Working people

November 18th, 2011

Juanjo has had a really busy week, with lots of meetings and events in the evenings. Here he is still working at 10pm last night, after a day that started at 8. I’ve been working a lot too, on my thesis. Am making good progress and will for sure graduate in May. (Am able to register and file my thesis in the summer, so I’ll finish the draft before the baby comes, and then pick it up again in late spring. I’ll have a little bit to finish after graduation in May.)

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Juanjo ha tenido una semana de mucho trabajo, con muchas reuniones y cosas por las tardes. Aquí esta trabajando todavia a las 10 anoche, después de un día que empezó a las 8. Yo también he estado trabajando mucho, en la tesis. Estoy progresando mucho, y voy a poder graduarme seguro en mayo, así que hay que pensar en un segundo viaje si quereis o podeis venir!

Why We’re in Barcelona

December 6th, 2009

a favorite picture, october 2009

You all know I’m on a Fulbright, and that I’m here working on my dissertation research. You all know too that it has something to do with schools, and immigration. That this will be my thesis at Berkeley. But I promised long ago to give more detail about it, so here goes.

I am studying education policy here, specifically integration policies in schools. I’m trying to understand how people in the education policy world think about what it means to integrate immigrants, and how they take action to change schools. At the same time, I am studying the implementation process, and what actually happens in schools. I’d like to observe and interview in two schools, and compare the experiences of teachers and their immigrant students. Barcelona, Spain is a great place to study this because Spain went from being a country that sent immigrants abroad 20 years ago, to one of the main destinations for immigrants from Latin America, Northern Africa, and Eastern Europe.

So the project is about immigration and school change. It is about cultural difference, and how people work with it in policy, and in practice in schools. This is why a Fulbright is so appropriate to support my research, because the goal of the Fulbright is to bridge cultural boundaries and increase understanding between the US and other countries around the world. I think the things I learn about immigration and schooling here in Spain will help to understand immigration and schooling in California. My fantasy would be to build on this research which compares Barcelona and California, but I might not have enough time to do this during the dissertation. We’ll see!

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That’s the story, in brief, that’s my project that brought us here. Make sense? Please comment, I’ve been curious lately who is following us here, so say hello! It will be good motivation for updating more often….

Views and Visas

August 27th, 2009

Yesterday I went to the library and every seat was taken–every single one! Something like 150 people all packed into the reading room, studying for September exams. The room almost hummed with braininess. So I went up to the cafe, which is on the 9th floor, and set myself up to work at one of the tables there. The view is so spectacular, and I got to drink good coffees, so I was happy! That and I finished the work I still had remaining on my adviser’s project, at least for now.

We’ll most likely move to Barcelona on the 11th now, after my Fulbright orientation in Madrid. Less back and forth for me which is nice, and more time enjoying the summer a little bit here in Toledo.

We’ve also been working on getting my visa taken care of, figuring out whether to do a student visa, or apply for citizenship through marriage, or both. Here we are waiting in line for passport-size pictures this morning. I think I’m a person with a fair amount of patience for paperwork, but the amount of paperwork involved with visas and cross-national marriage is really astounding. Luckily the people were really nice here and we have an appointment next week to help us sort it all out. I’m looking forward to having 2 passports one day!

Nuevo Lugar de Trabajo y Estudios

June 10th, 2009

Hoy he discubierto un nuevo lugar de trabajo y estudios en la biblioteca central de San Francisco. Esta es la vista que tengo. Me gusta mucho y me imagino que volveré a menudo este verano. Ademas es muy facil llegar aqui, una parada de metro.

Ya tenemos los billetes de avion (llegamos el dia 16 de agosto), y ayer entregue todo en el consulado de España para el visado de estudiante. Aparte de eso no hay muchas novedades.

Que tal todo en España?

Hoy dia en Berkeley

June 3rd, 2009

Trabajando en la oficina de la escuela. Reuniones, biblioteca, trabajo de mi tutora y un poco del mio. Correos, comida fuera. Ahora tenemos dos bodas en septiembre, una el 19 en Maine, y una el 25 cerca de Boston. No se como lo vamos a hacer, pero son mis mejores amigas, no puedo perder las bodas! Hoy vienen unos amigos a casa a ver una peli y cenar.

Me alegro mucho de saber de vosotros en los comentarios! Que bien que estes jugando el golf tan bien Tino! Juanjo ha estado trabajando mucho por las noches ultimamente (se acaba la escuela y se pone a trabajar mucho en el trabajo normal!). Gracias por mandar el teléfono, Juanjo esta echando mucho de menos el iphone.