Culture Shock; Thursday, Period 2 [02/28].

[somethingwithturquoise]

Welcome back to class, everyone! The teachers were obviously still feeling the Icelandic vibe today, as evidenced by them rocking out some nice thematic sweaters. Sweaters that one of them was significantly more excited about than the other.

Go on, guess which one. Just guess!

"Hey, everyone," Summer started brightly. "The week after a big trip is always a rough one in getting back on track and everything, but, luckily, with a class like this one, we can actually use our experiences to learn."

"Yay learning," Kanan said, in that very flat tone of voice that said that he would have been just as happy doing his teaching in, say, his usual shirt. "This week we're going to talk about our trip. No need for the danger shop today, and hey, look, I won't end up throwing rancors at you this week. You're welcome."

He kind of wished there were rancors.

But you just know Summer would have put those rancors in itchy wool sweaters. She grinned a little. "So, basically, Iceland's a different country, a different continent, a different culture. So it just makes sense to take some time and discuss what the experience was like in the context of our class, you know? So tell us your thoughts. What was something you found different or weird but you really enjoyed? Or something you found different and weird and definitely didn't enjoy?"

"I, for one, enjoyed all the nature," Kanan noted. "But could probably have coped with slightly less 'sitting on a bus.'"

Again. And again. And again. And again...

This from a guy who kind of had a reputation as the guy who drove the bus, these days.

"And I really, really enjoyed all the scenic views," Summer added, which was absolutely, one-hundred-percent her safe-for-school way of referring some nice Nordic eye candy, "but I was not so much a fan of how fish-heavy a lot of the local cuisine was."

"And I didn't mind the fish so much," Kanan noted, "but I'll eat pretty much anything."

... Except chocolate, after Valentine's day. And never. Ever. Ever again.

"So, that's it, guys," Summer shrugged. "Pretty easy, laid-back class this week, let's just share some stories and talk about our experiences with the culture of Iceland. Any volunteers to go first?"

Dollar Store Arts and Crafts, Thursday, Period 1

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Once again, the class came in to discover a large table covered in various weird things that didn't seem like they fit together at all. A bowl of poppy seeds sat next to a bowl of coffee grounds. Various shades of food coloring were interspersed with bottles of essential oils - though, they were from the local dollar store, so who knew how 'essential' these oils were. They were fragrant, and that's all Hardison cared about. Several boxes of kosher salt were placed next to boxes of gelatin and all of those were surrounded by plastic molds, small toys, x-acto knives for cutting, and still more empty bowls and stirrers. New to the day were several microwaves, measuring cups, and even a decent-sized chest freezer.

"Hey y'all," Hardison said, with a wave. "Welcome back, hope you enjoyed Iceland. We're right in the peak of flu season which of course, brings us back to hygiene. An' one of the most important aspects of hygiene is washin' up with soap. Which is exactly what we're gonna make today. Now, at it's core, soap is generally just lye mixed with oils and water until it's emulsified. But that's a little outside the scope of this class, as lye generally ain't sold in your average Family Dollar. But they do sell soap base, which you can cut an' melt an' then turn into other, fancier soaps."

A microwave dinged and Hardison pulled out a measuring cup full of a clear, syrupy liquid. "Soap base comes in both clear an' a milky white color; they're functionally the same, except the clear one will take your colors and keep them bright an' true, while the white will give you more pastel colors. Or you can leave 'em uncolored an' they'll dry clear or white. Once you have the melted base, you can do pretty much anything you want: add color-" he held up the food coloring, "-fragrance-" the essential oils, "-additives to make it exfoliating-" the coffee grounds and poppy seeds, "-an' then add it to molds to become a different shape. Or, you can gelatin an' a bit of salt while heating it up to make floppy, squishy soaps that are fun for kids."

He demonstrated how to use the soap base, which was fairly obvious and intuitive, and then stepped back so the students could see what moddable options there were on the table. "Go ahead an' make plenty," he said. "Share 'em with your friends. Leave 'em in the bathrooms an' common rooms. There's plenty, so be as creative as you want."

You walking germ factories.