Friday, June 6, 2008

Preparing for Thesis Defense, Baby and Travel


It's amazing how everything happens at once! The past few days have gone by in such a whirl and I'm sure this weekend will as well. Right now I'm putting the finishing touches on my thesis and preparing for my defense, which will be Monday afternoon at 2pm. I can hardly believe I'm almost done!

It's been such an interesting process writing and researching my thesis. I never would have thought a couple of years ago that I would be doing my MA on the role of drugs in Colombia's economy! I was originally planning to do research on either William Morris or the history of British labour legislation--which had been my focus during my honours degree.

In addition to my thesis, I'm also expecting the arrival of my sister's first baby as well (probably by midnight tonight). She's been in the hospital since midnight last night. Everything is going well, but it's amazing how long these things take!

Finally, my husband and I are preparing for our trip to Colombia on the 12th I'm so excited to finally get a chance to visit the country I've written so much about! I'm also frankly looking forward to (hopefully) seeing Colombia from a different perspective, since I've sadly learned more about the drug industry and political corruption in the country than I have about the many lovely people that live there.

So, I've had all my vaccinations and I'm ready to go! Hopefully I'll have some time to cram some last minute spanish in before I get there. I've been working on reading spanish sources for my thesis for the past few months, but it's so different to read a language than to actually speak it. We'll see how I do.

I will be doing my best to post over the next few days, but I might be a little less punctual than usual. I just wanted everyone to know that I have a good excuse!

Have a great weekend everyone, and wish me luck on my defense Monday!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

good luck with the thesis, and have fun on your travels. if you think having a baby takes a long time when you're the aunt - ask your sister what she thought!

alice c said...

Good luck! That looks like a very extravagant outfit to wear to a viva!

Looking forward to seeing your pictures of Columbia.

Bebe said...

Hi Margaret,
Thanks for the email about your new address ~ I think I've got everything correct on that. I know you are going to love Colombia, as it seems to be a fascinating part of the world. I've dreamt of going there, but always settled for watching "Romancing the Stone" instead. LOL!

Esperanza usted tiene una visita agradable!! No olvide de tomar muchos cuadros para nosotros!! Adios, mi amiga!

Hugs, Bebe :)
P.S. Good luck on your thesis!

Unknown said...

wow...thesis on Columbia, very interesting. I am sure you'll do excellent and on the trip to columbia, cant wait for you to blog about it. I havent a clue about columbia..except the drug part.

Tracy said...

Sooo exiting!! Have a great, safe trip. Your thesis is so interesting, and not at all PRB-related--LOL!--that is surprising! :o) It's funny the avenues like takes us down, and which paths we choose too. Congrats on your's baby--and you & hubby being aunt & uncle. What news the, has the baby arrived?! Hope it was a good, happy delivery! Happy weekend ((HUGS))

Margaret said...

Thank you all for your kind comments! Hopefully I'll do well in my exam today--and for those of you who were interested, my sister's baby is absolutely gorgeous--she arrived after 36 hours of labour (yikes!), but mom and baby are doing great.

Fete et Fleur said...

Wishing you the very best! You've worked long and hard for this.
Congratulations!!

Nancy

Owlfarmer said...

It's lovely that both you and your sister are birthing at the same time, even if not in quite the same way. Mazel tov to you both.

Theses have a way of becoming their own "beings." What started out for me as a work on nature writing in nineteenth-century America turned into a disquisition on science and scientific models in American literary naturalism--quite a far cry from the original. After that my interests shifted back, in part because of Morris, so who knows where you'll head now.

I envy both you and your sister your adventures, now that I'm old enough to look back on mine with a measure of nostalgia.

Sarah said...

Anna had her baby? Wow... I can't believe she's a mom now. what did she name the baby?

Hope you have a wonderful trip to colombia!