Public Speaking?

"I had no aptitude with the rifle. I could not even bayonet an effigy of Kaiser Bill convincingly. But I was considered 'sharp' and they also discovered that I could run quite fast. So I was selected as company runner, which meant that I was also a kind of servant, I forget the word... Batman.." Page 120 of The Magus


On the last few classes, my fellow classmates bravely stepped forward and each one of us told tales of the beginnings. I know most of us were nervous. (At least I was..) Some of us channeled the nerves to somewhere much positive. For example, drawing on the white board, showing a lot of hand gestures or even tell a joke. The podium was definitely a security blanket.


The Earth Diver myth.. One after another, came up to the front and presented the myth in their own unique way. It didn't matter if it was told over, again and again. It was entertaining how each one was different from the other.


I told the tale of La Llorona "The Weeping Woman". That was told to me by my teammate from Colombia. The stories I hear from my Latin American teammates sure reminds me of home. How my grandparents and parents used to tell my sisters and I old folk stories just so we would behave. And OH HOW WE BEHAVED!!

Hugged a Tree in Virginia City Montana!

Going Into Mythology

Remember back in the days, when our parents or grandparents would tell us stories about legends and myths? How legends are defined as a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated; while myths are defined as a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events. One of my favorites is the legend of how the Zodiac Calendar came to be. My zodiac sign is the Monkey. Did you know, people born in the year of the Monkey are often inventors, plotters, entertainers and 

the creative geniuses behind anything ingenious, including mischief? Hmmm…

I was excited when going into this class—expecting and wondering… What is this class really about? Will I uncover questions I have for the stories my ancestors once told me? Or will I find out what mythology really means? Mythology is a “story”. We are required three texts in this class. They are NOT textbooks. “Textbooks are for *******!” as our professor would say. The book on The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony is revealing the names I’ve heard over and over again since I was young. Last year, I learned about Europa and the White Bull in my Intro to World Culture class. (How the name Europe came to be!) Myths really do play their parts in history. Going through pages of this book was surprisingly difficult. I had to go back to previous pages to figure out how the story is playing out over again.