End of June happenings

I have come up with a dissertation topic! It has been a struggle for me to think of something I would be interested in writing about. But here it is:

I want to explore the idea of queer affect*, what are queer affects and how people mobilise on the basis of queer affects. And my case study will be UK LGBT activist groups from the 1970s-1990s (the dates could be revised). I specifically want to look at groups that work across multiple sites of gender (such as disability, race, and gender).

*Affect is a field of study/inquiry concerning emotions and how bodies move through the world. It began in psychoanalysis, but has been used in the social sciences to look at how people mobilise or arrange themselves around things like pride, fear, rage, shame, etc. A book to read to help understand this would be "The Cultural Politics of Emotion" by Sara Ahmed.

I am now going to spend my days in the archive room, looking at old newsletters, pamphlets, and posters.

One of my goals for the summer is to explore more of London. Yesterday I went to Kensington Gardens, which houses Kensington Palace - the place where Princess Diana lived. There is also a Diana Memorial Walk and a Memorial Playground.

Ellie and I are going to spend this weekend in Banbury, a village in Oxfordshire with my friend Alice and her parents. I am excited to see the countryside, and will try to take some pictures! Saturday is our 3 year anniversary, so it will be a nice relaxing way to spend the weekend.

Now, if you have been following the World Cup at all, you'll know that the USA won the top of the group and qualified for the next round along with England. Its quite exciting watching the World Cup in a place that loves football/soccer so much!

Summer begins

I am done with my exams! I think they went well. One of them was 3 hours, the other 2. I have not hand written so much in years.

Did anyone watch the England vs USA world cup match? It was a good match! The goal that the English goalkeeper let in was excruciating for the English fans (the second goal in the video). I am happy with the result because I don't know if the diplomatic relations between the US and the UK could have taken a win either way. :)


Ellie is working full time, and I am now going to work on my dissertation, which is due September 1st. I am not sure at all what I will write about - but I am meeting with my advisor tomorrow, so hopefully something will be illuminated.

The weather here has been off and on - sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny. I have spent a lot of time outside with friends. Last Saturday, I went to the beautiful Battersea Park to have some chips and wine in the park.

Yesterday I went to a knit crawl around the South Kensington area. Arranged by Stitch London. I won a book in the raffle!
It seems a bit advanced for me, but maybe I will work up to it.

Middle of exam season

Hello lovely people! I am sorry for not updating for so long, I have been quite busy. I have just taken a big exam and have one more on Monday. While revising for exams, it has also been so sunny and beautiful outside. Anyway, I don't have a lot of time for a real update, but here are some pictures I have taken over the past month. :) After my exams, I will update more!

A deer in Richmond Park, where Ellie, her mom, and I went for Ellie's birthday

Banana and Baileys Bread and Butter Pudding from Jaime Oliver


A part of the Parliament Building

hilarious/helpful sign near Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives)

Elliephant

Horse crossing sign near Buckingham Palace

going to see the queen

GI 2009-2010 class photo!

Lent Term Ends

I am on my first week of Easter break. Lent Term, and all teaching, is done - no more teaching in my Master's!? Its just me and my paper writing.

Right now I am working on a 5000 word paper for my Gender and Postcolonial Theory class - its going to be a gender and race discourse analysis of the media portrayal of Haiti after the earthquake. If you have any opinions or ideas, send them my way!

The weather is finally getting better in London, spring is showing itself and you can spend long periods of time outside and not be uncomfortable! Ellie and I have big plans to spend lots of time in London parks, with delicious food.

Life has been pretty normal, I have been very busy with school work lately. But, my lovely friend, Kelsey, came to visit a few weeks ago. She was here for a week and we saw lots of the sights around London. (Below: Kelsey and I with the penguin at LSE)


I have pretty much acclimatised to London, I feel like I am fully present here. I remember when I first got here, I was having some anxiety about the whole experience. I never knew which way traffic was going to go and I was overwhelmed constantly by the number of people. But I feel at home now. It is not the same as Seattle, and honestly I really miss living in Seattle. However, I am a fan of London.

Lots of work ahead of me! 3 papers, a research proposal, and an annotated bibliography due on 26th April! Hope everyone is well!

How has it almost been a month?

Time is flying by! Flying by. I am already almost half way through my last term of teaching at LSE. Work is piling up, and I am struggling to keep up. But I am working hard.

Here are some pictures from Bilbao! I couldn't get the pictures to actually upload to the blog but this URL should work.

It was such a lovely time. The ceremony was so beautiful. I think what struck me was how official this gay union is! There was no sense that the wedding or the union wasn't real, it was completely validated by everyone. The ceremony was in a government building and officiated. Carlos' family was so lovely, all there to support him. A few of William's friends flew over for the ceremony as well.

The reception was in a restaurant in the hills above Bilbao. It was renovated to look like a Basque farm house. When we arrived, we were sent downstairs for wine and an appetizer of cured ham and baguette. The ham was carved right off a leg when we got there.

After lots of wine and ham, we went upstairs to start our courses. I can't quite remember all of the courses, all I know is that by the 3rd I was too full to keep eating, yet I still soldiered on. The food was mostly seafood. The last course before dessert however, was steak and chips. During all the courses, we were topped up on wine anytime we got to the bottom of the glass. After the steak, we were brought a beautiful dessert (picture is in the album), that had a piece of white chocolate with Carlos and William's names on it. We were given Champagne for the toast. At the toast were some amazing tributes to William and Carlos - some of William's people attempted toasts in Spanish. Quite a decadent night!

If any of you are considering a trip to Spain, I definitely recommend Bilbao. Its so beautiful and tranquil. Also, easy to get around - bus, underground, tram. Plus, its so walkable. Definitely want o go back!

Lent Term Begins

I have just turned in 3 essays:
1) 2500 word essay
2) 3000 word essay
3) 250 word essay (for Spanish)

I worked on those essays little by little, didn't leave them to the last minute and I am very glad for it. I saw my classmates on facebook freaking out about getting essays done.

I don't have any interesting adventures to report at the moment. I didn't leave my flat for several days, mostly because of the cold and because of essay writing. Not much adventure there. There was supposed to be a blizzard a few days ago, it did not hit London. There has been snow for the past few weeks on and off, but not much in London. Again, no adventure there.

However, on Thursday I go to Bilbao for my dear friend William's wedding! Ellie and I are staying in an actual hotel, with the husbands-to-be. The ceremony is at the city hall, and after we are going to have the reception in a restaurant overlooking the city. We have been told there will be several courses and lots of wine - in addition to an amazing atmosphere because we are celebrating a couple's love.

I will hopefully have lots of pictures to contribute to this blog after my trip. I may or may not be purchasing a low-end camera soon...

Michaelmas term down, Christmas on its way

I am so relieved the term is over. I now have to face writing my 2 papers to hand in for 11 January. The term was tiring and intense. But it was really good as well. I think I have learned a lot about how research is done, how to keep up with enormous amounts of reading, and how to make new friends. I have a nice group of friends forming. Today I went to the pub after a meeting with a bunch of them. It feels nice to have people to hang out with.

One thing I love about LSE is that there is *always* something going on to do. There are several public lectures every week, not just academic ones, but also fun ones. For example, the guy who wrote "Stuff White People Like" came to speak about his book. I've gotten exposed to a lot of different people and ideas. I think that while it is no where near as radical as I am used to in academia, I am learning a lot about just how many view points one idea can illicit.

Today I went to a board meeting review of the sociology department. Apparently the Gender Institute is a part of the department. You wouldn't have any idea, we never do anything with sociology or talk about it. The meeting was about whether or not the Gender Institute should have autonomy from sociology. A bunch of the students were asked to come and tell the board their views. A group of us from Gender went in and argued for a break from sociology. And we got it! Its a really big deal, as I learned when all the profs in the Institute were squealing when we found out. They busted out the champagne, and we celebrated.

I'm going ice skating for the first time tomorrow!

a little update

I know it has been awhile! School picked up and got really busy. I have been working on facilitation, research proposals, and keeping up with massive amounts of reading. The term is over on 11th December, when I will try to write a longer post about how everything is going.

Tonight was the holiday party for the GI. There was some amazing mulled wine, mince pies, and other treats. It was held in the GI space, lots of students, and all of the faculty attended. I've made a nice little group of friends, and so I spent the evening mostly socializing with them. I like the general feel of the GI, and the professors are so nice to socialize with.

Ellie is working until 1:30am every night for the rest of the week, and all next week! So I am home alone in the evenings. Its a bit lonely at home alone, but I am trying to get work for school done. She is still looking for runner jobs and currently working for an events staffing company.

I am going to turn in early I think, I have been sick on and off, so I am trying to sleep as much as I can. Tomorrow I am facilitating in my "Cultural Constructions of the Body" class. The topic is "Precarious Bodies" - the assigned readings are about how perpetrators/enemies/terrorists are embodied in terms of racialized masculinity, heteronormativity, etc. I've been reading a lot about violence, prisons, terrorism, and Abu Ghraib this week and it has been quite difficult. The lecturer for this week showed a few pictures from the Abu Ghraib scandal, which caused quite an uproar from students. I felt it was inappropriate and kind of traumatizing, even though I understood the learning objectives. The pictures bear a striking resemblance to pictures taken during the slavery era in the US as well as pictures of racial violence against African Americans in general (gatherings when people were hung, etc).

If you are looking for something to read about prisoners rights, I would recommend "Are Prisons Obsolete?" by Angela Davis - not if you're looking for a light read though!

Some recent events in my life:

1) I pretended to be interested in an event about Jesus in order to get free coffee from the Christian Union. I bought a conservative paper for £0.40 because they were giving away free chocolate bars with it. These chocolate bars cost over £1 in a store.

2) I signed up for a Spanish certification class! I start next Tuesday.

3) I talked to a professor at the GI about a PhD there, she is going to help me with the proposal.

4) Confirmed my RSVP to my friend's wedding in Bilbao! Gay wedding in Spain, best thing ever! Ellie and I are going to book the plane tickets soon.

5) Patrick gets here tomorrow!

Also, here are some pictures from the vigil I went to.

Beginning of Week 3

My brain is exhausted! The things I am reading at the moment are intense and there is a lot of philosophy-type concepts I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around. I am enjoying my classes in general and getting into the groove of reading, even though it is quite difficult.

Things are rolling along, I am making friends! I had a friend, Alex, over last night for dinner! I met her at the LGBT bar hopping thing. I went out for some drinks for her birthday last week, we went with a few others we met at the bar hopping event. Apparently, in Italian culture you buy people drinks on your birthday. So she bought a round of 5 drinks! It made me feel slightly uncomfortable, as I felt I should be buying her drinks. I must save up for my birthday! Alex likes Buffy! We have some important things in common.

In addition to the study group for my Gender Theories class, I have just started a study group with 2 others for my Gender Research and Knowledge Practice class. We are basing this study group on baked goods. Each week, one of us will bake something for the group. I am the first up, I don't have time to bake something for tomorrow, so I am just going to bring some biscuits. I think they will go over well. The two fellow classmates in this study group are really nice, I think we are becoming friends.

I have had a few headache moments with the banking system and bureaucracy here. I deposited my financial aid checks in the bank a few weeks ago. The checks are in $'s instead of £'s (no idea why). Because they are in $'s, the checks have to be sent to the US and back. Anyway, I was originally told this would take 2-3 weeks. I received a letter last week saying it would take 6-8 weeks!! If it does take 8 weeks, I won't have money until December! I immediately emailed the LSE fees office and explained - they gave me an extension to pay me fees. The fees are due on the 28th of October. I am currently living out of my US bank account. This is super frustrating. I am going to go into my new bank and talk to them about how they mislead me. Had I known it would take so long, I would have gone with a different bank. Part of this process is probably complicated by the postal strike, but come on people! The strike was announced! Many businesses that have time-sensitive mail are using other carriers like DHL.

Ok, off to watch Glee with Ellie!

I survived the 1st week

After the first week I have a lot of feelings about my program. I have an incredible amount of reading. I am working on keeping up. Today it took me 3 hours to read one article - it was about 50 pages and boring. I don't feel like I have been intellectually challenged yet. I am sure that will come. The only challenge I have felt is keeping up with the volume of work. I think I started this program at a higher level than some of my fellow students. Feminist theory is not new to me at all. I am keeping an open mind, as the director of the GI mentioned that some of us who have come with a lot of prior knowledge may have things to "unlearn" about what a gender studies perspective means.

I have been looking at the PhD program for the GI, and I think I am very qualified. I am planning on applying. I tend to do ok with independent study as long as I make a schedule for myself and have deadlines.

I am making friends! I met this person from Italy at the LGBT event I went to last week. We went for lunch this week and it was fun. I think we might be friends. Also, I feel like I am beginning to mesh more with my fellow students. In my last class on Thursday, there is a very frustrating man - he calls himself a "men's rights activist." While I respect his right to opinions, he says really offensive things and makes generalizations about things he knows nothing about. Anyway, a lot of people in my class have bonded over feeling frustrated and alienated by this man. I have also bonded with people in general (not involving frustration about another student). After class on Tuesday, a bunch of us went out for a drink at a pub on campus. From this outing, I got to hear about how others have felt like making friends is hard as well. It is nice to commiserate with others about these feelings and to know you're not alone. I am excited to see where I end up with this year!

Tomorrow I am going to work on more reading for my classes. Ellie and I are going to go for brunch somewhere as well.

Small world!

Today I ran into someone I used to go to school with in Guadalajara! He is from Canada and is in his second year of his PhD at the LSE! I used to hang out with him 3-4 times a week. And we hung out for a whole weekend at the beach right before I left Mexico. It was quite strange to run into him. I think we are going to go out for a pint at some point.

I have had a frustrating day. I went to my bank to deposit my financial aid checks and was told that I wouldn't be able to deposit them because they were made out to me and LSE. The man behind the counter said I would have to have it just made out to me. But this is how everyone's financial aid checks are! After he denied me (a bit rudely I might add), I talked to another person walking around the bank and finally had it resolved. It was stressful for awhile though! The same man who refused to take my checks was the one who had to enter them. He was just uninformed. I really need that money, I am living off of my money in my American account.

Speaking of money, I took £100 out of my American account today and I am left with £10! I spent £80 on course readers for 3 classes. I was not happy to find out that total. I also bought lunch, coffee, and allergy medicine - and thus the £10 left. I can't wait until my financial aid checks clear.

I spent the rest of the day working on reading for tomorrow's class. I am only about 1/2 way through the reading. I plan to go to campus early tomorrow to finish the readings. So much reading! I really have to keep on top of it or there is no way I can keep up.

I have joined a study group for my "Gender Theories" class. I am optimistic about keeping up with the course work this year!

Overwhelmed, Excited, Nervous

Sorry its been so long since my last update, I have been quite busy! I just got home from my first day of class. The class is called "Gender Theories in the Modern World: An Interdisciplinary Approach." I have an hour and a half of lecture and an hour and a half of seminar (like a section, its for student facilitation and discussion). I am very excited about the whole thing. The class is team taught by all the faculty of the gender institute. Tomorrow I have "Gender, Knowledge, and Research Practice." On Thursday I have "Cultural Constructions of the Body."

Here is what I have been up to since my last entry:

Wednesday 30 September:
I attended a public lecture by Amina Mama on "Militarism and Underdevelopment." The Gender Institute (GI) has a public lecture series and this was the first one. Amina Mama is a quite famous woman as a pioneering academic for gender studies in South Africa. After the lecture was a reception at the GI. I met a bunch of my fellow students. And there was free wine. Very nice night!

Thursday 1 October:
3 hour orientation to the GI. The faculty introduced themselves, their research interests, and what they teach. The director of the GI started by saying that we probably all feel overwhelmed, excited, and nervous - and that she feels that way all of the time, such is the life of a gender theorist. After the large orientation with all of the MSc students, we broke off to our individual tracks. I am doing the Gender track (there are others like Gender, Development, and Globalisation and Gender, Media, and Culture). I met with my cohort and the convener of the course.

A few hours after the orientation, I stayed on campus to go to the LGBT society's bar hopping night. It was really fun! I was nervous at first going alone, but I ended up talking with people all night. I only went to the 1st three bars. I met some people who were really nice and will maybe hang out with them again.

Friday 2 October:
On this day I had an all day induction for the GI. This was lead by a PhD student. We learned the ins and outs of the GI - how courses and course work actually work, what is expected of you, how to be involved, etc. I found it really helpful, the whole thing felt scary after that. We had ample time to ask any questions we had at all. After the induction, there was a reception with free champagne and snacks. I talked with a bunch of people in my program. They like social receptions at the GI! I didn't stay late at this, as I went to Ellie's friend's house for dinner.

Saturday and Sunday:
Ellie and I finished Buffy. She loved it. I worked on my reading for my first day of class. Pretty nice weekend!

Other than that, I am working on making friends. I am having lunch with someone from my course tomorrow. I am also working on keeping up with my studies. There is an incredible amount of reading every week. They say probably about 40 hours a week worth of reading. This is my new full time job after all!

1 orientation down, 2 to go

I went to the school orientation for postgraduates today. The director of the school (what Americans would call the president), Howard Davies, addressed us for the first part. He started the orientation by congratulating us on navigating the intense game the British government has set up to obtain a visa. A lot of people laughed - I am not the only one who had a stressful time getting my visa! He asked everyone who was from outside of the UK to raise their hands - it felt like almost everyone. At least 80% from where I was sitting. This is truly an international environment.

I learned some good facts about LSE. 70% of the school comes from outside the UK! There are 9000 students, half of which are postgraduates. LSE has the largest social science library in the world.

I was only gone for a few hours but I am very tired! After my school orientation, I opened a bank account with HSBC and I joined the LGBT society at the societies/freshers fair. You have to pay dues to join a society, it was only £1 to join the LGBT one. I want join the Mexican society and the feminist society at some point. There were 7 floors of a building dedicated to the societies fair! It was a lot to take in and I didn't see the Mexican society or the feminist society. I saw so many other societies, and it started to feel like a lot to go through. There were a lot of people signing up for societies - every floor was packed to the brim.

Ellie and I are going to make sushi tonight. It will be a nice way to unwind!

Fighting Beavers!

I have registered for LSE! I have a student card and can officially get into the library. I am quite excited. The mascot of LSE is the beaver. Next week I have a school orientation, recommended public lecture, and 2 all day gender institute orientations. Class officially starts on the 5th of October.

On Friday I went on a campus tour with some people from my course. We went out to lunch and coffee to get to know each other. I didn't immediately click with anyone, but everyone seems nice. I think there are only 3 guys in the course (none of them came around for the tour). This is par for the course in my gender studies experience. I am excited to meet everyone, I hope I can make some friends! I learned that some Hare Krishna people come to the quad of LSE everyday and give out free food - but only for 30 min, so you have to queue early. I have also learned that one of the buildings is rumored to be haunted by a dolphin.

I have also obtained my phone. If I haven't sent you the number and you are interested, send me a message! It is a rudimentary phone, but will do the job. I can check facebook for free with my £10 top up. Which is not actually that fun because it takes so damn long to type everything in. But it is nice to have none the less!

I am opening a bank account next week. I went to a banking fair and almost signed up with HSBC, but didn't have the proper paperwork. Once I have this, I can pay my course fees and rent and all will good!

The student guide given to me at registration has some very funny bits. They recommend things like sneaking on the back of buses to get away with not paying and squatting if you have no where to live. They put a disclaimer that "the students' union does not condone" these things.

Possibly my favorite part of the whole guide is the section on etiquette. "The Brits love to talk about the weather. If you are ever stuck for something to say, a polite comment about how rainy or sunny it is often goes down well." "The Brits love to queue." "At very formal occasions, it is common to start the meal with a toast to the Queen."

Fall is in the air

I have been here for a week now and am starting to get stuff together. I ordered a phone online! It only cost £10 and as a result is a bit of a dinosaur. It will get here tomorrow, although I may be out when it comes. Tomorrow I have registration, I think I will be getting my student card. I am not sure what to expect. I am quite excited to have access to LSE's library.

Today, I went for a walk around Ealing Common. It is cloudy and there is a slight wind - fall is in the air! The leaves are turning colors and falling off the trees in the Common. Fall is great, and I think London in the fall will be beautiful. I can't wait to start school and really get into the swing of life.

End of the First Weekend

Today Ellie and I took it slow- she starts work tomorrow and I must begin my life tasks. My interest in Julia Child has been renewed since seeing "Julie and Julia" and so I have been watching clips of her programs. Ellie and I watched this one about omelets. Ellie actually made this omelet this morning! It was awesome. The egg is too runny for me (I need my eggs overcooked), but it looked delicious and Ellie enjoyed it. Julia Child's method makes the egg very fluffy and light.

In the afternoon, we went to the National Portrait Gallery to see the "Gay Icons" exhibit. It was very interesting. The exhibit featured pictures of people who are considered gay icons as "selectors" - and those people picked 5 others who are inspirations to them. It is a special exhibition, so we had to pay £5 to get in, I think it was worth it. After the exhibition, we went to First Out for coffee and cheesecake. All in all a low key day. Not much to report at the moment, these posts will become more interesting as I start school!