Here’s a quick look at my girls as they are enjoying their first full summer in St. Louis. The first photo is of Nayeli and her new bike. Hopefully she will be able to ride it sometime soon! It was a bit of a pain to assemble, but what a wonderful gift from her Grandma Namie. Nothing but pink and purple for the girliest of girls!

This second is Karyna and I out and about for the big Fourth of July parade in St. Louis. We had a great time heading downtown with the Owens family, and we even managed to snag a shady spot to sit!

Well, we safely arrived at Wingsprings (SD) today. I am one of twelve students participating in the American Culture Studies summer seminar this year, to study Lakota history and culture. It is a place-based seminar, and I am really excited. Our road trip over the past two days has been a lot of fun, and has included a LOT of good food. Here is a quick round of photographs from the trip thus far!

We stopped at Hannibal (MO) briefly, and Dave kindly agreed to be Tom Sawyer while I snapped this picture of him in Mark Twain’s hometown:

We also stopped quickly in Nebraska to snap a photo for my dad:

This is a green lake we found at a wildlife refuge in Nebraska:

Here is a landscape picture of our place in Wingsprings:

And finally, here is a shot of our tipis, where we will sleep:

I will attempt to update you with more photographs, depending on how much time I have available to me while here. I’m stoked to be here, and am really looking forward to an enjoyable and productive trip. Talk to you all soon!

I officially finished my first year as a graduate student last Tuesday, and now that I’ve had a week of recovering from my final papers, a blog update certainly seems appropriate. There are probably a million things I could write about, as I haven’t been very diligent in blogging lately, but I want to use this post to reflect on my first year here at Washington University in St. Louis.

Despite a few late nights spent writing papers in the library, this year has gone by extremely quickly. The first year of studies here at WU is course-intensive, and I spent most of my time in class or preparing for class. At various times I found myself reading 200-300 pages a day, and the end of each semester often entailed writing for about 16-18 hours a day. I’m definitely looking forward to lighter course loads!

That being said, I couldn’t be happier with my program and with the growth I’ve experienced during this first year. I’ve been surrounded by amazing colleagues and enjoyed the attention of brilliant professors. My classes have been both interesting and productive, and I can see my thoughts—as well as my writing—beginning to mature. And frankly, I’ve had an awful lot of fun along the way!

Here is a list of the courses I took this past year:

• Introduction to Graduate Studies
• Introduction to American Culture Studies
• Body, Gender, and Power in Colonial Latin America (Spanish)
• Modernism and Decadence
• Romanticism and the Subject in English Literature
• The Price of Culture: Economics and the Nineteenth-Century Novel
• Primitivism and Its Discontents
• History of the Body
• Skeptical Culture

Despite the heavy load, I managed to do pretty well in all of my courses. I had several professors encourage me to consider writing longer versions the papers I produced for their classes, and I also received a lot of insight and feedback on my writing. I was also introduced to a number of interesting scholars and texts. Slavoj žižek and Mladen Dolar visited campus early in the spring semester, for example, and I was also privileged to lunch with Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra and Jani Scandura this past year. I was introduced to Mladen Dolar’s A Voice and Nothing More and Jean-Luc Nancy’s Listening, two texts that have definitely influenced my thinking.

This is a great program, and I’m really grateful to have ended up here. I’m looking forward to a productive summer as well, which includes a seminar on Native American history in South Dakota and German language training here in St. Louis.

So there’s a quick report on my first year here at WU. And here’s to an equally productive and enjoyable second year in the program. Good times ahead!

Having broken two digital cameras in less than a year, we decided to go out on a limb and purchase another camera with some of our tax return money. It’s difficult to have such adorable girls and never be able to capture them on film, so I’m glad to be back in action! We’re still learning the nuances of the new camera, but here is a quick photo of my girls and I for your viewing pleasure. It’s great being a daddy!

Last night, I decided to take a break so that Allison and I could spend some time together. After a long week of stressing out over the progress of my final papers, it was nice to clear my mind through a combination of ice cream and a movie. Actually it was more than nice. I think it was necessary!

So I ran out to Blockbuster and brought home several movie options, one of which was Disney’s Enchanted. I had heard only good things about it, and I knew that Allison wanted to see it as well. And at the risk of losing my “man-card” once again, I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie. It was fun to see Disney poke fun at its own fairy-tale conventions, and let’s face it — I’m a sucker for musicals!

I can’t remember exactly when I first became interested in musicals, or the theater in general, but I distinctly remember attending a production of Crazy for You at the Wharton Center when I was younger. There is something special about watching a theater production, especially when it is a musical, and I think that is one of the reasons I enjoyed watching Enchanted last night — it felt like theater.

Just as a random biographical note, I actually began my undergraduate career at Michigan State University as a theater major. Crazy, eh? I only lasted a semester before being overwhelmed by the strangeness of my colleagues. Theater people, in general, are weird. They are amazing and talented, but also very strange.

Now there are definitely times when I miss the camaraderie of a cast, the hours put into a production, the anxiety leading up to a show, and the excitement of taking a final bow. Those are some of the dearest memories I have of my high school years, in fact. Yet a career in the theater is a lifestyle I can no longer imagine, and I’m obviously grateful to be where I am now. Besides, there are very few moments in my life when I’ve felt as depressed as when I attended the final cast parties for each show. I really don’t like the experience of knowing that something is over.

Yes, yes. I know. Here’s my “man-card” back. I thought that my recent hiatus from watching Gilmore Girls would allow me to keep it for a while, but I guess not.