on my list of rewarding “firsts.”

Among other things, we went to Caryn’s younger brother’s basketball games and if you recall my entry on the USM international event, you’ll remember that I declared to be parallel with any and all sports. Well, this holiday it was down to either growing insane with boredom during the games or actually paying attention and trying to figure out what was going on; I opted for the second choice. And now I can proudly say that I no longer gaze in wonder at a basketball game, steeped in ignorance. So that’s one sport crossed off of my “to-do list.” And if you count the “highly professional” ping-pong “tournaments” we had in the family garage, that makes for two sports in one break! (If the holiday spirit hasn’t yet left you altogether, please pretend you share my joy and enthusiasm:) ).

Of course, we did all sorts of other things, like shopping, going out for dinner or a movie. One night we all went to dinner at a place called Giorgio’s. It’s quaint and cozy, with a really pleasant atmosphere – try it if you never have.

A really fun day for me was the one we spent “slaving” in the kitchen, baking and cooking (we’ll stick to these terms, even though they gained new meanings at some points). We made sugar cookies, ginger-bread… figures, muffin cakes… The whole thing led to an “obsession” for detail, so we ended up picking out each individual sprinkle out of the jars in order to design specific patterns on the frosted cookies… hours of hard labor and “intellectual effort,” of struggling to come up with new and ingenious designs and ideas… all so that a small number of people could eat the cookies in only a few short minutes the next day:)

Anyway, after all that display of artistic and culinary skill, we still had to come up with dinner and clean the kitchen. And we wanted to make it to a movie that evening, so we ended up eating what we had “cooked” for dinner in the car:)) Don’t worry, everyone survived and there were no casualties.

A very exciting day was when we went to Boston (an hour’s drive from Milford) to the Museum of Science. I’m very keen on anything and everything science-related, so I was in my element. There are so many things to see, so many departments, exhibits, and even live presentations. We were there from 9 AM till 7 PM - it was a marathon and by the time we left, we were worn out. The great part is that many of the activities and presentations are interactive - there are all sorts of "gadgets" that the visitors can test out or "play" with. For example, you can weigh yourself on the Moon or on Jupiter; or you can measure your blood pressure; or during the live presentations, the person holding the lecture can select volunteers from the crowd; and many, many other things. A really amazing part of the museum is represented by the so-called OMNI theaters: basically enormous dome-like rooms, where the screen is the actual dome-shaped sealing. The sensation is incredible; you feel immersed in the motion picture. And the lightning show is quite an experience, as well (it can do “wonders” for your hearing:)) ) It’s simply a place you need to fully experience, pictures and words can’t describe it the way it deserves.

Here’s the link to the museum’s website, if you want to check it out. I think it’s worth it.

http://www.mos.org

Anyway, one of the best moments of the holiday was the interval between Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning. The tradition in their family is that on Christmas Eve everyone gets brand-new pajamas that they have to wear to “look good in the next morning’s pictures.” I got a set of warm, fluffy pajamas, too – a warm gesture, don’t you think?

So, after freezing to the point where we thought we’d never recover sensation in our toes downtown at a caroling concert,

we went back to the house to open up the first set of presents.

Here I am with my X-mas outfit:

The next morning, on X-mas day, we all got up bright and early for what would be a two hour “present opening ceremony.” Four days of rapping, all amounting to this:

That day I received several presents. But my list of gifts began before that and I don’t think it’s ended yet… You might recall how some friends from my dorm went out of their way to bake me a traditional cake:

We ate the cake, but I’ll always remember the gesture...

And then, I got the chance to catch up with my family and some of my friends from back home. Given my hectic schedule this semester and the 7 hours time difference, keeping in touch was a bit tricky… I usually talk to my family through YM, by calling their computer, so we actually speak to each other. And the best part of it was on New Year’s. I got to celebrate it twice because Romania shifted to 2008 at 5 PM here. So I called my parents, they activated their webcam, we did the countdown together, and we basically had what my parents later called a “virtual New Year’s celebration.” And then, 7 hours later, as we passed into 2008 here, they called me (it was 7 AM over there).

All these essentially describe the same thing: caring and love. That’s perhaps the best gift: the feeling of being wanted, appreciated, and loved and doing the same thing for those around you. That’s been one of the lessons my time here has offered me.

And now I’m ready for new lessons, new experiences… I have a lot of plans and goals for this year that I’ll let you in on one at a time, as I come to them.

In the meanwhile, I’ll keep you posted on how the first days of classes unfold next week. Take care, everyone, and, once again, Happy New Year! Hopefully I’ll get to meat some of you during 2008;)

Oh, and since today is the first Orientation Day for new students coming in for the Spring Semester, I just want to welcome everyone. I hope you’ll all be as lucky as I am!

Best wishes,
Anda.

Posted by Alexandra Panaitiu at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)