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Book: still revising. But I need to take a small break and let my mind rest. At the same time, the entire nation of Germany comes back from vacation after August is over, and I know that I will very shortly have a ton to do. I'd like to finish the revision before everyone comes back and I'm not in charge of my schedule anymore.
Reading: It's taking me forever because I'm reading in German, but The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson is an awesome book. If you are studying German and want to read a book in it (and you're okay reading real children's books, not just learning-the-language books), I recommend this one. Since it's set in the German-speaking world, it's easy to fall into the setting. And quite aside from language, it's just a lovely book. (It's originally in English, in case you don't know it.)
Parenting: We've sort of had a goal to go swimming once a week, all vacation. So far we've been lucky to find one day a week that it's been warm enough to swim. In an unheated pool, if it's 70 degrees outside, it's about 69 in the water, which is um, a bit chilly. Today was 75 and it was okay, but could've been warmer. But, at least we got to go. I was really nervous about taking all four kids by myself at first, but it's turned out okay. The nonswimmer area is huge--half the length of the pool--with a solid wall divider between that and the swimming lanes. So it's not bad. I have to stay by the littlie 120% of the time, so Oldest Son who wants to learn to swim doesn't get so much attention (he's had some lessons, but not enough). But everyone is having fun, and fun is the whole point.
Job/real life: We're here for another year (it's a two-year research grant), but after that we'll be returning to the States. The academic job list officially opens next month, although a few are already trickling out. Here's how it works in German: universities with academic positions advertise in one location, and if you're lucky you get picked for an interview at the MLA conference (Modern Languages Association) that is always held between Christmas and New Year's. (Who came up with this schedule, I want to know? 'Cause, they aren't getting any Christmas cards from me!) If you're really lucky, you get a call back at the beginning of winter semester (or spring, if you're a school that pretends winter doesn't exist) for an on-campus interview. And if you're really lucky, you get the job. You probably can't pick where that job will be (well, you can choose which ones you apply to, but there aren't enough to be picky about unless you're considering changing careers altogether). So as you can imagine, it's a long year full of angst. I didn't think I was thinking about it, but I've been having odd dreams of our new "house"--the kind that has only two walls, where the boys' bunk bed doesn't really fit under the roof, so they huddle on the bottom and use the top as a roof of sorts. While it's snowing. Um, yeah. I just hope it's somewhere green, without too many disasters, where it's safe to live and there are nice people and where all six of us feel at home.
Okay, that was a really boring entry. Hopefully you're all having an exciting day out there.
Reading: It's taking me forever because I'm reading in German, but The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson is an awesome book. If you are studying German and want to read a book in it (and you're okay reading real children's books, not just learning-the-language books), I recommend this one. Since it's set in the German-speaking world, it's easy to fall into the setting. And quite aside from language, it's just a lovely book. (It's originally in English, in case you don't know it.)
Parenting: We've sort of had a goal to go swimming once a week, all vacation. So far we've been lucky to find one day a week that it's been warm enough to swim. In an unheated pool, if it's 70 degrees outside, it's about 69 in the water, which is um, a bit chilly. Today was 75 and it was okay, but could've been warmer. But, at least we got to go. I was really nervous about taking all four kids by myself at first, but it's turned out okay. The nonswimmer area is huge--half the length of the pool--with a solid wall divider between that and the swimming lanes. So it's not bad. I have to stay by the littlie 120% of the time, so Oldest Son who wants to learn to swim doesn't get so much attention (he's had some lessons, but not enough). But everyone is having fun, and fun is the whole point.
Job/real life: We're here for another year (it's a two-year research grant), but after that we'll be returning to the States. The academic job list officially opens next month, although a few are already trickling out. Here's how it works in German: universities with academic positions advertise in one location, and if you're lucky you get picked for an interview at the MLA conference (Modern Languages Association) that is always held between Christmas and New Year's. (Who came up with this schedule, I want to know? 'Cause, they aren't getting any Christmas cards from me!) If you're really lucky, you get a call back at the beginning of winter semester (or spring, if you're a school that pretends winter doesn't exist) for an on-campus interview. And if you're really lucky, you get the job. You probably can't pick where that job will be (well, you can choose which ones you apply to, but there aren't enough to be picky about unless you're considering changing careers altogether). So as you can imagine, it's a long year full of angst. I didn't think I was thinking about it, but I've been having odd dreams of our new "house"--the kind that has only two walls, where the boys' bunk bed doesn't really fit under the roof, so they huddle on the bottom and use the top as a roof of sorts. While it's snowing. Um, yeah. I just hope it's somewhere green, without too many disasters, where it's safe to live and there are nice people and where all six of us feel at home.
Okay, that was a really boring entry. Hopefully you're all having an exciting day out there.
