Student SPHere 2008-09

A month after the Monster Dash, the ladies of CHE (and some other SPHers!) were at it again -- this time the Turkey Run 5K at Como Lake in St. Paul.

A little chilly at the start, but not bad once we got going!

One of our friends' parents had us over for an amazing brunch afterward, and then I definitely went home and took a nap.

Next up for The CHE Running Club? The Reindeer Run 5K at Lake Harriet in two weeks and -- for a few brave souls -- the New Year's Day Polar Dash 10K. I'm a little scared of freezing to death, but I think it'll be a good time...

And school! Yes, I do still have classes in addition to all of this running fun. The semester is definitely winding down -- only a half week, a full week and a half week left of classes, then a couple of study days and a couple of finals. And I'm feeling pretty good about it at this point. I had a rough few weeks just after midterms with my journalism project and presentation, an epi exam and a bunch of little things filling up my schedule, but that means things are looking a lot lighter from here on out. Whew.

I've also been forcing myself to plan for next semester and even the summer. I registered for 15 credits in the spring, which sort of freaks me out, but I'm excited about my classes: the second parts of Biostats and Community Health Theory and Practice, Mass Communication and Public Health, Advanced Health Journalism/Computer-Assisted Reporting and -- most exciting -- the Star Tribune Practicum. It's actually an undergrad course that I'll be taking as a graduate-level directed study, and I'll be interning with the paper's health team about 14 hours a week. So cool.

And though it seems decades away, I've been starting to think about field experiences for the summer. So far, I'm finishing up an internship application for the Department of Human Services and am talking with some contacts at the Department of Health. Aaand I think I'm going to have to start making the back-up-plan list, too...

So, needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to having a few days off for Turkey Day and heading up north for food and family.

Posted at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Its been another busy week, but there are only a few left. Life has been really busy lately, as I alluded to in the last posting. So this past weekend I took a break and spent time with my wife. We went to a friend’s house on Friday night, played some Wii, ate pizza and just enjoyed the company of good friends. Then we spent a relaxing day shopping on Saturday. Ok it was not that relaxing, some of the stores were crazy. I had to wait for parking at the mall and in multiple lines to purchase stuff. Its been a while since I saw so many people shopping. We ended up practically finishing our Christmas shopping. It’s amazing how hanging out with loved ones and friends can recharge your batteries. I did not even attempt to start my hw until Sunday evening, a mistake, as Monday came with a vengeance. Its that time of year when papers are due. I have two more to finish up, two more tests and finals to worry about now. I am sure going to be thankful for Thanksgiving break next week.

Well yesterday capped off almost a year of my life, as the report, formally know as my master’s project was released to the public. I started working on this project in December 2007. I kinda had an idea of where it would take me, but never really imagined reworking parts of the master’s project with my master’s advisor Dr. Osterholm for publication. Its really been an educational experience learning how to work with industry and government on content, trying to understand the interdependencies in public health on other industries and learning how to write/research with more direction and clarity. I know I am not done working on this topic, just that the report if done. Now is an exciting time, as the report is getting distributed and feedback is coming in. It’s pretty cool. We are working on a proposal to look at the problem the report highlighted in more detail, so the work continues. You can read Pandemic Influenza, Electricity, and the Coal Supply: Addressing Crucial Preparedness Gaps in the United States here if you’re so inclined. I would love to know what you think of it.

I am looking forward to a somewhat relaxing weekend. I have a paper to work on, an exam to prepare for and a presentation to finish. The relaxing part of the weekend will be the U of M vs Iowa football game tomorrow. My brother-in-law and his fiancée are coming up tonight (from Iowa) for the game tomorrow. It should be interesting; two of us will be in maroon and gold tomorrow. I am hopeful the gophers can pull a win out of their last game in the dome.

Little public service announcement…SPH apparel is still available to order until Tuesday November 25 at 2pm. More info here.

Posted at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Helped a fellow HSRPA colleague move this past weekend! Erin and her husband just bought a nice house on the outskirts of the city. It was built in the fifties so it has a solid feel to it. Their new family room also has a huge picture frame window. What filled an apartment doesn't quite fill a house the same way, but there is a lot of potential. I wish you the best of luck in your new home!

Fortunately, I didn't have to lift anything too heavy, as there were a lot of strong-armed helpers. It kind of inspires me to start weight lifting, though. I share a locker with my housemate at the Rec Center, but sadly, I haven't even gone at all this semester. I'll just use the stairs a lot more.

The weather was really dreary last week. Beautiful, but dreary. When it is five in the evening and already dark, the long days of summer seem like a memory.

But we had our first sticking snow. Even if it stuck around only for a day, it was amazing to see.

Last week we also photographed our SPH apparel to put it on the internet for long distance students and alumni to order. Thanks to fellow SPH blogger Dinah for helping me model the SPH apparel! Today is technically the last day to order, so please visit our new apparel sale page!

Even though I am done with midterms, the last weeks of the semester just feel so hectic. But I was given a nice surprise. The whole apartment smells like lilies, which brightens my spirits when I walk in from a long day at school and work and from the cold weather.

Thanksgiving holiday is next week, so I am quite looking forward to going home and eating a lot of Chinese food!

Posted at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been a student for a darn long time. Like 18 out of 25 years of my life. Yet every semester there are still valuable lessons to be learned. I'm not talking about the material of the courses; clearly, that changes with each new class. No, I'm talking about the business of being a successful learner.

Over the years, I've learned a great deal about my style of learning. I've learned how to build that perfect crescendo to an exam, winnowing my notes into increasingly concise form as the date approaches. I have perfected my style of reading text books, sometimes reading aloud to keep myself focused, and always underlining key words with my favorite pink pen. I never sit down with a math book without also having pencil and paper at the ready so I can follow along with derivations and examples. My computer files are a paragon of organizational virtue, all filed and neatly labeled by date and course.

Despite all these important bits of self-knowledge, I don't know it all. (Surprise!) This semester has yielded up yet another gem gleaned the hard way. My hard-won pearl of wisdom for Fall 08 is to be proactive about utilizing your resources early in the semester.

My first mistake was failing to get copies of the several "optional" textbooks for the Probability Models class, meaning all I had to read was my professor's handwriting. Not the most legible or clearly organized, and I didn't realize she was directly following different textbooks at various times.

Worse, I was too intimidated to ask fellow students to work with me on homework assignments until very late in the game. Part of my hesitance was my strange status in the department, no longer really an MS student, not yet a PhD student. I regret that now, and having gotten my act together, remembered that it takes very little in the way of collaboration to make a huge difference. You can bang your head up against a problem for a week, when all it takes is a short conversation with a fellow student about what the question is really asking to set you on the right path.

There's a happy ending to this story. I thought I was merely procrastinating working on the latest homework for Probability Models. We've had several weeks for the assignment, but every time I worked, I found myself wanting to spend time on the texts and notes. I wanted to work exercises, look at examples, think about the material. Turns out this was a great strategy. When I finally did start on the problem set, my mind had gelled into a better understanding of the concepts and I was able to make significant headway.

It's too bad that I'm just now really grokking the material, especially after a disastrous midterm, but I'm glad I learned the error of my ways before it was positively too late. This material will show up again in August on the PhD exam, and I have renewed confidence that when it does, I'll be ready.

Posted at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I’m writing my blog for the week despite the fact that last week was perhaps the most unbloggable week of my entire life. I will not bore you with the details, but my week basically consisted of working on a take-home exam, studying, attending class, working on the take-home exam, studying, working, studying, studying, studying, and so on. In fact, my week and weekend were only punctuated with three events of any substance whatsoever (assuming a loose definition of substance).
The first was the fact that, despite my better judgment, I set aside time on Wednesday to watch the season premiere of Top Chef. I’m looking forward to seeing how the new crop of chefs fares this season. I haven’t formed a particular affinity for any of the chefs yet, but I think a few have great potential. Then there was, of course, the added delight of having Jean-Georges Vongerichten as the guest judge. I absolutely adore his food (particularly Spice Market in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan).
The second notable aspect of the past week was the fact that this weekend, I took on the role of the mighty huntress. My prey: the spindly-legged freaks (a.k.a. gross bugs) that have sought refuge from the cold (see! Even the bugs aren’t dumb enough to go outside during Minnesota’s winter) in my apartment. Now, I’m all about providing a safe haven for those in need, but only for creatures that I like, and hairy, nasty six-legged invertebrates simply do not fall into that category. In Missouri, we would have a surge of ladybugs invade every winter, but that was fine; ladybugs are cute. I’ve seen babies’ rooms decorated in ladybug themes. They are innocuous, cheery little guys that you want to save from the cold. Whatever the heck is crawling its way across my living room carpet, on the other hand, is some sort of miniature monster worthy of destruction. So destroy I did.
Then there was the Steelers’ win on Sunday with a never-before seen score of 11-10 against the formidable Chargers. This Thursday should prove an easy win against the Bengals, but then it is an uphill battle from there (Patriots and the Cowboys. Ugh.). I was glad to see Ben play so well, and despite the low score, the Steelers managed to dominate throughout the game. And, being the nerd that I am, I can’t help but love the fact that this was the first 11-10 game in NFL history. Now THAT is historical.

Posted at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love the feeling of pretty much crossing an entire class off of my to-do list toward the end of a semester -- and it's even better when you have something to show for it!

Last night, my partner and I presented our final project in our health journalism seminar. We spent the semester working on a multimedia, web-based project about the use and effectiveness of antidepressant medications:

(Shameless plug, I know, but it really is interesting!)

And we may have even included some surprises in our presentation...

Whose cookie and whose is placebo? I bet both make you happy.

Posted at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had dinner at Severin's apartment tonight. While looking out the window, I saw a truck that was dumping salt on the ground. It seemed odd, but when I walked out I realized it was snowing! The day last week when I biked to school without a jacket seemed so long ago. Today, biking on my way home, my tires skidded out and I fell. Ironically, I pretty much knew sometime bad was going to happen. It's like my psychic skills are developing! My falling skills are pretty good though, so only my ego was bruised. My right arm hurt in a strange way for a few hours, but now it feels fine.

I just turned in my IRB exempt forms this afternoon and am almost done with my proposal. It's amazing that there is only one month left for the semester and I've gotten along so slowly with this project. It's somewhat embarrassing to have so little to show at the moment. Hopefully I can start working on the dataset for my thesis by the end of next week and get a lot of work done during the Thanksgiving break.

Last week Student Senate received samples for our School of Public Health apparel sale. This year we have sweatpants, a fleece jacket, a baseball cap, and - my favorite - mittens! in addition to our regular t-shirts.

If you are interested in SPH apparel for yourself or other - the holidays are coming up - you can download the form, complete it, and turn it into the Student Services Office. That is also where you can look at the samples. If you are a long-distance student, we are currently in the process of figuring out shipping and handling charges for mailing our SPH gear. I will be doing some research on that tomorrow and hopefully get some information out to those who are waiting for it.

Last week I walked from work to my apartment. The walk is under two miles and it gives me a chance to enjoy the view from the Central Avenue Bridge. Admittedly, my cheeks and feet were a wee bit chilly at the end of this walk. Is it just me or does the old Pillsbury building look slightly curved inward?

Last weekend, Severin and I went to Summit Brewing Company in St Paul for a tour. I had toured back in the summer, but figured that with a new found appreciation for brewing beer, my appreciation would be more refined.

Fermentation tanks

Cold storage, where up to ten days' worth of beer is kept

We also went to Minnehaha Park to see the falls. Everyone else had the sense to stay inside that cold Saturday afternoon; that is to say, we didn't have a hard time finding parking as we were two of a handful of visitors that day. However, the falls are really beautiful right now. With no one else around, it does feel like a secret natural hideout in the middle of a bustling city.

See you all next week.

Posted at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am amazed and ashamed by the American public and the American news media. In proclaiming with such doting enthusiasm on having elected the “first African American President,� all that is being accomplished is pointing out just how far America has to go in its fight against racism. What would truly be a “historical election� is one in which a minority candidate is elected and nobody cares. If America is truly “color-blind� then the color of a candidate’s skin will be about as noteworthy as the color of his or her eyes or the straightness of his or her teeth. But, no, apparently we as a nation have not progressed that far. Apparently to a majority of Americans, the most notable thing about Barack Obama is not the fact that he is educated, having attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School, nor is it the fact that he has made great strides to end social inequities while working as a community organizer, or that he has contributed to the betterment of education as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, and served his country as a senator from Illinois. Apparently it is far more interesting and vital to the accurate depiction of Barack Obama to constantly babble about the fact that 23 of his chromosomes are the result of a sperm that was manufactured in the testicles of a man from Kenya. Yes, that is clearly the most noteworthy aspect of this venerable man. Thank God the helpful news anchors and columnists are being so helpful as to point out that oh-so-critical fact. Let’s all pat ourselves on the back now and completely ignore the fact that our very infatuation with this man’s racial origins only points to our failure as a society to stamp out the bigotry that has so plagued our nation from its very genesis. I am glad Senator Obama is our President-Elect, but it is too bad that the election of such a worthy candidate must be tainted by such ubiquitous race-consciousness.

Posted at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the 31st we had a few close friends over for dinner and risk (the guys)/movie (the ladies). It was a ton of fun. We also handed out a lot of candy. It was nice break from the hectic grad student life, but was short lived, as I spend the following day immersed in homework. Its nice to finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and being able to work on the projects that are due at the end of the semester. It’s hard to believe that the semester is coming to an end soon. This semester has really shown me that you must really want a PhD. I am getting anxious to be done with classes and focus on research.

One of the reasons this semester has been crazy, is that for most of the semester, especially the last few weeks, my master’s project was being transformed into a “white paper� for CIDRAP. I have a newfound respect for editors, co-authors, and those who write for a living, its hard work. It’s going to be an exciting week, as on Thursday the white paper will be put on the CIDRAP Business Source. I am excited to see what people think of it in the business/public health world and nervous at the same time. More on this in the coming weeks…

This past week was a blur of projects, presentations and a test. I am now done with all assignments in one class, aside from the final (yup it feels great). I also got to relax a bit this weekend with the in-laws (my wife’s mom and stepdad). One of the things that sold us on our house was its two wood burning fireplaces. I started monitoring craigslist for folks getting rid of firewood, as soon as we owned the place. I managed to get a bunch of wood for free that way, but was unable to split a lot of it. So my fathering law brought up his chain saw and we spent about 4 hours making a mess in the back yard and getting the woodpile ready for winter. Then on Saturday, the four of us went down town to see the Macy’s animated Christmas show about a day in the life of an elf. It was amazing.

Megan and I have been now every Christmas we have been married, so I guess it’s a tradition now.

In case you did not know how candy canes are made. From Macy’s we attempted to navigate the skyway system down town to do some shopping before going to see Wicked at the Orpheum. I wont rant and rave to much, since its sold out, but to say I was amazing and awed would be an understatement. I am so excited to see two more shows at the Orpheum later this season, Phantom of the Opera and Fiddler on the Roof. I believe Minneapolis is 2nd in the nation for theaters per capita, behind New York, which is pretty cool if you ask me.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I love this time of year. The first snow, brisk mornings and big piles of leaves are some of my favorite things. I am looking forward to hearing the snow crunch under my feet soon. I realize, I wont like it so much in a few months. Who really likes walking .5 miles and standing outside in the wind/snow waiting for a bus? Just got to remember to dress in layers. Most of my classes are in the same building or connected by tunnels to the Mayo, where the SPHere is. In the SPHere we have lockers, for putting our layers in, which one needs. As the SPHere is so warm, I can’t imagine sitting in there with any extra layers on.

Posted at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This election season has been the most intense of my life. Much of the reason is my personal level of interest, but I'm also laying some blame at the feet of modern communication infrastructure. There was a day when you might have to read a few newspaper columns or wait for a candidate's whistlestop tour to visit your town, but today an average citizen is awash in the election for 21 long months. In my personal life, I have practically no exposure to TV or radio ads, but I *love* sites like fivethirtyeight.com, intrade.com, 270towin.com, and of course, Gelman's blog.

The amount of data surrounding an election is tremendous, and the possibilities for longitudinal analysis, predictions, regressions, etc. etc. are endless. The prediction aspect was particularly prominent this year, as Nick Silver found himself helming the preeminent poll analysis site. His approach is Bayesian-flavored, so I have special love for his simulations. So that was my statistical take on the election-- tons of data.

My personal take was relatively blasé until this week. Then on Monday, I suddenly found myself bouncing around like a hyperactive tot on holiday eve, excited to get to bed so that the morning would come faster and I could rocket out of bed and into the voting line. Tom and I were in line by 6:45 and I ended up being the 83rd voter in my precinct. It was a tremendous feeling seeing all my neighbors out with their kids and pets and coffee cups, shuffling along the side of the Whittier Community Center in the wee hours. Rarely am I moved to anything close to nationalism, but I certainly felt a swell of civic pride that morning. The day was a blur of endless blog reading, stat checking, nail biting, and generally failing to get work done.

That night, we gathered with friends for a results-watching party, all of us mentally adding up the electoral votes not only to determine the election, but also to see how we were doing in the betting pools. :) In the end, I didn't give a hoot about my pool guesses, because when Obama gave his acceptance speech, there were tears in my eyes and renewed energy in my heart. It's been a long time since I felt good about this country's leadership. It is a strange feeling, but I am so optimistic about the future, and the potential for President Obama to undo some of the damage in this country.

Coming into class the next morning, I was unable to share much of my enthusiasm with my classmates or professors, all of whom are citizens of other countries. They were interested in the outcome, but it was a stark contrast to the obsessiveness with which my other friends have been following politics this past year.

Ok, enough of the politics. The other fun event was Halloween. Actually.... there's still more politics, because Tom and I both dressed as political stereotypes this year: Joe Six-pack and a Hockey Mom. And given our set of friends, we weren't the only election-oriented costumes: John McCain and Sarah Palin were there, as was Obama's grandmother (may she rest in peace). Halloween may in fact be my favorite holiday. I love to see people getting so creative and not taking themselves seriously at all.

Posted at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m overwhelmed right now—in a good way and otherwise. I am SUPER excited that Obama won, I can’t believe I was alive when history was made. I feel a lot of different emotions all in one. I just got back from the APHA (American Public Health Association) conference on early Thursday morning last week. I barely slept before I had to be at work and in class. My sister came to visit me for the Halloween weekend which was awesome (she lives in Delaware) but it was a sour apple because I had to do homework in the midst of trying to spend time with her. Needless to say, I am running on a lot of coffee and less than adequate sleep.

Lately, homework has been a never ending bad dream. I get through one bad spell and there are 3 more waiting. I suppose it is my fault for signing up so many classes in addition to my other commitments. I find that I am worried about what job I will have when I graduate, but I do not have time to follow up on that. I worry that I will not graduate on time because my master’s project will take longer than expected, but there are not enough hours in the day to get it all done. It is unfortunate that I barely have time to socialize, but there is not much I can do about that situation. In a nutshell, It is getting closer to finals week and like most crazed students at this time of the year, I am stressed out. But I continue to take it one day at a time. At some point, I imagine it will all be over, and ironically I will be looking forward to be back in school. For now, here are some pictures from APHA and some from this weekend.

The team at finally gets a break at the APHA

Sumaiya and me at Goldy's Gameroom in Coffman

My roomie(Dri) going "trick or treating"... we were our FABULOUS selves that night

Big sis bowling for the first time

Posted at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It could have been more exciting. That's what I said to myself most of yesterday. I freaked out about waiting in line at the polls for an hour, two hours, more -- and I was in and out in 10 minutes (lucky, I know). I held my breath and flipped on the TV as often as possible. I was spazzy about the masterpiece The Boyfriend and I created to bring to an election party (they're red velvet cupcakes):

And when the results started coming in, I prepared for a rollercoaster evening -- and had nothing of the sort.

A little before 10 p.m., Amy, the host of the party came into the living room and asked the 20 or 30 of us, "Anything new happened?"

"Nope," we said. "Not in almost an hour." Boring.

At that moment, we all looked at the TV. And there was Barack Obama, THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Total silence.

And then, in chorus: "HOLY ****!"

More silence.

Then in sunk in and everyone went nuts. By the time I watched the concession and victory speeches, headed home in a food coma and crawled into bed, I was officially excited. And this morning when I woke up and realized it actually happened, wow.

No matter who you were rooting for, you've got to be proud of this country for doing something so huge.

Posted at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, at least it decided to warm up enough so that all of the people standing in line at the polls won’t freeze to death. I was glad to see so many people already in line to vote on my way to class (my husband who had to wait in the line was not so glad, but that’s what he gets for switching his residency to Minnesota). I personally have already voted absentee in Missouri. I have actually never gotten to vote for “real� because I was in New York for previous elections and therefore had to vote absentee.
I was glad to be able to take some time off this weekend. I usually am working on either my plan B or homework or research from 9 or 10 in the morning until 9 or ten at night on the weekends (except when the Steelers are playing), but I decided to take Friday off. My husband and I went to a couple jazz clubs (the highlight of the evening was the 1980’s medley sing-along with the fabulous Erin Schwab at Jitters--Journey was from the 80's right?). Afterwards, we went home and watched the Netflix movie that had been languishing on our coffee table for far too long. On Saturday I baked a sweet potato and praline pie and got started on some holiday shopping. I’m hoping to be able to have a belated Chanukah celebration with some family out East, particularly because it will cost a small fortune to ship the gifts.
Sunday was mildly successful in that I managed to get through some homework, but I did not get nearly enough done on my Plan B in part due to the fact that I apparently have an “old� version of MPlus that is apparently “useless.� Luckily after a meeting with my adviser on Monday, I think I am now back on track, at least, I hope so.
Monday was actually a very good day. I was able to get a lot of work done with my RA position at the College of Pharmacy, and the design paper got submitted finally for our transplant study. Now it’s back to work on the main outcomes paper. I also found out that my boss is wanting to keep me for next semester which is a nice boost for my ego as well as my wallet. I took off work early, and my husband and I went out to dinner with some friends. I was glad to have the opportunity to catch up with them and relax for a bit. Then, of course, there was the fantastic performance by the Steelers. It was good to see that even our backup QB is able to hold his own on the field (and I was glad Byron got another shot) and that the defense continues to perform outstandingly (7 sacks and two interceptions!).
Now it is time to get back to work to make up for all the time I took off this weekend. Arrgh.

Posted at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Halloween weekend went by pleasantly; the weather was incredible for the end of October. Usually, Halloween is a great time to watch scantily-clad people shiver and develop major goosebumps. Even today I biked to work and school without a jacket.

A view of the sky

Last Wednesday I had a special treat: hot pot! My HSRPA colleague MingTa held a hot pot party at his apartment and I was extremely excited. My family does it it in the winter, and it is a good way to have a meal together. With a pot of boiling stock - or even plain water - you can drop in dumplings, vegetables, meat, noodles, or whatever strikes your fancy. Wait until it's cooked and then scoop it up to eat! Since I enjoy cooking and hot pot has a big DIY component, it's the perfect autumn activity.

Before the carnage

Some eaten corn cobs and empty clamshells are all that are left

Red bean soup, a perfect way to end the meal

Last Thursday, Student Senate held their annual Halloween party in Goldy's Game Room at Coffman. There was a lot of pizza, bowling, and candy. Lots of people came in costume; I saw a scuba diver, Flava Flav, and a nerdy professor, among others. Great job organizing this event, Social Committee!

I enjoy a short bacon break

Winners of the costume contest

Lastly on Saturday, Severin and I were able to finally bottle our homebrew. Capping was the most fun, in my opinon. We ended up with twenty-one and three-quarters 22 ounce bottles. After about a week or so, they should have enough carbonation to be consumed.

Dead yeast. Apparently, some resourceful person saw potential in this and thus, Marmite was created

Beautiful bottles of homebrew!

IMPORTANT
If you're eligible, remember to vote tomorrow! Should you have meandered through the past six months without registering to vote, you're one lucky fellow; the state of Minnesota allows you to register on the day of voting.

Posted at 6:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Halloween was the first one I celebrated since I came to live in Minnesota. I did it because I have a 10 years old niece, who is living with me now, and she was very curious about this holiday when people wear strange costumes. She came from Mali recently and was very curious about Halloween. She asked so many questions about the Holliday that I had to check the Internet about Halloween to answer her questions. Before now, I was never so curious as to find out the origin of Halloween and I didn’t know anything about it beside the costumes and the parties. I found out that Halloween is one of the oldest holidays celebrated today. It is also one of the most popular holidays, second only to Christmas. Halloween is surrounded by myths and beliefs. Most of the time it is viewed as a time for fun, putting on costumes, trick-or treating and having parties. The amazing discoveries were the myths and beliefs of the ancients. Many of these beliefs are same in my country Mali. We were invited to a friend’s house for a party. It was one of the funniest parties I have ever been to in my 10 years in the US. I also found out that Halloween was a pagan holiday honoring the dead, a culture that can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northem Europe. Halloween culture is very similar to some practices in Mali in West Africa. I am from the Bamanan ethnic group in Mali. In Bamanan culture, we also honor the dead. Things have changed little bit since Arabs and European missionaries came in the country. Mali is now 90% Muslim and 5% Catholic and the rest is still pagan. The Bamanan people have a lot of superstitions and beliefs. We also believe that the dead watch after us and protect us from bad things. We also believe that black cats are bad witches and have supernatural powers. In my village, you don’t mention the word “salt� when the sun is down as it may bring bad witches into the house. Seeing an owl in daytime is bad omen. That means death. Mali is a very conservative country and traditions are still very strong. My niece really enjoyed the Halloween and was happy to listen to the story of Halloween that I read to her. The side effect of Halloween was that she slept in my bed that night because she was scared to be alone in her room!

Posted at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)