How on earth did three months go by without an update? Youch! Sometimes Facebook or texting is just so much easier, a quick update here and there. I find that making the time to organise everything and to sit down and write on my blog can be a Sisyphean task, only due to the fact that my to-do list (in both school and life) has been so long, as of late. Apologies.
Anyway, I have made it out alive and will attempt to catch you all up... again.
Uni
Oh boy, this past semester! Truthfully, it was pretty stressful, with a lot of major projects due nearly at all the same time. Throw those deadlines in combined with my personality (Type A, for those who've never met me IRL) and I'll tell you that these past few months were a bit nerve-wracking. However, like most chronic worriers, everything turned out just fine. Also good: I didn't even break out in hives this time! Ha ha! The focus now for these next 24 months will be my research and dissertation: no more classes. Luckily, I'm certain I can create a much more amiable schedule now, especially since I will not have class until 8:30PM three nights a week. Well, that and I can focus on my main topics of interest: youth aggression/violence and feminist poststructuralist theory.
Living Arrangements
We are moving soon. When? Where? I don't exactly know. Places get snatched up pretty quickly in Melbourne and good spots in particular are gone in a flash. We've been spending the past few weeks going to apartment inspections. We need to be out of our current place at the end of July. We found a place that we really love in St Kilda, a bayside suburb which is a twenty-minute tram ride from the CBD. Hopefully all goes smoothly when I go to the real estate on Monday morning to turn in our application. Fingers crossed!
See you soon?
Travelling to the United States from Australia is not cheap. As a matter of fact, the two countries are more or less geographical opposites. If you figure out the reverse coordinates from Minneapolis, the point is actually located in the ocean, midway between Australia and Antarctica. However, we've fallen upon some good fortune in regard to airplane tickets. J needs to return to Minneapolis for business. We figured that this was the perfect time for me to visit as well, since we'd only need to pay for my airfare. So, in exactly six weeks, I will be in Minnesota for two and a half weeks, after a thirteen month absence. I am so excited to see everyone and very excited for some warm weather.
It's always somewhat of a strange feeling to return to the US after spending significant time abroad though. Even though I'm currently living abroad for the third time in my life, the same feelings and emotions always seem to return when I touch down in the United States. I will have to think about if/how I would like to elaborate this feeling more on my blog. Even the greatest of writers can be misinterpreted when issues of nationalism and cultural criticism (using this term here in a purely analytical sense, which implies that critique does not necessarily have negative connotations) are brought to light. This is precisely the reason that I will not engage in debates on Facebook and other online forums. I'm certainly very happy to have face-to-face discussions about any topic in the world, but I feel that when such debates are introduced to the virtual world, tone and emotion are lost and it almost always ends in people feeling angry and frustrated. I just don't want to create any potential drama through misinterpretation of my statements. I'm certain that fellow expats and former expats know exactly what I am talking about.
Anyway, I'm gonna really, really try and post more in the future (I know, I know... you've heard this before!) But again, as I've previously explained, most things now have become quite commonplace for me. I will really try though to come through for you guys. Promise. x
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