Switzerland!

If you want to go to a place where you can get spoiled beyond belief, to a place where you can sample the most delicious and beautifully-prepared food, relax in luxurious spas and take in picturesque views of mountains kissed with snow, then go to Switzerland.

My flatmate Kheira did her Master's in Geneva, and invited me along for a trip there to visit some old friends and escape from the stress of our PhDs (more on that another time...). The first week of December we took six days off and pampered ourselves silly in Montreux - a lakeside city at the foot of the Swiss Alps. There we stayed for three and a half days...well the reality was that even if we wanted to leave, we couldn't because of the snow. The day we arrived in Montreux, it had been snowing heavily. Roads were closed, even the trains had stopped for several hours. The beautiful mountain views I had been dying to see were shadowed by a blanket of fog and snow for the first twenty-four hours of our stay. So we did the next best thing - we booked ourselves some appointments in the hotel's spa and spent some time walking along Lake Geneva. Even in the blizzard conditions, walking along the Swiss Riviera was an absolute joy! The outlines of mountains were barely visible across the lake, but strolling along the water, in the stillness that only snow can bring was such a peaceful feeling.

The following day we had better conditions and were able to do some sight-seeing in Montreux. One of the advantages of travelling in Europe during this time of year is the Christmas Market. Most countries have some type of open market with kiosks and vendors selling all sorts of Christmas goodies. The market in Montreux was set up right along the water, and aromas of roasted chestnuts, mulled wine and fondue filled the air. Of course, I made sure to sample some of everything! Switzerland is famous for their cheese fondue. They specialise in a particular type of cheese called Gruyère – named after the city. Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of Gruyère because it’s quite aged and sharp (and stinky). But Kheira took me to the best fondue restaurant in Montreux to try ‘moitié moitié’ (which means half/half, as in half Gruyère mixed with half of some milder Swiss cheese) and it was delicious! I must say that in general, I had some of the most exquisite food I’ve ever eaten. Every meal was cooked to perfection, and the combination of flavours was so inventive, and yet really palatable. One of the desserts that I will never forget was a dark chocolate lava cake served with passionfruit coulis – I was so in love with this dish that I took a picture of it!

As the snow and clouds started to disappear and the sun came out, we decided to head to the famous Chateau Chillon – an historic castle. It felt like we owned the place because it was absolutely empty inside! I guess with all the snow, most people had the good sense to stay indoors. It did end up being to our benefit, as we avoided lines and wandered the castle freely. I managed to get some picture-perfect moments of the castle with the sparkling water and mountains in the background...I wish everyone could experience such an enchanting view first hand.

On Friday we left Montreux and headed for Geneva – which is about an hour away by train. And again, upon our arrival to Geneva, we were greeted with relentless snowfall! We barely made it to our hotel in one piece (I’m not exaggerating – the taxi behind us got into a serious accident due to the snow, six seconds later and it would have been us!). We didn’t really venture very far from our hotel that night, but on Saturday we were able to do some shopping and also met with some of Kheira’s friends who still live in the city. Geneva (and Switzerland in general) is extremely expensive. Since the Swiss franc is practically on par with the dollar, I figured most things would be priced relatively similar. This couldn’t be further from the truth. If you are cheap, don’t go to Switzerland. Your wallet will bleed.

Anyways, back to Geneva. Though the city is also surrounded by mountains, (with Lake Geneva running between the ‘old town’ and the city centre) I still preferred Montreux. Geneva is extremely busy and commercial. Everywhere you go, there are stores selling expensive watches and jewelry, the buildings have massive signs on the top advertising brands like Cartier, Rolex, etc. People there seemed a bit pretentious. It also has to do with the fact that Geneva is a business centre – so it attracts a certain crowd. Fortunately I was with friends who were able to point us in the right direction, and despite the snow we had a lot of fun! More pictures are coming tomorrow, my internet connection is really bad at the moment and I'm not able to upload very quickly.

Overall I must say it was a much needed holiday. Since I started my PhD I haven’t had a chance to do any travelling within Europe, so I was grateful to have this opportunity (and the free time!). The minute we got back though, it was straight to work again. I’ve had an extremely busy semester with teaching and my own research. Luckily it’s time for another break (and it couldn’t have come any sooner!). Tomorrow I fly back to Canada for three weeks for the Christmas break, and I am looking forward to seeing all my family and friends again!

A few more pictures:

Apparently, behind these buildings in Geneva is the tip of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.

Crossing Lake Geneva to the Old Town

On the train from Montreux to Geneva

Snapped this one whilst on a Ferris wheel in Montreux's Christmas market!

Navratri

I know most of you who read my blog are family who already know that we are currently celebrating Navratri, but for those who happen to stumble across my blog, or who aren’t Hindu, I thought I’d give a brief explanation...

Navratri is the Sanskrit word for ‘nine nights’ and is a Hindu festival which honours the feminine manifestations of the Divine. There are several festivals throughout the year, but the one occurring now called Maha Navratri (Great Navratri) is the most celebrated and significant. During this time, three forms of the Divine Mother are worshipped (which forms and for how many days during the festival vary depending on the region). Navratri is meant to be a very auspicious time where Hindus express their devotion to the feminine supreme in the form of prayers and fasting.

I remember one year when I was a child, during Navratri, myself along with several other girls my age were honoured in a small ceremony. It is common during Navratri (especially on the last couple of days) for young girls to be recognised as one of the purest forms of feminine power. Their feet are washed, they are fed special sweets and presented with new clothes, and essentially they are treated as goddesses.

At the time, I didn’t really understand the significance of what was taking place – although I do remember how much I enjoyed having my toes painted with red nail polish! But more seriously, reflecting on the experience now, I find it so unconventional, so unique and unbelievable that a religion would not only recognise the significance and power of the feminine but go so far as to honour little girls in this precious way. Is there any other faith which does this?

I am not ignorant to the fact that violence against women and girls takes place even in communities which celebrate Navratri - it's not my intention to glorify all Hindus as supporters of equality. But you have to agree that a festival which sanctifies womankind is pretty cool, and maybe in so doing, on a subconscious level, we can reinforce women's subjectivity, and be reminded of our own significance and 'Shakti' as women.

I don't know if it is correct to 'wish' someone a happy Navratri, but perhaps what I can say is that during this very auspicious time, I am praying for continued blessings and guidance to all my little goddesses.

Summer Travels

I've been meaning to upload some pictures from my summer travels for a while now, and have finally found the perfect, lazy Saturday afternoon to do it! Unfortunately I'm still without a high-speed wireless connection so it's taking a while for these pictures to load (otherwise I would have shared many more) but for now it will have to suffice. And the other odd thing with pictures on this site is that they load in reverse chronological order so the pictures aren't exactly in the same order that I travelled. Enjoy!

My aunt and uncle from Trinidad were in New York at the same time as us - we had a wonderful time sight-seeing together! Here we are having a coffee break in one of the Trump buildings.

During our stay in New York we took a carriage ride through Central Park

Of course I insisted stopping at Strawberry Fields to pay my respects to Lennon (once a Beatles fan, ALWAYS a Beatles fan)

Some of the family after my cousin Maya's wedding ceremony

Later that evening the wedding reception took place...fantastic party!

At the 'Top of the Rock' (Rockefeller Building)

Our hotel was in Times Square, one of the most energised, electric places I've seen.

M&M World

Need I say more?

My cousin's wife Asha and her daughter Ashley (on the only ride the three of us can handle!)

My first trip to Disney World!

Believe it or not? This is one of the Ripley's museums in Orlando...

Mum and I in the IceBar in Orlando...brrrr!

Exploring downtown Ottawa!

The view from our tent...

My first time sleeping in (and pitching) a tent!!!

There is something really liberating about pitching a tent on your own...it was a proud moment for Mel and I!

We also purchased a DVD with footage from our rafting trip in Ottawa, which I spliced into a shorter clip of our raft in particular. Hopefully this works (you might need to click 'play' and then pause it for a few minutes to load before playing the entire clip):

A summer of firsts

I know...I was doing so well with my 'one post a month' schedule this year. And now every time I look at my post history for 2010 July will forever be a sad zero. Then again, everyone deserves a holiday right?

So, A LOT has been going on in the last two months. I finished and submitted my upgrade document mid-June and met with a panel for my defense (aka viva) at the end of the month. I was probably the most nervous I've ever been, and I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was completely on my own. Usually whenever I've had a major exam or presentation in the past, my parents have been there to give me their blessings or in some cases, even drive me to wherever I needed to be. This time, I was flying seriously solo. I got into the room though, and had a very informal discussion with the panel - they were all very friendly and I was lucky in the sense that it didn't seem as though anyone had a strong desire to 'trip me up' by asking extremely difficult questions. It felt more like an opportunity to get some helpful advice, take in the suggestions of experts, and have an overall 'test-run' for the quality of my research.

An hour later, they asked me to leave the room so that they could come to a decision regarding my 'status'. At this point, I wasn't sure whether I would be given a straight pass into my second year, or if I would be asked to make any amendments and re-submit my work (I knew that I had done well enough for either of these outcomes to be applicable rather than something scarier like "maybe you should think about downgrading to our MPhil instead of PhD"). By God's grace, when I returned to the room, the panel informed me that I would be passed straight through, and I couldn't stop grinning after that! Being asked to make some changes is never a big deal - and it happens quite often to a lot of PhD candidates. In fact I was preparing myself to have to make changes because I submitted my work quite early. But at the end of the day, nobody wants to be told they left certain points out or that they overlooked a specific idea. It's just a nice little cherry on top the upgrade sundae to know that other scholars think your work is stellar, just the way it is. And of course, my supervisors played a major part in my success this year.

Two short weeks after my viva, I flew back to Canada, celebrated my quarter-of-a-century birthday (and did suffer a brief quarter-life crisis), spent loads of time with family and friends, squeezed in a trip to Ottawa for some white water rafting (first time ever!), signed a tenancy agreement for a new (and very beautiful) flat in the city centre (if you want to see a video tour e-mail me) and am now in the last three weeks of my visit. And as usual, I am still in awe of how quickly the time has passed. But the adventure continues, because I will also be headed to Manhattan and Disney World for the first time and I am really excited (they were both on my list of places to see before I turn 30). This has been one of those 'catch-up' entries but once I've done all my travelling I will write something a bit more substantial to summarize all the exciting experiences!

I hope you have all been having an equally eventful, fun and safe summer!

I blinked and summer was gone...

In 2008, I survived my first summer in England. And to be honest, it was much more pleasant than I thought it would be. Most of June and July were quite warm (around 20-25 degrees) and sunny. I didn’t understand why people had complained so much about the dreadful British summer. But now...I understand. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit more north, or maybe in 2008 we just happened to be lucky, but this year...the weather is AWFUL!

Ok, ok...maybe I should be less dramatic. Three weeks ago, we did have a weekend of really beautiful sunshine and 26+ temperatures. All of Leeds was out and about enjoying the sun. Leeds has a small canal and the surrounding area is called Clarence Dock. It has been developed into quite a posh and lively part of the city. Along the water there are many small restaurants, cafes and bars with terraces facing the canal. There is also a very iconic white bridge (see pictures for details) that gets used in promotional material for the city. We spent most of our weekend in and around Clarence Dock so here are some pictures documenting the weather!

But then, it all went downhill. The last two weeks has been about 15 degrees and mainly filled with grey skies and rain. Everyone still has to wear their sweaters (or 'jumpers') and jackets, and it has been extremely depressing! Luckily there were a few reasons to celebrate even in the rain. About two weeks ago my friend Sachin, who I knew from my undergrad, and who studied with us in Leicester came to visit a few of his friends in Leeds. It was really great to see someone from Canada and hear all the updates (and also really crazy to hear how much everyone has progressed in their careers and lives since we finished in Leicester).

It's funny sometimes how you still see your friends as being students even after they've moved on with their lives. In 5 days Sachin will be taking his 'oath' and will officially be a criminal defense attorney. In 15 days my ex housemate, fellow MA alumna, and in general one of my best friends, Zainah will be getting married in Syria. This kind of news usually travels in threes, but for now I just have those two updates! At the end of the day, they're still my schoolmates, and after all the education and hard work, we're all just a bunch of big kids behind closed doors (and for some of us, not necessarily that big!). Many of the friends I made in Leicester are to date some of the closest ones I have in my life - even though we are all over the world at the moment we always find a way to reunite and keep in touch. It really makes a difference when you have people of quality in your life.

Last week was my friend Lia's birthday. Most of my friends here are actually from the Master's program in the Communications department. They're still older than me, but not as much compared to my PhD colleagues so I prefer to socialize with them. It will be sad when they all graduate in September though...luckily there are one or two PhD students who are closer in age to me, and I'll be moving in with one of them in September: Kheira (pictured below with the glasses). I'm actually excited to be in a bigger flat and to have some company - living alone is not as fantastic as it seems! It's nice to have privacy but I've realized (and maybe this is after spending 24 years living with people) that company is much more important, especially when it's the right kind of company.

The girls on Lia's birthday

My beautiful building on a sunny day :)

Sachie!

Most of the Masters' students + about 4 phds

And before I go, just a quick update on my upgrade process. My upgrade viva is scheduled for the end of this month, so hopefully if all goes well I will officially be a PhD student rather than a candidate, and I can start to arrange my fieldwork for September. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but a viva is when you have to meet with a panel of faculty members who asks you about your research, and the work you've done this year, and judges whether or not they think you are competent enough to see your doctorate through to completion. So yes, it sounds like a big deal, and it is. But I'm not all that scared about it - in fact I'm quite confident that the upgrade will be a very helpful process. Even if I'm asked to make some corrections, it's not the end of the world, and actually it will be a good opportunity to get insight from other faculty about my work. To be honest, the worst part was trying to get my thoughts down on paper (10,000 words worth of paper to be exact). And now that I've actually managed to put together something worthy of submitting to my panel, everything else seems like a breeze.

On second thought...make that a chilly, rainy, British summer breeze. But a breeze nonetheless :)

Surprises

As most of you know, I decided to 'drop' in on the 11th as a surprise visit for my mom's birthday. Everything went exactly as planned. My sister and brother-in-law picked me up from the airport, brought me back to our house, and just as my mom was lighting the candles on Cassia's birthday cake (she's my cousin's daughter who happens to share my mom's birthday) I walked into the house, covered in tissue paper and a bow!

Usually, my mom always gets a 'whiff' of these sort of things and spoils the surprise. At Christmas, she manages to find where we hide her gifts, or she 'accidentally' picks up the phone while we're secretly devising our master plans to shock her. This time though, nothing was prematurely uncovered, and we finally succeeded in genuinely surprising her (and my dad!). I was really fortunate that my brosin (brother-cousin) Darin, his wife Sarita and their baby were also able to be there and we celebrated her first birthday together.

All in all, it's been a very lovely trip. The sun has been shining all week, it's been relatively mild (compared to Leeds!), and I've spent some much-needed quality time with my family. I was meant to fly back to England this evening, but due to the volcanic ash over most of western Europe, that is not happening anymore. To be honest, I'm not sure when I'll be able to leave. Luckily this time I flew in through Manchester, which is near Leeds and as such a lot more north than London. They are more optimistic that flights to the north will resume earlier than to the south, so hopefully by Friday or the weekend I'll be on my way back. To be honest though, being forced to stay for a few extra days has been a nice little gift. I've also managed to get quite a bit of work done here as well. Something about being back in my room, at my desk has been conducive to working. I brought all my marking with me and finished it, and now I'm working on my upgrade document (which is not quite as simple to finish as the marking!).

I have to say that I am so impressed with the progress of the students I have taught this semester. The first essays they submitted in February were very poor quality. When I realized how much help they needed, we started to go through essay writing tutorials during the seminars. Just basic tips with referencing, paragraph structure and argumentation. While marking their second essays these past couple of weeks, I was shocked at how much their writing had improved. They really paid attention in seminar and applied what they had learned to their own work.

It just goes to show you what little it takes to make a difference (and how enjoyable marking can actually be when you have good work to evaluate!). I've always believed that education is the answer to so many of the problems we encounter. But not really because of any amount of knowledge or material you may come across in your studies. There is an endless amount of knowledge to gain even within a single subject, and it's impossible to try and absorb all of that material in a lifetime. What is most valuable in education is not all of the information it provides access to, but rather how it cultivates one's ability to understand that information. And maybe you've experienced this too in your own daily lives, where someone is trying to explain something to you, or you're reading a book and suddenly it clicks, and you figure out what is being said or how something works - and you shout "I get it!". We derive so much satisfaction from 'understanding' rather than just 'knowing' information. It's the moment when we finally figure out how to operate our DVD player, or how to write a good essay that we feel a sense of accomplishment.

Sometimes in academics, we get so caught up in the content, that we forget about the importance of understanding. It can often feel like a big race to see who can absorb the most material the quickest. One of my favourite quotes from Malcolm Gladwell, who has authored The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers (all must-reads), states: "The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter". I couldn't agree with him more.