Attending to being outside--and inside: what difference does it make?

I really liked having class inside today.  Although it makes more sense to keep class indoors as the weather grows colder, I also think that it makes more sense for how this class is proceeding.  In the beginning of the course, I feel like we needed to ground our ecology in something tangible.  As many ecocritics write, we simply need to get outside to feel more connected to nature.  However, the trade off in our experience of the outdoors is that we spent much of the time during our class finding where we were to meet and talking about how it was to be outdoors rather than focusing more of our time on discussion of the texts we had read.  I think it was important to discuss being outdoors, I think now we have a sense of how important being outside is to understanding ecology.  It is good to spend some time their and develop an understanding, a respect, or a connection, not an attachment, to the place where we thrive.  Now that we, as a group, have an understanding about being outside, it is important to spend all of the little time we have left discussing what is left and cutting ourselves off from the distractions of the world.  

I have missed some of the conveniences of the classroom when our class goes elsewhere.  Sure, the chairs in Thomas E are squeaky, but we have chalkboards.  What a marvel!  I love the moments when Anne writes something on the board.  It gives me another way of interpreting the information that we discuss.  In the beginning of the course, I did not view the room like this.  I saw it as just another classroom.  But now, when I walk into Thomas E, my mind immediately says, "Okay, now it is time to get to business!"

Having the class at the lawn near Pem Arch was not my plan.

I planned to reserve a room in the lower level of carpenter library. Though the rooms are a little creepy without the windows, I thought bringing the class to “underground” would be a very different experience.

But I failed to book a room using BMC room reservation system. So I had to give up the “underground” experience and announced on Monday night the class should meet in Taylor E.

On Tuesday morning, I was walking around the whole campus for conferences and errands. I felt the sun was warmer than the previous days. Realizing Tuesday could be the last the class could endure the weather outside, I decided, at the very last minute, to change the meeting place to outdoors to the lawn near Pem Arch that I walk by everyday. The leaves on the tree had changed into very beautiful colors, which would be a pleasure for everyone to look at during class.

However, the sun was not very cooperative. It started to hide behind the clouds and only intermittently peep out for a little while. I had imagined the weather to be warmer at noon, but it was colder without the consistent sunshine.

There were more people walking by at Pem Arch. Most people avoided making too much voice when they realized we are having a class. However, it was still distracting to see someone carrying a luggage when the Thanksgiving Holiday hadn’t started for anyone in the class. 

I didn't know what the weather would be like when I chose to have class in the Quita Woodward room, but it wasn't very nice out yesterday so I'm glad that we did have class inside. When we had class there last week it felt like the a good place to have it class. It felt like a place where learning happens. This was true for yesterday also. I was engaged by the conversation the whole time, which does not always happen when we are outside. Especially on cooler, damper days.  I think one of the reasons we have class outside is because outside, on this campus at least, is a nice place to be. The surroundings are pleasant and being outside makes us feel good (...well most of us I think). I think the reading room did the same thing, provided a pleasant surrounding that brought good feelings, but with less of a distraction (of the cold, the grass, leaf blowers etc.). Admittedly we did lose the ability to attend to the outdoors, but I think that was okay.  

Having class inside for a change was wonderful for me. Being a person that prefers being inside to being surrounded by nature, this helped me concentrate better - I was more able to follow class discussion and actively engage in it. I got a feeling that most people felt the same or similarly, since almost everyone contributed to the discussion and analysis of ecofeminism. However, I do realize that some people would rather have been outside, so I definitely cannot overgeneralize my statements here and claim that everybody was overjoyed that we were finally inside. On a side note, the last few times that we had class outside, I noticed that a lot of people were cold and shivering for most of their class (I know it's everyone's personal responsibility to take care of themselves, but I cannot help but feel bad for people that are cold) and that they looked like they were quite uncomfortable sitting outside for 80-90 minutes. I generally like the cold and don't mind wearing layers of clothes to keep myself warm, but I noticed that my feet, because I was stationary during our class, started to feel numb with cold, which was something I was not used to since my feet are usually too warm. Hence, a thought popped up: what if instead of sitting all throughout our class, we take a walk for a part of it? It could be a nice way to keep ourselves from being too cold, but I realize it might be difficult to hold a class while walking. Maybe while we have our group discussions? I don't know about this, I haven't given it much thought - it's just an idea I thought I'd put out there. I mentioned all this about our classes outside even though my choice of place to meet was inside (Taylor E); I just realized that there was all this contrast between our usual classes (outside) and this one, at least for me. But then again, I cannot talk for everybody.

Class today was satisfying. It was so nice to see all of your faces again after fall break! Being outside, however, I have mixed feelings about. I was very excited to pick the spot, but I do not think nature was in my corner today. Or maybe it was..? I felt a little betrayed after it began to rain (why my day? huh?), then once we moved under the arbor I couldn't help but stare into the distance at the falling rain, half paying attention. I did notice that I had things to say, pertinent to the discussion, while looking at the world around us, but for some reason I was unmotivated to express them. Perhaps my ideas seemed more trivial to me then, while experiencing how the world was so much bigger than our circle. Retrospectively, I notice that I tend to think this often when being outside. The thought that it is not necessary for the well being of the world that I say something at that moment. I'm not exactly sure if it is different inside.. Is this also true for others as well? That you find nature to be distracting in this way? Not that you are distracted by every little noise or insect, but by the Big Picture. 

And segue into scientist mode: I got bit by a misquito today, on my wrist. I killed it and smeared blood on my notebook. Which made me think, why are there really such delicate insects alive in late October, anyway? What kind of bugs hatch in the fall? Or are they very old? Is it jsut the slightly warmer temperatures that are allowing them to live? When do misquitos normally stop procreating? Do some of them hibernate over winter? How do they survive from season to season? What is their life span? Many of the answers to these questions can be found at this address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito . I found it quite interesting! 

I hope you all have discovered or learned something interesting recently. And to think, I would have never asked these questions had we not been outside! I concede it is off topic, but perhaps it has added to my personal enrichment. Go discover

When we were sitting in the cloisters this morning/afternoon I noted how peaceful it was. We were surrounded by the castle walls. Enclosed in from the very environment we are trying to explore. Yet at the same time we were subject to the elements provided that we were able to go under shelter if necessary. As the cold was starting to numb my toes and the rain was drizzling I found it easy to still pay attention. In fact I did not notice my toes were so cold until I got up to leave the class and walk to lunch. It was also interesting because of the lack of nature, there was really only grass and weather that were affecting us. And I wonder if the cloisters would be so peaceful if there were several trees in the grassy area. Even the towering walls of Thomas made me feel more safe and less in tune with nature. And I feel that because this area was so accomadating to our needs that maybe it is in fact not a good place to sit outside for class. But at the same time I feel it provides outside elements as well as a classroom setting because it allowed me to focus without being to distracted. These were all speculations that caught my attention during class and I will continue to ponder at our next meetings!

I like being outside. I like to cultivate a kind of open, inclusive, multiple focus. There is a conflict of course-- our ESEM is supposed to about learning to write academic papers in a certain way, as well being about Ecology. Can the grass and the squirrels be teaching us? Can we be practicing attending to them even as we attend to Anne and to each other? Personally, even if I am chewing on a piece of grass that doesn't mean I am not paying attention. I wrote in my paper about one of my keywords, which was "Practical". But I got almost more interested in its root word: "practice". Learning anything new is bound to take practice. Maybe we can practice a new way of concentrating which has room for our outdoor, living surroundings-- our plant and animal and meteorological "neighbors" . Hmmm... "neighbors"... there's another interesting word to look up...