tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4923307976979656092024-03-04T23:19:20.664-05:00Thyme Among HeatherBlog about food, travel, writing, and life as an anthropologist...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-87476846316721731092012-12-31T23:18:00.002-05:002012-12-31T23:18:31.475-05:00Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Life is about relationships.<br />
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Relationships to people, to objects, to the environment, to food, animals, plants, the weather, etc, etc, etc. Many would also argue it's about a relationship with divinity and other spiritual entities. But it all comes down to the same basic sentence: Life is about relationships.<br />
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As a society, we are becoming increasingly severed from our relationships. Most of us no longer have a relationship with the people at the drug store. Many of us do not have a relationship with the farmer who grew the food on our table. Even if we do, many of us don't have a relationship with the soil in which that food was grown. We lack relationships to the majority of animals that we eat and also many of the animals that we encounter on a daily basis. We have increasingly become a society that values material objects and the abstract concept of monetary wealth over all other relationships, and we have lost many of these relationships as a result.<br />
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Yet, there are movements to regain those relationships. Those wishing to "Save the Environment" are really advocating for a recognition and rekindling of that particular relationship. Farmer's market crowds frequent the market in order to support more environmentally conscious farming practices, to develop a relationship with the farmer who grew and/or processed their food, to develop a closer relationship to the food itself, to support local businesses, and to buy healthier food in an attempt to improve the relationship they have with their own bodies. There are also other reasons, but these are probably the largest ones. If you notice, each of them has to do with rekindling and strengthening relationships between people and other, non-monetary things.<br />
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Humans are social creatures. We require other humans to survive. We need people to talk to, to laugh with, to tease. We need other people to be proud of us, to encourage us. We need people to be proud of and to encourage. And we need people to catch us when we fall.<br />
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Which is why humans as a species can never completely lose these relationships. We require them. If we lose our relationships, we lose ourselves. There will always be people who have lost sight of these relationships, who are blinded in their quest for material wealth or monetary gain. There will also always be people who retreat into the mountains of the world, isolating themselves so they may become one with nature. They, too, are blinded in their quest for a strong relationship to the environment.<br />
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But many of us recognize that it is better, when considering these relationships, to act in the generalist way that our species always has. To concentrate on equally strengthening all our relationships rather than focusing on one or two. We may not have as strong a connection to the environment as those who put all their energies into that relationship, and we may not have as much material wealth as those who concentrate solely on that realm. But we will have good relationships with all things, and be equally conscious of problems in all areas when they arise. We will have a wide array of relationships to draw on when we ourselves are in trouble, and if one relationship fails, we will have the rest of the web to hold us up. We will experience much and, in doing so, realize that we know very little. We will laugh, cry, joke, muse, and stand in awe. And at the end of it all, we will say we had a full life.<br />
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A life made full by our relationships.</div>
Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-82391032467185557322012-03-09T14:10:00.004-05:002012-03-09T14:58:17.910-05:00Indonesian Recipes!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfh81ljn8I5WJs74m7h01Id3K1RdgUOQUewMzOh5l6oOl3r7otcH7PCgRsdq13O7Ov3ln3HzANopf7NfWQpFYpVahhDIhx8hb2xXpr2SP5tInHn8ToUlYxzUun_8BRLsOLbmm3PoZctnk/s1600/DSCN0653.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfh81ljn8I5WJs74m7h01Id3K1RdgUOQUewMzOh5l6oOl3r7otcH7PCgRsdq13O7Ov3ln3HzANopf7NfWQpFYpVahhDIhx8hb2xXpr2SP5tInHn8ToUlYxzUun_8BRLsOLbmm3PoZctnk/s320/DSCN0653.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717989074147390418" /></a><br /><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Ok, so I've been awful about my food posts, as I'm awful about posting in general (sorry, grad school does that), but as a reward for sticking it out with me, I'm going to post THE BEST Indonesian recipe EVER. Well, ok, that's a bit of a lie, so here are my three favorite recipes (i.e. THE BEST RECIPES EVER).</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">3. Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) (this makes 2 servings)</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><ul><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">3 handfuls of rice (really, two handfuls and a little extra)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">canola or vegetable oil</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">10 grape tomatoes</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">2 eggs</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">a little less than half a yellow onion (roughly 1/2 cup, chopped?)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">garlic</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">crushed red pepper flakes (or chili peppers if you have them)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">any meat product you may want to include (chicken works, shrimp works, beef is ok)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">salt</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 100%; ">soy sauce</span></li></ul></div><div><ol><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Set the rice cooking (I shouldn't have to explain this).</span></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add salt. In a medium-sized skillet/pan (a wok is even better), pour some oil and fry the eggs into a flat sort of omelet (or egg-pancake). Remove the eggs and place on a cutting board.</span></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Now wait until the rice is done. You can do your chopping now: chop onion and any meat you want. Roll up the egg pancake thing and slice it, creating long strips of egg about 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide.</span></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Once the rice is done, remove it form the heat (even the hot burner - you don't want your rice sticking to the pot).</span></li><li style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">In the pan, pour some more oil and add garlic (however much you want - I usually go with what looks to be about 1 tablespoon of the dried minced stuff). Also add some salt and about 4-5 shakes of crushed red pepper flakes. For chilies, add as many as you think sufficient (sorry, I don't really work with chilies).</span></li><li><span>Saute<span style="font-size: 100%;"> all that until it starts to sizzle (you should be working on a medium heat). Add the onion and stir until it smells really good. Add any other vegetables or meat products you feel like and continue to saute/stir fry everything. Then add the egg and a decent amount of soy sauce and fry for a few more seconds.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Add the rice and stir everything together, mixing it well. The rice is supposed to turn a uniform brown, and if it hasn't, add more soy sauce. Add the tomatoes and fry for a few more seconds.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">If you want to add some Indonesian flair, add some sambal to the mix. Sambal is a chili sauce that is ubiquitous in Indonesia, and adds spice and color to everything.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Enjoy!</span></span></li></ol><div><span>2. Gado-Gado (meaning "mixed together")</span></div></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>I'm sure most of you didn't think I had a meal I enjoyed more than nasi goreng, but I actually do. Here it is: Gado Gado</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><ul><li><span>rice (same as above, about 3 medium handfuls feeds 2 people)</span></li><li><span>bean sprouts</span></li><li><span>tofu</span></li><li><span>tempeh</span></li><li><span>cabbage</span></li><li><span>2 eggs</span></li><li><span>peanut sauce (Indonesian style, not Thai style)</span></li><li><span>vegetable or canola oil</span></li><li><span>soy sauce</span></li></ul><div><ol><li><span>Cook the rice and hard-boil the two eggs.</span></li><li><span>Chop up cabbage into thin strips, the eggs into slices, and the tofu and tempeh into medium cubes (about 1/2 inch thick).</span></li><li><span>Put some oil and soy sauce in a pan, then saute the tofu and tempeh until golden brown.</span></li><li><span>Serve everything by putting rice in a small bowl and then turning it upside-down on a plate - it should retain the bowl shape and looks cool (it's also really fun). Put egg, bean sprouts, cabbage, and the tempeh/tofu mixture on various sides of the rice, then pour peanut sauce over it.</span></li><li><span>That's it. Really.</span></li></ol><div><span><br /></span></div></div></div><div><span>1. Tempeh Penyet</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>And now my favorite Indonesian meal, which is a hard status to achieve: Tempeh Penyet. It's also the simplest of the meals. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><ul><li><span>3 tablespoons sambal (you can find it in most grocery stores)</span></li><li><span>tempeh (cut into triangles, because that's the way the place I loved did it)</span></li><li><span>oil</span></li><li><span>rice</span></li></ul><div><ol><li><span>Set rice cooking.</span></li><li><span>Take some plastic wrap, put some sambal on it, place the tempeh on the sambal, put more sambal on the tempeh, and fold more plastic wrap over that. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Press or pound the tempeh to work the sambal into it.</span></li><li><span>Once done, take the tempeh out of the plastic wrap, put oil in a pan, and fry the tempeh until golden-brown and crispy.</span></li><li><span>Serve with the rice!</span></li></ol></div></div>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-5694277749423343882012-01-15T19:28:00.002-05:002012-01-15T19:51:15.311-05:00Who are you wearing?That's right, who? It's not a typo, and it's not a trick question. Look at your socks. Are you wearing socks? If not, look at your shirt. Where are they from? Your socks (or shirt, for you sockless people), that is. Do you know? I don't. Mine don't say.<div><br /></div><div>What color are they? Mine are kind of boring today - tan. Yup, that's it, tan.</div><div><br /></div><div>Where did you buy them? I think I got mine at Walmart... maybe Target... not sure. Do you know who sold them to you? I don't. I know someone did. And someone opened the box, someone took them out, someone put a price tag on, and someone stuck them on the shelf.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before they got to Walmart, someone drove them there in a truck. And before that, they were shipped in a boat or plane or train that someone captained or piloted or conducted. Or many someones helped with that. Or maybe it went on a plane, a train, <i>and</i> a boat. The box of socks, that is.</div><div><br /></div><div>And before they got on that boat, someone else (probably not in the US) drove them from the factory to the boat/plane/train. Someone at the factory put the package of socks into a box, someone packaged the socks, and someone made the socks. Maybe a machine made them, but a person still ran the machine. Maybe multiple machines with multiple people made my socks. Who knows?</div><div><br /></div><div>And before that, someone dyed the yarn they used to make my socks and someone spun the yarn. Someone carded cotton and someone washed it. Someone brought it in baskets or boxes or bags to the factory and someone put it into those baskets, boxes, or bags. Someone sorted through the cotton to make sure it was of a decent quality and someone picked that cotton. Someone watered that cotton, weeded it, and kept it relatively bug-free. Someone planted the seed to make it grow, and someone tilled the soil for the cotton field. And someone sold the seed to the farmer and someone else sold the seed to the merchant.</div><div><br /></div><div>And suddenly it's not about socks anymore.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's about the 25-30 people who made my socks and got them here so I could buy and wear them.</div><div><br /></div><div>I wonder how many of them have socks? How many can afford socks?</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's not everyone involved. There's all the materials used in making my socks - from the plow that tilled the land to the factory that made the plastic bags at the checkout counter. All those have similar stories - similar groups of people behind them.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are probably hundreds of people involved in making my socks. Your socks.</div><div><br /></div><div>And those are just my socks. Who knew they could have that much importance? And to think - I throw them on the floor every night before I go to bed, because I don't own a laundry basket. Admit it - you do too. Maybe not the floor, but you throw them into the laundry basket. You drop them and step on them (hey, they were MADE for stepping) and get them muddy and wear holes in the soles.</div><div><br /></div><div>And when that hole gets a little bigger, you throw out those socks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't worry - I do it, too.</div><div><br /></div><div>But would you do that if you knew the hundreds of people who helped you get your socks? Would you treat them that way? Be honest. But would I do it if I could see the people behind my socks? We both know the answer to that.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I'll ask again. Who are you wearing?</div>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-11248928718678954242012-01-15T18:47:00.002-05:002012-01-15T19:11:44.314-05:00Food Post!Ok, sorry, I've been lax, but the good news is that because I've been lax, you now get a bunch of fun food things in ONE POST!!! Hopefully that doesn't mean an overdose - I don't think it's possible to overdose on food posts. Is it?<div><br /></div><div>Anyway, this week was long, so there weren't as many recipes from the cookbook as recipes from myself. This week was recipes learned from various people at various points in my life, so here's to you people, wherever you may be!</div><div><br /></div><div>On Thursday I made mac and cheese. I learned this recipe from my mom at goodness knows what age. I was old enough to cook with supervision, but i honestly don't know when I learned it. I fell like I always have. Anyway, Thursday was the day Chicago got about 4-5 inches of snow and I was out in it. It was a comfort food day, and mac and cheese fit that bill.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know a bunch of people who bake mac and cheese, and that's all well and good, but honestly, this is the real way to make it. Well, it's the way I know and love, so give it a try - it's easier, and you may just like it. Put the pasta on to boil. While that's going, make a roux. It's equal parts butter and flour (I use 3 tbsp) and half that in cups of milk (I use 1 1/2 cups - see how that works?). Put the butter in a pot and heat until it's melted (try not to burn it). Add the flour and mix it in well (you get a grainy buttery substance). Add the milk SLOWLY, mixing it in well. Then let that heat (stirring occasionally) while you cut up some cheddar or other type of cheese (I use about half of one of the small blocks from the store - maybe a cup?). When the milk begins to bubble, add the cheese and stir until the cheese has melted. If it's too soupy, add more cheese. If too thick, add more milk. Add salt, pepper, oregano, and some crushed red pepper (if you want). mix it all together and wait until the mixture starts to bubble. Then add the pasta and viola, you have mac and cheese. Takes however long you need to cook the pasta. Easy, fast, and yummy - what more could you want?</div><div><br /></div><div>Ok, Friday, I made broccoli Roman style to go with rice and a tempeh/spinach mixture. Rice was rice - you make it and eat it, there's not much to it. Roman style broccoli is different. You put some olive oil in a pan (enough to cover the bottom, maybe more), then add salt and garlic. once it's hot, add the broccoli and stir so that the oil coats the brocolli. Stir it occasionally until the broccoli looks cooked (bright green, starting to turn brown). Add some lemon juice and serve!</div><div><br /></div><div>My Inang (mother) in Indonesia taught me the tempeh recipe. We used to have a cooking class at my house, because Inang is a nationally-renown chef, and she taught us this recipe. Tempeh (for those who don't know) is a soy product that comes in bricks and looks like soy beans in soy paste. It's solid (don't worry, not icky), and you can chop it up and fry it, back it, or whatever. It has WAY more protein than tofu, so I'm told (I could be wrong) and tastes WAY better in my opinion. Not that I don't like tofu, I just love tempeh. You can probably find it at your local grocery store (most carry it near tofu). Whole Foods often has it - that's where we get it up here. For this, you cut the tempeh into small chunks, pour enough oil (canola, vegetable, whatever) in a pan to cover the bottom and then some, and then fry the tempeh. Stir the tempeh occasionally (so each side gets browned) until it turns a golden-brown color and starts getting crispy. Add some salt and soy sauce and mix it together. Add some garlic and about two handfuls of raw spinach. Stir it all around until the spinach has cooked down and it's mixed together. Serve it with rice (don't forget the Roman broccoli!) and enjoy!</div><div><br /></div><div>And the last recipe was one I picked up in Canton during the summer I was interning on a farm and the internship suddenly fell through. I was crashing temporarily with some friends in the townhouses (I don't think the administration knew... oops) and we often made pizza. So here's a recipe for fresh pizza dough: Take 1 1/2 cups of flour (for 2 personal pizzas), 1 tbsp instant yeast, 1 tbsp salt, 1 1/1 tbsp olive oil, and 1 1/4 cup water. Mix it all together (really). The dough should be slightly sticky, but not all over the place, and should form a ball when you're done. If it's too sticky, add flour. If too dry, add water. once done, put oil in a bowl, put the dough in the bowl and turn it so it gets covered with the oil, and let it rise until it doubles in size (about an hour). Roll into crusts, decorate, bake at 450-500 degrees until the crust browns, and serve!</div><div><br /></div><div>So there you go - not so much cookbook recipes, but still good recipes!</div><div><br /></div>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-36644479608187013982012-01-14T18:04:00.000-05:002012-01-15T18:47:52.794-05:00Hi, I'm Heather, and I support our President.So, I know - I never posted about the ravioli - I'm terribly sorry. The recipe was super easy once the pasta was made - stuffing consisted of cheese, spinach (already cooked and chopped), and some garlic. Mix it all together, put little blobs on the pasta sheets, wet the area between each blob, then press the other pasta sheet on top and cut the ravioli out. Boil for roughly 5 minutes, add sauce, and you're golden! If any of you want the actual recipe, let me know and I'll stick it in a comment.<div><br /></div><div>Between last week's cooking and right now, I also did something utterly amazing. I saw President Obama speak. In person. Like, I was in a room, he was in the same room (on a stage, maybe 50 feet away), and I listened as he kicked off his 2012 Presidential campaign. I have it all on my phone - recorded the whole thing. One of these days, I'll post it up here somehow. It was wonderful.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I would write more about it, but it was so crazy that I was even <i>there</i> that I still haven't quite wrapped my head around it. I will say that I support our President. I certainly support him over the other current choices, and let's face it - I've spent most of my life NOT having faith in my president. Why would I deny it when I finally did support one?</div><div><br /></div><div>Not that I don't take issue with some of the things he's done. I do. But no one is going to please me all the time. No one's going to please anyone all the time. How could they? Goodness, could you imagine the pressure? I can't even please everyone in my department all the time - forget about the entire country. So why should we expect him to please us all the time? He can't. Not if he's to represent the views of the American people. And personally, I think he's done a better job than past administrations and currently think he'll do a better job than others. And that makes him good enough for me. So yes, I'll say it - I support our President.</div>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-21573460691598667502012-01-05T16:42:00.002-05:002012-01-05T17:16:45.463-05:00Pasta, Cheese, and more Pasta!Ok, so we're on day 3 of my New Years Resolutions (I got started on them a couple days late...) and I apologize for not posting yesterday, but the good news is that I now have lots to post about today!<div><br /></div><div>So, yesterday I made a dish called Pasta and Caramelized Onions. Guess what it was? Yea, the titles in this cookbook are VERY straightforward, which is a good thing, because then you can know what you're making just by looking at the title. Anyway, basically, it was carmelized onions with pasta, olive oil, and some parmesan cheese. It was delicious (though, admittedly, not as utterly amazing as the salad from the other day). I'll post all the recipes at the bottom of the page, in case you're interested.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yesterday for dinner, Kristin and I decided to go out because we both received Christmas gifts for dinner and a movie - so we went to the Cheesecake factory and watched Sherlock Holmes. Side note here - I get that it was a Wednesday and that the movie had been out for several weeks, but there were only about 15 people in the theater. In Chicago. We were surprised, to say the least.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the cooking began again today (because I have no classes and am bored) with some homemade pasta (amazing, right?). Actually, it was homemade HERB pasta (even snazzier). I will admit, it took much longer than originally planned due to the rolling (we don't own a pasta machine), but it made enough pasta for both lunch and dinner. And it has parsley in it, so I'm quite proud of it. I will say, though, that this is a much more drawn out process than the cheese, and may not be as worth it, time-wise.</div><div><br /></div><div>So for lunch, I made some linguine-type pasta from our homemade pasta (recipe at the end of the post), sauteed some spinach and onions, added some peas and tomato sauce, and melted in some of the cheese I made two days ago. This recipe really wasn't a recipe, it was more of me looking in the fridge and thinking "hmm, what could I throw in here to make it yummy?". So I won't stick it at the end, largely because I think you all can figure it out.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then tonight (I think, maybe tomorrow) is going to be ravioli, made again from the same pasta I made this morning/afternoon. I left two rectangular pieces large enough to make at least eight ravioli, probably more (we'll see), so that's going to be tonight. I was thinking of a spinach-cheese ravioli, using up what's left of the cheese from the other day (it only lasts a few days, so I need to use it up) and some of the spinach (which also seems to go bad rather quickly). We'll see how that goes, and I'll let you know!</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and I also made MORE cheese today (because I had half an hour to kill while the pasta dough rested and wanted to show Kristin how to do it), but this time I added crushed red pepper, so it's almost a pepperjack sort of cheese! I tasted some before putting it in the fridge, and it is definitely on the spicy side, but very, very good!</div><div><br /></div><div>So here are the recipes for the pasta and caramelized onions and the homemade pasta:</div><div><br /></div><div>Pasta and Caramelized Onions</div><div><br /></div><div>Ingredients:</div><div>pasta (~ 1-1.5 handfuls per person)</div><div>about 1/3 of a sweet (yellow) onion</div><div>extra virgin olive oil</div><div>garlic</div><div>parmesan cheese</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Slice onion into thin slices and put into a covered, medium skillet on medium-low heat. Stir every so often to make sure they don't stick to the pan.</div><div>2. Once the onions begin to turn brown, start the pasta boiling. Remove the cover on the onions and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, but not the onions, and stir the onions fairly continuously.</div><div>3. When the onions are uniformly brown (adding more olive oil if need be, but not overdoing it), drain and add the pasta. Add enough olive oil (if needed) to lightly coat the pasta, then add the garlic and parmesan. </div><div>4. Serve with some parmesan on the side, and enjoy!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Homemade Herb Pasta</div><div><br /></div><div>Ingredients:</div><div>2 cups flour (all-purpose or wheat)</div><div>1 tsp salt</div><div>1 tbsp parsley, basil, or other herb</div><div>3 eggs</div><div>*about 1/4 cup extra water</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Put the flour, salt, and herbs in a pile on the table or counter (or use a cutting board or bowl, but the table is WAY more fun). Mix them thoroughly (Note: you are perfectly allowed to use a food processor, in which case put them in the thing and pulse it a few times).</div><div>2. Make a mound of the dry ingredients (away from the edges of the table, to avoid potential spills) and create an impression (like the crater of a volcano. That's right - make a pasta volcano). Crack the three eggs into the depression (Note: if using a food processor, simply add the eggs to it, rather than getting stuff all over the table).</div><div>3. Beat the eggs while slowly incorporating the flour until it forms a ball (preliminary use of a fork might be helpful, but really, this is a hands-on job). *Add water a little at a time if needed (I think that using a food processor avoids this issue, but the dough seemed very dry to me when I did it by hand - similar to my bread issue from yesterday) If using a processor, just beat the mixture together until it forms a firm ball of dough - you shouldn't need the extra water.</div><div>4. Knead the dough, then let it rest for about half an hour (now you know why I had half an hour to kill).</div><div>5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface and continue rolling until it is roughly 1-2mm thick. Thinner is probably better, but I was having trouble getting it much thinner by hand alone. If you have a pasta roller, use that to get the desired thickness.</div><div>6. Cut the pasta to the desired shape (ravioli works for this, as does linguine. I'm sure others do as well, I just haven't tried them yet). You can let the pasta dry, use it immediately, or store it in the fridge for use in the next few days. I suppose you could also technically freeze it, though I've never felt like doing that.</div>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-26057643910700729772012-01-03T17:21:00.004-05:002012-01-03T18:05:42.152-05:00Homemade Cheese and New Years ResolutionsSo, I've been lax in the blogging, mostly because I don't have time, and also mostly because I didn't have anything interesting to write about. Then again, perhaps what seems boring to me would actually be interesting to those who follow this (or used to follow it)... but I still feel that in the end, it's fairly boring.<div><br /></div><div>Anyway, my apologies for the boring-ness, but I now have a new fun thing to talk about on my blog! (yay!) It being a new year and the time for resolutions, I have decided to make some myself. Generally, they all fall under the category of "live a healthier life", and so far there are only two, but hey, it's a start, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, so resolution number 1: get in shape. I'm not fat, but I'm certainly not in shape either, and I feel that if I could get in shape, I would feel better about myself and the world in general. And being that over the summers I engage in hard manual labor, it would be nice to be in shape for when those jobs come round. I am not a fan of sports, though, or activity, really (well, anything that involves running is a bit tedious to me). In fact, the only sort of physical activity I truly enjoy is contra dancing, but you can't really do that on your own. There are contra dances here in Chicago, and I do hope to go to at least one, but I needed something more practical, but equally disguised as physical activity. And so yoga popped into my brain. Not that yoga isn't physical activity - it is. That's the point. But my brain doesn't recognize it as physical activity (largely because there's no running), and that's what makes it great. So I can get the physical activity I need without it being an odious task like going to the gym or running a mile or three. So I went out today and bought myself a yoga mat (it's very pretty, has a tree on it). We'll see if I can keep it up over the next year (or more).</div><div><br /></div><div>Resolution number 2: eat better. This comes mostly from me being a graduate student with little to no time and eating meals with little to no nutritional value. I'm eating better than I was last year (which is good), but I'm still not doing well on a food scale. SO (and this is the main point of this post) I am going to be cooking recipes from one of my cookbooks (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian) at least three times a week. The goal is to eat healthier while also learning a bunch of new, fun recipes. I will then post about them here, on my blog (because it's interesting, and much of my life isn't so much) and tell you about the wonders I create as well as the things I royally messed up (or burned, destroyed, etc).</div><div><br /></div><div>This first post is to talk about what I have already made (because it's so easy I almost can't believe it worked). For lunch, I made a spinach-grape-pine nut-parmesan salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It took literally two minutes, and much of that was me trying to find not rotten grapes (I am NOT happy with the grocery store here - no fresh grapes, no fresh tomatoes, no fresh spinach, and their ad campaign claims that all their produce is fresh! Ahem!). Anyway, the salad was great, took absolutely zero cooking skill, and is now something I will probably make quite often.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also decided to make bread, but to make extra dough so that when I want to make more, it just has to rise and bake. So I used a simple french bread recipe in my cookbook that worked well (though I think the flour to water ratio was a bit off...).</div><div><br /></div><div>But the crowning glory of my day today (and largely why I'm writing this now) is that I made cheese. That's right, you heard me: cheese! And in roughly an hour! Turns out that all you need is milk, buttermilk, and some salt (two parts milk, one part buttermilk, a pinch of salt) and you get cheese!</div><div><br /></div><div>So here's the recipe, in case you're curious (it's great, and you can flavor it any way you want, and it's probably cheaper. Even if it isn't, who cares? It's fresh and HOMEMADE cheese!).</div><div><br /></div><div>This makes 1 pound of cheese (I halved the recipe when I made it because Iw asn't sure it would work, but I assure you - it does):</div><div><br /></div><div>1 half gallon milk</div><div>1 quart buttermilk</div><div>1 pinch salt (optional)</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Heat the milk on medium-high heat, stirring enough so it doesn't scald.</div><div>2. When it bubbles up the sides (about 10 minutes), add the buttermilk all at once and stir constantly until you get curds and whey. It looks like egg whites floating in a yellowy liquid. Add the salt if you want (I forgot to, and mine came out great anyway).</div><div>3. Remove from heat and add any flavorings you might want (herbs, spices, etc).</div><div>4. Line a colander/strainer with a cheesecloth (or muslin or really, a cotton bandanna worked for me) and pour everything into the cloth. The curds will remain in the cloth while the whey drains out.</div><div>5. Gather the corners of your cloth and start twisting the cloth so that the curds form a ball. Careful, it's hot! Rinse it under cold water if you need to. Keep twisting and squeezing out the water until the ball becomes firm.</div><div>6. Tie the top of the ball tightly with some string, yarn, twine, or whatever. then tie the other end so that the ball is suspended over the sink (you can tie it to the faucet - works fine). Let it cool and set for about an hour (basically until you think you can unwrap the ball without it losing its shape). Then it's ready to serve! It can stay good in the fridge for up to 3 days, and you can freeze it for longer.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I must say, as I sit here and eat a baguette that I made with my homemade cheese - it's definitely a recipe you all should try.</div>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-83008391947883825912011-08-13T20:47:00.000-04:002011-08-14T09:26:52.172-04:00The Brain StoreLast time Kristin and I were in Chicago, we happened upon a wonderful little store called Marbles: The Brain Store. It's a small store near downtown that has many of the quirky, logic puzzle games that are either good for one or multiple people. We looked around the first time, but we wanted to go back to check it out a bit more and possibly buy some things. So today, our plan was to go to a coffee shop nearby called Cosi (which is essentially Panera Bread on steroid - really, this place is BETTER than Panera) so that I could read Darwin and Kristin could apply for jobs using their wifi. We would then go to the Brain Store as a reward for being productive.
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<br />Today was supposed to be ugly weather-wise. Thunderstorms all day, which I love if I'm not outside in them, but we were planning to go downtown, so thunderstorms were not exactly a good thing. When we woke up, though, the sky was perfectly clear, blue with no clouds, sunny as sunny could be. So we decided to go down to Cosi anyway. We had a fairly productive morning - I read Darwin while Kristin applied for jobs, then we went to the Brain Store as planned.
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<br />So the Brain Store. As I said, it has all the fun, brain challenging games you could ever want. Kristin and I were in a sort of Heaven. They have two-player manual tetris, where you flip over cards of the various pieces and have to fit them in as best you can using tetris rules, there's a game where you have blocks in a grid with different shapes on each side and you have to create the drawing on the card before the other player, and another game where you are given certain parameters of the grid and you must fill in the square using those parameters. We also played a game called Quoridor, in which you are basically trying to get your piece to the other side while also building walls so that the other player can't get across. Kristin and I were a bit cut-throat, and ended up boxing each other in, though we suspect we broke the rules somehow. They also had the classic brain games like Rush Hour, Brick By Brick, and Tangrams. We were going to buy something, but nothing really jumped out at us and the games were fairly expensive, so we decided to think about it and probably come back.
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<br />When we left the store at 2:00, we found the thunderstorm. The clouds were as ominous as could be. We made our way to the train station as quickly as possible and got there before it started to rain, but when we got off at our stop, it was pouring. We had no umbrellas or rain coats, and we had laptops in our bags, so we waited it out a bit at the station along with everyone else. We even debated taking a bus down the street so we could avoid the downpour. After a few minutes, though, it started to lighten up and we just started walking, remarking to ourselves that lucky for us, our apartment is perfectly equipped for such rainy days given our priority of TV, Wii, and tea. As we passed Whole Foods, though, we decided we didn't have quite enough tea, since I had only brought Earl Grey from home, so we went in and browsed the tea aisle for about fifteen minutes and came home with four more tea varieties, including chocolate mint truffle, Moroccan mint, a normal green tea, and chai. We got home before it poured again, made tea, and settled down with some DVDs before making dinner. So all in all, it was a productive day, and we were happy we had our priorities straight in getting a TV, tea, and the Wii set up.
<br />Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-62571823620600674512011-08-12T17:29:00.007-04:002011-08-13T10:30:23.498-04:00Lincoln Park ZooSo Kristin and I moved into our new apartment on Wednesday and have been running around trying to set things up the past few days. But now things have slowed down a bit, so I can actually write this. We have very few furnishings, an air mattress (Kristin didn't want one), a TV, the Wii, some dishes, pots and pans, etc. We currently lack chairs or a table simply because those are big and hard to get through a subway. We're thinking of getting them online so we can have them delivered to our door. But we've got about half the apartment squared away, and the rest should happen soon. I'll post pictures once we actually finish.
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<br />Over the past few days, we've also been setting up electricity, internet, cable, and bank accounts while also fixing some issues with credit cards. It's been busy, but not so busy to keep us from having fun. On Wednesday, we met up and realized that both our fathers, being fathers, had given us some money for unexpected expenses. Half of it was used for a taxi to the apartment because it was the easiest thing to do, but we used the other half to go out to dinner at a cool Asian restaurant on Broadway called Pingpong. They had amazing sushi and potstickers, and the entrees were delicious. If you're ever in Chicago, I highly recommend this place.
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<br />Yesterday, we decided to explore a little and went to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is a completely FREE zoo located in the middle of Lincoln Park. The cool thing about Lincoln Park is that it makes you forget that you're in a city. The Zoo is even better at doing so. At first, all the animals were asleep, and we got pretty cute pictures of sleepy animals, but it wasn't terribly exciting. It was also a rather hot day, so many of them were also inside away from visitors, but who could blame them? After a while, though, things picked up, and we enjoyed watching the otters flip around in the fake river and the meerkats wrestling in the sand. The food was good too, though the cafeteria was insanely crowded. All in all, the Zoo was a success, and it was even better for being free.
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<br />Then today, we were out doing errands and needed lunch, so we happened upon a very cute little coffee, tea and sandwich place, also on Broadway. I forget the name, but it was Turkish and had the best atmosphere and food that we've had in a while. Another place definitely worth noticing!
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<br />Not much else going on, but I'll leave you with some photos from the zoo and our two favorite quotes from small children looking at animals.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaW4tRScXrqyuXixX5DGuMR_W4Yh3cWnatWLKueSRVay0RFuh5hGRzvUgU8tgHZv49eoCX90-jOmyE7RsGv75-4ux8OmZNzJoAOxz2u9syrAFJxTOkhsXKLn4uWjf-oKqd9rviqCigkKQy/s1600/DSCN0560.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaW4tRScXrqyuXixX5DGuMR_W4Yh3cWnatWLKueSRVay0RFuh5hGRzvUgU8tgHZv49eoCX90-jOmyE7RsGv75-4ux8OmZNzJoAOxz2u9syrAFJxTOkhsXKLn4uWjf-oKqd9rviqCigkKQy/s320/DSCN0560.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640346521469868210" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUueq8dYmRC5bsaDMEtl5ySsmmeFMkrG4JyLymPiqQ4nAJu8oIaVpjo7Ekgd5w2aUqdXoHKRNlyc9wNK_xlunm7XgwMkf5ExyPV6tt2Q6Cvh1nX0H-8u3PY12qA8njU2w5iFkaR2hPMeaM/s1600/DSCN0537.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUueq8dYmRC5bsaDMEtl5ySsmmeFMkrG4JyLymPiqQ4nAJu8oIaVpjo7Ekgd5w2aUqdXoHKRNlyc9wNK_xlunm7XgwMkf5ExyPV6tt2Q6Cvh1nX0H-8u3PY12qA8njU2w5iFkaR2hPMeaM/s320/DSCN0537.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640346515165107090" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifNIexcrK3A6_58TfwhfGIzf3Q6rFup773Fxb1UHi80Qhyphenhyphent_cSWJvWfff2oBdLhVwoTnGFXpkk5W5qfUmobPfkRUEsk8eOkdfmXbgkyumRdtdJX8Y1Lny9ZTFCmncbOUhMbexiJgB_IvLX/s1600/DSCN0519.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifNIexcrK3A6_58TfwhfGIzf3Q6rFup773Fxb1UHi80Qhyphenhyphent_cSWJvWfff2oBdLhVwoTnGFXpkk5W5qfUmobPfkRUEsk8eOkdfmXbgkyumRdtdJX8Y1Lny9ZTFCmncbOUhMbexiJgB_IvLX/s320/DSCN0519.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640346505937192162" border="0" /></a>
<br />Favorite Quote : Little girl looking at her mother: "Mom, you may think that these are cute, but really they're even cuter to me."
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZXPGelYMamC3of8VLa-FwGlcMeXygCxImcP8nCLouHN82J9TeMKdV-nKlML2L6VmqIu-Q4mnz8_wAS1tvaGqrM9mTL7n2bv6H7tjy3fqL5DCQOZXN1D2NOQQp0l-_Mv5llUmvf_FVufZ/s1600/DSCN0575.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZXPGelYMamC3of8VLa-FwGlcMeXygCxImcP8nCLouHN82J9TeMKdV-nKlML2L6VmqIu-Q4mnz8_wAS1tvaGqrM9mTL7n2bv6H7tjy3fqL5DCQOZXN1D2NOQQp0l-_Mv5llUmvf_FVufZ/s320/DSCN0575.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640346546106624914" border="0" /></a>
<br />Favorite Quote: Little girl to her father: "They don't want to chase the butterflies?"
<br />Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-79429061728102624652011-08-08T22:11:00.005-04:002011-08-08T22:33:35.956-04:00Packed, and Indonesia Stories Part 1So I've gone through all my stuff, I've given a lot of it away, thrown a lot out, recycled what I could, and at the end of it all, I have some stuff in boxes in my fathers garage and the rest has been packed into four boxes and a suitcase that will make their way to Chicago. It's kind of freaky, but there it is.
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<br />On the downside, my bed is now a mess, as is the room I'm currently occupying, so tomorrow will be spent cleaning.
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<br />Part of what I wanted to do here, though, is to post the first chapter of the memoir I'm writing from Indonesia. Sadly, I think most of those pictures have been lost because my computer died in the Philippines and, while I thought I had them backed up, I didn't. But here's one photo that did survive, along with the first chapter from my Indonesian semester in 2008:
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCF6tucGSqbBsX0qnobRUIu6aKU2xn1pevcYE7ps0FFGRgS6Pgsw7cS2qM8K4oSay9p6rZVgRKj7H0u3PEuWU9KnOzTDzXFOhHlMAIljW-hzMrCjp0YjREKyWJAmO6eZFDw_4vfPnfSHS/s1600/javanese+dance.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCF6tucGSqbBsX0qnobRUIu6aKU2xn1pevcYE7ps0FFGRgS6Pgsw7cS2qM8K4oSay9p6rZVgRKj7H0u3PEuWU9KnOzTDzXFOhHlMAIljW-hzMrCjp0YjREKyWJAmO6eZFDw_4vfPnfSHS/s200/javanese+dance.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638676807938348626" /></a>
<br />About two and a half years ago, I lived in a white cement house down the half-paved street from the soccer field in a small suburb just north of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Most people thought I was crazy. They were right.
<br /> That fall I was studying abroad with the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (ACICIS). I was attending Gadjah Mada University and living with a host family in Kentungan, just north of the road that marks the boundary of Yogyakarta. I biked about four kilometers downhill into school every morning, and four kilometers uphill every afternoon in the worst driving situations I have ever seen. I had a building nearly collapse on me and have watched entire trees careening down the street at about 40 miles per hour. I ate things most people wouldn’t and lived to tell the tale. Actually, it wasn’t all that daring, but people still thought I was crazy.
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<br /> Despite my supposed mental state, going to Indonesia was one of the best things I’ve done in my life. It’s cliché, but it’s true. But that’s not the point of this book. I’m not going to tell you how Indonesia changed my life. There are plenty of stories like that out there somewhere, and my story would make a sorry addition to that collection. Instead, I want to show you Indonesia as I have come to know her. She isn’t always pretty, and she’s rarely the garden of Eden, as many have said. I’m writing this to show you the country, not the paradise. Two years ago I lived in Indonesia, and I am proud to call it my home. So here’s my attempt to give you a glimpse of Yogyakarta, Indonesia in the fall of 2008.
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<br /> I got into Bali at about 10:30 at night on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008. I had just traveled for about 30 hours, and I was still another flight away from my final destination. I was tired, sore, and grimy. I had just been in a plane for twelve hours and was wearing the same clothes that I left my house in thirty hours before. I’m not huge on looks, but when you’ve worn the same clothes for thirty hours and you haven’t stood up for the past twelve, it doesn’t feel very nice.
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<br /> But I was here. Indonesia at last. I maneuvered my backpack from under my seat, hoisted my carry-on luggage out of the bin, and followed the train of people making their way off the plane. The humidity hit me like a brick as I exited the aircraft. It wasn’t oppressive humidity, though, more like when you sit outside on a warm summer night and a sudden cool breeze blows by, chilling you so that you’re both hot and cold at the same time. I pulled on a light jacket I had brought with me and made my way to customs. There was no line, since Indonesians didn’t have to go through customs. Or maybe I was just slow. Either way, there were only three people in line, and there were three customs agents on duty. I went up to the middle one, who was a young man in his twenties wearing a blue uniform and looking much more alert than I was.
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<br /> “Hello, Miss, may I please see your passport?” he asked in perfect English. I handed him my documents and he marked them in that secret code that customs agents use. He then asked to see the inside of my bags. They passed the test and he asked me what I was doing in Indonesia. There was still no one in line.
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<br /> “I’m studying at Gadjah Mada University,” I said. It wasn’t the most eloquent of speeches, but I was very groggy.
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<br /> “Oh, UGM! You know, you should think about studying Javanese if you’re going to be there. That’s the language everyone really speaks on Java.”
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<br /> “Really? I’m not even that great at Indonesian, I don’t know that I would be any good at Javanese,” I replied, still groggy.
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<br /> “No, I’m sure you’d do fine! Anyway, think about it, you might like it!” And with that he handed back my passport, gave me a smile, and waved me through. I was too tired to do anything but obey the gesture.
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<br /> I then made my way to the hotel counter to get a room for the night, since my flight to Yogyakarta wasn’t until early the next morning. As I was handing over some bills to pay for the room, I heard an American couple making their way through customs. They were young, possibly in their twenties. The man was somewhat short and rather thin, with disheveled light brown hair. The woman was of average height and fairly muscular, with bleach blond hair tied up in a ponytail that looked a little like she was trying to turn it into dreads. They both carried travel packs.
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<br /> “… traveling around Indonesia for a few weeks. Can you tell us how to say ‘thank you’ in Indonesian?” I heard the man ask. I was surprised. Asking how to say something like ‘thank you’ meant that they didn’t have a phrasebook. It seemed like they were planning to backpack through Indonesia for a few weeks, why wouldn’t they bring a phrasebook?
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<br /> “Thank you is terima kasih,” the agent replied with a smile. She seemed to be wondering the same thing I was, but I may have been imagining it. The couple then asked her where the best place to get a travel guide would be and she gave them the name of a local bookstore. So they didn’t have a phrasebook or a travel guide and they were planning to backpack through the country. I had felt unprepared going to Indonesia, but at least I had brought those few essentials.
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<br /> I gave up trying to understand the situation and went outside to claim a taxi. I needed a bed, and I needed it quickly.
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<br /> “Taxi, Miss?” a man asked, motioning to me from the taxi counter. I approached him and was paired with a taxi driver, who took my luggage and led me to his cab. To be honest, everything was going much easier than I thought it would.
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<br /> I gave the taxi driver the address for the hotel and he started the engine. I tried to see Bali through the darkness, but it was now 11:00 at night and seeing anything in the dark was impossible. After about fifteen minutes, the driver pulled up to the end of a dark alleyway and got out of the taxi. I thought he was checking directions or something, since there was no sign of a hotel, so I stayed in the cab. The driver went around back, opened the trunk, and began removing my luggage. I then realized we must have arrived at our destination, though I wasn’t so sure that our destination was exactly where I had wanted to go.
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<br /> “The hotel is down there,” he said as I got out of the cab, pointing to a solitary light about halfway down the alley. I could see five men gathered in the glow of the light, some of whom were clearly intoxicated.
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<br /> Wait a minute, I was supposed to go where? Before I could process what he had said and long before I could ask any questions, the driver got into his taxi and drove off.
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<br /> I was terrified.
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<br /> Here I was, a single, young, American woman traveling alone in Bali late at night and I had just been instructed to walk down a dark alleyway with several intoxicated men at the end of it. I looked around to see if I might be able to find someone else, perhaps another taxi that could take me to the correct destination. The street was completely deserted.
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<br /> So what could I do? My options were to stay where I was with very little hope of seeing anyone pass by or to walk down that dark alleyway towards the five men under the street light. How had I gotten into this situation, again?
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<br /> It took everything I had to ignore my flight instincts and walk down that alley. Given the alternatives, I didn’t have much choice. I grabbed my suitcase and started walking towards the only humans in sight. What else could I do? They had already seen me, and if I stayed on the street, I wouldn’t find anyone to help me anyway. My only chance lay in those five men. I didn’t like my odds.
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<br /> As I approached, I noticed that all of the men were smoking, and three of them held bottles of some alcohol or another. One appeared to be in his early fifties, with graying hair and a slowness about his movements that led me to believe he had joint pain. Another looked to be in his late thirties, and the rest were in their twenties. All of them, aside from the older man, had black hair and wore t-shirts, shorts, and sandals.
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<br /> As I got closer, the man in his thirties looked at me and said, “Hello, Miss.”
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<br /> The younger men started jeering a bit, then the older man scolded them sharply and they fell silent. He then turned to me.
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<br /> “What are you looking for, Miss?” he asked.
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<br /> “Uh, the AA Hotel… my taxi driver said it was down here…” I managed in broken Indonesian. I showed him the brochure that I had gotten at the airport when I reserved the room.
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<br /> “Ah, yes, you are in the right place,” he said. “The hotel is right here.” He pointed to the source of the light and, sure enough, it was the AA Hotel. The front wall of the building had been cut away, and I could see the reception counter just inside.
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<br /> Just then, one of the younger men asked to take my bags, and proceeded to lead me into the hotel where I could check in.
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<br /> “You check in here, I will bring your bags up,” he said, and then disappeared down the hall. I checked in, paid for the room, and got my key.
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<br /> “If you would follow me, Miss,” the young man said, having returned from delivering my bags. He led me up a flight of stairs and down a hallway to a little room off the main hall.
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<br /> “Here you go. Breakfast is served between 6 and 11, and the airport shuttle leaves every half hour. If you need anything, dial 0 on the phone for the front desk.” And with that he turned around and made his way back downstairs. I unlocked the door and collapsed onto the bed in utter disbelief. I don’t think that my experience would have gone so well, had I been in the States.
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<br /> I don’t remember much of the rest of that night. I know I tried to call my parents, but my phone didn’t work. I also know that I managed to find pajamas and crawl into bed, but I don’t really remember it. Mostly, I remember waking up to the alarm on my watch at about 5 am. My flight was at 8:00. Since the shuttle left on the half-hour, I needed to be on the 6:30 shuttle if I wanted to get to the airport on time. I took a shower, put on fresh clothes, packed my bags, and went downstairs. It felt wonderful.
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<br /> They had just begun serving breakfast when I got to the lobby. I handed in my room key and sat down. A man in his forties was sitting next to me, already eating his breakfast. He was somewhat heavy-set, but not really overweight, and he wore glasses. He had short black hair and brown eyes, and was sipping a cup of coffee as if it were liquid gold. He smiled at me and turned back to his coffee.
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<br /> Breakfast came on a silver tea tray and consisted of two pieces of toast, a cup of tea (which I prefer to coffee), some “citrus jam,” and a small pat of butter. It was easily the best food I had seen in at least two days.
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<br /> “Where are you from?” the man next to me asked. He had finished his coffee and seemed to be feeling more alert than before.
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<br /> “The US,” I said, spreading some of the citrus jam on my toast. “I’m going to Yogyakarta to study at Gajah Mada University.”
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<br /> “Ah, UGM,” he said, still smiling. “That’s the best university in the country. What are you going to study there?”
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<br /> “Indonesian,” I replied. I hadn’t known Gadjah Mada was the best in the country.
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<br /> “But your Indonesian is already very good!” he said in astonishment.
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<br /> “No, not really.” I appreciated the compliment, but my Indonesian was really mediocre at the absolute best. I was just lucky he was asking questions I could answer. We continued chatting as I ate my breakfast.
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<br /> “Are you catching a flight to Yogya this morning?” he asked after a while.
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<br /> “Yes,” I said, “at 8 o’clock.”
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<br /> “You know,” he said, smiling again, “I am also catching a flight at 8 o’clock. I’m going to Jakarta for business. I have a rental car and could give you a ride to the airport if you want.”
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<br /> I wasn’t too keen on getting in the car with a man I met not ten minutes before. A few red flags went off as lessons from elementary school entered my brain.
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<br /> “Oh, you don’t have to,” I said, trying to be polite. “I can just take the hotel shuttle; I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
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<br /> “Actually, Miss,” the receptionist said from the counter, “the shuttle has a flat tire and will be late. We just got a call from the driver. You should go with this man if you want to get there in time for your flight.”
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<br /> Once again, I was in a position that I didn’t really want to be in. But the receptionist was right; if I wanted to make my flight, I had to go with the man who had the car.
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<br /> “Ok,” I said, hoping that I wouldn’t regret my decision.
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<br /> “Great,” the man said. “They’re just bringing the car around now; we can leave in a few minutes.”
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<br /> Sure enough, a bright orange SUV came out from the back of the hotel and parked right where the five men had been loitering the night before. We got up and my newest acquaintance led the way to the car. He opened the front door for me, then put my suitcase in the back and climbed in the driver’s seat. We were off.
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<br /> “This is a rental,” the businessman exclaimed after a few moments of silence. “A rental! Can you imagine? This must be a brand new car, a year old at most, and it’s a rental!”
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<br /> It was a fairly nice car, I had to agree, and since I didn’t really want to give the wrong impression to the man who controlled my fate that morning, I smiled and nodded that yes, it was astonishing.
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<br /> “And such a good color!” he continued. The car was an orangey-red color, a bit like a not quite ripe tomato. It wasn’t exactly my favorite color in the world, especially for a car, but again, not wanting to be disrespectful, I mumbled something in agreement.
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<br /> The businessman was completely satisfied with my answers, it seemed, for he continued to exclaim about his steal of a rental car all the way to the airport.
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<br /> “I’m going to drop you off first,” he said as we turned in the gate. “I want you to be able to get to your flight, and dropping the car off might take some time.”
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<br /> I could do nothing but agree, since the man was already giving me a ride to the airport. We pulled into departures and climbed out. He took my bags out and handed them to me, then said goodbye and drove off to deliver the car. I went into the airport, astonished that everything had gone smoothly for a second time in twelve hours. I checked in and went to my gate to wait for the flight. About ten minutes after sitting down, the businessman rounded a bend in the hallway and came towards me.
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<br /> “Everything go ok?” he asked, still smiling.
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<br /> “Yes, thank you,” I replied. “Everything was really easy. I think my flight leaves in about half an hour.”
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<br /> “Good!” he said. An announcement crackled over the loudspeaker. “Oh, that’s my flight,” said the man. “It’s boarding; I had better go.”
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<br /> “Oh, ok. Thank you again for the ride,” I said.
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<br /> “No worries,” he replied. “Once I realized you were alone, I kept thinking about how I would feel if my daughter were travelling to the other side of the world by herself. I would want someone to help her, and so now I am helping you. It’s part of being human!”
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<br /> Another announcement crackled over the loudspeaker. “I really must be going. Welcome to Indonesia, and safe journey.” He smiled at me, shook my hand, and wished me the best of luck, whether we met up again or not. And with that, he turned around and walked off to find his gate.
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<br />That was the first thing I learned about Indonesia, that there was more to it than meets the eye.
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<br /> It was then that I realized I had forgotten to ask the man’s name.
<br />Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-46439604900811770042011-08-07T12:36:00.004-04:002011-08-07T13:08:40.133-04:00The End of Summer and the Beginning of a New Life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVcYkLLEwL4fw_eNaHFoFmkizpTxXnr8htClBBFw6AClBLSx-PbP6RW_l2X7eb5IrPri2JUsFUeUr4tlZG8yXjwKbY6UgXuVx63cW6u407IcP9f4gKbT5fmhBvuK7ueOqWsVSfLOjGhhE/s1600/DSCN0332.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVcYkLLEwL4fw_eNaHFoFmkizpTxXnr8htClBBFw6AClBLSx-PbP6RW_l2X7eb5IrPri2JUsFUeUr4tlZG8yXjwKbY6UgXuVx63cW6u407IcP9f4gKbT5fmhBvuK7ueOqWsVSfLOjGhhE/s200/DSCN0332.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638162089191415442" /></a><br />So I know it's been a while. I think I have trouble talking about experiences like working abroad while I'm over there working. That is, if i don't have easy access to internet and a computer, then I probably won't write any of it down. so I apologize for the lack of info about where I've been the past few months, and I will warn you that I may never post those stories, simply because they're done, and many of you have heard them already.<br /><br />GYV was wonderful, with wonderful people, wonderful participants, and wonderful food. Everything was great, and I loved it all. I'm not going to go into too much detail here, out of respect for others' privacy, but the summer was definitely a good one.<br /><br />At the moment, though, I'm sitting in Rhode Island thinking about how I'm going to get my stuff out to Chicago when I move out there on Wednesday. I'm flying out and will ship whatever I can't fit, but that's not my main issue. My main issue is that I have so much stuff that I don't need, and I need to figure out what to do with it all.<br /><br />Which leads me to something I've been thinking about since the Philippines. While there, we lived in a small, two-bedroom house with minimal furniture and possessions. They had enough, but not a lot. And yet, everyone was happy. Not that they were happy all the time or that they didn't have troubles of their own, there was plenty of that. But they were content with the stuff that they had, and so were we. So when I came back here and realized exactly how much stuff I have - and I don't have much my American standards - I wondered why I had so much stuff that I didn't need in the first place. The same held true in GYV, living with minimal things and being awed at the amount of stuff I have now that I'm home. And then I was in Chicago wondering how in the world I was going to move all my stuff and realizing that I couldn't and I was sad at the idea. I was upset mostly because I have spent a lot of money on my stuff and much of it is household goods that I hoped to use for years, not just a few months. And this morning I watched the story of stuff (http://www.storyofstuff.com/) and agreeing with everything that was said and being inspired to minimize my possessions. And then I was kicking myself, because I had been fine with using minimal possessions before I got home, and now I'm suddenly upset at the idea of minimizing my possessions.<br /><br />One of the things I'm realizing now, though, is that everything is impermanent, everything changes. In five years time I could move to Timbuktu and have to re-minimize my stuff to move out there. In a year, my apartment could catch fire and everything I own could go up in flames, forcing me to start again (though I desperately hope that doesn't happen). I could be in an accident tomorrow that destroys the use of my legs. Or I might die sooner than I thought. You can never predict the future. So if I bought a nice table last October with the intention of using it for years, I couldn't know that my method for getting it to Chicago would fail. Heck, I didn't even know where I was going at that point. I can't predict the future.<br /><br />And so one thing I've been thinking is to live a minimalist life. I tend to attach sentimental value to things, and since I moved every week as a kid, I associated certain possessions with home rather than a place. I didn't want to throw away old things in case I somehow lost that memory. Yet, when I travel, I am notoriously bad and bringing back souvenirs because I feel that photos and stories are enough. Mostly, I just don't have room in my suitcase. I have never taken that philosophy into my everyday life, though, and I should. So starting now, I'm going to go through all my stuff, decide what I really need, and get rid of the rest. Donate it to people who could really use it. Find some way to get rid of it that doesn't involve just throwing it away, because if I have to get rid of it, I'd rather find a way to do it with the most possible gain.<br /><br />Which begs the question of all of you: How much stuff do you have that you don't need or use? Are there people who do need those things? Could you survive on what you need alone, with a few personal possessions like photo albums or a favorite knickknack? I'm going to try, and I hope you try as well. It doesn't have to be drastic, but maybe take a chance to take stock of what you have, and whether you really need all that stuff. Then watch the story of stuff. That's my challenge to you today.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-62289243363575827052011-05-14T19:17:00.003-04:002011-05-14T19:52:27.748-04:00And the Undergraduate Degree is Done!Well, technically it's been done since Wednesday; but now I'm completely done with all things school until August! So all I have left to do at SLU is pack up my things and walk across that stage.<br /><br />It's weird how time works like that. I remember coming up here for a visit and thinking "Maybe if I'm good enough, I can come here." I remember my dad and I driving home from that visit (I was driving) and my dad turned to me and said, "Well?" I was in a daze thinking about SLU and how cool it would be to come here, so I believe my response was something along the lines of "Huh?" "Well, do you think this might be a good school?" he asked. I think I paused, then glanced quickly at him, smiled, and said "yea... yea, definitely."<br /><br />I also remember getting the acceptance letter, receiving SLU-related gifts from many relatives at Christmas, and moving in on that first day in August. I remember thinking many times over the past four years that senior year couldn't come quickly enough, and I also remember wishing that time would slow down, just for a moment.<br /><br />And now, four years later, I can honestly say that I don't regret anything here at SLU. Sure, there were good times and bad; there were days I wanted to leave this school in the middle of nowhere and go somewhere that had a few more people. But after four years, I don't regret any of it, the good or the bad.<br /><br />Just as a few examples, over the past four years, I have:<br />- played hide-and-seek with a two-year-old Indonesian girl using an old piece of velcro from my backpack<br />- traipsed around in a snowstorm while drawing pictures with an umbrella in freshly fallen hail<br />- Been to Narnia every time it snows<br />- found the best place on earth for french onion soup and a grilled cheese sandwich<br />- written a dictionary of a dying language in the Pacific Islands<br />- butchered a lamb (already dead) with my own hand-made obsidian tools<br />- lived off the grid<br />- eaten haggis<br />- seen deer eating grass on the golf course just as the sun rose<br />- sat on the quad and gazed at the stars<br />- written the best thesis my department has ever seen<br />- built a chicken coop in the middle of a downpour<br />- sent chocolate to my professor through an origami owl named Hedwig that I taped to her door in 2009<br /><br />I have also:<br />- crashed my bicycle into a telephone pole<br />- failed an exam for which I spent hours studying<br />- been stuck on the side of the road, waiting for assistance more times than I would like to count<br />- been stopped by border patrol and questioned as to why I had so much stuff in my car (the semester was over... it wasn't illegal!)<br />- baked some very, very poor bread<br />- spent hours working on a map, a dataset, or an essay only to have the whole thing disappear in all five locations to which it was saved.<br />- killed several computers completely unintentionally (I still don't know why they bit the dust)<br /><br />And I don't regret any of it. You know, a lot of my life I have concentrated on the things that didn't work out so well, the things I wish I could change about life or the things I wish hadn't happened at all. But, looking at these four years, I'm glad that I failed that exam, and I'm glad I failed in my baking of bread. I'm glad that my data disappeared (though I would appreciate it if it kept that to a minimum), because throughout it all, I've learned something. I've learned why I failed that exam and went on to be one of the best in that class. My professor doesn't even remember me failing that exam and still looks at me in disbelief when I tell him. I have learned why my bread failed, though I still haven't made perfect bread. But I will. And that's the beauty of it. I wouldn't have written a darn good thesis if I hadn't had my datasets crash on me once in a while. that was part of the experience, and made me realize exactly how much I cared about my research. It's like crashing your bike. You look like an idiot, and you feel like an idiot, but you have two choices: you can sit there and feel like an idiot or you can laugh at yourself, examine the grass stains on your jeans, fix the chain on the bike and continue riding. And while you may have liked to get to your destination without skinning your knee, you realize that it made the journey more interesting.<br /><br />Let's face it, if life were only full of good things, then how would we learn? Isn't that the whole point of education? It's one big game of trial and error until you get it right, but often you get it right because of something you learned <span style="font-weight:bold;">not</span> to do, something that <span style="font-weight:bold;">didn't</span> work.<br /><br />So in the end, it has been a very interesting four years. There have been ups and downs, and many times it's felt like more downs than ups. But none of it was a mistake, and all of it is worth remembering.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-82550643727067237252011-04-18T16:32:00.002-04:002011-04-18T16:53:03.783-04:00Honors Thesis is DONE!!!!!Hello All,<br /><br />I thought I would just write mostly because I haven't written in a while, but also because I turned in my thesis last week and just defended it this afternoon. After working on it for forever and a day, I have been granted Honors by the anthropology department!<br /><br />YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!<br /><br />Sorry, thought I'd get that out of my system. So the thesis, the monster of a thesis is done. It was 97 pages in the end, 57 cited sources, hundreds of consulted sources, 7 tables, 23 figures, 5 maps, and a LOT of time and energy, but it's done.<br /><br />And I must say, even I am impressed with myself. Now that I've done this, I'm pretty ok with the idea of getting my PhD. Granted, a dissertation is nothing like an undergraduate thesis, but it certainly seems doable now. Most thesis are 3-4 times this size, but I think if I really wanted, I could have turned this into a dissertation. It would have taken longer, but I think I could have done it.<br /><br />So now I'm sitting here with my thesis done, the conference is over, and I really have about three assignments standing between me and the end of the semester. I must say, after writing a 100-page thesis, I'm not worried about those other assignments. This calls for a celebration. I'm not sure what kind of celebration, but it calls for a celebration. Maybe I'll take myself out to dinner, i don't know. Either way, the thesis is done, and I am incredibly proud of myself.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-78648882138231608802011-03-18T20:38:00.002-04:002011-03-18T20:50:30.743-04:00Grad School and Southeast AsiaI've finally decided on a grad school! This fall I will be a graduate anthropology student at the University of Illinois at Chicago!<br /><br />You know, I must say that this is all a HUGE relief, knowing where I'm going to be for the next however many years of my life. Far better than not knowing, I can assure you. And now I'm just really excited for summer digs and fall classes and life away from Canton and St. Lawrence. Not that SLU is bad or anything, but I feel like I've already graduated in my head and I just want to move on with my academic career.<br /><br />So I'm going to UIC. Now I just need to figure out the logistics of living in Chicago and finding a place to stay and sorting all that out. That's going to be interesting being that I won't be here much of the summer...<br /><br />Speaking of Southeast Asia, I think I'm going to have about a week between the end of the dig in the Philippines and the beginning of the dig in Cambodia. At first, I thought I would just fly to Cambodia and stay in Siem Reap for a week, but I just bought the first ever Lonely Planet Guide "Southeast Asia on a Shoestring" (mostly because the bookstore didn't have a guide for the Philippines and I needed one for both the Philippines and Cambodia and because Southeast Asia on a budget was probably a good thing to have). They recently updated the guide to apply to the 21st century and I just spent several hours figuring out that I could travel from the Philippines to Laos, then take buses and trains through Sukothai and Ayuthaya in Thailand, and then cross the border into Cambodia and get to Siem Reap before the Cambodia dig starts. So I could actually hit about four countries this summer and see some really amazing sites before returning to the US in August. No guarantees, I only thought of it this morning, but I can definitely afford it and people backpack through these areas quite a bit. They're all pretty common places for tourists to go, so I don't think there would be much of an issue... It's certainly an interesting thought, and I'm going to keep thinking about it...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-51918237397961932842011-03-13T09:36:00.004-04:002011-03-13T09:45:47.473-04:00Chicago-bound!It's Spring Break! And I must say this is probably the happiest I have ever been for Spring Break. This semester has been rather intense (perfectly doable, but intense) and I'm very happy to finally have a break.<br /><br />The other fun and exciting thing about this break (other than its existence) is that I'm going to be visiting the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Wisconsin at Madison! I'm going to be meeting with a bunch of students, professors, and researchers at both universities to try to see what the programs are like and trying to see if I can finally make a decision as to where to go in the fall.<br /><br />So I'm sitting in the airport in Syracuse waiting for my flight to Chicago! I don't have much other news than that, but hey, this is pretty cool in my opinion. I'll be in Chicago from today until Thursday with a day trip to Madison on Tuesday! I'm sure I'll have more to talk about over the next few days... til then, then! :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-11896214603487630422011-03-05T09:07:00.002-05:002011-03-05T09:47:54.852-05:00Abraham Lincoln and Trash Collectors...I know it's been a while since I last posted, but there hasn't been a whole lot going on. Well, actually, maybe there has now that I think about it; I just haven't had time to write it all down until now.<br /><br />First things first, an update on academic stuff. I've been elected into Phi Beta Kappa, which I think is really, really great! I also received a fellowship from both UIC and UW-Madison and my potential advisor from UIC wants to bring me to the Philippines this summer for free! (Well, not for free, I'd be doing archaeology the whole time, which is backbreaking work, but I love it so it's no big deal!) So I think I'll be able to go to both the Philippines AND Cambodia this summer and end up with a heck of a lot of experience by the time I get back (Not to mention some really great stories and photos)! I'm visiting both universities next week during Spring Break, and once that's done I'll make my decision and let you all know where I'm going to end up next year.<br /><br />So that was the academic update, and now here's the bit about Abraham Lincoln. See, I've been trying to talk about interesting letters and things from the Historical Association, but lately I've just been going through town records and muster rolls, which are interesting, but not interesting enough to write about on here. But last night, the SLCHA did a reading of Lincoln's first inaugural address, and I must say that was certainly interesting enough to write about. First, I was surprised as the amount of things Lincoln said in there that we don't necessarily attribute to him. For example, he said that he was not in favor of eliminating slavery, as that would be unconstitutional. He says "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." We always think about Lincoln being anti-slavery, but this statement is very non-anti-slavery. It's not pro-slavery, to be sure, but it isn't staunchly anti-slavery either.<br /><br />What struck me most about his address was the constant feeling of trying to keep the Union together. The largest theme of the speech wasn't slavery or states rights, it was maintaining the unity of the nation. And I think that is completely understandable for what was going on in the country at the time. Seven states had already seceded from the union before Lincoln gave his address on March 4, 1861. Lincoln's biggest problem wasn't freeing the slaves, it was keeping the country in one piece. He probably felt that slavery was morally wrong, but he had larger things to worry about in that first inaugural address, namely war.<br /><br />Another thing that struck me was his use of logic to argue in favor of the union. He says that it is illogical to think that the union would fail so long as every party of the union continued to play its role. "It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself...If the United States be not a government proper, but an association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, as a contract, be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it? One party to a contract may violate it—break it, so to speak—but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it?...It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void, and that acts of violence within any State or States against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances." He has a lot more in there, and you should all read it, but that is one of the most sound arguments I have seen for continuing the union of the United States.<br /><br />It also struck me that Lincoln's words still resonate so much today. I could go into detail here, but that could be a thesis in and of itself, so I'll refrain. I do highly recommend that you all read this speech, even if you've read it already, because I believe it to be one of the best speeches I have ever heard. Here's a link to it, so you don't even have to search for it: http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html. I'll leave you to ponder the rest...<br /><br />I realize that the title of this post might be a bit odd, Abraham Lincoln and trash collectors, but I want to leave Lincoln here for now and continue on to explain the trash collectors portion. You see, when I was cleaning out my car this morning, a group of children (two girls, about six and seven, and a boy, about eight) were walking down the street. The boy and the elder girl were carrying bags with them, and they were chatting about something that I don't quite remember. I had just finished cleaning out my car when they got to the end of my driveway and the elder girl said "wait, stop, there's a car." My car wasn't even on yet, so I told them they could go ahead; they smiled, and crossed the driveway. As I got into my car wondering what they were doing with their bags, the youngest girls said "I found a piece!" She bent down, picked up a piece of plastic wrap that was lying on the sidewalk, and put it into the other girl's bag. As I pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street, I saw them picking up pieces of candy that had fallen on the sidewalk outside the frat house next door.<br /><br />I must say that I found this to be absolutely adorable, yet also quite pathetic. Not the kids, the kids were just adorable and they're my personal heroes for at least this weekend, but the fact that children are picking up the trash that adults throw on the side of the road is, in a word, pathetic. Pathetic on our part, because yes, I am now a part of the cohort of adults in this world, however young an adult I might be. You know, it's a bit disheartening to think of it that way: that the children of this world are often seen as doing amazing things and reminding adults when to behave and as a kid, you're quite proud of yourself for being among the world's children who do all these great things. But then you grow up and become an adult, and while I certainly don't throw trash on the side of the road, I'm a bit ashamed to now belong to the segment of society that does. And lets face it, needing children to remind us about good behavior is pathetic.<br /><br />But talking about how pathetic it is without actually doing anything gets us nowhere, so I propose a challenge. I realize that half of you probably won't do this, but you can't say I didn't try. I challenge everyone who reads this to try to find some way to make this world better for the children in it. Go to a local elementary school and clean the trash off of their playground. Donate used books to the local library. Say please and thank you to people you encounter, and smile when someone says hello. Be honest. Take any of these ideas, however many you want, and maintain them for the month of March. Because children shouldn't have to be our role models, we should be theirs. So go and be the person you were when you were a child.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-9182119133020810992011-02-11T17:23:00.004-05:002011-02-11T18:39:58.481-05:00A Soldier's LetterIt's Friday again, and so I find myself typing up the contents of the Civil War collection at the historical association. I came across one of my absolute favorite files in the collection and wanted to share it with you all (whoever you may be). This is the file of Robert B. Nicol, who enlisted in March 1862 at New York, Company I. He was appointed corporal (date not given) and later wounded and discharged for disability in July of 1864. Well, the wound isn't terribly happy, but he didn't die from it; he lived to the age of 82!<br /><br />The main reason that this is my absolute favorite file is that Robert enjoyed composing songs, and in this file, we happen to have a copy of a letter that we wrote to his uncle composed <span style="font-weight:bold;">entirely in verse!</span> Can you believe it? Neither can I, but it's pretty fantastic.<br /><br />So rather than be going on and on about how much I love this letter, I'd rather just type it up for you so that you can get the full experience of Robert B. Nicol:<br /><br />"Dear Uncle,<br /><br />As writing materials often are scarce,<br />I purpose to write you a letter in verse;<br />To condense my ideas, save paper and time,<br />Is my object for writing this letter in rhyme.<br />Of course you will know it is one of my pranks!<br />It will take but a minute to fill in the blanks. <br />[Note that this letter is typed, and some blanks left for his uncle to fill in. I've italicized the blanks.]<br /><br />I received your kind letter just <span style="font-style:italic;">one year</span> ago,<br />Which found me a member of "Uncle Sam's Show;"<br />And for <span style="font-style:italic;">two years</span> or better, expect to remain,<br />Unless, like full many, I chance to be slain;<br />Should this be my fate, the last boon I crave<br />Is to mark on my tombstone, "A Patriot's Grave!"<br /><br />In the hist'ry of wars, as we carefully scan,<br />Since the first was waged by man against man,<br />In all the fierce conflicts no records remain<br />Which can be compared to the present campaign.<br />The war has been general! on both land and sea,<br />And many have fallen for "Liberty's Tree!"<br />It would fill many volumes to pass in review<br />What our various armies this year have gone through.<br />Though my space is not large, yet 'twill not be amiss<br />To give a slight sketch on a small sheet like this.<br /><br />The Potomac's great army has nobly withstood<br />The wiles of the traitors, and written in blood<br />The route it has taken o'er mountain and plain,<br />Through forests and rivers, in hot sun and rain;<br />And now like a giant, aware of his power,<br />Aims a death-blow at Secessions "left bower!"<br /><br />In the siege of Atlanta, and Charleston, too,<br />What subjects for History's pages we view!<br />Generations to come will exult in the name<br />Which their fore-fathers carved in the records of fame.<br /><br />At the Gulf, on the flank of Secession's domain,<br />From the shores of "Red River" our brave comrades slain<br />Are calling for vengeance; Ah! traitors shall feel<br />A full share of this in the siege of Mobile.<br />The reb who surrender'd the stronghold, Fort Gaines,<br />We aver, was possessed for less valor than brains!<br /><br />Our heroes at sea have had plenty to do:<br />The ports to blockade, and pirates subdue;<br />Let the famed Tallahassee beware of the day<br />When our "Yankee Tars" meet her in battle array!<br />I am sure they have not forgotten so soon<br />The victory we gained on the 19th of June.<br /><br />Thus we see every part of our army so grand,<br />In the "War for the Union," on sea and on land,<br />Are working in concert, our cause to maintain,<br />To crush the rebellion, and end the campaign.<br /><br />I have the honor to be your <span style="font-style:italic;">affectionate nephew,</span><br />Signed, Robert B. Nicol"Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-16263908772666042282011-02-05T13:53:00.004-05:002011-02-05T14:58:02.160-05:00The Allen LettersSo classes have started off pretty well and everything is going relatively according to plan. Actually, to be honest, I didn't have much of a plan to begin with, so I'm quite content with the world at the moment. I'm also currently baking rolls, which are making my apartment smell divine, so that has probably added to my contentment.<br /><br />But I've also decided that this semester I am going to take at least 24 hours off each week. So from Friday night to Saturday afternoon, I make sure to plan absolutely nothing class-related so I can do whatever I feel like doing. Today is the first attempt, and I must say I am quite happy with it. I mean really, who can complain with watching a great movie, sleeping in, getting food, baking rolls, and just doing nothing for a span of 24 hours?<br /><br />So yea, hopefully this 24 hour span of not doing anything will help me stay less stressed this semester. After all, I've been accepted to all the grad schools I applied to (yay!) and I was told yesterday that the draft of my thesis was better than some of the final versions that the department had printed. That's pretty cool. And on top of that, I'm going to be going to Angkor Wat this summer. I mean really, why should I stress out about my last semester with all these good things happening?<br /><br />The rest of February (all four days so far) has been rather snowy. We now have over two feet on the ground, I would say, and we get more snow showers every other day. Wednesday was the worst, though; I think we got about 10 inches overnight and another 3-6 over the course of the day. But the funny thing about this is that this is the first real Canton winter that we've had since my freshman year. The past two have been unseasonably warm and all the underclassmen keep talking about how Canton winters aren't that bad. Then they hit this year, with the -42 degree days followed by 15 inch snowfalls and now they're beginning to rethink the whole not-so-bad thing. I, for one, am a bit happy that winter up here has returned to normal, because I personally like the snow (so long as no buildings collapse).<br /><br />I also just spent about 3.5 hours at the historic society yesterday. I'm reorganizing their Civil War collection for the 150th anniversary celebrations that will be held this year through 2015. The collection hadn't really been organized in years and the last person to organize it did it in a very odd manner, so it was in need to fixing. Anyway, I'm in the process of writing a finding aid, which is a document that will help people locate the documents we have in the archives. In writing it, I'm giving some background on each soldier that's given in the adjutant general reports: where and when they enlisted, if they were wounded, if they were discharged or killed or mustered out with their company and when, stuff like that. It's kind of bittersweet, because half the time I end up reading a letter from a soldier to his wife or his father or his uncle or something and he always talks about seeing his loved ones again, but then I check his information and realize he was killed in action or died of typhoid or some other unfortunate circumstance. The worst was a high ranking officer (I forget how high) from the 16th NY Infantry Regiment who wrote to his wife telling her that he couldn't wait to see her again. A month later, the officer was shot in the head. He lived, but he lost both of his eyes and was discharged shortly after. So even though he lived, he never actually <span style="font-style:italic;">saw</span> his wife again.<br /><br />So one thing I was thinking of doing was telling you all a little about these documents, because after reading them for months, I feel a little attached to the soldiers and it makes the war so much more... real than it was before.<br /><br />Yesterday, I didn't intend to spend 3.5 hours at the historic society. I got there at 4 and planned to get through typing up the info for one box (which was the 106th NY Infantry box) and maybe start on the next one (the 142nd NY Infantry box). But I finished the 106th by 5:30 and looked at the 142nd box and realized there were only about ten documents. I could finish the box before 6:30 and be done with two boxes instead of just one. It seemed like a good plan.<br /><br />Each box has some general documents in the front pertaining to the entire regiment, such as reunion photos, muster rolls, and other such documents. Those are easy enough to type up, especially since there's no soldier-specific information to include. The first folder I got to said "Allen Letters", and I figured they were letters to a soldier whose last name was Allen. I looked at the letters to try to figure out his first name and realized that the folder contained 86 letters all written to and Stewart Allen by various people and vice versa. Generally, we file letters under the person who wrote them, but if a soldier receives letters from someone, then we generally file it with the soldier. Basically, we try to keep things filed with soldiers as opposed to people not serving in the war because the boxes are organized by regiment.<br /><br />The problem here was that Stewart Allen never served in the war. He stayed home to watch the farm while his father, cousin, and various friends served in various regiments. What's interesting is that Stewart was connected to six different soldiers in three different regiments. His father (Robert Allen) and cousin (William Allen) served in the 142nd, his friends Francis Dana, Theodore F.H. Dana, and William Wright served in the 106th, and his friend George Elderkin served in the 60th, all of which were among the most prominent regiments in the state. All of them enlisted in the summer of 1862.<br /><br />Most of the letters to and from Stewart tell of farming practices, prices for wheat or potatoes, and the loneliness of the war. I get the feeling from Stewart's letters that he wants to go join the soldiers and can't for one reason or another. I also get the feeling from most of the others' letters that they don't really want to be fighting anymore. All except Francis Dana, who has a few letters complaining that he hasn't seen action for weeks.<br /><br />Of the six soldiers connected to Stewart, only one made it out of the war with no injuries. Stewart's father, Robert, enlisted in 1862 and was mustered out with his company in 1865. William Wright enlisted in 1862 and deserted in November of that year. George Elderkin was discharged for disability in 1863. Theodore F.H. Dana deserted at the end of his furlough in 1864. Francis Dana was wounded in July of 1864 and was mustered out from the hospital in 1865, though not with his company. Stewart's cousin, William, was killed in action on January 15th, 1865 at Fort Fisher, North Carolina. We only have one letter dating to after his death, and it's from Robert, who served in the same company and shared tents with his nephew. The letter speaks of sorrow, loneliness, and a strong desire to come home.<br /><br />When you read about these things in textbooks and such, it's played off as a deadly war that happened a long time ago. But 150 years isn't that long ago. In reality, it's about four or five generations away. And it wasn't just a bloody war, it was a war that took lives. Sometimes I feel that we don't pay enough attention to that in the classroom or the media or whatever. We don't remember the actual people who fought and the sacrifices they made. William died only six months before his unit was mustered out. He served for two and a half years. He was so close to seeing the war come to an end, and he didn't. Two of the soldiers deserted, either for fear or the harsh conditions or the plain fact that they didn't want to fight anymore. Two of the soldiers were injured and probably suffered complications from it the rest of their lives. <br /><br />Why don't they tell us that in the history books? There's something about reading their letters, reading their concerns about weather and wheat sales and taking over a mill to grind flour for the company that makes them far more personal than anything else I've come across. Even just standing at a memorial of cemetery for the deceased doesn't do it quite like this because you still don't know much about the people themselves. With this, you read their daily concerns, smile at the things they write (for much of it is quite funny), and then you realize that they were killed a month after writing that letter. I think it's something we've taken out of history lessens for fear of scaring students, but I think it's worth it a bit. Perhaps if we had a stronger connection to the wars in our past, we wouldn't be so quick to create them in our present. And if we had a stronger connection to the wars in our present, then we would hopefully think long and hard before starting them in the future.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-27557982643344207652011-01-26T16:40:00.004-05:002011-01-29T10:49:18.364-05:00SAA's, grad school, and class!So today I did a lot of note-taking, and so it wasn't a terribly interesting day until the afternoon, but this afternoon I met with Dr. A to plan the SAA trip! Actually, it started out with us planning the database we're going to use and then talking about beads for a while (there are these beads that we have no idea how they were manufactured, and we've never come across any description anywhere about them). That got us talking about the SAAs, and we've now purchased plane tickets for California! Oh, the SAAs is the Annual Meeting for the Society of American Archaeology. Dr. A and I are presenting a paper about her data from India, and we have to get it all sorted out before we can write the paper. The fact that I'm even going it amazing, but the development that happened today is that we bought tickets!<br /><br />On the class side of things, I've decided to drop the class I was talking about and do the SAA stuff as an independent study. It's just going to be way too difficult to do that much work and it's much easier to just get credit for the SAA stuff than to do a whole other class. The nice thing about that is that it means I don't have three classes in a row anymore, so hopefully tomorrow will be a lot less insane than yesterday.<br /><br />And as for grad school, I was accepted by the University of Washington! I still haven't heard from Wisconsin, which I find odd, but January isn't over yet. But I got accepted! So everything is very happy!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-29576466942505895962011-01-25T20:41:00.002-05:002011-01-25T21:08:16.464-05:00Classes, archaeology, and other stuff...So today was the second day of classes, which was really my first day of classes since all of my classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I started the morning by realizing that the weather had gotten about 30 degrees warmer (it was 10 out this morning and I loved it!) and subsequently walked to campus. Since I live off-campus, security forces me to park in the two farthest lots from anything except athletics and the arts building. As a result, I end up freezing most mornings or evenings when walking to or from my car. Seriously, when I got home on Sunday night my hands were turning purplish blue. So I thought about it for a while (after security refused to let me park closer) and realized that one reason I freeze is because it takes so long to walk to my car, clear it off, warm it up, and drive home (or clear if off, warm it up, drive to campus and then walk to my building). I also realized that in the time it takes me to clear off my car, etc., I could simply walk to campus. I would be more active and therefore warmer on my walk in and could stop places like the library on the way in to pick up books. And it would count as actual exercise, since I live a good 15-20 minute walk away (and it's uphill). Granted, it's not a full work-out, but it's better than nothing, right?<br /><br />So anyway, I walked up to campus this morning because it was so warm (10 degrees, it was wonderful). My first class was at 10:10, Views of Human Nature, which is the senior capstone course. I think I'm the only senior who was actually looking forward to it, but I guess that just means that I've definitely found the right field. It was a good opening class, Dr. P described the course, then gave us a few life lessons that we didn't know we needed, but were valuable nonetheless. Basically what not to do when being interviewed for a job. All in all, it was a good class and I'm still looking forward to it.<br /><br />I then went to meet with Dr. P and ended up meeting with Dr. A, then we had a joint meeting with Dr. P and the three of us went to lunch. I'm sure that sounds really confusing, but it's how it goes in this department. We spent lunch discussing the advantages of the Kindle, and then I dashed off to my second class, Religion and Visual Culture. It was pretty good, but I was fading by the end (not sure why, but it lasted all afternoon). I then went to the third class of the day, Buddhist Art and Ritual, and listened to stories of my professor getting disqualified from learning to meditate in a Thai monastery because she was too interested in the paintings on the wall.<br /><br />And then I went back to Piskor and felt like taking a nap. Actually, I had felt like taking a nap since about 1:45, and it was about 3:45 then. I have no idea why I was so tired, but I walked home anyway because it seemed a good idea.<br /><br />The only guess I have regarding the exhaustion is that three classes in one day with no real break in between is too much. I'm sure other people can do it, and do it easily, but for me, I don't think three classes in a row works. And on top of all that I still have my thesis and I have to work on the dictionary for Dr. P and Dr. A and I are writing a paper that we haven't really even started compiling the data for yet. Well, we have the data, but it's in notebooks and formatted differently depending on the year, so we have to input it all into a database. I am also still working at the historical association on their Civil War collection, so it's just a lot of work to do.<br /><br />So I think what I might do is try to see if I can take an independent study with Dr. A that would essentially be us doing the work for the paper that we're presenting at a conference in April. Since I'm going to be doing that work anyway (as is she), we're not adding anything to our workload, just giving me academic credit for it. That would allow me to drop one of my classes in my marathon and would give me a reasonable workload for the semester instead of the insane monstrosity that I met today.<br /><br />What's really cool, though, is that I got a preliminary program for the conference we're going to and my name is actually listed in the program as a presenter for this conference. I know that sounds really geeky, and in ten years I won't be all that excited about it, but really, this is pretty cool.<br /><br />Also, I have just been offered the chance to go work at Angkor Wat this summer! It would be during the month of July, for about 4-6 weeks, depending on when I can commit, and quite frankly I'm going to try to commit for the whole time.<br /><br />That's about it... I got the actual acceptance letter from Hawaii today, but still haven't heard from Wisconsin or Washington... and after that not much has been going on.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-71117469111477529792011-01-20T19:30:00.003-05:002011-01-21T17:44:12.284-05:00Grad school, end of break, and other things...I have been accepted to grad school!!!! Anyone who actually reads this would know that already, but I wanted to put it here anyway. I was accepted into the graduate program at the University of Hawaii, which is currently my second choice school. I also heard from the University of Illinois at Chicago and was accepted by the department there. Illinois also offered me a very nice funding package and so now I don't know where to go. I'm basically waiting for other results and will decide once I've gotten all the information from all the universities.<br /><br />Classes start Monday, which will be nice since it means that people will be back in Canton. I actually don't have class on Monday, but it'll still feel like the semester has started, which will be good. I'm looking forward to actually being able to celebrate my grad school acceptance with my professors and ask them for advice and such.<br /><br />I'm also looking into field schools for next summer, or any fieldwork opportunity for that matter, and have possibly found one in Virginia that's good quality and relatively cheap. I also found one in Poland that's roughly the same, but a little more expensive. I'm also thinking of going back to Scotland to do stuff with SERF, but I haven't seen anything for them yet. I'm also trying to see if I can find anything cheap in Southeast Asia, but I don't think that will happen.<br /><br />Not a whole lot else going on, though I'm thinking of getting my draft of the books I was writing about Indonesia out again and working on that some more. It might be cool to have another book out there, and hopefully better written than the others. You know, I don't do the books for money or anything, or so that I can go brag to people about having written a book. You probably aren't thinking that, but just in case you are, I want to explain myself. I like the idea of having books of my travels that are printed so that my stories are recorded. And I like recording my stories so that one day I can pass them on to my children and possible grandchildren. I remember going to my grandmother's house and taking out these huge photo album scrapbooks that she had compiled of her travels around the world, and I remember looking through them both on my own and with her. I also remember sitting on her lap and listening to stories of cormorants fishing on the Yangtze or having a picnic in the middle of the desert. I loved listening to her stories, and while I'm awful at maintaining scrapbooks, I'm pretty good about writing things down. I also have a tendency to forget my camera or I fail to take pictures or something, so writing is the best way to convey the images. So the reason I write those books is to have something I can pass on, like my grandmother's scrapbooks.<br /><br />Part of me wonders if I should make those sorts of books for shorter trips I've taken, like the field school I did in Scotland or the trips I've taken to Morocco or France or Spain. Actually, to be honest, those went so fast that I don't know I could write a book about them. But then again, maybe if I sat down and tried it, I'd find the memories come a lot easier. We'll see about that, but first I'm going to see to the Indonesia book, because I really do want some version of that printed...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-87895684673062616022011-01-04T07:21:00.002-05:002011-01-04T07:35:08.492-05:00It's 2011!Ok, so I know that I haven't been posting since August and that I was going to keep everyone updated on my travels in Scotland, but the internet was limited and poor in Scotland and so updating the blog wasn't really an option. Well, I suppose it was, but I chose to spend time with friends instead of write this blog because I only had three weeks with them and that seemed more important. Anyway, I'll upload a photo or two when I have time and can give the journal entries from when I was there. You'll still get the whole story, don't worry!<br /><br />Anyway, last semester went well, though it was very busy, so I still had no time to update this thing. I was taking four classes, one of which was my honors thesis, applying to grad schools, volunteering at the historical society, and working for the department. The yarn store has sort of gone out of existence, so I no longer work there, but I have plenty to do with everything else, so I don't really mind. We got grades yesterday for this past semester and I managed to get straight 4.0's again, which I'm quite pleased with.<br /><br />Christmas went well with very good visits to family and friends, and the New Year was quiet, but very pleasant. I'm now in Canton again and am going to work on the dictionary for the next few weeks before the semester starts so that I can have it in a pretty good place by the time I get back. I've also been purchasing books for next semester and plan to read through some of them before classes start. I'm taking Views of Human Nature, the senior capstone anthro course that everyone dreads because it's the highest level course and taught by Dr. P. I'm actually looking forward to it, though, because while I'm well aware that she'll kick my butt if she thinks it necessary, I enjoyed her linguistics class and look forward to having a similar experience with this one. I'm also taking Buddhist Art and Ritual, an art history course, which I think will be interesting and potentially useful in the future. That one may also kick my butt, though. I'm also finishing up my senior honors and taking Religion and Visual Culture, a religious studies course that also seems interesting and potentially useful in the future. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the courses.<br /><br />So that's really all that's going on, not a whole lot, really. I may write updates now and again over the next few weeks, particularly if I hear from grad schools, but life is pretty slow, so I expect very little to happen.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-64377347215429743122010-08-01T15:30:00.002-04:002010-08-01T15:38:31.572-04:00Sitting in Philly...Just an update, I'm sitting in the Philadelphia airport, killing time before getting a flight straight to Glasgow at 6:45. I emailed the program, who said that they probably wouldn't leave the university until 9:30 or 10 anyway and if I still missed them, there are two students going at 11 once they finish an exam. So I'm fine, I'll get there eventually, and for now I'm just trying to stay awake until my flight goes. On the plus side, I can check "eat a Philly cheese steak in Philadelphia" off of my list of things to do before I die.<br /><br />So all in all, this could have gone much worse and everything will work out, just not exactly according to plan. But since when has anything ever gone exactly according to plan? :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-64553138156667906362010-07-31T23:50:00.002-04:002010-07-31T23:52:48.128-04:00Didn't Make the ConnectionWell, I got the the gate at 9:50, the plane was scheduled to leave at 9:55, but had left the gate at 9:45. That's right, I was five minutes late for my connecting flight. I'm now staying at a Ramada in Philly and have until 6 something tomorrow evening before catching a nonstop flight to Glasgow. It will arrive there at 7 am. I need to be at the university and ready to go at 9 am. I'm hoping that I can get through customs and over to the university quickly enough to make it by 9, but I'm not quite sure at this point...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492330797697965609.post-18825964788437519392010-07-31T19:32:00.002-04:002010-07-31T19:40:50.551-04:00On My Way... I think?So I'm currently sitting in the Syracuse airport, waiting for my flight to Philadelphia which will eventually connect to London and on to Glasgow. Oh, I'm going to Glasgow because I'm taking part in an archaeological field school for about three weeks before the semester starts. I need to get there by 9 am on Monday morning.<br /><br />The problem is that our flight from Syracuse should have left at 6:35. It's now 7:40 and the flight just left from Philadelphia and will get here at about 8:15. That means that we won't leave Syracuse until 8:30 or so. We would get in to Philadelphia at about 9:30. My flight to London leaves (form the other end of the airport) at 9:55.<br /><br />So there are about five of us who are sitting in the Syracuse airport hoping desperately for our flight to get here soon, because otherwise we aren't making that flight to London.<br /><br />I do have options, I think, should this fail (since US Airways is fully responsible for getting me to Glasgow as quickly as they can), but I may end up getting to Glasgow at 7 am on the 2nd, getting to the building I need to leave from, and departing from Glasgow at 9 am to go to up to the site. I'm supposed to bring a lunch that day. I'm not sure it's possible for me to bring a lunch... I'm not actually entirely sure it's possible for me to get to Glasgow by 9 am on Monday.<br /><br />But, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Currently, I'm waiting and hoping we get there in time. Not exactly the way I was hoping to start my trip, but oh well.<br /><br />I'll let you all know any details once I know them and have a chance to relay them.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15760821584300426038noreply@blogger.com0