Graduate school picnics

Grad school is alot different than undergrad. It's more like a job, and the professors are also your peers. They make great efforts to get these widely diversified groups together, for picnics, meetings, group work...any excuse will do.

This evening, my department had one of these get togethers. I don't know that I will ever get used to it, it seems so strange to me to invite so many random people to your home, 40 minutes away from anyone, and expect them all to show up and have a good time. And yet, they do. Or at least they show up, whether or not they have a good time is up for debate. It's hard to tell who's with who, and why they are somehow associated with the department. The "students" range from fresh college grads, straight off the High School -> College track, to young adults who've been in the workforce a few years, to middle aged parents and teachers looking to go back to school. There are young children running around, copious amounts of random food that people brought, oh look, and there's some beer. Alchoholic beverages seem to come with college get togethers...whether you're a student or a professor!

It's like a clash of worlds and generations! It's amusing to see the "clicks" emerge from the group as people arrive. The new parents, with babies bouncing on their hips or strapped to their chests, flock to each other to discuss babies first words, or how well they sleep at night, or whether glass bottles are better than plastic ones, and do YOU use cloth diapers? What do you think of them? Then the young adults, fresh out of college or the carrear track somehow emerge as a group discussing recreational sports and restaurants, returning students who recognize each other nod heads and perhaps exchange a few words, and professors spend their time chasing and chastising their children, and mingling from one group to another talking about thesis commitee's, research, and travels. It's like they're one loosely tied group moving amongst the others like an amoebe, but if it weren't for this, the intent of bringing all these widely divergent people together would be lost. And lets not forget the family members and friends, dragged to these events, without even the slightest idea who they're going to meet or encounter! I felt a pang of compassionate pity for my own husband, when we arrived and he said, "the two people I know at all aren't even here." The posthumus "reason", or excuse, for this current event, was to welcome new students and staff in, and congratulate those who've recently moved on, but the only way you'd know this is from the writting on a cake on the desert table.

I find myself going to these things, probably for the same reasons many of my peers do, because they feel obligated when they are invited by the head of the department, to her HOUSE, for a picnic...hard to say no in a situation like that. But some of my peers actually LIKE hanging out with these professors, and, I have to admit it seems oddly strange to me. Professors are teachers, teachers hold a position of authority over you, the last thing you want to do is budy up to them, let down your gaurd, and make a fool of yourself in front of them! Of course, I can't say I've seen any of my peers make fools of themselves in front of these professors, but the potential is there whenever you let your gaurd down, and being "friends" with your teacher's leads to a whole other mess of things. Friends understand when you can't show up for an event, teachers still expect you to do the work. Friends will cover for you if you have an appointment or are sick, teachers expect you to make it up or make prior arrangements. It's a weird quasi sort of relationship and i have to say, I'm not comfortable with it at all! Something about it doesn't even seem professional to me, because as students we're NOT their co-workers. We're their hands and feet who get paid less than we're worth to number crunch, organize, file, edit, verify, call and answer phones...I suppose in my department we're lucky to be PAID to do these sorts of things, but still...

It's been an adventure to say the least, and I don't know about you, but it gets tiring to smile at strangers and continually be alert and aware to whomever might approach you with awkward questions and long embarassed silences and looks. Glad to be home for the night, especially since our kitten shut herself in the spare room! Thankfully, no presents. There'll be more on her later. :)

Have a great night everyone
Take care and God bless!
~Mae