Finally, Boston!

If you are a fan of Sex and the City this should ring a bell, and if not, well now you know it: Vagina Monologues. Sounds fascinating? It’s a theater piece written by Eve Ensler (founder of the V Day movement, and a strong activist for women’s rights), and performed by thousands of women and girls around the world. Of course, Suffolk girls did not hesitate to present their own interpretation of the piece, so last Friday night everybody gathered in the Donahue cafe to watch, or rather listen, to what they had to say. The monologues were angry, sad, happy, excited, furious, hilarious, and sometimes very serious. On a little stage, with nothing but a couple bar stools and microphones, the girls took turns in reading out lout what Eve Ensler so cleverly came up with more than a decade ago. Basically, it’s all about being a woman in a man’s world.  It’s about experiencing love and hate … (maybe more hate than love). The audience is carried through an emotional roller coaster, and goes from hysterical laughter to deep silence. The girls did an excellent job on stage, and did not hesitate to scream, cry, and moan (yes… just watch it!) at the top of their lungs. Overall, an excellent performance, and a very different way of experiencing theater.

(As if the piece itself wasn’t already controversial enough, the talk of the town were the lollipops you could purchaste at the ticket stand… they came in white, dark, and pink chocolate, and guess what they looked like… )

The Suffolk Campus is glowing. And that’s not only because of the lovely State House dome, it’s because everybody got back from spring break with a fresh little tan.
And just on time with happy reunions and constant news flash, we decided it would be time to chat it up a bit with our friends back “home” on the Madrid Campus. Snacks, drinks, and video conference with gente muy querida: all you need for a perfect afternoon!

(Photos will follow soon!)

We have been counting down the days til Spring Break ever since the first day of the semester! The date gets closer and closer but obviously there are some obstacles on the way: exams! The library is packed and everbody is a nervous wreck. We really can’t wait for Friday! I’m not that piled up with work, because I already took two exams last week, so the only thing left to do is a project for Design Lab and one tiny little exam for Human Biology. And then finally JetBlue will fly me and my roomate to the sun (aka. Florida). Apart from Miami, I hear that Panama, Mexico, and Puerto Rico are extremely popular destinations for the Suffolk kids. Defrosting in the Carribean is where it’s at!

Since when do you need to be a big NGO to help the victims of such a catastrophe? Well, turns out all you need is a couple hungry students and a bunch of pizzas (well, actually a bit more than just a couple and definitely much more than juts a bunch). Our International Student Association in corporation with our awesome “lunch place at the corner” aka. Derne Deli provided all students with all-you-can-eat pizza for just 4 Bucks! Pepperoni, 4 Cheese, Mushroom, Spinach&Feta, Green Pepper and so forth… for a little bit of money everyone had the chance to stuff their faces like there is no tomorrow and at the same time donate their money for a good cause. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

It’s always good to have classes that are fun, but if on top of that they are actually useful its even better. If you are a CJN major chances are you have to take a design lab class - which means you will learn to work your way through the crazy jungle of computer programs. But not the boring stuff, I’m talking about photo-shopping and graphic-designing. For us poor souls who consider ourselves to be creative, but technologically challenged individuals, this class is a blessing. Step by step, and layer by layer, you will learn that all those buttons and strange tools are actually your new best friends who allow you to fully unleash your creative forces through one single mouse click (or sometimes hundreds of them). It has always been clear to us that words in reality are images and that colors create emotions. And we always understood that elements in a picture need a hierarchy, that symmetry is boring, and that simplicity is crucial. But only now we are granted access to the fairy tale land of graphic designing to craft our ideas into something real.
It seems like I’ve been living on the moon for the last ten years, because the only “new” verb I was capable of actually identifying with was to google. But now I can also photoshop. Yay!

“The designer’s task is to elevate the experience of the message above the banality of literal transmission and the confusing self-indulgent egoism of mere eye-candy or self-fulfillment.” (Words of wisdom from our textbook.)

Where were you yesterday between 12 and 2pm? 4th floor Donahue? Excellent! In that case you didn’t miss out on the free food, the student performances, and the …. wait for it…  CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN! But those were just accessories of course; the actual occasion were the several student organizations and clubs that opened their doors for YOU to sign up! Every possible interest you might have, we have a club for it! Economics, health, books, environment, interfaith, or dancing. And of course, what kind of school would this be without a club for international students to mingle and exchange experiences! The ISA - International Student Association had its own little booth (which is where I hung out most of the time). Sign up, and you get to try awesome candies you surely have never tasted before. And of course, you get the chance to meet people from all over the world, which is pretty much already half the Suffolk experience.

2009 is SO yesterday and vacation is over. It’s been a really long break, and many of us traveled to the other side of the world and back to visit friends and families; but everyone found their way back safely! Boston is still pretty much the same as we left it a month ago… minus the Christmas lights of course! And now: new year, new semester, new classes! My schedule consists of Advertising, Journalism, Media Lab, and Human Biology & Health. Sounds good? Yea, i think so.
The only thing that is pushing the mood down is the weather. It feels like we are on the set for “The Day after Tomorrow”… seriously. More news from spring-twenty-ten-semester will follow… 

It’s the last week before finals - which means the semester is almost done - which means Santa Claus is Coming to Town - which means I’m going home soon (and everybody else, too!).
The end of the semester is always chaotic! It is impossible to find a quiet study area in the overcrowded library, because all those kids who have been taking it easy suddenly need to catch up quickly! You realize that you have been procrastinating hard core. And even if you think you are doing something for school, in reality you are walking through the park under the beautiful Christmas lights, or sipping hot chocolate in a cute little cafe on Newbury. At least that’s how I feel.

Who are we kidding? It’s Christmas time, people! Drop the books and grab somebody to snuggle!

Today is our last day before the 5-day-Thanksgiving-break! Everyone goes home to enjoy a delicious meal with their families and closest friends! Since most of the international students don’t celebrate this holiday in their homecountries Suffolk offered a free Thanksgiving dinner last night for all international students who want to -literally - get a taste of what this holiday is like. We gathered in the cafeteria in Donahue, and after a little introduction and some musical entertainment we enjoyed the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash, brownies, and cookies… there was plenty! We all went home feeling stuffed like turkeys. It was DELICIOUSSSsssss.

You probably all know that Suffolk has several study abroad options for us, right? We have a campus in Dakar, Senegal, and one in Madrid, Spain (and tons of other partner universities in a bunch of other countries). The people that attended the campus in Madrid decided to have a reunion - so yesterday at lunchtime we all got together for pizza and soda. Not only did former SUMC students attend, but also students that are planning on going over there! So we had a great opportunity to catch up, talk about the good old times, and also answer questions of those who have no clue of what to expect. We also planned on making a video conference with the Madrid Campus, but of course there were technical problems, so that didn’t happen. But still, we were busy talking to each other about our great memories of this amazing city in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula. Overall: great pizza & even greater convo!