A couple Random Thoughts

Just a warning, this blog has two random thoughts that don’t necessarily relate to each other but they have been on my mind this week and I figured I should put my thoughts into words.

         For me the readings in this class are very interesting but at the same time they are confusing and at times very hard to follow simply because they are such foreign topics to me. The classroom discussions are what really help me to understand what is going on in each book and how they relate to the world around us. While I’m reading I try to make connections to my life because it really helps me to grasp the concept of each book.  That being said, on page 85 Baudrillard was explaining that “you can enjoy all of the positive aspects of your own culture, but you also absorb all of its stupidity; you are much more sensitive to it than in other cultures. So it always feels good to get away from your culture.” I was an exchange student during my junior year of high school. I traveled to South Central France, in a town called St. Etienne. I was one of the lucky students because I was placed into a country where I had some background knowledge of the language, having taken three years of high school level French previous.  I know exactly what Baudrillard is talking about when he says that you are more aware of your own cultures stupidity when you are in other cultures. I stayed with a host family, and being completely immersed in the culture gave me a totally different outlook on the way we live our lives here in America. Every Wednesday in France the children have half days at school and parents come home from work to have a large family lunch that will usually take the majority of the rest of the afternoon. Here in America we would never dream of leaving work or school on one day a week to spend some quality time with the family. The concept of family life and meals in France is totally different and rather refreshing, coming from a culture where we are always on the go. We stop at a fast food restaurant on our way to work instead of waiting the extra hour to spend quality time with our loved ones. Living in France for that period of time was an amazing learning experience, I learned about the French culture and about different aspects of American culture that I didn’t think about before. In the future I want to return to France and live there separate from an exchange program.

            I wake up thinking of what needs to be done today, go to class wondering if I have finished all of the reading for today, get ready for bed reflecting on the day and anticipating the following day. I am never truly living in the present, constantly making lists of things that must be accomplished, one right after the other. A close friend told me recently that for one day, and one day only I should not think about anything except the subject at hand. He mentioned this because I am always stressing about the various things in my life that need to be accomplished. I never ‘live in the moment,’ I never stop to look at the world around me and really appreciate it for what it has to offer. Coming to class on Friday, the 17^th made me step back and really try and live just in that moment, not thinking about anything else that was going on. This classes forces me to learn in a totally different way that I’m used to. So far it has been a steep learning curve with plurk and posting a blog every week, but I am getting used to it and I really enjoy this English class.