Hey everyone! My name is Allison and I’m interning with the217 this semester! I’m a sophomore majoring in journalism and I’m also involved in a dance company, Illini N Motion, and my sorority. Speaking of being Greek, this week happens to be Greek Week. For those of you that don’t know, Greek Week is a week long event with fun activities all meant to unite greeks from the four different greek councils. I had the opportunity to go to the Step and Stroll clinic Monday night and I had a great time. The thing I found most interesting was when they told us about the history of step. Did you know it started in early African American slave communities as a means to communicate and preserve their culture? Stepping has evolved throughout history ever since. For example, after World War II veterans added elements of military marching to stepping. Eventually it made its way onto college campuses where it has taken a strong role in the Black Greek system. I was amazed to learn all of this and it definitely made me appreciate more the diversity of the greek system on this campus. We also got to learn a step routine which was challenging at first, but luckily my dancer instincts helped me out a bit and I managed to get a hang of it. Overall, it was an entertaining and enlightening night and I look forward to hopefully seeing more step in the future.

So this is my first ever blog entry… ever, so I guess I should formally introduce myself. Boring right? I’ll make it quick. I’m Britt and I’m a junior in English and Informatics here at the U of I. My three favorite things in the world are my baby sister Kaila (she’s not actually a baby, she’s 17, but old habits never seem to die), my golden retriever Buster, and wearing leggings because it’s almost like you’re not wearing pants at all. Anyways, it’s been a crazy busy semester with classes and my sorority and of course my wonderful internship at the217.com! Woot woot. So that’s pretty much all the background info anyone could ever want to know about me.

Anyways, last Saturday I went to my barndance, which, in my opinion, is one of the highlights of fall semester. Whoever came up with the idea of bussing a bunch of plaid attired college kids who have been drinking all day out to a barn full of hay, gets mega genius points. It was epic.

BUT, if I have one regret from my otherwise staggering night, it would have to be not learning the dance to the Hoedown Throwdown by none other than our very own Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana, of course) before getting on that bus. It was played upwards of like 8 times, and every time I had to stand by dejectedly with the other uninformed barndance attendees while others were partaking in the latest barn-themed dance. Therefore, if I have one piece of advice for you before your own barndance, (and if you do not personally have one, find someone who does as it’s worth it) it’s to take the time to learn this dance. You will not regret it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlnbmZK7GxU

Hey guys! Since this is my first blog I should probably introduce myself before getting to the main point. So… here it goes. My name is Lori. I’m a freshman. I am majoring in History, but I actually really want to double major in journalism and creative writing with a minor in music, which all sounds very complicated, but that’s okay. Right now I am a pretty busy person, what with my internship with the217.com, working for the DI on air and print, going to other clubs, doing homework, practicing my trumpet, hanging out with my friends, and whatever else might come up, but I will find time to blog. I promise.

So, anyway…
My parents came down to visit me this weekend since I haven’t seen them in a month, and I was trying to find something to do with them. So we ended up going to Culture Shock at the Union. There were a bunch of booths and posters, and I tried to read some of the posters to learn about different cultures, but I sort of forgot most of what I learned. :/ But there was also some food and dance performances by some RSO’s… which I uploaded a fun video for.

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So I think the turkish instrument is my favorite. There were some other performances but I couldn’t stay for them all, and I didn’t get to videotape the tango dancers (my dad really liked them) because I was getting some baklava (probably the best sweet ever).

It is kind of like a tattoo, except that it will fade away after a week or so and doesn’t involve needles. One of the booths was giving henna at the culture shock. The goopy stuff dries and then flakes off, leaving a mark.

Um… I actually don’t remember where this is from, but it was delicious.