senior program summer site : conversations : first session



	Sahana from Massachusetts (8/06) Sahana is a rising sophomore, at Explo for her first summer. While she was nervous at first, she quickly stepped out and began to meet, well, everyone! Taking Social Psychology and Acting + Directing, Sahana is taking these new skills home for the school year. How did you find out about Explo, and what made you want to come this summer? A friend of mine came to Explo last year, and she told me so many stories about how much fun it was, and about how you meet people from all over the world. I was looking for a summer program at the time, and figured I should go! The fact that it attracts people from all over the world is really interesting, and it’s definitely a big part of why I came. Like, my closest friends here are from Morocco, Spain, Italy, Brussels. . . just everywhere. I made a video of all of my friends from different countries, where they each say where they’re from and then speak in their home language. It’s really cool. That's a cool project! So which courses did you take this session? I took Acting + Directing and Social Psychology. Why did you want to take those courses? For Acting + Directing I just wanted to improve my skills as an actor. For Social Psychology – I just think the whole idea of psychology and how the brain works is really interesting, you know? Is acting a big part of your life at home? I’ve been in a few plays and musicals at home, but nothing too major. It was a little scary at first because there were some kids who had acted a lot before – they were really diligent and they just knew a lot more about what they were doing than I did. But that just made me really step up and take challenges, to try and do things that I hadn’t done before. I think I’m more confident in my skills now, and that I’ve gotten a lot better. The directing part was also interesting, too. What about directing do you find interesting? I guess part of it is that I’d never thought about it before. Like, how much writing makes a difference. The director is always telling actors how they should be reacting and interacting with the set as well as with other characters. I’d never really thought about that because I’ve only really done acting. Cool. So how do you think your Explo courses differ from your courses in school? Well, a big thing is that the students are definitely very different. They all come from different backgrounds, so each student brings a unique perspective as opposed to what I guess is the normal American mindset. I also think it’s just a lot more open. There’s a lot more free conversation, whereas in school it’s much more of a set plan for what happens in class. Also, at Explo, you’re spending your day learning how to act, or learning about the brain. It’s not like you’re just in math or anything. Can you tell me a bit about your teachers? My Acting + Directing teacher is Deana, and she’s awesome. We have a really quirky class, and she just puts up with all of us and teaches us everything she knows. My other teacher is Beril, for Social Psychology, and she’s amazing. She’s just really funny and nice. The teachers here are young, too, so it’s like we can really relate to them, but they teach us so much, too. My teacher for my Mini-Course, Prose of the Beat Generation, is amazing too – that's Jake. He’s one of the most amazing people I’ve met, and he has an amazing story to his life. We were able to just go into class, put on jazz music, and write poetry. I’d never thought of myself doing something like that, but now I come back to my dorm and do it myself. It’s amazing. I really like the 60’s and 70’s, and he was able to bring the writing and the music together to make a really awesome class. So you're a writer, too? Yeah. I like writing poetry and short stories and stuff. I like to read a lot, and I think that when you’re writing you have to think about not just the final product, but also about what goes into making the product. It helps me see the world from a different point of view, I guess. After three weeks, what do you think you're going to take home from Explo? Explo has taught me to just go up and talk to people. I don’t think I’ve talked to so many people that I hadn’t known ever before. Just to find out about people. I’ve become so much more interested in other cultures. It’s become a really amazing experience. Awesome! So what's your Living Group like? Well, just in my suite, there are girls from Spain, New York, Florida, and Massachusetts. We’re a really good group and we just hang out with each other a lot. Our whole Living Group is awesome and we get along really well. Like, during Living Group time we’ll just start singing and having a good time. Our RAs are really awesome, too. When we’re hanging out we’ll just talk about life, we’ll tease our RAs about their personal lives, we just have a really good time together. We’re definitely a family now, we’re all really close. How did you go from being complete strangers to being a family? The first person I met at Explo was my roommate Savannah, when I walked in through the door. It was weird to walk in and not know anyone, and to just go up and talk to someone. But then I think that what happens, is that you spend so much time with them, and it’s a really intimate setting. Like, in the dorm, you’re seeing everyone really early in the morning when they’re really fragile and, you just become really close. My RAs – Brittany and Amanda – are awesome, too. They’re just really chill and they talk to us. They’re really funny. How did you try to step out of your comfort zone this summer? I played music at the Coffee House Main Event - the song Skinny Love by Bon Iver. I hadn’t played at the talent show because I was kind of worried and there were so many people. I played at the Coffee Shop, though, and that was exciting. It was definitely a new experience for me. I’ve also done a lot of different activities, like, I took Ultimate Frisbee and I’m not the most athletic person. Just by going to different Main Events and different activities you can discover things that you didn’t know you liked to do. Do you have a favorite place on campus? There’s this one spot right near the volleyball net where, for some reason, the grass is just much thicker. There’s this big bed of grass there. It’s cool to just chill there. Also, when you’re walking towards Commons, there are all these little spots with grass and trees, and its really beautiful. It’s just really peaceful and a little bit quieter, but you still pass by all of these people that you know. What does 'Explo' mean to you? I think it’s just about going out and trying new things. It’s about living your life in the present and doing whatever it is that you want to do now. more conversations > First Session \| Second Session