Blogger
Jeff
Jeff is a 20-year-old Junior at Emory College in Atlanta, Georgia who lives in Northbrook, Illinois, just 20 miles north of Chicago, but is studying abroad at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic on a CIEE program. He's double majoring in economics and anthropology, to which he says, "Two different ends of the academic spectrum, I know, but it's been a blast to learn two completely unique ideas of thought."
When asked what he was most looking forward to about his semester in Prague, he responded, "You know that feeling when something just clicks in your head? Those moments of insight when a mess of information you've accumulated finally begins to make sense? I think the scientific term for these few seconds of absolute clarity is the 'Ah-ha Moment.' I'm most excited about all the 'Ah-ha' experiences I will have in Prague and throughout all of Europe (and hopefully Russia, too).
"After years and years of textbooks and pictures, movies and lectures, I'm finally going to see central Europe, really see it. Sure there will be the hundreds of students I will meet while studying in Prague and the dozens more while I am traveling throughout Europe on the weekends and after the program, and of course the great beer the Czechs are famous for, but all that, for me, just adds to my 'Ah-ha' moments. You see, from these people I will meet and study with, and from the people I live with in Prague, I will learn the most. Not from the classes or the museum tours, not from the Rick Steve's books I've been going through on this winter break, but from the people is where I will learn about Europe and about myself. There is nothing more important to me than self-discovery, and while I look forward to the 'Ah-ha moment' in a painting or a lecture, I am most excited for the 'Ah-ha moments' in which I learn about myself."
A quick Q & A session with Jeff on his general interests produced these results:
What type of music do you listen to?
I am a huge radio fan. Yes, we still exist. In Atlanta, at Emory, I listen to 99x, the alternative rock station, and if anyone asks my biggest pet peeve, it is that the music I like is called alternative rock. You see, in your head is a picture of a punk rock grunge kid from the 1990s listening to heavy garage band music, and that isn't what it is. So let's call it light alternative rock, but that doesn't sound too good either; I guess I don't like the word 'light' associated with my music. Regardless, it is Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers, and whatever is hot at the moment. And my latest odd music trend (because I believe everyone should have one at every moment in their lives, at least when in college) is Matisyahu, an Orthodox Jewish reggae and rap artist. Don't laugh, check him out. He is awesome and I was able to see him live in Atlanta and write a report on him for an American Studies class I was in. It was a great privilege.
What are your hobbies?
I started swimming in college for fun because the workout room was always too crowded and the treadmill started to bore me. Then I got serious and took a swimming class and now I'm a regular fish. At least when the weather is nice. I've been spending a lot of time in the pool because it is a great workout and a great place to meet people, especially fun collegiates hanging out poolside in Atlanta where it is only cold for about 3 months of the year. Besides the pool though, I love being outside hiking, trail running, and on the water in a canoe. I've had some great opportunities to do all three living in Georgia and have become a huge hiker, spending a lot of weekend afternoons on quick day hikes.
Favorite books/magazines/TV/movies?
Books - Move over Roald Dahl, Tom Wolfe has replaced you. Seriously, on both accounts. The first is that Tom Wolfe is my current favorite author and the second truth is that Dahl was my favorite author even in my third year of college. Matilda, come on, greatest book of all time. The girl could move her eyes and nose and send the principal into paranoia.
TV - L O S T is the greatest television show of the moment and the only one I have to sit down and watch, or rather Tivo and watch sometime late at night before I fall asleep.
Movies - I like American documentaries. No, not weird ones about sharks and airplanes, but things like Devil's Playground about the Amish and their heading out into the 'real world.' I also like Super Size Me and Spellbound. To me, these are the original and true reality shows and show the world in a different light and let me see parts of the United States I wouldn't otherwise see.
If you want to know any more about Jeff (or hear him go into a rant about the last three books he's read, all of which were by Tom Wolfe), ask him in his blog and he'll be more than happy to begin a discussion with you.
