As a way to conclude the external journey blog, I would like to finish with the song Gypsy by Lady Gaga. This is one of my favorite songs ever, and definitely Lady Gaga's best song. It's about traveling the world, and feeling like a gypsy, which I can relate to our own internal and external journeys.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Song of the month - Gypsy by Lady Gaga
As a way to conclude the external journey blog, I would like to finish with the song Gypsy by Lady Gaga. This is one of my favorite songs ever, and definitely Lady Gaga's best song. It's about traveling the world, and feeling like a gypsy, which I can relate to our own internal and external journeys.
My External Journey
The
English Literature course, which is titled “Journey in Literature”, was essentially
divided into two categories: Internal and external journey. In the external
category, students had the opportunity of discovering different types of features
that distinguish countries and cultures, which was accomplished by creating a
personal blog and writing about topics, films, lectures, and essays studied in
class. However, the internal category was a more personal one, and made
students discover their own emotions, struggles, thoughts, and generally their own
personal journey throughout the semester.
Before
starting this literature course, I strongly believed this class was about
traveling through the world, and capturing different works of literature from diverse
countries and cultures. I was definitely not expecting to discover inner
journeys within myself, or even different perspectives and opinions of foreigners
regarding my own country. However, now I understand the importance of discovering,
recognizing, and studying cultures before actually embarking on a trip and
visiting other countries. Throughout this external journey, I understood how
ignorant and biased tourists can truly be when they travel, including me.
Even though the topics discussed in class were very enjoyable, I believe the external journey entries on the blog primarily confirmed and portrayed the course’s main objectives. By promoting independent thinking, researching, and reading, students had the opportunity to reflect on individual topics through a blog, and somewhat relate their inner journey as well. My favorite entry was “A Small Place: Colonialism in the 21st Century”, which was inspired and related to Jamaica Kincaid’s “A Small Place”; mainly because I had the chance of learning about neocolonialism, and exposing the topic to my fellow classmates and friends. Another entry that I enjoyed writing was the “Day as a Tourist: Internal Tourism” post, because students had the opportunity of becoming travelers in their own country, which sounded ridiculous at first, but after writing the post, it really captured the essence of the external journey.
People should embark on similar external journeys and create these types of personal blogs. Although it sounded like an assignment at first, it truly became a tool for me to analyze and express my own quest throughout the semester. It definitely also improved my writing and communication skills, specially since I've never had the opportunity of writing a public blog. Finally, I strongly believe the main objective of the course was achieved, which was submerging and learning about our journeys, regardless if they were personal, external, or physical, and thus becoming a traveler rather than a tourist.
Even though the topics discussed in class were very enjoyable, I believe the external journey entries on the blog primarily confirmed and portrayed the course’s main objectives. By promoting independent thinking, researching, and reading, students had the opportunity to reflect on individual topics through a blog, and somewhat relate their inner journey as well. My favorite entry was “A Small Place: Colonialism in the 21st Century”, which was inspired and related to Jamaica Kincaid’s “A Small Place”; mainly because I had the chance of learning about neocolonialism, and exposing the topic to my fellow classmates and friends. Another entry that I enjoyed writing was the “Day as a Tourist: Internal Tourism” post, because students had the opportunity of becoming travelers in their own country, which sounded ridiculous at first, but after writing the post, it really captured the essence of the external journey.
People should embark on similar external journeys and create these types of personal blogs. Although it sounded like an assignment at first, it truly became a tool for me to analyze and express my own quest throughout the semester. It definitely also improved my writing and communication skills, specially since I've never had the opportunity of writing a public blog. Finally, I strongly believe the main objective of the course was achieved, which was submerging and learning about our journeys, regardless if they were personal, external, or physical, and thus becoming a traveler rather than a tourist.
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