The Beginning of the End.

Greetings from my current universe! Sorry for the lapse in writing, but hopefully one massive post will make up for it. Crunch time here.. classes are done, essays are in progress, exams start tomorrow. I feel like I have been sitting in this stupid chair for 2039490820935 hours. Probably not an unrealistic estimate. Life has been alright. Last week it got up to 80 degrees (f) every single day. Yes, in England. It was amazing. Because no one here has a backyard bigger than 9 square feet, every single person goes to the park when the weather's nice, so it feels like there's a big festival on whenever you walk through it.... on the way to the computer lab... to spend a sunny afternoon writing a paper.

The last 2 weeks have been class-free, but of course the amount of studying one hopes to achieve with said 'free' time is never actually what one accomplishes. Our research proposals for summer placements had to be submitted, and involved the extremely complex process of applying for 'ethical approval' from the university. This means ensuring that the data from your research is kept secure at all times, that you have a detailed research project information form for every participant, and collect a signed participant consent for every respondent in your study. So many times I wanted to call up the head of the department and say, "you DO realize we're doing this project AFRICA, right???" 

In the midst of this, I found out my dissertation supervisor is pregnant and will be on maternity leave in August -- the month I will be analyzing data and writing up my actual dissertation.Yet another unforeseen setback that really felt like the final straw in a year of setbacks. My main frustration with the UK system has been the inconsistency in professors: one will tutor you on a paper, another will mark it, and yet another will explain your mark to you. And each professor has extremely different criteria with which they mark/give feedback for an essay/exam. So I was relieved and excited to just have ONE supervisor to work with on ONE project for the rest of the year. Not so much. Having said that, I met my 'replacement' supervisor on Wednesday and she is really lovely. She is older and experienced and seems relaxed, and has done a lot of work on gender studies. (She actually teaches the module "Gender and Health" that I'd planned to take this year before it was withdrawn as an option.)

Mostly, I'm just so ready to go back to Africa. This happens in 10 days. The amount of work that needs to happen between now and then is mind boggling. Prayers for stamina and clarity would be very appreciated. 

Specifically tomorrow morning: I have one enormous exam in Epidemiology, worth 100% of my mark. Epidemiology is basically the mathematical study of how diseases spread, and involves memorizing numerous formulas for calculating odds, risk, incidence, and prevalence ratios, standardized mortality rates, screening sensitivity and positive predictive values, etc etc etc.Those of you who know me well understand that this is how I feel about anything math-related. So, this exam is petrifying and I would really love prayers for smooth going tomorrow. Back to studying. I leave you with photos. 

Love to you all!

Evening sky out my window to the left..

..and the right. 

Before all the tropical weather last week, it rained and rained and rained.
But if it must rain, this is what I most like to see out my window. 

Vancouver band Said the Whale came and played a free show in Sheffield!
It was great. I'm not sure Sheffield appreciated them as much as I did...
their 1st day in the UK, they apparently had $1500 stolen from their van. Welcome to England!
This is my favourite song of theirs. Good motivational studying music.

Last day volunteering at the Northern Refugee Centre's women's club,
working with some of the most amazing and resilient women I've ever met.
Represented: Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Libya,
Somalia, Eritrea, Mexico, Bangladesh, Russia, England, U.S..

This is Rita, from Tanzania, who wanted an 'exclusive'  picture with me.
Each woman has such a crazy story of how she ended up in Sheffield. 

Last weekend, my friend Catherine and I took a morning study break and ventured out to the Peak District to find  Ladybower Reservoir. This is it!

This a drain for when the reservoir gets too full.
Certainly the biggest drain I'VE ever seen.
(And yes, someone tried to throw a car tire in the drain. Logical.)

So much GREEN.
I'd kind of forgotten what trees and grass looked like up until this point.

A darling little van-turned-coffee-stop with a very posh espresso-making
system inside. I think it is what my Dad should do when he 'retires'...