After spending a rather stressful week memorizing scenes and catching up on homework, it was nice to hang out with my friend and head to Tigard to Sweet Tomatoes. Sweet Tomatoes (what’s called Souplantation back where I live in Southern California) is one of my favorite places to eat and reminded me just how close I am to returning back home. I have such interesting feelings as to me leaving…seeing as though things are getting more stressful, there still is a collective sense among students of happiness as the sun is out and a lot of events are also going on. First, there was the Luau and then Wildstock in which the musical acts Ready Set and Outasight played. Life is definitely more exciting academically and socially as people are trying to work their hardest over these next week to have all their work pay off. It’s definitely an interesting environment to see and be a part of.
Ultimately, for me, only having one final does make things much easier on myself. I still have a scene and two monologues to memorize (the scene I’ll have to memorize by tomorrow!) so I’ll definitely still be busy like everyone else. I do hope that I’ll be able to get it together by tomorrow and at least have a majority of the lines memorized. If not, I just know I’ve tried my hardest so I’m not going to overstress myself about it. Overall, I’m ready for the summer but am so happy for all I have had here and am so glad to have my first year of college spent at Linfield.
Kyra: Spring Awakening, HH the Dalai Lama, music and so much more!
I feel like I say this almost every time I blog but–this week has been a whirlwind. Schoolwork, events and meetings really pick up around the end of the year. I really enjoy the sense of business, however. Today’s been the first chilly day in about two weeks, so I think that’ll help everyone hit the books and get to studying for finals. I’m working on several papers right now, so I’m drowning in visual culture, gender and cultural studies, and performance ideas. It’s a bit to deal with, but I think it’ll all turn out well! It usually does.
However, I did manage to get myself some breathing time to get out and enjoy the things I love. Thursday, I was able to see the Linfield Theatre Department’s production of “Spring Awakening”. Several of my friends were in it–and starring–so it was absolutely amazing to see them perform. I love musicals and it’s been quite a while since I’ve had to opportunity to see one. On top of that, “Spring Awakening” is one of my favorites in terms of the music, and this was the first time I’ve been able to see it live, so it made the experience even more special. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried pretty much throughout the whole show. It was incredibly emotional and raw–everyone did a beautiful job with the acting and music. Their harmonies were absolutely amazing–I really think that Linfield should try to put on more musicals. There are so many talented people here, it was wonderful to see some of their great diversity.
On Friday, Linfield hosted Wildstock! It’s one of our big end of the year events, so it’s always a blast to attend. Thankfully, it was a gorgeous day, so everyone was out and about–listening to music, playing some of the games, and listening to music. Wildstock, in essence, is everything that an average college student loves–free food and free music. I got dinner from Thai Country and El Primo, so I was pretty thrilled. I had quite a bit of homework, so I popped in and out of the event, but everyone listening to the music looked like they were having a great time. I didn’t want to stay out too late, however, because I had an incredible day planned for Saturday.
Through Linfield, I was able to get tickets to the His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak at an Environmental Summit at the Memorial Coliseum! We all got on a charter bus bright and early Saturday morning and traveled up to Portland. The experience was almost surreal! The Dalai Lama was so wise and surprisingly really hilarious. He had an amazing laugh! We had a morning and afternoon session, with a long break in between for lunch. We used this time to get out into the city. Since it was a beautiful Saturday, we took the opportunity to go to the Saturday market. I haven’t been there in a very long time, so it was nice to get back into the city. We ate South African food from one of the booths and sat on the waterfront. It was a nice way to stretch from sitting inside all morning and to think about what we were learning at the Summit. I’m so grateful that I was able to have this experience–something that will probably come around only once in my lifetime. After the Dalai Lama finished speaking, the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on and played a concert. It was a pretty strange juxtaposition between the extremely calm Dalai Lama and the rock band, but it was really fun all the same. They opened up the bottom of the Coliseum to go up and dance during the set too. A bunch of the Linfield group went down and danced, but I was feeling a little tired from the day so I stayed at the top to watch our things and take pictures. It was still fun to see everyone though! There were so many people! I’ve always liked RHCP, so it was great to see them live.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking about compassionate living and it’s impact on our environment.
That evening, once we got back from the Dalai Lama, several of us decided to go see the new film version of “The Great Gatsby”! We met up a friend’s house first–where I met the most adorable puppy. I just have to include this because it was so cute. After getting distracted by the puppy–Balin, like the dwarf from “The Hobbit”–for a while, we all headed over to the movie where we met some other students from Linfield. They’d dressed up and gone to a fancy dinner/drinks downtown to get in the Gatsby mood. They all looked quite dapper! The movie itself was actually really good! I’d recommend seeing it–but of course, you should read the book first, if you haven’t and plan on going to the movie. A lot of the dialogue was actually taken directly from the book, so that was a lovely treat for lit nerds like myself. The costuming, colors, and set were amazing–Baz Luhrman always does an amazing job of capturing the feel of a book or era, and Prada did the costuming, so what’s not to love?
Balin, the smallest and cutest puppy I’ve ever seen!
Sunday, of course, was Mother’s Day! My family came down so we could have a Mother’s Day dinner. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my family, so it was really nice to have them around for a couple of hours. I’m really close to my Mom and little sister, so I missed them a lot! We went out to GVB–Golden Valley Brewery. If you’ve never been there, I definitely recommend it. They source most of the meat products locally and brew their own beer! It’s also just a local staple; one of those restaurants you have to go to at least once while you’re here.
My Mother, little sister and I at GBV.
I can only imagine how much crazier this week will be! I have several papers to work on, lectures and thesis presentations to attend, and so much more! I’m definitely looking forward to these last few weeks in the semester. This summer also looks really promising, but that’s a story for next time.
Eureka: Wildstock 2013 and the Spring Choir Concert
Wildstock 2013 – featuring the Ready, Set and Outasight
Last weekend was Wildstock weekend. Wildstock is not only an event – it’s one of the highlights of the year at our college.
< Which is why I was excited that I got to design the Wildstock 2013 poster!
Wildstock is organized by the Linfield Activities Board (LAB). This year, LAB invited the Ready, Set and Outasight to perform. The party began at 4:00PM on the IM field outside Pioneer Hall, where giant inflatable obstacle courses and games awaited us. We enjoyed food from a few local vendors, including Thai Country, Ribslayer and El Primo, and the first 200 students were treated to snow cones, too. Other events that were lined up for the weekend included the Battle of the Bands and a comedic performance by Marc Lamotte, a regular on the college comedy circuit.
On Sunday, me and my friends attended the Spring Choir Concert featuring the Women’s Vocal Ensemble and Men’s Glee Club. Over the course of an hour, the groups sang songs related to war – expressing the jubilation that comes with victory, as well as the devastation that comes with defeat. I was impressed by the Men’s Glee Club’s rendition of “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Miserables. They started out in the wings of ICE Auditorium, so at first I really had no clue where they were singing from. I think it was a great way to start the event. I had to leave the performance early to work on assignments (they are killing me now…!!), but I was thoroughly entertained with what I had seen.
Linfield’s Men’s Glee Club performing “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Miserables
Austin: Action-Packed Weekend!
I was looking forward to this weekend for a long time, and I can’t believe it’s already done! Friday the entire campus celebrated Wildstock, a Linfield tradition. Every year, near the end of the semester, the school puts on an outdoor concert packed with local food vendors and games. This year, the bands The Ready Set and Outasight performed, and the field was full of free food from Thai Country, Ribslayer, El Primo, and there was inflatable laser tag, as well as an inflatable slide. The concert was great, and it was lots of fun to celebrate the ending of a solid semester with friends.
The next morning came early when two busses of Linfield students traveled to the Coliseum convention center in downtown Portland to hear His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama speak. What an incredible experience it was to be in a theater with 11,000 people gathered around to hear him, as well as three prominent political figures speak at an Environmental Summit. The Dalai Lama is hilarious; he was cracking jokes left and right, and had no problem communicating his ideas and wisdom through his translator. It was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m grateful that Linfield subsidized the tickets so I was able to enjoy the program for only $10! A few of my friends and I hung out at the Portland Saturday Market and enjoyed tasty Thai food (my favorite) and explored the market. After his speech, the Red Hot Chili Peppers put on a great show. Once we returned back to campus, I attended the Theater’s production of Spring Awakening. The musical was absolutely moving, and filled with incredible talent. It was fun to see some of my friends acting and showing their true passion and love for Theater.
Sunday rolled around and was filled with plenty of homework and stress about the upcoming finals week. I have quite a few papers, finals, and presentations this week, but as the semester is drawing to an end, I’m still quick to enjoy the last few days of freshman year with friends. I can’t believe it’s almost over!
Until next time,
-Austin
Aaron: Up and Running
This last week has been filled with lots of interesting twists and turns. Things are starting to intensify academically which I’ve been taking pretty well but still am amazed at the work still needed to be done. Needless to say, I definitely needed a break so going up to Portland to visit my friend at Lewis and Clark was a great way to do it. Seeing them all pack up getting ready to go home made me realize how close summer is coming back at Linfield. For my acting class, I went to the Linfield musical “Spring Awakening” here at Linfield. It was, ultimately, a play about character’s upcoming sexualities which was a controversial twist to the tamer plays and musicals I’ve been exposed to.
In my Critical Thinking class, we participated in an interesting experiment trying to test “the sixth sense” otherwise known as feeling the presence of someone there without using any of the other five senses. We tested this by using a blindfold and putting someone in a sound proof room to which someone would either be staring at you through the window or not be. From then, us students are meant to say whether we felt that we were being stared at or not. We have yet to wait on the results but it is interesting to see whether there is any correlation.
In my singing class, we have been working on Italian opera songs to which mine is a beautiful ballad piece titled “Vaga Luna che Inargenti” which even Pavorotti has sang in the past! Ultimately, I am glad to be exposed to a kind of music I’m not usually comfortable singing to, if even to listen to. I’ve luckily received positive feedback on my work so far and am now wondering what I have to go from here after class is over considering I would really like to be in more voice classes.
Hopefully these weeks will be manageable and I can come out with the grades I want. I am still interested to see how I will be able to fly all of my things back to California but am sure I can figure out some way to make it work. Three more weeks! Summer’s almost here!