Postdoc plans

Hey all, I know I've been very bad about keeping touch lately. Some of that has been because I have been at a loss as to what to say. I finished my degree in August, but nothing much has happened since then as I've waited to hear on the things I've applied for and I've been a bit discouraged. However, at the end of last week I finally got some good news. I was awarded two years of postdoctoral funding from NSF to work on a project in Germany. I will be at the University of Heidelberg (I can't wait until I know how to spell that so I can stop looking it up every time I type it). The funding is for two years and it looks like I will be starting in late June. I'm still in excited mode about this (which will soon turn into a panic as I deal with all the details including moving to another country for a significant amount of time). Many of you heard about this on facebook, but I wanted to make sure that I updated everyone on my status since I've been so out of touch recently. Anyway, I'm open to advice from anyone who has lived abroad, and particularly in Europe (I lived 3 months in Japan and 3 months in Korea so I have some idea, but still, this is much longer).

 I hope all is well you you guys!

What cereal are you?

Hello all...

So sorry the ol' blog is so slow and I certainly haven't been helping.  I am enrolled in a teacher certification program now (HS biology teacher!) and my first assignment is to come up with a one-word cereal name that reflects some important attribute about me and design a cereal box.  I am stumped.  'Comprendo-O's?'  'Mommix?' 'Puffed Science?' Well, that's two words...

What would your cereal be, or do you just think this is a ridiculous exercise?  (My respect for the exercise has grown as I have tried to come up with something.)

Deans in pjs

Thought I would update you on my new teaching job.

1. The dean of my dept. lives in the same place as me - we've seen each other in pjs (and politely hurriedly passed each other in the hallway).
2. When I used a projector for teaching they had to turn on power to the entire building.
3. I can't tell what are the first and what are the last names of my students.
4. I can get dressed 15 minutes before class and run downstairs to teach.
5. At graduation many Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston songs were played.
6. I have to work with a fan sitting 1 ft away from my face (and sleep with 2 at night).
7. There seems to be only one chalk board eraser for the entire floor of classrooms.
8. Students wander in 40 minutes late.
9. They physically ousted the former academic dean a couple years ago (so I will be careful to not make too many waves).
10. I have difficulty understanding what they are saying.
11. Five thought ecology is the study of ground bark (and 2 changed their answer from the environment to ground bark).
12. They actually remembered what I taught them last week!

Teaching ecology - help!

Big news - I'm moving to Haiti for the fall to teach tropical ecology and bio labs at a small university.  Yikes!  I need help with what to teach - does anyone have a syllabus they can share?  Recommendations for text books?  The students can't afford books, but the dean said there are kindles for them to share and she'll buy me the text and kindle uploads.  Right now they copy the pertinent chapters from the books and share the copies.  I'll teach in exchange for room and board - no salary, so I'm trying to figure that part out.  Haiti's only botanical garden is there!  It's a coastal town!  They allow cats in the guest house!  I don't have to cook!  Check my facebook for the latest person I friended and you might be able to see her pics. I'll post more details on facebook when I get there (late Aug).

I join your ranks as anonymous poster of teaching conundrums.  All your posts will be a great resource as I figure this out!

Long belated check in

Hey all, I know that I've been really out of touch for a least a year now...maybe longer. I got out of the habit of checking this blog regularly and have just been busy trying to finish things off. Today I finally defended my thesis (successfully) and I have just minor edits to make to the dissertation before turning it in (my committee actually signed off on the final draft already). I'm finally done and will be leaving OSU in less than a month to go home to Chicago and figure out what to do next. I apologize for being out of touch and missing birthdays and other important news, I am going to try to get back into the habit of visiting the blog more often and keeping in touch. I hope all is well with everyone!

Dr. Abby!

Congratulations to Abby!!!

RIP Guaba

I said goodbye to Guaba this morning.  We buried him in the front yard.