intermediate program summer site : conversations : first session



	thomas from massachusetts (7/25) Thomas is getting ready to enter 9th grade and is a day student back for his second year at Explo. Thomas is excited for Movie Night, Cruise Night, and a chance to learn more about other cultures at Explo! This rain is incredible! How were your classes this morning? Well, I was in Japanese class on the Academic Quad, so since we had to get back in the rain, I’m a little soaked. What were you doing in the class? Well, we’re having a festival for Japanese class, and we were making lanterns for that. Have you taken Japanese before? Not formally. I do know some, just picking it up on my own. I’ve always been interested in Japanese culture, so I decided to take the class. What’s your other class? "Manga Madness". Have you ever drawn your own manga before? Just some sketches, nothing too serious. What were your mini-courses yesterday? My mini-courses were woodworking and GarageBand. How were those? They were great. We’re getting ready to build wooden boxes, but started yesterday with safety instructions and how to use tools. It’s a basic design we already have, so we’ll put it all together soon . . . And GarageBand, that's a digital music course, right? What have you been doing in that? We worked on challenges like imitating natural sounds with various tracks. What sort of noises did you create? Stream, a car crash, train whistle . . . How did you make those? We combined different tracks from a keyboard and altered the noise’s echo, things like that. We’ve been using keyboards to convert the sounds. How have you found meeting new people here? It's really good! You meet new people you never knew you had anything in common with, just through taking different courses. You’re kinda forced -- forced in a good way -- to be with other people. Even if you’re an introvert, you'd get out at Explo, meet other people, and have fun. How do you like being a day student? It’s fun. I only live fifteen minutes away, so it didn’t make sense, really, for me to be res. But I can still spend the night! Like, tonight, I’m going to Movie Night, so I’ll stay over after that. So you’re going to Movie Night tonight. Have you stayed for any other main events? Not yet. I did the Movie Night and Cruise Night last year, so I’m doing those again, and then I’m also doing the New York trip. Oh, wow! I wish I was going! Have you been to New York before? Once to see a play, “Young Frankenstein”. I can’t wait for this trip, though. Have you been able to try something new at Explo this year? Yeah, I’ve definitely been able to. You have so many different choices that you’re not only going to find little things you’re used to . . . you kind of go outside of your boundaries. I remember last year we did a marshmallow safari or something along those lines. It was on visitor day, so I got to bring a friend along, which I’m hoping to do next week too. What are you hoping to get out of Explo this year? Some knowledge on how to draw better and to gain a bit more cultural understanding . . . how other people and their cultures work and think. Have you met any international students yet? Yeah, I’ve met a bunch; some from China and Korea. If Explo had a mascot what would it be? A giant talking globe is the first thing that came to mind. Everyone is from different places and we all have different aspects of personality, but they all come together here as one. more conversations > first session \| second session