Hello! I’m Natalie, and will be going to Thailand for my Senior Project with nine of my classmates. We leave for Thailand in about three weeks; the countdown is getting me through all my school work and stress. It seems so far away but I know I should be getting ready. My biggest concern right now is packing; I’m a little iffy about what/how much to bring considering I’m the world’s biggest over-packer and my summer wardrobe consists of sleeveless tanks and shorts. My renewed passport also hasn’t come in the mail yet, which gives me a minor anxiety attack every so often. Fingers crossed it will come in time.

I’m really looking forward to exploring Bangkok. I’ve never been to Asia and will admit I don’t quite know what to expect, but that is one of the aspects of this trip that excites me the most. I’m anxious to experience a culture so different from my own, and am fortunate to be doing it with some of my closest friends. I’m looking forward to working with the elephants as well; from what I’ve read in some of last year’s blogs it’s a really amazing experience. I know it will be pretty demanding work though, it’ll be interesting to see how well we all handle it.

I’ve always really loved traveling, especially to different countries because the cultural differences tend to be more extreme. I find it fascinating that so many people can live their lives in such a drastically different way than I do; believing in different things, eating different foods, and celebrating different traditions. I think traveling is a great way to expand your knowledge of the rest of the world because first hand experience is always better than something read in a travel magazine or text-book. I’m hoping this trip will open my eyes some to things I never knew before. Along with blogging, I’m hoping to document my trip with some pictures. Hopefully by some miracle I’ll pack light enough to have room for my cameras…yikes.

Stay posted!

Westtown students from the class of 2011 have nearly finished preparations for their Senior Projects. They will be in locations all over the globe, involved in diverse and challenging learning experiences. From language immersion to studying religious conflict to volunteering at a medical clinic, the projects represent the special interests and passions of our seniors. 

This year we will be following the experiences of  bloggers in Ghana, Thailand, Washington, DC, Germany, Israel/Palestine, New York, Florida, Spain and Pennsylvania, among other locations. 

What will they discover about themselves and the world? What lessons will they learn? What will we learn from them?  Stay tuned…!

Well, it has been a really long time since I wrote…  I was hoping I could post something after the fact, but one thing led to another and life as a Westtown student kept getting in the way.  So where do I stand now?  I think I will start by saying that this trip has been one of the most valuable experiences of my Westtown career.   It is all well and good to learn about social injustice issues from the safety of a classroom, but to truly understand one has to be on the ground, feeling the experience.  A quote that I love (and have no idea where it came from or if I am getting it perfectly correct) is: “Tell me and I will forget, show me and I will remember, let me do it and I will understand.”  I feel like I now understand, on a level I never could have before.

The question that this begs, of course, is now that I have this experience and understanding, what do I do with it?  How do I more forward and live my life in the light of this and what can I do for change?

One initiative that we learned about while there is called the BDS Movement (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions), which is aimed at gaining human rights for the Palestinians through the means of pressuring Israel through the only means we have: their wallets (for those interested in more information, their website:  < http://www.bdsmovement.net/ >).  To this end, and couple of friends of mine from the trip and I are beginning an attempt to bring this movement to Westtown.  So what does that mean?  We are still in the planning stages, but the end goal would involve convincing the school to examine its investment portfolio and divest from corporations who are supporting actions by the Israeli government that propagate the crisis (ie.  Caterpillar, which is developing remote controlled bulldozers for the Israeli army’s housing demolitions).  Will it work?  I honestly don’t know.  I don’t even know yet if there is anything offensive in the schools investment portfolio, but it is worth a try.

One of the ways I am trying to live my life is to serve as a representative of a more complete view of the problem than most Americans get via our wonderful news media (I’m not being sarcastic there… not at all…).  An example of this is when a few weeks back a few members of our group gave a presentation to the school Board of Trustees where we shared some of our stories and answered questions (and which I was blessed to be a part of).  Another example of how we should (and are) be living is when some other members (whom I was unfortunately not among) went to Wilmington Friends and spent the day talking to some of the classes there.

It may sound a little corny and clichéd, but awareness really is an invaluable thing.  It is a crime when good people who know better keep silent, and therefore share I shall.

Assalamu alaikum.

Hello All,

It has been about a month since I left Thailand.  Not too much has changed in my life back home except that my tan has faded.  I just finished reading my old blog posts and reminiscing about the Thailand sun.  Below are some of the highlights of my thousands of pictures.  The ones shown are mostly from Bangkok.

I hope you enjoyed looking through my pictures and finally seeing for yourselves the beauty that Thailand holds.

Thank you for reading!

-Tori

Hey,

I know it has been a while since I have blogged here, and that senior projects are over and have been over for about a month, but I finally have pictures of little Amelia. On my last day at the hospital, Nurse Emma had a special treat for me and allowed me to go with her to visit Amelia and her mother. The hospital usually does not do many house visits for babies who were born in the hospital, but seeing as Amelia was not scheduled for an appointment with her pediatrician for quite some time, and knowing that I would be leaving Trinidad soon, we were allowed a special exception. I was allowed to watch as the baby was weighed and all of her vital signs were checked, as well as her mother’s. Then, when I expressed my desire to have pictures of the baby, the mother said that, if we kept in touch, she would take some pictures and send them to me. After a month of waiting they are finally here and Amelia is just as beautiful as the day she was born. I did not get many because some of the files were unable to open on my computer, but I will be posting below the ones that I was able to open. I hope you guys enjoy them as much as I did!!

Even though the Senior Project time period is technically over, I’m writing this final post as both an update on the most recent progress on the physical product as well as a reflection on the whole project experience. First of all, I want to acknowledge how wonderful and supportive my “clients” have been throughout this whole project. From the very beginning when this project was merely an idea, T. Nathan was very enthusiastic about and full of ideas for the project. I am so lucky to have had a sponsor who was as invested in the project as I was, from start to finish. I also don’t know what I would do without the photographic advice from T. Tim, who helped me get the best out of some tricky photographs along the way.

Today (Monday, April 6), I met once again with T. Nathan and T. Lynette to go over the final production of the finished poster and the notecards. The finished products have taken a different form from the first draft, and I made quite a few design changes. Although I had some harsh criticism on the first version, I can learn from this experience by understanding how to take constructive criticism and use it to my benefit, and also by getting a taste of the real world in terms of criticism for my work (even though I don’t plan on going into the graphic design field). While Admissions liked both the notecard and the poster, they found that they could make more practical use out of the notecards and would rather have one poster to hang if/when they get printed. They are also helping me take my project further by connecting me with members of the Alumni Office and the School Store as they are more suited to printing and using/selling the poster as well as the notecards. For anyone who is interested in a poster or some notecards, keep your fingers crossed that we are able to produce them!

Alex 🙂

Today, I had the opportunity to help out at the Echoes studios before and during a live in-studio recording session with Time for Three, a rather fascinating Philadelphia-based “new classical” string trio. The group consists of Zachary De Pue and Nick Kendall on violins, and Ranaan Meyer on upright double bass.

My job today was to work as an assistant to the sound engineer, Jeff Towne, and to help make the three band members and John comfortable during the three-hour-long recording session. When I arrived at the Echoes studios today, I began by setting up the recording booth with seven microphones in preparation for the day’s performance and interview with Time For Three. Each musician was given two microphones (one for instrument and one for voice parts in interviews/commentary) and the host, John, was given a microphone so he could provide commentary throughout the afternoon’s activities. It was a great experience getting to know how the inner workings of this recording studio come together in order to produce a full radio show.

After my work in the recording space was finished, I was able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the performance by Time For Three.

As soon as the first note of their performance rose from their strings, I became entranced by the colorful melodies that were blossoming from within the recording booth. The smooth and harmonious sounds of this trio blended much like the voices of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash on CSN’s “Guinivere”. Themes both of classical and contemporary origin echoed throughout Time For Three’s compositions, and improvisation added a silver lining to the soundscapes weaved by these prodigious musicians. Their set shifted from dreamy ocean-sized melodic pieces to energetic and spontaneously jagged upbeat tunes with ease. Every note was clean and clear, and I was unable to detect a single falter in their performance. To put it simply, I was completely blown away by these three incredible players.

After they had finished their short set and interview with John, the band members, Zachary, Nick, and Ranaan, chatted it up with me briefly before they had to leave. I was elated to discover that these three men were all incredibly humble, and very easy to talk to as a result. I spoke with Zachary specifically about the work of his older brother, Alex De Pue, with one of my musical heroes and greatest influences, guitarist Steve Vai. All three of these musicians come from very artistically strong families, and have all been playing music for as long as they can remember. I found a lot of common ground with these musicians. I hope that at one point I may be able to share experiences with my own musician friends that are similar to those that Time For Three has had over the years.

This was a great conclusion to a fantastic two weeks at the Echoes recording studios. The performance by Time for Three definitely made up for the fact that three events similar to this one were canceled during my internship. As a result of this, I walked away from the Echoes studios today with a true sense of closure and accomplishment.

http://www.myspace.com/timeforthree

I’ve got a few last updates on my senior project before I wrap it up and fly home tomorrow! I’ll give you an overview of the past week — The internet has been spotty as of late and I haven’t been able to update as often as I’d like.

Last Thursday and Friday were Claire’s and my days off from DRC. On Thursday my grandmother took us into downtown Key West to look around and sight-see a little. We saw Mel Fisher’s Treasure Museum, which showed off many gold and silver artifacts from the Spanish ship Nuestra Senora de Atocha that he discovered in July of 1985. After that we swung by Ernest Hemingway’s house — a lovely southern colonial-style hosue nestled behind beautiful street side landscaping. Before leaving the downtown area we took a trolley tour of some of the prettiest houses in town — an interesting fact: most houses have unique gingerbread trims that their owners, ship captains, would carve while out at sea, giving each house a distinct and homey look, as well as a connection to the past.

Saturday we went back to work, with no more days off! That was no problem, however, as working at DRC was such a pleasure each and every day. Claire and I did the usual: feeding birds in the morning, sweeping off the underwater platforms, and assisting with encounters. Late in the week, our two Volunteer Directors, Becky and Kris, arranged for us to go down on the docks and partipate in a Meet-a-Dolphin program, in which we gave backrubs to three dolphins (Kibby, Tanner, and AJ) and got handshakes and kisses in return!

It’s been a fantastic two weeks. I fly home tomorrow. Hope you all have had fun reading these posts!

Yours,

Mary Kate