Though the title of this post might make a good name for a band, it accurately reflects the sentiment of the last week.

(Photo credit Ynet, by means of snow in Jerusalem 2008 blog post)

I am taking a Digital Game-Based Learning course this semester, and so far it has been really interesting.  We look at the ways that games can provide great learning opportunities. For a project, I had to create my own game.  I had previously created a non-educational game in another class, so I built off of that one for my educational game.  Play both games at the links below.

Non educational game, "When Hippos Fly" : http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/FuzzyTurtles/2094222'

Educational game, "Hippos in Outer Space: A Math Adventure" : http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/FuzzyTurtles/2311162

Looking for some extra credit hours this semester? Don’t forget to check out our mid-semester, 2 credit-hour courses. This spring A&S is offering Passport to China, which is part of the larger Year of China programming, Community 101, Composing with Visuals, and the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

These classes are a great way to explore new topics and gain extra credit hours – for more information, contact your advisor.

Sunday morning I awoke to the news that Whitney Houston had passed away.

(Photo credit: Size Doesn’t Matter Blog)

A week ago I spent the morning meeting with an Israeli cultural anthropologist and education scholar well-known for his work on Peace education, Prof. Zvi Beckerman. As soon as I entered his office, I immediately felt at home, as the books from some of my favorite rhetoricians-- Kenneth Burke, Chaim Perelman, and others-- were sitting right there on his shelf, piled up and in plain view.

After settling into our new digs, we walked over to Shlomi’s for a simple but satisfying meal of vegetable bean soup, borekas (delicious filled pastries, pictured below, photo credit: Jim Ridolfo), and pita on, oddly enough, Abraham Lincoln Street.  

[Photo: Bulgarian-cheese filled borekas above, Arabic language ad for Orange cell phone company below, photo taken by Jim Ridolfo]

And eat, eat, eat is what we’ve continued to do. The weekend begins here on Thurs. evening and lasts through Friday until Saturday night at sundown, when the Jewish Sabbath comes to a close. Like the people living here, the city also pauses to rest a bit, as public transportation and most shops and restaurants shut down from Friday night sundown until three stars appear in the sky on Saturday night. Consequently, Friday morning is the time when people catch up with friends, and the city hums with life, as everyone bustles about to buy groceries and make preparations for the Sabbath.

Jim and I arrived in Israel last Thursday afternoon around 2pm, and we had the good fortune to be picked up at the airport by our dear friend Shlomi (who will get a separate blog post dedicated only to him in a few days—keep an eye out!).  Of course, since many Israelis drive cars that are smaller than American ones, Jim had a concern that our luggage might not fit in Shlomi’s car. In the end, I confess, there actually were five pieces: 1 big packpack and one garment bag for Jim, 1 big suitcase, 1 small duffel carry-on (whose straps broke from the weight of my Arabic language-learning books and which I had to replace with a rolling carry-on in the BWI airport!), and one backpack full of electronic devices for me.  But it all fit.

For the next four months I'll be studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata-shi, Osaka, Japan. If you're thinking of studying abroad, especially in Japan, I will try and maintain an updated look at my life abroad through this blog so you can get a sense of what life might be like for you. I arrived in Japan January 28th, so I have only been here a week. Since arriving in Japan I have been to the main campus of Kansai Gaidai as well as taking a guided tour of Kyoto accompanied by current Japanese students. You might be wondering why I am here, no I am not a Japanese language student, in fact I have very little experience with Japanese and cannot hold a conversation or navigate the city on my own. If you want to study abroad but are afraid of the language barrier, don't worry, it'll most likely be okay. I'm also not an Asian Studies major, I'm here studying mass media and popular culture in Japan as part of my MAS major. Anyway that is enough of the boring details about myself. So far being abroad has been extremely exciting and an experience that you cannot expect to create staying in your comfort zone. I came here knowing little about the language, and no one to help me assimilate.