February Forecast
It’s been a while since my last post so I’ll fill you in on what happened before giving you a preview of what is yet to come!
We’re all on edge, waiting for a win to break that tremendous losing streak! As for dance, just like last year I’m participating in the Dance Show which will take place in the beginning of Third Term. However, even though I’m back in my more natural state of dancing, I’ve still found a way to get out of my comfort zone - very far out of my comfort zone. I’m doing a hip-hop and a contemporary dance, neither of which are dance styles that I’ve ever performed in. I’m having a blast, though! I’ll try to get a video or photos of the hip-hop rehearsal if I can, but no guarantees. I’m still doing ballet too, but off campus at a very good local studio called Pasadena Dance Theater.
So, what happened recently besides the start of rehearsals and basketball almost winning several times? Midterms week is wrapping up. Some say that Midterms week is the worst week of Term - worse than Finals Week. This could be true becasue classes and most Sets continue during Midterms while for Finals we have a full week of no classes or assignments.
Caltech is on the Honor Code. This is something that I believe makes Caltech so special and it exists partially due to the tightness of our community. As a direct consequence of the Honor Code, most of our Exams are take-home with time and resource instructions printed on the front of the Exam. However, just because one gets a five-hour open-book take-home exam, this doesn’t mean that the exam is easy. On the contrary, it may mean that the Exam is harder and more open-ended, so you end up using several blue vooks to explain and justify your work. On a lighter note, these types of Exams take off the unneccesary stress of walking into a classroom at a specified time and having an hour to do a test where you know right away if your answer looks right or wrong. I find that while taking Caltech Exams, I’m still learning more and I think some Professors design their Exams on purpose to teach us more. On the other hand, take-home Exams can become extreme when they are unlimited-time. This usually ends up being more of a project that sucks up all of your energy because you think that you can always do it better, since it is unlimited-time.
Attendance, I thought, was not bad given that many Midterms had already been released and quite a few people have already dived into them.
This weekend is our first Interhouse party of the Term - Avery Interhouse. Every year, each House (eight total) hosts a party in their courtyard for all other Houses. The parties are themed and usually involve organized construction (which must pass a safety inspection). Starting with this week, there will be an Interhouse Party every Saturday until the end of Term. I promise to write about the parties as they happen! What else am I anticipating for this month? My main focus is school work which I know will not disappear so to balance myself, I hope to channel some of my energy into complementing activities. Dance rehearsals should get more and more serious as the Term wraps up. I will also try to stick to my resolution of exploring the area more, although I’ve had this resolution for a while and I must admit that I’m not satisfied with my progress. I also hope to solidify my plans for the summer this month (more about that later too). Finally, I plan to keep enjoying the sunshine here. It is 68F at 4:30 pm and this is not the hottest day.
Cheers, Nina.
