Skip to main content

Change of Pace



A view of the Turku archipelago in the frigid weather. PC: Sami
All of my time in the past month has been spent with doing one of two things: preparing for next year and making sure I get done with this year. The flurry of activity has been a welcome change to the rather luxuriously slow pace that had been defining my days up until now but in the process, this blog has fallen by the wayside. So what are these many things that have been taking up my time? 


1.     Ice skating

This is by far not what has occupied most of my time, but I think it has been the most refreshing. Last year I went ice skating only once and, as thrilling as it was, never got around to going again. Plus, the weather last year was so mild that you had to take advantage of cold days when they came to get much time on the ice. This year has been much better and ice skating has been a great excuse to bring people together. It’s this year’s version of chai. Thanks to my mother, four years of ice skating lessons make this an enjoyable rather than stressful activity and I can even play hockey (or more accurately, play around with a puck) sometimes with my hockey loving boyfriend. The following video was taken by a friend while we skated on Turku's "worm."


2.     Thesis

Working on my thesis has shaped my weekdays and some weekends. The analysis phase was rife with uncertainty as I continuously felt I did not know what I was doing. It helped to hear that other colleagues said they felt the same but what has helped most has been my advisor. His constant patience and understanding has made it easier to approach him with what I think are issues I should be figuring out on my own but have no idea how to begin approaching. In our last meeting, when I apologized for not articulating what I had been doing well enough, he said that learning how to articulate the process was just part of the process of becoming a researcher.

3.     Event planning

This semester has been about planning events important for the community, one for the general Turku community and one for our program community. Both have been very different experiences and have taught me quite a bit about working in groups in ways that class projects never did. I have learned how important it is to check your own ego when working in a committee, which sometimes means constantly reflecting on my own motivations for saying the things I say or do. I have also learned how important it is to remember other people’s egos are at play and to balance as delicately and carefully as possibly while keeping the goal of the event in mind. And most of all, I have learned the benefits and limitations of working with a group.

4.     Planning for next year

I applied to a few places for a PhD and have been considering my options. When I’m not feeling anxious about all of it, it is rather exciting.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Policy, Privilege and Pudding

Temptation incarnate I have now told myself that I really need to cut down on my sugar habit at least five times since coming to Berkeley. To be clear, this only counts the times I have said this with the serious will power to try changing my eating habits. There are numerous other times when I have thought I ought to change my eating whilst eating a cookie or buying the fourth ice cream in the past five days. My poor fellow has had to deal with listening to me say on every one of these occasions that this time will be different or listen to me dwell excessively on how the day went in terms of eating sugar for the entire time. He’s been a good sport about it and doesn’t judge me for my inability to stay away. I am about to start on my sixth endeavor. This time, I have set a time frame and I am planning on sticking to it. Even though it makes the hours seem so much longer as I continuously talk myself out of eating the chocolate pudding temptingly sitting in the fridge....
Post a Comment
Read more

The Simple Joys

Central Park My answer to people when they ask me how I like New York is to say something diplomatic like “I’m glad it’s only for five years” or “I’ll get used to it” or “It’s the complete opposite of Turku.” This last answer is my favorite to think about. Turku was quiet, peaceful, homogeneous, clean, easy-going. New York is loud, aggressive, diverse, dirty and rushed. I felt at home in Turku, I do not feel at home here. (Though diversity is one thing that New York has going for it over Turku) But there are small pleasures I have discovered and so I will devote this post to those small moments of joy in my new, temporary home. My version of coffee 1.      Coffee. This is not unique to New York— in fact, I actually make it at home so I could make it anywhere—but I have found that nothing compares to making a cup of Indian style cappuccino (hand whipped instant coffee with lots of sugar and only milk) while I read articles...
Post a Comment
Read more

Small Acts of Love

A game of hockey going on on the river My boyfriend plays on a hockey team from September to May. It isn’t an official team—they don’t play games throughout the season and aren’t in any leagues—but they meet diligently every week for practice (he actually plays with two teams but it still isn’t clear to me what the difference is between them except that one team is better than the other). This requires some dedication because practices for both teams are either very late in the evening or very early in the morning. At the end of their season, before they take a break for the summer, the players come together and have a full-length game. I wanted to go last year and this year but wasn’t able to make it either time. Instead I asked him to send me a picture of himself in all of his gear. Last year he sent me a selfie of himself before the game, but without his gear on so I hoped this year he would manage to get a picture with both. He did not. I was willing to drop it, figur...
4 comments
Read more