So, this is the time of the semester when all of your classes are wrapping up there material and many of them will be having student presentations. I have presentations in four of my classes and I know I personally don’t always like talking in front of a group of people. However, I have learned a lot about presenting in previous years and I am not too worried about it. Nevertheless, I have my usual case of presentation jitters.

My Poe Presentation was last week however, and I believe it went extremely well. While the work I had to present on – Eureka – is not one of my favorite pieces by Poe, it is still extremely interesting and has a lot of good information about it. Also, my class was really interactive with my presentation and Doug and I asked them some interesting questions and their feedback added a lot. That is actually one of my favorite things about presenting in college – a lot of the time, you’re professors allow you to include discussion as part of your presentation which can reduce the amount of time you have to talk for and also work to keep the class engaged.

My presentation for my Research Design and Methods class is on Wednesday and I do actually feel really ready for it. I have worked hard for that class from my abstract to the 15 page paper we are presenting on and I know the material really well. I also have my powerpoint all ready to go with a variety of media and places I can expand if I feel like the presentation is going too quickly. I am a little nervous because she has the class critique our presentations right after they occur, but I think it should go well so its not too bad and I am excited to talk to them about the research I have been doing.

My other two presentations are in Politics of the Middle East and Arabic 5. My politics of the Middle East presentation is about our final paper as well. In Arabic 5, our presentation is an 8-10 minute talk on a country of our choosing with no English whatsoever. It is next Tuesday – it will be challenging, but I know if I work hard on going through the presentation before hand and practicing saying the newer words, I should do well.

I am really excited going into the end of the semester and while there is a lot of work, I know that everything should go well.

When I see my mom’s side of the family for Thanksgiving I always need a late night snack, but when I see my dad’s its a whole different story. My mom and I arrived in upstate NY mid-morning on Thanksgiving. I was excited because the traffic had not stopped me from missing too much of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I watch it every year. My tradition is to sit on the floor in front of the TV and eat cheerios while I watch the parade. I’ve done it almost every year since I can remember. This year I had the joys of sleeping in the car in the morning and then watching the end of the parade. Thanks to YouTube I’ll be able to watch the rest of it. Anyway, after hours of sitting and smelling delicious food, the first round of appetizers finally appeared. Cheeses from all over the world and blue cheese celery things (family specialty) held us over till round two. Round two consisted of gourmet Asian food and an artichoke dip that has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. After that, I was full and didn’t think I could eat another bite…but I kept going.

About a half hour later, the feast was finally ready. We had all the traditional foods; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Then we added in some new and interesting flavors like turducken (chicken stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey), Cajun cornbread stuffing and another family classic, poppy seed bread. After three helpings, I couldn’t leave the table. Finally we all worked our way to the various couches and I took a wonderful nap…until I smelled the pies. Apple, pumpkin and pecan pies and sugar cookies had replaced the feast on the counter. There was absolutely no room left in my stomach but I went for dessert anyway. It was just as delicious as it is every year.

Then the whole family sat down to watch movies, just like we do every year. This year we watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Elf. It was a wonderful visit and it was so nice to see the people in my family that I haven’t seen in years. The kids have gotten so big and make me feel so old. It’s nice being away from family at school but it is weird to go back and see the little babies all grown up. Coming back to the Hill on Sunday was comforting and sad all at once. I liked knowing that it would only be about 3 weeks until I would be returning home for another holiday, but it also meant leaving my family which is not something I love doing. As much as I am dreading the end of the semester and the stress it will bring me, I know that it will be worth it because I have so many friends and family waiting for me at home when it is all over!

So naturally I went home for Thanksgiving. Some of my international friends went home to host families, a few stayed on campus, and most people I know went home. Many friends go home to relatives if they live far away. My friend from California actually flew home, though!

Anyway, going home for break is always wonderful, even if I have homework. I had time off to see the movie Lincoln and I also ate a delicious dinner with my friends and family. This year we decided on Indian food as a theme, which is awesome. I love Indian food, it is actually my favorite, with Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese not far behind. Everyone gets to help cook a different dish, which is also exciting because I have never cooked Indian food before.

Naturally going home for break requires a few preparations. Students are required to complete a form stating that they have unplugged electronics (which is easy) and cleaned and thrown out all things that may perish over vacation. This ensures that people don’t leave anything wasting electricity or come back to a smelly room. It doesn’t take long and it is definitely helpful to have a checklist to make sure nothing is forgotten. I wish I had one on the way BACK to school because I always forget to bring something (once it was towels, that was bad).

The dorms open again at a specific time, and that is when people can move back in. Some people apply for special requests to stay over the holiday, or come back early, which is handled on a case by case basis by McDaniel staff. The nice thing about living close to school is that I have someone to carpool with, so I only have to drive one way. I love break, but I am always excited to get back to school and see my friends.

Breaks while you’re at college are like a breath of fresh air, and most importantly- a chance to sleep! But all breaks must come to an end- and here’s a typical run-down of your last day before classes resume:

1. Wake-up, somewhat nostalgic that this is the last morning you get to wake up in your bedroom. That is, before you remember that your bed at school is far more comfy with its extra mattress pads and fuzzy body pillow.

2. Enjoy having an actual kitchen- the kind that actually has food and utensils in it.

3. Panic, as you realize that you have a million things to do before you go back to school and before class tomorrow morning.

-Proceed to finish that laundry you meant to do earlier

-Beg your parents to help you run errands (Target and the grocery store most likely)

-Frantically look through your planner and syllabi (yes, that is the plural of syllabus) in an effort to see if you got everything done, realize you probably haven’t and PANIC! Or, you simply start doing it with the full knowledge it will be a late night

4. Remember you should be enjoying your last few moments of home and freedom before finals consume your life.

-Go read a book, play video games with your brother and have some left-over pumpkin pie

5. PANIC: Realize you just wasted valuable time when you could have been doing more work. And so go do more work.

6. Pack your possessions that magically scattered themselves around your house

7. Put things in your car and feel like every time you come back to campus, you bring more stuff.

8. Drive back to campus, singing along loudly to music in the car

9. Arrive in Westminster, discover you do still have your apartment key, and proceed to unpack way more stuff than you thought you brought…

10. Done putting away clean laundry (which was done in an attempt to procrastinate on starting your homework), it’s finally time to keep going on that homework!

Don’t panic too much – everybody else on a college campus is probably doing the exact same thing. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up in my situation where you discover that 6-page paper you thought was due tomorrow is actually due Wednesday! And so ends yet another break- a big gulp of air before the plunge into end of the year exams, papers and presentations. Thank goodness for breaks!

So, Thanksgiving Break is coming to an end and I will return to campus early tomorrow. I had a really good break and it was great coming home to see my family again. During break, I had a lot of fun with my friends and family. On Thanksgiving, I had a wonderful dinner with my grandmother, my mother, and my step dad and it was wonderful to catch up with them and hear about what was going on in everyone’s lives. Plus, I got to talk to my sister, who is teaching in Korea, which is always a treat since with her so far away it can be hard to stay in touch.

On Friday, we planned to go Black Friday shopping but my mother decided she was too tired, so I did not have to go either. Instead, I did a lot of my Christmas shopping with a bunch of different online deals and got gifts for quite a few of my friends ordered and ready to go. I still have a few people to shop for, but the rest of the gifts should arrive in the next few days and I can’t wait for my friends gift exchange that we do every year. It may seem like a small tradition, but it is a good chance to relax before finals and heading home for winter break.

Today, it was time for homework. I got a lot done though and still had time to work on some stuff outside and go bowling with my brother, Chris, and a few other friends. The bowling was a lot of fun and we went to a bowling alley I had not been to before. I didn’t win any of the games, but I did pretty well considering I have only ever been bowling a few times, and I didn’t lose any round either so it was all good. I am definitely glad to be going back to school tomorrow though, I missed my friends – I always do – and it will be good to get back into my normal routine.

At last I get a break from the never-ending craziness of senior year! I’ve been looking forward to Thanksgiving Break for quite literally the past month. While I’ve kept true to my promise of spending lots more quality time in our dear college library, I’ve now turned in both my Honors Thesis/Translation topic and my Senior Seminar dissertation topic- a huge weight off my chest! Most people tend to go home if they can at McDaniel for break, and I’m no exception.

I live about an hour away from McDaniel, but I have no car so I really only go home on big breaks like Thanksgiving, winter break and Spring Break. It makes for a nice change- not to have to pay to do laundry, a fully-stocked kitchen, and those things you love about home. In my case- the comics! I don’t get the paper at school, and so don’t get to read my Sunday morning comics (yes, we all do it, just admit it). One of my very favorite comic strips though, is Calvin and Hobbes, about a wise, yet trouble-making six-year-old and his stuffed tiger Hobbes. It is quite possibly one of the most amusing things you will ever read.

On breaks, especially as it gets colder, one of my very favorite things to do is curl up on the couch with a pillow and blankets and read some of our family’s collections of Calvin and Hobbes books. The result is often me laughing hysterically to myself pretty frequently and chasing down family members to read them a particularly amusing line.

Breaks are the time to re-charge your batteries so to speak, and do some of the things you enjoy but just don’t have time for during the regular semester. That being said, I also have plenty of real work to be getting on with over break… including starting that dissertation for my Paris course (Senior Seminar). Luckily for me, I’m comparing the image of Paris in 21st century french films versus american films! That means I get to work on my dissertation and watch a lot of movies at the same time-taking notes of course.

There’s also work for my Intercultural Comm class…but that entails interviewing one of my international friends through Skype which is also pretty fun. I guess this means I picked the right classes this fall- I actually don’t mind some of the work! In the meantime, excuse me while I go have some more pumpkin pie to eat while reading Calvin & Hobbes…

Since the semester is coming to an end there has been a lot of talk of Jan Term lately. Jan Term is a time during winter break when students start school three weeks early, and can either take classes on campus or take trips. The first on campus class is free. This is a great way to pick up extra credits, and get gym classes out of the way (we have to take two credits worth).

Many people have been gushing about their January trips abroad, which I would do if I could afford. Some people are traveling to Zimbabwe, others on a photo trip to Italy. My friend yesterday told me about his scuba diving class to the Bahamas. There are plenty of international options for those feeling adventurous.

When I did a Jan Term I stayed on campus, but felt equally adventurous. The class was  about the prison system, and I had the opportunity to visit several prisons. It was a very unique experience, as a person who has never been to a prison. Jan term allows for adventures that classes don’t usually have time for, and visiting made the experience different from just reading a textbook. I would love to travel internationally, but I look forward to hearing about people’s trips when they get back, and now I can say that I’ve been to prison.