“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” ― L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between

Hello all, and welcome to my second ever blog post!

I have now finished my first full week of grad school, complete with every class I am takign this semester, readings for all of those classes, my new TA position, a new part time job and a whole bunch of new friends! So much has changed, even in a week, which I suppose is tangible proof that studying the past is as important as it is messy! Like the titel of this post states, the past feels like a foreign country where everything is done differently, and this quote relates to everything I have been learning so far! This post is going to be a reflection of my second week, all of the new glorious challenges and changes that I have come across, and some of the things I have learned in just a week.

1. The readings never stop
So I am not exactly sure what I expected, but the readings seem to be never-ending! Two things that I have noticed about these readings though are that 99% of them are both crucial to the classes (and very interesting to read!), and that it gets easier! I attended my first "professional development seminar" on Thursday, where the upper year graduate students gave the new masters students some tips on how to approach the next year of school. One of these nuggets of wisdom, which I took to heart, was that the readings never ever let up...but the way that you read changes for the better. Even in one week I think that my reading has become much more efficient. Either that or I have so much more to do that my brain has decided that something needs to give. That is still under review.

2. With many friends come many responsibilities
One of my biggest worries coming into grad school, even more then the work, was making friends. It is not that I am antisocial, but coming to a new city where I only know a few people was daunting. Turns out I needed to worry about the exact opposite of this, even after only two weeks I can already see that socializing is going to have to be done strategically. So far though I have been able to get to know the amazing people in my program at Trivia night, Grad Club campfire and a Public History night on the town. I also have discovered that socializing happens when we are all in the office together (which happens on a daily basis). There is going to have to be balance between productive socializing, like in the office, and times when we just want to forget we are in school, but I have confidence in our ability to be awesome.

3. Parking, freeze punk!
This week I started my "part time" job, and by "part time" I mean 4 hours a week. I have worked one shift doing parking enforcement on campus and I discovered that four hours of walking around campus making sure everyone has proper permits is actually a welcome break! It is a great way to get to know the campus and get some exercise. The people I work with are great, and I get to make some extra money while taking a break from school work. Who knows how this will work out later on in the semester when assignments start, but for right now I'm loving it.

4. School work and Classes
I have now had at least one of all of my classes and I can say with confidence that I am in the right program. In my digital history class have been discussing the use of technology in academics, the concept that my generation is the "technology" generation and how to make an effective podcast. Fun fact: coming up with a podcast topic is almost as hard as coming up with a blog name! I am excited to continue work for this course, because as a newly budding public historian, being able to work with many kinds of software's and programs will be invaluable.
The second class I had was social memory. It was an AMAZING class! It is going to be SO much work! I have learned that social memory is essentially what society as a collective remembers about historical events and people. This class fell very close to the anniversary of 9/11, and this seemed to be almost fate, because much of the discussions centred around what we remembered about that day. One important question was raised: can you differentiate your memory of the event from all the information you have learned since then. Some of us answered yes, but evidently the answer is no. An event, once experienced, can never be experienced again. Only the memory can be re-remembered and therefore it is subject to constant change and alteration no matter how hard you try to keep the memory the same. This topic is complex, it is sometimes controversial, and there are no right answers. I am in love. This is why I went into grad school. I am so excited about the upcoming weeks in this class and the things I am going to learn!
The final class was public history, which is getting more interesting by the week! This week was oral history, and how interviews and primary accounts can be very important. It relates to our first assignment in that class, assisting with videos and conducting first hand oral history interviews.

Just like in the past, grad school can sometimes feel like a foreign country. There are different rules, expectations and sometimes even what seems like different languages. I am excited to keep learning about how to navigate this new world and become a master of history.