Damn, it's cold here!
School officially began last Wednesday, although I came back to campus on Tuesday. My first order of business was to meet with Dr. W. for whom I will serve as both TA and research assistant. The class is African American history after the Civil War. The research project is actually being conducted by an emeritus professor, Dr. F., but I got my marching orders from Dr. W. The project revolves around Knoxville College, an historic black college established in the 1870s which only recently closed its doors, and will eventually include oral histories from surviving alumni. The project will be ridiculously fun for me, beginning with compiling a bibliography of secondary sources having to do with historic black colleges and universities, the teaching of African American children, and more. It will mean a lot of work for me this semester, but it will be useful, interesting work.
Wednesday was the official first day of school. It felt really good to reconnect with my fellow students, hearing everyone's tales of winter break. Of course, I visited the party office right away, as I simply cannot stay away from J.
Oh, and that's a bear cub, not a dog, with him.
My first class of the semester was the other Dr. W.'s African American reading seminar. And reading it will be. In addition to the usual book-a-week, the weeks in which I'll serve as a co-discussion lead require three more books. Book reviews, the development of a course syllabus, a lecture outline--holy cow!
Thursday's will belong to my Teaching World History class, taught by a third Dr. W. A book a week, of course, with the first half of the semester devoted to learning the basics of how to teach world history and the second to reading works in the field. Here, too, I'll have to draw up a syllabus that I could use were I a teacher. Note to my California friends already teaching world history: I'm totally planning on leaning on your expertise!!
My third class began just today--the Making of Modern Japan. Yes, Japan, that's right. It meets one of my requirements for world history and the time frame is basically the second half of the nineteenth century. And, I admit, I'm pretty excited about it. I know virtually nothing about the subject going in, but the instructor, Dr. N., seems like a real sweetheart. She's one of those teachers who is excited about her field--and that's infectious. Can't wait to start the reading for next week.
So, to sum up, there's a lot of work to do this semester. And, most importantly...
Damn, it's cold here! Becoming accustomed to this new type of weather will take some time. I'm good with coat, hat, scarf, and gloves, but this kind of weather seems to demand much more. Every day requires that I dress as though I were going to spend 10+ hours at Snoopy's Home Ice! Tights unde jeans, heavy socks, a cammy under a turtleneck--the whole ensemble.
And, I've already learned one very important cold-weather lesson. Don't sit in your apartment and check the temperature on your phone--it's 70 degrees in my flat yet as soon as I see that it's 14 degrees outside, I immediately feel cold. NO CHECKING THE WEATHER APP!
Damn, it's cold in here!
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