Chloe’ Weiser ’13
Rockville Center, NY
Tell me something brief about yourself. Likes, dislikes, hobbies etc.
My biggest interest is language. I love reading, and apparently I could read before I could walk. That’s why I decided to become an English & Linguistic Anthropology major.
Who are your favorite authors or books?
My favorite genre is utopian novels.
Like Brave New World?
Yes, that’s actually my favorite book! I also really like Lord of the Flies.
What appeals to you about utopian novels?
They portray the human condition in the most raw and honest way. It draws on our flaws, and shows us a picture of our future if we don’t live a conscious life, which could include morally, reproductively, environmentally. I also enjoy how imaginative they often are. It also has so much to do with the time period in which they were written.
What do you plan on doing when you graduate?
I am hoping to teach English abroad. I also have plans to travel before going to grad school; I’d love to travel through South America and Eastern Asia. Then I plan on getting a PhD in English.
What is the most interesting idea you learned at Queens?
Queens College has really taught me to appreciate cultural diversity, and has brought me in contact with so many different people. It is very possible to be aware that there are always people around you who don’t share your world view, and you can still interact with them. Communicating with people can really help you learn about others and yourself and how to relate to the world.
What is your favorite memory of Israel?
Going to the Machane Yehudah Shuk (market) in Jerusalem. The culture shock in so many ways; the way people interact with each other; the way they shop; they way you need to change your attitude. That’s what made me fall in love with Jerusalem.
What was your favorite food to buy there?
There is a restaurant called Ima, which sells kubeh. I had never heard of it before, and I would always buy it. And I would also buy olives.
Black or green olives?
Green.
Who has been there for you?
My parents and my sister, and my boyfriend. They all really supported me.
What is your favorite Jewish food?
Matzah balls, hands down. I was eating matzah ball soup last night. I judge every diner by their matzah ball soup.
If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
George Orwell. Right now I’m writing my English thesis on Gulliver’s Travels, and I was reading an essay written by Orwell before 1984 came out. Orwell was a soldier and wrote an essay against capital punishment. I find it fascinating that someone who wrote a brilliant novel against totalitarianism was also so staunchly against the bomb and against capital punishment. He seems like he must have been a fascinating person.
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