Last night, Wednesday the 19th, was Guild Night. It was very fun, but nerve-racking. I was in the Monks, Nuns, and Imams Guild. I was a nun. I really like making and how my costume turned out. It was kind of hard to stay in character the whole night, especially when my mom pulled her phone out to take a picture. I had to act like I had no idea what it was, but it was fun the act confused about an iPhone. I was surprised how I had changed most of my monologue while I was talking to people. It was a little annoying when people asked questions throughout the whole monologue, instead of just the end. I was very scared at first, but I was confident with my family watching and at the end. I was surprised how fast the night went by. After a while I gave up trying to get people to eat the molasses mixed with mint, so after a while I just had them smell it. One of my favorite parts was when a 5th grader smelt the mixture, their eyes went very wide, and they made a disgusting face. Before I knew it, it was time for me to become an abbess. By the end of the night I was exhausted, but then I was full of energy because I was holding it all in. I was a very weird feeling; a cross between tired and energetic. I was sad that I only got to see one other guild, the Medicine Guild. Overall it was a very fun and exciting night. Thank you Lynne for being my guild master!
-Noelle
We went to Saint John the Divine in New York City. It is the 4th biggest cathedral in the world, and we climbed to the very top of it. We took the train uptown, and when we got there, it was an amazing sight.
The View Of The Front
We walked inside those two big middle doors, and came into the huge cathedral. I got some good pictures. The stained glass was the most amazing. It was just so breathtaking.
The Stained Glass Window Behind Us
Our guide then came, and we started climbing the stairs. We stopped on a flying buttress, and we were able to see the windows a little better. Walking up the stairs made me dizzy because they were so steep, small, and spiralish. We got up even further, and I got this picture.
Picture from 2nd floor stop.
We learned that each pair of windows had a theme. Some were education, some were medicine, ect. In medieval cathedrals the stained glass windows would show the story of The Bible, because most people couldn’t read. We kept going up, and stopped at the rosettes. We went up to the roof, and the view was amazing. There are no words to describe it. We went down again, and I looked at the pews that nuns and monks would sit in to sing and pray.
Overall, this was by far, my favorite field trip ever.
Time to confess my sins. Oh no. I cannot do this. Yes I can. I am just glad I got past the bathing. Am I really going to say it? I can’t, my dreams of becoming a knight will crumble. Oh, here is my escort. Don’t look scared, Millicent, don’t let him notice. He wants my name? Say Allard, not Millicent. Get in the carriage. I can’t really confess I am a woman, surely. Should I? Lying is a sin so then I am not confessing that I am lying about being a woman, and that is a sin. One day I didn’t fast. I have also committed the sins of anger and pride. Relax. Don’t think about sins. Huh. Will I go to a tournament or will I go to war? Tournaments are very entertaining, and I could get really famous. But would that increase my chance of being found out? Maybe if I am a great knight, I will get more land. What will my coat of arms be like? Will it be weird to be chivalrous to women if I am a woman, or will it make it easier? Calm down… I will be alright. I will be alright. I will be alright. I will be alright. Uh oh, there is the church.
Wow. I have never been to this church before, it is beautiful. There is stained glass mosaics on every wall and beautiful cavernous ceilings. There is the priest. Just don’t blow it. Just admit everything except that you are a woman. Slowly say the sins, Millicent. Slowly, almost done. Don’t get nervous and blow it. This is your whole life. Just think of the future… Thank the Lord! I made it. I am really doing it. I am ready to get my chainmail on, get my sword blessed and become a woman in the disguise of a knight!
Ashokan is a very beautiful place in the fall. For example, as soon as we got there, the trees were all turning different colors. Everywhere you look there was a beautiful sight. On the Gorge Hike, we were in a canyon. There was water running down the sides and everyone said that it was gorgeous. This means that it wasn’t just me who thought it was amazing, but everyone else did too. But it wasn’t only the Gorge Hike that was amazing. When I woke up and went outside, I just become happy at the sight. All I saw was an abundance of colors on the ground, on the trees, and then I saw the woods and the buildings. I felt like I was part of nature. I love fall, and being at Ashokan in the fall is amazing. It is very easy to understand why everyone else thought that the Gorge Hike and the whole Ashokan Center was beautiful; there were amazing animals, cool artifacts, and stunning sights. I could see the pond and the waterfall. All the animals were so calm and beautiful. I can imagine that Ashokan is very beautiful all year round, but fall is definitely the most stunning time of the year.
Heroes are people who help the community and are inspiring to people. Heroes demonstrate qualities such as courage and perseverance when there is adversity, they are selfless, kind, and they inspire other people. They will sacrifice themselves for others. Some people are great role models, and good heroes, but others have less heroic qualities, and overall fail to be true heroes. While Pushpa Basnet displays all of these heroic qualities, Odysseus lacks in these qualities.
Odysseus is a hero sometimes, but many times he fails to be a true hero. Odysseus has a true heart, but he also displays qualities such as selfishness, hubris, and cowardice, which are not very heroic. Odysseus is very full of himself after he escapes and blinds the Cyclops, Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. “‘If anyone asks who blinded you, tell them it was Odysseus, son of Laertes and Lord of Ithaca, Odysseus the Sacker of Cities!’” (p. 16) Odysseus gave Polyphemus all he needed to curse, and make him and his men have a bad life. If Odysseus was a true hero, he would have thought about what he was going to do before he did it.
Pushpa Basnet is a very important modern day hero. Pushpa lives in Kathmandu, Nepal. She is 28 years old and started her work when she was 21. When she visited a jail, she was amazed of how many children there were. One little girl pulled on her shawl and grinned. She immediately knew she had to help. Pushpa is kind and has devoted her life to helping others. She is selfless, and kind. She started the Early Childhood Development Center for children who live in prisons. If a parent is put in jail, they have to make a decision. Their children can either go to jail with them, or live on the streets. She has saved over 100 children since 2005. “It’s not fair for children to live in the prison because the haven’t done anything wrong,” Basnet says, “My mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls.” Nepal’s Department of Prison Management estimates 80 children live in the nation’s prisons. Pushpa saves them. If Basnet didn’t do this, many children would be stuck in jail, not living the normal life of a child. No kid should have to live in a jail. She is helping 100s on children stuck in jail, have fun in the outside world, and to have a view of something besides bars.
My personal heroes are my dad and my mom. My dad is a contractor, and he teaches me lots of things. He doesn’t just teach me stuff about building with wood and metal, but how to build my confidence, happiness, and knowledge. He inspires me both with his art and his kindness. He really loves me and I love him back. My dad is very inspiring, kind and fun. In the summer he teaches me how to drive the boat, and also helps me build. (This year is a tree house.) He tells me stories from his childhood, and inspires me to make and try many of those things. He is so kind and fun, that he will devote his time to have fun with and help me. My mom is a librarian, and everyone thinks that she wants me to read, and only read. But no. She wants me to be myself. She says to never not be yourself and to have fun being a kid. She helps me understand things, and is selfless. She will do almost anything to make me have the best life I possibly can. My dad and mom are perfect the way they are, and they love the whole family. Without my dad and my mom, I would not be as happy as I am.
Pushpa Basnet is a great hero. Unlike Odysseus she is selfless, kind, and inspires others. She has faced challenges and handled them well. On the other hand, when Odysseus was put in a challenging situation, he did not handle it so well. Heroes like Pushpa have made this world go around. They have the world a better place for everyone. Without them, our life would not be as great. They even make our everyday life better. Even one little thing, that someone does can make a person happier. So they are a hero to them. You don’t have to be famous to be a hero. My parents are my heroes, but they are not famous. One day, I hope that everyone will be a hero, even if you only do something that even just helps one person, or makes one person happier, and help this world become a better place.
My experience giving my docent talk at The Brooklyn Museum was very fun. I felt like it was fun because I got to learn a lot and I was happy with my talk. I liked how everyone in my group asked really good questions and gave nice compliments. One thing I learned about note-taking is to not plagiarize. When it comes to taking notes is that you should read in chunks. I used to write something down as soon as I read something important, but now I read in chunks then write. One thing that is still challenging for me about note taking is to not write in complete sentences.
My partner is Lars. We are reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Our partnership was productive and fun because we have different strengths, so our work had different points of view, and we worked together well. I’m proud that I discussed more of my ideas in the discussion . One challenge for me was to see the story from a different point of view, like his. I would like to work on that.
