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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2002)
b_________ Feature Conquering boredom- Study abroad: what we need is each other Education and WedriEsdAy, J anuary JO, 2002 tails to include. If you are drawing a homogenized human environ ment (like an office) the detail that An old Tao saying goes as fol you include chooses itself, for lows: The most obvious thing is there is a lack ,of any real detail. the most difficult to see; therefore The indoor, and to a lesser degree you need un-knowledge to see it. the urban outdoor environment, is That is, that which you “know” is boring to our minds for lack of keeping you from seeing what you stimulation. instinctively know. People have Bored as we are, we seek enter become so reliant on the great mod tainment through the way that is ern god of “fact” that they wait for provided to us, which is through scientists to tell them what they the avenues of spending money. should know anyway, like human Everything in the advertisements milk is better for human babies than that constantly bombard us is a bovine milk. promise of happiness through Here’s the obvious: our environ spending money. This being a ment is unnatural and unhealthy capitalist system, the pursuit of our to our minds. There is even a sci lives is money. Money does not entific study that points in this di bring happiness, however. Other rection, such as that outlined in wise, why would expensive de the Jul/Aug 2001 issue of signer psychotropic drugs be so Adbusters magazine: “Each gen widely used among the wealthy? eration born in the twentieth cen What we need is each other; hu tury has suffered more depression man contact is what keeps us to than the previous one and since gether. We all live in private cages, WWII, the overall rate of depres isolation chambers that keep us sion has more than doubled.” separated even though we’re I’m not so much concerned here mostly engaging in the same ac with depression as with boredom, • tivity in our own private isolation but they’re related in that they re chambers. From what I’ve seen, sult from the same cause: our me most people are distant even from diated environment. Our human- those they spend time with. Why controlled environment is inher should this be the case? ently boring by design. Every Largely we spend our time in thing is divided into spatial areas; scheduled activities, many of classroom, supermarket, “living” which we particularly don’t want room, road, etc. Each of those spa to do. Our jobs are meaningless, tial areas is designed for one pur done not because we want to do pose and pretty much confines its them but because the system usage to that singular purpose. doesn’t let us get by without Suppose that you are drawing money. These jobs cut us off from what you see in a natural environ engaging in activity conducive to ment. In nature there is infinite de personal growth, and they cut us tail, so you must chose what de- off from meaningful contact with JESSE GURZYNSKI Staff'Writer TR e CI ac I camas P rînt I i other people. I don’t know all the answers. We are all extremely dysfunc tional, bored, depressed, psy chological wrecks; but we also share an amazing human poten tial for growth as individuals and as a society. You who are look cultural experience in Florence and London MAGGIE JIRASEK Editor-in-Chief "I really believe that deep down all of us humans are the same." Jesse Gurzynski Staff Writer ing to make your life better, I’ll tell you what I’ve found myself, and I’m sure you’ll find for your self as well, if you look. We need to communicate with other people. Just to be able to express ourselves to others is a great re lief, but there’s more. I think that what we’ll discover if we really start openly commu nicating is that all those things that we thought we were alone in are really shared thoughts and experiences; I really believe that deep down all of us humans are the same. This does not mean that I believe that we are not unique individuals, only that our human soul is universal. Love your fellow human, and love your world, for all are a part of you and you need them. Friends keep us sane. I Two Clackamas instructors, Jan Anderson and Eric Lewis, will be leaving for Europe this year in order to help American students to com plete their studies in a foreign coun try. Every year, the American Interna tional Field Service gives stu dents the opportunity to study abroad and expe rience European culture. This year, Anderson, an English instructor, and Lewis, a psychology in structor, have been se lected to teach abroad for an entire term. Lewis will be teaching in London in spring term and Anderson will be teaching in Italy in fall term. “I think this is the most exciting kind of education because students get to experience a different culture and other ways of thinking,” said Anderson. “It changes your out look and it’s a tremendous growing experience.” According to Lewis, the goal for him as instructor teaching abroad is to keep students who are in a for eign country on track with their edu cation so they can graduate on time. “ I’m not teaching foreign stu dents. I’m teaching students from Oregon or students who want to study abroad,” he said. “I will be«1 teaching psychology and sociol-B ogy.” V The cost for students to study« abroad for a term are not very highW compared to the amount of money«1 they would have to pay in their home V country when attending a uni ver- ■ sity. “It’s a very cost effective way to ■ get a great education both in the I classroom and culturally,” said Lewis. “It costs around $ 4,800 to participate in the program. o If you go to a university in if Oregon, you are going to c end up spending that n money anyways. This n way you get to study inL V London or Florence for« 1 a term.” Basic fees cover the plane ticket, I fl tuition, room and excursions. Schol- 1 v arships to students are available as well. According to Anderson, stu dents will be in class only four days a week and spend the rest of the time sightseeing. “We will plan trips to all the in credible museums and historical sights,” Anderson said. “In Italy, we will take the students to Pisa so they I can lean with the tower.” ■ For students who are interested ■ in spending a term in London or Flo- |ti rence, contact Anderson at X2429|n or Lewis at X 2251. 12-stepping through Valentine’s Day With Valentine’s Day loom steps we took prior to last Feb. 15’s 6:00 a.m. walk of shame: ing on the horizon, I’ve been 1. We admitted we had no thinking about the pressure the holiday bringsand what I can cash and were powerless in the do to help ^7------------------ - others get through it, short of vF ’ i Marvin Baker chewing Guest Columnist tinfoil. Now don’t get me wrong, I hate Valentine’s Day this year. dating scene. 2. Came to believe that ev That’s because I’m a poor sport. Next year might be dif erybody else on the planet was ferent, but right now every holding hands to spite us. 3. Made a decision to turn heart-shaped box of candy in Fred Meyer’s seasonal display our lives over to the advice of aisle snickers at me whati I walk a friend we wouldn’t dare trust past. Since I know full well that the other 364 days of the year. 4. Made a fearful, last-minute despite my outward derision I will make a last ditch effort to search of our little black books participate, I’ve learned it’s im for an alternative to step three. 5. Admitted to God, and our portant to set some sort of plan in motion early on. I also know best friend during a drunken I am no't alone in this and would stupor, the lengths we were like to share the benefit of my willing to go to get that return experience with the rest of you. phone call from Elizabeth To this end I have created VD Hurley. 6. Were entirely ready to let Anonymous, a support group for successful last-minute Feb Leatherface MD remove our ruary dating. These are the physical defects if it would get us past the rope at the night club so no one would see us on the street with our friend’s girlfriend’s cousin’s big little sister. 7. HumblyXsked our date to spring for the limo. 8. Made a list of all the exes we owed money to and where they were likely to be to avoid them and any potential injury to our odds of getting action, 9. Made direct amends and false promises to the one ex we forgot to check the where abouts of. 10. Continued to check out the other guy’s dates in hopes that what we came with wasn’t so bad after all. 11. S ought through prayer and Goldschlagger to increase our semi-conscious state and the physical appeal of our “friend.” 12. Having had a frightful awakening the next morning, we tried to carry our sorry asses with pride across her apartment complex parking lot, determined to extend this com ing year’s May-December fling into March. I’d like to touch upon one more thing before cutting you loose. A lot of shaky relation ships break up right after Valentine’s Day, so this may be the opportune time to hit her up for that role-playing game of lucky burglar. It could add just the right amount of spice to a foundering relationship. Then again the suggestion might send her shrieking from your place in search of a cop, taking you off the market and setting her up for rebounder’s heaven by mid-March. Sud denly the glass is half full. I’m telling you, it’s an amazing pro gram. SOMETH I Nt 1 s TO SELL? Take out a Classified Ad in The C/ackamas Print 1 i Call Nick Barron © X257Ô V ( ) t c r I
