Monday, August 16, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
一
Section C · Page 15
Wandering the Web
By Jennifer Roush
jroush@kansan.com
Kansas columnist
This week's columns come in two flavors—On The Hill and Off The Hill. Since you're reading the On The Hill section right now, it's a pretty darn good guess that this column is the On The Hill version. These are the last two Web columns I'll be writing for the Kansan, as I'll be copy editing and writing editorials this fall. However, Wandering the Web will continue as it did last semester, as a front page feature each Friday. Keep your eyes peeled for more Internet goodies every week.
All of the pages listed here will give you more information than you could possibly ever need about the University of Kansas, its student body and online community. So, without further ado, here are my Internet picks for getting around on the hill.
www.ukans.edu
This is the official University of Kansas Web site. It contains anything and everything you could ever need to know about good old KU, including student life, links to the various schools and departments within the University, and a visitors guide that'll help your parents get around when they come to visit for Parents'
Weekend. The site is presently being redesigned, and there's a link to a prototype of the new site. Follow the link, and then click on the feedback link to tell the KU Web administrator what you think of the new site.
www.digitaljayhawk.org The Digital Jayhawk is a first-of-its-kind multimedia online community for the
University of Kansas and its alumni. First proposed by Gary Hawke and executed in large part by professional-in-residence
Jennifer Roush
Kansan columnist
Christopher Ryan, the Digital Jayhawk contains links to all the media outlets on campus, such as the Kansan, KUJH-TV, and KJHK-90.7 FM.
www.ukans.edu/kucia
Although the KU Campus Internet Association's page is really a link on the official KU home page, I've listed it here because it's a bit hard to find. It contains a link to what I think must be the coolest thing in the ukans domain: student web pages. Type this URL into your browser, then follow the link to student web pages, and prepare to be amazed at the inspired
strangeness that may have come from the mild-mannered guy who lives down the hall from you.
www.kusports.com/basketball
Nothin' But Net is the Lawrence Journal-World's page devoted entirely to men's basketball at KU. Get the latest information on recruitment, statistics and schedules here. There's a trivia game to test your knowledge of KU hoops, and a forum where fans can discuss KU basketball 24 hours a day.
www.angelfire.com.ks/TemplinRevolution
I debated whether to include this link, but I think it's important to note how a small group of inspired, dedicated individuals can actually affect change at the University. Besides, the site is really funny. (You have to appreciate any site that shows an animation of Templin Hall exploding in a giant mushroom cloud!) The History and Purpose links explain what Templin Revolution is and how it got started, and you can e-mail the group to order a t-shirt emblazoned with their logo and a picture of Templin going up in smoke.
Unforgettable experiences abroad conjure a Russian state of mind
Roush is a Lawrence senior in journalism.
Empty history books
Full of idealistic dreams,
I wish I could explain —
America isn't what she seems.
I never felt at home
Until I completely left it behind
A mental battle not to lose
This Russian state of mind.
— "Remembering Moscow" 1998 Sometimes there is a split second when I awake from a dream and don't recognize my own bedroom. The surrealism of that moment is compounded after I dream of my friends and experiences in Russia and then awaken to American surroundings.
I returned home from Russia about a month ago, and these dreams are still a common occurrence. I'll admit, sometimes I get quite emotional when reality sets in. I know my day will consist of preparing for my new life at the University of Kansas instead of a leisurely walk along the Neva River in St. Petersburg or a trip to Red Square in Moscow.
I realize how much I miss visiting famous museums, touring old czarist palaces, dining on Russian cuisine and speaking the Russian language. I simply miss the whole experience of living abroad.
My first trip there was six weeks last summer; this summer I spent seven weeks. The time I spent was long enough to really adjust to the Russian culture and to develop my own little niche. Both times, I became so comfortable with my new lifestyle and friends that leaving was truly painful.
Commentary
The strange mix of emotions that encompass the vivid dreams, dubbed "reverse culture shock," is common for travelers when returning to their homeland after a journey into another country and lifestyle.
Jet lag is just the beginning.
Jet lag is just the beginning.
I did not expect this type of cultural awareness when I returned to Iowa from my first trek abroad. Family and friends suddenly felt like strangers when, in actuality, I was the one who was strange — I was the one who had changed.
To make matters worse, I really did not want to leave Russia. I fell in love with Russia, but America will always be my motherland.
To make matters worse, I really did not want to leave Russia.
Now, I'm left with many memories. Anyone willing to listen will automatically be forced to hear a 20 minute story about the tumultuous Russian economy, cool discotheques, beautiful sights, unique customs and almost any other subject until they run away screaming.
Those close to me now see new habits emerging that previously never existed. I get cold almost immediately when in an air-conditioned place because this luxury is rarely found in Russia, and I eventually grew accustomed to the heat.
I now dress more like a girl after picking up on the Russian women's keen sense of femininity. (I still have an abundance of confidence, though, which is definitely not common among the females there.)
Also, the great American love
"I fell in love with Russia, but America will always be my motherland."
Jennifer Barlow
Kansan columnist
for fast food now seems awkward to me. Don't get me wrong. I'm a punk college kid; I'll always be loyal to Jimmy John's subs, mushroom pizza and diet cola — but I just can't break my craving for borscht, plov, tea and an occasional Baltica beer.
Now, please don't misinterpret me and think that I feel Russia is superior to America. Both countries deserve praises to be sung and faults to be corrected. In fact, there were many times that I would look out the window of my apartment down onto Nevsky Prospect and wish to see a familiar face walk by or to catch a surprise visit from an American friend. I had dreams of America in Russia to mirror the ones that now entertain my nights.
The longing to be in both countries is an insatiable need that perhaps will haunt me for the rest of my life — and do I ever love it.
Barlow is a transfer student from Iowa State.
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