Sweet Graduation

It's official! I have turned in my thesis and graduated.
Here are some pictures. I also wrote a song with Andrés called "Qué Pasaría?" (What would happen?) which we performed during the ceremony. It was a very intimate and special graduation.












Here I am turning my thesis in officially. I have included a picture of the bound version of my thesis.
Now I am off to Senegal on Monday...more to come soon.

UPDATE!!!!

Oops..I guess that time got away from. Here is an abbreviated version of the last, oh five months or so:

Shortly after writing my last entry on December 14, I headed off to Rio de Janeiro for my big Christmas and New Year’s Eve adventure with Kent (my dear friend of more than ten years) and his mother. It was a great time lounging around Rio and enjoy the good life.

The next after arriving home on January, another wonderful friend, April from Portland, came to visit me for two weeks. We trekked up to the Iguazú falls and then to the province of Corrientes for a little R & R for a couple of days before heading back to the craziness of the capital.

Some of you may be asking at this point, does she work? Yes, in fact, I work…quite a bit…I tell you. In fact, as if writing a thesis weren’t hard enough, I decided to completely change the topic after having worked on the original topic for nearly three months. I never have been one to take the easy road. So by mid-January I was in full swing of reworking my thesis. Having worked for several years in Portland, as many of you know, with youth from a variety of backgrounds, I decided to focus my studies on a researching how plural social networks are constructed and how they impact the lives of second generation youth (typically defined as children of immigrants born in the U.S. or who arrived before the age of five years old). From January 15-March 5, I madly reviewed literature on a variety of different takes on the topic. During the process, I made up my mind that my thesis would not be complete without field researcher so I wrote up a plan and received funding from Rotary to conduct interviews with second generation students, their parents, community leaders with the various immigrant communities in Portland, and other folks that work within these communities. I won’t go into the details of the paper because frankly it would likely take me all of this entry and more just to explain the two theories, segmented assimilation theory and the “field theory” by Pierre Bourdieu, that I am utilizing to conduct my analysis.

During this time of writing my literature review, I had another dear friend, Cristela, visit. This time I stayed at home in front my computer while she headed off to explore Uruguay. Below is a picture of an "asado" or BBQ that we had on my rooftop.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I got a boyfriend somewhere in all of this time. His name is Andrés and he is wonderful. :-) To celebrate my turning in my literature review, he and I took a few days to visit Uruguay (such a paradise). It was also a perfect way to celebrate my "30th" birthday!!!

By mid-March I was in Portland running around from sun up to sun down and more conducting interviews and attending events as part of my thesis research.

Since arriving back to Argentina in April, I have been busily analyzing the data and writing my thesis. Two chapters down….three more to go.

I also have recorded three songs that I have co-written with Andrés who happens to be an excellent musician and composer. We are putting together a CD. I’ll keep you posted.

And yes, it’s a little bit crazy, but I started a little entrepreneurial endeavor: selling my baked goods. It’s called Postres Juanita Mayo (Jane May’s Desserts). Ha ha

Only a little over a month is left before I turn in my thesis, graduate, and then head off to my next big adventure for my applied field experience: SENEGAL! I will be living in Yoff outside of Dakar, the capital city of Senegal while working on a non-formal education project that supports young adolescent women who work as maids. I’ll be living with a family and learning to speak French! After finishing my time in Senegal, Andrés will come to travel with my throughout N. Africa and a little bit of Europe.

I’ll be better about writing once I am in Senegal (I promise…well I’ll try anyhow!)

Busy..Busy..Busy..End of the Year

Life has been a whirlwind of activity since my last blog post. I finished my second quarter and am one class away from finishing the third. My thesis production is in full swing and will be my full-time activity during the summer break that will officially begin on December 20th. The following is a short description of my thesis:

My thesis seeks to question the claim proposed by key authors, such as Connie McNeely, in the field of education multilateralism that ideas and conceptions of education that are diffused by international organizations have a homogenizing effect on national education policies and practices by analyzing 1) to what point two overlapping ideas of education that are disseminated by the World Bank and UNESCO and not just one idea exist, 2) how these two overlapping ideas of education converge and diverge, and 3) how these two ideas of education manifest themselves in the education policy and practice in Argentina between 2001 and 2008.

I will be taking a constructivist theoretical approach (i.e. the approach that "ideas" matter in international relations and the behavior of States) to my thesis and will employ more constructivist investigative methods such as discourse analysis.

My time has been busy with various Rotary presentations about the World Action Week for the Global Campaign for Education in which I became involved last year. Unfortunately, my life has gotten a little too busy so I am not going to be participating as actively with the Campaign from here on out. However, I am staying in contact with the Campaign and continuing to link Rotary with the education rights efforts of the Campaign. The picture is of me at the Catedral del Sur Rotary Club in Buenos Aires. They meet in the famous Café Tortoni that was founded in 1858 and is where some of the most famous Argentina writers and artists would spend their time.

Apart from these endeavors, I have been doing a lot of yoga and trying to find time to sing. Oh...I have a job as well as a tutor/teacher for a 16 year old from Alabama who is here training to be a professional soccer player.

On December 21, I leave for Brazil for the holidays. I'll post pictures upon my return.

Yep...back to same old Jane...going crazy with all my activities.

We Get What We Need...

About three weeks ago, I had a short break from school so I decided it was time to get out of the city. I'd been feeling overwhelmed with the pace of Buenos Aires and, well, feeling lonely as well. Regardless, I thought that some time in the small town of Colón on the Rio Uruguay would do me some good. This trip was sort of a whim so I purchased my bus ticket the night before I left and didn't bother to make any hotel reservations...I thought to myself..."last resort...I'll just sleep along the river". ha ha.

The next morning I settled into my seat, already more relaxed just knowing that I was headed into the "interior" de Argentina. I took out my journal and wrote this to myself: "What I need is emotional homeopathy...treat lonliness with being alone". I convinced myself that that was what I needed.

Content with my myself for being so insightful (ha ha), I took out my thermos with hot water to have mate (kind of like tea, but drunk from a gourd with a metal straw and usually shared with others). There was a girl sitting next to me, Deborah, so I decided that it would be nice to offer her mate. She accepted and we started talking about the usual first time questions (Where are you from? What are you doing here? etc.). Deborah was also headed to Colón, not for vacation but to go back to school there after her vacation. She then asked me where I would be staying in Colón. I, of course, told her that I had no idea and she became very concerned, telling me that everything would be booked with it being winter break and all. I laughed and told her that I was going to camp along the river. She responed by saying, "oh no, you can stay with me and family." I didn't really take it seriously, but then 20 minutes later she says to me, "my brother said it would be okay if you stayed with us". Wow...she was serious...hmmm...I still wasn't convinced...I mean, after all, I need my "emotional homeopathy."

We arrived to Colón a few hours later. I accompanied Deborah to her house since she was going to take a taxi into town from the bus station. Of course, upon arriving, her sister-in-law, Gisela, invited me to drink mate with them. By 6 p.m. Gisela and Deborah told me to just to stay with them just like it were a hotel. I still wasn't convinced so I told them that I would go look for a hotel and would come back to get my things after I found one. I left and began to walk around town. As I made my way into the center, something said to me..."why are you going to refuse such generosity?" So I didn't even bother to look any further, I returned and ended up staying the entire four days with Gisela, Deborah, Sergio (Deborah's brother), and Orly (the dog).

There generosity was so, to say the least, amazing and touching. Deborah gave me her room and slept in Gisela and Sergio's room while Gisela and Sergio migrated to the kitchen and slept on a mattress there for four days. We ate together, had an "asado", drank mate, laughed, and had a wonderful time together. It was funny because I got exactly the opposite of what I convinced myself that I needed. In other words, I got to be with family, which is what I needed more than my stoic "emotional homeopathy". ha ha

I did have some important moments alone, though, as well. The first morning I woke up early to a day that was wonderfully sunny. I got up, put my bathing suit (hey...it didn't matter that were in the middle of winter...if it's sunny and there is a river...I am going to be in it. ha ha) and running clothes on and took off. I ran for about a half hour until I got out of town on the part of the river where the forest was left to its own devices. I came this amazing the little beach hidden away behind trees and bushes. I thought, yep, this is my spot. I rushed to take my clothes off and get in the water. I felt really alive (maybe the near freezing temperature of the water confirmed this. ha ha) swimming in the cold water with the sun blazing down on me making it bearable. :-) I ended up being gone for nearly three hours...lost in thought and prayer and meditation and just being there...

The other days I went to some nearby thermal baths and just sat by the river. The last night the family had a huge "asado" (kind of like a bbq) with every type of meat imaginable. The next morning they sent me off with good-bye gifts and hugs at the bus stations.

So, in the end, I got exactly what I needed, in spite of myself. And I think this beautiful family maybe got a little something of what they needed from me being in their home. We have to have faith that we do, indeed, get what is best for us in life if we keep our hearts (and minds..which gets in the way sometimes) open.

More info about Mate: http://www.noborders.net/mate/

CANVAS Training & PJSA Conference in PDX

Yes..it's official. I am coming home to Portland on September 8 and I can't wait to see everyone!!!!!!! Although I will be, of course, spending lots of quality time with my loved ones, I will also be participating in a two-day Centre for Applied Non-Violence Action and Strategies (CANVAS) training as part of the Peace and Justice Studies Association annual conference. Back in March, I applied for one of only 30 slots in this training, which has not been offered in North America previosly. The CANVAS approach was successfully applied in South Africa, Ukraine, and Serbia. You can learn more at http://www.canvasopedia.org/. It is an honor and an exciting opportunity to be able to participate in the training.

Can't wait to see you in September.

By the way, the picture is of statue with a beautiful sunset backdrop in the Centro Cultural de Recoleta. I went to a festival there the other day and took this picture. I thought that the posting was too dull without some sort of image. :-)

As for the master's program...

Well, I successfully finished my first term in the master's program. Although I have not received my final grades, I feel very good about the outcome. The new term has begun with four classes:

Public International Law
International Security
International Political Economy
Development Models and Processes in Latin America

I have a lighter load this semester, which is good because I hope to get a headstart on my thesis (To be determined shortly).

Not much more to report on this end...

Acting on and on...

Well...my acting career is slowing coming along. I finally got my official pictures taken that I will send to various agencies. Here are few. One of them is really funny b/c my friends that took the pictures insisted that I smoke a cigarette while wearing my black dress. Of course, I don't smoke (and have not taken up the habit...don't worry, mom), but I am an actriz after all. Anyhow, there is one particular photo of me in the background and the hands of one of my friends showing me how to hold the cigarette that is really great. Enjoy the pictures (my friend who is a professional photographer took nearly 300 photos! Don't worry you don't have to see them all ha ha). Also, you can go to http://www.freakmodels.com.ar/ (yes I know a little strange...I happened to know one of the agents personally so I though what the heck). Once you enter the website, click on Actores, Mujeres and then scroll to find my picture. Click on the picture to see my profile and other pictures. Who would have thought....wish me luck...