A burst of energy

So, the past few days or so I've been shockingly cheerful and productive. I think I'm finally recovering from the conference exhaustion and the PUPPP sleep deprivation. I'm feeling much more able to get things done, and more importantly even, I'm inspired to get things done and enjoying doing so! This week, I have thus far accomplished

1. graded one stack of tests (one stack still to go)
2. asked a prof for a letter of recommendation for the certificate I'm adding to my PhD
3. talked with a partner about turning our course project into a research project and submitting to a few conferences next year (one here in town and one in MA in June)
4. got prof approval for said project
   
5. met with said partner to get a bunch of work done on the project (we have a shorter timeline than the rest of our classmates due to the baby)
6. sent a bunch of emails
7. worked on class prep
8. did some planning work for the conference proceedings that I'll be editing next spring (in lieu of teaching one class)
9. did planning work for the online class I'm developing in spring (in lieu of the other class)
10. actually cooked a little
11. sorted baby clothes (now for all the laundry!)

The PUPPP is doing dramatically better. I'm not sure what did it, but I'm not complaining. I had to stop my light therapy treatments because I got burned after each try (I tried twice). The dermatologist decided that I was improving enough with the cream that the light therapy probably wasn't worth it. I'm fair enough that I burn pretty quickly, and I'm not super excited about adding more skin burns to my collection from my teenage years. I'm not a sun worshipper anymore! But, if the PUPPP flares up again badly, we'll give it another shot.

All in all, things are going well. I'm slightly terrified and definitely excited to see this baby in six weeks or so. The time has flown by so quickly! We're headed to the childbirthing class this weekend, so we'll be as prepared as we're going to get.

My First Architecture Final Review

In architecture studio, you spend a whole semester developing a project, researching, drawings, writing, building models, etc. Then at the end of the semester, you stand in front of a jury (usually professors, but sometimes professional architects) and defend/discuss your project.

My first review was yesterday.

Here I am discussing my project, which was a community garden/greenhouse/neighborhood center.


In front on me is the model I built, of the community center, greenhouses, and garden spaces. Here's a closer look.


And here I am pointing something out on my small scale model (I did two models, one of the whole sit, one of just the buildings). The review panel is sitting there in front of me.

Overall, I thought my review went fairly well. There were some things brought up by the reviewers which I should have thought of/done, but overall I am pretty happy. I need to take some better pictures of my semester's worth of work, so I'll eventually get around to posting that stuff.

Congratulations

Just a quick note to congratulate Kimberly on passing her first major test for her program: she passed her portfolio!!!!!!!!

I think she'll take a few weeks off, then start working on that dissertation thing.

Congrats wifey.

Done (with more to do)

So today is the deadline for my preliminary exam (which around here isn't actually your typical exam - but rather a collection of papers I've written that will be assessed by the department). I finished last night, printed the last piece of paper this morning, and submitted the sucker at 11:00. One whole hour early.

I don't know whether it'll pass, but it is done. I'm am grateful for that. And for my lovely family who listened to me blabber incessantly during those times when I JUST NEEDED TO TALK! And my husband who made lots of dinners (and kick ass waffles for dinner last night YUM). And to my academic friends who actually understood what I was doing and talked me through it all.

This was my desk this morning:
The massive stack of books. The funny (or some other adjective here, I'm too tired of writing to come up with something more appropriate) thing is that I used very few books in my actual writing. The stack of pdf journal articles would be 3 or 4 times more. Sis and I did the math last night and the total set of papers I wrote is about 60 pages.
Here are the final documents, all neatly bundled. Not super impressive looking. And Miles is there in the corner, keeping my chair warm. He contributed a great deal to the writing process.

Kind of Burnt Out

I graduated college almost a decade ago. Since then, I've basically worked 40 hours a a week.

There are things that are tough about 40 hour work weeks: worrying about getting fired, meeting deadlines, appeasing clients, etc. But the one nice thing about work is that, generally, when you're done at 5 (or 6, or whenever), you're done. You go home. You make/eat dinner. Maybe a little tv. Weekends are for wine tasting, or going to the farmer's market, or hiking, or sitting in front of the tv and watching football all day.

Having been back in school now for about 3 months, I remembered the thing I disliked most about being in school all those years ago: you never, NEVER, stop thinking about school. Take a night off? That's fine, just remember, you have that paper due in 2 weeks and, really, shouldn't you be reading/researching? Going to actually take a vacation during during break? Just don't think about that model you need to make.

If you can't tell, I'm pretty ready for a real break. We have the whole Thanksgiving week off, and we're heading back to Portland. I'm going to a Blazers game. We're meeting up with friends. It will be nice. And I will do my best to not think about school stuff the entire time. Well, except for the things I am taking with me for that research paper I need to write.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm back - it's really great. I'm just really busy and need a mental break.

Sometimes I think coming back to school was the best and worst decision I've ever made.

They do care!

This was my day yesterday. Often, teaching is exhausting and unrewarding. They don't like you, the subject matter, or the whole scholastic enterprise (or at least that's how it can feel from the front of the class). But sometimes you get reminded that they do care (and I've had more than one!). At the very least, they can appreciate the work you do to try to make challenging material more accessible. I'm a big fan of phdcomics.com (Piled Higher and Deeper - what PhD is supposed to stand for, ha ha). It's a humorous but often accurate representation of life here.

Clearly, I'm doing this all wrong

Email I received today:

is an University Degree/Dip1oma holding you Back?
Kindly Call us to inquire about our Degree programs.

Whether You are seeking a Bacheelor, Diploma, M B A /P h D
We can provide you credentials to get you Better career
No exam, study, test, or Courseworks required!

Huh. I guess I'm wasting a lot of time working on this portfolio thing... why didn't they contact me earlier?!?

New opportunities!

So, a month or so ago, I applied for a job. Yes, I know I already HAVE a job (a busy one at that) but this job ad came to my email and was just about perfect for me. So, I applied. The job is teaching a class at a small liberal arts college (SLAC) nearby-ish. I'd get to teach a class in my discipline to students actually interested in the subject- how could I pass that up?

They interviewed me Wednesday, the assistant dean offered me the job Friday, and I said yes today.

On Wednesday, I submit a grant for a project in the spring as well. I'm collaborating with a professor in rocket science (not really) and we're working on a plan to buy me out of some teaching time at Farm U to do some cool rocket science meets basket weaving stuff. (Trust me, although I think it's cool, you aren't missing much by my obfuscation).

So, although there's still plenty to do this semester, next is looking pretty exciting! Woo hoo!

My Life As a Grad Student Begins

I'm already fairly busy.

I haven't been in school for almost a decade. Any kind of school. Since we moved to Iowa and I left my career in Portland, I decided to go back. I am currently enrolled in a Master's of Architecture program; it's designed for people who have no previous architecture experience - a first professional degree.

As it turns out, several people in my class have experience in interior design. And a bunch have a lot of construction experience. About half of us are returning students, mostly with kids or spouses. The other half are all right out of undergrad. So far it's made for a weird dynamic.

We walked into class the first day and got our first assignment: redesign our entire studio space for 18 students. Go!

We spent the first few days planning, making drawings, talking. Then we started working. One of my fellow students started a Flickr account to document the progress. You can find it here. I'm not in control of it, so I don't know how often it will be updated, but be sure to check it out.

First Day of School

So, as Peter predicted, posting has been light here. While I've been generally excited to be back in class (yay, friends! yay stuff I'm passionate about!), we've both be swamped. I'll let Peter share his stories here, but let me just point out that I'm teaching a new to me class, taking a class with 2 giant research projects, and working on the portfolio that determines whether or not they'll let me stay for year 3 of the program. So, yeah, busy is the word of the day.

However, we did get some first day of school photos for you.

Here's Peter, all dressed nicely for the first day. He's not holding up his fingers (part of the first day rules) showing which grade he's in because he wussed out.

I'm not holding up my fingers either because we couldn't actually figure out who many I needed... too many...

So, we're hoping that we'll find some time for this here blog (maybe Miles can step in for us?) and looking forward to this year's adventures. One week done already!

The Magic 8-Ball Says...Less Posting in the Future

Tomorrow morning, Kimberly returns to Farm U for the second year of her program. Additionally, after an 8 year hiatus, I will be returning to school to pursue a Masters degree.

Although I am taking more credits than Kimberly, we both have commitments beyond our class schedule. Kimberly will be teaching one class and assisting on another. And somehow, I was assigned as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate class.

On top of that, I have a list of clubs and extracurriculars that I hope to partake in, one of which may or may not be trying to play on the Farm U Ultimate team (can a 30-year old compete with a bunch of 19-22 year olds in a fast-paced sports environment? I might be slightly insane). And I know Kimberly has a stack of school projects to work on, not to mention this small thing called a dissertation to start thinking about and planning.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that things around here are about to get really busy. And as important as this blog is, it is rapidly moving down the list of priorities. So if you thought we were bad about posting our inane thoughts on the internet for the world to read up to this point, prepare to be even less impressed. We'll do our best to keep things up to date, especially on the picture/Flickr account, but I'm just not sure how much we'll be able to post, especially me.

So wish us luck. Especially me. I really think I might be insane.

Triste...

Well, Friday was my last day at the Tec. And my last day with Gabriela. I'm pretty sad, because we became good friends during our 5 weeks of talking each day. We've exchanged email addresses and offers to come visit (as well as offers to help with our respective languages over email and Skype). And Friday, we discovered that we share a love of Italian food! She's incredibly jealous that I live with such a fantastic cook, and I'm supposed to mail her recipes for gnocchi and pizza dough when I get home.

Although I'm happy to see Mom and PEter and to get to travel and see new parts of Mexico, I'm very sad to be leaving the wonderful friends I've made here. My teacher, Suzie, is absolutely incredible and was wonderful to learn from (both Spanish as well as teaching ideas).

Being back in Queretaro has been a wonderful experience and I'm so sad that my 5 weeks are already over.

You know you're old when...

the students hear things you can't. Let me explain. We had our last class yesterday and students were finishing up their presentations. J and I were leading a discussion about what they had learned from the assignment when a bunch of the students started cringing and holding their ears. I looked around puzzled and they started laughing. J asked, 'what's that sound?' and they laughed even more. I asked, 'what sound?' and they kept laughing while holding their ears.

Well, it turns out that I'm old. You see, people created this high pitched sound to deter loitering by teenagers outside of stores. Those pesky (but smart!) teenagers turned it into a ringtone. The catch is that adults can't hear this high pitched but kids can. So the kids are now using it to get calls during class. Smart! Well, it turns out that I am officially over the hill since I didn't have a clue what was going on. Eventually, as we're laughing and the students are joking about how old I must be, the student turned the sound down (lowered the tone) and eventually I was able to hear it.

The npr article will let you listen to the tone (assuming you can!).

Another day, another verb tense

Well, so the truth is, I haven't taken a Spanish class in 11 years, actually, since the last time I was in Mexico. This means that although I can get around well enough, I haven't the foggiest idea about any of the various tenses. If only I could only live in the present! As I'm in Intermediate 2, we've been spending a lot of time 'reviewing' various tenses* and learning new ones. In fact, since I've been here (3.5 weeks of classes) we have covered: presente, imperfecto, preterito, subjuntivo, pasado perfecto, futuro perfecto, futuro simple, imperativo, pluscuamperfecto, progresivo, y la voz pasiva. Today we added two new ones, condicional and imperfecto de subjuntivo. This adds up to a grand total of 13. Phew. I can't actually control all these tenses (control here meaning that I can use them on my own without prompting) but I can correctly use most of them on tests. It blows my mind that some of the students in my class are getting 60s on their tests... they took spanish just a month ago! How can they do so poorly? (and obviously the answer is that they are out until 3 am most nights while I'm an old lady and asleep by 11 but still...). Study abroad is wasted on the young.


*Note to grammar teachers: I'm not going to distinguish between tense and aspect here... but I do remember that's there's a difference!

Plans!

Well, plans are happening! The confusion of yesterday seems to be over and we have some tenative plans in motion. Today J and I taught our first English conversation class. There are 14 students and they're very eager and chatty, so it should prove to be fun. I'm excited to get to know them a bit and also to be back in the classroom. It'll also be interesting to work with J. She's a lot younger and new to teacher, which means that although there's a lot she might not know, she's also very eager and willing to try things out and see what happens. She's close in age to our students, so I'm also expecting that that may provide some interesting topics for conversation. Tomorrow I should know a bit more about them and perhaps a bit more about the schedule of teaching that I can report back on.

As for my classes, I think I've worked out a plan that will get me both what I need and want and also satisfy the rules and regulations. I'll stay in the grammar class (gosh how I need to work on grammar!) and then not attend the conversation class with the other American kids (I say kids because a lot of them are 19 and this is kinda like SPRING BREAK with ALCOHOL for them). My grammar teacher loaned me a review grammar book as well for the summer so I can brush up on verbs and conjugations. Then, there's a girl here from Paraguay who needs to prepare to take classes in English. The Tec is moving to teaching its content courses in English, so all students need to demonstrate proficiency. Thus, we're going to meet and focus on our different needs. I want speaking practice and someone who will correct me when I make mistakes. She wants practice listening and some writing and speaking as well. We'll meet up tomorrow to sketch out a plan! Hooray for plans!!

And, speaking of plans, J and I are headed to Guanajuato this weekend for a little sightseeing. It's a cool, historical town and I should have stories to tell about mummies! Keep tuned to find out!!!

Adventures in Mexico (the first weekend)

Well, when I left you, we had just gotten settled in and were waiting for things to happen. We had a very busy weekend. After visiting San Miguel de Allende on Saturday, we were exhausted. It's almost a mile up here, and I'm really feeling the elevation. So, on Sunday, we hung out and slept a lot. However, Prof C found out that it was the last night of a play that she had wanted to see last summer. Conveniently, the play was held in the Old Train Station which is literally across the street from the house (the tracks are still functioning - unfortunately- but not for passenger trains). We ambled off and what a neat experience it was.

The play told the story of Carlota, wife of Maximilian. Max was put in charge of Mexico by the French, but didn't luck out very well. Eventually, there was a revolution and he was executed here in Queretaro by firing squad. Carlota went crazy and never recovered. The play told a rather interpretive version of the story, but was fantastic. They used the set of the train station and very little else. First, we all stood out on the platform and watched as Carlota missed her train (as an actual train went through the station!). Then, the station master (the only other actor in the play) ushered her and the audience inside to a waiting room. The rest of the play took place here. By turns, the actor who played the station master became Maximilian, Bentito Juarez (the first president of the Republic of Mexico and the one who authorized the assignation of Maximilian), Napolean, and a few other people. He played the accordian, clarinet, and harmonica as well. Carlota cried three times and as we were in the front, we could see her actual tears. She went slowly crazy during the performance and it was quite excellent.

On Monday, we came here to the Tec to try to make plans. Note that I've written try. It's very difficult to plan in advance here and we were pretty unsuccessful. But, all was fine. J and I headed back to the house and after our siesta, we decided to walk to the centro and people watch a bit. We stopped for ice cream (not quite as good as gelato) and parked ourselves in a plaza. After a while, we were approached by four girls. They asked us if we would help them with a class project. Being teachers, we had to say yes of course. So, we became actors in a video! They were making a video as a final project for a communications class. We never quite understood the point of the video, but it was a lot of fun. The girls were clearly persuasive and soon had a group of 15 people standing around them. They instructed us to dance like we were at a concert. After they were satisfied, the group dispersed. Then, they asked us if we'd help some more. They had us fight with each other, slowly savor a bottle of water and some popcorn, and listen to their ipod. We gave them our emails, so hopefully we'll get to see the final product of the video!

Today the Spanish classes began. We still aren't quite sure what, when, where, and who we'll be teaching, but we do know where to go for Spanish. However, my class is full of some pretty reticent students and since I'm only auditing, I don't want to dominate them. C and I talked about whether I'd drop the class, but for now I'm going to go to the grammar portion and try to arrange an English-Spanish language exchange with a student here for the rest. I feel like I'm a bit more motivated than my classmates, and I certainly don't want to spend 20 hours a week sitting on my hands (4 hours a day for 5 weeks... it's very intensive). We'll see if we can get this deal agreed upon by the people in change... well, it's definitely going to be an adventure!

¡Hola de Mexico!

Hi all! We arrived in Mexico last night after a long flight (with transfers) and then a 3 hr bus trip (unfortunately we arrived during rush hour). We got settled in and slept like the dead.

I'm here in Queretaro, Mexico with a classmate J and professor C. We're working at the Tech, one of the 15 universities in this city. J and I will be teaching a conversational English class for the Mexican Tech students, and also hosting a language exchange between them and the American exchange students.

Eleven years ago, I did my own study abroad in ths town, but at a different uni. A lot has changed. The city is even bigger (1.2 million now) and there's more traffic. But the centro is stll historic and the churches are amazing.

I'll ce keeping you all updated and hopefully will have pictures of exciting travels and local scenes. Mom is going to be joining me after school lets out and then Peter's coming after that. I'm sure that means that lots of adventures are in store!

I have regular access to emails, so send them along like normal. Thus far the weather is fine, warm but not hot and a slight amount of humidity. Apparently, there was a heat wave before we got here. Sounds like I'm bringing the cool weather with me wherever I go. It sounds like we might be headed to San Miguel de Allende this weekend for a little trip.

More news to follow....

Done... sort of

I just finished teaching my last class of the year (literally, 2 minutes ago). Although I'm far from done (2 papers to write, one take home exam, 23 portfolios to grade, 50 final exams to grade, and 30 term papers to grade), the end is in sight.

Phew. I'm really looking forward to being done with my first year.

Students today....

If you have four minutes- you need to watch this video. I promise it will make you think.

Applying what I've learned

Way back when, I took a bunch of teaching methodology courses. Culture Prof at City University spent a few weeks having us think about our learning styles, past learning experiences, and how these related to our own expectations for our classrooms. One of the things we learned has really stuck with me over the years, although I've struggled with actually implementing it.

We read research that showed learning styles of the overall population compared with those of teachers. Surprisingly, the ratios weren't the same. In fact, teaching seemed to attract people with the least common overall learning preferences.

This was really reinforced for me this week. As you might guess (or might not, depending on how well you know me and in what situations we've interacted), I'm in one of those less common learning styles. I'm also an introvert (no, not shy). This leads me to have certain preferences about group work and displays of knowledge. So, I assigned my students to work in large groups (n=5) to read, analyze, then present an article. Their presentation had to teach the class about the article as well as provide the class with some participatory activity (something to involve the rest of us so the class doesn't get restless). They were told that they had 20 minutes for this presentation (in a few weeks) and that they had complete control of the class (their only restrictions being they couldn't do anything illegal or unethical). Now, this assignment is one I've been dreading. It has a combination of dangerous factors (namely group work, presentations, cross-cultural interaction, and a requirement for "creativity"). But yet, I still assigned it. What can I say, I was in need of something to fill the last three weeks of the semester and this was one on a list of suggested assignments. Plus, it meant I didn't have to grade another set of papers. Yep, so totally selfish reasons behind me assigning an assignment I would hate.

Yesterday, they had some class time to work on the assignment. And... they were engaged, excited, and working together. It was like an after school special or something. If only I was being observed! Students working together, laughing but staying on task, sharing wildly different ideas and experiences. I left them mostly alone, and occasionally there'd be a shout of Ms. LastName?! Each time, I walked over with dread, expecting to find them inconsolably cranky, fighting, or completely confused. Nope, they just wanted to know if Crazy, Creative, Cool Activity met the assignment description. Or perhaps if Nifty Technology Idea would live up to my meager expectations. I'd think to myself, seriously? You wondered if this would meet my expectations? This is FABULOUS! I managed to avoid gushing and blabbering out loud.

So, they still have another week to plan and scheme. I have another chance to check in with them about their progress and make sure we're all happy. But I think I'm finally understanding what those learning style results mean. And, I think I might be on my way to find more assignments like this one. Not that I'll abandon all the old practices- there still are students like me in class, and I think there is a lot of value in independent work, but I won't be so scared to ask them to do things I would hate- cuz, maybe, they might love it.