Ponderings from the Week

1.  Last week I had the opportunity to cantor at mass.  Usually Carter, a talented music major, sings, but he was gone skiing this past weekend.  So by process of elimination, I got to lead the psalm.  One of my favorite things about singing the psalm is how after I intone the refrain, I can always hear the congregation sing it back.  It reminds me how the purpose of leading the psalm is to help the congregation participate in song.  It's quite the cool feeling.  :)

2.  It is definitely challenging to be a young instructor.  I feel that sometimes my students don't see me as a very intimidating authoritative figure (imagine that).  I had one case where a student spoke English right after I directly told him not to.  I kinda stopped the class, went to my table, and got my attendance sheet so that I could mark him down for participation points.  Sadly, I don't think he got it.  However, after class, I mentioned to him how his speaking in English hurt his grade.  The next class went well, so maybe that was all the wake-up call he needed.  Students need to realize that, although I may be younger than their other instructors, I still am in charge of grading!

3.  I have one professor that simply cracks me up.  I'm taking a theoretical linguistics class in the English department, and it's my first semester with this professor.  In one breath, she's drilling us on how graduate students need to work really hard and need to fail along the way so they can learn.  And then in the next breath, she asks us in a motherly way whether or not this class is too hard for us.  I'm amused.

4.  I get to go to Washington D.C. in March!  I got accepted to present a paper at Georgetown University.  Woo!  I'm very excited to visit our nation's capital for the first time, especially after the historic events of this past week.  But I'm also excited for the conference.  I got the schedule of presenters today, and it was so amazing to see familiar names on the line-up!  It's exciting to think that I will finally get to meet some of the scholars whose work I have been studying.  It will be a great learning adventure.  

5.  Last night a bunch of my graduate student friends got together for a reunion dinner.  Maya, one of the coordinators of Tech's Seville program, was in town, and we wanted to get a group together to celebrate.  As we all gathered around the dining room table, it struck me what a diverse group of friends I have.  The discourse and the food reflected the diversity.  It made me feel very blessed because of the many opportunities I have been given.  :)