Within the last month I finished my third year of my PhD studies and Chapter 2 of my dissertation, so I finally got to updating my poor abandoned blog, only to have the Greek internet swallow the blog post I have been writing for the last 10 days (more on that later), as if it were a multi-billion Euro loan from the European Central Bank. So, back to the old drawing board.
My sixth semester has been very intense. All semesters are intense, but in different ways. This was my first semester dedicated 100% to writing my dissertation and it was a new dynamic for me. I find writing, especially in the academic style very difficult, every sentence is a challenge, and then it gets corrected by my director and sent back for retooling. So it feels like one step forward two steps back. But eventually every page gets cleared after a few drafts, so it is very rewarding to make progress.
My volunteering has also been very exciting. The volunteer coordinator at the Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill asked me to participate in their Annual fundraising gala, this year the theme was Disney’s Aladdin… and I was Jafar! They were nice enough to let me keep the costume so I re-used it for the Romance Studies end of the year party, which this year was themed as “Happily ever after” i.e. your favorite storybook character.
Other highlights of the year to which I will dedicate blog posts were:
Being a Graduate Research Consultant for my Thesis Director’s undergraduate literature class.
A plethora of cultural events: music, ballet, theater…
The French Department had me teach French for High Beginners. It was a challenge but also great fun.
I was the Department’s soccer coordinator for the year, or as I re-worked it: The Romance Studies Sports and Wellness Coordinator.
This Spring I presented at a conference at the University of Maryland and at our own home grown Carolina Conference on Romance Studies.
All this and more will be coming your way soon, so stay tuned!!!…
Antonioyrocinante's Blog 
Que buen disfraz, me he asustado. Abrazo gigante hermano!
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Hey Antonio! Proud of you Hermano. Keep plugging away. I will send you an email, but we will be in Spain July 4-10. If we aren’t lucky enough to see you then (if you happen to be there then), let’s try to visit this fall somehow.
Always nice to know you are not far away though we haven’t seen each other. Salud!
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Hey ese era Quill! bueno Tonxo esperamos todos esos posts con ansiedad!
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