I haven’t written a post since August?! Oops. When I started this blog, I planned to post at least once a month. Clearly I’m good at making and sticking to goals. I’m going to take the easy way out and blame it on grad school. There’s a lot to tell so far so this post will be a long one, but hang in there – there’s pictures at the end!

We’re in Week 7 of the fall term, which I suppose means that the title of this post is a bit misleading – it’s been almost two months of grad school already! But close enough for government work, as my dad says. Grad school has been incredible and stressful and brain-expanding and exhausting. I’m becoming a finely-tuned reading and writing machine, in both good ways and bad. On the first day of classes, more than one professor said: “We give you more reading than we know is possible, on purpose, so you can learn how to read effectively”. That’s about the point in class when everyone started exchanging terrified looks and wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Grad school started, as all good things should, with a lot of food. The department chair hosted the grad students and all of the faculty at what was probably the most lavish potluck I’ve ever attended. SO MUCH FANCY FOOD. And prizes. I made a caprese salad with peaches that I was pretty proud of (along with some deviled potatoes) and allowed myself to hope that maybe I’d start the year off with a bang by taking home a potluck award. No such luck. But my advisor’s gumbo took the main dish trophy, so I basically second-degree won, right? Aside from the endless stuffing of faces there was also much mingling and getting to know all the other grad students and faculty and whatever, but mostly FOOOOOD.

The week before school started was full of training for my teaching assistant position. Endless training. One full day about how to create an inclusive classroom and not sexually harass people, then three half days about using rubrics and grading papers. These are all very important things to know, but after being in school so long and working in so many on-campus jobs, I think I’ve heard variations of the same presentation about a million times now. But the student center has seriously upped its catering game since I was last a student here, so that was a bonus. And I met some really interesting people at my wedding-style forced-seating tables.

Aside from the slow acceptance of the crushing reading load, class has been chugging along really well. I’m taking two grad-level anthropology classes, and one 400-level political science class (it fulfills a requirement for the certificate in political economy I’m adding on to my degree). All of the teaching assistants also had to take yet a further 1-credit class about TA stuff, but that’s over with now. Grad classes are held once a week for three hours – a format that I really like, and one that gives us lots of time to get into long, interesting, sometimes tangential discussions. Each class requires us to complete the week’s reading, then type a short synthesis paper covering main themes and our reflection on the topic. So each week I have an essay due Monday night and another Thursday night, and the rest of my week sorts itself around those two tasks. As I mentioned, the reading load is intense. Over a hundred pages per week, per class, if I had to guess. I’m perfecting the art of smart skimming, and also of cranking out these short essays. It feels good to have unlocked the formula that lets me get good grades on them, but also a bit disheartening that I feel like I’m cranking out a bit of bullshit without having time to fully digest the material.

But, even though the writing feels formulaic, the class material is amazing. It feels so good to be using my brain again, and I feel on fire with curiosity. The other grad students are awesome, and we’re all becoming good friends. I think I can honestly say that I like every single one of the people I’ve met so far in the department. It also helps that anthropologists are sociable and friendly, and always going rock climbing and hiking and lots of other things I never have time to join in on. Our Friday theory class is scheduled to end at 4:30 specifically so that the department can close down early every week and the grad students and faculty can go to Avos for drinks after class. We’re also trying to get a thing called Animal Shirt Thursdays off the ground, but it’s taking some time to gain traction.

There are many good stories to tell, but the highlight of the first month was an encounter with some special rocks. I was in the grad lounge one day when one of the archeology adjuncts came in and placed a briefcase on the table. Inside were about a dozen nondescript rocks (though I suppose, in their defense, it’s hard for a rock to look important). These weren’t just any rocks, though, they were from the Oldowan: the oldest archeological evidence of shaped stone tools, made by our hominid ancestors over 2 MILLION years ago. And I held them. Not models of those rocks, or props, but those ACTUAL rocks. And they were so undeniably shaped for human hands, and made with specific purpose – the very first example of technology on this planet. Two million years ago, some human ancestor was hanging out in Africa, slicing and dicing with the exact same rocks I was holding in my hands. All of time and space compressed, and I felt very, very tiny. But I also felt incredibly connected to every other human being who has ever existed. The archeology kids are probably used to this feeling, but I was overwhelmed, in a good way. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for several days afterward. Rocks, you guys! Who knew they had such power!

My potluck offerings. I don’t want to brag, but that salad was legit.

Teaching assistant training, day 1. Table 7 was definitely cooler than Table 16. (Sorry, 16!)

Anthro department orientation, in the super-neato bone room. I think there are about 15 incoming grad students.

First week of reading for my two anth classes. I print multiple pages per sheet, so multiply all those numbers by 4 and you’ll have an idea of page count.

The books for my political science class. If you ever want to know stuff about the EU, UN, or WTO, I’m your gal.

The grad lounge/TA office, where I spend most of my time. Sometimes reading, sometimes trying not to fall asleep in my chair.

I look at this sign almost every time I walk into the department, and I still get excited seeing my name on the TA list.

This is what some anthropologists (and one sad economist – sorry, Edward) look like while trying to map out a timeline of the development of neoliberalism.

The special rocks!

The view from my usual spot on the bike rack, for the days when I’m motivated enough to ride. It’s a pretty place, CSU.