April 24, 2011

Greetings and Happy Easter!

I am writing to you from sunny California, where I am enjoying a lovely and relaxing holiday. I’m analyzing some plant samples that I collected in Madagascar last summer and Matt and I are enjoying seeing some friends that we haven’t seen in a long time. My days are very full but they are going well. It’s definitely good to be back in California for a bit.

Last week we had a well-deserved break after a very full winter term at the University of Toronto. I have finished teaching my class. This was a good experience but I am glad that it is now behind me. A full year course (24 weeks) is a long time to be with the same students. Teaching this course gave me an opportunity to learn a lot about fossil hominins and about myself. When I originally designed the course, I tried to put together assessments that would be fair to my students (so not just one giant test at the end of the year). However, after spending two weeks grading 200 essays, I am now convinced that what is best for the student might not be best for the professor. I won’t be assigning essays for a large class again. I did manage to keep my sanity and I am now enjoying the elated feeling that accompanies finishing up a major task.

In celebration of finishing, I accompanied Matt on a weeklong trip to London, England. London was the ideal venue to decompress. I was able to wander along the meandering streets and stare vacantly at things to my heart’s delight. Our hotel was in an excellent centralized location – just East of Bloomsbury Square and South of Russell Square. This made it possible to walk nearly everywhere, which was perfect for us. We explored back and forth across several miles of city. I was impressed that London has managed to maintain a quaint and historical feeling while still embracing the 21st century. We saw all the big sites – Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Parliament Buildings, the London Eye, Soho, South Kensington, Buckingham Palace, the Tower Bridge, some of the localities associated with Jack the Ripper, and various “circus’s” (i.e., Piccadilly), markets, gardens, and museums. Matt had a conference for the first few days of our trip and I was left to my own devices. I spent several hours at the British Museum, where I learned about the histories of jade carving and pendulum clocks. I would have spent more time there but an alarm went off and we were all escorted from the building. Matt and I also wound up at Pollock’s Toy Museum one afternoon. This is an interesting but decidedly creepy collection of old toys ranging from wax dolls to paper theaters and puppets. During our various wanderings we discovered some excellent food and lots of beer. Despite a number of warnings, we were pleasantly surprised to find that London isn’t actually that expensive. Perhaps living in Toronto prepared us. Our goal was to try as many types of beer as possible. I particularly enjoyed drinking delicious ale in taverns that dated back to the 13th – 17th centuries. My favorite tavern by far is “Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese”. The portion of the tavern that is above street level was rebuilt in 1677 after the Great London Fire but the cellars date back to the 13th Century. Simply fantastic!

We decided to splurge a bit by taking a day tour outside of the city. We saw Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and a little bit of Bath all in one day. Not too surprisingly the trip was a bit exhausting, but it was otherwise great. We were very impressed with Windsor Castle and the castle’s chapel. Due to a stroke of good luck we got to witness the changing of the guard. We also got to view a lovely collection of Da Vinci’s sketches. Our tour guide was very emphatic about getting back to the bus on time. Matt and I were slightly detained by the changing of the guard and we had to run back to the bus. It’s good we hussled because the bus was ready to pull away and we actually left a fellow passenger who was five minutes late. Our next stop was Stonehenge, which I really enjoyed. This is one of those places that I never thought I would see in person. This circle of rocks is relatively isolated but well worth the trip. The central circle is roped off but we were still able to get relatively close to the monument. I found it awe inspiring to stand next to an ancient and mysterious man made wonder. Our final stop was the roman baths in Bath, England. We only had an hour and a half to see the ruins and the city. The roman ruins are being carefully excavated and the interpretive museum associated with the ruins is very well done. We rushed a bit through the archaeological collections because we wanted to see a bit of the city as well (we only had an hour and a half total). We purchased some chocolate and then headed back to London on our bus. Bath seems like a beautiful place and I would like to go back for a longer visit someday down the road.

We ended our trip by seeing a bit of theater. We watched Agatha Christie’s Mouse Trap, which has been running for 59 straight years. The show didn’t disappoint but you’ll have to read the story or watch the play to find out “who did it”. After the show we decided to enjoy a few last beers and we wound up making some friends, Ahmed and Hussain. These brothers grew up in London and they were able to help us figure out what to do after the bars closed at 11:30. They took us to a disco speakeasy owned and run by a transvestite named Trisha. This was an excellent way to end our trip to London. The next morning our hour-long train ride back to the airport was not much fun, but we survived and we made it home in one piece.

The winter in Toronto was very long this year and I am actually slightly fearful that it will still be cold when I return. People have told me in a disappointed yet proud manner that it could easily snow up into May. I sure hope that won’t be the case this year. I don’t mind winter, but it has been cold since late October. Plus, I love spring. Despite the weather, the weeks of 2011 have gone remarkably quickly. I am very pleased to report that I have been offered the Assistant Professor position in Cincinnati. I am truly ecstatic about this opportunity. The existing faculty and staff in both Anthropology and Geology are extremely collegial and welcoming. After offering me the position, the department of Geology flew both Matt and me down to Cincinnati so that we could see a bit more and Matt could look into job opportunities. Matt made a really good impression on the faculty at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which is right next to the university campus. In just two days he managed to secure an assistant professor position as well. Incredible!

So, a year from now Matt and I will both be established in Cincinnati. If all goes as planned, we will live in a very nice neighborhood and we will both be able to walk to work. This has all happened very quickly but it sure is exciting. The imminent move has made my life speed up considerably. There is much to be done before I start a new position at a new institution. It is my understanding that I will be busier than ever when I start my new position in the fall. There has never been a better time than now to finish up as many of my uncompleted projects as possible. Now that I am done with my course, I will have a bit more time to write up the findings of some of my existing research projects. Life has certainly not been 100% work. Matt and I have had a few excellent adventures in Toronto. In spite of the weather, we have continued our tradition of walking all over the city and we have discovered some real gems. For example, we discovered a great bar housed in an old bank (and appropriately called “the banknote”). We also went to see the “Famous People’s Theater”, a black light dinner theater that serves good food and puts on amusing and creative plays. We saw a play called “She Did What?” It’s about a little girl who farts butterflies. That was a lot of fun. When I return to Toronto, we will see Orpheus and Euridice at the opera house with some friends. So things are good.

Lou continues to be fun. He has taken to singing in the shower. It’s very endearing. He’s had a full year too. Every time we travel he has a birdie sitter or is someone’s houseguest for a few days. He seems to take this in with minimal complaint. He just gives a few loud and plaintive “peek-a-boos” when he sees us packing our things. At some point he’ll have to make the big move across the border. That should be interesting.

So, summer is approaching and I look forward to the pleasant weather and the outdoor events that make Toronto special. We have some plans about things that we must do before leaving Canada (such as going to Niagara Falls and getting in a good camping trip). If you want to come visit, you have until August. That’s when I make my great voyage southward.

I hope that you are doing well and I wish you a happy spring!

Brooke