The Path Ahead

Hello friends,

The new semester has started and I am finally (after, what?, 7 months???) getting back into a routine.  I am a person who likes routine, so although I find my motivation for school a little harder to come by at the moment, I am happy that nearly all of my current life events fit neatly into an excel spreadsheet (only sort of kidding).

This weekend, I deviated from the plan a little and got some much needed R&R on Saturday instead of my usual morning long run.  I slept in until 11:30 *gasp* then got dressed and headed downtown to watch the Mizzou vs. Baylor men's basketball game over a giant beer with friends.  Yesterday, I made up my long run and was up bright and early to crank out the 6 miles ("long" runs are always relative - in a couple of months, I'll be up to 10 and 12 milers while my friends are running 18's and 20's, so I'm enjoying the 6's while I can).  It was one of those really great runs where you get lost in thought and the miles sort of fly by.  On the run, I realized:  I haven't really taken much time to think lately.  I haven't taken a lot of time to reflect on 2011 or to think about the things I really want for 2012.  I have been so busy dealing with the circumstances life has thrown at me over the last few weeks (or, for that matter, last several months!), that I failed to take the time to regroup and refocus.  Usually, I like to do that as a year winds down and a new one is still new.  But, I figure, it's never too late, and now is as good a time as any.

So, as I soaked up the hour of me time, I made a few decisions:
1.  I'm not yet entirely sure of the general direction I want to take my life in 2012.
2.  I think I have a WORD for 2012 (but I'll write more about that later).
3.  There are a few things that I know with certainty I want in 2012.  Goals if you will.

• I want to put more emphasis on my relationships with family and close friends.  
• I want to attend a Bengali language school in the summer (preferably the one in Dhaka).  
• I want to write a successful grant application that allows me to get back to Bangladesh and back to research ASAP.
• I want to submit 2 papers for publication this year (a decent number for a grad student, I think).
• I want to run a sub 2:10 half marathon in Lincoln on May 6th.

The last four are more tangible and also have very obvious steps that need to be taken in order to accomplish these goals.  The first, however, is a bit more abstract.  It's something that I hope to write more about later this week after I've given it some more thought.  I also plan to write a little more about my running goal when the time is right and when I've settled on a definite training plan.

I know that there are many more things I want to accomplish in 2012 and I know that at the end of the year, I want to feel like the intentions I set for myself in January (or February - whatever) have led me down a path that feels authentic to me.  I don't want to flail through the year, dealing with one thing after the next, without a path ahead to guide me.

Are you someone who likes routine?  Or are you a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person?  Do you take time (at the end or beginning of a year, on your birthday, or whenever) to set some goals or intentions for the future?

In Defense of Books (you know... the ones made of paper...)

Dear friends,

I own a Kindle.  I bought it in preparation for my trip to Bangladesh at the end of last summer.  I bought the simplest version available (for $114) because I wanted it to be as much like reading a book as possible and didn't want to be distracted by email notifications, etc. while reading (imagine my annoyance when, just 1 month later, Kindle announced their even simpler version for a much simpler $79...).  And it works out pretty well.  I can read a book with no e-Distractions from my e-Reader.  There are many other positives that come from having a Kindle (or any other e-Reader):  it's small, packs easily, it's easy to hold and I can "turn the page" with one hand, it's wonderful for travel because it allows me to take a number of books along on a trip without taking up much space and if I run out of books to read, I can download a new one as long as I have some form of internet. 

As a person who travels often, for long periods of time, and to non-English speaking countries, I really can't do without the Kindle.  But...  Do I love it?  Well, I have read 15 books on my Kindle since August, and not one of them made my Favorite Books of 2011 list.

I don't love it, but I couln't quite put my finger on why I didn't.  ... until our recent trip to Sanibel, that is...  One of the first orders of business for my mom and I on the trip was to stop at Sanibel Island Bookshop for some new beach reads.  (Quick plug:  this place is the absolute BEST!  The women that work in the shop will spend 30 minutes with you, talking about books that they've loved and books they think you'll love, based on what you've enjoyed in the past.  In fact, 4 of the 6 books on my favorites list came from this bookshop during last year's vaccation!)  As I was browsing the books, trying to pick out some new favorites, IT HIT ME:  the Kindle is great, but I just don't connect to books when I read them on my e-Reader.  I'm a totally visual and tactile person and there's just something about the feel of a book in my hands and the emotional connection to the cover art that draws me into a book and lets me escape.  I don't like walking through a bookshop and not recognizing books that I've read just weeks earlier.  I like noticing a book I've read and feeling the love that I felt for it when I closed the cover 10 months ago come rushing back to me (I feel the same way when I see my favorite perfume - I know... I'm strange).  I get that with paper books.  I don't get it with Kindle books.  Plus, BONUS, I love the way all of my paper books look stacked on my bookshelves!  I'm sorry, Kindle.  I like you, but I don't love you... 


Here is a list of some of the Kindle books I read that I think I would have loved if I'd read the paper versions:

Sara's Key (I know, I know.  I should probably buy the paperback and read it again because this is one great book).
The Paris Wife I could love this book for the cover alone!  It's not a super happy or warmandfuzzy book, but it's a good one, nonetheless.
How to Love an American Man  As a moderate feminist, I thought I was going to hate this book.  But, for anyone still looking for love, or just looking for a good, heart-warming (and true!) story, this book is a must read.
The Soldier's Wife If you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and loved it (like I did), you'll love this one, too.  Or, if you enjoy historical fiction (with a slightly "love-y" twist), this is a good read.
Joy For Beginners.  I liked this one a lot, but would have had stronger feelings (I'm quite sure) about the paper version.

And here's a book that I got from Sanibel Island Bookshop and read in a day and a half:

Here's another "If you loved Guernsey, you'll love this one" book.  So...  Like I said, I read this in less than two days.  Then, I ran right back to the bookstore to get Jio's first book, The Violets of March.  They didn't have the book for sale, though, but they did have an Advanced Reader's Copy that the author had sent to the bookshop but it wasn't for sale.  The woman working in the bookshop handed me the book and said, "Here.  Read it and bring it back when you're done."  But I was leaving the next day.  So, she said, "Well, just bring it back next time you visit Sanibel."  FOR REAL!  That happened!  I can't wait to read it... (and then take it back next year).

So...  These are my two cents.  I know some of you (mom) to whom I would never DARE give an e-Reader as a Christmas gift and I know others of you who LOVE your e-Readers.  To each their own.

Will I stop using my Kindle? Definitely not. When I take long trips, it will be my go-to reader. But, for the majority of the year, when I'm reading in the comfort of my own bed, paper books with their bright, dreamy covers are where it's at for me... 

What camp are YOU in?  Good, old-fashioned paper books?  Or e-Reader all the way?

A Year of Ups and Downs

Hello Friends,

Well, it's official.  2011 is gone and 2012 is already a couple of days underway.  I very much hope that you all had a couple of nice, restful weeks and enjoyed some time with family and friends. 

While my 2011 was full of lots of ups,

Sanibel, FL

Montpellier, France

Kennebunkport, Maine

Matlab, Bangladesh

Matlab, Bangladesh

Chiayi, Taiwan

Montreal, Quebec

Lincoln, NE

 unfortunately, my family ended the year with some sad news.  On Friday morning, December 30th, my aunt (my mom's sister) Annette passed away.  As you can imagine, this has been a difficult time for our family.  We have been so lucky, though, to have each other and to have the support of some really outstanding friends.  If you are the praying type, please keep my uncle, who lost his loving wife of over 30 years, my cousins, who lost a loving mother, and my mom, who lost her sister, in your prayers.

Thank you all and a very Happy New Year. 

Single at Christmas

I've got Christmas spirit coming out my ears right now, friends.  The tree is up, the house is decorated, presents are being wrapped, I've made my shopping list for cookie ingreedients, christmas music is playing, and I have drunk an inordinate amount of Candy Cane Lane tea (that stuff is good - now, could someone get me a bottle glass of red wine?).  I'm happy to be home for the holidays and to be getting ready to celebrate and say goodbye to the last crazy (but usually great!) year. 

(Yes, the bottom 1/3 of our tree is nearly bare.  This is because someone can't be trusted with low-hanging lights and ornaments...)

However, it seems like everyone and their brother is getting engaged/married/pregnant right now and, I'm not going to lie, as a single lady ("all the single ladies...") at the holidays, it's not always easy to watch friends run off with the person of their dreams, while I'm still waiting for mine to come sweep me off my feet.  You might guess that I've been down in the dumps, wishing the holidays away, becoming bitter, drinking myself to sleep and eating myself into a food coma - ok, maybe that's a little extreme...  But, I'm not!  I'm perfectly fine.  In fact, I'm better than fine.  I'm actually sort of HAPPY to be single right now. 

Let's get real for a moment, folks.  For the last 5 years (except for that one year where I broke up with a certain someone 2 weeks before Christmas - that sucked), while Christmas time has been wonderful, it's also been filled with the stresses that come with being in a serious-but-not-super-serious relationship.  First of all, I'm the kind of person who racks her brain for WEEKS, trying to come up with the PERFECT present for the person I'm dating.  It should be just the right amount of expensive, thoughtful, meaningful to him, and should make me appear to be the best girlfriend in the entire world.  Then, once said gift is found, I scour the aisles of Target to pick out the exactly perfect wrapping paper and bow.  (Raise your hand if you think I need to get a grip.)  Wow.  Second, when you're in a serious-but-not-super-serious relationship, your significant other is bound to want to see you on Christmas Day.  This is, of course, lovely, but also requires a whole heck of a lot of planning and coordinating.  It also means that both parties inevitably have to split time with their families.  Finally, holiday time usually makes everyone who is in a serious-but-not-super-serious relationship wish and hope that very soon the "-but-not-super-serious" gets dropped from the relationship status.  That's not stressful, is it?

This year, with all of those stressors gone, I'm focusing my energy on enjoying my close friends and family.  I have extra money to spend on my chubby little nephew and other family members' gifts.  I have the entire day of Christmas to spend lazing around with said family, being as informal as I want (hold onto your hats, family!), maybe going to a movie with my mom and sister, and just generally soaking up as much family Christmas love as possible.  I figure that, as the years pass, the chance that I'll be snatched up by a wonderful fellow, who is willing to put up with my crazy and follow me to obscure locations around the world, increases exponentially (duh).  So, I should enjoy this holiday, when I have no commitments to anyone but myself, my family and my close friends.  And that's exactly what I'm doing!  I'm enjoying the crap out of it.

I hope very much that you are all having a wonderful holiday season as well and that Christmas cheer has taken you over and subsequently shoved plenty of butter- and sugar-laden cookies down your throats.

Oh, and please spread the word:  I am currently taking applications for New Years Eve dates.  The pile of applicants is getting pretty tall, but I'm still willing to consider more.  (I mean, let's not go crazy with all of this "I love being single around the holidays" stuff.)

Now, someone turn up the Christmas music and bring me that wine!



Merry Christmas to all...

Love, Katie

Reflecting on 2011: My Favorite Books

Hello, all.  Well, it's a Monday night.  I worked and ran errands all day, went to a killer (but so fun) Ashtanga yoga class tonight, and am now watching White Christmas with a glass of red wine while I cuddle up to a bowl of this soup. (This is some of the best soup I've had in a while and, bonus, it sort of doubles as a comfort food that is also healthy.)  I don't have a whole lot of interesting stuff to tell you tonight.  I have been very un-exciting lately.  I've been working a whole lot, seeing friends in Columbia, trying to brainstorm an amazing, earth-shattering idea for a dissertation topic, getting back into the swing of exercise things, and just generally readjusting to life in Columbia (right before I leave for the holidays...). 

I've also started to reflect a little on the last year.  I love Christmas time and all that comes along with it, but one of my favorite things about December is that, as it brings the year to an end, it allows me an opportunity to think about all that has happened over the year.  I like to spend time thinking about the good and the bad, what I've done well and what I might have done differently, things I'd like to leave behind in the upcoming year and lessons I've learned that I'd like to carry with me into the new year.  As I was thinking a little about 2011 the other day, I realized that one thing I did very consistently throughout the year was read.  I love to read and always have.  But it is something that one can let slip very easily as a graduate student.  I mean, so much of my homework involves reading academic articles and it's not hard to convince myself that the last thing I want to do in my leisure time (i.e. the 10 minutes before bed) is more reading.  But, back in January, I stocked my bookshelves and made an effort to read for fun every night before bed.  I'm happy I made the effort.  I ended up reading a lot of great books this year (and a few that were just so-so), so tonight, I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you.


1.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This was the first book I read in 2011.  I am a total sucker for stories set duing WWII.  This is the story of a group of neighbors on the German-occupied island of Guernsey and a London-based author who begins corresponding with one of the members of the Guernsey literary society.  The entire book is written as a series of letters exchanged among friends and complete strangers alike.  When I finished this book, I had a burning desire to start writing letters to friends.  I also felt that familiar sadness creep in towards the end, thinking, "I'll NEVER find another book as good as this one!"  That's how you know you really liked a book.

2.  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

So, I actually read this book in 2010 and read its sequel (The Weed that Srings the Hangman's Bag) in 2011.  They're both great, but I recommend starting with Sweetness.  The series features 10 year-old heroine, Flavia de Luce, who has a passion for poisons of all kinds and for solving mysteries.  These books are wonderfully descriptive, fun, funny, and suspenseful.  They are a great way to escape.  I have already purchased the next book in the series, A Red Herring Without Mustard, and I can't wait to dig in!

3.  Love Walked In and Belong to Me

Another pair.  These books were wonderful and unique.  Cornelia Brown is the main character in each and de los Santos does a fabulous job of weaving all of the characters' lives together, while always keeping Cornelia's story at the forefront.  I read Love Walked In immediately after returning from Florida last January and bought Belong to Me as soon as I was finished.  These are the kinds of books that made me start to slow down as the end neared.  I wanted to savour every last word and make the book last as long as possible because I was just dying to see where Cornelia's life would go next. 

4.  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Another World War II story.  Although, this one is a combination of past and present.  It is about a forbidden love between a Chinese boy and a Japanese girl in Seattle just before thousands of Japanese were taken away to internment camps (of sorts) in the US.  As an old man who has just lost his wife, the Chinese man remembers and reflects on his childhood love.  I smiled, I cried, I couldn't put it down. 

5.  The Help

Do I really even need to introduce this book to you?  By now, many of you will have read the book and probably more have seen the movie.  But, if you haven't read the book yet, do it.  Do it, like, yesterday.  In fact, stop reading this blog right now and go out and buy it.  I promise I won't be offended.  This was one of my favorite books of all time.  I literally cannot wait until Kathryn Stockett writes her next book.  This story was so engaging and vivid, I felt like I knew Skeeter (and like I wanted to punch Hilly in the face).  I think it took me 4 nights to read the entire book - and the last night I stayed up until 3 in the morning to finish.  This is a story of friendship, dreams, and bravery. 

Have you read any of these books?  What did you think?  What were your favorite books in 2011?  I've got to start building up my library for 2012...

Home At Last...

You know what's a really bad idea when you're really tired?  Go out to a coffee shop (in public) under the guise of "working," order a big cup of caffine, then listen to Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger."  Trust me.  You will embarrass yourself.  In public. 

Anyway...  After the whirlwind that was the last 3 months, I am finally in one place for more than 2 days.  That's right.  The international travel portion of this year's programming has come to an end.  It ended last week with a quick trip to Montreal for an anthropology conference.  In case anyone is counting, that was my 4th time zone in less than 3 weeks.  Luckily, the conference went well.  I managed to remember enough proper English to deliver a mostly unflawed presentation and also managed to stay awake enough to spend time with some really freaking cool people and not come across as the brain dead person that I felt like.  And as tired as I was (and am now), it was definitely worth it. 

Pictures from Montreal.

 I wish I had something terribly profound to say to you all about all of the experiences that I've had over the last few months.  But, honestly, the one thing that stands out for me the most is how important other people are.  The places I've been are wonderful, but the people I've met and the relationships I've built have made the biggest difference in my life.  And being away always, always gives me an even greater appreciation for the people I love (and who love me) at home.  It's no secret that I was having a hard time with the idea of my trip ending, but the hugs on the other end of the 24 hour travel adventure helped ease me back in to home.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving (I'm a little late to the game here...), let me just say how very thankful I am for my family and close friends.  I would never, ever be the person I am without their (your!) love and support.  I am also thankful for all of the opportunities I've had over the last year and the experiences that have come out of them. 

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) and are ready for the upcoming holiday season.  I am certainly happy that I'll be spending my holidays with my wonderful family.  Including this guy...

From Bangladesh to Taiwan

Last Thursday night at 10:30, a van picked me up from the student apartment in Dhaka and 22 hours later, I arrived in Taiwan.  The trip was rough.  When I reached Taipei, I was running on less than 2 hours of sleep, had been through 4 airports, and had spent WAY too much time with my overstuffed luggage.  Nick met me at the train station and when he rounded the corner at Starbucks, I have never been more happy to see any one person in my life.  I was so relieved, I actually started crying!

I had just gone from a country where I was finally starting to get my bearings and feel comfortable to one where I hadn't been in 3 years.  I was just starting to get used to wearing a salwar kameez and starting to get comfortable using Bangla, then entered a country where less is often more in terms of clothing and I had forgotten nearly every word of the language.  Roslyn and I joke that in our brains, there are two boxes for language.  The boxes are titled "English" and "Other."  Well, before Bangladesh, my "Other" box was mostly filled with Chinese, with a few Spanish words thrown in.  Upon arrival in Taiwan, I discovered that, save for a few desperate hangers-on, all of the Chinese words had been pushed out to make room for the Bangla.  Shit.

So, basically, I went from this:

And this:

To this: 



And this:

Sheesh.  Talk about culture shock!  I'm just thankful I didn't go directly back to the US...  My head might have exploded.

Anyway, I've been in Taiwan for 6 days now and I leave tomorrow (Thursday) to go home to the US.  I've been spending my time visiting old friends, visiting some of my favorite places, and eating some amazingly good food.  I visited the school I used to teach at and saw some of my old students (who are now in 6th grade and SO TALL!).  I am going to have a hard time leaving tomorrow.  The last couple of weeks I have been riding an emotional rollercoaster, and there are a few more ups and downs to face in the next 36 hours.  I was so sad to leave Matlab and Bangladesh.  So sad to leave Roslyn and all of the new friends I made there.  But I was excited to come back to Taiwan and have been so happy to see all of my friends here.  Tomorrow, I will be so sad to leave, but will be really looking forward to seeing all of the people I love at home and getting some rest.  When I fly into Kansas City tomorrow night, I will have literally gone around the world!  From Kansas City to Chicago to Dubai to Dhaka to China to Taipei to Japan to Dallas to Kansas City.  Phew.

Ok.  I've got some green tea to drink.  See you all on the flip side...