No Right Angles

I don't know what the sound is, but someone...

A few minutes ago I noticed a noise that sounded like an annoying tap. It increased in speed but I continued to ignore it because I figured someone was doing something repetitive and irritating in the room beneath me. As it turns out it was my friend Meg tapping on my window. There was a loud cry and I closed my curtains quickly. Then it registered that it was her. She's sitting out on my balcony (which she's technically not aloud to do, we all have signs on our windows that read "All ledges and architechural features of Hall Buildings are strictly out of bounds. Failure to comply liable to disciplnary action." But she's out there, her dreadlocked hair in a bun, which just fits in my window's opening. We're both thinking about Africa and how lucky we are.

On Thursday I had my Treaty of Waitangi tutorial and spoke with my professor afterward. She's a new lecturer, excited to teach and still using young language. For example, she would say, "girl" after a lot of things she would say to me. She and I spoke about Maori culture and society, of which I knew nothing. Now I have at least a basic knowledge. But one thing we spoke about was the similarities between the Gullah peoples and the Maori. When I went to the Sea Islands to research the Gullah culture I felt as though I appeared a foolish, white girl who was trying to get her kicks by slumming it. I felt condescending. But my professor explained that it is important for non-Gullah people and non-Maori to help protect these vanishing cultures. The society needs help.

Which brings me to Africa. I do not plan on changing the world at all. However, impacting one person's life, letting them know their worth as a human being would be a great priveledge. Still, I feel so awkward and apart, a portion of a priviledged, Western world who has no experience in the ghetto or being poor.

I am too young and too eager to simply give money. I am able-bodied, unmarried, and passionate. Is this not the perfect time for me to go and actively do something? But what is that something to be? Saying I want to go to Africa is one thing, but it's not a country. It's a whole continent, with millions of people with billions of problems. What will I do? What can I do? Something. There has to be something. And I'll find it.

I have real problems with my creative writing class, as it is the first place I have heard about a bell curve. Apparently it helps more people than it hurts, but how can this be? I am not a C student, but our professor told us that the majority of the people will get C's because it is the average grade. If too many people got A's it would mean the professor is too easy. This levels the playing field. I have no idea how. I compare this to Clemson's way of grading, which I feel is far more capitalist and encourages striving for better grades.

Additionally the class wants us to write poems which have a minimum of fourteen lines. How is the creative writing? It's only going to encourage long, wordy poetry which means nothing to the writer or the reader. Our professor told us, in is colorless, odorless way, that "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams would have received a C plus in his class because it was not fourteen lines. I want to leave this man's tutorial. I was truly disgusted by the way the tutorial (which is only one part of the class, we have an hour lecture every Monday) is run and would like to move to another. I don't think this will happen, but I am debating whether or not to discuss my feelings with the coordinating professor. Maybe he'll sympathize.

Today, before the sun went down, I took a walk and laid down in one of the rugby fields. It was beautiful.