I'm at college right now, so that's keeping me fairly busy and giving me a new sense of structure to my life - well, new in the sense that I hadn't really been in school for about eight months.
I am going to Mills College in Oakland, California. I really like it here. Everyone is so nice and fun and smart but not at all pretentious. Except for a couple girls in my French class who at least appear to be so... I know, I know, I shouldn't jump to conclusions!
My hallmate, Emily, is really good about giving people chances. She's also in my French class but has made an effort to get to know "Marie" and "Elizabeth" (the quotation marks there signify that those names are to be pronounced with French accents, while the asterisk signals that their names have, regrettably, been changed). She says they're actually nicer than they seem - what do you know!
It really is true how often people misread behavior as mean or stuck-up. People used to think that about me a lot when I was a kid - let's just hope they weren't (or worse, aren't) actually right.
Arrogant little me.
So yes, if you didn't glean from the above diversion, I'm taking French class. It actually sort of happened accidentally - I don't even know if French is the language I really want to be taking, though it is a world language and I do enjoy it.
The thing was, at Mills each freshwoman is a member of a Living/Learning Community (LLC). They're small groups of about eight students who have the same advisor and take one class together - in our case, French. French was the only language group being offered, and being the language junky that I am I couldn't pass it up.*
*There is actually a Spanish one too, but it's for heritage hispanohablantes only. Their group is right across from us, though, and I am very friendly with them, so that's really nice.
I really want to take Russian, I think. I am still interested in Romanian but that is obviously a less commonly spoken language and I don't think I could use it. Not that I could necessarily use Russian here either.
But, if I were to move to Europe, especially Eastern Europe, Russian speakers are in huge demand. From what I understand it's a very admired, kind of mysterious thing if you speak Russian. I guess the Ruskies - as The Couch Gymnast affectionately refers to them - still haven't completely shed that Soviet image. I think it makes them all the more charming, at least with regards to those gymnasts. The Ksenias, of whom The Couch Gymnast writes in her blog, certainly seem to be great friends at least. Little Ksenia I would even describe as bubbly!
Ksenia in Beijing.
The thing was, at Mills each freshwoman is a member of a Living/Learning Community (LLC). They're small groups of about eight students who have the same advisor and take one class together - in our case, French. French was the only language group being offered, and being the language junky that I am I couldn't pass it up.*
*There is actually a Spanish one too, but it's for heritage hispanohablantes only. Their group is right across from us, though, and I am very friendly with them, so that's really nice.
I really want to take Russian, I think. I am still interested in Romanian but that is obviously a less commonly spoken language and I don't think I could use it. Not that I could necessarily use Russian here either.
But, if I were to move to Europe, especially Eastern Europe, Russian speakers are in huge demand. From what I understand it's a very admired, kind of mysterious thing if you speak Russian. I guess the Ruskies - as The Couch Gymnast affectionately refers to them - still haven't completely shed that Soviet image. I think it makes them all the more charming, at least with regards to those gymnasts. The Ksenias, of whom The Couch Gymnast writes in her blog, certainly seem to be great friends at least. Little Ksenia I would even describe as bubbly!
Ksenia in Beijing.
For the record, I (and Steliana Nistor) liked her routine at Euros so much better. I kind of doubt she'll medal for it, but maybe she'll make finals. And hopefully get something for her bar routine!
I want Beth Tweddle to get gold on bars, in her home country. Ksenia can have silver. And I'll be generous and give He Kexin bronze (though she's quite honestly guaranteed a gold if she hits). I hate to say it, but I'm tired of her.
I feel bad saying such things about the Chinese, but they really are kind of boring these days. I must see them like people saw the Soviets back in the day, just another factory who always had another gymnast coming down the conveyor belt if one of their stars got hurt. They were so deep in talent that there was always somebody waiting in the wings.
The only difference is that the Soviet routines did have originality. The new code kind of fucked them - and everyone else, for that matter - over. I'd probably like the Chinese so much better if they had been as well prepared as they were for Beijing but didn't code-whore like they do.
A classic Chinese uneven bars routine. Before they were littered with Onos and healy turns.
I want Beth Tweddle to get gold on bars, in her home country. Ksenia can have silver. And I'll be generous and give He Kexin bronze (though she's quite honestly guaranteed a gold if she hits). I hate to say it, but I'm tired of her.
I feel bad saying such things about the Chinese, but they really are kind of boring these days. I must see them like people saw the Soviets back in the day, just another factory who always had another gymnast coming down the conveyor belt if one of their stars got hurt. They were so deep in talent that there was always somebody waiting in the wings.
The only difference is that the Soviet routines did have originality. The new code kind of fucked them - and everyone else, for that matter - over. I'd probably like the Chinese so much better if they had been as well prepared as they were for Beijing but didn't code-whore like they do.
A classic Chinese uneven bars routine. Before they were littered with Onos and healy turns.
A classic Chinese balance beam routine. Probably one of my favorites of all-time, and I mean that in all seriousness. Not scoring this routine above Gina Gogean's was one of the biggest judging errors in gymnastics history. Kui is the perfect example of a gymnast with tremendous difficulty who can execute so beautifully while being innovative. You simply don't see beam sets like this today. You just don't.
Another classic Chinese beam routine from a ridiculously talented athlete who just couldn't hit when it counted.
Another classic Chinese beam routine from a ridiculously talented athlete who just couldn't hit when it counted.
On the bright side, at least it's easier for gymnasts who want to to stand out from the crowd! Here's hoping to a successful Worlds! :)
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