My mother has informed me that I haven't posted in a few days, so my apologies!
:D

This past week has been a rather busy one!

On Monday, I was the guest speaker for the Rotary Club of Five Dock. They were such a nice group! I am always happy to be engaged in discussion following a presentation. It makes me feel as if I haven't completely bored folks to boredom and/or sleep.

The Tara in Action
(Courtesy of Peter Komander, Five Dock Rotarian)

Tuesday was a bit of a study day for me---and a much needed one at that! In the morning, however, I went to U.P.S. to put in my morning tutoring. We finally had the chance to solidify our plans for the mural project, so now the project is progressing at a much accelerated rate (which is FANTASTIC!).

Major kudos to my fellow Scholars Toby, Jamie, Julie and Thomas. I had asked them to donate a book each (or however many they wanted to purchase) to the U.P.S. library. I plan to provide the books donation on the day of the mural unveiling (June 22nd). I'm very happy to say that between the 5 of us we have amassed 15 books. Woo-hoo! :)
There will be bookplates placed inside each book to indicate that the donation was made by a 2007 Ambassadorial Scholar (with the Scholar's name and home country noted as well).

Also mad props to my host club, the Rotary Club of Balmain. I can't say enough great things about those folks---they're fab! :) They've really come through with some great support for the mural project. They're making the purchase of the walls that the murals will be painted on. I was really relieved to hear that they had approved sponsorship of the project---it lends a lot of legitimacy to the project (in my eyes, anyhow). It's really nice to see that their support even extends to the projects I'm working on.
I think that the President of the Balmain RC is also going to furnish certificates of participation to the students. It was also mentioned that a plaque would be provided to go along with the mural. This would be a great touch to show Balmain Rotary's commitment to literacy/international awareness beyond their community.

Getting back to the run-down of my week...
I took the train to Wollongong on Wednesday to speak to the West Wollongong Rotary Club. Jamie Fumo (a Scholar based in the Wollongong area) and I tag-teamed, which was nice. She really has a great host club---they were all very nice and hospitable! I enjoyed the trip down the coast and look forward to going back soon! I'm hoping to take the train down to Thirroul (which is on the way to Wollongong) one Sunday and just spend the afternoon having coffee and study on the beach.
Here's a little peak of the scenery in the Thirroul area:
Let's see...
Thursday was a supervisory session day. I met with both supervisors to discuss my ethics application. I cannot get over how intense the ethics app is! It really is a massive headache. I can understand and appreciate its importance...but come on! Ugh...

Friday was lovely.
The Scholars were invited to attend the District Presidents' and Presidents-Elect Dinner in Sutherland. I was very fortunate to be provided transport to the event by Judith. As always, we had some great conversation and some really good laughs (my sides were sore and my eyes were watering from all the laughing I did!).
The dinner was nice. It was our opportunity to meet Presidents/Presidents Elect from all over the district and try to sell our presentation, so to speak. We were initially told that there wouldn't be time for us to address the attendees as a whole and that we would be expected to circulate and to each sit at different tables so that we could meet more Rotarians. However, I was approached by the DG-Elect (while I was in the throes of stuffing my face and discussing Schostakovich with one of the Rotarians at my table) to let me know that each of the Scholars were about to be called forward to give a 1 minute speech. I did the one thing I do best: make an ass of myself. All I'm going to say is I sounded like an idiot in the 1 minute I was allocated. I wouldn't be surprised if I ruined my chances of subsequent presentations!

There really isn't a whole lot more to go on about, really.

More later...

It's a gorgeous, sunny autumn day in Sydney! It is a truly lovely day.

I'm supposed to go into the City in a bit to meet some folks for a Spanish movie. I'm looking forward to it and hope that I am productive enough in my research today to reward myself with the movie. Either way, if I'm unable to attend, we've planned coffee afterward---so that will be nice. I was introduced to the girl I'm visiting today at a Balmain Rotary dinner last week. She's a lovely girl who comes to Oz from Mexico. She's been in Sydney for 5 years, I think.

I went to my first fundraising dinner on Friday night. All I have to say is, I have learned my lesson in regard to carrying around a wine glass. If it was empty, they topped it up! The whole night I had a steady supply of wine. Not good. I had a nice headache the following day!

Speaking of Saturday!
Saturday was the Model United Nations Assembly in Wollongong.
I awoke randomly (I didn't hear my alarm) at 6:55 a.m. I was meant to catch the 7:40 a.m. train from Central Station. I showered as quickly as humanly possible, brushed my teeth, got dressed and literally ran out the door. I caught a taxi at 7:15 a.m. in front of my flat and was off. I really didn't think I was going to make it! I did, however make it within two minutes of the train's departure. It was AMAZING! I sat back and napped most of the way to Wollongong, so I missed loads of nice scenery. :(

MUNA was held at the Nan Tien Temple, which is the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. It was beautiful! We had a nice tour before lunch, but I forgot my camera in the assembly room. Anyhow...it was lovely.

Judith was there in her official capacity as Secretary General of the Model UN. She provided me transport back to Sydney. Once we got back in the Balmain area, we got a bottle of wine and had Thai on Darling Street. It was really lovely to have the chance to catch up a bit! I do feel bad, because I badger her for stories, but she's led such an interesting life!

And now we're back to today!

I'm scheduled to speak at the Rotary Club of Five Dock tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it! I've heard good things about the club.
More later on how the presentation went.

Until next time...

I've been observing the recent Paris Hilton fiasco (this time in relation to her possibility of jail time), and I find it necessary to put in my own two cents worth.

I'm personally rather disgusted by the fact that there would even be any question of whether she should do jail time. While I may not agree with all our laws, I do feel that one pertaining to drink driving is a decree which should be adhered to (especially when that is a violation of parole, which illustrates a prior inability to follow the law). The disheartening fact of the matter is that it would have been strictly adhered to--with virtually little to no court proceedings at taxpayers' expense--if the parole violation had been committed by a person with few financial assets. A woman or man of modest or substandard financial status would have been quickly thrown into jail and treated as the social scourge s-/he is considered by model middle class citizens.

Look, a crime's a crime no matter who commits it. If it is a serious crime that could destroy the lives of others, then by all means apply the necessary punishments. If it's not a serious crime, give folks a chance (unless they've proven through previous chances that they do not wish to rehabilitate). I think we need to seriously reconsider our values and priorities when folks who have become icons for flagrant flippancy and ostentation are the folks who experience a softened form of justice. Isn't justice supposed to be blind? Does the social contract only apply to the middle class?

Maybe it's my naivety, or maybe I just think the poorer folks need more of a chance...but situations such as this Paris Hilton craziness just cause me to seriously call to question the state of American justice.

To my mom (Rewanna McKenzie), to my grandma (Glendine Hicks), to my "other mother" (Carole Ward), to my seeeestor (Christie Sagraves) and to any other moms/mums/madres who may be reading this:

Today, a sociology lesson...

I have just spent the afternoon reading in the Mitchell Wing of the State Library of New South Wales. (I know I've gone on about how much I love studying there, so I'll spare you a rehash of the details.) Anyhow, while in the library today I finished another Bourdieu book (titled The Inheritors:...). I fell in love with Bourdieu's writings when I was undertaking my first Master's degree at the University of Bristol in Bristol, England. (To those of you who don't know, my M.Sc. is in Social and Cultural Theory. )

While I do adore Bourdieu's descriptions and the tenets underpinning his work, I am not too keen on his heavily empirical approach. In other words, I don't like that he feels quantitative data (or numbers/statistics) yields the truest account of social phenomena. In social theory, we would say this gives him a rather positivistic slant (with positivism being the belief in the superiority of scientific results and/or a scientific methodology). Granted, I do acknowledge the importance of quantifiable data in many instances; however, I tend to think that if you want to get down to the meat and potatoes of an issue or given social phenomena, you've got to get a subjective account from the folks who are operating in situ,the rank and file, the people on the front lines, the folks who are in the know. You've got to talk to them and suss out what the concerns are and what affects their behaviors, etc. Numbers will tell you a lot, but the words and non-verbal cues of an interviewee can sometimes yield a hell of a lot more.

Back to the topic... The proponents of a positivist stance in sociology (a la Auguste Comte) battled for the acceptance of social research as a recognized scientific endeavor. At the time these guys were writing sociology (which got its name from Comte) was (and still is to a degree) in its infancy and struggling for credence beyond it's unfortunate label of "soft science". In fact, it wasn't really allowed to use "science" in its description, as the academic elitists felt it wasn't scientific enough.

At any rate, Bourdieu is a good writer, he's a great social theorist, and he did a lot to popularize sociology through the French media. He was something of the poster boy for contemporary French social thought for a time.


If you're interested in checking out Bourdieu's contribution to theory, try keying these words into a search engine: habitus; linguistic capital; cultural capital; field.


I think I like his work because there are a lot of parallels between the aforementioned concepts and phenomenology, ethnomethodology, symbolic interactionism, epistemology and, to an extent, Foucauldian (post-)structuralism.

So, there it is...why I *heart* Bourdieu.

Pierre Bourdieu

Not quite the man of my dreams, but pretty damn close.

I've just finished up chopping veg at Just Enough Faith. I always enjoy going there to help out---the folks are all so lovely! I really do wish there was more I could do. I am hoping to be able to go back on the van again soon. I guess it's something loads of people enjoy doing, so I just hang back and wait until someone calls in sick or if there aren't enough people. That's only happened about 4 times now. At any rate, I'm ready to go back out soon!

This isn't really related at all, but...
I'm not sure what it is that brings me to post really bad poetry. I apologize---really, I do. I guess because it's the only poetry I write! I do say, however, that I am no poet---I am only a writer of poetry. Anyhow, this is a poem about my walk through Callan Park this evening. (To help you orient the place I'm writing about: Just Enough Faith is in Callan Park, which is in Rozelle, which is connected to Balmain.)

Portrait of a Night Walk in Rozelle
Written by Me
11 May 2007

The autumn night
sighs heavily,
on its warm breath
the scent of woodfire,
petrol and fading flora.

My path is ensconced
within a fortress
of trees, homes, lawns
and a distant horizon
ablaze with artificial light.

I move alone tonight---
one set of footfalls
beating against the shadow-cast earth.
I breathe in the dark,
feel it stir around me.

The night is a thousand eyes,
a thousand thoughts,
and thousand reminders
of my insignificance.

Have I mentioned lately that I really dislike being a poor student? I was looking online at tickets for Sydney Opera House performances, and all the ones I want to see are $80+ (upwards of $300!). *sigh* I am going to have to find a really fantastic job to keep me in the lifestyle to which I want to become accustomed! Maybe I just need a rich benefactor. I need my own Magwitch (Hey! It could happen! I am, after all, in Australia!). ha ha ha...

There is absolutely nothing new to report. Tomorrow is going to be more of the same (i.e., studying). I figure I'll head out early tomorrow to one of my select study spots and get a bit of reading done outdoors before heading to the State Library for a bit. I haven't been to the Powerhouse Museum yet, so that may be next on my list of places to visit---it may be where I end up tomorrow afternoon.

A weight has been lifted.
For months now, I've felt a bit torn between two commitments: postgraduate council and Rotaract. As it happened, Rotaract meetings and council meetings occurred on the nights and times. This was a bit distressing, as I wanted to participate actively in both. Unfortunately, that is not possible in situations such as these. So...I thought about it and I consulted a friend regarding my decision...and I decided I would forgo council participation to be more active in Rotaract. I want to enjoy it while I can, as I only have 3 more years of Rotaract participation (the cut-off age is 30).

At any rate, I went to Rotaract last night instead of council. It was lovely seeing some of the folks again. I met some of the Rotaractors during the Rotary v. Rotaract Great Debate back in March.
I'm really glad that I will be able to participate more! It truly feels as if a weight has been lifted.
The next meeting is going to be the change-over, so that will be interesting!

Below is a photo from the Sydney Rotaract Mexican Dinner:

Back: Toby Tanzer, Ambassadorial Scholar from Germany;

Front: Joe Botta, Sydney City Rotarian; Me; Katharina Gerlach, UNSW Master's student & Rotaractor

I had a lovely time at the dinner! Joe picked Toby and me up at Sydney Uni and provided us transport to and from the dinner. He even bought my dinner and wine as a birthday present! I just can't get over how nice and considerate the folks here are!

I don't have much else to report on. I have two library books that I'm itching to get started on (they're both Bourdieu---yay!!! I *heart* Bourdieu). I figure I'll finish up the ole laundry and head out for a bit of studying.

Until next time...

I'm very happy to say that my search for the perfect study spot has continued with great success. See below the photo of one of my new "outdoor" study locations in Woolloomooloo. Not only is it a lovely location, but it's also fun to say!
I perch myself on a rock *see below* and can study for hours while listening to the tide hitting the rocks. It's very peaceful.

MY STUDY SPOT AT WOOLLOOMOOLOO WHARF

Last night marked another fantastic evening with the Balmain Rotary Club. President Maria informed me of some very nice, very encouraging feedback she had received from the Rotary Club of Bathurst East regarding my article in Rotary Down Under. Fortunately, copies of RDU were brought along for me to send back to the US (I was wondering how on earth I would get hold of some copies for the folks back home!). It was really nice to see my article in print. I really have Judith to thank for that! At any rate, I hope that the one I'm working on now will be markedly better than the last one.

I went to the Sydney Rotary Club today as Jean Elborn's guest. She's really a lovely lady. The Rotarians were very hospitable (as is always the case), and the guest speaker was extremely interesting. I spoke with a bit with the Rotaract Chairperson for D9750 during the lunch. She's really a very pleasant person to chat with, and she's so enthusiastic about helping others.
We discussed beginning a Rotaract chapter at Sydney University. She works with the Aboriginal community in Redfern and is inviting me along to shadow her for a Saturday to see if I would like to devote some weekends to volunteering with the program. I'll provide more on that later.

The website is looking lovely! We're gradually getting more information on there, which is nice. Maria is going to send a bit of Balmain Rotary - related stuff to me shortly to complete the Balmain section of the site. So yes, it's a work in progress! Again, the URL is www.sydneyscholar.org .

I don't think there is much else to comment on at this point. I'm going to a Sydney Rotaract event tomorrow, so I shall provide more information *perhaps* tomorrow regarding how that went. Maybe I'll even have some photos to share!

That's it for now!

I'm sitting in the Mitchell Wing of the State Library of New South Wales as I write this post---taking a break from my research. This is my favorite "indoor" place to study. I love the architecture and stained glass windows and the bookshelves that are built into the walls. It's so nice to be completely surrounded by so many books! My favorite "outside" place to study is the Royal Botanic Gardens. Interestingly, one of my friends rang me the other day while I was studying next to the Harbour Bridge (at The Rocks). I told him I was studying at The Rocks and he remarked that I choose these spectacular study locations. I do sometimes spend hours in the Fisher Library at Sydney Uni---but it really depends on my mood. For instance, I tried to study in one of the quieter floors of the Fisher Library, but if it's too quiet I find it more difficult to concentrate. I was also very distracted by the hideous chartreuse paint! Conversely, I can't stand to hear people carrying on a conversation while I'm studying. It's a very strange dichotomy, really.

Before I forget: everyone must visit my SouthEast Telephone-hosted website! It's fab! :)
The address is: www.sydneyscholar.org. It's still under construction, so visit again later on to get the full effect!

We had an absolutely lovely Ambassadorial Scholar gathering last night! Toby organized the evening, which was facilitated/hosted by his host counselor and the host counselor's wife (henceforth Geoff and Joan).
Situated behind Luna Park at Milson's Point, their home has a lovely view of the bay and the City (not to mention a rooftop pool!).

Laurent and I arrived together to find Jamie, Julie, Thomas, Toby & An (one of the Swedish GSE girls) congregating on the roof. We all chatted over excellent prawn canapes and champagne. Jules showed up shortly after Laurent and I to nearly complete the group (Philip and Miloney were the only ones missing).

Geoff and Joan are such a nice couple! They were very hospitable and inquired about various aspects of our respective home countries. In addition to their actual livelihoods, the couple also own a vineyard in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales. Needless to say, we got to sample quite a bit of the wine they produce! The wine was very nice and complimented the meal of Atlantic salmon quite nicely.

Pru, a Rotarian from the Darling Harbour RC, showed up with another of the GSE team members. We had a very interesting chat with the Swedes about their vocations (secondary education and voice instruction). It's so that Rotary provides such beneficial cultural programs as GSE and the Ambassadorial Scholarship. I'm still amazed by the generosity!

I have Postgraduate Seminar this Monday. Woo-hoo! I actually look forward to the seminars---it's so nice to get an idea of what everyone else is working on. It's also a good time to have a chat with everyone, as we don't see one another in class!

This week is going to be a moderately busy one. One of my top priorities is to chase-up some folks to determine what I need to do and what needs to be delegated for the Postgraduate BBQ. I have a council meeting on Wednesday (which sucks, because that's when the Sydney Rotaract meeting is!), so that will be my opportunity to beg for assistance/delegate some responsibilities. The trick is to first ascertain what the responsibilities are! ha ha ha...
I'm really of two minds with council. On the one hand, I really want to be involved because it's a way to be active in what's happening at Sydney Uni. On the other hand, I should also be more active with the Rotaract Club. I miss being involved with Rotaract. The problem is that both Rotaract and SUPRA (the council) meet on Wednesday nights! I can not humanly manage both, as they generally even meet at the same hour! I'm a bit distressed about this, actually. *sigh*

Right...
Well, it's time for me to get back to work! I picked up two Bourdieu books today. YAY! I am going to digest a bit of theory before heading to bed! I've provided myself with a treat for tomorrow: I will go home, shower and get everything sorted (i.e., read) and then I will get to bed slightly early in order to awaken by 6 in the morning to catch the early bus to the City. I will have my coffee on the harbour and then go to the Museum of Contemporary Art to go through more of the exhibits. I plan to then go to the Maritime Museum. Then, it's off to the State Reference Library to do some more research! :)
That may not seem like a treat to many, but to me that sounds like a completely exciting day!

I guess that's it for now!
More later...

I don't really have an update today---I just wanted to share a photo that I took this morning. The photo is of Stafford Walk, which is right across the road from my flat. There's a walking trail that winds around the water and through the parkland. It's such a lovely, peaceful area. The body of water in the picture is Cook's River.

I've officially turned the big 2-7! How nice to say I turned 27 in Sydney, Australia! :)

I went to the Balmain RC meeting yesterday evening. It was a lovely evening (as is generally the case). One of the Swedish GSE team members was there to speak a bit about her home country and her vocation (as a police officer). She was such a nice girl! It's always so nice to hear about places I've never been. It makes me want to travel even more, as I realize there is so much more out there to be learned and explored!

Shortly before the close of the meeting, the Balmain Rotarians surprised me with a birthday gift! I completely did not expect them to even know that it was my birthday! I think my host counselor may know (but she's been in Chicago for the Rotary Council on Legislation, so I didn't expect her to remember), and I only randomly mentioned it in the context of getting phone calls from my family on May 1st to a Sydney City Rotarian. So it's not as if I really told many people (I don't usually celebrate my b-day, to be honest!). It was really very sweet of the Balmain folks and it meant a lot to me that they acknowledged the day.
Even more surprising were the calls I received this morning (i.e., the morning of my birthday). I received three calls from three separate Sydney City Rotarians who rang to wish me a happy birthday. It certainly was a pleasant surprise! One of them invited me to a dinner next week, and another invited me to attend Rotary lunch next Tuesday as her guest. They're truly such a kind group of folks!

Toby and I went to Tomodachi for lunch. We ate more sushi than really should be allowed. I seriously did not think I would be able to move! I was completely stuffed! It was a really lovely lunch.

Matt and Linz rang me this morning and in the evening. They absolutely crack me up! I didn't get to take one of their calls, as I was in a SUPRA Activities Committee meeting. Instead, I received a voicemail message from them shortly thereafter. I cannot get over how crazy they are! ha ha ha...

Speaking of SUPRA (which, for those of you who don't know, is the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association)...
I've been delegated my first SUPRA duty: coordinating the Postgraduate BBQ for May 28th. I'm really looking forward to working on this project---I think it will be a lot of fun, and it will give me the chance to sort of "prove myself" as a councilor. More on that as it unfolds in the coming weeks.

The Undercliffe Mural Project is coming along nicely! It's so nice to have the support of both the school and of the Balmain Rotary Club in making this project a success. And yes, I do think it will be successful! I'm really looking forward to the project progressing more in the weeks to come. I enjoy seeing a project come together---it's such a nice feeling!

SouthEast Telephone is brilliant! I am so happy to say that they are hosting my website, which features Ambassadorial Scholar details, Balmain RC information and project updates. The URL is www.sydneyscholar.org ; however, it is still under construction, so don't expect to find much on the site as of yet. It really is so nice of them to do that! I can't get over the generosity of that company---they do a lot of good for the community (and even for folks who aren't technically in the community [or country]!).

I can't think of anything else that is particularly newsworthy at the moment.
I will provide more updates later on in the week!

Until then...