One More Conference Paper for the CV!

The hostel switch was the best thing we could have ever done. It's so much cleaner and nicer! I finished revising my conference paper and presented it today. See?:

It was well received. I've decided though, that in future, I am only going to submit abstracts to conferences for essays that I've already written. It's all well and nice to say "wow, that's an interesting topic, I think I'd like to write an essay about that" when you're submitting an abstract months in advance, but when the time comes to sit down and write that paper and you're bogged down with teaching, course work, and travel plans, you realize maybe it's better to use something you've already written. That's okay. I'm learning as I go here... I always get a bit nervous when presenting, but at least you're just reading off what you've already written. Since there were 4 people on my panel, and they only allowed 90 minutes for it, there was no time left for discussion or questions which was disappointing (but also, strangely relieving). But people were asking me questions and engaging with my presentation during the drinks afterwards. I think everyone just wanted to get out of there and have a beer! It was nice to have questions in this more relaxed, slightly less interrogative atmosphere.

I was speaking with a professor from a university in the UK, and we were talking about Canadian Literature, which is my main area of academic interest, and he told me about a book he'd read which he thought I might find interesting (and I DO!). It's called The Tenderness of Wolves by Steph Penney, an agorophobic British writer. The novel is (in part) about the harsh landscape of early 19th century Canada. The irony is that Penney has never been to Canada, on account of her being agorophobic. I have a great deal of interest in this text since it garnered much literary critical (most of it positive) attention. She was long listed for the Orange Prize. How does a text which appropriates this somewhat archaic view of Canada as a desolate, scary, freezing cold space, get nominated for numerous literary awards??? It's almost like since Canadians are no longer writing texts that subscribe to this "Garrison Mentality" (Frye) [yes, I just used an in-text citation in my blog], writers from other nations are doing it for us. Very interesting! Perhaps I'll incorporate this into my thesis or write a paper on it (just for fun, NOT!).

Anyways, the conference is very engaging and I am meeting lots of very interesting academics. There was even someone on mmy panel who just graduated from UW for PhD less than a year ago. He teaches at a university out west, in Kamloops, BC, and he's tenure track! It's good to see graduates of the program who are meaningfully employed.

Since we got here, we did a tour of the Dutch countryside and I went to Anne Frank's house, which was a great deal more emotional than I had anticipated. On our tour, we walked through the village of Marken,

took a boat ride to Voldendam,

tried dutch pancakes,

had pictures taken in Dutch costume (what's the good of being a tourist if you can't have a sense of irony about it?),

went to a museum,

visited a windmill,

were shown around a cheese factory,

and saw how wooden shoes are made.

What a long day!!! I was shocked by how many languages our tour guide spoke. I counted at least 5 languages that she used during our tour (English, Dutch, French, German, and Spanish) and I think she probably knew even more! She seemed very happy with her job and very fulfilled. I have a hard time with just French!

Speaking of French, we stopped to ask this couple directions and they responded that they knew only French. Being the good Canadians we are, we decided to rey to communicate with them anyways, having been taught French all through school. Well! They could not understand anything we were saying! It was at that point I realized that Parisian French and Quebecois French must be very different. I feel slightly ripped off now that I know my French knowledge doesn't really help me in Europe. :(

Anyways, I am having a wonderful time here in Amsterdam, the conference is great, and I don't want to come back down to reality. I know that when I get back I will have a lot of work to do, especially on OGS and SSHRC, and I'm thinking maybe I'll just stay in Amsterdam. No? Not a good idea? Okay, I'll come back. I guess...