- I cleared the thesis office a while ago...this means that the only thing standing between me and my PhD is..oh yeah, nothing! I shall be hooded by my advisor next month, and my biggest challenge will be to keep from crying like an idiot in front of everyone.
- I don't want to leave and return to Doha. Please don't make me go!
- The job market season is fast approaching and this alternatively makes me nervous and terrified. There is one job that recently openend out of the blue, and it's in my field, t-t, and it's in an area that would be really good for Hubby's research. It's also at a school where I think I'd be a pretty good candidate (based on the profiles of their current English faculty). It's hard not to get my hopes up, but seriously, I'd absolutely love it if, by some miracle, they pursued me as a candidate, hired me, and the girls and I could just move there and set up shop while Hubby went back to Doha and supervised the packing of our things! I know that sounds horrible and completely unprofessional and makes me look like an awful employee. But, just like over Christmas break, being back home has made me realize how much I really, really, truly don't like living in Doha. Can I tolerate it? Yes, of course, but primarily because my kids are happy and that makes most everything/anything tolerable. But, am I happy? Not really... Am I happy back here in the U.S.? Hell. Freaking. Yes. That doesn't mean life is perfect here, but it's OMG a thousand times better for a thousand different reasons. Case in point, my mother was recently hospitalized and my dad couldn't get out of work to be with her after they admitted her. Because I'm here, I was able to drive down, stay with her, and help care for her while she was in the hospital for two days. Thank God I was here...but what if it had happened while I was in Doha? It would have killed me to not be able to see her and be with her while she was sick.
- I'm working steadily and on schedule to meet the goals I set for getting out a revised article and a proposal for a collection of essays and the annual conference in my field of study. Go team! :D
- Hubby and I are taking a "Job in the U.S. or Bust" approach to this year's job market. This is to say that we are coming back to the U.S. after the 2010-2011 school year, whether we have academic jobs or not. This is ballsy, I know. This could involve all sorts of added stress as we apply to EVERYTHING we're qualified for, but it's what we have to do in order to optimize our chances of landing academic jobs, even if they're short-term.
- Sometimes I feel like there must be something wrong with Hubby and I because it seems like we're the only couple who really don't like being in Doha. We continue to hear how other expats from the US "love the adventure" and are "cherishing" everything about the culture, and we just look at each other like, "What are we missing? Is it just us?" Don't get me wrong....sometimes you can talk to someone who's lived there (or in the area for many years), and they can give you a laundry list of things they've grown to hate over the years. I guess it just feels, occasionally, like people are telling themselves how much they love it, over and over, so that they'll eventually believe it. Or, maybe Hubby and I are just crazy...who knows.
- Did I mention I don't want to go back? Yeah, I don't.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
RBoC: The Stateside Edition
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It's an interesting reaction to being in Doha, since other people seem to love it. But you're individuals. I met an expat in Greece--I was only there to study but we were introduced--who hated it and then stayed because she married a Greek man. On the other hand, my brother in law was visiting the States this summer from Malaysia and could not stop talking about hating it here in the US. People have really different reactions.
I think your plan is ballsy but that's the only way to be. If you know what you want, go for it. I wish you luck!
Oh AcadeMama, so many academics have left! One couple arrived, went for a walk, never even unpacked and took the next flight out. They were just too totally freaked out by the whole differentness of everything.
Not only was this your first year, but your first country wasn't even European, but very alien. You actually managed a lot better than average.
I grew up abroad, but my first Middle East tour, which was really North Africa (Tunisia), I cried for six months. Everything was SO alien.
You've done fine. Good luck with the job you really, really want.
Post a Comment