Why are citations a bad thing / taco bell...why do you hide from me?

This is a short blog, just to rant about something that has been bugging me quite a bit. Upon receiving my final paper prompt from one of my classes, the Professor decided to express his opinion on the use of citations in undergraduate work. He did not care if we did, or did not, use quotations from our reading and furthermore he did not care which citation method we used if we chose to quote. I am conditioned to use strict citation policies at UEA, and so this statement shocked me! The one statement that also bothered me was that the Professor openly spoke out that he didn't think it was necessary for undergraduates to use formal citations in essays as that was only required of post-graduates or PHD students who were writing to publishing standards. Well where do these post graduate students hail from? Where do they learn to formally cite references? I thought university was about preparing a student for a masters degree if they wished to pursue it? At UEA I feel that the staff mark our work to the standard of work published in journals as that should be our aspiration should it not? This is yet another illustration of how I believe the academic work in the U.S. is sometimes seen as an extension of high school rather than a whole other level of academics. I want to iterate that I am not trying to offend the students in this system; this is one class and one professor, not the shared belief of the university. I was just stunned by the opposition to a system that leads to professional standards of work that I believe  every student should be given the opportunity to reach for.

On a lighter note, due to my intolerance to certain spirits on Friday I found myself to be undeniably unconscious whilst taco bell was gloriously shared around the house by a very generous person. I also missed out on epic times on the roof which only makes the situation even more upsetting. Why do you evade me Taco Bell? I have only had a taste of your horrifyingly calorific produce and yet it was as though my tastebuds had melted with pleasure. Please do not continue to hide from me and bless me with your delightful taco goodness once more!

Have a great day

Sarah

The Ducks are swimming now

Ok, ok, everybody reading this has my biggest apologies...it has been hella long since my last post...too long....and I can only say that I am truly sorry. America is such a fast pace world, and time escaped from me. Well, I am back now and I have a lot to say so bare with me!

That small task of studying began to take up quite a bit of my time but now I have a gap before the onslaught of final papers is unleashed next week. I truly missed reading week, that week of no classes in the middle of the semester which is used to catch up on much needed sleep and maybe a little bit of reading on the side. Here, the work simply keeps coming and the hours of lost sleep are slowly adding up!

So, to back track a little bit, I spent a weekend in Seattle and it was just amazing. The city was beautiful and there was a relaxed atmosphere as opposed to the panicked crowds which usually inhabit such places. Our first tourist stop was the Pike Place Market, which was right across from our hostel. The market was buzzing with stalls selling all kinds of things; seafood, fruit, souvenirs,  hand-made items and so many unique and intricate items. I loved the atmosphere inside, it was so welcoming and the abundance of hidden corridors and shops only added to the appeal of the place. Just across from the market was the infamous flagship Starbucks, which, of course, we all had our picture taken in-front of.

Yep, that is the original Starbucks right there

On the Friday evening, we went on a spooky ghost tour around the deserted market which was very appropriate since it was nearly Halloween! It was great being in the cold, wet alleys of Seattle being told stories of haunted buildings and wandering poltergeists. 

The Space Needle

Saturday, we went to the Space Needle, which was celebrating it's 50th anniversary having been erected for the 1962 World's Fair. It was very 1960's but it had a great view of Seattle from the top! We then saw the space needle from a different angle as we took a harbour cruise in the afternoon. The city of Seattle is so beautiful to look at, its attractive skyline is not even fifty years old! I ate some wonderful Salmon chowder that afternoon, which was perfect on a cold and windy day. Yes I got the big portion and i ain't afraid to admit it!

Oh and that night we went to The Grab Pot, a restaurant where a bowl of seafood is literally poured onto your table. Table manners go out of the window and armed with a mallet and a fork you make your way through the glorious pile of shrimps, muscles and clams. This was certainly an experience I won't forget; I truly felt I had made the most of visiting a port city.

The Pile! Consisting of: Shrimp, muscles, clams, corn, red potatoes and little slices of sausage (I know what you are thinking about the sausage...but it works!)

On the Sunday, we visited the EMP (Experience Music Project), which housed exhibitions different from the average museum. If you want to know about the history of Nirvana, the leather jacket, or the horror film, this is your place. The exhibitions were exciting, interactive, and just wonderful! There was an exhibit of science fiction props etc. and within that collection were outfits from Star Trek, a Darlek from the 1970's and a lot of memorabilia from the Matrix Trilogy (if you know me well, that is a big deal!). Unfortunately it was time to wave goodbye to Seattle on the Sunday afternoon, although I very much hope I can visit again before this year is over. 

I hardly had the time to contemplate Halloween and when it arrived I was very unprepared for it! However, I feel that I still maintained the Halloween spirit by carving a pumpkin and drinking pumpkin flavoured beverages. I am just sorry that wasn't as exciting as some of the other Halloween experiences of students studying abroad!! I do have to say though, that Halloween is a much bigger celebration in the U.S. and there were plenty of costumes to look at around campus on the day including a very friendly spiderman who persisted to trick or treat around classes in session!

So now it is mid Novemeber, Obama is still the President, and the temperature is slowly dropping. We have flood warnings in Eugene for this week, so the ducks will definitely be swimming for sure! 

I have had the pleasure of watching the Oregon Ice hockey team this past weekend who played valiantly despite losing in extra time. The atmosphere at the hockey games is great, especially when you know one of the players with a simple one syllable name that can be screamed whilst slightly intoxicated :-) Hockey is also definitely more exciting that American football!

So, that is all for now. I have the pleasure of a two day week next week as it is Thanksgiving on Thursday! I have thankfully been adopted by a wonderful pair of siblings for the occasion and I am thoroughly looking forward to eating my first thanksgiving dinner with them and their family. Although I have repeatedly asked the meaning of this holiday from many people, I can only say that I expect there to be a lot of food, drink, and merry times. 

Have a great day

Sarah x