CC Student Web Journals - Colorado College

Somhrita'S JOURNAL

December 2006

With every passing block break, it’s increasingly difficult to get back to class. I keep saying that… and think that it’s only been two block breaks. The block break was eventful because we were snowed in. At 8 a.m., my friend called me and asked me to take a peek outside… it was white. The forecasted blizzard was here. I felt pity for the people who went to Aspen to ski. Later I heard it was much worse there. It was quite an adventure as the college closed down and we went to 7-11s hunting for food. Then we made the usual snow angels and snowmen. As the situation got better, we made a few trips to the closest malls and had some serious ‘girl fun’.

Soon it was that Sunday before class begins. I was really excited about Block 3 as I was in a feminist and gender studies class. There was a severe lack of freshmen… and quite strangely, we had a soccer player in our class. He definitely broke the rule that only women take feminist studies. I thought that was incredible. Our class focused on women in America before the Civil War. Yes, it was a lot of reading, a big change from the science classes I was used to. It was interesting for me because I knew very little about how each historical event affected women in different ways. I was definitely taken aback by how each historical era had a different stereotypical woman. The readings explored all sorts of things – from a woman’s kitchen to a woman’s role in sex to make conclusions that often dispelled common myths and often reconfirmed them.

Early in Block 3, I dressed up as a bat for my very first Halloween. It was a wonderful night where everyone finished their homework as soon as possible and tried their best to look as ghoulish as possible. There were the occasional angels in the crowd of otherwise darkly dressed people. We carved pumpkins and ate an abnormal amount of candy. Halloween was followed by a lot of international events as a part of international awareness week. First up was Diwali – the festival of lights. Other than international students and Indians from Colorado Springs, I saw a large population of Americans participating in the event. I really felt very nice about that, and that some of my friends joined me in the event. Some of my friends got their first dose of a typically Bollywood movie when they saw “Bride and Prejudice” by the director of “Bend It Like Beckham.” I was amused by their attempts to imitate some dance steps, but pleased nevertheless. They got a more somber perspective of India as they saw “Earth” by Deepa Mehta. Next, I had to do a serious amount of cooking for Taste of the World 2006 – where the cuisines of the world come together. I cooked for an entire evening with help from my friends. I was surprised that they wanted to help me despite the fact that they weren’t directly involved with the event; but they were there, always telling me it tastes good and reading out recipes and doing dishes. It was a combined effort that paid off. The event had a much larger turnout than we expected and I was dressed up in a sari for the occasion. Initially, I felt a little silly about the fact but once again, my new friends made me feel proud of my culture.

Block 3 was eventful… that’s the only word to describe it. People here are so much more accepting of differences than one would imagine them to be. They are so supportive that you feel nothing is impossible. Every problem I have faced so far, my friends have been there, throughout. I only hope I can do the same for them and have been doing so. I am so glad I am here. I am so glad to have found people who care. I almost feel lucky.