Retrospectively Yours

Since the internet is too weak at the moment for audio/video homework
Since the sun is too nice to hide in the windowless rooms with strong internet
Since it's been quite a while and I've a few grand projects completed

...it's about time we caught up.

Spring break was three weeks ago (already?!). My sister was in a production
of the musical "Barnum" on that first Friday, and I was home just in time to
go see her. Cass and two of our wonderful friends also came, and I just loved
every moment of the night because (while I won't mention any names...) two
of the gentlemen in our party have the most delightfully booming laughs I have
ever heard. Most of the rest of the break was spent at work. I did take a day off
to visit one of my high school teachers and mentors, have lunch with my mom at
her school, finally get my hair cut, and meet up with Madiha to catch up over dinner.

Coming back, it's crunch time. Since I don't have final exams in most of my classes, I
have several large projects instead. It's a little bit stressful, but my classes are worth it.

Right when I got back from spring break, my Oral Histories class was visited by a guest
speaker. Tony Papa came in to both share his story and to help us hone our interviewing
techniques. Mr. Papa is an artist and author, as well as a social activist working to reform
the prison system and the drug laws. Check out his art; check out his book. In a moment of
desperation, he agreed to deliver a package for a friend he knew was involved in dealing drugs.
He didn't realize his "friend" was actually involved in a huge drug ring and that the delivery
was a setup. The whole story is interesting, but talking to Mr. Papa gave the class the chance
to ask about the kinds of things one doesn't think about. For example, he was sentenced to 15
years in prison (he served 12). While there he learned to paint. He found that painting gave him
a release, and he started teaching other inmates to help them channel their energies into something productive/therapeutic. The catch? Most painting material was contraband. Also, the internal social hierarchy gives artists a place of respect, particularly if they can paint portraits, because there aren't cameras in prison and people like to track the slow changes the years make to their appearances as the years get etched into their faces.

Also that week, I was visited by friends galore. Julie and Sara came for an overnight, and together we explored the wonders of Kunefi at a Turkish restaurant uptown. Then Nick came allll the way from State College for the weekend. We went to Fat Cat and played ping-pong with
Rhoen (who did really well despite being on crutches). Saturday means farmer's market so we celebrated the sunshine by picking up eatables for a Central Park picnic. Cindy met us there and we picnicked in a tree before Nick took us out in one of the rowboats. I can't tell you how glad I am that it's spring again. That night was Maggie's birthday party, and the next day we went to a gallery where the Abrams' art collection was being displayed as the pieces wait to be auctioned off. The art collecting world is so curious. We say Andy Warhol pieces with the initial bid set at triple the initial bid for Picasso, Dali or Mirot pieces. I'd like to learn more about how that circle of society operates, but there are just too many other things to learn first. Still, though...

That next week I had a meeting with my adviser about selecting courses for next semester (so hard to choose!) and a group project on the education system in Ghana to present. I was also researching Roald Dahl still and collecting turning point stories for my Oral Histories project. (The thought of all that's due over the next three weeks makes me slightly sick with worry!) That weekend was Easter so I went home to visit with my family. My aunt started talking about the changes that are going to be made to the history textbooks as a result of the Texas schools, and I started thinking about the process of textbook writing. Would the solution be to write an alternative textbook and publish it through a small, independent press? I suspect that wouldn't work. What if I published it online? What if I didn't write a textbook at all but rather put together a website with lesson plans, book guides, video guides, practice essay questions, and links to useful websites? If teachers were able to teach without the official textbook, the books wouldn't get sold outside of Texas and the company would lose money. Maybe. The trick would be convincing schools and school districts that such a boycott would be worthwhile for them and beneficial for their students. Hmm.... Maybe if I wasn't so intimidated by the politics involved in such processes...

Once back at school, I had another adviser meeting at which it was suggested that I buy a bike when I get to Prague next year and then take it on the train when I move to Berlin and just sell it before coming back home. Sounds good to me! I did a lot of writing this past week, but I do have wonderful friends who make sure I get out once in a while. Hillary's aunt was speaking in the Chelsea Market because she just put out a new book. She writes the food blog Orangette, and I have to admit that I'm a little jealous that she can pull off writing for a living. Sounds wonderful. She touched on a few things in her talk that managed to draw my attention away from the row of bookshelves we were sitting next to (she was speaking in a bookstore). She mentioned losing her father and being reminded of him every time she makes potato salad, which reminded me of Mary--my riding teacher who was something like a third grandmother for my sister and I--who passed away just over a year ago and who I think of when I see horses, chocolate Easter eggs, homeopathic products, historical fiction books, and stars over a cornfield. Molly (Hillary's aunt) also mentioned that her decision to get involved in the restaurant her husband was starting was a tricky one; she doesn't like the "performance aspect of the restaurant business" (I'd never thought of it that way before, but it's true), but she realized that this project would change their lives and she wanted to be on the inside of it working with him. I thought that was cute and rather insightful.

Of course, adventuring with Hillary and Alex always means that there is wonderful food involved. Let me present DirtyBird! There I learned that Hillary loves hot sauce and anchovies (separately, of course).

Remember that I'm spending hours in between writing on the couch or in the student center or in the library. Ah research. I'll post all that next, before going on to my anthropology paper. Why is there always so much work when there's so much sunshine? I almost wish computers didn't exist; if handwritten papers were still acceptable I would be able to sit in the sun while I work...