Reflection 1

This week has been weird. Moving here all the way from Southern California has been a big transition. I thought I was ready, but I’ve come to realize I am homesick, not just for my family, but the life and the routine I had at home as well as my friends. Also it has been a rough week because there was a tragedy at home and dealing with that along with all this change has been hard. So life at American university overall is very different and the change happened so quickly I think I am still adjusting and getting used to everything.

Surprisingly I enjoy all my classes and my professors. Global Cities is a very unique and interesting class which I am sad only occurs once a week. I was thoroughly surprised by my Chinese class. I was very unsure as to whether or not I would like it, but the professor has really made the class something I look forward too. I am also taking writing 100 and while it is not my favorite class so far I have no complaints. Of course I am taking World Politics, and during the last class we discussed Awiti. I did not participate much in the large class discussion because I was very intent on learning and hearing from my classmates, but in our smaller groups I gave my thoughts about the novel.

Honestly, it was one of the hardest pieces of literature I have ever had to read. The extreme descriptions of the rapes and murders really affected me, so it took me awhile to get through the book because I had to pause and take a few breaths before reading on. I believe Awiti had every right to exact revenge on all those people. The only time she ever crossed a line in my mind was when she poisoned the children. Awiti’s hate was only intensified during her immortal life because she constantly surrounded herself with people who were suffering or people who had hate in their hearts. Being around people for long periods of time means you will begin to act like them and that is what happened to Awiti. Her tunnel vision took over and she never talked to the black victims of her destruction, nor did she help those whose lives she affected, like the professor.

I’m excited for next week!