French Film Festival

The French Film Festival-try saying that 3x fast- is happening now! It's presented by the Modern Language Department and naturally I am there!  So far I have seen Le Bonheur d'Elza which was absolutely awesome and tonight is La Pirogue, 7 pm in Cheray 101.  Don't worry though, there are English subtitles for non-French speakers and snacks too!  It's a really nice experience and a fantastic break from homework!  Check it out!!!

https://my.smcvt.edu/Lists/Daily%20Digest/Attachments/800/Tournees%20French%20Film%20Festival%202014.pdf

Emergency Response

     Many of you may be wondering how SMC responds to an emergency.  If you have seen the smcvt.edu website today you would notice a banner on the top saying that the residents are all safe following a fire in a 100s townhouse. 

     I have not been out of the house yet this morning, so I don't know the extent of the damage but that's not the point.  The point is that the fire and rescue crew worked quickly enough to isolate the fire and get everyone to safety. 
     In addition to the fire and rescue crew's work, we also have a campus wide alert system.  This system sends a text message to everyone's cell phone, sends an email to our email accounts, and is clearly posted on the smcvt.edu webpage.  The priority is to ensure that everyone is aware of the issue and stays safe.  We have also gotten alert messages for extreme weather and if there are power shortages. 
      Although the fire is very unfortunate, it was dealt with accordingly and it's nice to know that we are on a campus equipped to handle emergencies of all kinds. 

Making the BEST of things

     So if you have seen the weather at all you know that we have been pounded with snow just as most of the country has!! In fact 49 of the 50 states have snow somewhere in them, save Florida.  Since the snow is here we are all a little trapped indoors, so we have been making the best of things and I'd like to show you a small glimpse into our diversions...


Friday we pushed each other in the snow....

Saturday we made HOME MADE cinnamon buns!!! They were beyond belief delicious

So so so so so good!!!  This was a delightful weekend, full of food, friends, and fun. 

Kayley

Internship Heaven?

     So what have I been up to? Mondays and Fridays I have been teaching at an International School in South Burlington with another classmate.  We have been teaching Spanish on Mondays and French on Fridays to children from preschool age to second grade.  It is quite an experience to say the least!  To begin with I have a large work load: I must make lesson plans, dittos to hand out, plan "props" to bring to class, and keep up a journal.  It's a ton of work but it is rewarding to know that I'm actually teaching and children are learning because of me!  During the week I meet with my French professor to discuss what went well during the classes and what we need to work on and we plan the upcoming class material.  It's interesting work and will definitely help me on my journey to becoming a teacher. 

So how do you get started with an internship?  I just had to ask my professor, but you must do research on your own and MUST GET IT APPROVED BY THE INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR IN KLEIN. 

Internship checklist:

• transportation: whether it is the public bus or your own car, make sure that you have this figured out or it will be a BIG pain
• check with the internship coordinator in Klein...your internship has to be approved first before you start!
• make sure you can handle with extra work that you will have to do along with school work
• decide if you would be better suited waiting until the summer to do an internship
• will you like the work, or will you hate it?  This is the question that will save you a ton of grief and annoyance.  If you think you'll hate it then you should not participate and look for another internship.  There's no point taking so much time to do something if you won't get anything out of it

So that's it for now.  I'm warm inside instead of battling the snow, so safe travels everyone

Kayley

Tejas 2014 Y'all

     This winter break I went on an extended service trip to Beaumont, Texas.  I came up to school on January 2 and we left for Burlington Airport on the 4th and came back on the 11th.  Simply, it was a fantastic trip and the opportunity to travel with a group of 10 SMC kids and make new friends was an invaluable experience.  I'll get into how to participate on an extended service trip in another post, this one is just to give you a quick view into what I was doing:

 

clearing brush around some trees

 

Trifoliate Orange, the killer invasive species with HUGE thorns

 that we were chopping down for 3 whole days

 

all of us on a 200 yr old tree

 

delivering for meals on wheels

 

 

So overall it was a wonderful trip, and such a beautiful experience.  I recommend this to anyone willing to donate any of their time to others. 

 

Well adios, time for homework

 

Kayley 

 

A Guide to Thesis Writing

     Writing a thesis is different from writing a regular research paper.  It is in fact much longer, you need lots of outside resources, and you have to make a profound analysis.  When I needed to start my thesis papers I didn't really have any direction, no topics, no ideas, and no knowledge of how to go about writing a thesis.  So I've decided to make a mini-guide of the method and process I've created to writing them. 


1.  Topic: this depends on the professor.  For French we could write about anything, but for Spanish we had to use the books we read in class in our analysis.  I recommend googling ideas and doing broad research to get a starting point.  Once you have a direction it is easier to go to your professor and pose an idea to him/her, then they can help and guide you.

2.  Research:  start early!  And read sources as you get them!! It's much harder to read your sources when you have a stack of 10 articles and 6 books sitting in front of you.  It's better to spread things out and take things little by little.  Also an important note, the interlibrary loan system is AWESOME! That means that you can request a book from ANYWHERE (literally from anywhere from all over the world) and within a pretty short time you can get anything you need.  Articles are also so easy to get via ILL because the research librarian requests it for you and emails it to you in a couple days.   

Some of the books for my French thesis, I had about 4 or 5 more!

Again, some of the books for my Spanish thesis!

My articles for my French thesis

3.  Writing:  Actually getting down to writing is not as difficult as you might think.  First off you have to realize that what you first start to write is probably not what you'll keep.  The main goal at first is to write what you can!  When you start to write the ideas get flowing and it gets easier to keep going.  And always remember that you will definitely be revising and revising and REVISING! It seems like it never ends!!

4.  Revising:  Simply said, just keep reading, correcting, and rewriting.  It can only get better!  Here are some images of my French thesis and all the corrections and suggestions that I have received: 

It can be scary and daunting at times, but these corrections are only there to help me write a better essay!  So you have to relax and remember that it is not a personal attack on your writing skills or ideas, most times the corrections are exactly what your thesis needs. 

Good luck with exams and essays during Finals Week!

Kayley
 

I've been MIA

     So readers, what have I been up to for this past month that I have not blogged.... 

WRITING
READING
WORKING!

     I am almost finished with my 2 thesis papers.  One is about the Commune of Paris in 1879, its relation to Louise Michel, an analysis of two of her poems, and how everything relates to Les Justes a contemporary novel.  Wow.  Clear right?  My Spanish thesis is about the relation between Las batallas en el desierto and Salon de belleza and the historical context of Mexico at that time the novels took place and how fear and hatred played a part in the social context and historical context in both real life and the novels.  Did you get all that?
      On another note, now is the time to complete course evaluations!!! What are they?  They are a way to evaluate the effectiveness of a course and to give helpful suggestions to that professor.  I really like them because you can give suggestions that your professor will anonymously receive, so you don't have to worry if you give them a critique.  So...DO THEM! They are there to help the professors, to help them for the next time they have to teach the course and to see if they can change things to make the course more effective! 
     Well, until next week!

Kayley