A Rather Lovely Week

So basically, I haven't posted since last month. Has it really been that long since I did a post? I think yes... Anyhow, it's been a while, and I figured I'd just post about a few anecdotes from this week. First, let's start with a list of everything I did.

• I hosted a British exchange student from last Saturday to this afternoon.
• I participated in Valerie Ervin's SNAP the Silence challenge for a day.
• I ate a lot of chocolate (I won't bother to write about that one)
• I learned how to tango (That's pretty self-explanatory)

1-First things first, my British kid. I kind of feel bad, because before all y'all came, us hosts continually referred to you as "My/Your British kid", but we told y'all that, so it's okay.
The absolutely wonderful British student I hosted was Rhiannon, and we got along very,very well. Because our British friends were only here for a week, all the activities we did were super-duperly rushed, which kind of sucked a little. I think the most wonderful thing about the trip, though, was the fact that everyone who came as/hosted a student changed because of this new experience. It's kind of weird at first, because you have a total stranger sleeping in your house, but by the end, this afternoon, I felt like I had known almost every single one of those 14 kids for years, as if we had always gone to school together. Exchange experiences like that don't always happen, and I know that from experience, so this week was especially special for me because I made strong connections and relationships with people who live on another continent.

2-Second things second, I participated in SNAP the Silence, which is part of a campaign by Valerie Ervin, a county council member, to raise awareness about poverty in the county. The challenge was to live on 5 dollars a day for five days, which is slightly more than what people living on food stamps in Montgomery County get. The actual amount is $4.28. Although I only could do it for a day, the experience really helped me realize just how big an issue poverty is in the county. I went to talk to each  CAP 10 advisory last Friday to sign people up to do the challenge, and one kid asked my why I was doing, and why I thought it would make a difference.
I think that there are a lot of problems and crises in the world that we know about and are slightly conscious of, but we never really try to do anything about them, because we don't think it affects us. I've found that once you experience something, you really do develop empathy (sympathy?) for that issue, that you're much more motivated to something about it because you know what it's like to feel this or do that, because it's nagging you in the back of your head. The idea that someone lives on less money per day than that needed to buy a burrito at Chipotle seems ridiculous to me, (both because Chipotle is overpriced and it's unfair to those living in poverty) and even though I only lived on 5 dollars for a day, the idea of having to do that for weeks and months at a time is terribly daunting and depressing.

3- To sum up what I've learned this week:
-British kids are awesome and I want them to come back because I miss them all terribly and I'm lonely.
-Knowing about a problem isn't the same as experiencing and trying to fix it.
-Chocolate is delicious.
-Doing the tango is not actually that hard.
-Apparently chuffed is a word. Who knew?

Just for fun, and to get points for multi-media content, here's a song by Dar Williams. It's called "I am the one who will remember everything". I love it!


 

Independent Video Challenge: What's it like in Silver Spring?

So here's my video about life in Silver Spring, Maryland. Ravyn filmed, and I edited it with her.
 Enjoy!

                                 

Dear Lemon Lima, it's Exam Week...

It's exam week. So I will be reviewing a movie this week, instead of thinking of something better to write about.






So this movie is about a freshman in high school named Vanessa Lemor. Her ex-sort-of-boyfriend Philip dumped her at the beginning of summer before 9th grade-he's a grade older than her- and she has yet to get over him. She's a bit of a social outcast, and is very concerned with saving the environment. She starts the new school year at Nichols School, the expensive prep school Philip attends, to which she got a scholarship for being part native Alaskan.
To win back her "true love"'s affections, Vanessa decides to enter to be a team leader in the school's annual Snowstorm Survival Competition, a series of traditional Alaskan challenges, that must be passed to win the competition. She, along with Philip, is randomly picked as one of the leaders. She picks the friends she's made from being sent to the weight room: a scrawny redhead named Hercule, twins Lynne and Emmaline, stubborn and lonely Nothing Amigone, and sharp, gum-chewing Sam.
After a disastrous plot twist, Megan, the new apple of Philip's eye, asks to join Vanessa's Team Fubar. The team practices and works through hardships they never imagined would affect their lives, and, well, I won't say how the movie ends.
But this little movie about people (who in some ways are similar to Sue Heck from The Middle) going through the possibly traumatic events of being a complete outsider in a world of judgment and heartbreak is very well done. It's happy, touching and slightly depressing all at the same time. And there are some very funny parts too.
Philip's initials are P.I.G.

What I've Learned From Chemistry Class

 Stoichiometry is not mentioned EVER in this blog post. Sorry Ms. O'Donovan. Also, this kind of has to do with religion, so maybe I might get in trouble?..

About a week ago (I think it was last Thursday), I went to the bathroom during chemistry, which is my 45minute class in the middle of the day. As I was walking to the bathroom, I passed a staircase, and on the landing, 15 or 20 teenage boys were on their knees praying.
At first, I didn't know what to think. Was it a class? Were they doing yoga?(They were in Child's Pose). If they were praying, what religion was it?
I returned from my bathroom excursion, and told the two people sitting next to me. A thought occurred to  me that they could be Muslim, so I asked a girl in my class who was also, and she said it was one of the times of day people prayed.
The idea that people were praying during lunch, and maybe for some of them during class, was in the back of my mind for the rest of the day. It was one of the most mind blowing-okay, not mind blowing, but fascinating- things that had ever entered my head. Because usually I don't think about useful things, nor do they manage to stay in my train of thought for long.
To me, I think, the most fascinating part of it all was that these kids were so devoted to their religion that they were willing to go into the hallway in the middle of school and pray.
I personally have yet to really work out my feelings on god and religion and all (Don't yell at me, I'm in high school!), but I think it's amazing that people can have that sort of devotion to something, and that that strong a belief can be instilled in someone who probably hasn't figured out a lot of things in their life. The pride and devotion it takes to go out into a place where you could and probably will be judged for your actions (because this is  high school), is a lot. And I hold those boys in very high regard.
As a matter of fact, I hold many people in high regard. It's just that to me, being able to be certain of your opinion on something that can impact your life in a big way, or being able to be proud of some large characteristic of your life, and being able to express that in a place where you could be seen differently for it, is a wonderful, fantastic trait I wish I possessed.Just like those teenage boys on the landing during 6th period.
Because not only does it mean you can be certain of your beliefs, it means you can take pride in what you believe.
Here's a song by Mumford & Sons about being certain in your beliefs:

From Riches to Rags

 This week, I'm doing a movie review for my Media class on a documentary I watched this weekend.

"We've been doing this for four hours!"
"Three."
"We've been doing this for three hours."
These are the very first lines of the documentary I watched for my review. The couple that are the main focus of the documentary are having professional portraits taken. The husband is 74. The wife is 43.
"The Queen of Versailles" is a movie about the Siegels, an incredibly rich family that earned its fortune through building timeshare resorts, the Westgate Resorts, to be precise.
The film follows Jackie, the wife, as she at first struggles with managing her household of 8 kids, and then eventually of managing her life and her budget when her husband's company starts to crumble after the 2008 stock market crash.
Because the movie is a documentary, there isn't really a made up plot or any acting, but there is some very good cinematography. At one point, three of the eight kids are on a merry go round, and the cinematographer is also with them, so the shot is just the kids spinning around and around, and it's very nauseating, but also very cleverly done.
The film's director, Lauren Greenfield, does the interviewing, but her voice is very rarely heard. The majority of the film is made up of footage of the family as they are followed around by cameras.
A lot of the problems the Siegels had before their monopoly was in jeopardy seemed like a joke to me. (Victoria, the 12 year old daughter, couldn't decide what color she wanted her hair to be when all the contestants from the Miss America foundation came to their party.) However, after their company's almost-downfall, the pet lizard dies from hunger, the kids have to go to public school and Jackie starts buying her over one hundred Christmas presents for the kids at Walmart.
The movie, although wonderfully edited and very funny at times, is one that is depressing and a little sickening. It was good though, a movie meant to make us think about what we have and don't have. It's relevant too, with the economy in a shambles. The Siegels may be filthy rich and a little (unknowingly) snotty, but they have good hearts, and in the end, you'll find the only reason to dislike them is the fact that they almost lived in a house ten times the size of your own.
So that's the end of my review, and here's the official trailer. (The person dressed as Rudolph is one of the three nannies.)



The Queen of Versailles
100 min
Rated PG

The Most Reputable Company in America (Or The Maker of My Favorite Cereals)

It's 6:25. You walk downstairs and into your kitchen. You go towards the cabinet with the cereal in it. You reach inside, get out your Honey Nut Cheerios, and sit down at the table with a spoon and bowl and the milk carton. 30 minutes later, you're on your way to school.

              We probably have all seen this logo at least once or twice in our lives. If you haven't, or if you don't recognize it, I'll tell you what it is. It's the General Mills logo. And in 101 Things, # 52 is Read Your Cereal Box. So that's what I did. Turns out in the ingredients list, the only thing that doesn't sound like English is Tripotassium Phosphate, which isn't super scary to me, because I know how to write it in chemistry format.
In reading the nutrition facts, I got bored, so I decided to look on General Mills' website to find out a little more about the company that makes Cheerios, Chex, Bugles, Fiber One and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
              Turns out, one of the goals of the company is to "Be among the most socially responsible food companies in the world". Who knew? Gen. Mills also works to hire only the most qualified workers, making sure that they have a diverse workforce. When it comes to fraud, they have a very strict policy in an effort to increase the integrity and ethics of their company. Their cereals are for the most pretty healthy, too. Lots of fiber, no cholesterol (in Cheerios), and no trans fats.
              After reading the nutrition facts of my cereal, I realized that I don't normally pay attention to what goes into my food. I did start checking the labels of the meat in my fridge after seeing Food, Inc. in Journalism, but even then I wasn't paying much attention. I think that it's important for us to be conscious of what we buy, who we buy it from, and what's in it, and though usually if something edible is put in front of me I eat it, it's important to know what we're eating, because it has an effect on more than just us. So when you wake up tomorrow and eat your Wheaties, be a bad CAP student and read the back of your cereal instead of the newspaper. You just might learn something really cool.

Documentaries!

This week, I will not be blogging 101 Things You Gotta Do Before You're 12! due to the fact that it was requested we talk about our new media project.

Ah, a new media project. For the entire month of December and part of January, we're going to be making short documentaries in media class. "About what?", you might ask. And I might say " About anything and everything and nothing and it will be amazing!" But alas, this is not actually the case, because whenever I try to say something intellectual in my life, it turns out to sound stupid, which really shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but, ya know...
So anyway. We're doing these short documentaries in media class, and we had to pick a topic. Depending on our topic, we got to choose the kind of documentary we wanted to make: a New York Times Op-Doc, a profile documentary about a certain person, an indiegogo, which is a website where you post a short video and can set up a fundraiser-type system to raise money for something by having people watch the video. (We can only do this one if there are two or more Change Project group members are in our CAP group, so that option wasn't possible for me.) The final type of movie we could make is a StudentCam film, which is a documentary competition done by CNN. Each year there's a sort of government themed topic, and this year the subject is something that you want the president to change in the next 4 years.

My group for this project is Emily, Grace and Sarah. We plan to do a profile documentary on a street musician in Washington, DC. I'm actually really excited about it! I think street artists and musicians don't always get the respect or attention they deserve, and I personally hold them in high regard (I think that's the right expression). Anyways, that's a little taste of what we're doing in media now. Next week, I'll be back with my book-blogging, so don't worry!