...the books that suck you in and make you forget about everything else you need to do...
I blame Stephenie Meyer.
good night.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
To make up for yesterday...
...I will attempt to write TWO (yes, count 'em, two) blogs today! I am hoping that by doing one now I can then undertake another one in a few hours time.
I was just reading an article about taste...as in taste in food. According to this author, taste is dictated to us through media outlets such as TV commercials, magazines, supply at supermarkets, and the officiating presence of mass-produced cookbooks. Now, this is quite a grand statement. To assume that taste is not, in fact, something which we develop as children and then carry with us all our lives (which has traditionally been a common theme in Social studies of food behavior). No, this article is assuming that we are so weak-minded that our taste for what is "good" or "bad" can be swayed by the media and popular culture.
I am not claiming that either of these theories is wrong...but I don't believe that either of them are independently correct either. As children, we learn culture through seeing it, experiencing it, and recreating it. We learn from our families and whatever influences our parents expose us to. This leads to patterned behavior, which in food-land, means that we develop a taste for what is yum, and what is not so yum. We also in childhood learn habits, such as eating at certain times of day, eating certain types of meals, and eating certain foods in certain ways. This is where kids (at least in America) learn that sugar= the best and broccoli= not so yum. These habits and beliefs become so ingrained within us that as we get older, it becomes harder and harder to see various ways of eating, and types of unknown products as "food".
On the other side of the debate, research HAS shown that by promoting a product in an attractive way, people will be more willing to buy it. This is especially true in regards to food. We all need it to survive. Most of us like it. So it can be quite easy to be sold on an item of food from a commercial or magazine. Of course, this is assuming that the food being promoted is not SO foreign as to be seen as taboo or inedible by the audience.
And there are always the exceptions to the rules. There are people who are always interested in new types of food. They thrive off of new experiences (culinarily, in this context), and they are always open to experience "New" tastes. Also, there are those people who never try new things, no matter who endorses it or what the product consists of.
These first people go against the former theory, and may be considered victims of the latter. The second group may be seen as champions of the former and enemies of the latter.
But in my point of view, they are both neither here nor there. Being cultured a certain way, most people will always find ways to make the unfamiliar familiar through the addition of comfortable ingredients, cooking methods, or ways of eating. They either will or will not become prey to the media's endless onslaught of ideas as to the edibility and desirability of numerous products. Others will not jump in the car and hit their nearest supermarket for the new fad food because of dietary restrictions, yet they may find ingenious ways to try new foods outside of the mediated brand names who pay for their products to be (figuratively) shoved down our throats. The things that are harder to change are habits surrounding food. When food is eaten, where it is eaten, and in what quantity. These things take conscious effort to change. Taste is much more subtle a thing.
What I'm trying (not so eloquently...i'm tired) to say is that we cannot theorize on the concept of "taste" in regards to food. Our taste buds change our entire life, and with globalization our choices are constantly changing too. Culture shifts are nebulous, and we usually cannot see how an outside influence is changing a group or society until after the fact. Hindsight is 20/20, and Heinz' sight is 360...but that doesn't mean they influence us all in the same way.
So don't assume that you will NEVER eat Escargots...or that the burgers and fries you eat are eaten by some sort of free will devoid of cultural influence. Change happens, tastes change.
I was just reading an article about taste...as in taste in food. According to this author, taste is dictated to us through media outlets such as TV commercials, magazines, supply at supermarkets, and the officiating presence of mass-produced cookbooks. Now, this is quite a grand statement. To assume that taste is not, in fact, something which we develop as children and then carry with us all our lives (which has traditionally been a common theme in Social studies of food behavior). No, this article is assuming that we are so weak-minded that our taste for what is "good" or "bad" can be swayed by the media and popular culture.
I am not claiming that either of these theories is wrong...but I don't believe that either of them are independently correct either. As children, we learn culture through seeing it, experiencing it, and recreating it. We learn from our families and whatever influences our parents expose us to. This leads to patterned behavior, which in food-land, means that we develop a taste for what is yum, and what is not so yum. We also in childhood learn habits, such as eating at certain times of day, eating certain types of meals, and eating certain foods in certain ways. This is where kids (at least in America) learn that sugar= the best and broccoli= not so yum. These habits and beliefs become so ingrained within us that as we get older, it becomes harder and harder to see various ways of eating, and types of unknown products as "food".
On the other side of the debate, research HAS shown that by promoting a product in an attractive way, people will be more willing to buy it. This is especially true in regards to food. We all need it to survive. Most of us like it. So it can be quite easy to be sold on an item of food from a commercial or magazine. Of course, this is assuming that the food being promoted is not SO foreign as to be seen as taboo or inedible by the audience.
And there are always the exceptions to the rules. There are people who are always interested in new types of food. They thrive off of new experiences (culinarily, in this context), and they are always open to experience "New" tastes. Also, there are those people who never try new things, no matter who endorses it or what the product consists of.
These first people go against the former theory, and may be considered victims of the latter. The second group may be seen as champions of the former and enemies of the latter.
But in my point of view, they are both neither here nor there. Being cultured a certain way, most people will always find ways to make the unfamiliar familiar through the addition of comfortable ingredients, cooking methods, or ways of eating. They either will or will not become prey to the media's endless onslaught of ideas as to the edibility and desirability of numerous products. Others will not jump in the car and hit their nearest supermarket for the new fad food because of dietary restrictions, yet they may find ingenious ways to try new foods outside of the mediated brand names who pay for their products to be (figuratively) shoved down our throats. The things that are harder to change are habits surrounding food. When food is eaten, where it is eaten, and in what quantity. These things take conscious effort to change. Taste is much more subtle a thing.
What I'm trying (not so eloquently...i'm tired) to say is that we cannot theorize on the concept of "taste" in regards to food. Our taste buds change our entire life, and with globalization our choices are constantly changing too. Culture shifts are nebulous, and we usually cannot see how an outside influence is changing a group or society until after the fact. Hindsight is 20/20, and Heinz' sight is 360...but that doesn't mean they influence us all in the same way.
So don't assume that you will NEVER eat Escargots...or that the burgers and fries you eat are eaten by some sort of free will devoid of cultural influence. Change happens, tastes change.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Acculturation... Inspiration?
Acculturation is the act of exchange of cultural features between groups that come into continuous firsthand contact; such as a migrant culture and the alien culture they find themselves within. Original cultural patterns of either or both groups may be altered with continued contact, but one culture usually dominates the other with their norms and ideals.
This is the phenomenon that I want to study for my PhD. I want to study acculturation through foodways. Food is a dominant part of all cultures, and impacting forces such as religion, myth, folklore, taboo, ritual, festival, migration, and rules all have bearing on food choices we all make. Yes, we may not think these types of rules apply to us. But they do. We have been culturally conditioned to believe that some edible items are "food" and some aren't. Some foods are clean, some dirty, some hot, some cold, some healing, some impassioning, some poisoning.
Food inspires me. I love all types, from the raw to the cooked (there's a Levi-Strauss reference for you), from the hot to the cold, spicy and sweet. I love learning how to make new things: new regional and national delicacies, new methods of cooking, new spices, new ingredients. Because inside all the new, exotic, unheard of foods, there is always a connection. A connection to another place, another time, another people. This connection could stem from ritual significance over time, or from the use of a certain spice across the world, or from the creation of the exact same dish thousands of miles apart, known by a different name, but in essence it is the same food.
Adaption to a new culture is often done as a means to fit in, to fight persecution, and to end or diminish the status as "outsider". But this doesn't always happen. In large groups of migrants, holding on to one's home culture is a way of reinforcing ethnic identity and strengthening the group dynamic. while substitutions, alterations, and secession of certain ingredients or methods might change, the essence of the cuisine will remain the same.
To me as an American, this is an amazing concept. America has been a land of acceptance for centuries (at least of foodways, if not always the people who bring them). As such, there is NO real, indigenous American cuisine. It is an amalgamation of influences, ingredients, methods, rituals, and beliefs from all over the world. Yet we still distinguish between "Italian" "Mexican" and "Japanese" cuisines...even though the "Italian" pizza now has a Thai chicken topping, the "Mexican" taco is filled with california avocado and chinese cabbage, and the "Japanese" sushi roll comes with Mexican hot sauce on top. Fusion is everywhere in America. Especially in restaurants.
All of these ideas are the main motivation for my thesis. the blending of traditions across national and cultural boundaries through the neutral zone of a restaurant. We can be anything we want, from anywhere we please, when we eat. Food has the power to transform us through new smells, tastes, and sensations. for the traveller who can't afford to leave their home town, ethnic restaurants can be the window through which they vicariously traverse the map.
Food is inspiration. Acculturation is the means by which we become inspired.
This is the phenomenon that I want to study for my PhD. I want to study acculturation through foodways. Food is a dominant part of all cultures, and impacting forces such as religion, myth, folklore, taboo, ritual, festival, migration, and rules all have bearing on food choices we all make. Yes, we may not think these types of rules apply to us. But they do. We have been culturally conditioned to believe that some edible items are "food" and some aren't. Some foods are clean, some dirty, some hot, some cold, some healing, some impassioning, some poisoning.
Food inspires me. I love all types, from the raw to the cooked (there's a Levi-Strauss reference for you), from the hot to the cold, spicy and sweet. I love learning how to make new things: new regional and national delicacies, new methods of cooking, new spices, new ingredients. Because inside all the new, exotic, unheard of foods, there is always a connection. A connection to another place, another time, another people. This connection could stem from ritual significance over time, or from the use of a certain spice across the world, or from the creation of the exact same dish thousands of miles apart, known by a different name, but in essence it is the same food.
Adaption to a new culture is often done as a means to fit in, to fight persecution, and to end or diminish the status as "outsider". But this doesn't always happen. In large groups of migrants, holding on to one's home culture is a way of reinforcing ethnic identity and strengthening the group dynamic. while substitutions, alterations, and secession of certain ingredients or methods might change, the essence of the cuisine will remain the same.
To me as an American, this is an amazing concept. America has been a land of acceptance for centuries (at least of foodways, if not always the people who bring them). As such, there is NO real, indigenous American cuisine. It is an amalgamation of influences, ingredients, methods, rituals, and beliefs from all over the world. Yet we still distinguish between "Italian" "Mexican" and "Japanese" cuisines...even though the "Italian" pizza now has a Thai chicken topping, the "Mexican" taco is filled with california avocado and chinese cabbage, and the "Japanese" sushi roll comes with Mexican hot sauce on top. Fusion is everywhere in America. Especially in restaurants.
All of these ideas are the main motivation for my thesis. the blending of traditions across national and cultural boundaries through the neutral zone of a restaurant. We can be anything we want, from anywhere we please, when we eat. Food has the power to transform us through new smells, tastes, and sensations. for the traveller who can't afford to leave their home town, ethnic restaurants can be the window through which they vicariously traverse the map.
Food is inspiration. Acculturation is the means by which we become inspired.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
I Want...
...to change a lot about myself. Why is it that humans are always striving to change things about themselves that they dislike? When did we begin to recognize the difference between ourselves and others as a possible reason for self-change? Probably two seconds after we began to string sounds together into coherent longer groups of sounds that turned into words that we used to state our thoughts and make the categories and comparisons that have come to set us apart from other animals as the "intelligent" ones...
....stupid bloody early Homo sapiens...So this month is the blog-a-day thingy...I'm not officially doing it on the website...but I will try to post something everyday as a motivation for the new changes I am starting to bring into my life tomorrow.
1) I need to get out of this residence I live in. It is literally making me crazy. Crazy being a mix of angry, anxious, and depressed. Terrible mix. I don't want to be the chick that goes crazy and lights herself on fire, running down the street in flames, and ending in the Firth of Forth in the middle of winter. The only good that comes from things like that is a news story. Self-cremation isn't for me.
2) I need to detox. Not one of those silly only drink Tabasco, water, and syrup things...but a detox of sugar, wheat, dairy, and meat. I need better eating habits if I am serious about my plan to live to be 100 years old (another reason I need to escape the Res). I am also supposed to cut out caffeine and alcohol. Really, the caffeine is impossible. I have school work to do. The last thing I need is caffeine withdrawals for a week. I'll just wean myself down a bit...and the no alcohol will be easier. I don't drink that often anyways...
3) I need to find my focus. Focus for my thesis. I need to procrastinate less. Yes, I know a blog is just another possible distraction...but I am hoping the blog will hold me accountable. I may print this one to remind me who and what I am doing all of this for:
my health
my future
my family
my friends
my HAPPINESS
if that isn't worth it, then what is?!?!?
....stupid bloody early Homo sapiens...So this month is the blog-a-day thingy...I'm not officially doing it on the website...but I will try to post something everyday as a motivation for the new changes I am starting to bring into my life tomorrow.
1) I need to get out of this residence I live in. It is literally making me crazy. Crazy being a mix of angry, anxious, and depressed. Terrible mix. I don't want to be the chick that goes crazy and lights herself on fire, running down the street in flames, and ending in the Firth of Forth in the middle of winter. The only good that comes from things like that is a news story. Self-cremation isn't for me.
2) I need to detox. Not one of those silly only drink Tabasco, water, and syrup things...but a detox of sugar, wheat, dairy, and meat. I need better eating habits if I am serious about my plan to live to be 100 years old (another reason I need to escape the Res). I am also supposed to cut out caffeine and alcohol. Really, the caffeine is impossible. I have school work to do. The last thing I need is caffeine withdrawals for a week. I'll just wean myself down a bit...and the no alcohol will be easier. I don't drink that often anyways...
3) I need to find my focus. Focus for my thesis. I need to procrastinate less. Yes, I know a blog is just another possible distraction...but I am hoping the blog will hold me accountable. I may print this one to remind me who and what I am doing all of this for:
my health
my future
my family
my friends
my HAPPINESS
if that isn't worth it, then what is?!?!?
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
The Door to the Year...
"January is named for Janus, the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door (ianua) - January is the door to the year" (wikipedia)
the past month has definitely been one that can be symbolized by doors. In many different cultures and religions, doors are seen as portals:
Door: Hope; opportunity; opening; passage from one state or world to another; entrance to new life; initiation;
the sheltering aspect of the Great Mother. The open door is both opportunity and liberation.
Christian:Christ— “I am the door.” The three doors of a cathedral or church signify faith, hope, and charity.
Hindu:Divinities are carved on door jambs, indicating the deity through which man enters the Supreme Presence.
Mithraic:The entrance to the seven zones of Paradise or the cave of initiation.
Roman:Janus is the god of the doorway and holds the keys of the power of opening and closing.
Zodiacal:The summer solstice in Cancer, is the “door of men” and symbolizes the dying power & descent of the sun, the Janua inferni.The winter solstice in Capricorn, the “door of the gods” is the ascent & rising power of the sun, the Janua coeli. These doors are also associated with the entrances and exits of initiation caves and with souls entering and leaving the world. In Hinduism they are the deva-yana (Janua coeli)& the pitri-yana (Janua inferni).
(Dar-Initiation caves are prevalent in "A War of Witches")
Looking back on the past month, I can see that January has definitely lived up to its name. Not only has it ushered in a new calendar year, but January has also led to new ideas, discoveries, resolutions, decisions, friendships, and pitfalls.
New Years itself was eventful...
Shawn and James arrived in London on December 28th...for Dar and I, it was a giddy, surreal moment-when two completely different planes of life come crashing together, like the layering of two semi-transparent photos together to create a new, slightly weird in its complete normality, picture of your life. this happened the to me the first time i visited Dar in London after moving here...but having Shawn and James here...two completely non-student, non-long term, non-UK kids...really brought the contrast into high relief. It was fabulous.
We all trekked up to Edinburgh that night on the bus ride from Hell...
and then the Hogmanay extravaganza began!
In Edinburgh, the celebration of New Years is still referred to as "Hogmanay" and this city does it right! Four days of events, including the kick-off of the torch ceremony, in which thousands of people with torches trek up Calton hill and light a Viking effigy, then watch fireworks to begin the official Hogmanay.
The next three days are filled with concerts, Ceilidhs (traditional dances), parties, and the big Princes Street Party to officially bring in the New Year. the entire street is closed off to allow thousands of people to wander, socialize, drink, and listen to various bands perform. Midnight brings amazing fireworks...and then the party keeps going!
I was lucky to spend this time with some wonderful people-Dar, Shawn and James of course; and also Chris Taylor, Ken, and many of my Edinburgh friends. It was definitely an experience I will never forget!
January 2nd brought the usual New Years reflections on life and all its subtle quirks and questions...what to do about my thesis, where to go for fieldwork, when can I return home to see my friends and family? will i get funding? where will I live when my lease is up? what was I doing a year ago? how can the Twilight books be THIS good? have I really lived here for four months already? ???????
all these questions and musings are doors, of course...doors into my conscious/subconscious mind...things I worry about and ponder both awake and while sleeping (I'm light sleeper, and as such I often remember my dreams). None of these things are any scarier or worse than other years, or other times, but when you find yourself facing an entirely NEW set of months over which to leave your mark and make a difference, some things just become more important and thrown into sharp relief. This IS the time to make changes, to become self-aware, and to allow the symbolic nature of this time of year to carry you to resolutions for your life. It should be called a New Life resolution....not New Year...a year, in all actuality, is far too transient.
I know I must sound strange and metaphysical...But I do believe that there is powerful potential in the New Year...we just need to find it, hold on, and be willing to go for a ride!
I have met some wonderful people these last few months, and seen some wonderful things...I can't wait to see what 2009 brings!
<3
the past month has definitely been one that can be symbolized by doors. In many different cultures and religions, doors are seen as portals:
Door: Hope; opportunity; opening; passage from one state or world to another; entrance to new life; initiation;
the sheltering aspect of the Great Mother. The open door is both opportunity and liberation.
Christian:Christ— “I am the door.” The three doors of a cathedral or church signify faith, hope, and charity.
Hindu:Divinities are carved on door jambs, indicating the deity through which man enters the Supreme Presence.
Mithraic:The entrance to the seven zones of Paradise or the cave of initiation.
Roman:Janus is the god of the doorway and holds the keys of the power of opening and closing.
Zodiacal:The summer solstice in Cancer, is the “door of men” and symbolizes the dying power & descent of the sun, the Janua inferni.The winter solstice in Capricorn, the “door of the gods” is the ascent & rising power of the sun, the Janua coeli. These doors are also associated with the entrances and exits of initiation caves and with souls entering and leaving the world. In Hinduism they are the deva-yana (Janua coeli)& the pitri-yana (Janua inferni).
(Dar-Initiation caves are prevalent in "A War of Witches")
Looking back on the past month, I can see that January has definitely lived up to its name. Not only has it ushered in a new calendar year, but January has also led to new ideas, discoveries, resolutions, decisions, friendships, and pitfalls.
New Years itself was eventful...
Shawn and James arrived in London on December 28th...for Dar and I, it was a giddy, surreal moment-when two completely different planes of life come crashing together, like the layering of two semi-transparent photos together to create a new, slightly weird in its complete normality, picture of your life. this happened the to me the first time i visited Dar in London after moving here...but having Shawn and James here...two completely non-student, non-long term, non-UK kids...really brought the contrast into high relief. It was fabulous.
We all trekked up to Edinburgh that night on the bus ride from Hell...
and then the Hogmanay extravaganza began!
In Edinburgh, the celebration of New Years is still referred to as "Hogmanay" and this city does it right! Four days of events, including the kick-off of the torch ceremony, in which thousands of people with torches trek up Calton hill and light a Viking effigy, then watch fireworks to begin the official Hogmanay.
The next three days are filled with concerts, Ceilidhs (traditional dances), parties, and the big Princes Street Party to officially bring in the New Year. the entire street is closed off to allow thousands of people to wander, socialize, drink, and listen to various bands perform. Midnight brings amazing fireworks...and then the party keeps going!
I was lucky to spend this time with some wonderful people-Dar, Shawn and James of course; and also Chris Taylor, Ken, and many of my Edinburgh friends. It was definitely an experience I will never forget!
January 2nd brought the usual New Years reflections on life and all its subtle quirks and questions...what to do about my thesis, where to go for fieldwork, when can I return home to see my friends and family? will i get funding? where will I live when my lease is up? what was I doing a year ago? how can the Twilight books be THIS good? have I really lived here for four months already? ???????
all these questions and musings are doors, of course...doors into my conscious/subconscious mind...things I worry about and ponder both awake and while sleeping (I'm light sleeper, and as such I often remember my dreams). None of these things are any scarier or worse than other years, or other times, but when you find yourself facing an entirely NEW set of months over which to leave your mark and make a difference, some things just become more important and thrown into sharp relief. This IS the time to make changes, to become self-aware, and to allow the symbolic nature of this time of year to carry you to resolutions for your life. It should be called a New Life resolution....not New Year...a year, in all actuality, is far too transient.
I know I must sound strange and metaphysical...But I do believe that there is powerful potential in the New Year...we just need to find it, hold on, and be willing to go for a ride!
I have met some wonderful people these last few months, and seen some wonderful things...I can't wait to see what 2009 brings!
<3
Thursday, 25 December 2008
JOYEUX NOELLE!
Holidays are a funny thing...we become so used to spending certain holidays with certain people doing certain things...then, when all of these comfortable normalcy's are either taken away or left behind, we finally begin to understand how important and cherished they have always been...
2008 is the second Christmas in a row I have spent apart from my nuclear family...and the first Christmas I have spent apart from ALL family, and America...
Christmas in London has been an experience. Both in the resilience of those who have been separated from their loved ones and the effects that family and ritual have on the power that holidays hold over us.
I spent Christmas in London, UK with my friend Darleen. We are both students, living in the UK for a Master's degree, and neither of us were able to go home for the holidays. Seeing as we are close friends, both in sentiment and in proximity, we were both glad to spend time together for Christmas. Although, seeing as we did not have other friends or family to meet up with, and 90 percent of London closes down from 8 pm on December 24 until the morning of the 27th, Christmas was not exactly the foreign holiday one might expect from seeing the movies.
We spent most of the week cooking amazing food,
watching bad Brit TV and movies, lounging around talking about our friends and family, and the Holiday traditions we were missing the most...and making a special Christmas video...
Yes, this is what happens when two twenty-something females are left alone on Christmas...HAHA!
Overall, Christmas was nice, Dar and I bought each other the Twilight book...proving once again just how similar our nerdy-ness is and how well we know each other...
Hehee...yes, I have officially fallen into the Twilight mania...
Now that I'm back in Edinburgh, And the New Year is upon me, I look on this Christmas both happily and thankfully...Dar and I never seem to bore each other, and we were so lucky to have each other this year! If she or I had gone home for Christmas, or if one of us had never come here for University, it could have been a very lonely holiday! Thank goodness for our mutual love of Brit Uni!
I loved being able to talk to my extended family on my Mom's side on the 21st on Skype...
It was a lot of fun, although bittersweet because I missed seeing so many people I never get to spend time with...But that comes with the territory of growing up, I guess. We have to make the choices that in the past were either made for us or else not even choices to consider...
Sometimes growing up is hard to do...but at least it makes you appreciate what you have in your life...the people and places and traditions that were taken for granted suddenly get thrown into stark relief against the background of their absence...you realize just how special they are, and just what they actually mean to you in excruciating detail...(or maybe that's just the anthropologist over-analyzing again...)
Holidays are a funny thing...
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
<3
2008 is the second Christmas in a row I have spent apart from my nuclear family...and the first Christmas I have spent apart from ALL family, and America...
Christmas in London has been an experience. Both in the resilience of those who have been separated from their loved ones and the effects that family and ritual have on the power that holidays hold over us.
I spent Christmas in London, UK with my friend Darleen. We are both students, living in the UK for a Master's degree, and neither of us were able to go home for the holidays. Seeing as we are close friends, both in sentiment and in proximity, we were both glad to spend time together for Christmas. Although, seeing as we did not have other friends or family to meet up with, and 90 percent of London closes down from 8 pm on December 24 until the morning of the 27th, Christmas was not exactly the foreign holiday one might expect from seeing the movies.
We spent most of the week cooking amazing food,
watching bad Brit TV and movies, lounging around talking about our friends and family, and the Holiday traditions we were missing the most...and making a special Christmas video...
Yes, this is what happens when two twenty-something females are left alone on Christmas...HAHA!
Overall, Christmas was nice, Dar and I bought each other the Twilight book...proving once again just how similar our nerdy-ness is and how well we know each other...
Hehee...yes, I have officially fallen into the Twilight mania...
Now that I'm back in Edinburgh, And the New Year is upon me, I look on this Christmas both happily and thankfully...Dar and I never seem to bore each other, and we were so lucky to have each other this year! If she or I had gone home for Christmas, or if one of us had never come here for University, it could have been a very lonely holiday! Thank goodness for our mutual love of Brit Uni!
I loved being able to talk to my extended family on my Mom's side on the 21st on Skype...
It was a lot of fun, although bittersweet because I missed seeing so many people I never get to spend time with...But that comes with the territory of growing up, I guess. We have to make the choices that in the past were either made for us or else not even choices to consider...
Sometimes growing up is hard to do...but at least it makes you appreciate what you have in your life...the people and places and traditions that were taken for granted suddenly get thrown into stark relief against the background of their absence...you realize just how special they are, and just what they actually mean to you in excruciating detail...(or maybe that's just the anthropologist over-analyzing again...)
Holidays are a funny thing...
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
<3
Monday, 15 December 2008
Well Its Christmas Time Again...
"Well its Christmas time again….decorations are all hung by the fire…everybody’s singing, all the bells are ringing out…and its Christmas all over again…” (i don't know who sings it, but it's a song!)
I can’t believe that 2008 is already coming to a close. This has been a very eventful year! And yes, you might be thinking
“EVERY year is an eventful year…seeing as everyday life is full of random events and happenings”
and while this is definitely true, 2008 has seemed much more eventful for me because of the TYPES of events I have had/experienced/seen, etc. whether this is because as I get older I place more importance on the mindful appreciation of different types of events, encounters, and happenings, or because I now have the time to reflect upon the differences between 2007 and 2008, I feel justified in saying that this year has been a wild ride!
But lets get to that later…I know that I haven’t written in almost three weeks…and there is good reason for that! I have jam-packed quite a lot into those three weeks, and unfortunately it was the updates that got shunted to the bottom of the list of things to do.
Thanksgiving was an interesting event…in that there were two Americans, two Canadians, and a Belgian celebrating it together…I made a great sweet potato-pecan pie…yum!
That weekend was also the National Holiday of Scotland: St. Andrew’s Day. He is the patron Saint of Scotland, and the Scottish flag (the saltiere) is supposed to represent St. Andrew’s Cross in the sky (there is a story about this, something about seeing the cross in the clouds…I don’t remember it though) Anywho, St. Andrew’s Day is the one day each year that Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, and the Edinburgh Zoo are open to the public for free! So Katrien, Tina, and I went to the zoo to see the penguins (Katrien had never seen penguins before…the Belgian zoos are apparently deficient in the penguin department)
It was nice to go for free, but it was also BLOODY FREEZING! Before we left for the zoo at 11:30 the thermometer was holding steady at 27 degrees…Fahrenheit
…that’s right folks, I walked around a zoo all day in BELOW freezing temperatures. It was intensely cold. No bueno. But the zoo was nice, although I think I would like it better in a more hospitable weather situation. Ah well, at least it wasn’t raining!
(view from the zoo...it looks COLD!)
The next week saw the beginning of the end-of term-stress-madness. Lectures over, research and papers and projects abound! I also had things like meetings for the committee representatives, Katrien’s birthday celebration, the last Mediterranean Gastronomic Society event of the term, the arrival of Darleen for a visit, and a Holiday party thrown by one of my lecturers for the Anthropology department. Whew. All in one week! And last but not least:
I cut off my hair! That’s right, I decided to just go for it and cut it all off. I was going to just get a trim, but in a moment of sleep-deprived insanity I got it all cut off instead. They were nice enough to gice me my hair in a clear bag to carry around Edinburgh as well...looked classy, I'm sure! I wan to donate it, so if anyone knows of a company that will take bleached (i.e. highlighted hair) let me know! (Locks of Love won’t, unfortunately)
So Dar was here for a fab reason: Coldplay concert in Glasgow! It was so fun! We went with my other friends Tina, Yara, and Wissam. We took the train into Glasgow, and after the concert we had to BOOK IT through the streets of Glasgow to catch the last train. It was literally one of those movie moments where you jump on the train 0.5 seconds before it starts moving away from the station. Oh, the drama! It was definitely an interesting way to end the night!
We also went to the Edinburgh Christmas fair, which is a combination German Christmas market/Scottish Christmas market/Carnival. Good food, ice skating, crafty type stuff, rides, etc.
After Dar left the next day, I was on lockdown to finish my two papers due the 11th and 12th. The internet in my building decided to go out, (perfect timing, right?) and I spent literally 2 straight days inside the Chrystal Macmillan Building at school where the research students have our own room with computers, internet, etc. This was only tolerable because my two Anthro partners in crime, Lucy and Siobhan, were there as well, we all had lack of sleep induced mini-breakdown/fall into insanity/too much caffeine/ridiculous “how is this my life?” moments together…its always nice to know that you aren’t going insane alone, haha!
After Friday, things got better, seeing as I was all done with papers and projects! I got to enjoy the whole weekend, with gossip sessions, wine, museum trips, and (still) sleep deprived giddiness. Not to worry, I plan to sleep next weekend when I get to London!
Tomorrow I leave for a three-day trip to Dublin with my friends Katrien, Tina, and Emilie. This should be an interesting trip, and a nice way to end the term!
Hope everyone is well, and tucking in for a fabulous holiday season!
Love, Kim
I can’t believe that 2008 is already coming to a close. This has been a very eventful year! And yes, you might be thinking
“EVERY year is an eventful year…seeing as everyday life is full of random events and happenings”
and while this is definitely true, 2008 has seemed much more eventful for me because of the TYPES of events I have had/experienced/seen, etc. whether this is because as I get older I place more importance on the mindful appreciation of different types of events, encounters, and happenings, or because I now have the time to reflect upon the differences between 2007 and 2008, I feel justified in saying that this year has been a wild ride!
But lets get to that later…I know that I haven’t written in almost three weeks…and there is good reason for that! I have jam-packed quite a lot into those three weeks, and unfortunately it was the updates that got shunted to the bottom of the list of things to do.
Thanksgiving was an interesting event…in that there were two Americans, two Canadians, and a Belgian celebrating it together…I made a great sweet potato-pecan pie…yum!
That weekend was also the National Holiday of Scotland: St. Andrew’s Day. He is the patron Saint of Scotland, and the Scottish flag (the saltiere) is supposed to represent St. Andrew’s Cross in the sky (there is a story about this, something about seeing the cross in the clouds…I don’t remember it though) Anywho, St. Andrew’s Day is the one day each year that Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, and the Edinburgh Zoo are open to the public for free! So Katrien, Tina, and I went to the zoo to see the penguins (Katrien had never seen penguins before…the Belgian zoos are apparently deficient in the penguin department)
It was nice to go for free, but it was also BLOODY FREEZING! Before we left for the zoo at 11:30 the thermometer was holding steady at 27 degrees…Fahrenheit
…that’s right folks, I walked around a zoo all day in BELOW freezing temperatures. It was intensely cold. No bueno. But the zoo was nice, although I think I would like it better in a more hospitable weather situation. Ah well, at least it wasn’t raining!
(view from the zoo...it looks COLD!) The next week saw the beginning of the end-of term-stress-madness. Lectures over, research and papers and projects abound! I also had things like meetings for the committee representatives, Katrien’s birthday celebration, the last Mediterranean Gastronomic Society event of the term, the arrival of Darleen for a visit, and a Holiday party thrown by one of my lecturers for the Anthropology department. Whew. All in one week! And last but not least:
I cut off my hair! That’s right, I decided to just go for it and cut it all off. I was going to just get a trim, but in a moment of sleep-deprived insanity I got it all cut off instead. They were nice enough to gice me my hair in a clear bag to carry around Edinburgh as well...looked classy, I'm sure! I wan to donate it, so if anyone knows of a company that will take bleached (i.e. highlighted hair) let me know! (Locks of Love won’t, unfortunately) So Dar was here for a fab reason: Coldplay concert in Glasgow! It was so fun! We went with my other friends Tina, Yara, and Wissam. We took the train into Glasgow, and after the concert we had to BOOK IT through the streets of Glasgow to catch the last train. It was literally one of those movie moments where you jump on the train 0.5 seconds before it starts moving away from the station. Oh, the drama! It was definitely an interesting way to end the night!
We also went to the Edinburgh Christmas fair, which is a combination German Christmas market/Scottish Christmas market/Carnival. Good food, ice skating, crafty type stuff, rides, etc.
After Dar left the next day, I was on lockdown to finish my two papers due the 11th and 12th. The internet in my building decided to go out, (perfect timing, right?) and I spent literally 2 straight days inside the Chrystal Macmillan Building at school where the research students have our own room with computers, internet, etc. This was only tolerable because my two Anthro partners in crime, Lucy and Siobhan, were there as well, we all had lack of sleep induced mini-breakdown/fall into insanity/too much caffeine/ridiculous “how is this my life?” moments together…its always nice to know that you aren’t going insane alone, haha!
After Friday, things got better, seeing as I was all done with papers and projects! I got to enjoy the whole weekend, with gossip sessions, wine, museum trips, and (still) sleep deprived giddiness. Not to worry, I plan to sleep next weekend when I get to London!
Tomorrow I leave for a three-day trip to Dublin with my friends Katrien, Tina, and Emilie. This should be an interesting trip, and a nice way to end the term!
Hope everyone is well, and tucking in for a fabulous holiday season!
Love, Kim
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