Tuesday, June 26, 2012

I think best in the shower

Up until this point, my blog has been a surface overview of my life in London, well, not so much my life but the things I've done since being in London. My experiences have been amazing and memorable to say the least. From my Masters courses to my sister's visit to riding a Boris bike, I dutifully described what I have been doing but not much more than a bland explanation of the activities.

One thing my Masters study has taught me is to think further, to not accept what is given and to constantly question what is presented. I am on a quest. I came to graduate school and to London in an effort to figure my life out, to figure out the next step which seemed constantly out of my reach because of my age or lack of experience or lowly Bachelors degree. Everyone piques at different times in his or her life and in many ways I had enjoyed where I was at in mine prior to coming back to school. I was healthy, active and spending loads of time with friends. But I also knew there was more for me.

So, here I am, working toward finishing my Masters by writing my dissertation and I feel as though I need to re-evaluate myself, from who I am and how I define myself to where I'm going professionally. One of the hardest challenges in life is to put yourself out there, open to critique and criticism. Here is where my quest comes in, to ask myself the tough questions and by doing it on my blog I feel as though I am holding myself accountable. It's so easy to say I'll do something and blow it off.

My biggest frustration and challenge at the moment is that I have reverted back to my eating habits of when I was growing up, without moderation. I was in the best shape of my life just a year ago and now I can't seem to get out of my funk. Little exercise and massive food intake. Every day is a new day and it's hard not to think, oh I've already blown it for the day, why not just eat what I want? My lack of energy is surely affecting my desire to change my habits but I feel lethargic all the time. I don't want to wait until tomorrow to start. I need to start right now. And it doesn't mean cutting out everything I love to eat, but it does mean cutting back and little by little enforcing moderation. I will have this challenge my entire life and making sure I keep tabs on it will certainly help down the road.

I look forward to being open and honest with myself about my personal challenges and hopefully by sharing them here, on my personal blog I can avoid those pesky therapy bills. Wish me luck!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Year of Firsts

Traveling or moving to a different city is all about new experiences and inevitably will come with multiple 'firsts.' The first time you check out a local market, the first local food you eat, the first time you see a musical or play or performance.

Boris bikes and fried pickles. Those are my most recent firsts. I've been wanting to cycle for awhile as I miss the exhilaration of riding a bike and covering a lot of ground. So last Friday evening, rather than wait an extra 5-10 minutes for a bus, we decided to rent Boris bikes (the bike-sharing concept named for the mayor of London). Little did I know that my concept of "oh we're really close" was actually a 30 minute cycle ride through the streets of London on a Friday evening after midnight...who's bright idea was that? It was fantastic. I haven't been cycling in so long and loved (almost) every minute of it. Nothing like a taxi slamming on its brakes right in front of you or people wanting to high-five as you ride by. And the best part is we survived!


Meat Liquor http://www.meatliquor.com/ was where I had my first deep-fried pickles and I loved them. They don't take reservations so fortunately we went early enough to get a table without waiting (horror stories of a 90 minute queue!). Coming from Iowa, few southern style food concepts make it our way and unless I make an effort or am in the South, it's easy to pass up. So the pickles were a pleasant surprise and reminded me of the good old US of A.


Another semi first is coming up this weekend...Royal Ascot! While I've been to the Virginia Gold Cup, this weekend promises to be exciting and fun and hopefully dry!

Friday, June 15, 2012

The Sun is Shining!

It had been raining and dreary for about 2 weeks straight. I had been warned about the London summers and fortunately we've been very lucky with weather, but all I want to do when it rains is stay in bed and read or watch a film! I don't want to have to get up and be active or actually get work done. However, after a meeting with my supervisor I realize it's time to get started on my dissertation research. So, yesterday was spent in the SOAS library which now that term is over I found surprisingly easy to get work done. I didn't have to search for 20 minutes just looking for a place to sit sandwiched in between two people who are constantly either on their phone or having people stop by for a chat.

London was decked out for the Queen's Jubilee a few weeks ago and I saw my first Olympics flag among the English flags waving for football. This summer promises to be one of activity and excitement and hopefully I survive the crowds. As much as I usually enjoy festivities, I have to admit it was nice to be outside London during the Queen's Jubilee especially since exams had just finished. I am very excited, however because I will get to see the Queen at Royal Ascot. My first royal! I've got a fantastic hat and might even put some money on some horses.

Just as I'm typing this, the clouds have started to roll in....hopefully the sun comes back soon!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

I am still alive...promise!

I feel as though I've just run a 2 month marathon. I've been going non stop since April and have finally reached a break (however brief it may be - 1 month) until I'm off yet again. A brief summary:

Parents visiting London was absolutely wonderful

  • White cliffs of Dover, Leeds Castle
  • Afternoon tea at Harrods
  • Phantom of the Opera and Lion King in the West End
  • Sunday roast
Wrote 2 essays:
  • One on youth in the Middle East
  • One on using the term Revolution to define the events beginning with the Arab Spring in the Middle East
Left the day after handing in both essays for Morocco!
  • Wow, just wow
  • Rabat, beaches, loads of tea
  • Wonderful friends who treated me just like family
  • Couscous on Friday!
Came back and studied for 3 exams
  • I haven't had an exam in 6 years!
  • Comparative Politics of the Middle East, Arabic writing and Arabic speaking
Left the day after my third exam for Barcelona
  • Much needed relaxation and sunshine!
  • Gaudi
  • Stayed in a yacht in the marina
Came back and studied for my final exam
  • Culture and Society of the Near and Middle East
  • This is the one I was most nervous for, making sure the right amount of theory is mixed with the right amount of ethnography
Had a friend visit from the States
  • Celebrated his 30th birthday
  • Dinner at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in the Mandarin Oriental, my first Michelin Star (1) dining experience!, liquid nitrogen ice cream
  • Visited Windsor
  • Saw the Damien Hirst exhibit at the Tate Modern
The day after my friend left, I left for a wedding in Oxford and 3 days in Bath!
  • So amazing to walk around Oxford and punting in the rain
  • Bath is absolutely beautiful and was perfectly relaxing
  • Roman baths and wonderful spa day
  • Pies at the Raven, Sally Lunn buns, and a little Texas dining experience!

So, now that I'm back I have a month to get to work before I leave for my research trip in Israel and have just over three months to write a 10,000 word dissertation. I think the hardest thing for me when I was writing essays is that I focused on multiple things at the same time, so the thought process was jumbled and easily lost track of. For my dissertation, however, I will be able to concentrate just on my topic and will really be able to focus on thinking through my argument and piecing together a good paper. Something I'm surprisingly looking forward to.

My summer will be filled with getting back into running and dance, job searching, writing blogs (I mean it!), fun stuff around London (Royal Ascot and Wimbledon) and a few more travels (Israel and Ireland...I just can't stay in one place too long). I do look forward to getting back into my routine!

Monday, April 2, 2012

The craziness that is an MA

So, apprently I have not posted for almost a month (I know I wrote a post last week, but obviously it's disappeared....and no, I'm not crazy). Classes have ended and the fun has begun. 2 essays, my parents and aunt visiting, a trip to Morocco, and 4 exams - all in the next 2 months. Why must everything happen all at once!? It really is all about time management. But I've also wanted to have fun and enjoy myself (perhaps more than I should, but that's what studying abroad is all about, right?). Plus the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. 20C (in the 60s F) and sunny. Very non-London weather. When I'm inside all I've been doing is gazing outside thinking about how much I'd like to be out and about, so I really get much less work done! But the parks in London are wonderful and have been packed with people out enjoying the sun.
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First up/ongoing: ESSAYS. Topics include - Can we talk of revolution in the Middle East? Discuss with reference to what has been termed the 'Arab Spring' and Discuss how Middle East youths are renegotiating their social identities in emergent public spheres. Both due 2 weeks from today. The work is going fairly well, I've done most of my reading, now it's just a matter of putting words on paper and then I'm off and running!
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Second up: My family is coming to visit! It's always nice when people come to visit because then it forces you to get out and be a tourist and explore. A couple of musicals, good food, museums, some stuff I've done before and quite a few new things. Definitely looking forward to seeing family!
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Third up: MOROCCO! I leave the day after my essays are due. I've heard so many wonderful things about the country that it's been near the top of my 'to visit' list. Almost a week with my awesome friend Aicha and her family and friends. So looking forward to going somewhere! I suppose the travel bug has been itching for quite awhile.
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And finally: EXAMS. The most important part of my MA career. All are worth 70 percent of each class's marks which is a huge weight. So, definitely time to buckle down and get to work. Now, if only I hadn't started watching Lost...

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Only 2 weeks left...

Actually I've been counting down for awhile, I know, but it still seems so crazy to me that I'm almost done with all of my classes for my Masters degree!! Have I really received the amount of education I should? Only in a short year? The system is quite different from programs in the States which are 2 years. But much of the condensed teaching is also about independent study; you get out of it what you've put in. I've gained so much by being back at school, in the academic world again. Even with all of education's faults, I wouldn't have changed my decision for the world. ---So, essays are coming up, and then exams. I should finally find out when my exams are actually scheduled for this week! 30 April - 25 May, anytime in between there. So, the next to the last week's topics include: Alternative Seculatiries: "Secularism" in the Middle East and Islamism, both with focus on Turkey.
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In addition to my studies, there has also been a lot going on! Unless you live under a rock, you've heard about Kony 2012. And it truly is amazing not only how things go viral but what goes viral. Tons of friends from completely different circles have been posting about the campaign to make this the year Joseph Kony is captured. Following the film that was released, there has been much criticism about not only the film, but the film makers, the organization who produced the film, and the way the message is being delivered. So, what do I think? I agree with some criticisms, but also agree with the ultimate message: to make Kony so famous that he continues to be in the public eye. There are so many issues in the world for our government to focus on that any number of things slips through the cracks. When there's a hot issue, everyone has something to say. If it's not hot at a particular moment, our representatives choose to focus their energies elsewhere. To keep pressure on the government to take action, the idea of keeping Kony in the public eye is the way to go. Why hasn't he been talked about until now? Why hasn't he been captured? Atrocities happen all over the world, and while agruments are made that if Kony is captured, he will only be replaced, if he is allowed to do what he did in Uganda, what makes someone else think they can't? If there is no accountability or punishment, what's to stop others from doing the same? Now, there are many ways to go about providing assistance, and again much criticism is made about the US going in to Uganda and the issue that Ugandans can fight for themselves. I have not decided my opinion on this yet, so here I am only concerned with the message of the film. Which brings me to the film itself. For the longest time I had no idea it was about Kony and Uganda except that the title told me it was. I understand where the film was going and it was made in a way to elicit discussion which is what I think the main point was. And even though there are lots of 'bad guys' in the world, it can't hurt to start somewhere. The challenge will be maintaining the impressive publicity the film and issue has received. Going viral is the easy part, staying power is the what I will be impressed about if it happens. For an interesting article and to watch the film, please visit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2012/mar/08/kony-2012-what-s-the-story. For an easy to follow list of criticisms, visit: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2012/03/09/why-i-think-the-kony-2012-campaign-is-wrong/
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Not only have I been engrossed in reading reading and more reading, I've been a tourist again! (Which I love to do) Saturday I went with some friends to Stonehenge and Bath. While it may just be a pile of rocks, Stonehenge is so utterly amazing that it's hard to wrap my head around. The theories are fun to listen to about how the rocks might have gotten there, but ultimately we will probably never know. The precision with which they were arranged is absolutely mind-blowing: the sun rising and setting at precise places within the stones. Following Stonehenge was an afternoon in Bath which was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining and the town was alive. I had a fantastic mushroom and asparagus pie following by a lovely walk throughout the city. The views driving into and out of the city are stunning since like our guide described it, the city is like a fishbowl, you're always look up or down on the city (for bus reasons I couldn't get good photos during the drive!). The clouds and sun shine made for amazing background to Stonehenge and I did take a ton of photos at Stonehenge, so if you'd like to see more, just shoot me a message! Every time I travel, it makes me want to go somewhere else! There are so many fantastic places just within the UK, so it will be a very busy summer. Although next on my list is a trip to Morocco (just bought my ticket!) right after handing in 2 essays I thought a quick break would be in order before I hunker down for revision for exams!
-------Let the week begin!
Bath
Bath Abbey, stunning architecture
Mushroom and Asparagus Pie. YUM!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

And so begins another week...

The weekends always fly by and before I know it it's Sunday evening. The weather has been up and down, but Saturday was a beautiful day and it was nice to be out and about. I went to the Saachi Gallery in Chelsea which offered some 'interesting' work. I think I liked the design of the gallery more than most of the work. But to each their own.
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This week's topics for discussion include Zionism in Practice (Comparative Politics), Youth: Rewriting the Rules (Culture and Society in the Middle East), and an Arabic quiz. I'm also looking forward to seeing the show Midnight Tango starring Vincent Simone and and Flavia Cacace from BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and a trip to Stonehenge and Bath! Now, I just have to find time to get started on my essays. As much as I love school, the work is never-ending; there's always more that I can be doing.
Artwork at the Saatchi Gallery
St. Pancras Rail Station right next to King's Cross
Westminster Cathedral

Thursday, March 1, 2012

It's March!

Following up my snowfall pictures, today, 1 March has started off absolutely gorgeous. Sunny and potentially about 60 degrees. One of the things I do not miss from undergrad is how easy it is to get sick. So, after 2 days of feeling quite unwell, waking up to sunshine and feeling better is most welcome!
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I haven't posted as many photos as I would like, but I found this great photography slide show featuring images from across America. They're classic Americana and remind me why I love taking pictures. Especially with summer coming, I will being doing more exploring, starting with a trip next week to Stonehenge and Bath. So stay tuned!
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Now, if only I didn't have to spend the day in the library...

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Beautiful Days

17 degrees celcius and not a cloud in the sky....and it's February! It's always hard to stay motivated when the weather is nice after snow a couple of weeks ago. However, loads of reading awaits me for next week. Currently working my way through Zionist leaders, I will be moving on to religious authorities: shifting styles and politics. I can't believe there are only 4 weeks left in the term. Seems like I just started! Not to mention 2 looming essays and my dissertation title/topic due shortly.
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Also quite interesting, international politics make their way to Muscatine, Iowa, 45 mintues from where I grew up. Xi Jingping from China made an official visit and this piece by Al Jazeera highlights the small town attitudes, commenting on the quiet interest shown by the locals while demonstrators were kept apart by polite requests from the police. Sounds pretty accurate, but quite a world away from my life in DC or here in London.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Back up and running

It's amazing how dependent I am on technology. I was without my computer for almost a week and at first I had no idea how I'd manage. Living without access is one thing, but being a student and living in a dorm room is another....so, I made plans to keep myself busy and the week flew by! I finished all of my reading in the first 3 days, spent an afternoon in Camden, and went to the gym and multiple yoga classes. I can survive. :)
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But I'm glad to be connected again! Especially since I only have 5 weeks of teaching left. It's amazing how fast this time is already flying by. I also need to start reading for 2 essays coming up and researching for my dissertation. I had an excellent meeting today with my supervisor. You know when you get positive feedback to your ideas; how elating that is? Well, I had a basic idea of what I'm interested in focusing on and even just with one meeting, I have more of a direction and am more interested than ever. So, this will be a major evolution of topic but my very broad and with limited research topic concerns the Ultra-Orthodox conservative Jews in Israel who are being very vocal about their issues with women in public spaces and how they should act and dress. Heavily focused on theory, there might also be a chance for some fieldwork which always adds a unique component to a dissertation. Updates will certainly follow.
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So, this week will be quite busy: class topics include country-specific nationalism in the Middle East and Borderland areas. There are also 'extra' lectures that should be interesting...yes, I do attend more lectures than are required. It's so amazing to have access to the academics and professionals who are in London and doing work on the region. Not to mention finding time to go running and hit a couple of yoga classes! The weather has even been quite pleasant and sunny. Or maybe it just feels that way since it was freezing for awhile.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

The Worst Thing EVER

So, when was the last time you were without a computer at home, in a dorm room isolated from the world?? AHHHHH. Ok, just had to get it out. I made the wonderful decision to knock over a glass of water and proceed to f*** up my computer (pardon my language). So, what am I to do? Well, the first thing is I ran over to the nearest computer repair shop (Fixit Nerds) and drop it off. A call should be coming this afternoon to tell me what the damage is and how much it will be to fix it. This is one of those things where you just say I don't care how much, just fix it and as soon as possible, please please please?

So, how have I been entertaining myself without my computer, unlimited access to the Internet and watching the next season of the Tudors? Well, I've actually been working my way through my mound of reading that I have for next week. This is technically reading week and I have quite a bit to do, so I guess it has been a semi good thing that I'm without my computer...I mean at least I wasn't writing an essay yet (although I did want to start researching for 2 that I have coming up). I've also been going to the gym, yoga and pilates classes and seeing films (Carnage was great and The Muppets is on tap for this afternoon). Oh yea, and more reading! Perhaps I'll even get ahead.

This should be a fairly busy week. I'm heading to St. Albans tomorrow to explore with some friends and then the musical Crazy for You tomorrow evening, visiting the gym and yoga/pilates classes quite a bit, and even making my way to the library (which is where I am now since I don't have my computer).

I will have more posts coming soon! We had our first (and second) snows which was quite beautiful and I had a sports filled day which was a blast watching the Ireland-Wales rugby game followed by the Super Bowl. Quite an experience on this side of the pond.

Friday, January 27, 2012

The Ball is Rolling

First dissertation deadline -- check! I can't believe I'm already focusing on potential topics. But it's certainly helpful to get started and to have to show progress now and I'm actually looking forward to it...I mean, I will be spending my entire summer researching and writing 10,000 words on one topic so I better be interested in it. I have another deadline in about a month for my title/topic. Once that's been approved, I will receive what my life with focus around until September. My major class (Culture and Society of the Near and Middle East) is in the Department of Anthropology so while I can focus on pretty much any topic, it will be heavily focused on the theory of that subject. Theory....oh theory...
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Heater update: Fixed! Fortunately I did not freeze another night thanks to speaking to the right people at the right time. I do believe that was a miny rant the other night but there are very few things that can actually lead me to that point and being cold unnecessarily is one of them! I am in high spirits now and ready for the weekend. Today has been a beautiful day, sunny and mild; a perfect beginning to the weekend! I've been working diligently, so I believe I will give myself the afternoon and evening off (I will most likely visit the library this weekend). I do love being a student, but there's always more reading or studying or revising that you can be doing. Even though I do work at the most random times, it's still totally worth it.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A late night

You know those nights where your mind just won't turn off? Well tonight is one of them. All I wanted was a good night's sleep. I finished up my long day of class, even did a bit of reading on the side and was looking forward to just crashing. Only to find out the heater in my flat is still broken. And it's cold. I noticed yesterday the heater lights were off and went to let the front office know. Of course the maintance man had gone home for the evening and no, they did not have access to any portable heaters they may have. Ok, fair enough, heater fixed in the morning. BUT, I find out from my flatmate that it may take up to a week to be fixed. Even though I put in the 'help ticket' I wasn't told about the outcome and nothing was said about acquiring a replacement heater in the meanwhile.
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My frustration kept increasing this evening as it was so cold I couldn't fall asleep. So, here I am, watching the Tudors and thinking about my upcoming week, reading assignments, dissertation deadline (which I'm going round and round about), beginning to train for an upcoming half marathon, relationships, and future plans. Of course I have to have it all figured out tonight! My dissertation is foremost in my thinking. There are so many topics that I'm interested in, but what am I so interested in that I can spend the entire summer researching and writing a 10,000 word document? And what of my potential advisor? It seems as though none of the potential advisors share research interests. It will all work itself out, the process to getting there is a learning experience and hopefully there won't be too many 3am nights thinking about it!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Holiday fun - Part 1 New Years

Me with my cousin, Emily and sister Erin at the Willy Wonka Chocolate Party on NYE
New Years Day Parade. Each London district could enter and this was one of the winning districts
Me and Emily in front of the kites!

New Years Day Parade events lasted the full day from breakfast in the morning to the parade to dinner and an awards presentation in the evening. Me with Erin, Emily and my flatmate Xi who we have to thank for the VIP access!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Never a dull moment

One of the great things about studying in London is it's connections to and interests in the Middle East. There are lecture series at various universities (mine university included with a weekly Tuesday night lecture series presented by the Middle East Institute) and there's never a dull moment. Excitement usually begins during the Q & A session, but once in awhile there are comments spoken quite loudly during the talks. Anyway, during the Q & A of a recent talk on Egypt's role in the Arab Spring at LSE, it came to the attention of the audience that Youssef Boutros-Ghali, a finanace minister in Mubarak's government was sitting in the audience. According to this article, he's wanted by Interpol after being convicted in Cairo on charges of corruption and profiteering. He was permitted to leave through a side door.
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I did not attend this lecture, I had just crashed after finishing 2 essays but certainly heard about it from others. Never a dull moment in the world of the Middle East.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

This is what I'm here for

So, my life has been completely and utterly consumed by grad school for the past two weeks. 7-8 hours every day last week at the library to research and complete 2 essays of 3000 words each, read 8 articles and study for an Arabic midterm all due the first week back to class. Of course the first paper is always the hardest to get started with especially since I haven't written an academic paper in 5 The deadline day was madness: long queues and jams at the printers, queues to turn in the essays and a frenzied atmosphere. Fortunately, I made the deadline with time to spare; quite a weight off my shoulders!
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Even with all of the schoolwork, the holiday break was quite eventful. Some highlights (photos to come) include:
--My sister and cousin visiting
--Visit to Edinburgh, Scotland
--Les Miserables, Wicked
--Food of the world tour: English pub, Brick Lane (Bangladeshi), Italian, Scottish (Haggis!), Japanese, Belgian
--Fireworks at midnight on New Years Eve in Leister Square and VIP tickets to the New Years Day parade
--Lots of laughs!
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The break was much needed and appreciated. But now Term 2 is in full swing and the pace has picked up! More reading to go along with beginning the dissertation process, upcoming essays and finally exams to get through. I know the term will fly by, I can't believe it's already the beginning of my last teaching term but certainly looking forward to it. Next week's topics: Politics of Revolution (Iran) and Tribes in an 'Age of Government.'