Today was the day we went on the Life Scholar's Retreat. It's the day before school starts, so this feels like a nice warm up for what the quarter holds in store for us. Usually, a healthy dose of jitters keeps me from really warming up to any crowd, especially a small, intimate cohort like this, but the familiarity of the professors (not to mention the gorgeous ocean scenery) makes me feel at ease.
Today is a special day- I reunited with one of my closest friends. We had not seen each other for half a year, and we are bursting with enthusiasm to catch up with one another. We share our respective stories (her memories are wilder and more colorful than mine) in between lovely introductions from other classmates, a brief lecture-presentation about the themes of the course, and over a sunlit lunch. Any other day, I would have paid more attention to the people around me, but I have to confess that most of my attention was on my friend that day. Still, I did take copious notes during the presentation: our framework for looking at elderly people is that of exploration, and I am fascinated to find out how the social determinants of our environment, spoken at great length in how it affects early development, governs our lives during our later years. My peers gave great insights into this topic after our "Life"-style board game.
During the afternoon, we discussed our Extraordinary People. I chose my grandmother to be mine, and I want to learn more about her life. The strange and funny thing that grandparents always think of you the same way, one blur amongst numerous grandchildren- mine most definitely sees me as a loud mouthed child, even though I'm a loud-mouthed adult now. I want to see her as she was my age, what she thought was important to her, and what she has held on in her heart over the years. I hope she trusts me enough.
An ocean walk and a meditative reflection on our own life path nicely ended the retreat. I stole (with permission) the rest of the bagels and look forward to getting to know my classmates more.
Today is a special day- I reunited with one of my closest friends. We had not seen each other for half a year, and we are bursting with enthusiasm to catch up with one another. We share our respective stories (her memories are wilder and more colorful than mine) in between lovely introductions from other classmates, a brief lecture-presentation about the themes of the course, and over a sunlit lunch. Any other day, I would have paid more attention to the people around me, but I have to confess that most of my attention was on my friend that day. Still, I did take copious notes during the presentation: our framework for looking at elderly people is that of exploration, and I am fascinated to find out how the social determinants of our environment, spoken at great length in how it affects early development, governs our lives during our later years. My peers gave great insights into this topic after our "Life"-style board game.
During the afternoon, we discussed our Extraordinary People. I chose my grandmother to be mine, and I want to learn more about her life. The strange and funny thing that grandparents always think of you the same way, one blur amongst numerous grandchildren- mine most definitely sees me as a loud mouthed child, even though I'm a loud-mouthed adult now. I want to see her as she was my age, what she thought was important to her, and what she has held on in her heart over the years. I hope she trusts me enough.
An ocean walk and a meditative reflection on our own life path nicely ended the retreat. I stole (with permission) the rest of the bagels and look forward to getting to know my classmates more.