Whirlwind June

The last few weeks have been quite the journey! I went to Algonquin Park for a really fantastic 5 days with a super group of fellow FES students. I wasn't actually taking the class, or getting paid to facilitate, so another PhD student (Tanya) and I had a lot of time to hike in the woods on our own and relax. We got to know the Master's students too, though, and they are all super! It made me sad that there is no real space in our faculty for us to socialise and get to know each other on a regular basis. We all made some amazing new friends, and we even had a "reunion" a mere 4 days after returning home. :) I feel really thankful that I was able to go (even though I still have scars from where the black flies and mosquitoes got me!).

Following that adventure, I came home to finish writing and editing my comp with suggestions from my supervisor. It felt sooo amazing to finish! But it was incredibly hard to sit down and do the work; I think I was just feeling really burned out after those first two intense weeks of nocturnal writing. That said, I defended my comp on June 20th, and it went really well! My committee liked the paper overall, and I have no major revisions. It's great to have that step over and done with, and able to move on to both my fieldwork and the second comp. I had a very fun party to celebrate its completion too. :) At this point, I am working on refining the reading list for the second exam, and I began my participant observation at the museum last week, which has been interesting. I have been experiencing some trouble in regard to my research ethics application, though, and hoping that resolves itself very soon so I can interview museum visitors.

I also have a confession to make: I began taking a six week burlesque dance class in April through the Toronto Women's Bookstore, and I ended up performing in public at a fundraiser for the bookstore in May. And I loved it. In fact, on June 15th I performed in a second show - an amateur burlesque competition called "Strip Search" that kicked off the Toronto Burlesque Festival - where I met a lot of other fantastic performers and had a total blast. I didn't win, but I didn't care - it was just a lot of fun, plus I got some really positive feedback from the judges and more experienced performers too. I don't know if I'll have time or other opportunities to perform in the next little while, but it's definitely a hobby I would like to continue pursuing (much to my mother's dismay! :) There is a lot of debate around whether or not the burlesque revival is feminist but, for me, it was a really empowering experience. I love that neo-burlesque is done in way the performer is comfortable with, and that it's accepting of all body shapes and sizes. Toronto also has its first boylesque troupe, which is really neat. Overall, I'm really excited to have found a new interest that is both fun and makes me feel so good about myself.