oberlin: Hi Oberlin,Went to the Winter Term Fair

soullessthinker (

soullessthinker) wrote in

oberlin,
@ 2006-10-23 21:14:00

Hi Oberlin,

Went to the Winter Term Fair and felt... ambivalent, seeking advice, stories, assistance.

Can anyone give imput about their winter terms? How, where, what was it?

Thanks,
Aries

(Post a new comment)

catamethyst
2006-10-24 02:18 am UTC (link)

I did one of the Oberlin-sponsored internships last year and found it to be very worthwhile and even quite enjoyable, despite some annoying paperworky hoops to jump through on the part of Career Services (and I wholeheartedly recommend sunny CA for the month of January). And the year before I went to another continent, which is also a good deal if you can find someone else to pay for it.

Staying in Oberlin obviously has advantages and disadvantages -- meeting new people and being able to relax more on-campus versus gross weather and not being in an exciting new place, etc. Duh. Good luck.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	cheeksthellama 2006-10-24 03:34 pm UTC (link)
	Did you get a grant or something to pay for going out of the country? If so how did you go about it? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

catamethyst
2006-10-24 06:24 pm UTC (link)

Well, my specific winter term project was entirely paid for by an outside organization. It was a group project; my First Year Seminar professor applied for and received a grant to take the entire class abroad.

But you can also apply for mini-grants through the Office of Winter Term to help defray expenses. The grants are for $200-$400, and they are due 11/1. More information is here</i>.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	cheeksthellama 2006-10-25 09:40 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	dj_polysemy 2006-10-24 02:22 am UTC (link)
	first year-- took bowling 3 with tom reid. would highly recommend it. second year-- read comic books, wrote a paper about them. would not recommend it. third year-- worked on an organic farm in hawaii through the WWOOF USA program. would highly recommend this as well. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	mlle_reisz 2006-10-24 06:34 pm UTC (link)
	Hey I'm thinking about getting someone to back me to watch seasons 1-9 of the xfiles and write something. I don't know anything about cinema so I'm not sure I could write something from that angle. Could you recommend an advisor who won't care (I ask because of the comics thing)? Thanks for any help. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

dj_polysemy
2006-10-24 10:04 pm UTC (link)

my project was actually considered academic research because i did a bunch of secondary reading and interviews so it was slightly less of a joke than it sounds. if they're letting paul dawson sponsor winter terms this year, he will sign yours (his only stipulation is that you don't tell him what your project is). i would recommend going to the dean of winter term and asking that person, or your advisor.

also, on a sidenote, i don't think i know you, but i've wanted to watch all nine seasons of x files for winter term forever. would you at all be interested in having a buddy? you wouldnt have to schedule your watching around me (i'm done with WT), but i'd love to see as much of the series as possible.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

mlle_reisz
2006-10-24 10:55 pm UTC (link)

Well I live about 30 mins from here and I was probably going to do it at home. I paid 90 dollars for the whole set on ebay, some really trashy asian collectors edition, but it plays. I wouldn't mind letting you borrow one season at a time with 10 dollars collateral, or something. But if you lose/crack/break even one disk I'm kind of SOL unless I want to spent 90 dollars again.

But if you really want to do the project with me, and could help me get it off the ground, I would consider doing it all here. Do you have a TV?

Have you done winter term on campus before? Do we have to pay something?

(Reply to this) (Parent)

natasha_fawn
2006-10-24 02:28 am UTC (link)

The paperwork hoops for the career service internships are annoying. I hated those hoops. Luckily, the deadlines aren't set in stone and they'll take the stuff months later (or never and still give you credit, you didn't hear it from me). The paperwork is mostly to make sure you've actually done something.

But the internships, if you an find one that interests you (there seem to be fewer this year?) are great. First you learn how to make a good resume and cover letter, then how to do an interview, and then whatever skills you get from the actual internship. Check the career services board or the website to see what's available. I highly recommend them if you can find one that's up your alley.

(Reply to this)

inkyoctopus
2006-10-24 02:45 am UTC (link)

1st year: Capoeira Angola--pretty good except I clashed with the Brazilian guy when he came in for the second half of the month.

2nd year: Belly dance (Raqs Sharki? Whatever the PC term is for it now.) This one was definitely worthwhile.

3rd year: Oberlin was farkin anal and wouldn't let me back on campus after being away for the semester before so I wasn't able to do it, which was a pain.

4th year: Stage managed my friend's production. T & D stuff during winter term is really awesome, a little hardcore, and you also get to meet lots of new people, at least I did since I wasn't a T&D person during the rest of the year.

5th: I designed my own project and spent Winter Term writing pretty hardcore for my novel. I also stage managed for no credit.

Dunno if that is helpful at all.

(Reply to this)

	mogwit 2006-10-24 03:17 am UTC (link)
	1st year - Chaucer with Jen Bryan. So much love. 2nd year - intensive Greek. not for everyone, and if the teacher sucks, the class sucks... (Reply to this) (Thread)

	mlle_reisz 2006-10-24 04:28 am UTC (link)
	who was your teacher? kirk ormand is this year... (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	erobadapazzi 2006-10-24 05:30 am UTC (link)
	Kirk doesn't actually teach it, a student does. At least, this is how it's always worked since I've been here. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	mlle_reisz 2006-10-24 05:59 am UTC (link)
	really? :( (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	mogwit 2006-10-24 12:40 pm UTC (link)
	yeah. last year it was two students, and they were so quiet they fed off of each other...kinda blah. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	starburst8213 2006-10-24 03:19 am UTC (link)
	Hey Aries, I'm still looking for something interesting as well. If you get inspired and need a partner in crime let me know! (Reply to this)

	cheeksthellama 2006-10-24 04:03 am UTC (link)
	I'd really like to go on an out of country excursion for winter term, but the only thing I saw at the fair was the Mexico trip. Last year there were also trips to Russia and Greece. Are there going to be any other travel options this year? (Reply to this) (Thread)

freesiayourmind
2006-10-24 04:58 am UTC (link)

I was wondering the same thing. (There was also a trip to India last year.) Oberlin really needs to provide more options for going abroad. I mean, you can do it yourself, but it's cheaper, easier, and safer to go with a group.

If I don't get pulled in by anything else (particularly theater) I'm hoping to do conservation work in Latin America, if anyone else is interested in something like that.

I thought the fair was pretty lame this year. The Exco fair was more impressive...and you can do a lot more in Winter Term than you can with an Exco.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	house_liberi 2006-10-24 04:39 am UTC (link)
	Last year, Beginning Electronic Music. It was pretty sweet. But right now I'm still looking for something... blargh! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	tevs 2006-10-24 06:42 pm UTC (link)
	Care to elaborate on what it involved / how much work / how fun? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	bigtyper 2006-10-24 07:04 am UTC (link)
	Dude, just find a cool advisor and listen to Bowie like I did last year. (Reply to this)

dynamint
2006-10-24 07:23 am UTC (link)

First year: Chinese 101 with myself and a tutor, in Oberlin. OMG intensive but it got me a year more Chinese than I would have otherwise.

Second year: Translating kids books from English into Japanese at home. Going home was nice, and I learned a lot of words, but perhaps I should have done Korean on campus...?

This year: Not doing anything as I'm studying away, but I will be taking some trips during the winter term time and hopefully meeting up with the group coming to Tokyo.

Which was completely unhelpful; I apologize.

(Reply to this)

zerbime
2006-10-24 02:03 pm UTC (link)

first year: volunteered in oberlin with lorain family planning - made great connections, learned a ton, didn't have to deal with career services bullshit.

second year: scored my friend's musical. fun work, at my own pace, plus people say "wow," and i didn't have to deal with career services bullshit.

third year: spent a lot of time doing grunt work for a student organization i'm a member of. reorganized the library, helped make cloth menstrual pads, reorganized products, reorganized basically the office, and wrote a 2 page paper about it. got credit for doing what i probably would have been doing anyway, and got to watch a lot of movies in the crapload of downtime i had. and i didn't have to deal with career services bullshit.

(Reply to this)

Username:		Create an Account Forgot your login or password? Login w/ OpenID
Password:
	Remember Me
	English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…

About

Help

Get Involved

Legal

Store

LJ Labs