Happy Eid!
Today marks the beginning of Eid al-Adha, the Greater Festival for Muslims. My episode of "Ramblings" chats about the purpose and common practices of the Festival...though obviously it's understood and celebrated in a wide variety of ways around the world!
For more on Eid:
Two quick glances via internet sources:
-http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/islam/eid_haj.shtml
-http://islam.about.com/od/hajj/a/adha.htm
For a visual look into what Eid is like around the world:
-http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2011/11/201111683446555545.html
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Welcome, Brits, to..."The Potluck"
In one of the longest titled Facebook events ever: "Decadent dinner party..? Well why not?! (Apparently in America this is called a 'Pot Luck'. Who knew!)"
The Global Environmental and Climate Change Law programme had a social last night. Thanks to my presence in their core course and my role as rep in the uni, I've become a GECC adoptee.
International night in postgrad programmes are grand fun: Indian, Bulgarian, and Thai curries; noodles and fried rice; roasted vegetables; tiramisu; homemade pretzels; mulled wine; exquisite cheeses; various salads...
It was a grand time.
And I may or may not have just had leftover tiramisu for breakfast...
The Global Environmental and Climate Change Law programme had a social last night. Thanks to my presence in their core course and my role as rep in the uni, I've become a GECC adoptee.
International night in postgrad programmes are grand fun: Indian, Bulgarian, and Thai curries; noodles and fried rice; roasted vegetables; tiramisu; homemade pretzels; mulled wine; exquisite cheeses; various salads...
It was a grand time.
And I may or may not have just had leftover tiramisu for breakfast...
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Oh, Knee
Several years ago, I had a knee injury.
Couldn't run for years. That's actually why my biking began - recommended as physical therapy, and then became the only exercise I could really keep up without problems.
I managed to start running again freshman year of college, and finally got to the point where the knee wasn't too bad.
Then the concussion happened, and I was back to not running.
As I mentioned, I've been trying to get back into it here in Edinburgh.
And I've clearly cleared a hurdle, in terms of encouraging consistent running...
Because my knee now hurts if I *don't* run.
Ha. A built-in mechanism for discouraging sleep-ins.
Look at that. Useful!
:)
Couldn't run for years. That's actually why my biking began - recommended as physical therapy, and then became the only exercise I could really keep up without problems.
I managed to start running again freshman year of college, and finally got to the point where the knee wasn't too bad.
Then the concussion happened, and I was back to not running.
As I mentioned, I've been trying to get back into it here in Edinburgh.
And I've clearly cleared a hurdle, in terms of encouraging consistent running...
Because my knee now hurts if I *don't* run.
Ha. A built-in mechanism for discouraging sleep-ins.
Look at that. Useful!
:)
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Cold Moon Farm
On the list of really cool things my family does I didn't know about:
Cold Moon Farm.
An "agritoursimo" resort - Bed and Breakfast, boutique, working farm, and event venue. Sustainable agribusiness, eco-tourism, etc. In gorgeous Jamaica...Vermont. :)
And, also in the world of cool things: They're up to win a commercial in the Superbowl. No log-in required, just a quick click: https://www.smallbusinessbiggame.com/VT/Cold-Moon-Farm-LLC/384585. Your vote would be highly appreciated! :)
Check them out at http://www.coldmoonfarm.com/. And go visit, if you're looking for wedding, honeymoon, retreat, etc. location.
Cold Moon Farm.
An "agritoursimo" resort - Bed and Breakfast, boutique, working farm, and event venue. Sustainable agribusiness, eco-tourism, etc. In gorgeous Jamaica...Vermont. :)
And, also in the world of cool things: They're up to win a commercial in the Superbowl. No log-in required, just a quick click: https://www.smallbusinessbiggame.com/VT/Cold-Moon-Farm-LLC/384585. Your vote would be highly appreciated! :)
Check them out at http://www.coldmoonfarm.com/. And go visit, if you're looking for wedding, honeymoon, retreat, etc. location.
Dorm Room Diplomacy
A few years ago, one of my mates (also a Marshall Scholar) started "Dorm Room Diplomacy" at his undergraduate university.
From their website: "Dorm Room Diplomacy uses twenty-first century virtual exchanges to connect university students around the world. With a focus on dialogue between the West and the Middle East, Dorm Room Diplomacy is based on the belief that dialogue can humanize cultures, helping students to see the individuals behind reductionist cultural stereotypes."
The format has changed over the years, but this semester, groups of ~10 undergrads from around the world have an 1.5 hour conversation at the same time every week - about family, community, religion, politics, favourite movies, culture, food and recipes, should the US intervene in Syria, the best kind of vacuum, you name it.
I've been asked to facilitate a group this term...and I have a totally awesome gang. We have origins and family in the US, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Palestine, Lebanon, India, and the UAE. We're scheduling across 5-6 time zones every week...it's quite exciting from a logistical perspective. lol.
Our first group conversation was yesterday. I met one-on-one with everyone last week to make sure the tech worked and they were comfortable with me. Yesterday, we did intensive introductions focused around family and community. We shared stories about our names (including fascinating accounts of legal name changes, family histories, absurd friends, and language lessons) and then played a guessing game with everyone's introductions. I gave a different question for each person to make a total guess at. Everyone typed out their answer and pressed "enter" in the group chat window at the same time. I asked them to guess my mother's name. (No one guessed it. I know, shocking. "Kendall" is sweeping the nation...) For others, we guessed number of siblings, favourite thing to do with friends, how well they get on with their parents, etc. It was a really fun conversation, and the friendly banter is already beginning...I bode lots of really fascinating and meaningful dialogue to come.
I'm currently working on a map illustrating where all of us have families and close friends. I know we're going to hit all of the continents except Antarctica. I don't think we'll quite hit every country, but we're going to be impressively close.
Read more about the work of Dorm Room Diplomacy on their newly launched website!
Check out http://www.dormroomdiplomacy.org/.
From their website: "Dorm Room Diplomacy uses twenty-first century virtual exchanges to connect university students around the world. With a focus on dialogue between the West and the Middle East, Dorm Room Diplomacy is based on the belief that dialogue can humanize cultures, helping students to see the individuals behind reductionist cultural stereotypes."
The format has changed over the years, but this semester, groups of ~10 undergrads from around the world have an 1.5 hour conversation at the same time every week - about family, community, religion, politics, favourite movies, culture, food and recipes, should the US intervene in Syria, the best kind of vacuum, you name it.
I've been asked to facilitate a group this term...and I have a totally awesome gang. We have origins and family in the US, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Palestine, Lebanon, India, and the UAE. We're scheduling across 5-6 time zones every week...it's quite exciting from a logistical perspective. lol.
Our first group conversation was yesterday. I met one-on-one with everyone last week to make sure the tech worked and they were comfortable with me. Yesterday, we did intensive introductions focused around family and community. We shared stories about our names (including fascinating accounts of legal name changes, family histories, absurd friends, and language lessons) and then played a guessing game with everyone's introductions. I gave a different question for each person to make a total guess at. Everyone typed out their answer and pressed "enter" in the group chat window at the same time. I asked them to guess my mother's name. (No one guessed it. I know, shocking. "Kendall" is sweeping the nation...) For others, we guessed number of siblings, favourite thing to do with friends, how well they get on with their parents, etc. It was a really fun conversation, and the friendly banter is already beginning...I bode lots of really fascinating and meaningful dialogue to come.
I'm currently working on a map illustrating where all of us have families and close friends. I know we're going to hit all of the continents except Antarctica. I don't think we'll quite hit every country, but we're going to be impressively close.
Read more about the work of Dorm Room Diplomacy on their newly launched website!
Check out http://www.dormroomdiplomacy.org/.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Becca's been Social
There is now no doubt remaining that the Rooms of Requirement have been properly broken in. Thursday night, I hosted a course social. We had 20-30 people over during the course of 7pm-midnight. A grand time of bruschetta, caprese, cheese, crisps, chips, and sweet potato fries was had by all.
Because the LLM in International Law programme doesn't have any core courses, there are people enrolled in my programme who I literally will never see in lecture. It was nice to get to know them a bit and what they're interested in!
Today, I went to the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church...it was nice to get back to the Methodist connection! Still debating also hanging out with the Unitarians a good deal, but awfully tempting to go sing with the adorable choir. The church is super close to the College of Law...both a bad and good thing.
At that church happens to be a mate who attended the 2008 General Conference to which I was a delegate. It was really lovely to catch back up with David!
I also randomly met a student who was at UEA doing her master's last year, is now in Edinburgh for her PhD, and is an American Methodist pastor's daughter. Cue the "It's a Small World" music!
Because the LLM in International Law programme doesn't have any core courses, there are people enrolled in my programme who I literally will never see in lecture. It was nice to get to know them a bit and what they're interested in!
Today, I went to the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church...it was nice to get back to the Methodist connection! Still debating also hanging out with the Unitarians a good deal, but awfully tempting to go sing with the adorable choir. The church is super close to the College of Law...both a bad and good thing.
At that church happens to be a mate who attended the 2008 General Conference to which I was a delegate. It was really lovely to catch back up with David!
I also randomly met a student who was at UEA doing her master's last year, is now in Edinburgh for her PhD, and is an American Methodist pastor's daughter. Cue the "It's a Small World" music!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Computing Committee
And, in the span of 3 emails, I'm on the School of Law's Computing Committee.
I know very little about it other than that.
Woohoo! Scottish academic administration. Interested to compare/contrast with UEA and MSU.
The convener is a lecturer in climate change law, so it will be good to see him a bit outside of class. And heaven only knows what world I'll be introduced to. Higher education IT for the win.
I know very little about it other than that.
Woohoo! Scottish academic administration. Interested to compare/contrast with UEA and MSU.
The convener is a lecturer in climate change law, so it will be good to see him a bit outside of class. And heaven only knows what world I'll be introduced to. Higher education IT for the win.
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