Half-way

Well, I just passed the 6-month mark a few days back.  I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by.  Classes are over in just a few weeks, and all of my assignments will be turned in by the end of this next month.  After that I have only the dissertation to be concerned with.

I received word today that I have a summer job, working as a student warden (RA) at one of the residence halls here over the summer.  The best part about the deal is that it comes with free accommodation in the hall, so that is a HUGE blessing right now and an answer to much prayer.  I didn't have the money to pay for my whole year at Cardiff when I came, but the Lord has (as always) provided everything I need.

I've been a bit homesick lately, but I really do think it's actually good that I'm not able to go back for visits over my breaks.  It is keeping me in the 'work hard, push through' sort of mindset which I am in desperate need of at this point.  Tonight I'm finishing up one long term paper and getting ready to begin my last one.  I'm still enjoying Cardiff, but I think a day off now and again would help me enjoy it even more! Oh well, I can't really complain; I don't think being a grad student was ever meant to be anything less than non-stop labor :)  I'm learning a lot and am excited to finish with classes and get on with my thesis.

By the sea.

With fellow American grad-students Gwen and Elizabeth on our day-away to Aberystwyth (abber-IST-with), on the west-coast of Wales (02/16/11).  All of my video footage is taken with my digital camera, so please forgive the poor quality :)

Sigh of relief.

I hadn't planned to abandon my blog for 3 months, but just in case you fear you may have missed something, let me assure you that you did not.  In fact, I will now describe to you - in picture form - where I have been and what I have been doing.  Ready? Here you go:

And this picture is actually an incredibly accurate depiction of my life right now: Books. Writing. Tea.  Not necessarily in that order...

Yep, THAT exciting.  Well, I've finally finished and turned in my last assignment from the fall semester (see previous blog for an explanation of the British semester schedule - it's confusing). I unfortunately ended up with some overlap into the spring semester, but it's all over now and I can breathe normally again! Plus, I got grades back for my two term papers, and I'm pretty well pleased with my first attempts at writing and theorizing Archaeology.

Life in the last month-and-a-half has been VERY uneventful, as I have barely left my desk/computer long enough to go and party it up, but I hope that will change now.  This is my birthday month, so I am determined to have a little fun. 

Here, I will leave you with one last picture.  If I had posted in December, this would have been included:

This was my Christmas Chocolate Yule Log.  It didn't live to see January.

White Friday

Right now I am enjoying the first snow of the year, watching it out my window.  I got to walk back from the library in it earlier.  It's so wet outside that I don't think it will stick too much, but it's lovely for now. 

The 30-hour day.

There are, quite simply, not enough hours in the day.  And an extra day of the week - maybe between Saturday and Sunday - would be great to have right about now.  If I cut back to only 6 hours of sleep a night...that's an extra 14 hours of study time every week. 

Amid the mass of reading and writing already underway, this week I have to start devising a detailed research plan for my dissertation.  Step 1:  Topic?  Might be helpful...

November.

Well, I just got back from the Humanities building where I thought I had a lecture this morning. It wasn't until half the class was there and waiting for a professor to show up that someone came in and told us the lecture was cancelled.  Soooo, in the spare hour I just acquired I will attempt an update.

I can't believe I've been in Wales a month already; it's gone by really quickly.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the time spent at Cardiff so far, and still feel a bit amazed that I'm actually here. 

The weather isn't too bad right now.  Last week it got down to 32 F, but this week warmed up a bit again.  My window is actually wide open right now - both to regulate the temperature from the heating system and to let in the fresh air.  It's a bit rainy, but that's not unusual. 

Classes are going well for the most part, though I have a feeling that they will become more intense as I must begin writing papers and other assignments soon.  At Cardiff - as with other UK universities - next week is what is called "Reading Week."  Essentially, it's catch-up time.  Most programs (except Law and science-y departments) cancel classes for the whole week to allow people to get reading and other things done.  I think it's a good idea.  BUT, one of the major differences with the way the semester system is set up here is that the first semester doesn't end at Christmas break.  We go away for Christmas, then come back in January for a Study Week, followed by a 2-week exam time.  The spring semester starts at the beginning of February.  It's going to be a bit strange, but I think I will like having those weeks at Christmas to finish up papers before turning them in in January. 

Outside of class, I have managed to gather quite a large group of friends, both in Aberdare Hall and outside, so there's always someone to hang out with.  I have a lot of fun with the British girls in the Hall, and there are several American and Canadian students that I've gotten to know.  My Michigan friend Elizabeth and I made a big dish of nachos last week and introduced our English friend Melle to the wonderful world of Tex-Mex.  Of all the food I haven't been able to have since being here, Mexican is the one I miss the most.  I've been told that there's a "good" Mexican restaurant here in Cardiff, so I'm hoping that I may get to test it out sometime.

This last weekend I spent all day Saturday and half the day Sunday at an academic conference:  "The history and archaeology of Western Britain from A.D. 350 to 500."  It featured 8-10 well known archaeologists who spoke on various topics; it was pretty interesting - especially when, at the panel discussion, they got to argue back and forth about their opposing viewpoints.  This next weekend I will be going on the second fieldtrip for my "archaeological skills" class, to the excavated Roman town of Caerwent and the legionary fortress at Caerleon.  As with the first fieldtrip, I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures posted soon afterward. 

I am blessed to have met up with several Christians in the Hall, and have been going to with a couple of the girls to Sunday evening services and various other gatherings at Highfield's Church, just a short walk away.  It's full of University students and has fairly contemporary music and good teaching.  It has been encouraging to find several opportunities for Christian fellowship in the midst of such a busy academic schedule. 

Well, that's about all I can think of at the moment, though I'm sure there's probably a lot more I should write about. I'm not sure how many people actually read this blog, but if anyone is curious about anything that I haven't mentioned, just leave a comment and I will try to include it in my next update.

Elizabeth, by our red-neck "covered wagon" after a major shopping trip at Tesco (the equivalent of Wal-Mart/Target).  Hey, it was raining and we had far to walk.

Ambience

They finally turned on the radiators throughout the dorm, and boy do those old things work well.  Today was probably the warmest day we've had since I arrived; I had to open my windows to keep from baking.  One interesting thing about my radiator is that, as the water runs through the pipes to reach them, it makes a nice trickling-water sound.  It's like having a fancy water feature in my dorm room, minus the tropical fish. 

My little reading area and big window.  See those books piled on top?  That's only half of what I have to have read by next Tuesday.  I already spend a lot of time here...

And out of my big window I have a lovely view of the parking lot, where the garbage trucks pull in every morning at 6:00 to empty all the dumpsters.  This morning they emptied the big "Glass Bottles" one, and in my haze of half-asleepness, I thought for sure my windows had just shattered.   

I now have more batteries for my camera, so hopefully I can pick up where I left off in my photo-taking.  Eventually I'll create an album on Facebook for all of them. 

This is my dorm - Aberdare Hall - from the front.  It's a very stately sort of building and by far the prettiest of all the residence halls.  It's a women-only dorm - no boys allowed.  Some people make fun of this fact, but I love Aberdare because it is big and old and quiet (for the most part) - perfect for those times when you need to study in peace.

Today was a very quiet day - mostly reading.  This afternoon I walked around campus with my friend Joanne while she took pictures for her friends and family, and this evening has been spent with my new friend Melle just hanging out in my room talking and playing around with hair and makeup like a couple of girls.

Tomorrow is my busy day: lot's of classes, also a party in the evening for the Postgraduate Archaeology and Conservation students.  I still need to squeeze in a bit more reading tonight, so adieu for now.