Gearing Up for Midterms and Lots of Papers Due

Next week is "midterms week," which might not mean the same thing as it does in high school. At least, for me it's certainly not the same. In high school we used to get the entire week off and we would only go to school for the midterms that we had. However, here at Hunter, we still must attend the rest of our classes during the week and it's really up to the discretion of the professor if you have a midterm during this week or not. That's not to say you won't have one at all, some professors simply schedule them earlier (or sometimes later) than the week that we call midterms week.

On Tuesday I have both of the two midterms that I have. I have my second Spanish exam which isn't officially a midterm, because the class breaks down the exams to be scheduled once we finish a chapter, however it is during midterms week so I have been referring to it as a midterm. A few hours later, I have my Classical Mythology midterm which I'm a little nervous for, however my professor assured us that it should be fine as long as one has attended class and I have. More pressing are the papers that I have due next week, and into the first few days of Spring Break. I have my first political science paper due, which I must start before this weekend. I also have a response paper to a trip for MHC (to the Tenement Museum) which I'm actually quite excited about, the trip not the paper. Lastly I have a five page oral history report, including a summary and recording of the interview I must conduct, also for MHC due within the first few days of Spring Break.

I didn't come to complain, I actually came to write about the things I'm glad I got to do before all of this becomes a huge stress. A few weeks ago I went to the opening night of previews for the new Broadway musical Matilda. It was the cutest thing ever! I went with my parents, and had a lot of fun. It was very well done and the children were so professional, it was very entertaining to watch. The set was gorgeous as well, in a fun way, as it was covered in what were made to look like books and scrabble tiles/lettered blocks. It was a really fun evening.

The second thing that I wanted to let you guys know about was my adventure in making dumplings! I've always just bought them pre-made, whether already fried or frozen was the only main difference. But last Friday I actually threw together my own filling (with beef) and used wonton skins that I'd bought in Chinatown, and steamed up some dumplings. I was really surprised by how well they turned out, and am looking forward to trying again with pork at some point this week or next. I'll let you know how it turns out. Last time I simply did beef with lemon juice, soy sauce, pepper, and egg, but this time I want to put in some green onion or napa leaves. I'm not sure yet, but I'm excited. And the prospect of being able to make dumplings in the future is definitely helping me keep going through this next week and a half.