I'll unconventionally start with C, culture, because the athletic events I'm hoping to catch are taking place tomorrow and let's be honest, I'm in college and it's a Saturday, so I haven't quite hit the books yet!
Today for my focus program we had the opportunity to go on a field trip of sorts. Since we are medieval and renaissance themed, we checked out a small renaissance reenactment. It's not a big renaissance fair like what you might be picturing, instead think civil war reenactment only a few centuries earlier! It's hosted by an organization called the Society for Creative Anachronism. If you're like my grandparents (Hi, I love you!) and want to learn more about the organization I'll have the links at the end. It was a neat experience. When you arrive they have all sorts of medieval and renaissance garb that you get all dressed up in. Then we just kind of explored. We met the King and Queen (I'm not really sure how all of this works, but I do know that the King wins his kingship in some sort of fight/battle and reigns for six months) and a bunch of other people. Some friends and I struck up a conversation with a blacksmith and watched him craft for a while. When I asked if I could try he said sure, pulled out a new rod of metal and let me go at it. He taught me how to make a sun pendant (basically, a spiral) and let me take it home. It was really quite fun and if I may say so, I wasn't half bad.
Some students and professors all dressed in pre-17th century attire.
His (above) and Her (below) Majesties.
Hard at work blacksmith-ing.
Me and the Blacksmith with my finished necklace pendant (better picture below)
And the links: http://www.sca.org/ (general organization)
http://www.atlantia.sca.org/ (the kingdom which includes North Carolina)
More later...
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Take Two:
As your typical college kid, my plans changed and I did not end up at our fieldhockey or women's soccer games (though we won both!). In light of this, A is now for Art and B is now for Benches...
A is for Art: Durham held it's annual arts and culture fair Saturday and Sunday of last weekend. It was within walking distance of campus so a friend and I decided to go check it out. We arrived to find a number of local artists of all mediums, concession stands, live music and nonprofit and community organizations set up. It wasn't a First Fridays sort of deal, like I was hoping, but I did enjoy myself. I also bought three new buttons/pins for my button covered purse, so all was not lost.
B is for Benches: Benches are staple of East Campus (where Freshmen live) life. Each dorm has its very own bench out front which was made by students who lived in that dorm in prior years. We hope to have the chance to build our own bench later this year. See, it is customary that when (not if; when) Duke beats UNC in men's basketball at home the benches find themselves serving an important role in our bon fires. Until then, though, we have a beautiful newly painted bench. Pictures of the final product below (well, it seems that I'll have to upload them later when the internet isn't being shotty).
1 comment:
Hi Risa,
Thanks for sharing your college experiences with us. The SCA folks you encountered at the Renaissance Festival reminded me of this great bar/club I used to go to in Des Moines, IA, when I was a freshman and sophomore at Drake Univ. I don't remember the name of the place, but it had been an old church,the decor and food had a midevil theme. A lot of SCA kids hung out there, sometimes performing little skits and playing music. Although I wasn't one of SCA group, I really enjoyed hanging out there. We drank hot cider, played board games and just talked about life with friends. Thanks for inspiring me to take that little journey back through memory lane! Take care Risa. Love, Marci
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