One day...

A Few Pictures of Cork

5 Down

Well, I have come to the end of yet another week here.  Classes are going strong and the work load is starting to pick up a bit.  I had my second anatomy cadaver laboratory this week.  Things were a bit better then the first time around.  I think it was because we were dealing with an easier topic and had some idea of how to conduct ourselves in the lab.  Supervision and direction were still missing from the staff in the lab, but I think we are adapting to the situation.  My other classes are moving along as well.  They are still primarily lecture classes with associated readings that we discuss after each lecture.  They are still very much in the theory and ethics realm of study and less of the practical realm.  As much as I dislike theory and ethics, it is fundamental to any Master's and/ or PhD dissertation.  I will have at least one chapter of my dissertation devoted to theory so I best just suck it up.  I am going to begin writing my first paper for the course later this week or early next week.  The paper must relate to the course 'Biocultural Approaches to Human Osteoarchaeology.'  Sounds like fun, huh?  I am planning on writing about the relationship between individual vs population based studies of human skeletal systems.  I am hoping to knock out two birds with a single stone by writing a paper now that I will then be able to use, with only slight modification, in my final dissertation.  One of the theoretical approaches I am going to be using and criticizing is the bases of individual vs population based studies.  So if all goes well, I should have a jump start on the theoretical background section of my master's dissertation before I even begin on it.

In other news, I am still working towards getting my green card.  I am hoping that by the end of the month everything will be sorted out and I will no longer have to deal with the Irish government for a while.  I have adjusted to life pretty well now.  I am still getting used to the slow pace of things.  I have made a few friends.  Everyone in the Master's program is getting along very well.  The other archaeology Master's program (Master's in Archaeological Excavation)  and our group have also been getting together so I have met a few more people there.  I also joined the UCC Archaeology Society as a means by which to become a little more involved and meet more people.

So that's pretty much the summary of this last week.  I have a busy week ahead of me.  Lots and lots of reading to be finished by Thursday.  I am hoping to have a meeting with my adviser to discuss my project and decide on a good skeletal population for me to work with.  Also, I need to start inquiring about access to a CT scanner.  I think I have figured out a way to incorporate some CT images into my master's thesis.  This way I stay connected to my original research ideas while pursuing a different course of application.

I have added several photographs from my first month in Ireland to Facebook.  I am going to try and add a slideshow or image gallery to this webpage as well, just have to figure out the easiest way to do that.  But for now, just check them out on Facebook.

It's Getting Cold

Went for my evening run tonight.  This being Ireland, I first had to wait for the rain to stop.  Within 3 nanoseconds after stepping outside I realized what a grave error I had made.  It was freezing cold, still slightly raining, and windy.  I, being well prepared for this type of weather, was in soccer shorts.  Luckily, I had a long sleeve Under Armour type shirt on.  It did nothing!  I was only able to run a few miles before I couldn't feel my toes.  But, I could feel every bit of metal in my knee.  I never even developed a sweat, the increase in body temperature was barely keeping me warm enough.  On the way back home, my iPod died.  I think it passed due to hypothermia.  Once home, I quickly changed into warm clothes and checked the temperature on my computer.  40 degrees Fahrenheit!  That's not counting the mist and the wind.  I know that's not very cold, but its been a while since I have been in the cold.  Missing So Cal weather right about now (just not those 90+ days).

 So, conclusions from tonight's run:

1.  No more running in the evenings.  Must now run in the mornings or better yet mid day
2. Check out on campus gym facilities for indoor aerobic machines
3.  Need to invest in long running pants
4. Buy sweater for the iPod

People are saying its going to be a bad winter this year.  I don't know what that means.  I am slightly nervous.

A Video About Vanishing Cultures

A friend of mine passed this video on to me.  Please take a moment to watch it.  It is by a man, Dr. Wade Davis, who is partially responsible for my pursuit of anthropology.  I based a lot of my research off of his mentor, Dr. Richard Evans Schultes, and hope to one day continue looking into that line of study.  The video is about 20 minutes long and was filmed back in 2003.  However, his talk is just as important today as it was back then.  If you like his ideas, I highly recommend his books as he is a very gifted writer.  The Wayfinders (2009) or Light at the Edge of the World (2007) are good places to start as it develops the ideas discussed in this talk.  The Serpent and the Rainbow (1985) is amazing and goes into depth about Voodoo culture and the zombie poison also mentioned in the talk.  Feel free to comment as I would love to hear your view points on this matter.  Enjoy!

4 Down

Well, I have finished my first month here in Cork.  So far it has been pretty easy.  I am very much not used to this light workload.  Even though I was constantly tired, I do miss my 50+ hour weeks.  I have so much down time right now. I hope that changes soon.

This week was a bit different then the other thus far.  On Monday, we had our first cadaver lab.  The specimens were already dissected, so, sadly, we don't get to do any of that.  Its been a while since I have been around preserved bodies and body parts.  Almost forgot the lovely smell of formaldehyde.  The other girls in the program did well with their first experiences.  I don't believe anyone fainted or anything. Kind of a bummer. Laguna Pathology had a good record of making people pass out so I was hoping that would continue.  The laboratory facility they have is very nice.  It just opened and we are one of the first classes to use the facility.  Working in brand new labs is always nice.  The staff on the other hand was a different story.  There was almost no direction, it felt like a self exploratory lesson.  There were staff members to answer questions, but you had to approach them and ask specific questions.  Even with experience, I was confused on some issues.  I can only imagine how the other students, who have never seen a dead body, felt.  I ended up assuming the role of a tutor or something for several other students who were confused.  They weren't getting help from the staff and I was already explaining it to some of the girls in my program.  So yeah, that was anatomy.  I have that lab every Monday from now on.

Tuesday and Wednesday were busy as we had our normal classes and then we had to make up for the two classes that we had skipped last week.  Lots of lecture and discussion of the readings.  Not very fun.  On Tuesday night the immigration office was having extended hours for students to apply for their green cards.  I headed there after class and stood in the very long line.  After 3 hours of waiting, and with only 3 people in front of me, they informed us that they weren't going to see any more people.  3 hours wasted.  After I got back home, I changed and got ready to meet up with some of the girls from the program at a pub for a drink.  It was a very fin night out.  There was a pub quiz going on.  We missed the first round but did well anyways.  I think next week we are going to try again, and be a tad earlier.

Thursday I went to Dublin along with the rest of the archaeology program and a few other students to attend a conference at the Royal Irish Academy.  We had to meet at the department at 6am, then sit on a bus for 3+ hours.  Not the most fun way to start off the day.  I saw a little bit of Dublin from the window.  Passed by the Guinness Storehouse.  The talks were pretty boring for the most part.  Except for one experimental archaeology paper that looked at the effectiveness of an early bronze age weapon.  They tested the weapon against sheep heads (left overs from a slaughterhouse). They were quite effective.  The wooden bench-like chairs we had to sit on didn't help the boring nature of the talks and knowing that when it was all over we had another long bus ride back to cork made the day seem like a year.

Friday was an even longer and more annoying day.  I woke up early again to head down to the immigration office to apply for my green card.  There was already a huge line.  I made it all the way to the front when they said they were gong to close for lunch.  3 hours of standing in line already and now I had to wait 2 hours for them to re-open.  Once they re-opened, I was first one up.  They reviewed my paperwork and informed me that my letter of financial aid from the college is not acceptable as proof of finances.  This sucks.  Spent 5 hours in line waiting, plus the 3 from earlier in the week, only to be turned away after 30 seconds.  Now I have to figure out how I am going to secure the money I need to demonstrate proof of finances.  If only my bug would have sold then there would be no issue.

So finally, after I thought I was getting adjusted and settled in, I am back to square one.  Let's just hope I still have a few tricks left.

3 Down

Yet another week has come to pass.  Classes are starting to pick up a little bit but not by much.  We have had a few bone quizes and more reading.  Everything is still mostly theory and review.  We had a short week as our adviser was in Dublin for both Thursday and Friday.  Things will start to pick up soon I think/ hope.

My original master's project idea was to use alternate light sources to investigate the skin of the bog bodies.  However, this looks like it is not going to happen.  I guess it can take months, up to a year, to get permission to preform a study on the bog bodies.  Furthermore, those studies are reserved for well known and experienced archaeologist and scientists.  I have to be finished and done by the end of next September, so I need to find a new project.  Looks like I am going to have to go back to something less exciting.  We'll see.  I am hoping to have my project narrowed down in the next week or so.  That way I can begin searching for a good skeletal data set and begin my literature review.

Sorry there isn't much to report from this week.  Next weeks report should be a little bit more involved as I will  have my first anatomy cadaver lab and I will be traveling to Dublin to attend an archaeology conference at the Royal Irish Academy.

I just want to wish my sister the best of luck while she travels to Tanzania.  She is living her dream of living and working in Africa.  If you haven't already checked out her blog, please do so.  You can find a link to it in my 'Links' section of my main page.

Some Site Updates

As you may have noticed, I updated the site a little bit.  In case you were wondering where exactly I was living, I added a map to the main page.  I added a clock with the local time here.  I also created a few links. One of these has my mailing address should you wish to write me or send me goodies. 

As many of you know, and many do not, my sister Stephanie is leaving next week for a 2 year deployment with the United States Peace Corp.  I included a link to her personal blog page under the 'Links' section on my page.  I highly recommend you follow her blog as well as I am sure she will be having many more adventures then I will be having here (she has no running water, electricity, etc.).  I wish her the best of luck and I know she will enjoy herself immensely.

There are also links for you to check out if you care.  I will try making a few more adds and such to the site in the coming days. If there is anything you want to see on the site or have questions about please let me know!

2 Down

Well, I have finished my second week here in Cork.  Everything seems to be falling into place as it should.  I am still learning the city, but I have a pretty good grasp on it now.  I can navigate around without getting too lost.  As long as I can fins the river I am good (I just pray that it is the south fork of the river that I'm following).

My classes this week have focused primarily on readings.  Nothing to exciting to report on that front.  Just theory on top of more theory.  I cannot wait to be done with all this theory crap.  In my previous post, I expressed my joy at not having a lecture in which Franz Boas was mentioned.  Alas, I was mistaken as Thursday's lecture was devoted to the American side and view points of anthropological and archaeological theory.  I knew it had to be too good to be true.  Sadly, at this point all I can really say is that class is incredibly boring.  Nothing is new.  I am hoping that that will change soon.

Not much else to report from this week.  Its been raining pretty heavily for the past 2 days, haven't even left the apartment. I don't have class tomorrow but I have some errands to do and I think I might go in to the bone lab and study for a bit as I have a bone quiz on Thursday afternoon.  So yeah...short post.  I will get better at posting more frequently I promise!