Welcome to the journal. I thought it was much easier to post everything here for you to read at your leisure and thereby keep in touch. You are welcome to post in this journal. Just click 'comment' and leave yr initials, and i should be able to figure out who you are. Try not to leave your full name..I dislike too much web presence, so everything else will be with initials anyway.
I have been busy of late, no, not hobnobbing with people, even, but really, getting my living arrangements out of the way. It's extraordinary to think of the sheer number of things that i find difficult to get here!
I will start with the.. as usual, trust HER to do these things...Over the past few days, i managed to, let's see, buy a second hand bicycle--well she won't replace Elda, since Elda is my first bike, and like all first loves, more memorable than the rest for that reason, so Elda will just have to be contented with being remembered but not being used!----even before I set up my bank account, and lost...my bike lock within 1 day. I got one of those horribly expensive u-locks, as Cambridge has the highest bike theft rates in the whole of UK, and it must have fallen out of it's bracket as i cycled home in the dark last night.
you can imagine how distressed i was, not just the cost of the U chain--which makes me wince when I think about it---but the possibility that I might lose my bike. Well, I asked my college porter where to hide the bike until the next morning, and just hoped/prayed it will be fine, and was extremely relieved to see this morning that it hasn't been nicked.
Horribly distressed, i decided to cook enough for 4 more meals to freeze instead of doing my academic work, so i am once more, behind schedule. Well, cooking is very therapeutic!
Ah well, I never had luck with my first lock, methinks. T'was the same with Elda's first lock.. i er, locked myself out, and had to cut the lock to get her free. maybe after this, this new bike and I will get along well, though--with a reassuring look in Elda's direction---never to quite replace Elda.
So far, I have been busy with random things like running around like a headless chicken looking for random things like my contact lens solution which cannot be found here---maybe it's just cambridge!---and opening bank accounts, getting clothes hangers to do my laundry, and stuff. I am very grateful that this other friend who lives in London frogmarched me to get some items, because if she didn't start me earlier, I probably would have had to lug more things. So thank you, you know who you are.
Apart from that, I have been happy and well, just rather fatigued as time is racing on and I am even more behind schedule than ever and it's making me panic, since the course has started proper. Trying to clear the necessary things out of the way so I can actually start living in cambridge , and focus on things like socialising---i should actually, since I have been doing alot of things myself as I get irritated when there are so many random things like no soap or washing liquid around the house---yes, i know i should have come earlier to do these things like many other students but never mind now!---and actually starting on work. I think I got a supervisor I want :)... at least on paper, she seems the closest match to my research interests than the rest who seem to do exotic societies like Mongolia and Tibet---Cambridge is THE leading centre for the study of Mongolia and other exotic places..I chattered to her at top-speed yesterday when I was introduced to her as I was so excited and relieved to be matched to her... partly as I was afraid to be palmed off to a supervisor who was not interested... She seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about me, and rather pleased I am at Girton, since she's at Girton as well, so it seems like a good start.
So far, from the past 2 days short interaction with the faculty, they seem genuinely nice, down to earth, and very accessible... a litle bit shocking as so many of them are real heavy weights in anthropology of socialism, russia, mongolia, inner asia studies, but they all seem very reassuring and keen to help us on our academic journeys.
I am hoping now to carve out my time wisely and to balance between my impulse to hurry and get the living things out of the way, and some academic work done for my future research plans, and even the cambridge requirements, and yes, making time to socialise.
hope everyone is well:)
I will start with the.. as usual, trust HER to do these things...Over the past few days, i managed to, let's see, buy a second hand bicycle--well she won't replace Elda, since Elda is my first bike, and like all first loves, more memorable than the rest for that reason, so Elda will just have to be contented with being remembered but not being used!----even before I set up my bank account, and lost...my bike lock within 1 day. I got one of those horribly expensive u-locks, as Cambridge has the highest bike theft rates in the whole of UK, and it must have fallen out of it's bracket as i cycled home in the dark last night.
you can imagine how distressed i was, not just the cost of the U chain--which makes me wince when I think about it---but the possibility that I might lose my bike. Well, I asked my college porter where to hide the bike until the next morning, and just hoped/prayed it will be fine, and was extremely relieved to see this morning that it hasn't been nicked.
Horribly distressed, i decided to cook enough for 4 more meals to freeze instead of doing my academic work, so i am once more, behind schedule. Well, cooking is very therapeutic!
Ah well, I never had luck with my first lock, methinks. T'was the same with Elda's first lock.. i er, locked myself out, and had to cut the lock to get her free. maybe after this, this new bike and I will get along well, though--with a reassuring look in Elda's direction---never to quite replace Elda.
So far, I have been busy with random things like running around like a headless chicken looking for random things like my contact lens solution which cannot be found here---maybe it's just cambridge!---and opening bank accounts, getting clothes hangers to do my laundry, and stuff. I am very grateful that this other friend who lives in London frogmarched me to get some items, because if she didn't start me earlier, I probably would have had to lug more things. So thank you, you know who you are.
Apart from that, I have been happy and well, just rather fatigued as time is racing on and I am even more behind schedule than ever and it's making me panic, since the course has started proper. Trying to clear the necessary things out of the way so I can actually start living in cambridge , and focus on things like socialising---i should actually, since I have been doing alot of things myself as I get irritated when there are so many random things like no soap or washing liquid around the house---yes, i know i should have come earlier to do these things like many other students but never mind now!---and actually starting on work. I think I got a supervisor I want :)... at least on paper, she seems the closest match to my research interests than the rest who seem to do exotic societies like Mongolia and Tibet---Cambridge is THE leading centre for the study of Mongolia and other exotic places..I chattered to her at top-speed yesterday when I was introduced to her as I was so excited and relieved to be matched to her... partly as I was afraid to be palmed off to a supervisor who was not interested... She seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about me, and rather pleased I am at Girton, since she's at Girton as well, so it seems like a good start.
So far, from the past 2 days short interaction with the faculty, they seem genuinely nice, down to earth, and very accessible... a litle bit shocking as so many of them are real heavy weights in anthropology of socialism, russia, mongolia, inner asia studies, but they all seem very reassuring and keen to help us on our academic journeys.
I am hoping now to carve out my time wisely and to balance between my impulse to hurry and get the living things out of the way, and some academic work done for my future research plans, and even the cambridge requirements, and yes, making time to socialise.
hope everyone is well:)
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