September: Commuting to Tucson

I still haven't recovered from the summer.

Taking two semesters of Spanish in only 10 weeks (with an Urban Politics course thrown in for good measure) meant I missed the whole thing!

I succeeded, I suppose, given that received a grade of "A" in each of the three courses. Did I learn much Spanish? Not really.

It is already the third week of the Fall semester, and I am behind, behind, BEHIND. Spanish 201 is much harder than I thought it would be, and I have yet to finish the weekly reading in Dr. Inomata's Mesoamerican Archaeology course at the U of A.

Here's a tip on learning Spanish: DRILL. Make flashcards of nouns, verbs, and specific conjugations. Do them over and over and over. It's a little like multiplication tables: You just need to memorize a bunch of stuff to be successful later on.

Commuting to Tucson is no big deal. I leave the Phoenix area around lunchtime, arrive on campus early enough to sit down and review my reading (translation: DO my reading), and go to class. Afterward, I get dinner at one of the eateries near campus and begin the drive home around 6:30 pm. I'm home before 8:30, and take the rest of the day off from school worries.

The drive is a bit boring, but I have a Sirius satellite radio (150 stations and nothing much to listen to), and I also listen to a few of the Coffee Break Spanish podcasts. I really recommend these! They're useful, fun, and free.

I'll post some info on the Pre-Classic period in the Maya Lowlands when I get a chance.

A Crazy Summer, followed by an Important Fall

SUMMER 2008

I'm two weeks into summer school: Spanish 101 every night of the week, and an internet course on Urban Politics. It seems that all I do is get up, go to work, go to class, go home, go to bed.

I'm taking Spanish 102 in the second 5-week session, so I will complete 11 total credit hours before the beginning of the Fall semester.

FALL 2008

Once the Fall comes, I'll be busier than ever:

• Spanish 201 at Rio Salado college (it's an Internet course)
• Graduate course in Anthropology at the University of Arizona in Tucson

It is only nine miles shorter to drive to Tucson from my house (as opposed to Flagstaff), but my wife has convinced me that the more friendly year-round weather will make it a better choice. I have already been accepted to Arizona as an unclassified Graduate student, and I've already registered.

I'm going to be taking a Mesoamerican Archaeology course from Dr. Takeshi Inomata. He is a Mayanist (he's currently doing fieldwork in Guatemala), and I think I would enjoy working with him.

Before the Fall semester is over, I will need to submit all application materials to the various graduate schools in which I'm interested. I plan to apply to the following (presented in alphabetical order, NOT the order of preference):

• Arizona State University (Ph.D. program in Anthropology)
  
• Northern Arizona University (M.A. program in Anthropology)
  
• University of Arizona (M.A. program in Anthropology)
  
• University of North Texas (Online M.A. program in Applied Anthropology)

SPRING 2009

I still need to finish up my B.A., and I'll need to take the following courses to make this happen:

• Spanish 202 (at ASU)
• One more Physical Anthropology course

I only hope that Dr. Johansen is teaching ASM 246, Human Origins! Otherwise, I will end up taking a lab course such as Fossil Hominids or Primatology (takes LOTs of time), or maybe something easire such as Peopling of the World.

The big mystery, of course, is where will I be in the Fall of 2009?