Nothing political, but it's official: after passing my Candidacy Exam I am now an bonafide "PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature." Tons of work and stress going into it, but my adviser's cheering congratulations after my 5-person committee deliberated was well worth it. Sick though it may sound, the whole thing, including the hour-long oral exam/discussion was sort of fun and I came home glowing and told Justin that it was easily the most exciting meeting with faculty since I arrived.
This Tuesday I started what has got to be the highlight of at least this semester, if not more of my time here at PSU: bi-weekly lessons in Old French with Dr. Lacy (he's edited just about every scholarly work on French Arthurian lit. in use today, it seems, and is just an amazing professor and scholar). I can't even speak Modern French, but I'm reading La Chanson de Roland in the original (no worries, I'm taking 3 Modern French courses this summer to catch up -- after Latin, Gothic, Old English and Middle English, with only a bit of Italian still usable, finally a language I can use in the world/time I live in).
Justin and the kids are awesome and we're ALL getting a bit antsy as we wait for Spring--not the least reason being that there is nowhere to camp in PA in the winter as everything closes. We're not sure we can make it to April...we might start "stealth camping."
Now, the promised Funny Aspen Comment:
Today at church, as Aspen snuggled in my lap and asked about my earrings and necklace she then pointed to my collar bone:
"What's this"
"My collar bone."
"Oooh. Cool collar bone."
"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view." ~ Edward Abbey
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