Interdisciplinary Psychology:

    I’ve lived in Seattle for almost four years but until last weekend, I had never even considered visiting the Experience Music Project. I had heard it was overpriced and over rated plus I’ve never been much of a classic rock fan. I assumed it just a larger and less commercial version of The Hard Rock Cafe. What a surprise I was in for! To begin with, I have to admit that I love the controversial design of the building. I find its’ rounded lines and use of color to be organic and more human than the traditional boxy building and it also appeals to my sense of curiosity and love of beauty. I was very impressed by the impromptu orientation that we were given by the tour guide and his warmth and sincerity. I felt he really appreciated our attention and gratitude. As far as the exhibits go, my favorite was definitely the first sculpture that we saw upon entering the museum. It was a mountain of guitars made into a sculpture by an artist by the name of Trimpin. What I enjoyed about this sculpture is that it engages so many of the senses and was interactive. I was also excited when I realized that I had seen his work before last summer at the Frye and am now interested in learning more about his work.
    I tend to enjoy roaming museums alone and felt a bit guilty when I broke away from the group in the museum to enjoy things at my own pace. I listened to some of the recordings in the first room we came upon and was especially drawn to the clips of Kate from the B-52’s talking about creativity and how they formed the image and sound of their band. I also watched some recordings of African American protest singers in the 60’s and was in awe of the strength and courage it took for them to get their message across through music. I then meandered into the area about Northwest music and became a bit nostalgic watching the clips of Pearl Jam and Nirvana from the early 90’s. I can only imagine how amazing it would have been to be in Seattle during the height of the grunge scene. There must have been a real sense of pride that the area gave birth to so many great bands in such a short amount of time. It helped me in establishing an even a stronger connection with my adopted city.
    Eventually, I met up with Karen and we forced some of our classmates to form a band with us. I’m grateful to Jeremy, Jesse and Brandon for being good sports and participating in the experience of putting on the first and last show ever by the Icebergs. It was good, silly fun.
    While I enjoyed visiting EMP and wish I had more time to view the various exhibits, I think it was going to lunch at Buca De Beppo that turned out to be the most positive experience of the field trip. I love Buca and have been there on many occasions. I was excited when Mark had mentioned that we might try to go there for lunch but almost didn’t go because I didn’t want to walk the eight blocks it took to get there. I tend to shy away from large group situations and when I saw how large the group was I almost backed out...but there was a little voice inside of me saying “broaden and build, Jeanne” so I bit the bullet and joined the crowd. As always, I enjoyed talking with Karen on the way there and back and feel lucky to have met and gotten to know her better over the course of this class. It was a gorgeous day and the walk ended up being quite enjoyable. It was also great talking to Chelsea, Brandon and Julie over lunch and getting to know them a little better. I was surprised to see how much I had in common with some of my classmates that I never would have discovered if it we hadn't all gone to lunch together. I’m continually surprised and impressed by how much more mature and worldly some of my younger classmates are than I was when I was their age. There was much laughter on the girls side of the table and some serious eating going on.
    I was sad to realize that when we returned to EMP, it was already time to leave and I hadn’t seen nearly half of the museum. I did, however, notice that they have one night a month when admission is free and now I intend to return and see what I missed. I found out that my boyfriend and a friend of mine had enjoyed the beautiful day as well and walked down to Pike Place Market. At first I was a bit jealous but then I looked back over my day, remembered how much fun I had had with my classmates and realized that it was a really great experience that I am glad to have had in my last quarter at Evergreen. When I look back at my Evergreen education, the Positive Psychology class and field trip will most definitely be a highlight!