A Very Long Last Reflection

I’ve never known if it’s a flaw or virtue of mine… but I always get very sentimental about silly things. When I was younger I used to get attached to random things, often inanimate objects like not wanting to throw away a tissue. I realize that’s weird and I’m not that bad anymore, but I did find myself getting sentimental about writing my last blog. I particularly like writing the reflections because they are my chance to write about anything I want – such a liberating feeling! Instead of writing in my own personal journal that no one will ever read, I got a chance to publish my thoughts weekly. I would just like to say that I have enjoyed blogging more than I thought I would especially since I am a very reflective person – it’s been a nice little outlet for me ☺

Along the lines of being able to write anything I want, I want to share some thoughts from my week with all my readers… As many of you might know, my sister was here to visit. Naturally, I brought her to do some toursity things. We ended up checking out the brand new visitor center at the Capitol building since it had opened two days earlier and got rave reviews in The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113002569.html. We read this article the morning before we went and we were so excited to see the “ornate” center that was described to us. When we first walked to the entrance, we were stopped by a kooky man whose job was to welcome us to the center… he was beyond strange. Then we had to go through security, naturally, but we were not expecting to see such a disproportionate ratio of security to visitor – there were about 30 officers at the entrance and then my sister and I who they were checking. Needless to say it was pretty intimidating. The whole center had an odd feel to it too… a lot of empty space that seemed like it should have been filled and probably will be filled in the future. There was also an unnecessary amount of bathrooms, just to point out. The displays were interesting so I would suggest going, but don’t expect to be blown off your feet by this $621 million center.

We also stopped by the Library of Congress, which my sister and I were absolutely blown away by. The building was essentially just a very very large piece of artwork. I would definitely suggest going there – just from my one visit through this historical landmark, I feel like a more intelligent person! And an added note – we can all get in to the actual library section for free as students! All you need is to show your ID and you have some of the best resources at your fingertips.

The National Cathedral also made it onto our tourist destinations and I have wanted to go there ever since school started. In short, it was breathtaking; an absolutely gigantic sized building with a beautiful interior. I never would have known it was so new – only 5 years since it was completed I think! It got me and my sister thinking about religion, though, and why it is so important for religions to have extravagant buildings. With all the money the church spent on this building, they could have done much more meaningful things like save people’s lives. However, it’s important for groups of people to have symbols of some sort that represent their unity and ambitions – our government needs expensive new visitor centers just like the Christian church needs elaborate cathedrals. At the same time, I didn’t walk away from the National Cathedral thinking about becoming more religious… Instead, I was thinking about the amazing the architecture and artwork of the building. So I don’t know if the building really served its purpose as a symbol of Christianity, or just a very large and expensive piece of art. I’m interested to hear what you all think of these excessive buildings… are they worth the money? Does a breathtaking cathedral really add more to the religious experience? What does it say about people that we put such value on the material objects of religion? Shouldn’t we be able to reach the same religious experience without all the extravagance?

Now, to talk about Snow Crash a bit since the rest of my blog has been mostly irrelevant to our World Politics class. I found myself enjoying the book for the most part. I definitely think it was the most interesting book we’ve read for class even though it did have some significant flaws. I already pointed out my feelings about the sexual content of Snow Crash in my comments to Rachel and Tori’s reflection blogs so I won’t repeat myself besides to say it was completely unnecessary and bothersome and distracted me from the point of the book. I thought that Stephenson’s style was effective, other than that, because he really kept the reader intrigued if not confused at times. But with confusion comes curiosity for a reader to clarify the confusion, so I kept on reading! I was surprised by the prevalence of obscenities that didn’t really fit into the narration… they were somewhat awkward at times. As other people have said, the ending was a tad bit too predictable for me, but the message came across clearly. I hope this isn’t our future just like I hope the McDonald’s Corporations of the world don’t get to have a huge say in World Bank conferences in the future.

Speaking of McDonald’s, I might as well reflect on the simulation! I thought that the format of the simulation, although accurate and realistic, inhibited a good flow of debate. Even though the rules were laid out clearly in the assignment, for those of us who never did Model U.N. or debate in high school, it was still very confusing and intimidating. God forbid we mess up the rules! I also didn’t feel like there was the same level of enthusiasm for each group’s position as last simulation but perhaps this is because we all went into it thinking that there would need to be negotiation.

Now that the semester has come to a close, I’d just like to say in my final reflection that I enjoyed our class! I think we all learned a lot, whether it was from reading, from exploring D.C., or from each other. Hopefully our lively debates can continue without being prompted by the topics in class. Not to get sentimental or anything, but I’ll miss seeing everyone together at 11:20 on Tuesdays and Fridays!