In Their Words

Snow - And so it begins

Winter has started as the snow is falling. The first day that there were flurries, I was walking to chow from class and didn’t notice it was even snowing at first since it was so light. Later that day, the snow picked up speed. As I left my room, one of the rooks stated “ CPL Ferraro, it’s snowing!” Many of the rooks are from places that rarely have snow, especially not at the Vermont extremes. Being born and living my whole life in New England, I am used to the cold temperatures and have not warm warming layers yet. In contrast, some of the students originally from Texas or California are having a tougher time adjusting to the Vermont weather. I personally love the snow, so I was thrilled to see the first snowfall, but some people on campus wish the snow would stay away longer. One thing that... Read more →

Tertulia - Spanish club

The Spanish club on campus, Tertulia, is every Wednesday at 1600. This club gives us students a great place to practice our Spanish, especially our speaking skills. There are students of all levels - from just beginning at the 100 level, to advanced. The environment is very open and understanding, making it more comfortable to attempt to speak without worrying about anyone making fun of any mistakes. There is always Spanish coffee and snacks available to munch on during the hour or so of the club. We play a variety of games, keeping each meeting interesting. One of my favorite meetings was were we shared slang words from various Spanish speaking countries. For example, “En plan” in Spain is often used as a filler word similar to our “like,” while in Peru it is referring to the “talking” phase of dating. I have a great time each week, especially going... Read more →

American Red Cross Blood Drive

Last year, I attempted to donate blood at the Fall Blood Drive but my iron level was too low. For the Spring, I got too nervous so I just signed up to volunteer. This time around, I really wanted to donate. I made sure to eat iron rich foods leading up to the event. I was worried, but when I went through the screening I had a high enough level. During the process, I stared straight ahead the whole time - not the needle or the bag for the blood. I got really freaked out by the sensation and the women at my station said, “Just don’t think about it,” but I couldn’t distract myself. I started getting very pale so they put my head down and feet up. They gave me a blanket after I started shaking. They were continuously checking in on me to see if I was... Read more →