Back in the Game
After a few rough-ish weeks (ie being a little depressed), I am back and better than ever!
I am really glad I took that weekend off a couple weeks ago from the internet. Definitely gave me the space I needed from unwanted topics of conversation, and the smack to the head I needed of "you are spending too much time online. Stop it." At some point I will actually write about all that happened last year, but that was not the time. One day perhaps...
This past weekend I had an amazing experience: I went to the Association of Asian Studies annual conference in Toronto! I joined AAS back in November and have been planning to go since then. I went with a couple girls from my department, and we stayed at a hostel close to the hotel where the conference was being held. (Why would I pay $200 a night when I could pay $30?) I'm really thankful that my parents pitched in for airfare, and I managed to get a grant through UofA to pay for the rest of my expenses for the weekend. It was amazing experience- I was introduced to a ton of big names in my field, including a potential advisor for my PhD (my current advisor rocks for setting that up). I went to a ton of panels, got lots of free food (again, my advisor was the mastermind behind teaching me how to take advantage there), bought several books for super-cheap, and entered academic nirvana. I think when I was having a really good conversation with a couple professors who were listening to me as an equal for a couple hours that I realized: I can do this. I really can do this. I have high hopes for applications next year (as does my advisor), so I'm really hoping I get into one of my three PhD programs. (These are USC, UCBerkeley, and UMichigan. My advisor is convinced I'm already in at USC, though I don't know about that...)
The other fun part was the mini-IUC reunion! And by mini, I mean hanging out with one of my best friends from the program, Dan! He's in his PhD at USC, and he a couple of his cohorts came along to the conference. Since he also studies PreModern Japan, we ended up at all the same panels and hung out the whole weekend. I'm so glad I got to see him again! We were on the lookout for other IUC-ers, but none this year it seems. (Though we did go to the Stanford/IUC Alumnae reception. It is astounding how many of the professors graduated from IUC.)
Sadly I managed to get sick from my travels. I was exhausted Monday while I struggled to get all my work done, and came down with a cold. When I woke up for class on Tuesday, I realized I had pink eye. (I've had it enough times that I know the signs.) I stopped by the wellness center on campus and got a prescription for antibiotics before class, but I made sure to keep my distance from everyone since I was contagious. I'm feeling better now, though I still have to take drops through Sunday.
Meanwhile, we're revving up to the end of the semester here. I've picked my translation project for kanbun which should be an adventure. (and by adventure, I mean extremely time-consuming.) Setsuwa will involve a final project on tales from Konjaku monogatari that involve the Fujiwara family. (I promise it's cooler than it sounds.) And my historiography project is still up in the air, though I may examine studies on the changes of marriage institutions on women from the Heian to Kamakura period. Thankfully that last one involves nothing in Japanese to read, so in theory it should be easier, but it's for my advisor, so who knows.
Summer plans are still up in the air, but I hope to know more soon. Until then~
I am really glad I took that weekend off a couple weeks ago from the internet. Definitely gave me the space I needed from unwanted topics of conversation, and the smack to the head I needed of "you are spending too much time online. Stop it." At some point I will actually write about all that happened last year, but that was not the time. One day perhaps...
This past weekend I had an amazing experience: I went to the Association of Asian Studies annual conference in Toronto! I joined AAS back in November and have been planning to go since then. I went with a couple girls from my department, and we stayed at a hostel close to the hotel where the conference was being held. (Why would I pay $200 a night when I could pay $30?) I'm really thankful that my parents pitched in for airfare, and I managed to get a grant through UofA to pay for the rest of my expenses for the weekend. It was amazing experience- I was introduced to a ton of big names in my field, including a potential advisor for my PhD (my current advisor rocks for setting that up). I went to a ton of panels, got lots of free food (again, my advisor was the mastermind behind teaching me how to take advantage there), bought several books for super-cheap, and entered academic nirvana. I think when I was having a really good conversation with a couple professors who were listening to me as an equal for a couple hours that I realized: I can do this. I really can do this. I have high hopes for applications next year (as does my advisor), so I'm really hoping I get into one of my three PhD programs. (These are USC, UCBerkeley, and UMichigan. My advisor is convinced I'm already in at USC, though I don't know about that...)
The other fun part was the mini-IUC reunion! And by mini, I mean hanging out with one of my best friends from the program, Dan! He's in his PhD at USC, and he a couple of his cohorts came along to the conference. Since he also studies PreModern Japan, we ended up at all the same panels and hung out the whole weekend. I'm so glad I got to see him again! We were on the lookout for other IUC-ers, but none this year it seems. (Though we did go to the Stanford/IUC Alumnae reception. It is astounding how many of the professors graduated from IUC.)
Sadly I managed to get sick from my travels. I was exhausted Monday while I struggled to get all my work done, and came down with a cold. When I woke up for class on Tuesday, I realized I had pink eye. (I've had it enough times that I know the signs.) I stopped by the wellness center on campus and got a prescription for antibiotics before class, but I made sure to keep my distance from everyone since I was contagious. I'm feeling better now, though I still have to take drops through Sunday.
Meanwhile, we're revving up to the end of the semester here. I've picked my translation project for kanbun which should be an adventure. (and by adventure, I mean extremely time-consuming.) Setsuwa will involve a final project on tales from Konjaku monogatari that involve the Fujiwara family. (I promise it's cooler than it sounds.) And my historiography project is still up in the air, though I may examine studies on the changes of marriage institutions on women from the Heian to Kamakura period. Thankfully that last one involves nothing in Japanese to read, so in theory it should be easier, but it's for my advisor, so who knows.
Summer plans are still up in the air, but I hope to know more soon. Until then~