On the eve of an anticipated Blizzard –that’s Environment Canada’s word for it—and, like everyone else, I will be settling indoors all weekend to watch the winds rage and the snow swirl. Weather warnings have been particularly apocalyptic all week. Nature will have its way with us again, and so we might as well surrender to the spectacle.

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A wicked northeasterly blizzard wiped out my efforts at blogging last week. There’s nothing sweeter than waking up to these six magic words: Memorial campus closed for the day. I always feel happy as a schoolgirl whenever we have a “snow day,” even if it means my whole schedule is thrown askew for weeks afterward.

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There is so much to write about I scarcely know where to begin. That said, my office is a little like a disaster scene (see above) as I try to save my poinsettia, while it has any life left, and catch up to an already rapidly evolving semester. Having torn a muscle in my writing arm while hiking over an icy trail during the holidays hasn’t helped. That partly explains my absence from the blogosphere in the last couple of weeks. Anyhow, I’m back in the office and filing as fast as I can.

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Too busy and feeling too frivolous to write much this week. Just want to send best wishes for the holidays to anyone who reads the blog. Christmas in these parts is an extended stretch of good will and good times. There are more parties to attend than most (other) Canadians ever have in a lifetime. I love that about living here. It’s all about the people—friends connecting and catching up, valuing our astonishing privilege and good fortune. Academics can be such whiners, but all of that tends to vanish around now. There’s way too much to feel good about. I’ll be back at this page after a couple of weeks of bloglessness. Best wishes to all!

Arizona is lovely this time and any time of year. The Grand Canyon State is a radically different landscape from the one here in Newfoundland, although stunning rock formation remains a common theme.  I took the shot above in Sedona, about two hours north of Phoenix where I was attending the annual meetings of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), the US-based network of grad deans. The site of countless movie shots—from Stagecoach to American Anthem—the northern part of the state boasts some of the world’s most spectacular scenery, red rock formations that reach dramatically out of the valley, eroded masses of iron and sand. By the time I got to Phoenix I was itching to explore.
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Just back from Asia, and most latterly Seoul, Korea. The picture above was taken yesterday at the famous Jogyesa Temple, first erected in 1395. I had to tiptoe carefully around dozens of women praying in front of the golden Buddhas to get a decent shot, although postcards would show the space more elegantly, I am sure. You can see the outline of several of these women in the foreground. They can’t be too happy about all the tourists invading their space, but perhaps they can tune us out better than we know. This site, the centre of Zen Buddhism in South Korea, is a serene spot of colour and calm smack in the middle of one of the busiest cities on the planet. After a few days of business with some Seoul-based universities, I was grabbing a few hours of tourism before heading out to the magnificent Incheon airport.

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That’s me, about to climb part of the Great Wall the other day. It was a brilliant cold blue-sky day, but I eagerly took up Mao’s challenge, inscribed on a slab of stone at the bottom of the climb: “You’re not a real man if you haven’t climbed the Great Wall.” I am sure he meant to include women, too. The part of the Wall I scaled with my colleague, Leonard Lye from the Faculty of Engineering, is a couple of hours outside the magnificent city of Beijing, well worth the Chairman’s challenge.
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I am packing my bags for China. Yes, it’s the destination of choice for Canadian and US recruiters, and has been for a number of years. Enrolment figures have shot up at almost every self-respecting post-secondary ed institution on the continent in the last 5 years, largely because of the influx of Chinese students, especially graduate students.

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