Field of the Gods

Hello everyone!

Yes, I'm still here... Most of my writing energy lately has gone into getting my MA prjoect finished, and I finally got it sent off a couple of weeks ago. I'm pretty happy with it, and it feels great to have the MA completely finished so I can focus more on other things.

It was an interesting experience to hold the thing in my hands - having had a few copies printed up - after it having been just a Word file on my computer for so long. It felt so much more real to have it printed on 200-odd bits of paper than just glowing on the screen. I suppose I have a vague notion at the back of my head that when it's on the computer it could just disappear into the ether for no apparant reason - that basically, it's just a load of ones and zeros that could just as easily forget what they were and revert to a meaningless, primordial jumble again.

But before I got the project finished, I had to go back to England to do my last exam. This was a three day take-home paper, where I was given an English text to translate into Norwegian. I also had to write a commentary on the translation. The text was pretty challenging, and was technical rather than literary, which is not my preference. With literary translation, you are relying on your poetic intuition to tell you how to translate a particular word or phrase, grappling with the languages involved in order to preserve the style, tone and spark of literary magic that infuses the original. With technical translation, you simply have to research documents in the target language about the same subject, to find out what kind of terminology they employ. The text I had to translate was about social care services, and I spent many an hour those three days trawling through Norwegian government websites trying to figure out how on earth you say "social policy", "policymaker", or "third-tier junior minister" in Norwegian. So, not the most creative of tasks - but I was happy with the translation in the end, and the fact that it was a rather challenging text gave me the opportunity to show off my skills a bit...

I'd travelled to England a few days before the exam in order to have time to catch up with friends in Cambridge. I had a pretty hectic social schedule for those days, but I managed to see almost everyone I'd wanted to spend some time with, and it was great to see all my friends again. After the exam, I went up to Scotland to see my family for a few days, which was really nice. My brother had just come back from a seven-week trip to China and Tibet, so it was great to see him again and hear all about his experiences there (despite being deeply jealous!) The four of us took a day trip down to Samye Ling, a Tibetan Centre and Monastery in the Borders, a little north of Dumfries. It's been there for quite a while now and was, I believe, the first Tibetan Centre established in the West. It's named after the famous Samye Monastery in Tibet, which was founded by the Indian yogi Padmasambhava (known in Tibet as Guru Rinpoché) who established Buddhism in Tibet. I've been down there quite a few times, and I always love going back. It's got a really strong, peaceful, Dharmic atmosphere. And a tea shop.

After a lovely few days in Edinburgh, I headed back home via Prestwick Airport and the charms of Ryanair. Prestwick was a bit of a nightmare due to all the hightened security and it being rather a small airport with limited resources - and then of course there was the two hour bus journey from "Oslo" Torp Airport to the city - but still, one shouldn't complain... At any rate, it was good to be back home and to crack on with the project and the job-hunting.

The job-hunting is still continuing, with successes and failures along the way. I now have 2 part-time jobs which together give me enough income after tax to pay for the basic stuff such as rent and food and going to the movies. My first teaching job is 2 evenings a week, on an 8-week contract. I have one class of people who are more or less beginners, and a conversation class with relatively advanced students. I'm really enjoying the teaching and finding it challenging and stimulating.

My other job is a permanent post, working one day a week for a group called NOAH, who promote Animal Rights in Norway. Over the last year, I have been seriously considering becoming politically active again, after having had a long break from any form of political activism. As a teenager, I was active in a political party in Scotland, which was pretty much the main focus of my life. Although I still have no desire to engage with party politics again, I felt I wanted to be involved with some kind of idealistic political movement again - and the Animal Rights movement was the obvious candidate for me. So when I saw on NOAH's website that they were looking to employ people, I took it as a sign and applied... I'll be doing some general office work (answering the phone, replying to e-mails, paying bills etc.), but my main focus will be on Fundraising. NOAH have never had anyone really focus on fundraising before, so it feels like an area where I'll be able to contribute a lot. I got "Fundraising for Dummies" in the post from Amazon yesterday, and I'm really excited about getting stuck in!

Otherwise, although I haven't given up yet, my hopes for getting a permanent position as an English teacher are diminishing somewhat. I'm thinking seriously about just setting up my own website to get private students, as well as being active in trying to get work as a substitute teacher and doing some freelance translation. The prospect of basically starting my own wee business and being self-employed fills me with something kind of halfway between excitement and anxiety...

I think summer's definitely over - we've had a couple of nice sunny days recently, but they're pretty few and far between now, and there's a slight autumnal sharpness in the air. (I really like the word autumnal - say it to yourself a couple of times. See what I mean?)

Lastly, I'm rather chuffed that I'm now a top 500 reviewer on Amazon.co.uk, so if you want to read any of my opinionated ravings about films, just go to

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/pdp/profile/ANR07ZLJW2A7Z/202-7607847-8106205

Alternatively, if you just search for "David Welsh" in quotation marks on Google, my Amazon profile's the 3rd or 4th site that comes up. (Also, if you like my reviews, you can vote for them, which will help bump me still further up the rankings - or if you think they're rubbish, you can vote against them to drag me down...)

Peace and Love,

David

posted by David @ 5:50 AM