What Makes a Good Winterim?

Renowned field reporters, Gabe and Kerrin went into the action first hand to ask various groups what makes a good Winterim. When posed with the question, France replied with various responses, such as good leaders, good food, and group bonding. Arizona was a little less helpful, but still provided some good answers such as: library cards, accomplishing a goal, and working together. Mr. Smith, Winterim Coordinator, agrees that reaching a common goal as a group is the most important factor of a successful Winterim.

As we can see, most of what makes a good Winterim is centered around the group getting along, and having minimal fights on the trip.

Yoga on a Field Trip

Today, yoga is on a field trip to the Kripalu Yoga Center to do some new styles of yoga including heat yoga. The Kripalu Yoga Center is a well known health center where people come from all over the northeast to take classes. They will be taking part in some hardcore yoga and learning about to lifestyle of a yogi.

Going Green in the French Alps

Today, the 17th, Going Green in the French Alps is going to be taking part in a variety of activities. In the morning, they will be all constructing an "organic shelter", which I assume is something like a tree-fort. In the afternoon, they are taking a 3 hour walk to a farm tavern. At the tavern, the owners make their own goat and sheep cheese. They will take a scenic tour of the farm, and then dine at the tavern with solely organic foods. It sounds like they're eating very healthily and having a great time thus far.

(tripadvisor.com)

Tragedies Strike in Digital Photography!

Who would think that taking photos would be so dramatic? Here, straight from the hotel rooms, we have some footage of the toilet and bug crises at hand. Wish everybody in the hotel luck.

RUaDN: Stuck in the Classroom...Again

Greetings from M121 in the Ansin Building!

Today we caught up on our weekend content that was submitted to us and put out roughly 13 posts. I (Gabe) spent a great part of the day for one, working on the banner at the top of the page, which has made me very frustrated. The globe kept getting stuck on Africa for one, and it's also very tedious work editing a ".gif" file because it involves alterations to every single picture collaborated into the file. Now that I'm done with my little rant, I'll move on to semi-interesting things that went down today. Mostly everyone has at least one post for each of their assigned Winterims, so we're approaching the final goal of the Winterim!

We analyzed the blog and it's reports from "Google Analytics" which showed us some pretty cool facts about our website. I mean, it's pretty cool that we've even had someone look at our website from Australia isn't it?

We also read over every single article for typos and edited the tags to make sure that we looked as professional as possible.

Now, all that we're missing is the interactive hamster we had earlier on the front page...if you support the hamster, please say so in your comments.

Tomatoes for the Health of it

Last Friday, Food for the Health of it took a trip to an organic tomato farm where they learned about organic foods and the tomato growing process. They took a tour of the farm and talked to workers about what they do and why they support the organic sensation that's sweeping the nation. (I've always wanted to use that saying.) They got a few picture opportunities inside of the carts the workers use, and here we have a picture of James seemingly enjoying himself:

The System: Flying in to Our Nation's Capital

Today, The System will be flying in to Washington D.C. as the two-week Winterim period starts to come to an end. There, they will be visiting the library of congress, congress, the national archives, the Holocaust museum, and several other memorials scattered around the area. They will be coming back on Thursday to Boston and we all hope they have a safe flight to D.C.!

(Photo From: TravelHouseUs.Files.WordPress.com)

Underwater Discovery: Diving In Belize!

Today, the Underwater Discovery group will be taking a field trip to the "Whale Shoals" off the coast of Belize. There, they will be conducting research of the surrounding waters and learning as much as they can about their new environment. They're going to be snorkeling and taking a "Fish Quiz" where they have to identify several species of fish.

(Photo from: NaturalSciences.org)

News from Biking in Arizona!

"Hello again from AZ. Yesterday the group rode into the canyons of the Superstition Mountains. Stunning desert scenery made steep hills go easier. This has been a wet season for AZ, so the desert is green with flowers beginning to show. Stream crossings kept us cool. We’ve had our share of woes, too. We’ve had some bruising tumbles, a broken chain, and we’ve changed eight tires in three days of riding. Great group spirit through it all. Pictures include a stream crossing, rest stop in the beauty of the desert..."
-Mr. Smith (Winterim Leader)

Biking in Arizona Finally Reports In!

It's great to finally hear from our group mountain biking in Arizona! A diary from the Winterim leader, Mr. Smith, says, "Great first day of riding yesterday. Ten miles of saguaros, rocks, cholla, and rolling single track. Patted a Gila monster and chased a black-tailed jack rabbit. Squeezed through Fat Man’s Pass (nine inches wide) to Hidden Valley. Keaton made s’more quesadillas – rival the dining hall’s." Yum, I do like the s'more quesadillas from the dining hall...
It sounds like they had a great time biking. Talking with a few group members, all of them have fallen quite a few times, but no major casualties so far! I just thought you should all know what a "Gila Monster" is...I will admit, I had to google it.

(faqinfosite.com)
How adorable.
Along with the diary entry, attached was a picture of an exhausted group of bikers that I will share. It looks like they have all had quite the work out, and I can tell a few people (no names) need to start upping the dosage of their suntan lotion. Just saying.

(Click on the image to see a close up view of their beautiful, red, sweaty faces.)

Readers, what is the longest bike ride you've ever taken? Have you ever been on an overnight trip dedicated solely to biking?

Yoga featuring.....*drumroll*....Tokyo Joe!

Tokyo Joe made a guest appearance at MacNeil Lounge for the Yoga: Beyond the Mat winterim today. Tokyo Joe (Bobby LaMattina) is a 10th degree black belt and runs self-defense courses for a living. Mr. Joe did an interactive self-defense lesson which is basically yoga on steroids, moving ten times faster and much more strenuous. He talked about focus, concentrating, and discipline, and how that plays a very big role in his lifestyle. At the end, Joe did a presentation with his Bo Staff which was very impressive. He has won many awards in competitive scenarios, and he is a very good role model. I think it was a great idea bringing in someone so impressively successful and with great morals for the students to look up to.

Sewing: Peaceful Past-Time or Cruel Craft?

Imagine your grandmother sitting in her rocking chair by the fire, sewing you a set of sheets for your bed. What could be more harmless? Emily, a sophomore at Lawrence Academy agreed to tell the tale of her violent encounter with sewing materials. "I was cutting my fabric, and my tip was over the edge, and I cut the tip of my finger off. I have my tetanus shot though so it's alright!" As you can see, the art of sewing is one with dangers similar to crocodile wrestling. Ms. O'Connor, the Winterim leader quotes, "Yes, there are many ways to be injured in sewing...you definitely have to pay attention." Although no statistics can be easily attained, a quick search on Google reports that there are plenty of scissor related deaths every year, many of them involving moving from one sewing station to another while holding scissors and falling on top of them.


So if any lessons can be learned here, next time you see your grandmother, give her a big hug and thank her for putting her life on the line in order to provide you bedding and warmth.

Dear viewers, have you had any traumatizing experiences in your Winterims? Let us know in the comments!