maelia8

@shadowclaw I know what you mean, my term ended May 15th, and the semester officially begins for me again in the Fall on August 17th (instruction begins on the 24th). It was nice getting out so early, but it means that my time is already half gone

Gosh, I can't believe that summer is already half-over ... I still have so much to do here before I return to campus in mid-August and have to get started on immediate prep for the semester. Being on a research trip really makes me feel that i have to make full use of all of my time, so I'm trying hard to remember that down time and recharging is part of summer too

@Horb I was aware that the content of the statement of grant purpose is quite different (being as an ETA statement usually expresses more general interest in English teaching and reasons why one wants to go to that country in particular, while the Research statement talks specifically about why you are qualified to do this type of research and why it has to be in that country with that research affiliation), but I thought that the format (length, submission form, types of documentation needed besides the research affiliation letter) was quite similar to that of the ETA in Embark online, which is what I meant by "process." Is it actually different?

I don't think that this will be as big of an issue as you fear it will be. In my Ph.D. program we have several graduate students from Eastern Europe and Southeast and East Asia, and although some of them needed to pass an English language exam to prove research fluency after being admitted into the program, all of them are doing well in the program and and their (sometimes heavy) accents haven't proved to be a detriment in discussions. Everyone is very respectful and patient in discussion, and after a couple of weeks everyone gets used to the accent and no one asks the speaker to repeat sentences anymore. In addition we have several professors from other countries who have heavy accents, but they are respected in their fields and many are quite popular among the graduate students. In other words, I don't believe that having a heavy accent will prove detrimental to your prospects if you choose to pursue a career in the USA after you finish your degree. My godfather is from a foreign country and, despite having lived in the USA for 30 years, has a heavy accent, but he's a respected member of his firm and is quite professionally successful - he even gets asked to lecture at the local university a few times per year As long as you don't let your accent stop you from speaking up and contributing, I don't think that it will be a problem for you at all.

Hi folks, I was a Fulbright ETA to Germany in 2012-13 (during a gap year between my Bachelor's and starting my Ph.D.) and will be applying for a Fulbright Research grant in Germany this upcoming cycle in September for my projected research year The process is quite similar except for the need for research affiliation (and a letter of support from your affiliate), so I'm happy to answer any questions folks have about the application process or Germany specifically.

As part of my summer "semi-vacation," I'm re-reading the Wheel of Time fantasy series (14 volumes), which I first picked up over ten years ago. I find it easiest to decompress at the end of the semester by switching to something as un-academic and un-historical as possible while still providing an extremely complex storyline, political intrigue, and plot with hundreds of actors. Epic high fantasy just about does it for me!

At my institution, the folks I know who are in the sciences call them comps, and the humanities people call them quals ... no idea why, as our qualifying exams are much more "comprehensive" in terms of scope than the scientists' comps, which largely focus on their own research.

@telkanuru permanently or temporarily? Would they disappear to another place, or would they cease to exist for the time period that they were disappeared?

In my department the ratio is around 35% female across all Ph.D. cohorts and professors/postdocs, but in some years the proportion of women is much higher and others lower (for example, my cohort is 42% female, but there's a cohort a few years above me that is only 15% female. 40% seems to be about normal overall though, and I think our numbers will creep up as more of the oldest professors (who are mostly male) retire.

@hippyscientist Unfortunately I failed at all of those excellent prep tips, and am now stuck in a terrible intermediate place where I go to sleep between 4 and 6am and wake up at 2pm. I considered setting an earlier alarm, but realized that if I only slept for a couple of hours I'd need to nap in the afternoon, which might mess me up further. I did turn out the lights and attempt to power down at midnight, but it really wasn't working and lying in the dark trying so hard to sleep made me really irritable, so after a few hours I gave up and read until I was able to fall asleep

It's 4am where I am, the birds are chirping, and the sky is a beautiful gray-gold dawn color ... and I am trying to ride the jittery jet lag wave of nine timezones crossed yesterday (or wait, now it's technically two days ago?). To my chagrin, I've realized that getting over jet lag does not come as magically as it did in my late teens and early twenties, when I would take one long nap and bounce back like a rubber band. For those of you who travel frequently over long distances, what are your best tips for getting over jet lag in a speedy and healthy fashion? I'm not one of those folks who wakes up at 4am and can't go back to sleep, but belong to the camp where everything just gets staggered way off from what it should be (i.e. can't seem to fall asleep until the wees and then when I do fall asleep, I sleep until afternoon). In other words, how do I get off this party train? Surrendering to what is clearly the perfect circadian rhythm for the European summer club scene is not an option

I categorize "work brain off-turning" activities into two categories: the ones where I just let myself exist without thinking about anything at all, such as watching tv, reading fiction, cuddling, etc, and the ones where I switch tracks to a different type of exertion/thinking, such as cooking, hiking, knitting, singing, dancing, coloring, etc. I feel the need to have an even balance of the two in order to function in a healthy way - if I'm really exhausted and a bit burned out, I need the first type, and if I've just hit research/work quota but am still feeling pretty spry, then I change gears to something that requires physical activity/mental stretching.

@bioarch_fan It seems to me from the way you've written your post that the primary motivation you'd have in seeking a roommate would be saving money, and that you truly value your privacy over some of the other things that people often see as perks of having roommates, such as companionship. Since you don't live in a place where living alone is prohibitively expensive (such as my location, for example), I think you should follow your heart and rent a single place. If you decide after a year that it's too expensive to continue, or you find somebody during that year that you are genuinely interested in living with, then you could always consider the first year a trial period and change things up at the end if necessary.

I also rarely use my car since I've been in grad school - once a week for heavy grocery shopping, plus maybe one night a week for a weekend excursion - and I think I'm going to keep my car until it sputters and dies (1998 Toyota Corolla with 250,000 miles on it). I don't think it's worth investing in a new car at any price unless you are going to become a commuter driving 30+ minutes to campus every day such that an unreliable car could be a problem.

Aaah, I see what you mean. I think this is something that we're going to see more and more change in as the generations shift. Until the 90s it was possible for folks in my field to get away with that sort of gapless, streamlined professional life, but by the time the oldest professors have retired and the folks who are my age are becoming tenured professors, I think the majority of the CVs will start to look quite different.

@St Andrews Lynx I'm surprised this has been your experience, as nearly every person in my Ph.D. program took at least a year off (and most two or three) before starting the program. At least among humanities students, it's very hard to get in straight out of undergrad as we generally lack sufficient research experience, and some folks haven't even written an extended research paper that they can submit as a writing sample by the end of undergrad (not all . Most of us have taken at least a year off to travel or work overseas (usually as journalists, writers, or ESL teachers), work a dead-end job at home to save up some money, or gotten into some sort of competitive program (like Fulbright or JET) to improve our credentials. @Kaede, I know that you are a scientist, but maybe it makes you feel better to know that among humanists, taking at least a year off to pursue a short-term post-bacc opportunity or even just to travel or save money is very common and considered totally legit, and is even believed to give you "seasoned perspective" and strengthen your application.

This is generally a gendered problem, but I really dislike it when a new (male) grad student ignores, makes dismissive facial/body language, talks over, or makes belittling/dismissive comments about something that another (female) graduate student says during seminar. Sometimes the person being dismissed/interrupted is also male, but the offender is almost never female. This is actually such a big issue in my department that we had a gender task force created two years ago after complaints were registered from a large number of female students, and new policies were created as a result.

Methods I use to improve my time management: 1) use the Pomodoro method to work in short blocks and religiously take breaks so that I don't feel burned out. 2) use Google calendar religiously to plan out my days, with recurring meetings and events, and make the calendar shareable among all of my friends/coworkers so that they can use it to see when I'm free and we can schedule time to meet. 3) use Habitica (habit checklist game) to motivate me to get things done on time. 4) make a checklist of my "free time activities" for a given day/study period, with specific limited time slots for each (i.e. '30 minutes tv,' '15 minutes fun reading,' etc.).

I'll be at a Digital Humanities conference in Canada this week, and frolicking around in the archives in Berlin, Germany for two months starting the week after that! Putting on my Big Researcher Pants this summer

@rising_star Thanks for the perspectives! I'll definitely bring some of these points up at the next association meeting I definitely agree with you that it is none of our business to discuss the student's treatment or lack thereof - the reason that the possibility of removing Heavy Drinker from departmental events even came up was because it was requested by several of the parties who reported harassment at their hands. These folks really want something visible "done" about the issue quickly, so the grad association is in kind of a sticky situation (put on hold by the end of the term, but it will certainly arise again in the fall). There is actually only alcohol at one association-funded event per year - the rest comes from the department, and involves events the professors attend as well, so the possibility of removing alcohol entirely would have to be weighed in on by the professors as well. It can't hurt to bring the possibility to the table though! I'm sure it could make a difference.

Make sure to read the application carefully - some GA applications only want you to list experience "at the university level or higher," and some are only interested in your experience from the institution you're currently attending and none before. Good luck!

@rising_star gulp, sorry for accidentally hijacking the thread ... should I take this somewhere else? @St Andrews Lynx the alcoholic person has actually been a problem at non-departmental events involving graduate students in the department (such as house parties) as well, and has been banned from a few houses and ceased to receive invitations to several others. They have not violated the bans, and are certainly aware that their behavior has been an issue, but they don't appear to be taking any steps to change that behavior, which is why this is sort of "strike 2," and why the grad association is considering official action. @TakeruK The possibility of removing alcohol from department events has not been officially considered, probably because it would cause extreme outrage on the part of the majority of students who are very appreciative of their biweekly free beer and wine. Also, since this is the only person in the department (in grad student memory) who has had public issues with alcohol, the feeling is that they are spoiling everyone else's fun with their behavior.

Yeah, that is also a danger, for sure. However, I tried for way too long (and far too hard) to still do all of the things I used to do pre-teaching, and it took a lot of stress as a wake-up call to make me realize I just had to get rid of some things in my schedule, as trying to half-ass everything was allowing me to do nothing well.

I'm definitely on the teleportation team! Of course, I'd only use it for travel outside of town, where I'd otherwise have to use a car or bus or plane or train, because I despise all of the time wasted traveling, especially when I'm the driver and can't even read. And if I could teleport, not only could I visit my family whenever I want, for as long as I want, but I could live anywhere and still get to campus on time for class I could go out to lunch with my partner, which would normally necessity 3 hours including transport time, and be back in no time at all! I'd really like this power the best.

I generally hold one or two non-mandatory "make-up" sessions near the end of the term to review what we've gone over so far in an effort to counterbalance the effect of holidays. I have the students vote in doodle polls to pick the dates, so that most of those who want to can attend.