Class review: C.I. class 9/12


Hi everyone in C.I. class!  

Last class on 9/12 was amazing; I was very glad to hear everyone's voices.  

In the beginning of the class, we all had the chance to introduce ourselves to each other.  It was nice to learn more about each of you during our introductions. 
Jeff introduced us to an excellent poem, "The Raven," written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1845.  I was so pleased to hear that C.I.class has inspired Jeff to study such a cool poem, and I think he inspired all of us!  

Jeff kindly shared two links with me that I think you all will enjoy; in the first you can hear the poem "The Raven" read by Christopher Walken, and in the second you can see John Astin (dressed like Edgar Allan Poe!) reciting the poem.  Both are excellent performances, and even if you don't understand every word of the poem, you can get a taste for the exciting rhythm of the poem by listening to it. 

If you want to read along with the poem as it's being recited, go to the Poetry Foundation here:http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178713
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C.I. class 9/26: Oceania (including Australia)

Hi C.I. classmates!  

I hope you've all had a lovely Moon Festival!
Thanks for a wonderful class last time!  Please see my other email for a class review!
This week on 9/26, we'll still be concentrating on Oceania (including Australia)!  

I hope for more exciting presentations from all of you!  I loved last week's presentations, and I was so happy to hear from all of you!  

As a class on 9/26, we'll discuss the plight of Oceania's "disappearing islands," and if anyone wants to tell us more about what you know about this situation, please feel free to share!    

See:
Endangered Islands

and/or:
Rising sea level puts island nations like Nauru at risk

More soon! 
Take care everyone, and try to stay dry!!

Sincerely, Abbie 

C.I. class 9/12: Australia and Oceania



Hi Everyone in C.I. class!

I was so happy to see everyone on our first class night last Thursday!  

Last Thursday we practiced "brainstorming," so you'll be able to think up lots of exciting directions and ideas for your presentations.  Starting from any broad theme, you can use brainstorming to find specific ideas for topics you might want to talk about.  

I enjoyed the small groups' introductions of 8 regions of the world: Australia & Oceania, Europe, Antarctica, South America, North America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.  :)  

This semester, we'll take a tour of the earth, concentrating on the various regions in turn.  
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Greetings from Abbie!


Dear everyone who's ever been in C.I. class!  

We start a new semester of C.I. class tomorrow, and I'm thinking of all of you: current C.I. students, recent C.I. students, and C.I. students who came to classes a long time ago!

I know that many of you will join us again this semester, and I know that some of you won't be able to make it to C.I. class this semester. 

If you're coming back to class tomorrow, 9/5, I can't wait to see you again!    

If you can't come return to our class this time around, please do send me a note and let me know what you're up to and how your summer was!  And please keep in touch!

No matter whether or not you're taking class this semester, I hope you can join us for a reunion hike this month; details coming soon!!  

Especially for those of you who were in C.I. class last semester:  Thanks for a great semester, and a lovely end-of-class potluck!!  Normally at the end of a semester, I send out a class survey, but last semester I left for Norway in a big flurry of activity, and never sent you the survey!  So sorry!!  I still really want to know everyone's thoughts about our class last semester!!  

So if you're returning to C.I. class this semester, I'll ask you to share your thoughts with me in class tomorrow night!  

And if you won't be able to take C.I. class this semester, please do write me with your thoughts and news!!    

Last semester ended earlier than usual when I took off for Norway in late June, so we've had a really long break!   

My trip to Norway was amazing, and even though the daytime summer temperatures sometimes only reached 8 or 10 degrees C, we all had fun in the 24 hour sun!  I hiked on mountains, boated over fjords, and swam in icy waters!  And I ate lots of delicious Norwegian brown cheese and many kinds of wild berries.  

Here are a few photos from Norway for you.  The first is of the delicious blueberries which were growing wild everywhere.  The second shows the mysterious Norwegian mountains and sea, as seen from a ship.  And the last is of the sun at midnight.  All of these photos were taken north of the arctic circle in Norway during July 2013.  North Norway is certainly a long way from Taiwan!  

Now I'm happy to be back enjoying the beauty of Yilan County, and happy to have the chance to see many of you soon!

Take care everyone, and please let me know how you are.  

Sincerely, Abbie 
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