Final Blogpost

By -

Before taking this course, I don’t think I thought too much about the senses, honestly. If last semester's me were to hear I said that, I would probably have been offended. I definitely have always been interested in the senses, but this class gave me such a better insight into senses that I thought I knew so much about but in reality had never sat down and had to think too much about it. 


I have never thought very much about my sense of smell because of the fact that I have a very poor sense of smell normally, and I also was not expecting that we would talk about the sixth sense in this class (although I am very happy we did). I doubt, though, that, previous to taking this course, I even knew much about the senses that I appreciated greatly and was aware of how much I appreciated them. I had never sat down and had to consider how much I care about taste, and how truly important taste and cooking are to me.


Honestly, I really enjoyed the icebreakers at the beginning of class, and listening to what my fellow classmates had to say about certain sense-related topics, and hearing their opinions helped remind me of my own sometimes. I loved the presentations we did in class, especially the touch one because I was forced out of my comfort zone by touching some strange object. Most of all, I think I had the most fun going out to buy food and preparing it the next day in order to provide a nice, fulfilling meal for my classmates. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and having a moment to sit down and think over how I perceive my own world.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirpin...
Read more

Food in the Afterlife

By -
Image
In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was...
Read more