Friday 4 May 2012

Bleak

If you were to ask me about exams, I wouldn't be able to tell you much. I could, however tell you that the pre-exam stress was a horrible, literally nail-biting experience.

The only comments I could make about my exams would be that:

A. I'm really not interested as to what previous President Jimmy Carter's stance on Latin America was

B. Informing a student that they'll have to sit their final exam (worth 100% of their grade) just four days before is just wrong

Today I sat my first oral exam here. It was for anthropology (what the heck?!). Apparently here in France it is quite normal to have exams of this kind... At the end of the exam my professor said to me "Are you sure that my classes didn't bore you too much?" This was the same professor who decided that the content of his Friday morning classes would not be assessed in the final exam. He was also the guy who came to class unprepared, coughed every 30 seconds and mumbled about 'primitive' societies. Bored? No. Irritated? Yes.

So, since arriving in France I've come across a franchise called 'Miwam'. I was always intrigued to know what exactly a Miwam is... It appeared to be nothing but a fancy toasted sandwich. Today I had my first... And it turned out to be just that : A fancy toasted sandwich. It also tasted like cardboard and the 'organic' lemon infused sugar drink I had with it was unimpressive. If you would like to see what a Miwam actually is, refer to their website :

http://www.miwam.fr/ See? Looks impressive. Looks good! Then again, they aren't going to tell you that it tastes like cardboard, it's pre-made and its contents aren't thoroughly heated.

The French seem to have an obsession with things being organic. Here you will find organic aisles in supermarkets and even organic stores in their own right. It's considered stylish and classy to eat 'organic'. I understand that to consume products free of any 'nasties' (as we call them in Australia) is a positive thing... It's just interesting to see how much a nation can hype over organic or as they call it here, 'bio'. To eat 'bio' is a social statement.

What I learned this week: Just because it's 'bio', doesn't mean that it tastes good... Or that it's good for you.

In other news, I was shocked and disappointed to hear from my mother about a certain documentary that aired on Australia's '4 corners', expressing a number of mistruths about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This of course airs at a time when there is significant political hype over Mitt Romney's running for president and his 'mormonism'. Being a member myself of the Latter-Day Saint community, I am disappointed by this hype that seeks to demonise what I believe to be true. My church is a mighty institution that seeks to do good and bring the light of Christ into peoples' lives through acts of service and love. The church has a humanitarian aid program which has donated more than US $1 billion since 1985 to countries and communities enduring various hardships.

According to the church website : http://mormon.org,

The Church does not discriminate based on religious affiliation, ethnicity or nationality. We offer hope and the potential for a life that transcends disease, poverty and despair. It’s all part of God’s plan that we bear each other’s burdens and act as His hands on earth. The Church’s welfare program also helps people in need locally by offering temporary assistance in the form of food, clothing and in the search for employment. Recipients are given the opportunity to work, if possible, in exchange for this assistance.


The church also has the largest society of women in the world and focuses on the strengthening of families and importance of good citizenship.


THE CHURCH IS NOT A CULT.


If anyone reading this has any questions regarding the actions of the church, or indeed the beliefs of the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, I invite them to consult the following websites:

www.mormon.org and www.lds.org

I've decided to leave you with this video, which I believe is a much better explanation of the LDS faith than any documentary depicting lies and deceptions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#the-first-step

Those of you who saw Four Corners would know that the church made an official statement concerning the airing of the documentary and would know that what depicted is a false and inaccurate interpretation of what the 'mormons' are all really about.

On that note, I'll leave you with a picture of Jordan. This is how I feel at the moment, trying to pack up all of my things.



You can accumulate quite a lot throughout the course of an academic year! I'm very pleased to be finished here with school and I'm aching to be back at the University of Melbourne. For now, though - I'm young, I'm free and the sun will very soon be shining (we've had a rainy week)
Watch out world!

- Alice








1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Alice!

I was disappointed myself by the documentary, and I'm not even a Mormon. While there are plenty of things that I differ on from the LDS views to my own Christian views, I was still plenty horrified by the documentary. Apart from anything else, Mormons are in general the nicest people I have met/spoken to in my life, and are responsible for so much good in the world in general.

I'm sorry you were upset by it. Please don't be discouraged. There are plenty of people around correcting these harmful views, and I think the religion is, on the whole, becoming more understood and accepted. Education is key I guess, hence the awesomeness of this post.

Hope you're enjoying post-exam freedom despite the frustration!

Maddison =)