“Shannon, what does your schedule look like for next semester?” is how a lot of conversations started back in fall semester 2015, during the height of scheduling season. I would generally respond by listing off my major-specific classes, ending with “Oh yeah I’m also taking this random honors seminar that’s on Saturday mornings.” You would not believe the looks of shock, disgust, and just pure, abject terror I would get. “Saturday??? Why on God’s blue earth would you do that to yourself?!” is typically the type of question that came next, to which I would often responded, “Well, you see… I just love school SO much… I can’t stand having the entire weekend off all the time! So why not devote my Saturday mornings and most of my spring break to this cool folklore class, instead of sleeping like I normally do at those times!”

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          All of that, of course, is an exaggeration. (Well, most of it. That last part about sleeping is definitely true). In all seriousness, what really drew me to this course was initially the study tour destination (Iceland!), and secondly the course subject: Folklore! (And Traditions!). I’ve always had a general interest in mythology and stories and the like, so… subject matter that I’m genuinely interested in? Check. Killer destination that I can cross off my travel bucket list? Check. One more Honors Experience? Check! So, heck yeah I’m taking a Saturday class! You had me at Iceland.

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          One of the most meaningful things I’ve taken away from this class, and the main thing that’s likely continue to stick with me for the foreseeable future is the idea that there are really two factors that come in to play with folklore: the folk, and the lore. (Duh!). Until this class, I had always considered folklore to be more of a standalone subject that just consisted of stories, myths, legends, what have you, and are told to explain some seemingly inexplicable occurrences, natural or otherwise. Before, I had never given much thought to the folk of the lore; the actual, real life people that come up with these stories, and that pass them along, thus creating the actual lore. Throughout the semester, both in the learning material and through discussions with my classmates, I started to get a much stronger understanding of the profound effect that people can have on other individuals, as well as the surrounding community. 

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          Speaking of people, one thing that I was not expecting to happen during this course was making so many new friends. During the actual study tour, my favorite thing (besides just being in a beautiful Land of Ice and Huldufólk) was truly getting to know the people I had been in class with all semester, and in turn letting them get to know me. And from that, we kind of started our own “folklore” of sorts, consisting of stories and inside jokes about our experiences together while abroad. It has been a great experience both in and out of the classroom with these folks, and I do hope to stay in touch with them throughout the rest of our time at UC.