King Lear

I wish Hooper and Brigette could have joined us for the presentation of King Lear from AFTLS! The actors' talent was very impressive, especially given that there were only 5 actors for far more than 5 roles in the play. It was a very well done job, and I loved how "into it" the actors were (especially the blonde guy). Although I can see it required a lot of talent to play dual roles, it made it somewhat confusing and a bit harder to follow, and I had never read King Lear before, either. There also were not that many props (or they were not real - i.e., a stick for a sword), no elaborate costume changes (such as a simple scarf or hat for a different character) and no outrageous scenery. At first I thought that those things would really take away from the play, or at least make it harder to get in to and imagine it. But, by the time the play was over, I realized that I didn't really miss those additions, because they are not always necessary to make a drama production really good. The talent of the actors was what shone through the most, not the props they carried or a special backdrop.

All in all, a well-done show. Can't wait for Navy Pier in October! And props (ha?) to the HUST department for reimbursing the ticket cost. Much appreciated.

Thinking about Cultural Geography

A shot of the ginormous Bodhisattva in the Yungang Grottoes - Bodhisattva means "enlightened being,"

so I thought it was appropriate for here, and for this class overall.

Click on it for a much larger view!

My topic for tomorrow's mini-presentation is from the "Cultural Geography" chapter in the Othello book. What a great edition - it comes with so many resources and helpful additions to the text that really helped enhance my understanding of the play itself, even from the one chapter I read.

Speaking of my chapter, I enjoyed thinking about new aspects of geography that I hadn't really considered previously. Although I will detail more in class (I have not organized all my ideas as this time yet), I wanted to point out here how much geography really can have to do with the way a play works - i.e., characters' attitudes, setting of the play, and even the way the audience perceives the play (depending on who you are).

Or, the author mentions how mapmaking became like an art or a science, and that collectors "attempted to write the world by compiling and classifying accounts of European travelers from across the globe." Immediately I thought of Mandeville, so it came as no surprise to me that Mandeville was brought up later on. I think it really adds a lot to a story to have a traveler be a part of it. I can experience whatever they are experiencing from the comfort of my dorm room (which is kind of like a small nation in itself). On the other hand, much of what Mandeville reported was heavily (and hilariously!) embellished, or perhaps downright mythical. I guess this just shows how those travel writers were so heavily influenced by legends and stories.

In either case, no matter how people viewed foreigners, I think that imaginations were still wont to run wild with curiosity about unexplored lands. I think this can even hold true today. Clearly the travel bug bit me, and so there always remains the option of visiting a new land and, besides learning something about that new culture, I might learn something about myself too. Sounds cheesy, and it might be really insignificant, but sometimes travelers can be a curious bunch.

Othello

I found this picture when I google-searched images of "Othello," it was my favorite one that I found.

I actually really enjoyed Othello. I am not always one for Shakespeare, but I did find this to be a good read. I was loathing Iago more and more as the play went along, and I couldn't help but think "what an a**" as the story progressed. As with my frustrations with teenage passions in Romeo and Juliet, I was also frustrated with Othello's unwavering trust in Iago, and his immediate jumping to conclusions without any substantial evidence whatsoever. I was surprised that, given Othello's normally very mature and slow-to-anger disposition as lieutenant, he was so quick to suspect Desdemona of infidelity. If it hadn't been for Iago fooling everyone like the puppets they were in his plan, no one would have ever had to be murdered in the first place. I guess one mark of a good writer is making the reader react in a way like this.

I wanted also to point out one interesting line from Desdemona (who sometimes has been referred to as "Desdemon"... does that mean anything or is it just a shorter way of saying her name? It's not really making it that much shorter). After Othello has smothered Desdemona in her bed on their wedding sheets (which I thought was weird), Emilia arrives and opens the bedcurtains to catch her mistress' dying breath. After Desdemona truthfully states that she has "died a guiltless death," Emilia asks her, "Oh, who hath done this deed?" Desdemona's response intrigues me: "Nobody; I myself. Farewell." Why does she say "I myself?" Is this because she is truly that good of a person that she will not even blame Othello for this after he killed her? Or, does she physically mean that no one killed her, but that she has murdered herself? I guess that when she says "I myself" then that could be taken both physically and metaphorically.

• What do you think Desdemona means when she says, "I myself"?

• Were you as frustrated with the way Othello took Iago so seriously without any real evidence too?

• Did you wonder also why Desdemona had Emilia make up their bed with their wedding sheets?

The Burdens Of Sister Margaret...

Honestly, I have enjoyed this book. There are a million details that I am trying to avoid getting too tangled up in, but I like reading about the scandal and the "oh-dear-what-will-happen-next" sort of style. I routinely find myself feeling bad for Sister Margaret and her many apparent troubles, because no one wants to be loathed like that "by pretty much everyone." Harline really seems to have done his research here with all those sources he found remaining from the convent of Bethlehem (I really want to go to the Netherlands, now, too!).

However, I have just one problem with the Burdens, and I wonder if anyone else felt the same way: I feel as though this is sort of like Cecilia Penifader, and that this huge and incredibly complicated story is being blown way out of proportion. I do not deny that it all happened, obviously (due to the treasure trove of letters Harline tells us about), but I feel like this entire thing is being dramatized and that we are creating this in our minds as we imagine it would have happened. I'm not saying that it didn't happen, but I feel like gleaning a story of this capacity seems to be... well, really difficult. I remember reading Cecilia Penifader and wondering how such a detailed account could have been written about her life, even given the facts we had about her. I don't know, maybe I am just rambling. Did anyone else find this story and the apparent scandal that went on within the 17th-century convents believable?

Happy senior year HUSTers! Did everyone have a good summer? It's bittersweet but I am sure everyone is ready to get back into the swing of things.

I did not keep a blog while I was in China because I had super-limited computer access. The most I was able to do was update Facebook statuses (stati?) occasionally. According to my good friend Val, she said it was like reading a travel guide, and I was happy to hear this. However, in order to receive class credit (3 hours) for the course, one thing I was required to do was turn in the three best of my journal entries. I turned them into Alice (whom, if you have never had the pleasure of meeting, you MUST... Alice Siqin Yang works in CWIL and is Chinese herself, and went with us on the trip; she is a lovely and very knowledgeable lady and was constantly helping me haggle with the natives, and she is actually a hard-driving bargainer so it was great fun to observe), who in turn put them on Blackboard. I went a little overboard on some of them because I was really excited about what I saw, but in any case, if you would like to read any of the three journals just for fun (I put pictures in them too), then let me know and I can email you a copy! I guess this is pretty presumptuous to assume that you're all TERRIBLY fascinated about what I saw in China, so you certainly do not have to read them if you don't want.

Maybe you would like to see some pictures! If we are Facebook friends, then I have several albums from each Chinese city posted already. But there is still plenty more where that came from! I think I took about 1200 pictures total. If you're into people-watching and local lives, then China is the place for you; it is truly a photographer's dream. There are so many people and SO MUCH constant activity going on around you at all times that it's hard to decide where to take a picture first. I think I am going to put them all on my Picasa (the link is to the left under "Clickables") for my family to see, too.

Chinese babies, for example, are adorable (and I do mean adorable, they look like little dolls), so I have a small plethora of pictures of them. Usually I would gesture to their mothers if I could take a picture of their child, and the mothers were always very flattered. I have a hunch that they were so flattered because it was a novelty to have a young Westerner want to have a picture of your child.

I could go on and on about this, but in short, they believe that Westerners have tons of money and guns and can do what they want, when they want. They watch Gossip Girl there and believe we young people lead lives like Blair Waldorf (HA). Chinese people will truly believe what they see on TV, which is completely skewed anyway because the government controls everything they watch, and they have limited channels called CCTV. They cannot even access all the YouTube videos that we can, because they are all censored. They believe whatever their government tells them. Johnny Depp is among one of the censored topics, for example. Weird, but it's true.

In addition to my China experience, I did an independent study with a professor of Sociology at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL. I never realized how much I love sociology, and unfortunately only have time to minor in it. Every class I have taken I have loved, and the professors were good too (one of whom I took in Spain). Cheesy, I know, but I have learned a lot from them. The independent study I did was about the Sociology of Sports. Before you point and laugh, I learned more about the relationship between humans and the sports we do for apparent fun than I ever had before.

It was funny because the first book I read was on bullfighting (literally the book was called "On Bullfighting"). Given my background in Spanish studies (but still as an American), it was an interesting perspective to have when approaching the book. Can bullfighting be considered a sport? What about drag racing or bass fishing? What about the fact that bullfighting is a matter of life and death? Does baseball have a similar deeply rooted character in this country (with its own rituals, uniforms, legendary players who redefined the game, fans who dislike bad games and unfair competition)? And so on and so forth. So it turned out that I could take an interest in sports after all. [:

So, that is the extent of my studies this summer. It was also filled with slaving away at Walgreens, going to Clinton, IA to visit some SMC friends, and then going to downtown Chicago when they came to visit me. It was a productive summer. But I am looking forward to making senior year really great.

El Fin del Semestre

Well, my friends, it has been one hell of a semester. We have sure been through a lot, I think! Don't worry, this post isn't going to be heavy on the cheese... I'm just saying I am relieved and I just was thinking about what I've learned this year/semester, both academically and personally. (I can hear a certain someone groaning). [:

In fact, I should almost like to either update this blog, or possibly create a new one for my trip to China this summer. I have examined the itinerary and it sounds truly incredible, and there are some things on there that I never dreamed I would be doing. After all of the talking we have done about travel narratives and the like in class (I know everyone found Mandeville a little less than enthralling but as usual I thought it was totally cool), I think it would be neat to apply my HUST experiences and the very nature of the major to my own doings. That raises the questions I have seen discussed on other blogs of my fellow husties and in class about the level of personal things shared through various portals like the written sonnet from a book or the technological status on the Twitter of the Interwebz. Maybe no one cares? Maybe you all care deeply? Who knows. I hope everything turns out alright in the end.

Don't forget that we still need to order those sweatshirts! 

Thanks for the laughs! See you in August.

"Ideally"

"Ideally... theoretically... hopefully..."

Why do we use all of these words when we talk about things "as they should be?" If we want to regard things as being perfect we always use these words to preface what we want. But then, if we even have to use those words, then are we not just implying that what we are about to say is not quite possible? There are always flaws in us as humans that will prevent More's idea of "Utopia" from happening. I guess he did not really consider free will and the like when he imagined it! It's a good idea in theory, though... see, there I used it again!

When I was in class and we were talking about what came to mind when we thought of the word "Utopia," I mentioned something I saw in a magazine a while ago about different types of "places of paradise" as it pertains to different cultures. I should like to point out some of them for you here!

The first I mentioned was Valhalla. This is from Norse mythology (Icelandic sagas, anyone?), and it is a huge and majestic hall ruled over by the god Odin. Those who have heroically died in combat go there, and outside of it there is big golden tree, and the roof is lined with golden shields. It is supposed to be a hall of the "chosen dead," or the most heroic people. Neat, right?

 

I imagine "Clair de Lune" playing in the background.

The next one I thought of is called Shangri-la. Surely you have heard of this one! This mythical place was described by James Hilton in his novel Lost Horizon, and it is supposed to be a permanently happy land because it is isolated from the outside world. Ha! Interesting! The inhabitants of Shangri-la are supposed to be immortal. Did More consider immortality? No me acuerdo. It reminds me of a "Garden of Eden" sort-of place. Since I am going to China soon I think this a cool thing to talk about since it is like an exotic oriental ideal. 

Pretty picture, isn't it? Looks lovely!

Now, similar to Shangri-la, there is Shambhala, the place upon which Shangri-la is based. Shambhala is supposed to be a mythical kingdom in Tibet, (from Buddhism) and it has been mentioned in several ancient texts! It is a very spiritual place, but interestingly it seems to be hidden, which is an interesting concept because some places like this are either only attainable if you find them yourself, or if you have performed good deeds throughout your life, or what have you. So I suppose there are different ways of getting to these ideal places, because the issue in whether or not you have the ability to get there lies within yourself, within the "gods," or within society itself. Confusing!

I discovered this directly on the Shambhala website - it exists! It is the "Primordial Rigden Thangka." Taken directly from the website, it "portrays the basic enlightened nature of all human beings, their basic goodness."

If none of these things are the "ideal" place, then I don't know what is! But I thought it would be interesting to have a look at just a few of the different Utopias as imagined by several different cultures (and from several distinct time periods as well!)

Also, in case you wanted to click around a bit more and learn about Shambhala (I sort of find myself following in Gail's footsteps and experiencing an interest in Asian cultures) and it's really very fascinating. Go here!

What does your Utopia look like?