It needs work...

I know I haven't blogged much. I've been writing, but writing papers. I'm up to my ears in them right now and I'm finally getting the nervous energy that helps me get them done. I have to share my experience today though. I went to see my advisor about the directed studies paper I am doing on Wormsloe. I submitted a draft to him last week and his assessment was "It needs a bit of work...before it can be published". PUBLISHED! Seriously. That is not what I was expecting to hear. He said I have more than satisfied the requirements for the course but he gave me additional feedback because he is encouraging me to refine my paper and look at presenting it at conferences and publishing it. And then using that as my writing sample for when I apply to grad school. He's encouraged me to consider grad school since I got here. In fact when I went to him a week before I turned in my draft and complained that I had too much material, his response was "just focus in on your main points and you can write the rest in your masters thesis" I admit I kind of laughed him off because I'm still trying to convince myself that a grad school is the path I want to take. Today though, after he had read my paper, and still keeps pointing me in that direction, I'm a lot more confident. It scares the crap out of me but it's also incredibly exciting. He gave me some great pointers about how to improve my paper and said that if I expand it, it could not only be published but also presented at conferences, which will strengthen my grad school application. Yikes!

This is hard!

I was really overwhelmed with the sheer volume of work I had last week (I still am but the deadlines have eased up so it's not as bad) and I caught myself thinking "this is so hard!" but then I stopped and realized no. It's not hard. It's a lot of work yes, but it's not difficult or unmanageable. Hard was being in Quebec where I had to think and communicate and learn grammar IN French. Hard is when you are so mentally exhausted that you can't even put together a coherent sentence. Hard is when you ask yourself daily if it was worth it and if you're going to survive. When you wonder how you'll look back on the experience because at this moment, you just want to curl up in a ball and cry. In Georgia I know what I'm doing. Yes there is a lot of reading and writing but I can do this. I just need to continue to apply myself and get it done. And stop whining. Because this is not hard.

My favourite moment of the week

My favourite moment of the week, this semester, is 3:45 on Wednesdays. Weird huh? Let me explain. Even though it's still two days before the weekend and I have classes on Thursday and Friday, I only have one class each day. The bulk of my week is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. As well on Wednesday's I don't have anything scheduled after that last class finishes at quarter to four so I feel all of a sudden like I have TIME. It's rather wonderful. It's no secret that I have a LOT of school work this semester. I'm plugging through it but I have to be very dedicated and spend a lot of time on it. My friends don't understand the sheer volume of reading that a history student has to do, never mind one who is taking five history classes.

Today that awesome moment came early, when I got the email saying class was cancelled. It was like a present. Class is less than two hours long but all of a sudden I had my whole afternoon free. That made today feel like Friday which was pretty nice. I finished up a project I've been working on all weekend and then took my time doing some things around the house. I baked cookies in the mid afternoon and while I was waiting for them to cook I flipped on the tv. I rarely watch tv but today I turned it on and flipped through the channels (that is even more rare for me. I usually just check three or four that I know I like and then turn it off if nothing appeals). It turns out that the moment I chose to turn on the tv and randomly flip through channels, the new pope was just walking on to the balcony to make his first address!!! How cool is that? I didn't even know that "the smoke had gone white" because I had been offline and mixing my cookie dough but somehow I managed to randomly turn the tv on at the exact moment that history was being made. I was pretty happy. I also go to tell my dad who the new pope was (he was working and hadn't heard). I love being able to beat him to big events like that ;)

So, for a Wednesday, today was a pretty great day. I got the gift of time, which I used quite constructively, and I got to see the new pope announced. Nice.

WARNING: PMS and Midterms don't mix

This post won't be very characteristic of me, and may not even get published but I feel like typing it out anyway. The important thing to remember is that I am pmsing and in the middle of midterms and this is not aimed AT anyone, it's just an observation. PMS always makes me a bit homesick because my horomones are out of whack and it makes me less tolerant of things that wouldn't normally bug me. Today I've hit a wall on American Nationalism. I am tired of the narrow view that no one else (namely Canada) had any impact on world events. This approach doesn't surprise me and in a lot of ways I understand it. The US has a lot of history to cover without getting into what other countries were doing but I guess I'm feeling a bit homesick and I'm missing the broad inclusive approach that my courses at Laurier usually take. At home I do "North American Studies" which incorporates BOTH Canada and the US (and Mexico when applicable). Here it's ONLY about the US. And Britain, Russia, France and China but no reference is made to Canada at all. Even the Quebec Conference during World War 2. If you listen to my prof or read the text book Prime Minister WLM King wasn't even there. No wonder Americans don't have any awareness of Canadian involvement on the world stage. They aren't TAUGHT it.

The other thing I'm getting sick of hearing about is "states rights". Canada has this too but it's not fought as bitterly as it is down here. Half the cases we are studying in the Supreme Court (for my Constitutional History course) are about who has the most power, the individual states or the federal government, and it's exhausting...and we're only JUST hitting the Civil War. I don't know if it will get better!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to my trip to Europe because I will be visiting monuments and sites dedicated to remembering the CANADIAN contribution to the wars. I'm looking forward to that if only because I feel like my Canadian pride is being battered here in the face of so much American patriotism. I need to get past these midterms and start writing my essay on the burning of Washington. That should bring it back :D

Ebenezer, GA

 First off, I LOVE my coworkers at Wormsloe. They totally rock. Oddly I don't have pictures of us from today though. We had an awesome adventure but I was an idiot and forgot to bring my spare camera battery so the pictures of us are on another camera. But I'll start at the beginning...

Till now I have been working at Wormsloe on Fridays. I leave Statesboro after my only class ends at 10am and I'm usually there by 11:30. That gives me a good five and a half hours to work before the park closes at 5. Then I usually hang out in Savannah for a few hours, shopping or doing homework, before heading home. The only problem with only working Friday's is I generally always work with the same people and these people are not Paula. She and I have worked together a few times including at the Faire and we've been chatting a lot on Facebook. She's awesome and we decided this week that I'd switch my day to Saturday so we could work together (John doesn't really care, I'm just an extra body anyway so I can come, or not, whenever I want). This weekend we also had another reason. We decided to go find the site of the colonial settlement of Ebenezer on the Savannah River.

So we worked together on Saturday and then I went and stayed at her place over night so we could go on our adventure on Sunday. It was fun to just hang out an chat. We made dinner and drank wine and watched the history channel while talking. Sunday we picked up Jeri, another Wormsloe employee who I've hardly spent any time with, and the three of us headed up to Rincon/Ebenezer. The museum at Ebenezer doesn't open until 3 so we weren't really in a hurry. Because of that we stopped at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge for awhile. Paula and Jeri are both photographers so they had a blast with the birds and swamp lands. Like I said my camera battery was low and it was COLD out (somewhere around 40oF) so I stayed in the car but I still enjoyed the peacefulness of the place.

Then we headed northeast. Well...more north than east. I don't know what happened (and I had the maps) but we overshot our destination but about ten miles and then had to backtrack. It was really odd but I blame it on the not well labelled roads in the middle of nowhere. (it certainly wasn't MY fault, although they did blame the Canadian ;)) We arrived just as the museum people were opening the church for viewing. The congregation at this church has been meeting continuously since the Salzbergers arrived in 1734, the year after the first group of colonists arrived and settled the Colony of Georgia. The church was finished in 1769.
During the Revolution the church was used as a horse stable and the weather vane was actually shot by a British gun. The current weather vane is a reproduction but they shot it to make it look authentic!

We toured all around the site which still includes some of the original cabins, even though they haven't been occupied for almost a hundred years and took our time going through the museum. The two volunteers that were working were so excited that three younger girls, and history nerds from another site, were there that they ended up staying open an extra half hour because we kept asking questions.

 This cabinet is FULL of German language family bibles that have been donated to the site. There was lots of interesting artifacts and displays. I combed through them to find things that apply to the midterm I will be writing on Tuesday for Georgia History. That way it counts as studying right? ;)

Mostly it was just fun to spend the day with people who are as excited about history and exploring as I am. I hope we get to have some more adventures before I finish here!!!

Washington, DC 2013

So where did I leave off? Arriving in DC. Okay, so yeah, arrived, got checked in. All was good. I didn't officially decide that I was actually going until a week or two before I left so I ended up being in a hostel room with a bunch of strangers. It was fine. I've stayed alone in hostels before...although this was my first time in a co-ed room, but it worked out.

Monday morning we were scheduled to meet at the main hostel (we were divided between two and I was in the "other" one) at 10am to go to the Museum of National History. We walked from the hostel to the museum as a group. It wasn't all that far and it was a good time to chat with people. I connected with my friend Louise who I had spent time with in Quebec City and met two people that she had met on the bus. Jen and Taylor are both from Laurier-Brantford (a satellite campus) and they are really cool. This ended up being the group I hung out with most. Now I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed to not hang out with the other people on the trip but it's just so difficult with a large group and a very unstructured agenda and this way I got to see what I wanted to see. Still it was a tiny bit disappointing.

I could tell very shortly after arriving at the Museum of Natural History that it just wasn't my thing. I wasn't in the mood for dinosaurs and "man's pre-historic beginnings" so I convinced Taylor and Louise to go with me to the Museum of American History right next door. That was more like it. We started with an exhibit about the American flag and national anthem, which I really enjoyed since I'm hoping to write a paper on that topic, and then moved on to one comparing slavery and the Emancipation Proclamation with the Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington.

The next exhibit was on the evolution of food in America and, just like Julie I got to visit Julia Child's kitchen. My friends didn't understand how excited I was and I'm realizing I haven't actually blogged about it, but trust me, I was excited :)

After the museum (and a little trip to the security office because I lost my favourite scarf :( ) we met up with the larger group again. Taylor and I were going to accompany the prof to the National Cathedral (while most other people either went to Georgetown Cupcakes or the Spy Museum) but when we realized how beautiful of a day it was, with a forecast of rain the next day, we decided to go see some monuments instead. I have been to DC before...briefly...in 2006 but we only had about two hours to drive around and see things. This time I was determined to get closer to some of the monuments. Specifically I wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Wall and hopefully the Jefferson Memorial if it worked out.

So Taylor and I walked most of the length of the mall, past the Washington Monument, through the World War II Memorial, past the reflecting pool (which actually had water this time! It was being renovated last time I was in town) to the Lincoln Memorial. It was pretty cool to see. I really enjoyed seeing the spot where MLK Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech and looking down the mall. We also listened to the Ranger give a talk which was really interesting.

The Wall was a little less inspiring but that is because I have no emotional connection to any of the almost sixty thousand names listed on it and I've been doing a lot of reading about memory and commemoration and had a lot of the dissenting opinions about it in my mind. That meant I looked at it a bit more critically, but it was still interesting to see.

After that much walking we were getting tired so we headed back to the hostel. We tried to take the subway but we were also trying to buy passes for the next day and our Canadian credit cards were rejected because we don't have zip codes...or the machine wasn't working. We're still not totally sure what was wrong but the attendant ended up giving us free one way tickets so that was pretty awesome. We had made plans to meet up with Louise and Jen for dinner. Two different people had suggested that I try out an Ethiopian restaurant when I mentioned I was going to DC so, on the advice of the security guard at the Smithsonian we took my car up to the Adams Morgan neighbourhood and went to an Ethiopian restaurant there. It was definitely an experience. Not the most amazing food I've ever had but I'd be game to go again. I think I enjoyed it more than they did but they were good sports. After dinner we went to Georgetown for ice cream. Well, we went in search of dessert and found the Haggen-Daaz store so ice cream is what we had.
Tuesday we met u for breakfast at PAUL, a french bakery suggested by the prof who coordinated the trip. I got confused on directions (I can handle the streets and avenues, it's the wacky boulevards that throw me off) so we ended up taking the long way there but that gave us a close up of the White House so that was okay. After breakfast we split up. Jen and Louise took a bus to Mount Vernon and Taylor and I finally made our way to the National Cathedral. It WAS raining, so it was a great day for it. The Cathedral was amazing. I'm really glad I got to see it. I think the thing that surprised me the most was how long it actually took to build. Something like 80 years but all in the 20th century. Wow. After the Cathedral (which we drove to, I have to admit, it was nice to have my car even though parking is crazy expensive) I dropped Taylor off at the Holocaust Museum and headed over to the Newseum (I think that's how it's spelled. The News Museum). I couldn't find any parking though and when I realized I was getting ridiculously frustrated and slightly irrational, I just headed back to my hostel and took a nap. It was a good decision. I'd still like to visit that museum but you can only fit so much in to each day.

We met up for dinner again that night. We had agreed earlier in the day that we wanted another ethnic experience but we wanted something close to the hostel. The first restaurant we came to was a Cuban one and it was FANTASTIC. Really. Great atmosphere, great service and delicious food. We did tapas style dining and there wasn't a single dish we didn't love. It was awesome. After that we kind of started walking...and walking...and walking. I wanted to see the capitol building and Taylor wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial at night...so we went there via the Jefferson Memorial...make that we WALKED there. To put it in perspective, the Mall, from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial is two miles...but we didn't walk straight there. Yes it was a long trip but we knew it was our last night so we just kept going. And then took a taxi back from Lincoln LOL

And that was about it! The four of us met up for breakfast again on Wednesday before they boarded the bus. Before I headed south I went back to Georgetown and checked out some of the stores there. I didn't leave DC till after 11 and since I had a ten hour drive back to Georgia, I pretty much drove straight through. I was surprised that I wasn't more tired than I was but I only stopped for gas and bathroom breaks. I got home around 10pm and didn't sleep in all that much the next day. I didn't have class until noon so it wouldn't have been bad but still I was happy with that.

So that was my adventure in Washington, DC. This is technically my second time in the city and I'd love to go back again. There is so much to see and only so much you can absorb at once.

It's all a matter of perspective

Last weekend I went on a road trip. The History Students Association from Laurier was going to Washington, DC for their reading break and I decided to join them. Since my spring break here in Georgia isn't for another month, I cleared it with all my profs before I went. They were all really supportive of me taking the trip. (That's the problem with being a "mature" student. You actually care about going to classes.) The HSA was planning on arriving in DC on Sunday night so I decided to take a detour on my way up and visit...we'll call them acquaintances, in Hickory, North Carolina. That made it a LONG trip. I didn't really acknowledge how long but it worked out.

On Saturday I drove straight from Statesboro to Hickory. I had packed snacks and drinks so I really only stopped for gas and bathroom breaks. It was a miserable grey day through most of South Carolina and in North Carolina it SNOWED! Fairly hard. It made me glad that I got new tires before I left Ontario! I arrived in Hickory around 4pm and met up with people there. It's a little confusing but the people I was meeting was a pastor and his wife who is associated with both the church I attend in Ontario and the one back in BC. I have met them in both places but not really spent any time with them so when I called to say I was coming to visit, they didn't really know who I was. It didn't matter though. When I arrived they recognized me and in any case, they demonstrated some amazing Southern Hospitality and I get the feeling they would have acted the same even if we were complete strangers. They took me out for dinner along with one of their sons and his wife and kids and another couple from the church and then we all went out for coffee. On Sunday I caught a ride to church with another couple and afterwards a bunch of us went out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. This is slightly off topic but going for Mexican after church is becoming a bit of a habit for me. That's where we went when I was in Ohio and the first time I went to church in Statesboro. I like it!

Anyway, at lunch I was talking with some people about my epic year. Being in Georgia followed by the study tour in Europe and three months in France. One of the girls who is quite a bit younger than me, but already married, made a comment about being a bit envious of my life and adventures. I couldn't help but stare at her and try to calmly explain that the only reason I'm going on all these adventures is because I don't have what she has (a husband and somewhere to settle). It was weird to look at someone and wish you were in their shoes while they are looking at you and wishing the same. Not that either of us would necessarily trade but I guess it's a matter of perspective. Or maybe the grass is always greener. Anyway it was strange.

After I said good bye to all my new friends I *flew* to DC. The front desk at my hostel closed at 10pm so I was really under a time crunch to get there. I'm glad the weather was clear and traffic wasn't too heavy because I wouldn't have made it other wise. It's not a process I'd care to repeat but I did make it with about five minutes to spare. And for the record, Virginia along I77 and I81 is beautiful! (it got dark after that but I'm sure it was pretty on the rest of 81 and I66 ;))

I'll put my adventures in DC in another post, with pictures. I didn't take any pictures in NC. Too busy talking I guess. Oops!