Chips - Special Issue 2015

LUTHER COLLEGE

CHIPS Vol. 137 • Special Issue 2015

Carving a Heritage

with Scandinavian Fine Handcrafts

Living with the Modern Maya Dorian Vocal Festival: Behind the Scenes Also in this issue:

• Options for Study Abroad • Ice Fishing Escapades • Breakfast at Bars Scandinavian Fine Handcrafts student Travis Houle (‘15) begins carving a spoon

LUTHER COLLEGE

CHIPS Vol. 137 • Special Issue 2015

From the Editor There’s something nice about a trilogy.

Two years ago, I had the pleasure of collaborating with then Editor-in-Chief Michael Crowe on the first-ever J-term Special Issue. I wrote about a course I took on winter biology in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and quickly became infatuated with first-person, nonfiction narrative.

Last year, I returned from my two-week tenure aboard the schooner Roseway to find the writing process both exploratory and reflective.

This January, I had the privilege of not only writing about my academic pursuits but also leading an enthusiastic crew of writers and editors. While this may not be the final Chips magazine, it’s the last time I will have the opportunity to work alongside this excellent group of people while documenting my January adventures. These past three years have been a wild ride, a collection of experiences for which I can express nothing but gratitude.

On behalf of the Chips staff, I offer our thanks to Student Senate for generously funding over half of our printing costs. It is an absolute honor to have the support of a fellow organization managed by the students, for the students.

This Special Issue stands as a testament to students going outside of their comfort zones, embracing some things old and some things new, and fully immersing themselves in a Liberal Arts experience. Whether you’re reading of Casey DeLima’s summer in Guatemala, or Dylan Hinton’s crash course in ice fishing, or my attempts to carve Scandinavian fine handcrafts, I hope these experiences inspire you to create stories of your own.

To shamelessly quote Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Chips ahoy.

Walker Nyenhuis Editor-in-Chief

CONTACT Chips Phone: 563.387.1044 Fax: 563.387.2072 E-mail: chipsedt@luther.edu Advertising: chipsads@luther.edu Website: http://lutherchips.com Twitter: @lutherchips Facebook: www.facebook.com/LutherChips

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief: Walker Nyenhuis Managing Editor: Sarah King Current Editors: Katie Hale, Elizabeth Hurley Features Editors: Emily Crowe, Julia Joseph Perspectives Editor: Cameron Meyferth Review Editors: Dylan Hinton, Jenna Nelson Head Copy Editor: Katie Hale

CONTRIBUTORS Travis Houle, Emily Crowe, Casey DeLima, Walker Nyenhuis, Katie Nelson, Katie Hale, Carl Bates, Dylan Hinton, Margaret Yapp, Sarah King

POLICIES

Chips is a student publication of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

The publication is designed, composed, edited and managed entirely

by Luther students. It is published weekly during the academic year.

Opinions expressed in articles, editorials or columns do not necessarily represent the views of the Chips staff. The author is solely responsible for opinions expressed in Chips commentary.

Chips will not accept submitted articles or campus announcements.

Submissions for letters to the editor should be submitted as a word document to chipsedt@luther.edu with “Letter to the Editor” as the subject line. Letters to the editor are subject to editing without changing the meaning of the letter. Authors will not be notified of changes prior to publishing. Letters must be signed, 300-400 words and submitted by Sunday at 5 p.m. the week before publication. Publication of all letters is at the discretion of the editor.

Table of Contents CURRENT 5 6

8 14

20

January Term Undergoes Review Dorian Vocal Festival Unites Student Musicians from Quad State Area

FEATURES The Modern Maya Seeing Guatemala through the lens of American privilege One Crafty Class Creating traditional handcrafts under the guidance of master Harley Refsal Home Away From Home Exploring the plethora of study abroad options offered by the Center for Global Learning

PERSPECTIVES 25 26 27

Ice Fishing: A Pain in the Bass Kielly and Turco Paint the Sound A New Year for Radio

REVIEW 29 30

Decorah: A Host of Local Roasts Breakfast at Bars

ON THE COVER Scandinavian Fine Handcrafts student Travis Houle (‘15) begins carving a spoon Photo by Walker Nyenhuis

2015 ADVERTISEMENT

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Chips • Special January Issue

CURRENT 2015

J-term students from Art 290: Picturing Change in Hong Kong visit the Chi Lin Nunnery

January Term undergoes review Concerns about J-term classes meeting institutional expectations prompt changes in minimum class requirements.

by Travis Houle (‘15) The transition from a two-hour to a threehour minimum daily class period marked a change for January Term this year.

Professor of Chemistry Brad Chamberlain has been involved in the development of J-term throughout his time at Luther and said the reason for switching to longer class hours is twofold. “[In the] course evaluations that students fill out, students are asked to reflect upon the amount of work that they are doing outside of class,” Chamberlain said, “and the faculty was concerned that the amount of hours, particularly for J-term, [was] not matching [their] expectations.”

Beyond not meeting faculty expectations, students spending less time on J-term classes is also problematic for Luther’s status as an accredited institution. This is particularly significant as Luther is up for review by the Higher Learning Commission, the organization responsible for accrediting higher learning institutions.

“The Higher Learning Commission is paying much more attention in terms of the relationship between credit hours for a course and the amount of total time a student spends both in class and out of class,” Chamberlain said. “There was some concern that both our Photograph by Aaron Lurth

in-class time and out-of-class time currently were not rising to the level that we wanted it to be.”

This most recent change is one of many J-term has experienced since its inception in 1964. Originally intended to encourage students to engage in experiential study, courses did not begin receiving grades or credit until 1982, previously acting as pass/no pass .

“People just wanted to do something different, to have a different feel for a few weeks,” Associate Dean and Director of Faculty Development Jeff Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson sees the continuation of this initial intent in the off-campus study opportunities the college offers during J-term.

“This is when students go abroad; this is when students can travel,” Wilkerson said. “It builds in a natural time for students who can’t or don’t want to take a whole semester abroad … to have a chance to go travel.”

This year, 408 students participated in one of the 21 study abroad courses offered over J-term.

In previous years, the number of students has fluctuated between 321-409 per year, with 2023 study abroad courses offered annually.

Perhaps the biggest change to J-term in the past decade was the addition of the first-year seminar. Previously, first-years competed with

upperclassmen for class placement. Now there are currently 32 first-year seminars offered, with 610 students enrolled.

Hannah Wright (‘18) reflected on her experience in a first-year seminar.

“You get to know everyone in your class, and so everyone has to contribute in some way, shape or form,” Wright said. “Because you’re in class for three hours, the professor is going to make you participate no matter what.”

Though many students, faculty and administrators are satisfied with the current state of J-term, the month will likely continue to transform going forward. According to Chamberlain, the most recent changes may be an expansion of internship and independent study opportunities. Currently, over 100 students are participating in an internship for academic credit and 142 students are working on individualized studies for credit.

“I think we’re going to go even further down the experiential scale as we go forward,” Chamberlain said.

Regarding rumors that the future of J-term may be in jeopardy, Wilkerson said that the main issues with J-term are being resolved, and, because study abroad during J-term is such an important asset of the college, J-term is here to stay. •

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2015 CURRENT

Dorian Vocal Festival unites student musicians from quad state area

by Emily Crowe (‘17)

The Luther campus saw many new faces when approximately 1100 high school students attended the Dorian Vocal Music Festival over January Term.

This year, the festival was held January 10-12.

Dorian Music Festivals began in 1949 when Weston Noble (‘43) invited select band students for a festival.

“The vocal festival was added a year later in 1950,” Coordinator for Music Organizations and Marketing Eric Ellingsen (‘99) said. “Dorian has been growing in scope ever since.”

This year marked the 65th Annual Dorian Vocal Festival and was the first to be live-streamed. Streaming Dorian proved successful as it was the highestranking live stream Luther has ever broadcast for any event.

“Over 2500 people watched it,” Ellingsen said. “Live-streaming is a nice alternative, because not just anyone can come to the concert; you need to enter the lottery for tickets.”

Because so many students come to sing in the concert, they sit where an audience would usually sit, and any open seats are filled with teachers, directors and parents.

Over 1100 high school students performed in the Dorian Vocal Festival concert on January 12

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A select Chamber Choir got an earlier performing experience on the Center for Faith and Life stage.

“The students who are selected for the Chamber Choir come on Saturday, a night before all the other Dorian students come,” Music Recruitment Coordinator Katie Seidel said. “104 singers get to sing in front of a full house, as do the five [final] soloists.”

Three hundred students initially auditioned in the solo competition, resulting in 25 semi-finalists, and five solo finalists who had the opportunity to work with Professor of Music Jessica Paul.

“Jessica Paul is the most amazing pianist,” Ellingsen said. “She can pick up any piece and sight-read it. One of the soloists described it perfectly when he said, ‘She commands that instrument.’”

The concert, which includes a performance by Nordic Choir, was the conclusion of a weekend full of rehearsal.

“We practiced a little before we came,” Belle Plaine High School junior Madison Hartmann said. “We went through the music section by section during choir [at my high school]. It’s a lot of learning here, though.”

According to the attendees, all of the hard work pays off in the end.

“It’s so much fun to see how so many students can work together and sound good,” Darlington High School senior Megan Wiegel said.

Behind the scenes While a weekend full of rehearsal is a lot of work for the students involved in the concert, the Luther staff also put in a lot of work behind the scenes. This year’s Dorian Vocal Festival was more challenging than most because Dorian Music Coordinator Jim Buzza was out of the country.

“Jim is in Vienna because he was awarded the Staff Excellence Award, which is kind of like employee of the year,” Ellingsen said. “His prize was choosing one of the international trips offered through Luther. He chose Vienna because he went while he was in college, and now he gets to return with the Luther College Symphony Orchestra.”

Buzza’s presence was missed in all aspects of the Festival, according to Ellingsen.

“Directors were asking about him,” Ellingsen said. “He is the face of Dorian.”

Buzza’s work includes sending music to the directors of Dorian participants, receiving registrations, creating the schedule for lessons and coordinating the student workers who take care of music and housing.

“Because Jim Buzza was gone, it required all hands on deck,” Dorian Festival student worker Julia Curtis (‘17) said. “The administrative assistants were working on Dorian things, and the music office workers were working on Dorian things, and the student workers were working on Dorian things.”

According to Ellingsen, most music is selected over the summer, while most of the logistical work is done in the months and weeks prior to the festival.

“West/Kephart’s music supplies all of the music to the schools,” Ellingsen said.

“We have to plan a couple months in Photographs by Emily Crowe

CURRENT 2015 advance because we are already starting work on the next one.”

According to Seidel, the Dorian Vocal, Orchestra and Band festivals all happen within six weeks of each other.

“The Dorian Orchestra Festival is February 8-9, and the Dorian Band Festival is February 22-23,” Seidel said.

“We are excited for Jim Buzza to come back.”

While Buzza’s work was missed for this festival, everyone stepped up to make sure that it continued to run smoothly.

“We hired some Luther alumni to help, and some high school directors came and helped set up and tear down chairs in the CFL,” Curtis said. “We had a lot of help” The help was needed and appreciated, according to Ellingsen.

“With everyone working together, it works,” Ellingsen said. “It takes a village.”

Creating a community Dorian Vocal, Orchestra, Band, Invitational Choral, and Middle and Senior High Summer Festivals keep Buzza and the music department busy, but the work is worth it, according to former Vocal Dorian David McVay (‘18).

“Dorian definitely impacted my college decision in a big way,” McVay said. “Being able to visit and see how tight the Luther community is was how I knew that this was the right place for me.”

According to McVay, Dorian does something that the average visit day and tour does not do for prospective students.

“As a high schooler, seeing the Luther choirs perform was awesome and made me want to join them as soon as I could,” McVay said. “As a music major, being able to see how strong the music program was tipped the scales strongly in Luther’s favor.”

The Dorian students have the opportunity to work with the Luther music faculty in Luther facilities.

“It’s really cool to get experience with other directors,” Hartmann said. “We are used to just the one from our high school, but we worked with three the past few days.”

The Dorian experience can be the deciding factor for potential students, according to Ellingsen.

Sixteen Dorian Vocal participants stayed in the Spring Prairie House on January 11 “Dorian opens the door to Luther for many people,” Ellingsen said. “It’s all about where you feel comfortable.

Visiting campus for Dorian gives students a feel for everyday life here on campus.”

While Admissions and the music department do not know exactly what percentage of students who attend a Dorian festival apply to or commit to Luther, they know it is significant and are working on compiling the information, according to Seidel.

“We are trying to combine the music and Admissions databases,” Seidel said.

“There is a lot of information in two separate databases that we are trying to interpret.”

Even without the numbers, the effect of Dorian festivals is obvious to Ellingsen.

“Dorian brings a lot of people to campus,” Ellingsen said. “They all get to see how things run here at Luther and we get to show them that Decorah is thriving.” #ILoveDorian The students who attend Dorian are, of course, encouraged to leave their cell phones off during rehearsal times, according to Seidel. However, this limitation does not prevent students from sharing how much fun they are having on social media.

“This year and the last couple of years, ‘#ILoveDorian’ has been blowing up,” Seidel said. “People are really having fun with it.”

Between the pictures of friends on Instagram, tweets of inside jokes from rehearsals and time on campus, and Facebook posts tagging friends met at previous Dorian or All-State music festivals, the excitement is obvious for all involved.

“Being a part of a choir bigger than 1000 people is great #ILoveDorian,” Dorian Vocal Festival Attendee Harlie Jacobsen tweeted.

Despite the busy time of year and the hard work involved with Dorian, the experience is worth it, according to Dorian Vocal Festival participant Ashley Mendell.

“Between our show choir competition and Dorian these past two days I am so exhausted...but hey #ILoveDorian,” Mendell tweeted.

The students who attend Dorian use social media to stay in contact even after Dorian has ended, according to Seidel.

“One girl told me that she was the only one from her school to make the Chamber Choir, which meant she was on campus a day before her school friends,” Seidel said. “She told me she tweeted a girl she knew from summer Dorian and [they] were going to get dinner together.”

According to Instagram and Twitter, the #ILoveDorian hashtag sums up most Dorian students’ feelings pretty well.

“Please, oh please, can I go back to Dorian festival? #ILoveDorian,” Dorian Vocal Festival participant Benjamin Melke tweeted. •

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A street market in Guatemala

The Modern Maya

FEATURE 2015

by Casey DeLima (‘15) Photographs by Casey DeLima

Seeing Guatemala through the lense of American privilege.

Photograph by Casey DeLima

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2015 FEATURE

People piled into a pick-up on a street in Chichicastenango, Guatemala

I was holding on for dear life.

Zooming down a mountainside while standing in the back of a pick-up truck, I was pressed against the back window of the cabin.

The person doing the pressing, a Guatemalan mother wearing the traditional Mayan “traje,” or long skirt worn by women, stands a head shorter than me. Her two children—a baby slung on her back with a piece of cloth and a toddler wedged between her skirt and my leg—peeked at me over the bed of the truck. Behind the mother, a grandmother, a high school student and many other Guatemalans were all hitching a ride into town. The bed of the truck was packed with as many people that could fit. However, if there were people waiting at the next “parada,” or bus stop, we would be expected to suck in and make room for a few more people.

Passing a waterfall, we speed down

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a dangerous cur ve, just narrowly miss ing a chicken bus that is obviously going much faster than the speed limit. Finally, we arrive at the bottom of the hill and enter the town of Panajachel. This is public transportation in Guatemala.

Years before my visit to Guatemala, I learned about the fall of the Mayan empire in Mrs. Johnson's sixth grade social studies class. Whether it was from disease, famine, war or some form of natural disaster, no one was entirely sure of the cause. However, all the textbooks confirmed that the Mayan empire fell and with it, a culture was lost.

Despite my sixth grade belief that

the Maya were as good as gone, the summer of 2014 taught me that though the classical Mayan empire had indeed fallen, the Mayan people were alive and well in Central American countries such as Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala.

Despite colonialism, natural disaster and other factors, the Maya remain rich in culture.

“Saqyr, uts awych? ” meaning “good morning, how are you?” my host grandmother asks me ever y morning as I gulp my “atol.” In response I mutter back, “Uts nu wych, matiox,” meaning “I am good, thank you.” Despite my rehearsals ever y night at dinner, my pronunciation of Photographs by Casey DeLima

FEATURE 2015 Kakchiquel never seems to improve.

Kakchiquel is one of the 22 Mayan dialects spoken in Guatemala, and my host family’s first language. My grandmother always responds with a chuckle and "Ay," or in Kakchiquel, "you're welcome." One of the more common dialects in Guatemala is Kakchiquel; it is spoken by nearly 500,000 people in Guatemala. Like the other dialects, Kakchiquel stems from the Proto-Mayan language spoken by people of the Mayan empire. Due to how widely spread different groups of Mayan people are, my grandmother may not be able to communicate as well with my friend's grandmother across the lake in Santiago Atitlán who speaks Tz'utujil. Due to the variety of Mayan people in the area around Lake Atitlán, one could hear many different dialects throughout the streets, markets and shops, each one more intriguing than the next.

Just as interesting and intriguing as the indigenous languages was the food. When first arriving in Guatemala, I expected the food to go more along the line of Mexican food with cuisines of savory tacos and spicy enchiladas, though you could find many “taquieras” on the streets, the traditional Guatemalan food consisting of rice, beans, eggs and corn tortillas. Tortillas are the ultimate staple of Guatemala. Each home I visited had a basket filled with hot tortillas on the table for every meal. Though these Guatemalan dishes were most of what my host family prepared for me, I had many other dishes such as “pulique,” a popular dish in the Western highlands of Guatemala, that features a piece of chicken served in a stew-like sauce with some vegetables thrown in for good measure. Another popular food you'll find in Guatemala, as well as throughout many countries in Latin America, is plantains. My host mother often served them up diced and fried with yogurt or cream cheese and sugar sprinkled over the top.

Coffee is grown throughout Guatemala, so I assumed I'd be having a hot cup of coffee every morning,

but on my first breakfast, my family poured me a cup of oatmeal with a more liquid consistency and told me that it was atol. Atol is a thick, cornstarch-based drink that is served hot and is emblematic of Guatemala.

Unfortunately for me, however, “atol” does not contain caffeine, and despite its rich, sweet taste, did not help in keeping me awake every morning.

Coffee was most often served with lunch and dinner and was served incredibly sweet.

Because my host family was fairly wealthy, I always had access to clean and fresh produce like watermelon, pineapple, papayas and corn. Due to poverty, this was a luxury not many families in Guatemala have.

Poor families eat mainly beans, rice and eggs rather than the fruits that one might assume are plentiful in Guatemala. Many families also eat a lot of processed food similar to the cheap processed food found in the United States. This lack of affordable, nutritious food means that families living in poverty have poor nutrition, and many children living in poverty are extremely malnourished.

Most of Guatemala, especially in rural areas, is very religious. More than 80 percent of Guatemalans are Christian, with the population almost evenly divided between Catholicism

and Evangelical Christianity.

Catholicism was brought to Guatemala during colonization, and, in order to escape persecution, many indigenous people disguised their Mayan religion as Catholicism. This led to many Maya adopting various aspects of Catholicism and attending Catholic masses. Catholicism and the traditional Mayan practices blended into each other, resulting in a unique combination of different religious traditions.

Two Mayan girls wearing the traditional “traje” Mayan women making tortillas to sell at market

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2015 FEATURE I had not known that the Mayan in Guatemala and is often used as religion was still practiced in an offering to the spirits and San Guatemala until I befriended Jorge, Simón. San Simón, commonly called a Mayan priest who lived down the Maximón, is a folk saint of the Mayan mountain from people.

There me. He eagerly were also crosses, throughout crucifixes, idols agreed to tell me "Traveling more about his Guatemala was one such as Our Lady life in the Mayan Guadalupe of the most impactful of priesthood. and symbols of that I’ve Latin American “It’s not a experiences practice,” Jorge encountered in my life; C a t h o l i c i s m . described to me.

When I asked “It’s more of a it gave me an incredible Jorge why he science.” amount of knowledge had so many What Jorge relics about a culture that seems Christian meant was that on his altar, he being a Mayan to have been forgotten by replied with priest did not just most of the known world." many reasons. pertain to the “The Mayas Mayan religion -Casey DeLima ('15) do not deny the but also to the existence of other Mayan calendar gods or spirits,” and the Mayan way of life. he told me. “Many people who come On a clear Saturday, Jorge led me and to me for help are Catholics and a group of my classmates up a steep Christians. I can’t deny what they hill in San Jorge and into the forest believe in.” where he had set up his altar. The When asked about the end of the altar was speckled with lit candles, Mayan calendar that many thought coins and even a bottle of Quetzalteca, was predicting the Apocalypse, Jorge a raw cane liquor that is common laughed.

“The end of the great cycle was not the end of the world,” he explained.

“The Mayans did not predict the end of the world. When a cycle ends, a new one begins. In December of 2012, it was a rebirth.”

According to the Holocaust Museum in Houston, more than 200,000 indigenous Maya were killed or disappeared during the Guatemalan Civil War. Over 1.5 million people were displaced and many fled Guatemala to take refuge in Mexico. The Guatemalan government saw leftists come to power in the late 50s, which worried the United States government, who had many fruit companies and corporations in the country. The United States government determined that “communist revolts” backed a coup d’etat in 1954 that placed Carlos Castillas Armas in power. This was followed by many conservative military dictators, and a military government was installed.

Social discontent led to many leftist armies, or guerilla armies, fighting against the Guatemalan army in the 1960s, causing the Guatemalan Civil War. Due to both sides’ belief that

A Mayan priest during a traditional religious ceremony

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Photographs by Casey DeLima

FEATURE 2015 the indigenous people were aiding one side or the other, many indigenous people were tortured and murdered.

Guatemalans understand the effect that the United States has on Guatemala, but there is a mixed reaction toward people from the United States. When people found out that I was from the United States, many people became excited, asking me about bands, celebrities and famous cities like New York or Los Angeles. Others immediately asked me why the United States has such strict immigration laws.

My host father looked at me one night after dinner and said, “You know, people from the United States call themselves ‘American,’ but they don’t seem to understand that we’re American, too. We’re Central Americans.”

Though the United States contributed to some of the horrors that happened in Guatemala, many Guatemalans open their homes and hearts to people from the United States and many of the younger generations continue to idolize popular culture in the United States. I felt guilty walking through the streets of Guatemala and receiving better treatment than those who have lived there their whole lives.

If there is one thing that I learned while living in Guatemala, it was that with my light skin and my American passport, I carry a lot of privilege on my shoulders.

Traveling throughout Guatemala was one of the most life-changing experiences that I’ve encountered in my life; it gave me an incredible amount of knowledge about a culture that seems to have been forgotten by most of the world. Even though Guatemala is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, it was the Mayan people that welcomed me into their homes and taught me about their culture and their lives. As a white person from the United States, there is so much I still don’t know about Guatemala, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to have lived there with the vibrant, creative and loving people that are the Modern Maya. •

A Mayan family in their home The Catholic church in the plaza of San Jorge La Laguna

DeLima dons a traditional hairpiece of the Kakchiquel Maya

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Matt Rosene (‘15) carves a wooden butter knife

Braiding pewter coil for a traditional Sami bracelet

FEATURE 2015

One Crafty Class

by Walker Nyenhuis (‘15) Photographs by Walker Nyenhuis

Creating traditional Scandinavian handcrafts under the guidance of master carver Harley Refsal.

Photographs by Walker Nyenhuis

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2015 FEATURE

Flit. Flit. Flit.

Carving a spoon is harder than it looks. Gouge too deep into the bowl, and you might as well use a fork. Cut into the grain of the handle, and it’s uncomfortable to hold. I can’t believe I ever took such a delicate instrument for granted.

Krista Wahlstrom (‘15) holds box elder wood collected for carving

Back to work. I slowly slide my blade along the spoon’s handle at a 45-degree angle. Thin shavings curl and fall to the table. After time, the motion is repetitive, careful, therapeutic. Within an hour, I have a spoon worthy of tomorrow’s breakfast.

This January, as a student of Art 115: Scandinavian Fine Handcrafts, I learned how to carve and paint traditional Norwegian and Swedish tools, crafts and designs under the tutelage of Professor Emeritus of Scandinavian Folk Art Harley Refsal. With at least four hours of daily studio time over three and a half weeks, my classmates and I grew from novice whittlers to experienced craftspeople. We immersed ourselves in craft-making culture: the laborious and rewarding process of taking an idea, working through the many stages of carving, sanding, painting, and finishing before finally making a functional or aesthetically-pleasing product appear.

Before we begin working with our knives, however, we learn the proper carving technique. Pushing blades with our weak-hand thumbs and steering with the dominant, we practice whittling basic shapes including spheres, cylindrical “carrots” and hearts. Professor Refsal provides rough cuts of fish and horse models for us to trim, and we learn methods to make toys and ornaments like the ball-in-a-cage, wooden chains and an arrow-stricken heart.

Professor Refsal reminds us that college students, who typically have little money at their disposal, often benefit from adopting carving as an inexpensive and meaningful leisure-time activity, one he describes as “low-tech and high-touch.” Before the rise of television and digital media, craftmaking was common practice for people of all ages, often indicating one’s cultural heritage and identity.

Harley Refsal instructs the class on the science of spoons

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Photographs by Walker Nyenhuis

FEATURE 2015 A collection of hand-carved and painted figures

It was clear from the beginning that the course would not be the same without the knowledge of Professor Refsal, who has researched and revitalized Scandinavianstyle carving since his first visit to Norway in 1965.

According to Refsal, the tradition he practices initially gained prominence following the 17th-century Norwegian “guild laws.” These laws made it illegal for citizens outside of the woodcarving guild to use carving tools more technical than a small knife or axe. To fulfill their creative drives, those outside of the guild practiced craft-making with the tools they were allowed, carving figures of fellow farmers and other common folk. The term “flat-plane carving” came to describe this traditional style following the publication of a 1984 issue of “WOOD Magazine” featuring Refsal’s work.

Refsal has taught Luther students for over forty years. Initially hired for a twoyear position with Campus Ministries and Residence Life in 1972, he joined the college faculty as a Norwegian instructor after a chance conversation with then-provost John Linnell. A few years later, in addition to teaching courses in Norwegian, Refsal led the Nottingham Program. He then directed the International Student Office until 1988, when he learned of a graduate-level program in Norwegian Folk Art Studies offered by Telemark University College in Rauland, Norway. After completing the program, he returned to Luther to teach

Scandinavian Folk Art and Norwegian.

Since retiring from full-time teaching in 2010, he has continued to offer Scandinavian Fine Handcrafts at Luther every January.

Over the past three decades, Refsal has authored five books on Scandinavian woodcarving and folk art, contributed to four other publications, and taught hundreds of courses and workshops throughout the United States and Scandinavia. For Refsal’s contributions to Norwegian folk art, King Harald V decorated him with the St. Olav Medal in

Nyenhuis’ original cat carving

1996.

In short, my classmates and I are learning from a master carver.

In the first week of class, we trudge to the woodland just west of Dike Road on lower campus, where Grounds Crew Supervisor Paul Frana helps us chop down a box elder tree for fresh carving material.

Staying active to fight the bitter cold, we split cross-sections of the trunk and trimmed the branches with loppers and handsaws. Within a half-hour, we have a sizable stack. This freshly-cut wood soon

Krista Mathistad (‘17) works toward becoming an experienced carver

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2015 FEATURE becomes a unique collection of spoons, spatulas and butter knives we carve and decorate over the next week, drying them in kilns made of newspaper.

In a collegiate setting, craft-making opens creative potential students may not be able to pursue in other coursework and embraces an experiential model of education. It’s also an accessible activity, as anyone with a knife can whittle.

I push my blade along the strop, a leather belt covered with abrasive aluminum oxide. Applying pressure, I run the knife back and forth until I am satisfied it is razor-sharp once again.

Sharpening the knife at least once a day typically ensures its ability to cut the wood cleanly. Returning to carving, I notice the difference immediately. wood, as Professor Refsal’s wife Norma My next carving project is up for grabs. teaches us one of the craft traditions of I casually trim the model of a fish until Scandinavia’s indigenous Sami people.

I decide it’s time to try something new. Using reindeer hide, threads of pewter After over an hour metal, artificial sinew of experimenting "Like an untouched and a closure button cut with different block of basswood, from a reindeer antler, cuts on the tail, it fashion decorative our lives need room we begins to look like bracelets. Detail work the creativity, has become familiar to a set of ears, and for I finally settle on perseverance and students who have now the caricature of a spent nearly two weeks cat. If only other focus of a woodcarver." carving fine handcrafts, elements of my life working with needles -Walker Nyenhuis ('15) but could be so flexible. and thread provides a whole new set of About two weeks into the course, we challenges. It’s hard to feel anything but venture outside our primary medium of admiration for the fine handcraft traditions

Students learn the basics of carving of the Sami, who, according to Professor Refsal, designed and crafted intricate jewelry from pewter alloys, leather, wood and fabric while living as nomads in harsh Arctic conditions.

In the last week of class, we advance to figure carving. Seeing images of the many caricatures Professor Refsal has carved over the years, I take my time deciding what, or who, my knife and I will create next. I could carve a figure of a friend, or a horse, or anything, really. The possibilities are endless. Maybe I’ll make another spoon.

If my time at Luther has taught me anything, it’s that the future is just as difficult to imagine as the final cuts of our figures.

The idea of what we will do, the people we will become and what we will create for ourselves are rough sketches at best. Like an untouched block of basswood, our lives need room for the creativity, perseverance and focus of a woodcarver. Many may try to predict the final product, but I choose to let the chips fall where they may. •

Students learn the importance of having well-kept tools Eshetie Tarekegn (‘17) paints a hand-carved horse

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Photographs by Walker Nyenhuis

ADVERTISEMENT 2015 Michelangelo’s Pieta, a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City

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A cathedral in Norwich, England

FEATURE 2015

Home Away From Home

by Katie Nelson (‘16) Photographs by Katie Nelson & Courtesy of the Center For Global Learning

Exploring the plethora of study abroad options offered by the Center for Global Learning.

Photograph by Katie Nelson

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2015 FEATURE

J-term students enjoy their time at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland

Sunset coming down over the Luther College wind turbine

I settled into an aisle seat,

one of many on this massive aircraft. After waiting almost two hours for the plane to properly de-ice in the low temperatures of the Midwestern winter, the airplane finally ascended into the night sky.

My stomach flipped with the initial lurch into the air. As we continued to rise, my stomach writhed more. I can’t be sure if it was from motion sickness or pure excitement to be on my way to a foreign destination. Some of the nine other students taking the same course seemed to be facing similar afflictions.

Luckily I didn’t notice anyone reaching for the barf bags.

Luther College offers dozens of annual study abroad opportunities for its students in addition to the myriad options students can choose from third-party companies.

According to Luther’s Center for Global Learning (CGL) website, somewhere between four and five hundred students— almost a fifth of the student population— take advantage of these opportunities each year.

There are a variety of programs offered for different durations and destinations every year. These programs open doors for students to have new experiences in diverse cultures around the world, gaining new perspectives and skills as they travel.

As Off-Campus Programs Advisor

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Elizabeth Finanger (‘06) said, “We may be in rural Iowa, but the focus of our school is much, much broader: to our country, and expanding out to the world.”

One study abroad option commonly chosen by students is the January term program. Twenty-one courses shipped out this year to study every subject from ecology to religion to music. These courses

typically immerse between 12-25 students in a subject and a new culture. In effect, this is first-hand learning at its finest.

Talking to Katie Vorderbruggen (‘16) about her experiences on the 2014 J-term trip “Peace and Reconciliation: Dialog in Norway and the Balkans,” I noticed a string of tiny Norwegian flags encircling her bookshelf.

Buckingham Palace in London, England

Photographs by Katie Nelson and courtesy of the Center For Global Learning

FEATURE 2015 Several photos of scenery and selfies with other travelers in her program resounded with my own experiences of a J-term abroad. She found experiencing a new place and culture both thrilling and frightening but said the benefits always outweighed the fear.

After the initial travel fatigue and tedious baggage claim routine was over, the ten of us set out in the streets of London to find our first destination of our J-term abroad, luggage in tow.

“Take a right out of the entrance of the tube station, go four blocks straight, take another right to arrive at the hotel. We’ll meet you there!”

These were the last words our instructor spoke to us before leaving us to fend for ourselves.

After the initial shock and terror my comrades and I felt, we took off on our first adventure abroad. We eventually made it to the Celtic Hotel, dragging our bags behind us, catching the sights of a police horse and the lovely Bloomsbury Park on the way.

Collapsing in the whimsical Georgian style hotel’s living room, the owner told us in her equally whimsical accent about the full English breakfast we could receive in the morning. That sounded like some culture shock we could get behind.

This summer, the CGL is offering “May term” programs for the first time, running from late May to early June. The summer courses were created to accommodate students who are not free to travel during J-term.

“We decided to try this since there are some students who cannot participate in an offcampus J-term course because of music or athletic commitments,” Off-Campus Programs Advisor Corby Preus (‘79) said. “The structure of the summer offerings will be basically the same as J-term, same length and number of credits,” she said.

For its inaugural year, there are three new programs offered, with similar variety to that of J-term. These courses join the already-existing Nottingham Summer Nursing Program and the International Music Festival of the Adriatic based in Duino, Italy as options for study abroad.

“We're pleased with the amount of interest there appears to be in this summer's offerings, especially since this is the first year,” Preus said.

For more adventurous students, the CGL offers extended programs as well. Students hoping for more prolonged exposure to a different culture can choose from three Luthersponsored semester-long programs abroad,

The London Eye at sunset

centered in Malta, Germany and Italy.

“We stayed in flats in the most thriving, urban part of the island,” Malta study abroad student Peter Jarzyna (‘15) said. “We attended the University of Malta with other Maltese students and exchange students. We did a lot of traveling around the Mediterranean. There’s a huge emphasis on the wider Mediterranean, because Malta is best appreciated under the context of its relationship with other nations around it.”

To add to the cultural uniqueness, there is an emphasis on service added with this program, creating unique experiences for the Malta students.

“One of the big educational aspects of the program is that there’s a service project with the refugee population in Malta from North and Western Africa,” Jarzyna said. “Once a week we visited an open center and just kind of hung out with them and had conversations with them in English. We branded them as English lessons, but it was really just to give them something exciting in their day.”

According to 2014 Münster, Germany semester participant Kristianna Harris (‘15), the extended trip helped form better relationships with the culture, country and language.

“You were more immersed in the culture and what you were learning and what you were doing,” Harris said. “We could take home what we had learned because we lived with host families and then apply it to our way of speaking. Over the semester we got a lot better at saying things the way Germans would say them instead of our American way, and it was just so much easier to apply the skills you’ve

learned out in the community.”

The students experienced a steep learning curve in terms of language upon their arrival in Germany.

“Within an hour of getting there, we just had to switch into full German, and that was tough,” Harris said. “It’s tough to speak that language, but [you learn] to make mistakes.”

Each fall, Environmental Studies students gather in the small town of Coldigioco, Italy for three months to do various fieldwork and laboratory science projects, and even a bit of art.

“It’s a research-based program involving a lot of fieldwork,” Preus said. “It starts in early August and goes to the end of October. It’s intensive in that not only do they have long days in the field, they also have six days of class and one to two days off. They try to maximize the good weather.”

This program differs from the other Luther programs in that it is run by Luther College but is also available to other students from Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) affiliated colleges.

As with many other aspects of Luther life, the one yearlong program offered is steeped in tradition. The Nottingham program has been a part of Luther since the 1970s and accepts twelve juniors each year to become part of this tradition and embark on nine months of exploration and learning in the United Kingdom.

The twelve students get lots of bonding time, living and traveling together in Nottingham and England for the whole year.

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2015 FEATURE & ADVERTISEMENT “This program is centered around community; companies named with various acronyms. I faculty and students eat together five nights a left the fair laden with thick books from ACM, week and take turns cooking for each other,” IFSA-Butler, CIS and ISA. Preus said.

I spent hours on end leafing through the pages However, the students until I eventually I landed are also experiencing a on a country. I decided I more global community. “Sometimes you get a would be spending five The group does other taste of what you gain from months in Norwich, traveling both together Fingers crossed. study abroad and then you England. and independently, which Although I felt like I had leads to some strange, want more of that.” accomplished everything unique and unforgettable -Elizabeth Finanger when I made the decision, experiences, some of I then had to spend hours which, such as the night in doing applications and Tutbury Castle, have been described as favorite paperwork, equally as painful as the decision experiences from time abroad. process. I ran around between academic offices “We, as a group, got to stay overnight in to get course transfer credit approval, financial Tutbury Castle, where we held a séance,” Kailey aid offices to make sure I could pay for it and the Peterson (‘15) said. “It was fun to let go of things Residence Life office to make sure they know I and just have fun with it. It was totally wonky, but wouldn’t be living at Luther the next semester. it was just so fun.”

A few months after returning from my J-term The CGL facilitates discussion for abroad, I recieved an email from IFSA-Butler, independent study abroad options and hosts the program working cooperatively with Luther study abroad fairs for interested students. As to get me back in England — this time for a Finanger said, “The sky’s really the limit for semester. They informed me that I will be taking where you might want to go.”

Victorian Writing in the spring, and in March I My journey and many others’ began at such a will read Carroll’s most famous works “Alice in study abroad fair in the Dahl Centennial Union, Wonderland” — the very book I got to see on my chatting with friendly representatives from J-term trip. My decision to go abroad again did

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not suprise my study abroad advisor Finanger.

“Sometimes you get a taste of what you gain from study abroad and then you want more of that,” Finanger said.

Once I got my paperwork finished, the feeling of calm lasted only minutes before the panic of what to pack set in. Luckily, all this work is worth it now that I’m abroad, writing this from my little flat at the University of East Anglia in quaint Norwich, England.

Luther and the CGL are working to make study abroad experiences the best they can be for the students.

“Luther feels strongly that a global education is a richer education,” Finanger said. “It is important for students to engage with global issues and be a part of the larger world. It certainly broadens their educational experience and it enriches the campus. From a revenue standpoint, it’s not necessarily in the college’s best interest for students to study abroad, so it’s all about the students.”

The Center for Global Learning webpage states that, “The view from northeast Iowa is, quite literally, much more global than one would imagine.”

With Luther’s study abroad program, this much is true. •

PERSPECTIVES 2015 A bountiful harvest of fish gathered

by Hinton’s classmates Class instructor Roger Jaeger shows Matt Chlebek (‘17) how to rig a “Tip-Up”

Ice fishing: A pain in the bass

by Dylan Hinton (‘15) If vindication had a flavor, it would be pan-fried, flaky, fresh bluegill dipped in tartar sauce, served and savored among the expert anglers who had spent hours catching and preparing their meal.

And every person who scoffed, guffawed, giggled or made any sort of dubious or amused noise when I told them I was taking an ice fishing class over J-term would not be allowed to taste it. Yes, I’m talking to you, every single person at my family Christmas celebration.

Sure, squatting over a hole in the ice on a paint bucket covered in worm and fish goop lacks the glamour of, say, a class in tropic Belize or ancient ruinstudded Greece, but, as the familiar adage tells us, “no [fish] guts, no glory.”

And as our end-of-class fish fry was a testament to, there is no glory as sweet as the meat of the fat fruits of your fishing labor.

But look at me, already the stereotypical fisherwoman, spinning yarns about the fish that was as big as my leg and casting myself as a more sympathetic (and markedly more attractive) Captain Ahab. The class really began, as every liberal arts class does, in a tiny classroom with an even Photographs by Dylan Hinton

comically smaller number of students, discussing “fundamentals.” But unlike a standard syllabus reading day, the two days our class spent in a literal classroom were short and topical.

Tips for dressing for the Iowa weather, tying lures and even crafting our own rods left our class, many of whom were ice fishing virgins—a surprising number of us, despite what statistics may lead you to believe—feeling prepared to take our rods out on their maiden voyage.

Well, mostly ready. There is only so much a fisherwoman can do to keep the winter’s chill from nipping at her damp fingertips, and only so many pep talks that can keep up morale when there hasn’t been a single fish bite for four hours and the guy 10 feet to my left has caught, like, six fish with the same rod and bait that I have and, seriously, there are only so many ways you can present a mutilated worm carcass to make it “more appealing to fish” and, okay, hear me out, I think this hole in the ice is starting to mock me, like some sort of frigid winking cyclops hell-bent on slowly fueling my descent into complete and all-consuming hysteria until I dive headfirst into the Mississippi to join the agonizing, eternal ebb and flow of the tormented souls of unsuccessful fishermen past and did I mention I can’t feel my toes?

“This is 10 percent luck, 20 percent skill, 15 percent concentrated power of will, five percent pleasure, 50 percent pain” is 100 percent the mantra of the ice fishing J-term course. Adjunct Faculty in HPE Roger Jaeger has been

fishing most of his life and will tell you, as sure as Ace Hardware sells the finest line and lures to stuff your tackle box, sometimes the fish just do not want to bite, and there is nothing you can do about it.

But, more often than not, there’s a reason the more experienced fisher is catching more than the novice.

Catching a fish is more than simply baiting and waiting—catching a fish is an art. Learning ways to jig the lure to make the bait look alive, understanding the depth where fish tend to lurk, setting the knot right on the lure so that it lies perfectly horizontal in the water, keeping the hole clear of slush—all of these irritatingly minute details are the difference between a sudden tug at your line and the sad tug at your heart when you go home empty-handed. You collect these wisdoms as you collect hours on the ice, and it certainly seemed that the more frozen our fingers became, the more fish we found in our bucket.

All right, so maybe extrapolating the lessons I learned ice fishing to my daily life is cliché and unoriginal. But I can say that the lessons I learned about ice fishing have made me a better winter sportswoman, a more patient hunter and much more likely to survive in case of some sort of post-apocalyptic return to colonial-era style of living.

And I’d like to cordially invite all of you out there who cast doubt on the ability or sanity of myself and the rest of my classmates to eat your words. We will be eating the fried fish we all knew we could catch. •

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2015 PERSPECTIVES

Kielly and Turco paint the sound

by Katie Hale (‘15) The Union Gallery windows are covered in paper, the sounds of drilling and painting come from behind closed doors. Artists are at work putting up a new display.

Throughout the year, Luther College students can display their work in both the Union and Gregerson galleries, with two shows per month. Art majors Hannah Kielly (‘15) and Laura Turco (‘16) recently put up their show, “Pandora’s Box,” featuring abstract

and landscape paintings inspired by music.

Chips sat down with the artists to discuss their show and the work that goes into putting up an art show on campus.

Chips: What is the process for putting together an art show?

HK: You have to fill out an application the year before you want to do your show, and that includes where you want to have it, what you want to title it and what you’re going to do, but we don’t have any say, really, of when it happens. The art professors put that whole schedule together.

How do you choose when to do it in terms of your college career, and is it part of your senior project?

Kielly prepares a painting for her art show, “Pandora’s Box”

Kielly and Turco at work installing their art show in the Dahl Centennial Union

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HK: No, it’s completely separate from senior project, because that happens next semester and is an actual class. But you can do it whenever you want.

LT: If a lot of people apply, then they’ll pick the juniors and seniors because they’ll be leaving before the other people. Most people have an art show before they go, if they want to. You don’t have to.

So it’s not required at all?

HK: Nope!

How did you two decide to work together for it?

HK: We were sitting in Italian class before class started, talking about it and I said, “Hey, Laura, do you want to do this with me?” And she said, “Yeah, totally!” I didn’t want to come up with the amount of work that was needed for a solo show, so I thought I should get someone else to chip in.

Where did you guys come up with the idea to use music while you painted?

LT: That was actually my friend’s idea.

Brandon Peck (‘16) is a music major and he said, “Oh, wouldn’t it be cool if I made some music and you painted to it, and then you painted something and I made music to it?”

[It] didn’t end up happening, but that’s how we got the idea. So we said, “Let’s use music to inspire our work.”

HK: There’s also a genre within the art world called sound art, which is entirely related to just music and art.

How did you choose the pieces that you wrote to?

LT: I have a Spotify study playlist and I just went through and said, “Oh, this sounds nice,” and picked pieces that way. I wanted pieces that didn’t have words and that nobody knew so they wouldn’t already have an idea in their heads from it. I always picture things in my head whenever I listen to music, so if I were to hear a song that I’ve heard before, I would think, “Oh, that doesn’t match!” but if nobody knows the song, then they can see my idea from the music.

HK: I got ideas from friends for some, and then for others I just knew that I wanted to do; I already had an idea in my head of what I was going to do for them.

How long did you work on your pieces?

HK: I started at the beginning of Christmas Photographs by Katie Hale

PERSPECTIVES 2015 break and finished about a week ago, so a couple weeks.

Which of your pieces is your favorite?

HK: Mine is probably “Basque,” just because I really enjoy that song, and that was the first one I did for the show so it just came together really well.

LT: Probably “Pompeii” because it’s big and landscape-y.

What is something you think most people don’t realize about putting up an art show?

LT: It’s a lot of work. It’s not just putting the paintings up anywhere you want on the wall,

you have to measure them.

HK: They have to be 16 inches at center from the floor, then you have to figure out lighting, labels. And you have to spackle and paint the wall before the show starts. There are a lot more things that go into it than just throwing some stuff up there.

Was there anything with the show that didn’t go quite the way you expected, or that you had to change as you went along?

HK: Originally we wanted to put CD players and headphones at each painting to have a method for people to listen to the music while

looking at the artwork, but we decided that was too expensive and hard to find. So then I was talking to a friend about the problem and she suggested using QR codes so people could scan them with their phones and listen to the YouTube video while standing there, which I think is just brilliant.

Is there anything else you want to add or say?

LT: Use the QR codes!

“Pandora’s Box” will be on display in the Union Gallery from January 9 through February 5. Stop by for a look—and a listen. •

A new year for radio

by Carl Bates (‘15) KWLC Station Manager

2014 was a year for goodbyes at KWLC Radio.

We celebrated the end of the long tenure of General Manager Jennifer Cantine, who retired after more than 25 years of service to the station.

Of course, any time of transition provides time for reflection. We are now in our 89th year of continuous broadcasting, and as we look toward the future, we ponder, what service do we provide to students and to the Luther and Decorah community as a whole?

Moreover, what is radio’s place in a society where technology is rapidly getting smaller and smarter, where we can connect to the Internet at any moment in any place?

The music industry in 2014 was dominated by streaming services. It is very tempting to forgo listening to college radio, instead replacing it with streaming services such as Spotify Radio

or iTunes Radio that are already tailored to my musical preferences. It is both a strength and a weakness that these services are inherently algorithmic, reactive and commercial. These services reinforce the status quo and what is already popular. They are safe in that you know that when you turn them on they will bring you music you already know that you like. However, they necessarily lack a humanistic and proactive element that college radio provides.

At KWLC, we provide the music you don’t know that you like yet. College radio has been instrumental in breaking artists into the mainstream. One contemporary example would be the duo Sylvan Esso and their hit single “Coffee,” which has now been performed on “The Tonight Show” and “Conan” as well as appearing on numerous song-of-the-year lists. Yes, college radio is eclectic, however that also means that it is rarely generic or formulaic. College radio allows your peers to

Luke Stennes (‘15) repaints a wall in the KWLC lobby

Photograph by Carl Bates

have incredible amounts of control in putting together their programming. The diversity and passion that results is a major boon to the community.

Looking forward, we are very excited to expand our news programming. The college now offers a journalism minor, and we are extremely excited about the possibilities that the minor presents to our programming. While we already have increased our efforts in regards to music journalism through our blog, we are excited to expand our coverage of local and campus news as well as Luther College athletics.

In anticipation of increased traffic as a result of the journalism minor, we have made significant renovations to our studio lobby this past month.

We hope that you will come visit the station in the near future. One great opportunity to do so will be the upcoming KWLC art competition in the middle of February.

For a consistent line-up of the best in new music, tune in Monday through Friday 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Make sure to follow us on Twitter @kwlc, like us on Facebook @KWLC Radio and follow our blog, kwlc.tumblr.com for the best in music journalism. •

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2015 REVIEW

Magpie Coffeehouse serves hot drinks and meals

Margaret Yapp ('15) sips on an Earl Grey tea at K'uun Coffee Bar at the Perfect Edge

Java John's recently rennovated their seating area

Decorah: a host of local roasts

by Margaret Yapp ('15) Decorah is home to a myriad of independent coffeehouses. Chips sent me, a coffee connoisseur, to investigate these establishments and determine which shop is most likely to meet your needs.

As winter works its fabulous charms on your mental wellbeing, consider taking an afternoon off from the chilly campus hustle and bustle to visit one of Decorah’s local coffeehouses.

Decorah has several cute coffeehouse options to get your caffeine fix — or your fill of hot cocoa, if that’s your jam — as well as snag an awesome snack or lunch. Have no fear; I am here to guide you through our town’s abundant coffee offerings! You’ll feel like a regular Lorelai Gilmore in no time.

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Magpie Coffeehouse I walk into the packed Magpie Coffeehouse on a cold afternoon with two friends in tow.

We are greeted by the scent of coffee: just what I expected. I walk up to the counter and check out the menu, which is posted up in a cute font on hanging chalkboards. I am already digging this aesthetic. I notice the large selection of different hot and cold drinks as well as a delightful breakfast and lunch menu: sandwiches, soups and salads, oh my! Some of the prices seem fair while others are a bit steep, especially the lunch items.

I order a medium hot chocolate that runs me about $3. I make myself comfortable at a booth in back and only wait a few minutes before my cocoa arrives. The drink is decent, but nothing to write home about. As I sip, I start to notice my surroundings: Magpie looks exactly how you want a coffeehouse to look. There are warm, golden lights and exposed brick walls.

I feel like I am in a cute rom-com and about to meet the man of my dreams!!! Norah Jones and other gentle jazzy-pop songs are playing softly, adding to the classic coffeehouse vibes. I start to get more comfortable but then I notice a small sign on my table and it totally kills my

buzz. The sign asks patrons to refrain from computer use and studying until after 2 p.m. to make room for all customers. I certainly understand this from a business perspective, but I do NOT like it. As a poor college student, I am really looking for somewhere with free Wi-Fi that allows me to spend less than $5 and squat for 2-3 hours, TBH. Java John's Coffee House Let me tell ya, the recently-renovated Java John's is lookin’ HOT. The local favorite is now one big room as opposed to three separate spaces; it has way more seating than before, a new paint job and more food options. Breakfast bagels, anyone? There are still cushy chairs and couches for people looking to get comfortable with a sleazy novel and cup of tea, and lots of table space for students looking to study.

Speaking of studying, Java John's is totally cool with it! Well, at least there aren’t any signs saying otherwise and I don’t get any bad looks from the baristas when I pop out my laptop. I have been a semi-regular patron of Java John's for awhile now and have noticed that there are a ton of regulars who come here almost every day. Hopefully the renovation doesn’t turn any of these folks away.

Photographs by Margaret Yapp and Walker Nyenhuis

REVIEW & ADVERTISEMENT 2015 Today, I order a regular drip coffee that is really good and only costs $1.50; refills are only 50 cents. I notice that there are plenty of foo-foo drink options for the fancy folks: lattes, mochas, hot chocolate and more. All of the drinks are a really reasonable price. With my coffee, I order a veggie quiche which is positively superb. I know from experience that the Java John's soups are hot and comforting and their selection of baked goods is perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth. The Java Johns staff is appealing, as well ;). The music is a nice mix of Jack Johnson-esque twinkly jams and classical tunes with a lot of bright and interesting local art on the walls. The Java John's vibes are not as "classically coffeehouse" as Magpie, but the space is bright and welcoming — awesome for a morning out with friends or a big study session.

K’uun Coffee Bar at The Perfect Edge The K’uun Coffee Bar opened in downtown Decorah in the summer of 2014, but owners Barbara Pena-Vaquero and Fernando Vaquero have been providing the Decorah area with their locally roasted coffee since 2012. The new shop is located in the same space as another local Decorah shop: The Perfect Edge, a custom framing business. At first this combination

Photograph by Margaret Yapp

Awards

Magpie: Best Food, Best Place for a Date, Best Music Java John's: Best Study Place, Cutest Staff, Local Favorite K'uun Coffee Bar: Best Presentation, Best Spoons, Best Place to Take Your #CoffeeDad seemed a little strange to me, but as I sit down at the coffee shop with my beautiful Early Grey tea and raspberry kolache one blustery afternoon, I begin to appreciate the awesome, very nicely framed art all over the walls. Like Magpie, K’uun Coffee has exposed brick and a really chill vibe. The coffee shop does not have a ton of seating, but it feels cozy rather than cramped. I wouldn’t recommend trying to study or do homework here, however, because the tables are really small.

K’uun Coffee Bar offers some super cool specialty drinks in addition to the classic coffee options. There are lots of different teas,

a snickers latte and the awesome cold-pressed coffee. Prices are a bit high, but the quality is worth it. The drinks come beautifully presented in awesome little cups and saucers.

With my tea, I got to use the most adorable tiny silver tea-pot spoon I have ever seen.

Chill. There are also several snacks for sale, including the delicious kolaches and other pastries. Finally, you can buy bags of K’uun Coffee beans to take home or gift to someone else! Basically, the K’uun Coffee Bar might not be great for a study session, but if you have a #coffeedad like me, this is the place to impress them. •

Chips • Special January Issue

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2015 REVIEW The waffles at Rubaiyat are served with strawberry topping and a dollop of whipped cream

Breakfast at Bars

by Sarah King ('15) Chips breakfast enthusiast Sarah King sampled the morning menus at several of Decorah's finest bars and restaurants in search of the perfect meal.

Before coming to Decorah, I never would have thought of going to a bar for breakfast. Maybe it’s a small town thing. Maybe it’s a Decorah thing. Or maybe I was just oblivious in the years before I was 21. Whatever the case, I decided to experience this new way of breakfasting for the first time.

The Haymarket The Haymarket's dining room is everything the bar area is not – clean, bright and simply decorated. Their seating is limited to little more than half a dozen tables, but there never is a problem accommodating their Saturday morning customers.

The Haymarket breakfast menu offers basic breakfast fare with a few specialty items. I ordered a simple plate, including one egg, one choice of meat, and toast. It was simple, greasy and good, but something I could have cooked for myself at home. Perhaps knowing this, their prices matched the quality of food usually staying at $4 or $5. Their coffee had less flavor than church coffee, which explains why it was free.

Initially, I found the service poor. Trying to get the server’s attention took verbal action.

However, after looking around a bit, I discovered that our server was the only one waiting on the entire dining room, making the slower service understandable.

T-Bock's Sports Bar & Grill Walking into T-Bock's one Thursday morning, I found myself to be at least forty years younger than the average breakfast patron, who

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was wearing either a plaid shirt with suspenders or a Norwegian sweater. Unlike nights at T-Bock's, the morning is quiet, the floors are peanut shell-free, and I had, miracle of miracles, good service.

The T-Bock's breakfast menu is only somewhat larger than The Haymarket’s. Most items ranged from $5 to $7. They also have a large selection of omelettes, which are a bit more pricey, ranging between $5.50 and $8.50. I found their use of two organic, farm-fresh eggs in each omelette to be distinctly Decorah. Their coffee, which cost $2 and included refills, was decent.

I ordered the JV Breakfast, which included one egg, one choice of meat, hash browns and toast. The egg was good and the hash browns were nice; the sausage and ham, however, were just okay. My pancake was disappointing. It was hard to cut into and had a strangely hard outer surface. It also was far too dense for my liking. Still, for a comparable price, you can get quite a bit more food at T-Bock's than at the Haymarket.

Rubaiyat Walking into Rubaiyat Sunday morning, I quickly realized I was lacking one key thing – a reservation. Even so, the wait was only ten minutes, and the Bloody Mary Bar offered plenty of delicious entertainment.

In order to justify high prices, Rubaiyat calls their breakfast “brunch” and serves crépes instead of pancakes to give an extra hint of class. Nevertheless, Rubaiyat’s higher prices were, generally, worth it. Their coffee was, like T-Bock's, $2 with refills yet tasted significantly better. The cinnamon rolls bathed my palate in butter, cinnamon and just the right amount of sweetness. The size of a dinner plate, I suggest splitting them with at least one friend or else risk giving yourself a heart attack.

The richness did not stop with the cinnamon rolls. Their classic eggs Benedict proved almost disgustingly buttery due to its Hollandaise sauce. What should have been tangy and light tasted more like eating a straight stick of butter. Similarly, the Belgian waffle was under par being rather dense quickly soggy quickly having arrived at the table covered in strawberry topping.

A number of dishes excelled where others failed. Golden brown, crisp on the outside with a hint of garlic, like lays, I bet you can't have just one of their breakfast potatoes. The quiche of the day and breakfast bowls were incredibly tasty, too.

Don't always expect service with a smile or water refills. Both were nonexistant here.

Rubaiyat is a nice place with not so nice prices. •

Rubaiyat offers high-end brunch items as well as a Bloody Mary bar Photographs by Sarah King

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Chips • Special January Issue

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LUTHER COLLEGE

CHIPS Vol. 137 • Special Issue 2015