It’s advising time here at the U of A. You’d think that getting advised would be pretty simple for me, right? Walk in, say hi, pick some classes from the very limited list of those offered at the Rome Center, and leave. Well, you’d be wrong.
I was.
I met with my Classics advisor for the first time on Monday, and not only did I walk out of Dr. Levine’s office with a plan for completing the Classics portion of my degree once I return from Rome (two Classics-related courses per semester and Latin until the day I die – Not really: only three more semesters), but I also left with instructions to meet with two other professors. I met with Dr. Fredrick, who helped me figure out which Rome classes will count toward my Classics degree, right after leaving my advisor’s office. Then, when I finally got back to my dorm (after running a boat load of errands all over campus – I still haven’t finished all those forms I told you about before Spring Break), I emailed the other professor to set up a time to meet with him for Anthro advising. I am meeting with him next week.
I have some of the best professors on the planet. Not only did Dr. Levine and Dr. Fredrick work together to get me where I needed to be as far as Classics is concerned, but Dr. Fredrick informed me that he may be stealing me away from Rome in October to help him with his research on the Bay of Naples. He has applied for a grant to do survey work at one of the ancient Roman cities destroyed by Vesuvius. Dr. Paradise, another of my professors, has also told me I will be helping him with his research in Rome. He’s going to be making a triage map for preservation of the historic buildings and monuments in the city for the “Superintendent of Good Culture” (How cool is that title!?!?). Dr. Fredrick and Dr. Paradise were the two who wrote letters of recommendation for me when I applied for an Honors College Study Abroad Grant. Apparently, they said something good, because I just found out last night that I got the grant!!
Like I said, best professors on the planet!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
A Word to the Wise
Watch your deadlines!!
Spring break is supposed to be a time to unwind a bit from the stress of the spring semester and recoup before that final run to the end, right? Apparently, not so much. For me, spring break is going to be paperwork time! When I first started planning this trip, I was given a list of paperwork deadlines, pre-departure assignments, and meeting dates. During break, I get to fill out forms for my student visa and housing, and I have to look up flight information and such.
Last night, we had a big pre-departure meeting with everyone who is going to be studying abroad next fall. Now, even though I had the list of due dates, it came as a bit of a surprise Monday afternoon, when I got the email reminder about the meeting, to find that the entire pre-departure assignment program (seven online chapters about study abroad--with quizzes) was due by the time of the meeting. Bailey and I got to stay up late and read about travelers’ diarrhea and pickpockets. Tons of fun! To be fair, it was all really important information, and I’m glad to have read it, but reading it all at once was kind of overwhelming….
So, the meeting last night went well, despite the stress of getting ready for it. We got to watch a Saturday Night Live skit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egYIz1e84Vg) about why we shouldn’t go off with strange men, no matter what their accent sounds like. If they say poison, STAY AWAY!! We also got to hear a clinical psychologist sing opera in three different languages, and we got to hear from students who had studied abroad before. Apparently, Italians don't believe in peanut butter.
The highlight of the evening though, was when we got to play “The Anthropologist Game.” We were divided into two teams. The first team was the “tribe,” and the second team was the “anthropologists.” While the anthropologists went out into the hallway, the tribe was given a set of rules for communication: you stand shoulder to shoulder with your conversational partner and face opposite directions, and you must wait five seconds after the other person gets done speaking before you can talk. The point of the game was for the anthropologists to come in and figure out our rules without offending us, thereby demonstrating the frustration that can sometimes occur when you’re faced with a new culture with unknown social rules. I was a member of the tribe, and Bailey was an anthropologist. She came in and decided to be mean: she kept turning to face the same direction I did so I’d have to keep spinning in circles in order to obey the rules…. Fun though.
Moral of the story: Watch your deadlines! It makes life way easier!
Spring break is supposed to be a time to unwind a bit from the stress of the spring semester and recoup before that final run to the end, right? Apparently, not so much. For me, spring break is going to be paperwork time! When I first started planning this trip, I was given a list of paperwork deadlines, pre-departure assignments, and meeting dates. During break, I get to fill out forms for my student visa and housing, and I have to look up flight information and such.
Last night, we had a big pre-departure meeting with everyone who is going to be studying abroad next fall. Now, even though I had the list of due dates, it came as a bit of a surprise Monday afternoon, when I got the email reminder about the meeting, to find that the entire pre-departure assignment program (seven online chapters about study abroad--with quizzes) was due by the time of the meeting. Bailey and I got to stay up late and read about travelers’ diarrhea and pickpockets. Tons of fun! To be fair, it was all really important information, and I’m glad to have read it, but reading it all at once was kind of overwhelming….
So, the meeting last night went well, despite the stress of getting ready for it. We got to watch a Saturday Night Live skit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egYIz1e84Vg) about why we shouldn’t go off with strange men, no matter what their accent sounds like. If they say poison, STAY AWAY!! We also got to hear a clinical psychologist sing opera in three different languages, and we got to hear from students who had studied abroad before. Apparently, Italians don't believe in peanut butter.
The highlight of the evening though, was when we got to play “The Anthropologist Game.” We were divided into two teams. The first team was the “tribe,” and the second team was the “anthropologists.” While the anthropologists went out into the hallway, the tribe was given a set of rules for communication: you stand shoulder to shoulder with your conversational partner and face opposite directions, and you must wait five seconds after the other person gets done speaking before you can talk. The point of the game was for the anthropologists to come in and figure out our rules without offending us, thereby demonstrating the frustration that can sometimes occur when you’re faced with a new culture with unknown social rules. I was a member of the tribe, and Bailey was an anthropologist. She came in and decided to be mean: she kept turning to face the same direction I did so I’d have to keep spinning in circles in order to obey the rules…. Fun though.
Moral of the story: Watch your deadlines! It makes life way easier!
All Roads Lead to Rome
Well, maybe not all roads, but mine does at least. That's right: I'm headed to Rome. Come September, I'll be studying at the University of Arkansas Rome Center in the heart of the Eternal City!
"Why is she talking about the fall now?" you might ask. "Isn't it a bit early?" The answer: No. Not at all. In fact, had my original plan worked out, this would be a year late. You see, my roommate Bailey and I were supposed to have been in Rome last fall, but our program was completely overhauled, and the trip was cancelled. We weren't even going to go this fall, thinking that the upcoming program is only for European Studies/Architecture students. Luckily, one of our professors informed us that we'd still get a ton of Historic Preservation credit (not to mention field experience!) for going. So, several weeks and several trees worth of paperwork later, here I am, starting a travel blog.
"Why is she talking about the fall now?" you might ask. "Isn't it a bit early?" The answer: No. Not at all. In fact, had my original plan worked out, this would be a year late. You see, my roommate Bailey and I were supposed to have been in Rome last fall, but our program was completely overhauled, and the trip was cancelled. We weren't even going to go this fall, thinking that the upcoming program is only for European Studies/Architecture students. Luckily, one of our professors informed us that we'd still get a ton of Historic Preservation credit (not to mention field experience!) for going. So, several weeks and several trees worth of paperwork later, here I am, starting a travel blog.
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