End of Term

So, it's been a while, I know. But it's the end of term. Technically term ended Friday, but I handed in my one essay on Wednesday and have pretty much not accomplished anything else.

The 27th I had Thanksgiving with some of my friends. It was really fun. We went around the table and said one thing we were thankful for... it was funny to watch people who've never had to do it try to come up with something. One of my friends made the chicken (I know) and the desserts, another made mashed potatoes, another stuffing, and the rest of us contributed in some other way. If I had to miss Thanksgiving at home, that was a sufficient substitute.

On actual Thanksgiving, I live-streamed the parade and video chatted with my parents, also a lot of fun. That evening, after CaSSoc, which was good, when we were at a bar, I again went around a circle and had people say one thing they were thankful for. Seriously, it is really difficult for British people to do... and this isn't just me saying it. One of my friends, who went to uni with a lot of Americans (so isn't new to Thanksgiving and was my partner in crime), has done it before but said that she thinks its funny how hard the British find it.

This past Wednesday afternoon/evening I went into Betty's Tea Rooms with a couple of friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. You can check out my story and pictures at Eat.Stretch.Explore! If you don't want to read about it, here's the short version: it was really good and I had fun.

Thursday there was a drinks/social thing at King's Manor for Public History people and next term's placement providers sponsored by IPUP (the Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past). I met a couple women from the York Museums Trust. It turns out that I wasn't assigned the placement I thought I was. I'm still with YMT, but I pretty much get to choose which project I work on. So, instead of the trench/battle, I think I'm going to work on supply lines. The woman said she has a general idea of what she wants the exhibit to look like but none of the specifics... so that seems like more fun. (Not, I should make clear, that any research concerning WWI is going to be real "fun.") Obviously, I will keep you up to date about that.

Thursday evening was the last CaSSoc event of the term. It was a social with Christmas carols and mulled wine. I had a really good time--I helped play piano for the singing. It was really nice to get to play :) I discovered I like mulled wine better than normal wine. It was also a little sad. CaSSoc has been one of the best discoveries I've made about York, so basically a month without any Thursday night activities is a bit of a bummer.

That being said, I did go busking with CaSSoc on Saturday but not for the whole time because I'm a bit ill at the moment. On that note, I only really have a cold. But I've also been having problems with one of my eyelids (random, I know). I thought it was only eczema, which kinda sucked because I thought I was done with that bit of life. It turns out my eyelid got infected (idk with what... but it is), it's not too bad but I went to the health clinic on campus this morning. According to my mom (and the nurse lady), I should have gone in sooner. Anyway, I got a couple prescriptions and hopefully I am on the mend. I think I should be... whatevs. But, I mention this because it was my first NHS experience (or nationalized/socialized medicine) and I have really no problem with it. It worked well and, as of yet, I have not been traumatized by socialized medicine. (I add this observation as a note of how health care systems can work for people, even if they are government-controlled. It is only one occurrence but occasionally the US system is traumatizing after one occurrence.)

As the next few updates will be all about my holiday and the stuff I do during my holiday, I will conclude now with a few pictures! They are a bit out of order, but they are all from the last 10 days.

 This is part of the Christmas market in the city centre. The little houses are stalls for local people to sell stuff. (St. Cloud people, think Christmas lemonade fair) It's really pretty, but during the day it is really busy and there are a ton of people.

 This is St. Helen's Square, with the Mansion House and the Christmas tree. Its really pretty, especially at sunset (roughly 330).

 This is the Thanksgiving dinner I had with my friends. We had chicken instead of turkey, but it was really good and everybody had a really good time. For some it was their first Thanksgiving, for others it wasn't a new experience, and for the Canadian it was about 6 weeks late.

 We had a chocolate cake and winter spice macaroons for dessert. One of my friends baked them and they were really good!

 Apparently, a big thing here is the Christmas Coke truck... idk... but it was in York on Wednesday so I got a couple of pictures.

I could've waited in line to get my picture taken with it, but this is just as good (if not better).

That's all for this time! I'll have another update sometime next week hopefully!

Weeks 7 & 8

So, I realize that I didn't blog last week, but not a lot happened. Mostly I've been reading and writing. I've turned in both my formative essays (drafts basically). I feel pretty good about them. I have to rework my Public History one to turn in by December 6th but I don't think that will be too hard. My final essay for my evolution class isn't due until January, which is nice.

I've been going out with my course group and that's always a lot of fun. Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days because they have the most stuff. The rest of the week I spend most of my time reading or watching TV. Wednesdays have class and course pub night. Thursdays have free cake, CaSSoc and then drinks with CaSSoc. I've also gotten involved with a choir for Mass. It's fun, but sometimes a little intimidating because the last time I was in an actual choir was the 6th grade. We are singing in Mass for the first time this Sunday (luckily though, we have to sing mostly stuff the rest of the people can sing too).

Because I know it is of supreme interest to all of you, recently I finished watching The West Wing. I highly recommend it to anybody who enjoys politics (although it has a very liberal bias) or fast talking or good dialogue. Surprisingly, I've met quite a few people here who really love the show... obviously not something I expected. Last Wednesday when I was out with the public history people, I had a good discussion about it. And for the last two Thursdays I've talked to people about it. The best part is the people who have no idea what the show is or what it's about. I realize this was a bit of a tangent, but it's an update on my life.

Also, pictures, although not many.

 Guy Fawkes Night fireworks over the lake.

 Fireworks over the Wentworth building.

Sunset over the lake and the Wentworth building, from my room.

A beautiful rainbow over Wentworth, from my room.

The university recently put up these signs, but there isn't much need for grit (aka crappy salt/sand mix) nor do they use it well.

The contents of my most recent box! Mittens and a scarf, allergy pills, twist ties, post-its, candy corn and pumpkins. And for some reason a print of a picture of myself (I like it, but I really sent it to my dad so he could get a print for his desk).

I'll try to update in a more timely fashion! Next week I'm having American Thanksgiving with some of my friends so I'll try to snap some pictures then and also when I'm in town of the Christmas decorations!

Happy November!

I can't believe it's already November! It's a little crazy. This past week has been really good. Class went well and I wrote one of my essays (now I'm just polishing). I got a box from my mom and I enjoyed my non-class time.

Last Friday, I went into town with one of my friends and her grandparents to the Illuminating York festival. It was really cool. We went to the Treasurer's House first. One of their main attractions is the number of ghost stories/odd happenings stories that can be told (perfect for Halloween). They had the inside lit up to reflect the ghostly theme. It was really cool and highlighted how creepy old houses can be. After that, we went to Clifford's Tower. They had a movie playing on the hill and the side of the Tower about the Viking/Norse/Dutch rule in York. It was really cool and an interesting way to present the history of that time to a diverse audience.

Last night, I went to the Lord Mayor's International Student's Welcome. I got to see the Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor, get my picture taken (it was a group picture) with the Lord Mayor, the Sherif, and their consorts, and learn a little bit about government and history. It was really cool and I have some pictures.

One last thing before pictures. Today is the 5th of November, which I assume most of you know. Many people know the "Remember remember the 5th of November" rhyme (made popular in "V for Vendetta," which I have not seen). Here it is known as Guy Fawkes Day/Night or Bonfire Day/Night. There are fireworks on campus tonight (so maybe pictures next week). But it is also a chance to see/experience celebrations for an annually celebrated national event. Not that I've participated in really anything/know about a lot of the celebrations, but still. It differs vastly from the annually celebrated national event in the US, aka 4th of July. I won't go into detail because for the non-history folks out there, it's a little, not complicated, involved. (If you are interested, comment and I'll tell you about it).

Ok, now pictures!

This is part of the movie on Clifford's Tower. It's a ship going across the sea.

I've honestly forgotten who this is... but I think he was a king.

This is another picture of the ship, but it has the shield's of different tribes/groups on it.

This is the crest of York above one of the fireplaces in the room we gathered in at the Mansion House. There are five lions that, supposedly, symbolize the five tribes that fought against the Vikings (I think).

This is the royal crest above the other fireplace in the room where we gathered at the Mansion House.

This is the outside of the Mansion House. It is in located in St. Helen's Square in the city centre.

They let us dress up in the Lord Mayor's ceremonial robes. This set replaced the old red one (it's lined with fur, ermine possibly) about 100 years ago (I think). It was pretty fun!

Mid-October Already!

So, it's mid-October already! Well, I suppose it's late October, but whatever. The last week hasn't been very exciting. Mostly I've been reading, which is not surprising considering academic history is pretty much only reading (even when doing research).

I do have to pick topics for my formative assessments (aka midterm essays that aren't graded). I've been thinking about a couple topics. For my public history class, I've been considering contested pasts, commemoration/memorials, and the role of historical narratives in the US. It would be kind of interesting, but I have to think about it a bit more first. As for my essay for my evolution and society class... I'm not sure. This week we are talking about evolution and religion, specifically the idea of a war between the two (side note: the "war" is imposed on history making the differences seem more rigid than they are). I'm kind of fascinated by the religiosity of early evolutionary (transitional) biology. This one wouldn't focus on the US. We'll see.

In other news: I've met/hung out with more people and am trying to be sociable. I'm still figuring out my banking situation... it's more complicated than I thought it would be... considering the amount of technology in the world and the general fluidity of capital. But whatevs... it'll get sorted eventually.

In other non-personal news: there is going to be (pretty sure) a strike on the 31st of October by the three unions associated with higher education (aka the university tutors and such). I won't really be affected because it's possible not all tutors are going to participate in the strike and, even if my tutors do participate, I don't have class on Thursday. The cool (is that the right sentiment?) part about this is that it is actually happening. I googled it and some of the "Oxford dons" are going to participate. Would this happen in the US? I don't know... I'm not sure it would. Does anybody know? But a national strike (including Wales) is... not unheard of in the US... but odd... at least for me to think about (in a current events context... historical strikes I know all about).

And lastly, the birds sign. I've seen a few black swans and they are terrifying. Like the birds of death or something... terrifying. But, every time I hear a duck quack, which is quite often, it makes me laugh because they sound like they are laughing.

If this picture is repeated I don't care.

Week 2

This week went really fast! It's incredible how quickly its gone.

Last Sunday, after church and lunch, I went to town again and met one of my friends. We walked around and then had... well, I suppose you could call it tea... except I had a decaf latte and cheesecake.

It was super delicious and like half my dinner.

On the way back to campus, we saw a hot air balloon. The colors were amazing and amazingly vivid.

Then on Monday, I went on a tour of the Minster with some people from my Public History class (for class). It was basically a field trip, before we really had started class.

So, yes another picture of Constantine. But, hey, it's cool. Also, there's a museum under the Minster (the Undercroft Museum) and you can pretty much stand where Constantine's soldiers decided he was emperor (I kinda freaked out... it was cool).

 This is the inside of the Minster, where people sit.

I took more pictures but they aren't very good. I'm probably going to go back at some point because I get in free.

Wednesday was my first day of actual class. It went really well. My first class only has four students so there's a lot of discussion time per person. I think I did well. Luckily Augie prepared me really well for that sort of environment. I'm not saying I was a rockstar, but I didn't sound stupid and I gave opinions. My second class went alright as well. It was interesting. At one point we touched on history in America and it was weird hearing ideas about American history from people decidedly not from America. The closest were the three Canadians. I think it will be interesting to see how this trend develops.

I spent most of the rest of my week reading. I've been to the library twice and it's a pretty long walk so I think I might try to find some other places to study (not that there's a shortage).

Thursday I walked to the King's Manor campus in town and then back by way of a bank and a grocery store, but I forgot my camera. So, here are some other random pictures!

This is part of the pond on campus and a building (I'm not sure which one).

This is the first building the university had, Heslington Hall. It's named after the village nearby. Its an old manor house.

 This is Wentworth College D block, where I live. It's a great view. This is from the bridge I can see from my room.

 This is a gate thing next to the Minster.

 This is a plaza-y type area behind the Minster. I'm not entirely sure how old the buildings are because they all look different even though they are connected.

And another picture of the Minster with Constantine. Just for fun!

Pictures and Update

I've got some pictures (as promised) and more stories from my first week.

So, first, a correction. There are not two kinds of geese here... there are four (yes, four... I didn't know there were even four kinds of geese).

Sunday night I went to church on campus and met the Catholic chaplain, who ministers to the Uni (one priest for the University, apparently the bishop thinks students are important), and afterwards went to pizza at the chaplaincy where I met another woman doing a MA in history (modern, fyi). I also learned they had free lunch all last week, which was nice.

Monday I had the official postgraduate (PG) induction. So that was... fun. I also did some other, relatively boring, stuff. That evening I went on a pub/bar crawl. It was OK. I went with 2 of my new friends. It would have been more fun but it was a Graduate Student Association event so there were a ton of people.

Tuesday was when my stuff actually started. I had an induction for all history taught masters students and then an induction for my program. Inductions are kind of like official welcomes. That evening There was a welcome to the Humanities Research Centre. Its like a PG base in the middle of campus.

Wednesday I started my classes. We are on a 10 week term. This week was what I would call "syllabus day"-- we just went over how the class will work, the type of readings, and such. Wednesday evening I went on a Ghost Walk in town. It was fun and really entertaining. Plus I got to see the Minster, although it was dark.

Thursday I had my other briefing, although my class will be on Wednesday. There was reception for the Humanities Research Centre in the evening. Then I had a block meeting (where I live).

Yesterday (Friday) I read then went to a reception for history PGs. Yes, read as in homework.

Today I went into town with one of my new friends. So the rest will be pictures, some from last weekend, some from today.

 

This is my stuff in MSP, before I had to transfer flights.

This is my stuff as I wait for the bus at the Manchester airport.

 They have at least four of these signs around campus. I have yet to see most of them.

This is Wentworth College Block D, where I live. I'm on the ground floor facing the lake.

This is the church where Guy Fawkes was baptized. It is literally feet from the Minster.

York Minster. It is huge, so I have multiple pictures of parts of it.

The front of the Minster.

This is a pothole in cobblestones.

The statue of Constantine in front of the Minster.

 Constantine and me-- my friend told me not to look so excited... I was like, um no, this is sweet.

Another picture of Constantine lounging.

I do have more pictures, but they are pretty much of the same stuff. As time goes on, I'll have more!

There you have it folks! One week down... somewhere around 49 to go!

York: Travel and Day 1

I made it to York! Woohoo! but not without some difficulties.

I left home the morning of the 27th. Everything was going well until my flight to Chicago was delayed. Luckily, the American Airlines people were helpful and they transferred me to a Delta flight that actually left before the flight I was supposed to be on (and Delta goes to Chicago from MSP like twice an hour). I had to go practically across the whole airport but I got there with like 15 minutes to spare. That flight tied for shortest flight I've had--47 minutes. Then, in Chicago, because the airport is HUGE, I got to walk through like half of it. I got there with plenty of time to spare... and then we were delayed. When we were supposed to start boarding, the plane wasn't even a the gate; it was just coming from the hangar (yes, it was late from the HANGAR). And when it eventually got to the gate, there was a mechanical problem. We boarded and left the gate an hour after we were supposed to be gone, and we took off and hour and a half late.

After all that, I made it to Manchester. From the airport, I got on a bus provided by the university. That bus dropped me (and others) off in a parking lot to catch a van to Wentworth College. I got checked in and all that. Finally, I was in my room.

After I unpacked a bit and figured out my internet, I went to the "free store" to get some dishes and hangers. I unpacked some more and then went on a campus tour (which didn't make a whole lot of sense). Last night the Graduate Student Association (GSA) did a karaoke event. I went by myself but after a while, a girl sat down at my table and we discovered we are in the same program (YAY). We were joined by a woman doing a Phd in politics and then later by a guy from Germany I had met earlier on the tour (he's only here for a semester).

This morning I walked around to see if I could figure out were stuff is, which I can. I also saw a ton of geese... like I'm pretty sure there are two kinds of geese here. I took some pictures too, which I will put up later.

Reflections on the Navy Yard

As most of you know, when I was in DC, I worked at the Navy Yard in the History and Heritage Command with the Photo Curator. Yesterday, the news of a shooting at the base where I worked was strange. I walked right where all the reporters were and I know most of the buildings (kinda) that they were talking about.

In my 7 hours of CNN, everything was familiar. Given, I was in Building 44/108 and the shooting was in Building 197. But, there's only four blocks between the two. They were talking about base police: the people who checked my ID. Even the front of the Department of Transportation was familiar.

Sadly, tragedies like this one have become too much a part of life in this country (even this was not the first mass shooting at a military installation). But, this is the first one in a place I have been--and not for an insignificant amount of time. Like many people, I suppose, I felt safe there. The security was good (I needed a pass that was checked everyday) but it wasn't the most secure place. As occurred yesterday, anyone with a pass is pretty much let into the Yard. I fear one fall out is going to be increased security at the Yard. While that would be, I suppose, a good thing, I cannot help but think that will not solve the overall problem.

What I see as the root of the problem is societal, and isn't even one problem. I'm not sure about the individual who did the shooting, and I don't want to speculate about him. But, one of the problems is the access to guns in this country. That the rifle he used (and that has been used in numerous mass shootings in the past few years) was even available to civilians, seems crazy to me. Why would anyone need that kind of gun? I don't buy the argument that only people with guns can stop other people with guns. The "Right to Bear Arms" in the 2nd Amendment... also confuses me.

(I am now going to slip into historian mode. Sorry, not sorry.)

The 2nd Amendment reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." (from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html)

Obviously, the meaning is not clear... considering there are 3 commas... BUT in looking at the historical context of this sentence (aka what a "Militia" was, what was meant by "a free State," and what "Arms" were), I think we can clear the confusion, at least a little.

First: "A well regulated Militia": A Militia is composed of, basically, civilians to supplement the army in an emergency (paraphrased from my desktop dictionary). Militias were very important during the Revolutionary War, before the colonies could actually form an army. Militias are volunteers... what I would now consider the National Guard. (I looked up the National Guard on Wikipedia... sue me). (Another quick side note: until World War I, the entire armed forces in the US was voluntary but state Militias and the National Reserves existed.) So, we still have "a well regulated Militia"... at least how I understand it.

So, if we substitute "a National Guard" for "A well regulated Militia", we get "A National Guard, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Moving next to "a free State."

"A free State"... uh... I would think that would be obvious... but lets just say a "free State" is one that upholds the Constitution, or, you know, the one we have.

Now for the "Arms" concept. The American Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. I think we can all agree "Arms" have undergone massive shifts in the last 222 years. I'm not an arms expert, something I am proud of, so I won't try to go into details. I will clear up my ideas in a second, promise.

 Now, I've already put National Guard in for Militia. The phrase "being necessary to the security of a free State" now refers to the Militia. So, to ensure the future of the State, a Militia is required. OK, so we need volunteers who will be civilians except for during emergencies. Now we get "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms." The militiamen of the late 18th century had muskets and, as I understand, access to additional weapons at a local armory. I am not entirely sure what this means in the current context, but I think I am making progress in understanding what it meant in 1790.

So, if we say that "the people" of the "bear Arms" section are the people of the Militia, then the 2nd Amendment affirms the need for a voluntary military force (that will only be a military force in an emergency), the need for that force to be armed, and the importance of that force to the continuation of the State.

This has been a long explanation for something, I see as, relatively simple. If you hadn't guessed by now, I'm for regulation of guns. But not just because I think it's stupid for regular people to have assault rifles, also because I understand the context in which the 2nd Amendment was written.

[Three things:
One: when I started, I was just going to quickly say how tragic it is that another mass shooting has occurred and how strange it is to actually know the place it happened.

Two: I am sorry this was long. But I am not sorry if you don't care about history. Like anything, this is my opinion, so I also don't particularly care if you disagree with my interpretation of the history or my conclusions. I am sorry if this sounded preachy... I am simply tired of people making arguments based on simple readings of history or disregarding history in general. Something I believe in, and am trying to be better at, is seeing things complexly--ideas, situations, people... nouns.

Three: I will probably do an actual update soon]

Travel Book Humor

So, I have an actual update as well... which I suppose I'll put at the end. But first, something amusing.

One night last week, I couldn't sleep. The only book I had in my room (that I wanted to read... obviously I have more than one book in my room... haha I have like a hundred) was Rick Steves' Great Britain 2013. So, I read that... well, parts of it... mostly the history sections. While, I was reading, I noticed some funny... sections.

In no particular order:
The "British-Yankee Vocabulary" section:
           "Bob's your uncle--there you go (with a shrug), naturally" um... really? Why do I feel like that is like saying "yeah, sure, you bet'cha"?
         "Joe Bloggs- John Q. Public" John Smith?
          "Scouser- a person from Liverpool" sure, why not?
           There are other ones... and some I know... but yeah... I hope to see if people actually use the stuff that's in here.

The "Great Britain: Past and Present" section: (yay history)
         Right away, at the end of the first paragraph (in a parenthetical): "Generally speaking, the nice and bad stories guides tell are not true...and the boring ones are." I don't really believe this... some of the true stories are boring... but occasionally history hands you a story so outrageous you think it's made up but it's not, which is why I love history.
        Another parenthetical, in relation to Henry VIII: "To keep track of each one's fate, British kids learn this rhyme: "Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived."
         The next amusing bit is in a picture... in a diagram of "Typical Castle Architecture," there is a labeled picture of a dragon.

The "Wales" section contains some gems... mostly in the pronunciation of Welsh places.
          There is a "Speaking Welsh" section, including "Good-bye:" in Welsh is "Hwyl" pronounced "hoo-il." Yes. I know, what? But, seeing as I will not actually be in Wales, unless I visit, I'm not going to be worried about actually making sense of this.
          There is a place in Beaumaris nicknamed: Llanfairpwll. Real name "(no kidding)": Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch and it is "the second-longest place name in the world"... which begs the question, what's the longest?

The "Scotland" section points out that Scotland has weather similar to MN: "four seasons in one day."
         Also that Scottish Gaelic is pronounced "gallic" instead of "gaylic" as they pronounce it in Ireland... because.

Lastly, the York section.
        Fun fact: the Vikings controlled the city from the 9th century until the 11th century and was "a Danish trading center called Jorvik."
        By the time of Henry VIII (and the inception of the Anglican Church), York was "England's second city." Now, the Archbishop of York is "second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury" (The York bishop is "Primate of England" and the Canterbury bishop is "Primate of All England"... to which, I asked, how different are those?)
        "During World War II, Hitler chose to bomb York by picking the city out of a travel guidebook (not this one)." Note to self: when bombing countries in an attempt to dominate the world, pick targets out of a guidebook.
         "(In York, a 'bar' is a gate and a 'gate' is a street. Blame the Vikings.)" Oh parenthetical... how I love you.
         Apparently, the Kit Kat was created in York.

So, that's it for guidebook entertainment. Now for an update.

I know what classes I am taking. My two mandatory courses are "Meanings and Values in Public History" and "Research Dissertation" (skills and stuff). My optional course is "Evolution and Society, c. 1800-1945," the one I wanted. I'm sure I'll be posting more about what each of those things are, but in the mean time, if you want to know what I know, just ask!

I know some other scheduling stuff--mostly stuff the Graduate Student Association (GSA) is doing, which is nice. Also when/where my visa registration is, when campus tours are, when there is a bus to a grocery store, and activities put on by the GSA/ International Student Association.

From the GSA Facebook page, I know one of the people living in my same block/flat (know of... wissen in German, not kennen). I also know some other helpful stuff.

Ok, this is long enough. Just under three weeks!

Logistics

Since my last post, I have finished a lot of logistical stuff.

I got the paperwork on my loan-- actual mail from England.

I got my visa! And uploaded a copy to York. Once I get there, I have to present it to them (so they can photocopy it I presume). That was pretty exciting :)

Yesterday, I booked my plane ticket. So now I am actually leaving. Like I have a time and stuff. I'm leaving 27 September from MSP around 3. After a stop in Chicago, I will get to Manchester, England, around 8am on 28 September. Yay! After that, I have booked a spot on a shuttle thingy from Manchester to York.

I also sent a form to the postgraduate history department adviser for what classes I would like to take for my optional modules in fall and spring. He is out of the office until 2 September so I won't know really what class I'm taking until after that. Two of my three are mandatory, the third is optional.

Now all I need is luggage, to pack, figure out a cell phone, money, and all the little things  that never seem like you need to pay attention to until... well, now.

Just over a month till I leave!

Progress Report

It has been a while since I posted an update and a lot has happened. I suppose.

Today I complete my enrolment (yes, that is the British spelling). I accessed my York email address (but my Augie one still works, so no worries). I found out that my loan application was accepted (yay debt!). I mailed my visa application to New York. I got an email from my program director. And I keep learning more and more about what is actually going to happen.

And I have almost daily panic attacks. Not bad ones--only the kind that make me want to stop what I'm doing and watch TV or bake or idk anything that doesn't involve thinking of myself as, you know, like an adult, or a college graduate who is attending graduate school. So, yeah. It's fun.

But even with all the anxiety, I wouldn't trade anything. Seriously. I know it's going to be awesome and after like a week everything I worry about now will sound silly. Or at least that is what I'm told. Sometimes its hard to hear good advice over the sound my anxiety makes.

Whatevs. Everything is going well. But I still have bunches to do. Like get luggage and plane tickets and bedding and, well, lots of other stuff that I can't think of right now.

That's it for now!

Finally!

Big news: I will officially be attending the University of York next year.

Although, to get my unconditional acceptance, I had a few final hoops to jump through. And by that I mean, all I needed was to get my final transcript from Augie. Easy, right. No. Grades were due on 31 May, so obviously I got all of my grades on that day. Except one. Which resulted in a call to the registrar's office, and after a great conversation, I had to send an email to the professor who had my missing grade. After waiting all day, I emailed the actual registrar. Tuesday morning, I heard back from both. My prof had to track down my grade from someone else (complicated, I know). He emailed my after he received it and sent it to the registrar. The email from the registrar basically said the same thing and told me how to order a transcript (which I had done already). No, our bad, we should have tracked down your grade and done our jobs. No, thanks for letting me know my office doesn't do their jobs. Just info I knew. (This incidence marks at least the 3rd time I've had to do their job.) Withing 15 minutes, I got my transcript and uploaded it to York. The next morning I had an email from them. So YAY!

Next up: details. I have a lot to do, but I have a plan of attack. I have already requested info to apply to get a student visa (yay progress!). Even with this progress, I have a ton to do. This week, I am setting up a visual representation to keep track of everything. I have taken to calling it the "murder board," like they do in the TV show "The Closer"--although nothing died in my case, it's just convenient.

Last bit of update: I will probably be starting a Twitter soon. I am not completely sure I want one, but it would be a lot more convenient than constantly writing blog posts on every interesting event.

Watershed

So today, I took my last final! (Not ever, but at least for undergrad!) And I moved out a bunch of my stuff. And the fam is coming tonight. And nothing really say "watershed moment" like sitting in an empty dorm room, with a pile of stuff, at an empty desk, alone, writing a blog post on the end of college. But really. It's weird. I slept for the last time on Augie's campus, ate my last meal, and really I have nothing left to do (other than commencement practice, a Civitas reception, and actual commencement).

It is an odd feeling. I am super ready to move on. And I know grad school will be awesome. And this is the start of the rest of my life. I know the sayings. Only, I can't decide if I am different from when I started college or exactly the same. I know I know more stuff and I know I've done a lot of super amazing stuff. But, does that change me? I guess I don't know and I probably will never know.

Also: this has gotten a bit more introspective than I thought it would be. I will probably do a post on graduation next week sometime. Maybe a picture or two!

Additionally, friends who enjoy music (especially if you like German or things you don't understand), I have found a new artist I really like. His name is Tim Bendzko. Look him up.

So yes, a watershed in my life, complete with introspective dwellings and nostalgia.

Re-evaluation

So... it may be time to re-evaluation my position on this storm. I am currently on my second day with no class... and trees and power lines are still falling. Basically, the stuff MN is getting now ain't nuthin'. Really... ya'lls are going to have, what, like 6-10 inches of snow... we have like an inch of ice and then like at least the same amount of snow. So... yeah. Tons of people are without power. Thankfully, campus still has power and dining services is open. But, I won't be driving my car for a while.

Also being re-evaluated: life in general. For my Religion in American History class, I had to read an autobiography off a list (and then some other stuff that will eventually be a paper). I chose Daniel Berrigan's account: To Dwell in Peace. I finished it last night... because I don't have class today and therefore could read like half the book (OK, I finished at 1230.... but hey! I'll explain why). Conclusions: WOW! It is an amazing book... seriously. Go read it NOW! It's one of those books that changes what you thought you knew about... well a lot of stuff. I chose this book because in my J-term class, I had to read a chapter of it. And boy! was that a good choice! I know I read a lot of books... and constantly want more. But I might have to buy it for myself... and break my self imposed austerity measures. Honestly. It's fantastic. I'm not going to talk about what's in it... pretty sure you can google Berrigan and figure it out. But still, I knew it was going to be awesome, just not this awesome.

Anyway... re-evaluation under progress.

It's April!

So... it's April! YAY! But, as I write this, SF is currently in a winter storm warning--aka an ice storm that is now a snow storm and expected to last till Thursday... so April. But really. I'm actually not upset. We had a good run of nice weather and this isn't supposed to last. I'm really just amused. Everybody is complaining... come on! It's the MIDWEST! Seasons mean nothing here. It's also really pretty... well all the trees covered in ice, that is. Not so pretty: downed power lines and tree branches and the number of times I've heard sirens today.

This is one of the trees on campus at like 2:30... by 5 there was another large branch and a ton of other smaller branches... and snow. So yeah. Ice Storm.


But, other than the weather... life is not too interesting. In regards to the Overseas Scholarship: they received it but I won't hear back till like July. So woot! Not being able to do anything still. But I do have plenty of homework and I need to find a summer job in STC. Homework: so much reading... but I really like most of it so :) and I have a few projects/papers to still work on (like my German Honors Thesis--I've almost got my minimum page requirement!).

Basically: no news unless you think my homework and a storm is exciting news!

Update!

So I really don't have any news... I did apply for the Overseas Students scholarship at York but I don't think I'm going to hear anytime soon so... Also, my second semester is super busy already. Which brings me to the point for this update! My class on the Congress has to do blogs on a specific senator (mine is Jack Reed from RI). We've been using the class site on the super difficult program thing Moodle (think D2L if you know that) but it has been, well, trying. So, we've switched to blogger. I have a second blog, with the best name in the world (govt 210) that you should check out if you want to know anything about him! Here's the link: http://reed-knaak2012.blogspot.com/

The Search is over!

That's right folks! I got into grad school!!!! The University of York accepted me (conditional of me finishing with above a 3.0 GPA) to the Public History program! Oh yes, yesterday was happy! The story is pretty great too (if I do say so myself). I had my alarm set for 7 am on Tuesday to go with a friend to the doctor... and forgot to set it back to 9 am. So, 7 am yesterday I wake up and am super confused. After I realize I forgot to change my alarm, I saw I had an email. I had to read the first sentence like 4 times.... the first because my eyes were bleary. But once I comprehended it, all I could say was "oh my God" like 4 times. Pretty sure I scared my roommate (who was asleep) because I already started to cry. After I told her, I called my dad, and scared him because I was full out crying. Then I called my mom and went online and accepted the offer. Then I was up for the day.

Bummer on the lack of sleep, but I couldn't really concentrate so... whatever. I had a good reason. And because it's J-term and I only have one class a day, I didn't have really anything to distract me. I would focus for a while then think "holy crap" and freak out a bit in my head. It's still surreal and is in the process of hitting me. I can't believe it! So happy :D

I guess that's all for now!

New Year

Hey! So obviously I haven't been very good about blogging. But now I'm going to do a quick review of the last 2 months!

November went really fast and was mostly uneventful. December went really fast too but was super eventful. I finished my senior History paper, and just to give you an idea about how long it was, just my bibliography was 601 words. I got an A- on the paper overall (YAY) and my professor suggested submitting it the Phi Alpha Theta (History Honors Society) contest next year (also YAY). The rest of my classes went well. In my class on the Greeks and Romans I got an A (better than I hoped for) and in my recent U.S. History class I got an A as well (which I expected but I got an A- on my final project that was a little, shall we say, mushy), so YAY! I haven't gotten my grade for my Civitas/Honors project, which is my History paper plus a reflection on my paper plus a presentation, because I haven't done the presentation. But, if I do well on the presentation/do it this will probably have been my best semester (including my A in German). So, overall, YAY!

I got to go home on the first day of finals because I took my one actual test early. However, before I left, I went to the midnight showing of The Hobbit for a friend's birthday. It was super fun and a super great movie.

My first week of break was relaxing, but after the 23rd, things got crazy. First, Christmas, Merry Christmas by the way, was great. Then, on the same day, I turned 21 and had a wedding rehearsal/pre-wedding stuffs for my best friend's wedding. The next day, obviously, was the wedding.

If all this excitement was not enough, on the 30th, we went to NYC for a few days. On New Years Eve we went to Central Park and watched fireworks, after going out to dinner. We mostly walked around and looked at stuff (pictures quite possibly to follow soonish). My favorite was seeing the building where the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire happened. Yeah, I'm a history major, I know. NYC was cool, but I have mixed feelings on the city.

And now, I have a couple days before the start of my last J-Term. Hopefully, I will be better at blogging in the new year and maybe I'll actually have something to blog about!