Dreamin' of Colorado, California & Europe!!

I have a few exciting adventures on the horizon and since the light is shining brighter at the end-of-the-semester tunnel...it's time to start thinking about what's next!

So, here is my life for the next 8 months...

May 4: to COLORADO! (QT with family & friends)
May 6-17: Shoshoni Yoga Ashram, Rollinsville, Colorado (yoga, meditation, veggie eats, and lots of mountain time)
May 21: to CALIFORNIA (to hang with my little kid bro on the beach)
May 25: to LA, California (to attend a conference on international education)
May 28: to GEORGIA!
June 1: Take two month-long PhD courses
July 4: to ENGLAND (not only Independence Day for my nation-state, but independence day for ME as I go back to Europe to study at Oxford for 6 months.)
August: travel with my dear friend Ali (the crazy Brazilian!)
September: ESTONIA (to present at an academic conference)
December: to COLORADO! SKI!!!



PHOTOS: Dennis' (a fellow PhD colleague) b-day BBQ.

Men Dress Like Women!

Men dress like women, dance around on stage, and lip-sync to cheesy music. The crowd goes wild, cheering and waving dollar bills in the air. This is a drag show! In Athens, (yes, in the conservative state of Georgia) the gay community coordinates an annual drag show fundraiser, "Boybutante," to raise money for the AIDS foundation. I have a few good guy friends who are gay and so we saddled up to the bar for an entertaining night of beautifully-defined calf muscles, facial hair, heels, big hair, and lots of make-up. We even knew a few of the performers: the elegant Miss Ella Gant who has a patented Duct-Tape Boob Job and Gloria Manderbilt, founder of the Garden Hoers Club and famous for her "bridge and purge" garden parties. It was hilarious and a much-needed break from the intense week of final exams, papers, and projects.

The Realities of End-of-the-Semester ICK!

'Tis the season to be consumed in research projects and papers, hence the reason I have been deliquent on posting a blog entry. Ugh! I have three papers gormandizing me: the effects of NAFTA on higher education (10-20 pages), a final exam in research methods (12 pages), an annotated bibliography (20 pages), and I just turned in a 13-page article critique. Only 30 more pages to write as the due dates rapidly approaching. Note to self: break into automatic happy dance after completing another page. I have resulted to counting down pages--to keep my sanity--a great numerical representation of my semester diminishing before my eyes. To explain my experience in layman's term: this sucks! I thought that the second semester would be easier to manage, and easier to cope with, however the knots in my shoulders are telling me otherwise. Sometimes I wonder...am I cut out to be a PhD student? Yet, something keeps pushing me...it's the little red train "I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can!"

Photos: Athens Classic City Brewfest: over 175 samples of beer. A great springtime event to drink away the stress!

A Bitter Sweet Scare!

On April Fool's Day...a few of us students became aware of a legislative update that read:

"The Senate committee included a number of reductions in its version of the FY 2010 Budget. For example, the committee eliminated funding for:

The Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia ($2.23 million)..."

At first we thought it was an April Fool's joke and then soon realized it was legitimate. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommended that the entire line item budget (consisting of faculty and staff lines, and all administrative expenses of the program) for the Institute be eliminated, not reduced, not cut...but completely eradicated. We tried not to freak out, but how can you not feel a little anxiety when your existence at the University of Georgia may be cut short due to policymakers making haphazard budget decisions? I found myself not only looking for jobs on the Vail Ski Resort homepage, but dreaming of their tag line, "Like Nothing on Earth." Becoming a ski bum and a yoga instructor suddenly had a sweet ring to it. As I fell asleep that foolish night my breathing was shallow, but my sweet dreams took me immediately to the Rocky Mountains. PhD vs. skiing?!

On April 2, we received this email message from the Director of the Institute: "Some of you may be aware that the Institute of Higher Education (IHE) was caught in the budget cuts in the senate higher education committee earlier this week. Evidently, there was a misunderstanding regarding our role (instruction and research, plus service) and placement in the system; consequently, in the rush to reduce the USG budget, IHE was affected."

Finally, on April 3 the Director of the Institute sent this email, " I just received the news, and I am pleased to let you know that the IHE budget was restored by the conference committee."

Flowers & Showers!

'Tis the season for beautiful new blooms and enough rain to wash them all away. Last week we experienced four soggy days of rain, followed by one sunny day and now it is raining again. I suppose it's not so bad. Georgia has been in a drought since late 2006. The rain has brought much-needed relief to the dry land, so when mother nature spits on a dry canvas you just have to grin and bear it. The good news is that the rain has made an impact...just a few days ago, North Georgia was deemed drought-free.

Plus, the rain makes it easier to be indoors, in front of a computer, typing my life away. Yes, it is officially that time of the semester...brain slam! I have 2 large research projects due in 4 weeks, and a 10-page paper due in 10 days. Then, I'm as free as a bird for the month of May.

PHOTOS: A few of my favorite spring sightings on the University of Georgia campus.

Costa Rica, the Land of Pura Vida!

As the teaching assistant for the Franklin College Residential spring break trip to Costa Rica, I was responsible for chaperoning a group of 15 undergraduate students. My pay-off: a FREE trip to Costa Rica. Not too shabby!

Before taking off to Costa Rica I coordinated four class meetings where we discussed Costa Rican current events, learned about the culture, and even tasted local cuisine prepared by one of our very own UGA faculty members who is a Costa Rican native. Once we arrived in Costa Rica...I was quite surprised by the incredible UGA campus in Monteverde. Yes, UGA owns a "research center" and "eco-lodge" in the lush rain forests of Costa Rica with running hot water and beautifully handcrafted wooden bungalows. The program directors have worked hard to collaborate with the local community and during our 5-day stay we visited a local coffee farm, enjoyed a cooking class in a local woman's house, in addition to all of the students enjoying a one-night home stay with a local family. Our days at the research center were filled with drizzle, mud, wind, a schizophrenic sun, and lots of rainbows. I make it sound so bad, but it was so good...we were literally in the cloud forest where mother nature is in full-effect. The weather did not stop us, we hiked to a waterfall, took Spanish classes, milked cows, went horseback riding, and swung through the rain forest likes monkeys on a zip-line. Another brilliant feature of the UGA ecolodge is that it is all inclusive, the meals are prepared by local community members which makes for some delicious gallo pinto (rice and beans), juicy fresh fruit, and a colorful array of food.

The last two days of the trip were spent at Playa Grande (big beach). The students took surf lessons while I soaked up the sun, did yoga, and walked the beach. It was quite fabulous! Now, back to the grind...

Spring Break in Costa Rica

I'm off to Costa Rica for a week of rainforest and beach fun. I am serving as a teaching assistant for one of my professors who is the faculty director for a spring break course. Pretty sweet gig! Alas, sunscreen and bug juice in tow! More photos later...

Spring 2009 Semester Courses

Now that the spring semester is in full swing, I will attempt to describe the courses I am taking this semester. Before I begin, I just have to say this semester is proving to be much more organic (easy) than the fall semester, as I am enjoying the coursework and life in Athens. (Wow, I never thought I would link 'enjoying' and 'Athens' in the same sentence.)
PHOTO: The ladies research group. Dr. Sheila Slaughter on left, Jennifer, Stephanie, Dr. Amy Metcalfe, and me!

Comparative International Higher Education:

In this course, we travel around the world and learn about (and critique) research conducted on everything from faculty satisfaction to World Bank policies to the effects of globalization. So far, we have traveled from Latin America to Europe to Africa. The past two weeks we discussed how the neo-liberal agenda of World Bank conditionalities are imposed on developing countries. The neo-colonialism agenda is still alive and kickin'! This is by far one of my favorite courses. My professor is Dr. Tom Dyer, who is famous at UGA for his historical account of the University. He is a BIG deal on campus! Just the other day I saw his name (again) on a plaque in a building. Not only is he the historical father of UGA, he is a father figure who is not afraid to correct spoken English in the classroom and believes that content is substance and grammar. For this course we have to write 3 short papers on international topics of our choice and one BIG final project (25 papes).

Introduction to Research Methods:

This course is a research methods sampler platter. We read and discuss the basics of research methods: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method approaches. My professor, Dr. Jim Hearn, is another BIG deal! He has been around the higher education research block for quite some time and is well respected in the field. We just had our mid-term for this course which was multiple choice and short essay on the foundations of higher education research: theories and current issues in the research world. Even though this course is basic, I find it to be a nice primer for future research ideas. In addition to the mid-term, there will be a final exam and a 10-page paper.

International Policy Studies:
PHOTO: Peter Maassen (far left), Sheila Slaughter to his right and Dr. Dyer is standing behind me, and my PhD colleagues.

Visiting professors from around the globe teach this course, reminiscent of my studies in Europe. The first professor in the series, Dr. Amy Metcalfe from Canada, taught a course about gender disparity in higher education. She is also coordinating the research grant with Dr. Sheila Slaughter of which I am a research assistant for, therefore many meetings (with wine) ensued during her visit. Next up is Dr. Peter Maassen from Europe, who just left yesterday, he taught a course on the European integration of higher education (a topic near and dear). Dr. Maassen was my Master's thesis advisor in Oslo, so it was nice to catch up with him and discuss a few collaborative ideas for comparative research. Finally, there is another professor from Norway, Dr. Berit Karseth, who will teach a course on the European integration of curriculum. For each of these short courses we are expected to write a 10-page paper on the topic presented by the professor.

Day After the Snow Storm: CARNAGE!

After 6.5 inches of wet and soggy snow last night, the town of Athens, Georgia shutdown. When I woke up this morning, I was amazed at how bright Athens was...the contrast of white glistening snow and sunny blue skies made for a beautiful day. Many people lost power last night, as trees and power lines--weighed down by heavy snow--came crashing down resulting in candle-lit evenings. I visited friends at the local watering hole, who were without power since 4 p.m. yesterday. They were warming up with the local brew, and charging up their cell phones and computers. This is what I love about snow-days, you have permission to do things that you would normally not be doing on a Monday...like bantering about snowstorm war stories and playing games in the local watering hole. As I walked through the downtown area, I took a few photos of the carnage left behind from the storm. Trees were uprooted, split in half, and cars were stranded everywhere...including the middle of the streets.

Here are a few facebook status updates from friends:

*Cody was loving the snowstorm that we're getting in Athens, until it caused a tree to fall on his brand new car. :( The cab is crushed and the back window...

*Raychel is offering up food, shelter, etc. to anyone still without power in Athens!

*Anthony is hoping his power comes back on soon. But the snow is nice (as is a closed UGA--no midterm tonight!)
*Johanna finds it quite strange to wake up to snow in Athens.

*Stephanie has heat and power, for anyone needing to warm up!

UGA CLOSED ALL DAY MONDAY, MARCH 2

Woohoo, a spring snow storm hit Georgia in March. This almost NEVER happens, except for today! After a trip to Atlanta, we played in the snow on campus, took photos, pushed cars that were stuck, dodged falling trees, drank wine, made chili, and lamented in the fact that school/work is canceled tomorrow.

TO: UGA Faculty, Staff and Students
To update all previous announcements -- The University of Georgia Athens campus will be closed all day Monday, March 2. Personnel previously designated for duty during weather emergencies should report as assigned.

Heard on the streets of downtown Athens earlier today, "I have lived here all of
my life and I have never seen it snow like this before."

I'm Leaving the Country AGAIN!

Last semester, as I settled into the vicissitude of life I asked myself...how can I make the most out of this 4-year PhD journey? The destination was clear: a PhD credential, and the journey was yet to manifest. You see, I believe we manifest our journey through life, the reality we choose to live, and the experiences we have. Hence, I began researching international research opportunities (of which I was surprised to find so many). I could not resist a few opportunities, so I threw my name in the hat and let fate takes its course. Just last week I was offered (and accepted) an opportunity to live and study at Oxford University for six months. In July, I board a plane with insipid airplane food and fly over the Atlantic Ocean destined for the Queen's country, England! Here's the deal: I will work with the UGA/Oxford study abroad program as I pursue a few research projects with an Oxford professor. Of course I make it sound like the decision to take the offer was a no-brainer, which it was from a very personal (and irrational) perspective. However, from a rational perspective there were copious logistical issues I deliberated on (missing a semester of academic coursework, moving again, assessing the financial situation, winning the support of my professors, and coming back to Athens without a campus job). In the end...my motto, "Jump and the net will appear," prevailed! So, book your flights!

For me, this is a dream come true; to reside and study at a medieval European University that has tradition, rituals, and history that dates back to the 13th century. Oxford has been referred to as the 'themepark for academic geekhood'. Am I on the path of becoming an academic geek? To be continued...