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Final Thoughts

April 26, 2012 //

It’s hard to believe that this course is already over, much less my freshman year of college! In my opinion, this was the fastest second half of a semester all year, and it seemed that just as quickly as this class started we were already talking about it ending. With that said, I have a few final remarks to make.

Mitchell Lin reflecting on the class.

First off, I think that the presentations today went very well, despite not having as many visitors as our professors probably wanted to see. My group’s Prezi didn’t go as well as planned because some of the text got cut off on the display (the TV’s in the basement tend to do that; I’ve found that out from playing Call of Duty downstairs a lot), but the groups with videos really impressed me, especially Bricksquad. As other people have noted in their posts, I was a little skeptical after our first day of class. I wasn’t sure if we would actually be able to learn a whole lot from an online video game, and I thought that the work sounded a little overwhelming when added in with the other classes I had already been taking. However, as is the case with most classes, I got more comfortable with it as time went on and have found myself learning and thinking in ways that I don’t usually.

What has engaged me the most are the blog posts. Although I slacked on getting them done at first, once I started writing I realized how good it felt to put my thoughts together like that and get it out there for other people to see. In my previous Wired class we were also required to blog, but I don’t think that there was a single comment on any of the posts. In fact, I don’t think that most people even read other classmates’ posts; we just wanted to get them out of the way. This was the biggest difference for me, because I felt like we were all writing about things that other people could genuinely be interested in, and I found myself reading other people’s posts because I wanted to, not because I had to.

When this class started, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what anthropology was. Now that it’s over, I not only have a better understanding of it but can see why our professors are so interested in it as well. I’m still sticking with engineering, but I’m glad that I ended up taking this class. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that it’s over too. I’m ready for summer.

Categories Reflections

Keeneland Hall: UK’s Cosmopolitan Canopy

By Mitchell Lin

April 26, 2012 //

For the last half semester, we’ve been searching for cosmopolitan canopies on Second Life, and it seems like every group has successfully found them. What I find ironic, however, is that we have been living in a cosmopolitan canopy for an entire year, maybe without even realizing it. Although there are certainly many examples of such places around UK’s campus (the student center, the library, the Johnson Center, Blazer, Commons, etc.), I think that Keeneland Hall is by far the best example that we have.

For example, every Wednesday we have a coffee chat in the lobby where someone influential will give a talk and anyone who wishes to attend can stick around and speak with them and others who are there. Additionally, we have hosted many projects, including the making of bandanas to raise awareness of people who are exploited in various communities, the making of a video on how we contribute to diversity, and of course “Study for a Cure” last semester and “Study for a Cause” this semester. Lastly, we all took classes that were centered around the iPad and other technology, Wired’s main purpose. At the conclusion of these, we made final presentations on what we learned that have not been a secret to those around UK and even around the world. We might not have had very many visitors for our presentations today, but our blogs have certainly made a splash in the global community, and I think that this program has accomplished its goals.

Below is a video that we made in our Social Connections class last semester when we were thinking about creating a “Wired Yearbook,” that gives some nice snapshots of the dorm. Below that is one last reason why living in Keeneland Hall has been such an advantage; I think the picture will speak for itself.

The basketball players live next door to us.

Tags A&S Wired, community, Keeneland Hall, UK basketball

Categories Cosmopolitanism, Reflections, Virtual vs. Physical Community

Life with a Korean Roommate

By Mitchell Lin

April 26, 2012 //

Around this time last year, my best friend and I from back home were making plans for our first semester at UK. This included how we were going to pick up girls, if we were going to rush or not, and most importantly where we were going to live because we were rooming together. Unfortunately, because he applied to UK as late as he did, he would be doing all of this at Louisville his first semester instead, and I was left with a random roommate.

When my housing assignment came in the mail and I saw the name “Janghwan Lee,” my first thought was, I WOULD get an Asian roommate….but after some Facebook stalking and talking to my parents about it, I realized that this could be a really good experience for me. Now that we are a week away from the end of the school year, I can look back and say that it definitely was.

In this class, we have learned about being global citizens, but this has only been done by means of the virtual world in Second Life. What Janghwan (John) has allowed me to do is experience this in the physical world, which I think is awesome, especially considering that no one else here can say that. Be jealous! Nonetheless, just as some of us might have had trouble interacting with people in Second Life, it hasn’t always been easy living with John. Because he’s from Korea and didn’t move to the United States until his freshman year of high school (which makes how well he speaks English very impressive, by the way), he doesn’t really get some of our humor, and gets offended easily sometimes. For example, he’s a Patriots fan and literally tried to beat me up when I wrote “L 21-17” on his calendar on the date of the super bowl. He also tried to kick me in the middle of Blazer because I snuck up behind him and gave him a tap on the cheek.

By far the biggest conflict that we’ve had throughout the semester, however, is the air conditioning. I’m constantly burning up at all times, but he insists that we shouldn’t even have it on. He always says, “Your body is so weird, it’s not hot in here,” but I think that everyone can agree Keeneland Hall was a sauna all winter long. My theory behind this was that his blanket he brought from Korea is too small and thin and doesn’t keep him warm at night (it looks more like a towel than anything), so I decided to bring him a bigger one from home and offer to let him use it. He thanked me, but only a few days later I found the blanket thrown behind the bed, and he didn’t want it. Although I found this and a lot of his other habits strange, I learned to deal with it, and I think that he has done the same with me.

Guys, John's on TV!

As you can see, I’ve included a few pictures from throughout the year, and other than the fact that John is a pimp, I think they show that he’s a really interesting, fun-loving guy that my friends and I have all enjoyed getting to know this year. He plays basketball with us all the time, plays in the band, and I’m sure everyone has heard him killin’ it on the piano in the lobby at some point. Most recently, he’s introduced me to some Korean instrumental music that I would strongly recommend; I fall asleep to it on a regular basis now.