Thursday, Jan 6th

This morning we had our first official class. We did a frames of reference (FOR) exercise where each person gets to talk for 3 minutes about what are the major categories and experiences that have shaped them as they see it. The goal of this exercise is to get to know each other beyond the superficial introductions and also appreciate that we need to question our initial assumptions about people, appreciate different perspectives, and understand the force of cultural and social forces in shaping us. I think (and it was confirmed by several students) that this exercise helped people feel closer and gel more. We also went over the syllabus and schedule. We will only be going over the assignments on Monday morning since the first few days, students really need to relax, catch up on sleep, and experience the city a little. We have a wonderful group of students and I am really looking forward to the next few weeks!