the odds
87.9% sure I'm quitting my PhD.
I give myself until next weekend to make the final decision, but the idea of it makes me happy. A little nervous, but happy.
So, Plan A? Go to Ecuador for a few months and get my Spanish excelente, then on to Senegal for a few months for the same with French.
Those are my two favorite continents - South America and (West) Africa.
This is like MEEWT2, but I'm glad I did the first one last year. Now things are cake - I know all about visas and anti-malarial medication and all that crap. I can entertain myself on a 24-hour plan ride and no place is exotic. Perhaps most important, I know that I can come back and start a life again - there will be jobs mid-year probably and rooms to rent with flush toilets.
But that is a productive way to spend the year, while I apply to international & comparative education programs across the country - I'll learn the school systems while volunteering, and the languages well. I have a friend in Ecuador I can stay with (unless something's changed like she's gotten married or something - we haven't talked for awhile), and she is the ultimate Don't Worry Be Happy girl. I could stay awhile on the island with her (she lives in the Galapagos, that's where we met) and in Quito (a city I do like much) and in the jungle (she took two years off her life to go live in the jungle with "the natives"), and take side trip to Machu Pichu (sp?) and the like. Then come back for a bit to the home country and on to Senegal for awhile - I found a volunteer hook-up with language classes in Dakar. I could then enter a new PhD program with four languages solidly under my belt and experiences in several different places.
Where does this leave me and the man? Well, he's married to somebody else, and he has to handle that. No more am I shaping my life to meet the needs of our relationship. I think he's my soulmate and I would love to spend my life with him and his daughters, but he effed up.
And honestly, worst case scenario this is not the worst possible life - to be a teacher and travel regularly. It pays into my retirement and is an honorable profession. It's not what I want to do forever, but if I have to, it's good to know it's there.
So, next plan? Prep to retake the GRE. I got good scores last time, but I want excellent ones now. I am, after all, applying to Harvard and Stanford and the like. I'm going for the gold - to the very best schools with my interest areas. Worst they can say is no.
Crap. I just checked the school that really pursued me for law school - their deadline is April 1. I guess this weekend I'm putting in that application. I missed the good deadlines, but maybe they still have some financial aid or something. Or, they have a night program, where I could teach at the same time.
Oh man. Plan B. They have an international business track.
I better stop now before I get to Plan C. Too late - that would be going to New Orleans for spring break, Senegal for summer, and law school in fall. Would a law school pursue me if they weren't going to accept me? Several of them waived the application fee and all that. Hm.
Well, gives me something interesting to do over the weekend, since I am doing no more coursework. I'm loading up the books to return to the library.
I give myself until next weekend to make the final decision, but the idea of it makes me happy. A little nervous, but happy.
So, Plan A? Go to Ecuador for a few months and get my Spanish excelente, then on to Senegal for a few months for the same with French.
Those are my two favorite continents - South America and (West) Africa.
This is like MEEWT2, but I'm glad I did the first one last year. Now things are cake - I know all about visas and anti-malarial medication and all that crap. I can entertain myself on a 24-hour plan ride and no place is exotic. Perhaps most important, I know that I can come back and start a life again - there will be jobs mid-year probably and rooms to rent with flush toilets.
But that is a productive way to spend the year, while I apply to international & comparative education programs across the country - I'll learn the school systems while volunteering, and the languages well. I have a friend in Ecuador I can stay with (unless something's changed like she's gotten married or something - we haven't talked for awhile), and she is the ultimate Don't Worry Be Happy girl. I could stay awhile on the island with her (she lives in the Galapagos, that's where we met) and in Quito (a city I do like much) and in the jungle (she took two years off her life to go live in the jungle with "the natives"), and take side trip to Machu Pichu (sp?) and the like. Then come back for a bit to the home country and on to Senegal for awhile - I found a volunteer hook-up with language classes in Dakar. I could then enter a new PhD program with four languages solidly under my belt and experiences in several different places.
Where does this leave me and the man? Well, he's married to somebody else, and he has to handle that. No more am I shaping my life to meet the needs of our relationship. I think he's my soulmate and I would love to spend my life with him and his daughters, but he effed up.
And honestly, worst case scenario this is not the worst possible life - to be a teacher and travel regularly. It pays into my retirement and is an honorable profession. It's not what I want to do forever, but if I have to, it's good to know it's there.
So, next plan? Prep to retake the GRE. I got good scores last time, but I want excellent ones now. I am, after all, applying to Harvard and Stanford and the like. I'm going for the gold - to the very best schools with my interest areas. Worst they can say is no.
Crap. I just checked the school that really pursued me for law school - their deadline is April 1. I guess this weekend I'm putting in that application. I missed the good deadlines, but maybe they still have some financial aid or something. Or, they have a night program, where I could teach at the same time.
Oh man. Plan B. They have an international business track.
I better stop now before I get to Plan C. Too late - that would be going to New Orleans for spring break, Senegal for summer, and law school in fall. Would a law school pursue me if they weren't going to accept me? Several of them waived the application fee and all that. Hm.
Well, gives me something interesting to do over the weekend, since I am doing no more coursework. I'm loading up the books to return to the library.
posted by NOLA at 8:01 PM
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