summersummersummer!

Hey guys,

Just to follow up on the summer update, I'll give you a quick blurb about mine!

For the first half of the summer I was working on a local farm as a farm hand for three days a week, doing everything from weeding to planting and picking. I was also interning for a business in Chicago three days a week for a company that sells custom sustainbly made, handmade packaging to different businesses.

Now, though, I'm working at a summer camp in Northern Wisconsin. I'm a counselor for thirteen year old girls, and I just got back from leading them on a five day backpacking trip in the Porcupine Mountains.

Everything's been a blast, I've met tons of awesome new people, learned a bunch, and been able to catch up with family and friends from home as well. Looking forwards to being back at school though!
Sorry for the quick update, i barely get any computer time. Hope your summers are going wonderfully.

Jerry's Summer

So far my summer has been pretty busy. Shortly after the end of last semester, I went to an ecolodge on Costa Rica's Osa Penninsula. Home to diverse wildlife and lush rainforests, I learned about the local flora and fauna, a new culture, rainforest conservation efforts, and eco-tourism.

My Summer

Hey Guys and Gals,

I though you might enjoy hearing a little bit about my summer and in the process might get to know me a little bit better, so here goes:

This summer I have been working at a racehorse breeding farm called Smokey's Run Farm. There I do all of the barn work for about 20 horses. Also I am in charge of taking care of the babies and the mothers at the farm. There are 5 newborns, 3 yearlings, and 2 two year olds, which I have the pleasure of playing with constantly. They are all wonderful and full of energy and unexpected surprises.

At home I have 2 two horses that my sister, mom and I are riding. One is from Smokey's Run Farm, his name is Puppy and he didn't have a job for the summer so he is on lend. The other is Little Eagle, who a friend of the family gave to us to train and break for the summer. I am also working for another lady riding her horses because she is pregnant. There are 3 that I am in charge of riding with my sister.

I also joined a frisbee team over the summer. It is coed and part of a large league in my area. Kelsey, another member of Earth Lodge next year is on the team with me. It is a blast! Another way that I spend my time is playing pick up games of soccer about once a week with kids from my old soccer league.

That's about it for what is keeping me busy there have been a few other things in the middle but they are not permanent. I went to a Dave Matthews Band concert. Also my family went to Nantucket, an island off of Massachusetts, for vacation for a week. It was fun and the town is all cobblestones so it is actually faster to bike than to drive around the island. I spent two weeks volunteering at a 4-H pony camp as a helper for the kids with their ponies. Also I have spent a good bit of time canoeing and tubing down the Brandywine River with one of the owners of Smokey's Run Farm.

Hope that everyone is having a fantastic, spiffy summer. ~ Sally

STRESS, Learning & Performance

Pursuing a liberal arts education at a celebrated university can be STRESSFUL - but it need not be. Though the EARTH Lodge program certainly offers its members a variety of challenges (intellectual, creative, social and physical), it is specifically designed to help students devise practical strategies to navigate these challenges with increased enthusiasm and less stress.


How can digital technologies invisibly increase our stress, and how can we find a better balance for our use of them?

Like all high-demand environments, the campus atmosphere at UR can sometimes seem to encourage stress and dismiss the damaging impact stress can have on our minds and bodies. However, recent research by Stanford neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky demonstrates that it may be worthwhile to reassess our dismissal of stress if we want to live happy lives and maximize our performance.

Inspired by our readings, especially "The Eureka Hunt" by Jonah Lehrer, some 2008 Lodge members have suggested that creativity can be a key to reducing student stress as demonstrated in their brief digital essay "The Creativity Project."

So, next time you're tempted to surrender to the storms of stress that naturally come our way, think of the cost and remember that you can take a break and recover your peace of mind.