How I Discovered the Marbles.

This semester has been somewhat of a journey for me. I remember walking into class on day one, and if I am completely honest, I had no idea what this trip was even about. I was just excited to have a chance to leave the country and have it count towards my degree. So I walk in the first day and we start talking about marbles, and I am sitting here like:

But really on the inside this is how I feel:

I didn't want to be that one kid, so I went home and did some research, and I was amazed.

THEY AREN'T REALLY MARBLES!!!!

What.

Mind Blown.

I was officially really glad that I hadn't raised my hand that first day because I had been sitting there imaging marbles. Literally spherical, giant, pearly white MARBLES....

Right?? Super embarrassing, and I'm definitely glad that we got that sorted out.

On a side note, the #ReturntheMarbles campaign is hilarious.

Anyways, so now that I actually know what we are talking about, I have context for this class, and I actually begin to understand what we are talking about!

Well...sort of. I definitely had moments were I felt like everyone else was speaking gibberish around me because I had no idea what half these words were.

"Rhetoric?"

"Terministic Screens?"

"Public Memory?"

Well...It was nice knowing what was going on for all of five seconds. Back to Google I go.

By the end of it all though, I feel like I can appreciate everything we are going to see so much more because I have more of an understanding of the world around me. I have always enjoyed art, but now I see things so differently because of this class. I walk into a museum and I question how a piece got where it is or how it has been altered since its creation.

Who was it taken from? Is there someone who wants it back?

I came into this course expecting an easy class with a fun trip at the end. Boy was I wrong about the easy class part! This class has challenged me and left me questioning. I have an opinion about the conflict between Greece and the British. I believe that the marbles belong back in Greece. I can say this because I now understand so much more the conflict and the history behind it. This class has helped me discover so much. Like how the marbles are a collection of statues, not big, spherical shapes. *Woohoo!*

I kid. But truly, this has been a semester of discovery. Now all that's left to do is pack.