So I've managed to pique someone's interest -- amazing. We'll cut to the chase: my quick 'n' easy life update:
From Sept 1994 - Sept 1995 I was in Cambridge, UK, getting an M.Phil. (masters degree, more or less) in computer speech and language processing. Much to say about funny British people (apologies (?) to those of you to whom this applies, whether you admit it or not...), self-consciously pretentious Cambridge traditions, accents and dialects, punting (no football, either American or British, involved), ballroom dancing (we won a half a (British) Mars bar!), and more, but perhaps later on. During the Christmas vacation I traveled first to Budapest and then to Barcelona, along the south of France to Nice and then up to Paris. (Ask me about my misadventures with the Pont du Gard (a.k.a. Bridge of Death) and some rather over-friendly Frenchman (including a firefighter who sells lingerie on the side!). Anyway, I survived.)
It was in a Parisian cafe one evening (I'm serious) that I decided I needed to live in a non-English-speaking environment at some point, and while I mused over the benefits of becoming fluent in French it hit me that what I really wanted to improve was my Chinese. With that seed planted, I returned to Cambridge, enjoyed spring and summer there (as well as a trip to Egypt in April) and decided one year was not quite enough. I managed to put off all grad school decisions yet another year (they don't call me queen of procrastination for nothing) and convince various funding bodies to make various exceptions, and so ended up staying in Cambridge for the fall to do research until February. (This all despite my thesis debacle; you'll notice that I'm skipping that particular story, but suffice it to say that my typically excellent time management skills came to the fore once more.) Fortunately, I was (and still am) quite excited about the research I've moved into over last summer and fall; anyone with interest can ask me sometime about lexical semantics, linking, aspect, etc.
So, from Sept 1995 - Feb 1996 I was a research student enjoying an extended lease on the Cambridge life, this time with my very own office (space). Here's an excerpt from a massmail I meant to but never did send from that period:
I'm sharing my office with two lovely young lads (James' description, of course) who keep me entertained with their Britishisms and general wit (some would say that's redundant). I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world apart from where I am right now.
My officemate says: Eat spam. And don't be negative. (irony)
I think that last line in the first paragraph is a little suspect -- probably dictated by my officemate James. I traveled once more during the Christmas vacation, this time to Greece with my fellow Sunnyvale friend Lesley. Again, stories to tell, and Lesley has the dog tags to prove it. ;)
Feb 1996 - June 1996: To all the inevitable queries of "How was China?", I must apologize for the inadequacy of my reply, since it's simply impossible to summarize -- I used to just say it was different, but that's not very satisfying either. The short(er) answer is that it was rewarding beyond my expectations on a number of levels (linguistic, cultural, personal/family) and I am definitely going back, though I don't know when. I was living in Beijing, but I also traveled to Xian; then to Hangzhou, Putuoshan (tiny island of great significance to Buddhists, off the coast of Shanghai) and Shanghai (where my hair was shanghaied, but it was worth it for the cool computer on-screen fitting they did); and finally, when our classes were over, we went on the "X" trip to Xian, Xiahe (tiny village that's the most Tibetan place "outside of Tibet" (safer to say than "in China"!), full of magenta-robed monks (we caught one playing with a slinky, another climbing a telephone pole and a big group of them rapt with attention watching a kungfu movie), yaks (not as friendly as reputed; I still prefer llamas) and amazing mountain-sky-grassland scenery) and another place that unfortunately doesn't begin with X so we're pretending we didn't actually go there. Stories to tell -- I survived a somewhat harrowing encounter with a wrench- and screwdriver-wielding supposed tour guide on a sleet-drenched hillside near the Tibetan plateau; there's nothing like a life-threatening encounter to do wonders for your Chinese. Lots of cheats out there, but we survived. Also I taught English for awhile with some pretty hilarious English gems as a reward ("If men are supposed to do housework, why did God build woman?" "In my family it is anarchy ... no, no, I mean democracy!"). We've also captured on film some signs you would not believe ("Please do not spit everywhere" and "No smocking in the Palace Museum" are some of my favorites).
A few pictures from China can be found here and here.
June 1996: Upon leaving China I had a somewhat circuitous route back to England. I visited a friend in Helsinki, and since my sister happened to be working in Stockholm that summer I made a side trip there (by a completely amazing luxury ferry, essentially a hotel on water!) to visit her before landing back in the U.K. to confront all the luggage I'd left behind. By hook and crook (and some obliging family and friends) I managed to get all my stuff to U.S. shores, though some not till September or so!
July-August 1996: Though forced back to the States, I tarried on the East Coast in New York and Boston (Esplanade looked too muddy, so we just had a pleasant meal in -- those fireworks aren't quite as impressive on the television, particularly with commentary) until July 10. I would have been more depressed by my return were it not for wedding festivities for my friends Paul and Ambika that began around then and extended (by virtue of scrapbook-making) well into August. Eventually, though, it was time to get back to work, and up to Berkeley.