Once you read this blog entry you will get a pleasant Spanish language music video surprise at the bottom of the box...blog. Not box. Sorry, I´m thinking about how ravenously hungry I am and how amazing cereal would be right now.
So here is my pseudo existential crisis of the moment:
Two days ago I was leaving my creative writing class and sprinting to print out a poem we were going to discuss in my next class (which, of course, I hadn´t read) and while i was cursing under my breath at the snail-paced computers in the library my professor walked up to me, one Señor José Kozer, and he said hello and asked what my major was. I told him linguistics because I thought he would already know it was an M.A. in Spanish, just with a linguistics concentration, because everyone in my creative writing class is in the Spansih M.A. program. In fact, if you are not in that program you can´t even take the class... Anyways, he nodded his head and said "linguistics, interesting. Is it a B.A.? M.A.?" An M.A. I responded. "In...Spanish?" Yes.... This might be a good time to mention he is 70 years old. After that small confusing interaction he said that he thought I was a really good student and if I´d be in Middlebury next year he wants me to take another class he is going to be teaching. I told him I´m goign to Madrid and might not be back in Vermont so he said I need ot take the class on Quijote and he was going to tell the professor who teaches that class about me. I found this all very flattering and I walked away with my chest puffed out not really caring that I had forgotten to print the poem for class...
Later that day I realized that I hadn´t really done any work for my classes for about a week and a half. I had figured out how to coast in this program (which is actually not such a bad thing because I woudl go crazy if I didn´t slack off a bit). My other professors have also mentioned that I´m doing really well in their classes, in not such a direct way as Kozer. SO, given:
1. that I was nervous about not beaing able to do the Masters level work at first,
2. that I was nervous about attending an institution that is pretty much the best in the country for what I want to learn,
3. that my professors like my work and really believe in me -
-is it an abuse of that respect that I hadn´t done any work for their classes? I feel like I should buckle down and work my ass off for the next 3 weeks. It´s not a super long time and why am I even here if I´m not going to take this program as seriously as I can, right?
So naturally we got shwastey last night and went to a dance party. I don´t regret it even a little bit. Of course I had a blast, as I always do with music and alcoholic influences, but depressing moment of the night: I bought a bottle of Red Stag because it was the cheapest whiskey I could find that didn´t seem like it would cause internal hemorrhaging. When I got back to the suite my friend informed me that none other than the illustrious KID ROCK was the spokesperson for Red Stag. On second thought that whiskey might be capable of causing internal bleeding... Again, in my style of defying my moralistic decisions (i.e. work hard at school vs. drink at a dance party), I drank the Red Stag.
Ok, as promised, your Spanish language treat! And I am off to gorge myself on greasy foods and caffiene. Hasta la pasta! sorry, im hungry...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBXx1pPXjds
if you liked it continue with...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZepwVXqiewo&feature=channel
While you feel like you could be doing more, your professors are beyond satisfied with your work. So don't consider it an abuse of that respect - that respect doesn't come from you going at it 100%, it comes from you going at it 80% or whatever. It just means you're pretty awesome.
ResponderEliminarThat said, think about what you want to get out of your time there. If you think you need to work a little harder, then you should do that. Will you regret going to a party or not getting an A or an A+ more in the future? Etc. And don't forget that socializing is actually a huge part of the grad experience, way more than the BA experience. You're networking. :)