This blog title might be deceiving - it sounds like my post will be more philosophical and profound than it really will be... talking abstractly about the journey I've been on. Sorry, that's not what it's about!
I know my posts have been scarce lately - sorry to those who keep looking for updates! Things have been busier than I thought they would be. Things at school really picked up for a few days - between teaching, grading, basketball (practice and conditioning), writing workshop, and other little things that come along, I have actually felt very busy with school lately.
But the most time consuming project has been the work I'm still doing for PhD program applications. Although the applications were finished and submitted in December, the process requires continual effort even after the applications have been sent. Starting in January and continuing to this day I have been having phone interviews with professors and students at a number of schools. At the height of it all, I was having 1-2 interviews on the phone each day. That may not sound like much, but when it's in the midst of everything else, when it required switching my brain quickly from Liberia to one PhD program to another PhD program, it became really draining. Most of my online time has been spent responding to emails, reading about programs and professors and students and cities, etc.
The good news, however, is that all of the work has not been in vain! I have heard back from all but one school, and am waiting on a final decision from one other. Here's the quick rundown for those interested:
UVA: We talked and decided we were not the best fit for each other - aka, did not get an offer.
Georgetown: The only formal rejection to date.
Penn State University: Accepted, but I have officially declined that offer
Michigan State University: Accepted
Vanderbilt: Accepted
NC State: Accepted
NYU: Accepted
University of Illinois - Chicago: Interviewed, should hear a decision this week or the next.
University of Michigan: No word, but that's OK... I like my other offers :)
So now I'm coming down to decision-making time, which might prove to be the toughest part of this whole process yet. I'm not complaining - having to decide between all the amazing schools is a wonderful dilemma to have... but it's the next 4-5 years of my life, so I want to end up in the right place. The good news is, I don't think there's a wrong place, and no matter where I go I'll have moments when I'll wonder what my life would be like if I went somewhere else. It's crazy and a little stressful and so exciting all at once - I'll update again when I make a final decision.
We are down to just a little over 3 months left here in Liberia (we're pretty sure we're leaving June 11th), so I will try to be more faithful in posting here. In the meantime, I'm trying not to spend too much time thinking about next fall and concentrate my attention as much as I can on the amazing place I'm already in and enjoying every moment of life in the LIB!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
It's Gonna Be a Hot One
One of the great things about living in one place for (almost) a year is that you get to experience that place in every season - not just a week or a few months out of a year. For example, I lived in the Netherlands one year from August to December. I got to experience a touch of summer, the fullness of fall, and even flirted briefly with winter. I was able to experience a decent sampling, but ultimately I totally missed the spring, which I hear is the best time to be in the Netherlands (think fields of tulips).
Coming to Liberia, I knew that I could expect warm weather year round, but I was anxious to see how that played out and all the subtleties and fluctuations of Liberian weather. I grew up in Florida, a tropical weather locale, so I imagined it would be much the same. Mostly warm and humid, but slight changes and occasional spurts of something a little different.
Today I am here to report that Liberia truly does have 2 seasons, at best. Largely referred to as Rainy season and Dry season, I have come to think of them as two parts of the same season: "wet and hot" and "no rain and hot". Rainy season begins sometime in the spring... I have heard estimates as early as March and as late as July, and lasts throughout the summer until October or November. During the rainy season the rain is almost constant. There are reprieves now and then, but to see the sun is rare and to have a whole day without rain is even more unlikely. I expected the rainy season to be somewhat cool, but after experiencing it I would describe it as "less hot." The most striking thing about the Rainy season is the humidity... it is unreal!! Mold grows on walls in a matter of days, and even a container of Morton salt left on the counter quickly disintegrated due to moisture.
Once the rain clouds move out, the sun moves in and dry season has arrived. Dry season is less humid, although still muggy. The sun is strong and it feels like my skin is burning after about 1 minute standing outside without sunscreen; after all, Liberia is only about 6 degrees off the equator. Dry season is very, very dry - it literally does not rain for the entirety of dry season, and it is very strange if even a few drops happen to fall. Dry season begins when rainy season ends - sometime around November, and goes until the rains come back. I hear that March is the hottest, so I'm really not too excited about March.
Despite my naturally warm-natured disposition (I get hot too easily) and the constant heat which leads to constant sweating, I do love Liberia... but that doesn't mean I wouldn't change her climate a little if I could. On days when I'm sitting on a beautiful beach in January looking out over the crystal clear water and admiring the bold black rocks along the shore, I really can't complain. That said, if some of you in the South want to ship some of your snow over here, I'm sure we could all benefit from an averaging of our extreme temperatures!
Coming to Liberia, I knew that I could expect warm weather year round, but I was anxious to see how that played out and all the subtleties and fluctuations of Liberian weather. I grew up in Florida, a tropical weather locale, so I imagined it would be much the same. Mostly warm and humid, but slight changes and occasional spurts of something a little different.
Today I am here to report that Liberia truly does have 2 seasons, at best. Largely referred to as Rainy season and Dry season, I have come to think of them as two parts of the same season: "wet and hot" and "no rain and hot". Rainy season begins sometime in the spring... I have heard estimates as early as March and as late as July, and lasts throughout the summer until October or November. During the rainy season the rain is almost constant. There are reprieves now and then, but to see the sun is rare and to have a whole day without rain is even more unlikely. I expected the rainy season to be somewhat cool, but after experiencing it I would describe it as "less hot." The most striking thing about the Rainy season is the humidity... it is unreal!! Mold grows on walls in a matter of days, and even a container of Morton salt left on the counter quickly disintegrated due to moisture.
Once the rain clouds move out, the sun moves in and dry season has arrived. Dry season is less humid, although still muggy. The sun is strong and it feels like my skin is burning after about 1 minute standing outside without sunscreen; after all, Liberia is only about 6 degrees off the equator. Dry season is very, very dry - it literally does not rain for the entirety of dry season, and it is very strange if even a few drops happen to fall. Dry season begins when rainy season ends - sometime around November, and goes until the rains come back. I hear that March is the hottest, so I'm really not too excited about March.
Despite my naturally warm-natured disposition (I get hot too easily) and the constant heat which leads to constant sweating, I do love Liberia... but that doesn't mean I wouldn't change her climate a little if I could. On days when I'm sitting on a beautiful beach in January looking out over the crystal clear water and admiring the bold black rocks along the shore, I really can't complain. That said, if some of you in the South want to ship some of your snow over here, I'm sure we could all benefit from an averaging of our extreme temperatures!
Friday, February 5, 2010
I'm Still Here!
Hello faithful readers. Sorry I have not been a faithful blogger. After Passport ended, things seem to have stayed really busy and I just haven't made the time to write in a while. Not to say there's nothing to write about - I have lots of ideas, it's just a matter of getting them out of my head and onto this blog!
In the meantime, I thought I would post a quick update. We are now wrapping up the third week of fourth period, which is hard to believe. Two more weeks and then we are testing once again! Classes are going pretty well, and I'm hoping to continue to see improvement in my students throughout this semester. More than anything, I hope to see increased critical thinking. I just want my students to think about what they're doing, not just to do things because someone else said to do so.
Last week (Jan 25 - 30) was spent in Ghana, another West African country about 2 countries east of Liberia. Ghana has not had the setbacks caused by civil war that Liberia has experienced, so Ghana is more developed than Liberia. We (Ann Elizabeth, Ottolee Menjay and me) spent the week in the capital city of Accra, which is actually really really big! We flew in at night and AE and I were amazed by how far the lights stretched out over the land - as far as we could see! Sadly, on the way to the airport to leave for Ghana I started feeling bad and by the time I went to bed the first night felt awful. Turns out I had Malaria, which sounds very scary and can be if not treated, but is not too bad when you are quickly treated. So I went to the doctor and was tested and treated the next day, but much to my frustration, I never did feel 100% while in Ghana, resulting in a less adventuresome spirit and far fewer "I want to see and experience everything" activities. On the bright side, it could have been much worse and I was able to see a good bit of the city. In places it looks much like Liberia, but in other places in looks more like an American or European city. There are multi-lane, wide, nicely paved streets and an advanced system of traffic lights, roundabouts, highways, etc. We even got to go to a mall one day, do some shopping, and see a movie in an actual movie theater!!
The other downside of the trip to Ghana was that at the end of it, Ann Elizabeth had to go back to the States for a few weeks. While in Ghana she was able to see a doctor about a small problem she noticed, and the doctor recommended she go back to the States to see another doctor and possibly have a small procedure. So AE is now back in FL/AL and getting things taken care of as quickly as possible. She is doing fine, and the problem is not an immediate danger - just something that needed to be taken care of. She should be back here in Liberia by Feb. 22nd at the latest, but perhaps even sooner if possible.
In the meantime, I am back at Ricks and finally getting back in to the routine of teaching, basketball, and everything else that goes on here. We had a basketball game yesterday which we won - due to forfeit, but we won all the same ;) There was a group here from First Baptist Columbus, GA from Jan. 25 - Feb. 3, so I was able to spend a little bit of time getting to know them. One member of the team is actually staying for 2 additional weeks, so I think we will help to keep each other company while we are each living on our own! Currently I am very grateful it is Friday and am looking forward to a weekend of rest and fun as I spend a couple days in town with friends.
I will try to update more - thank you all for sticking with me through this journey!
In the meantime, I thought I would post a quick update. We are now wrapping up the third week of fourth period, which is hard to believe. Two more weeks and then we are testing once again! Classes are going pretty well, and I'm hoping to continue to see improvement in my students throughout this semester. More than anything, I hope to see increased critical thinking. I just want my students to think about what they're doing, not just to do things because someone else said to do so.
Last week (Jan 25 - 30) was spent in Ghana, another West African country about 2 countries east of Liberia. Ghana has not had the setbacks caused by civil war that Liberia has experienced, so Ghana is more developed than Liberia. We (Ann Elizabeth, Ottolee Menjay and me) spent the week in the capital city of Accra, which is actually really really big! We flew in at night and AE and I were amazed by how far the lights stretched out over the land - as far as we could see! Sadly, on the way to the airport to leave for Ghana I started feeling bad and by the time I went to bed the first night felt awful. Turns out I had Malaria, which sounds very scary and can be if not treated, but is not too bad when you are quickly treated. So I went to the doctor and was tested and treated the next day, but much to my frustration, I never did feel 100% while in Ghana, resulting in a less adventuresome spirit and far fewer "I want to see and experience everything" activities. On the bright side, it could have been much worse and I was able to see a good bit of the city. In places it looks much like Liberia, but in other places in looks more like an American or European city. There are multi-lane, wide, nicely paved streets and an advanced system of traffic lights, roundabouts, highways, etc. We even got to go to a mall one day, do some shopping, and see a movie in an actual movie theater!!
The other downside of the trip to Ghana was that at the end of it, Ann Elizabeth had to go back to the States for a few weeks. While in Ghana she was able to see a doctor about a small problem she noticed, and the doctor recommended she go back to the States to see another doctor and possibly have a small procedure. So AE is now back in FL/AL and getting things taken care of as quickly as possible. She is doing fine, and the problem is not an immediate danger - just something that needed to be taken care of. She should be back here in Liberia by Feb. 22nd at the latest, but perhaps even sooner if possible.
In the meantime, I am back at Ricks and finally getting back in to the routine of teaching, basketball, and everything else that goes on here. We had a basketball game yesterday which we won - due to forfeit, but we won all the same ;) There was a group here from First Baptist Columbus, GA from Jan. 25 - Feb. 3, so I was able to spend a little bit of time getting to know them. One member of the team is actually staying for 2 additional weeks, so I think we will help to keep each other company while we are each living on our own! Currently I am very grateful it is Friday and am looking forward to a weekend of rest and fun as I spend a couple days in town with friends.
I will try to update more - thank you all for sticking with me through this journey!
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