The most recent, and perhaps most helpful, piece of advice that I got for writing essays was to write around things I don’t know how to say. I was told to just keep talking, describing what it is that I’m thinking of, and eventually I’ll either come up with the correct phrase or realize that my roundabout explanation is better than what I had been visualizing before. Thinking back, this is very similar to what I’ve been doing in my city visits. I wander around, never quite sure where exactly I’m going, or how to get where I want to get, but always reaching my destination in the end. Sometimes I’ve even come across things that I didn’t know existed but are now my favorite things in the city, like the Masonic Temple and the Board Game Art Park.

Being able to wander freely around Philadelphia is my favorite part of this course. Before, in cities, I’ve always been on a mission to see something, or had to follow a tour guide. I now know that that’s not a good way to see a city-- I mean, sure, you’ll see all the famous landmarks, but you won’t experience the real sights and sounds. You won’t get the insight into what it’s actually like to live in that city. I can see myself living in Philadelphia, something I’ve never really felt before, in any city I’ve been to. I feel alive and part of the world, which I’m sure is because I’ve gotten to wander around and see and do whatever strikes my interest.

When choosing my top three choices for my ESEM this summer, I remember being stuck between “Arguing with Songs” and “Play in the City” yet I am so grateful that I was placed in this class.  I expected Play in the City to be much more theatre based but I have found that interpretations and observations are much more the backbone.  Like most college classes, students are asked to contribute their perspectives and different points of view.  We dig up our past experiences, childhood memories, thoughts and notes we’ve shared on trips, and what we’ve seen in and on our way to Philadelphia. 

            When we first began, we visited our destinations in groups, yet as the class unfolded we began to break into groups to self organize our trip and visit.  I think this worked to our advantage as it gave us the ability to individually experience something different and become more independent.  I especially enjoyed the assignment a couple of weeks back where we were given the opportunity to personally choose and present a specific place to visit.  This research aided our exploration of the city and hearing each person present their research made me aware of how much the city of Philadelphia has to offer.  It also allowed me to reach to students I hadn’t previously spoken to.

    The sunshine sneaks into this old room through wooden shutters, spilling on the chairs, the wooden floors, the old cabinet；and the clean blackboard, the sophisticated computer and the new projector. The students are wandering around the room, seeking for the clues to dig out the secret of this place. It is only a classroom, I thought. I felt confused and embarrassed when silently walking around this small and “normal” area. “There are scars on the pillars on each side of the fireplace. Only on each side, maybe because people moved the furniture before and grinded the pillars. The heating and the air conditioner are on at the same time. I don’t know why. It’s strange.” It was the first sentence I said in this class. It was interesting to find something I never would notice or expected and guess the reasons for it. I started to involve. And now, this course just takes me deeper and deeper; I even don’t know what I will find or think in next minutes. This course helps me to understand the city, but makes me more unfamiliar with myself- I thought I am a well-planned person; everything is under control and in my expectation. However, I was wrong, I keep digging out the potential and having new ideas in the trips. I was amazed that I even enjoyed getting out of the comfort zone and get to know a “different” me.  

    This class keeps changing me and challenging my habit. 

Scrolling through the Emily Balch seminars was a daunting task: Having to narrow my preferences down to three was overwhelmingly difficult. Each one sparked my interest with a catchy title and a syllabus of interesting material. In the end, I chose the “Play in the City” seminar, mostly because of the professor.

Theater had shaped my high school (and middle school) experience, and although I wasn’t too interested in a theater major, staying involved and working with people who shared my passion seemed like a great idea. I chose “Play in the City” for many reasons, including Mark Lord.

Mark Lord proved to be the stereotypical theater professor, having us walk around the classroom on the first day, observing all we could. We, the students, examined the classroom, seeing as much as possible, and hoping to not say a “wrong” answer. This second day of classes was pretty uncomfortable in Taylor F, awkward silences ran amuck, and Mark’s command that we live with the discomforts and “give each other time to think” was pretty outside of our comfort zones. However, the class soon bonded and developed an ebb and flow of conversation, which includes many different voices bringing up important and diverse points on whatever we may be discussing.

When I saw this topic ‘play in the city’ for the first time, actually I thought it was ironic. The word ‘play’ seemed to be irrelevant, even opposite to a course topic. The definition of ‘play’, in my mind, is just activity which people choose to get happiness and easiness. In the readings we read in this class, almost every writer has her own definition of ‘play’, and because of this, the topic becomes deeper and complicated to study. I receive those definitions although sometimes I did not accept them, and because the help of our trips to Philly, I can try to understand them. The course is like an un-known city, such as Philly, having various aspects to explore and surprising me often.

Phoenix

MLord

Play in the City 028

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Playing Differently

            The purpose of visiting a city is to experience something new, or to experience something familiar in a new way. If our course Play in the City was itself a city, then our hometown must be our everyday experience of academia, in secondary school and in our other Bryn Mawr classes.

In many ways, this class is exactly what I’ve been hoping for since my days at an alternative elementary/middle school. At that school, we practiced being critical thinkers. To do this, we had a comfortable environment: we called teachers by their first names, had a lot of classroom discussions, and sat in circles so we could see each other’s faces. I’ve found that this class, Play in the City, is also set up to be a comfortable environment. Unfortunately, I still have lingering thoughts from high school running through my head, usually along the lines of Is this relevant? Will people care about what I have to say? and, of course, the ever present Is this a stupid question/remark/thought? I’ve been getting over that, though. I’ve become more comfortable talking in class, saying what I believe. Everyone in this class listens to what other people have to say, and there is usually a way to bring the comment into the discussion and build upon it.

this talk by neil gaiman caught my eye (because i'm teaching one of his graphic novels in my critfemstudies course).
two things he says i think are relevant to our work:
"the only people who inveigh against escape are jailers"
and
"I was once in New York, and I listened to a talk about the building of private prisons – a huge growth industry in America. The prison industry needs to plan its future growth – how many cells are they going to need? How many prisoners are there going to be, 15 years from now? And they found they could predict it very easily, using a pretty simple algorithm, based on asking what percentage of 10 and 11-year-olds couldn't read. And certainly couldn't read for pleasure.
It's not one to one: you can't say that a literate society has no criminality. But there are very real correlations...."

I wrote my Common App essay on how I managed to adjust to French teaching styles upon moving to Geneva at nine years old. It was quite the leap for younger Tessa. I have always been rather fascinated at the range of teaching styles I can benefit from. Anne’s style is no exception. It’s very college professor type-y. Exactly how I expected a prof at a respectable school to look and act like. She treats us like the fledgling adults we are, while maintaining a fair level of command. She’s both formidable and heartwarming. Obviously she knows the ins and outs of teaching. She gives the best feedback on my writing that I’ve ever recieved. She is meticulous about structuring each class so we get the most out of the time together. I can feel my writing evolving up into Bryn Mawr’s standard of essays, albeit slowly thanks to this class. That being said, I feel that Anne can be too professor-y on occaision. Her high expectations for us and our writing make it difficult to talk to her less than professionally. This might be why starting conversations in class can be rather awkward. Part of the problem might be that none of us want to be the first one to say something. I can only speak for me, but I find it hard to join in the conversation because I’m afraid what will come out of my mouth will sound stupid to Anne and everyone else. I noticed that Anne asks all the questions and doesn’t volunteer her own relevant experiences or personal thoughts much.