news since Popeye's: update on England

I'm pretty terrible at blogging, it's a fact. The last post was about heading to England, so I'll try to do a brief roundup of what has been going on since then...

1) School's great, actually and I'm really happy about my decision to come to the UK for my studies. The professors and the classes are by-and-large really interesting and I have learned a whole lot about development (oh, I am studying international development...and that's not business, by the way). It has been insightful to learn about all these aspects of development, but at the same time scrutinizing your own field to the extent that most of my courses do really forces me to think about what it is I'm doing and if it really is the right thing to do. My intentions are good, I don't doubt that, but then again so have a lot of people who've worked in the field before me. It's hard to see the smaller accomplishments when the meta-level is so filled with disappointment. This is just the first round of questioning, I'm sure there will be a lot more in the future as red tape, bureaucracy, and a lot of other hurdles complicate things extensively.

On a purely academic level development is really intriguing. Since it is interdisciplinary, it touches on so many other facets of academia--anything from new public management to postmodernism. It certainly keeps things interesting and I can see how people get 'stuck' in the academic world, never wanting to get into the nitty-gritty groundwork where ideals are often bypassed for results. Then again, for a lot of people, results are more pressing.

Schedule-wise, I've just got a dissertation to do this summer and then I will theoretically be done (results come a few months later). I've still got one paper to hand in next week and then I'll have to take an exam in May for my compulsory modules. Three months of intensive reading and writing...well, that's what it's supposed to be. Anyone want to visit this summer?!

2) I've been working as a waitress for this restaurant owned by a big name in England (at the Norwich City Football Club), Delia Smith and things are okay. The food is good and the hours are extremely flexible, but I am thinking of applying to some more challenging/different jobs for the summer. Then there's the whole issue of 'real' work once I graduate. I'm going to have to really get those applications in this summer. The job market's not so good, but we'll see how it goes. And no, I have no idea where I will be! Just depends on what's available and what will work. I can technically stay in England and work for a year after my student visa expires so that gives me some room to maneuver. Scary to be plan-less at this point, but it also means a lot of possibility.

3) Um, I went to Morocco recently, but I'll dedicate an entry to that...eventually.

Hope you are healthy and happy.