Recently, Kate Greer, a self-proclaimed Germany aficionado held a session talking about German culture and possible study abroad opportunities at the German House. There was plenty of pretzels and hot chocolate, as well as many people who are passionate about Germany and its history and culture. My family is from Germany, I don’t speak much German, but I can sing several Wagner and Mozart arias. I found it nice to be around other people who care a lot about the history of the country I feel connected with. Kate did a fantastic job, clearly she is passionate about the country. I thought the presentation she gave on German history and study abroad opportunities was fantastic. Although I was pretty familiar with German history, I found that she presented it in a way that was educational and entertaining. In addition, I found the resources provided about study abroad opportunities to be really helpful. I want to do a study abroad, but I really don’t know if I can fit it into my studies. Also, I wouldn’t know where to go. Germany would be a great place for me to go, because it is a center of academia in Europe. In conclusion, I thought this even was really fun and educational. It was a great way to spend a cold winter’s night.

In the past, me Zoe Sikon, and Anne Knellinger had painted a mural outside of the library at Columbus Global Academy. At the very beginning of the semester Jeremy Hollon, the director of Community Refugee and Immigrant Services (CRIS) asked us to come back and design another mural, this one was to be much larger in a room next to the large gym. The school wished to turn this room into the Global Gym, a place where students could come to do yoga, exercise, and generally just calm down. Many of the students at CGA come from very difficult situations, they may be suffering from PTSD or other problems. The Global Gym is a space where they can just calm down and spend time in. This space was much larger than the previous mural did, and we spent an entire weekend perfecting it, while the other was completed in a day. The Romophos sophomore society sent several volunteers, and a graduate student organization also had some people come. It was definitely different from the last mural, us three freshman went from directing out peers in IA to directing people who we didn’t know and were much older than us. It was definitely nerve racking, but it went super smoothly. I am glad that we completed a smaller mural before moving on to this gigantic one, it gave us valuable experience on how to direct people, mix colors, and generally just how to paint a mural. This mural also went more smoothly because we were able to complete it over three 6-8 hour days, instead of one 12 hour montage.

Since the space was suposed to be calming, I suggested doing a seascape scene. That seascape turned into a day/night mural, with a giant octopus in one corner, a castle in the other, a map on one wall, and a village on another. The only request the school made was they wanted the painting to be very colorful, and we obliged. The other mural we did outside the library was full of symbolism and meaning, however this one was just more for the kids to enjoy on a surface level. Personally, I spent most of time on the castle and the moon and sun. I am happy to report that the kids there seem to love it, and despite the freezing temperatures we had recently after it was completed, the kids wanted to spend time in the frigid room to look at the painting we made. I am so happy that I could help these kids by adding some beauty to their school. I hope that they continue to enjoy our mural for many years to come. I have attached some of my favorite pictures of our mural.