I Like Ike, How 'Bout You?

Always go to class. You may think that would be common sense, especially considering in college you are paying for said class, however, it's not always the case. I guess many students (as my Ag Econ friends would say) find their ^{Marginal Utility}/_{Marginal Cost}  of skipping class is higher than their ^{Marginal Utility}/_{Marginal Cost}  of attending.

Perhaps it is fortunate for me, and other dedicated students, that there weren’t many people in my American History class today because we got a couple nice little surprises.

At the beginning of class, Dr. Bullion announced we would have no discussion sections this week. Great news for us, but I sure hope that those who didn’t attend have friends who did to let them know. He then announced we were going to have a pop quiz, which may sound like bad news but in actually, I might say it was the highlight of my day.

Honestly, this was the first genuine pop quiz I’ve ever had, so I’ll admit I was right there along with my classmates with their nervous whispers that spread throughout the lecture hall. My nerves were quickly calmed when a TA sitting right in front of Kathryn and I turned around and said that Bullion’s pop quizzes were generally freebie points to reward those who showed up to class.

Let’s see how you do on this college-level quiz:

1. What initials did Lyndon B. Johnson commonly go by?
2. What did the Ford Motor Company make?
3. What was Eisenhower’s nickname?
4. The Republican Party’s campaign slogan in 1952 was (fill in the blank) “I Like ________”

It pays to attend class. 

Coming Home Homecoming

This week has flown by! I've had several large assignments due and a test today, so it was a bit stressful and I can't say I'm sorry to see the weekend approaching. 


Last weekend, however, was pretty fun and I certainly can't let this weekend happen before I can even write about it! It was Mizzou Homecoming, the 100th anniversary of the first homecoming ever I might add, but that's not what I'm going to write about. See, my interpretation of "homecoming"is coming home. That's exactly what I did, and I brought my roommate, Kathryn, and a friend, Julia, home with me to get a taste of Trenton's biggest weekend of the year- Missouri Days and then the Conservation Department's "Poosey Fall Drive Through" at the conservation area that originally was an old settlement where my dad's side of the family came from.


It was dark by the time we reached my house, but Kathryn and Julia did a great job of keeping me awake (and watching out for deer). I think my dog, Buffy, is finally beginning to realize that even though I leave him, I'll be back. He greeted us at the car with a big smile and wagging tail and to his surprise I brought two extra people to rub his belly! Needless to say, he was a happy camper. 


After falling asleep with the thoughts of creepy-crawlies in the basement, we woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (or maybe not...) for the Missouri Days parade. We managed to slide into town and find a spot in front of the bank right as the police were headed down the street signaling the beginning of the parade. It's an interesting experience watching a parade of competing bands with kids from other areas. My roommate from north east Missouri recognized several of the smaller bands because she had competed against them in high school.


Then we were off to Missouri Days for the best part of this festival- the food. So much for warding off the Mizzou 22, we ate a funnel cake, bloomin' onion, kettle corn, and homemade rootbeer. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't regret that a bit! It was also fun to introduce my college friends to friends from my hometown as well as my ag advisor. They probably appreciate the faces to the names I talk about all the time, too! We met up with Julia's boyfriend's family who live in the next town over so that she could spend some time with them. 


That afternoon my dad took Kathryn and I out for a tour of the farm. One of the best parts I've found at college is kids who have had a very similar upbringing on the farm, however it's also neat to talk about how different our farms are. Kathryn's family is a big producer of Angus cattle, while our farm's main income comes from corn and bean production. Dad explained the history of our farm, what it began as and how it got to where it is today, and drove us around the property. We also got out and climbed the hill that my sister and I have named "Mount Mushroom" because of it's height and slope, and because we used to go mushroom hunting up along the creek that runs beside it. 


I've always had a strong sense of pride for my heritage, but walking around the place and hearing from my dad a more personal story of some of the challenges he and my grandma have faced (rather than simply knowing that this, this, and this happened...) renewed that sense of pride, and sense of responsibility, in me. There are growing challenges in the agricultural industry, and probably even more in keeping a small family going and productive. I'm not so naive to think it'll be easy, but I can tell you that it is my hope to see the farm in the future so that my kids can have the same sort of upbringing as I've had. 


That night, we ate my mom's homemade pizza and watched "Red Riding Hood" with my family. Good movie, though I must admit it made me very nervous. It kept me guessing about who was the wolf, and while I had many accusations none of them were right. Afterwards, my mom, sister, Kathryn, and I sat around and talked. It'd been a good day, and I was sad to see it end but I was also excited for church in the morning and the Poosey Drive Through.


I can't say enough about being able to worship with your church family after a week at school in a big place like Columbia. It's always nice to see familiar faces and people you know care about you. I was also interested in seeing what Kathryn thought of it because from our discussions our churches seemed very similar. She also got to meet my Papa Ed, who was going to escort us through Poosey later that afternoon.


After church, we loaded up Papa Ed's new SUV with our lunches and headed out to Poosey for a picnic lunch before setting off on the trail. I've been working on a multi-genre project on Poosey, so I got the video camera out and was able to get some footage for that. My dad's mom grew up in Poosey, so it's always been a special place for our family (again with the heritage thing...). We went through the hills and looked at what the conservation department was doing, climbed up to see the infamous Panther's Den, and went past the location of an old still. Dad filled in some of the family stories, and Papa Ed was able to tell stories about some of his family and acquaintances. 


I think we were both sad to have to head back to school, but it was a very good weekend with a lot of memory making. It was a good reminder that the past is the past, and you can't change it. You simply learn from it and take what you want of it to the future. The future is where we're headed, and I'm sure there are some great things waiting for us there. 

It's the Journey, not the Destination that Counts

Fire, corn, gasoline (or lack of), stop signs, and burning bushes. What could these words have in common? The journey continues, and as it does the stories multiply. Thursday night's adventure isn't one soon forgotten. 

The evening began as planned. The Ag Communicators of Tomorrow club, of which I am a member, organized a corn maze and bonfire out at the Bradford Research Center. The activity eventually expanded to include other CAFNR organizations including Ag Ed Society, the Ag Econ Club, and the National Ag Marketing Association (NAMA). My friends and I were excited because this would mean we could all attend this organizational bash even though we each have a different major. We read the directions and both my friends thought they had an idea of where we were going. I, of course, knew nothing and volunteered to sit in the back seat. It is now 5:45 p.m., and we set out on our trip not realizing how much of an adventure it would be. 

We got out on the highway with no trouble and proceeded down a road which turned into a nice country road all of sudden. All of our reactions were: Wow! We seriously went from big time city to country land that looks almost like home! We weren’t sure how far we were supposed to go, but we kept trucking. The farther we went though, the less certain we were that we were on the right trail. In hindsight, we should have kept going and been more confident in our guts, but we didn't. We turned around and headed a different way.

So there we were at 6:30 (the event started at 6:00), and we were headed down a different road. Again with the insta-country feel right outside the city. There might have been a tinge of a stressed feeling in the car, but I did my best to liven up the situation by pointing out the nice scenery. Soon we were laughing and making the most of our situation. 

The turning trees were beautiful and once we got over the bit of frustration of not knowing exactly where we were, we enjoyed the views. Who knew burning bushes were so popular here? Of course them being one of my favorite plants, I had to point out each one. We did some turning around in random drives, saying which houses we liked (pretty much all of them…), and hurriedly pointing out stop signs that came up on us seemingly out of nowhere. By the third time passing this particular sign, we had its location down.

I’m not quite sure at what point we realized we were running out of gas, but we knew we couldn’t wander around for too much longer. So, we headed back to town to fill up (for $3.09- we were quite excited about that one!). At this point, one of the girls broke down and called her dad who was able to access a map online and point us in the right direction. We were on the right path; we just needed to go further.

By the time we reached the bonfire (7:00, more than an hour after we’d started), we were laughing and having a good time. Quality bonding time is what we called it, and honestly it’s not terrible being lost if you’re with good company (I wonder how our attitudes would have changed if we had ran out of gas…). The bonfire was fun too, it was nice talking to upperclassmen in our majors and having some good clean fun eating smores and finding our way out of a corn maze (strangely that took us less time than getting there...), though I’m pretty sure it was the journey rather than the destination that will be most prominent in this memory. This experience was just another reminder that college is full of crazy adventures, and I’m sure that the stories are just beginning. 

Bizarre International Bazaar

By now, you’ve probably discovered I like food. A lot. So when I found out there was going to be an International Bazaar held on campus last week I was all over it. Other cultures have always intrigued me, and watching travel channel stars like Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern have whet my appetite for the experience of trying international food. I just had to see what this International Bazaar had to offer.

The little festival was held out on Lowry Mall just across from where I had spent my morning, so I simply crossed the road and entered a world completely unknown to me. Well, maybe not completely unknown. My friend and I’s first stop was the fried-oreo booth raising money for the band. I know, not free but definitely worth it! After the fried stuff though, things got a little fishy.

Fried Oreos: a perfect representation of American food!

Our first stop was sushi in Japan. I had never eaten this stuff, but coming to college it was seriously a goal of mine to try sushi. I thought it was pretty tasty, though I could understand why some people wouldn’t like the crunchiness of the seaweed and unusual tasty ingredient in the center (I'm still not certain what one ingredient was, but it tasted like a candied piece of fruit to me). Sushi’s just one of those things you have to consciously realize is different.

Me trying my first sushi- I must admit, I was kind of nervous...

In India we ate curry and rice, as well as sweet rice, which to me seemed just like rice that had been soaking in milk with sugar added. Thailand featured a soup recipe, and Korea had a pork dish. I was amazed at how different each country’s food tasted. Seasonings played a huge role in ethnic cooking and seemed to distinguish which country the food was from.

Something else that really stuck out to me was the ingredients that were typical in these international foods. Rice was in something from nearly every country, and most dishes were rich in spices, though they were different spices. Just by observing the basic raw ingredients used in these foods, I felt like I was given an insight to the different agricultural focus of the different countries. And as agriculture is the basis for many societies, I also got an insight into the different cultures and backgrounds of these people.

My trip to the International Bazaar was both interesting and tasty, but also enlightening. I am continually reminded that agriculture may look different to different people, but nonetheless, it plays a critical role all around the world.