The past year (or so).
Entry posted by WotWotius
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Hello again,
Over the past few months I have neglected this here humble blog. This is mainly because of two things: both my innate sense of laziness and the fact that, as well as being the busiest, this has been one of the most exciting few months of my life.
So, I may well begin with where I last left you - as you may well recall, I was wrestling with the Home Office, demanding a passport from them. Well, I got the passport not a moment before darting off to America for a University-run dig in South Dakota. I shan't bore you the details of the site - in fact, after writing a 6000-word report on the excavation, any real discussion on the site's prehistorical context would probably bring me to tears. (but if anybody is curious to know the finer details about the site, I point you in the direction of its web page: www.mitchellindianvillage.org/index.php). All I shall say is that the trip allowed me to experience an interesting piece of Mid-West Americana. Nice though it was, the culture of the local area was highly confusing to me; this being most apparent when the much-avoided subjects of politics and religion came up... I shall not go into the finer details, but let's put it this way: when I mentioned Harry Potter to one of the tourists visiting the site, she asked me 'How can you read such blasphemy? (!?)'; when a friend gave mention of his 'second dad', his comment was greeted with the word 'queer!'. I did find, however, that when certain subjects were avoided, the local people were the most hospitable people whom I have come meet. So an interesting mix, I would say... Also, American the rodeo=fantastic! People ridding pissed off aniamals, and as much free candy as I could eat; I think this was the closest that I'll ever get to experiencing panem et circenses. Anyway, I think I should move on...
The experience of the year thickened when I returned to Exeter. While I very much enjoyed the expensive hangover that was my first year, I think it was I enjoyed this one more because I became more involved in Exeter's Classics Society. For some reason, this year's society membership increased threefold, giving us over 200 members. How we achieved such a number is beyond me; I did even know that there were over 200 people in the world interested in the Classical World, let alone in Exeter. So, not only did this increase in membership enable us to have more debauched symposia/socials, it also enable us to fund other projects, such as a trip to Bath (Aqua Sulis), a huge ball, and even a nude calender, in which I assumed the role of Caesar in an assassination scene. (*pause for readers to shudder at the very thought*) My help this year also enabled me to get elected as president of the society for next year. I was thinking that we do more of the same, but go an more excursions, maybe even put on a play.
Academically, I think I have had a good year. Not only did I get published (*pause for smug, egotistic facial expression*), but I also seem to be doing well. I started doing Latin again for the first time in years. For some reason, I find it to be somewhat therapeutic and strangely enjoyable... I also had to start thinking about my dissertation this year. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to touch upon the subject of the extent to which 19th-century ideologies have coloured our perception of 'traditional' history. In doing this I shall critically assess a variety of late 18th
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