A College Christmas Dinner

awkward photo of my friends without heads/the robe

My college is weird. Very bizarre and set in tradition. Quite frankly I don't why I picked that one out of all the University has to offer, but either way I'm here and it's too late to change.

Tonight was the college's annual Christmas dinner. It was a high table dinner which means that gowns (yes, that's right gowns, - like long black robes à la Harry Potter) must be worn and formal attire is obligatory. We lined up a good 45 mins before dinner because last time for Thanksgiving Dinner in October, we almost weren't able to sit together because people don't understand the concept of a line -_-.

Anywho, these high table dinners are kind of a big deal. The profs, faculty, and various alumni who happen to still be around campus attend. You sit with your graduating year (or in my case, social year) and are served the meals - honestly, it's just like Harry Potter without the floating candles and awesome ceiling. One of our (lame) frosh cheers is "We're going back to Hogwarts!" when we head back to college (it might seem cool but it's actually kind of sad when you're yelling it at a college twice your size).

yummy yumminess

But I'll admit, it is fun to get all dressed up and revel in some Christmas cheer before exams start and the school goes on winter break. We sang Christmas carols and songs and were given candy canes to munch on. But why do I (and most of the University of Toronto) think is my college weird, you might ask? Well it's traditionally Anglican, although I can't name a single Anglican enrolled, and many of those traditions are still around. Our cheers and school song are in Latin, we say a prayer (in Latin once more) before high/low table dinners (although most of the college probs isn't religious, let alone comprised of dead-language-speaking Christians) and there is a "not-so-secret" society, Episkopon (wiki it). Some might say this is the heart of the college, such ingrained traditions, and yes they are right. It is what makes it unique. But it also contributes to the pompous stuck up reputation that it carries. It's a give and take sort of situation.

a part of the dining hall

Many people don't like it, but lots of people feel at home here, as is evident by the dining hall filled with laughter, toasts and off key singing. After filling myself to the brim with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and multiple baked goods, and stashing numerous candy canes in my robe, I think I'm one of those people finding my home, as traditional, weird and bizarre as it may be.

Distracted by Diseases

At this moment I really should be finishing a paper on "The Changing Geography of Human Disease" for my ancient civilization and environment class, but instead, like any good student, I have resorted to being unproductive and procrastinating. The biggest issue with writing this paper quite frankly, is that it is just too damn interesting. I picked a topic that I knew wouldn't bore me to death, but my decision has produced some very unintentional consequences.

I signed out the book Plagues & Poxes: the Impact of Human History on Endemic Disease by Alfred Jay Bollet and unfortunately for me, it is a really good read. I have spent more time than necessary learning about the spread of syphilis and the elimination of small pox. And I can't forget the bubonic plague, a.k.a.  the Black Death, which is oh so terribly fascinating/freaking lethal. Before I go to sleep, I read a chapter on a different disease; a chapter that contains a lot more detail than is needed for my paper. I fear I may have veered off topic but its just so hard to stay on track when reading something interesting that isn't related to Spanish grammatical structure or French vocab.

I hope all this enthusiasm will result in an A+ quality piece of work, because that mark is greatly desired/needed. Maybe I should stop writing blog posts and go back to explaining how Columbus (and many other Europeans) killed millions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Yeah. Sounds like a plan.

Lest We Forget

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, or Veteran's Day in the U.S. It is a day where we remember the acts of service and sacrifice of those who served in war. We look back and the hardships that they faced and that many still face today, and pay our respects to them. At 11:11 am, we have a moment of silence, to commemorate the dead and appreciate all that was sacrificed so that we may live in the freedom that we do today.

In every elementary or high school around the country, it is customary to read the poem In Flander's Fields, written in World War I by Canadian doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae on May 3rd 1915. The opening line of the song references poppies growing in Flander's Fields, in the cemeteries of the fallen soldiers. They have since come to represent the blood that was shed and serve as a physical reminder of the past.

In the six grade I was in choir and we sang a version of this poem of a Remembrance Day assembly. I still remember it and sing it every year. I invite to listen to another version of the poem, sung beautifully by The Queen's University Choral Ensemble and arranged by Elanor Daley.

Lest We Forget.