Road Trip!

When I was little, I had cousins in West Virginia. They were my Dad’s favorite cousins and vice versa. When my dad went into the Peace Corps so did Mary (his cousin). While there she met Karl; they married and moved to West Virginia where I would visit them. Often.

            After a few years they moved closer to us in a town called Germantown. I loved it because it meant I could sleep over at their house (which I loved because it was even more decorated with African Art than my house is) more often.

Another year or so went by and they adopted two children from Bulgaria, Sara and Dancho. They stayed in Germantown for another few years – about five – raising Sara and Dancho who were three and two respectively until they broke the most exciting yet devastating news: they were moving to South Africa.

            As a middle school-er I was thrilled at the bragging rights this would give me, but mostly I was upset that our summer cookouts, dinners, and Easters would never be the same. At our final dinner (the first and only time I’ve been to Red Lobster) my worries were abolished by one piece of news: We were visiting hem during my next spring break. This hadn’t been the first time I had been out of the country) but this trip was going to be even more exciting. I suddenly couldn’t wait for spring break.

            Fast forward a few months and I’m in the beautiful country of South Africa. Even though we arrived at night and I couldn’t see much of Pretoria, I could tell it was amazing.  The next day I found out just how beautiful the rest of the country was as we drove across South Africa and into a small country at it’s border, Swaziland. Swaziland is where my dad lived when he worked in the Peace Corps. As we were touring there I had one of the most interesting cultural experiences of the trip.

            We were at a convenience store called “Snip and Save” and my cousins were looking at some school supplies (with the exchange rate it was much cheaper to buy things in Swaziland than South Africa). Because I didn’t need anything and everyone was in the checkout line anyway, I decided to wait by the door. I was standing there and I noticed the store greeter staring at me. It was a bit disconcerting, but I smiled and nodded at him to be polite. He waved at me. I waved back. And then he spoke: “You are very beautiful.”

            Now, as a thirteen-year-old American girl I grew up with “don’t talk to strangers!” embedded into my head, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I thanked him. He continued to say, “Yes, yes, very beautiful.” a few times and I again smiled and thanked him. He then asked me how old I was. I told him, and he called me beautiful again while nodding his head. By that time my family was done checking out and I thought I was free to leave the awkward situation, but the man turned to my dad and asked if I was his daughter. He told my dad he thought I was very beautiful and asked “how much?” At this point, I was a bit concerned but my dad, who was much more cultured than I laughed and said, “100 cows”.  The man chuckled and said, “Oh, too much! Too much! But very beautiful.” My dad thanked him and we left the store. Once outside my dad told me that that was the way marriage proposals worked in this part of the world. 

            To this day, I’m not sure if the store clerk was joking or not but it’s still a good story.

Hippies Revitalized

The topic of my research paper is how Hippie culture has been revitalized and integrated into modern society.  Almost anywhere one goes, they can find examples of how the sixties have influenced today’s culture.  From fashion to music to youth rebellion, there is sixties culture intertwined in most aspects of our society. Much has changed, but the basic principles have remained the same. My paper will focus on comparing and contrasting modern Hippie trends in pop culture. The sixties were an important time for the American youth and the fact that they have continued in a raw form of themselves now demonstrates the circular motion of culture. The revitalization of the Hippie movement is shown through various aspects of modern culture and inspires much of pop culture.

The argument of my paper is that hippie culture has returned and is now more accepted because it is in such a limited form of itself. In the sixties, Hippies had a distinct and uniformed feel. They were distinctive. Now Hippie culture has been diluted and mixed with other counter culture movements to create a modern Hippie movement that allows for societies allowance for it. However, there are exceptions to this allowance of a formally out casted group.  The rawest form of Hippie culture lives in what are called head shops. Head shops are stores, usually small, that sell a lot of hippie like products. Usually everything is natural, made of hemp, and provide for the ambiance of the small shops of the sixties where hippies would sell natural options to a heavily modernized and industrial America. These shops also sell water pipes, used for smoking tobacco, and also marijuana. These shops all have a back room for this specific merchandise that only those above eighteen can enter.  One example of this shop is called Peace of Sunshine in Catonsville, MD.

This topic is relevant because during the time of the original Hippie movement, the culture was very much rejected by most of society. Hippies were the outcasts but today it is so intertwined in the majority of pop-culture that it is less noticeable and the only people who are not accepted are those who have created a counter culture more intense. I will discuss and analyze why there is such a difference between the original Hippies and “neo- hippies” of today which will examine how the past is recycled and reused, but also interpreted differently in different time periods and morphed into something new because of it.

Bibliography:

Book: ‘They smell bad, have diseases, and are lazy’:. Full Text Available By: Martel, Marcel. Canadian Historical Review, Jun2009, Vol. 90 Issue 2, p215-245, 31p, 4 Charts; DOI: 10.3138/chr.90.2.215

Book: THERE'S A RIOT GOING ON: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars, and the Rise and Fall of '60s Counter-Culture.Full Text Available Kirkus Reviews, 7/1/2008, Vol. 76 Issue 13, p685-685, 1/4p; Reading Level (Lexile): 1380; (AN 33557951)

Media: Oppenheimer, Mark. "Where Have All the College Hippies Gone? : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. 28 Sept. 2005. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4867538>.

Primary Source: I plan on counting all the Baja’s I see in a day on campus.

Primary Source: Cain, Chelsea. Wild Child: Girlhoods in the Counterculture. Seattle, WA: Seal, 1999. Print

Class Readings:

            An American Culture Grid   By Jay Mechling

            Axioms for Reading the Landscape: Some Guides to the American Scene   By Peirce K Lewis

A Proposed Model for Cultural Landscape Study  By Jeremy Korr

Article:  Pattacini, M. M. Deadheads Yesterday and Today: an Audience Study. 5th ed. Vol. 24. Sage Publications. Print. 591-738

Magazine: Katz, Jesse. "The Bong Wars - John Ashcroft and the Feds Put Their Foot down on Head Shops." Rolling Stone. Print

Website: Peace of Sunshine - Just a Little Head Shop outside Baltimore. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://www.peaceofsunshine.com/>.

Am I a smoker? Nope. I just like the atmosphere.

If you live on campus, you are very aware of all the hang outs. The Commons is a popular one, sometimes the library, and sometimes the common room on dorm floors. All are very usual hot spots. How about an unusual one?
I will start out by saying, I am not a smoker. I tried it once and I coughed so hard my entire diaphragm hurt for the rest of the afternoon (needless to say I don't inhale a lot of stuff into my lungs, and have no intentions of smoking anything ever again), but occasionally on a nice night, I'll go out with some of my smoker friends and sit on the balcony of the Patapsco building. Before college and this became a normal practice for me, I wouldn't have done it. Why would I risk second hand smoke inhalation just to delay homework for a while? But then I began to notice all the little things that made this small delay of productivity worth it.
The first thing I noticed was the comradery between smokers. It's like... a cult. Once while sitting outside, one guy came up to my friend and asked him for a cigarette. My friend said, "Sure" and gave him one. The guy said thanks and went on his way to a different part of the balcony. I didn't understand this little transaction at all. Cigarettes are relatively expensive even more so if it's a habit. Why would you just give one away? I saw a similar transaction with a different friend and a different stranger, in which my friend only had one cigarette left. The stranger saw this and said, "Oh never mind. I don't want to take your last one." and walked away.
Another aspect of the balcony is the different spots. The most popular spot is in a corner down a ways from the doors. There is almost always someone there smoking. But there are also other designated spots that specific groups always go to. One for example is a particularly large group that always goes even farther down the stairs than my friends go. They often are there before we get there, and still there talking and laughing after we leave. Across the ways from them a smaller group resides. They smoke and talk, just like the other group, just in a slightly quieter way. Both groups are friendly. Sometimes one of my friends will say "hey" or "what's up?" to a member of the group, and the group will say hello back, sometimes even initiating a more meaningful conversation. It's as if to say, "Hey! I'm a smoker, you're a smoker. Let's be friends."

The Trumpeter speaks

In high school, they're are ample subcultures. One that I observed and was a part of were the "band geeks". The band geek is a part of a special brand of subculture. In movies, they are teased and made fun of at the same time they are appreciated for their musical talent and half time show entertainment. In the real world, however, band geeks are non-descript for the most part. The "extremists" wear shirts that say things like "I can't. I have rehersal." or "It's complicated." and show a heavy progression of notes that are practically unreadable. Within band however there wer even more divisions. For example, drummers are generally the coolest. Brass players are second, followed subsequently by saxaphones, clairenets and flutes. Mostly these rankings are based on how loud the instrument is and what type of music they play the best. And I think this goes without saying; Jazz is the far superior form of music.

Thought process?

My first idea is to observe different people going to the zoo. Going to the zoo is one of the traditions all elementary age children partake in. I would go to the National Zoo in D.C. and take photographs to illustrate an essay or short story. The essay would be anecdotal in nature and have my childhood experiences complimented by what I observe acting as almost a comparison piece.

My second idea would be to compile a collection of photographs and my own poetry/short story/reflective essay about the day-to-day happenings at UMBC. Each poem would be accompanied by one or more picture to further describe the scene. The poems/short stories/reflective essays would start out with the sunrise and then go through the day to sunrise again, in order to document the passing of time. All poems/short stories/reflective essays would be pulled together by the general themes of education in America, college campus vibes, the different hot-spots of campus and why they’re so popular.

My final idea would be to write a timeline about the fair, documenting the people I see, the food, the scents, the animals there, and any other key points about the time. The point of the timeline is to document the passing of time and how the fair changes, more specifically from afternoon, to evening, to night. Often different people go to the fair at different times. This essay would outline the differences.  I would also include pictures of the fair of more of an artistic nature.

The Important Stuff

I grew up in Gaithersburg Md more specifically a small town called Laytonsville. This is a town whose main attraction is a 7-11 and a plant store and seems to be 20 minutes from anywhere you’d want to be. Or at least that’s how I see it.

Through out my childhood I played soccer, up until my senior year when I decided to try theater.

I also have always played an instrument, mostly trumpet, but I started out playing piano. It was during these lesson- after I declared my atheist views (at the age of 8) and love of NPR- told my dad as he picked me up after my lesson, that it was refreshing to see children being raised as secular humanists.

As for my traditions, every summer and winter I go to Canandaigua, a small town in upstate New York, which is where most of my extended family is from. 

www.canandaiguachamber.com/