Lately

Well, my goodness. Life has gotten busy. I am not sure how it’s already July. Anyway, things here are lovely. Just by way of catch-up, I’ll give a brief overview of some of the recent happenings. I went home to Salt Lake at the end of April to do some research for my thesis, but also to visit family and friends and eat lots of delicious food that I can’t get here. Mission accomplished on all fronts. I had a wonderful time hanging out at home with the parents, was able to attend graduations galore, had Mexican food on several occasions (which has helped to tide me over, although sometimes I splurge and buy Doritos and salsa, just because I can’t stand it any longer,) and got to feel Baby Girl Pruett kicking around inside my little sister. So overall, a pretty good visit.

While my visit was a nice chance to see everyone, my real purpose was to complete the research necessary for my thesis. I had an absolutely fantastic time doing my research. My thesis is a comparison between LDS and non-LDS English immigrants to the US during the last part of the 1800s, so naturally I needed access to the Church’s archival materials. That meant that I spent all day everyday at the Church History Library in downtown Salt Lake City. Who knew they were open for 12 hours on Thursdays and on Saturdays? Lucky me! Needless to say, I got to know the missionary couples who serve there quite well, as well as the Church employees. I loved it. The research was interesting and I had some amazing experiences with some of the sources. I was also granted unprecedented access to some of the files. I felt like a proper historian. It was a stressful time, as I felt the drive to look at as much as I possible could, knowing that it was likely my only chance to see it. I read so much microfilm that I began to see it when I closed my eyes at night. It was quite an experience, though, to be reading the personal thoughts and feelings of people who lived over a hundred years ago. I felt as though I had come to know some of them. I also had a few history nerd moments when handling the originals of some of the documents and imagining the people who created them. It might not make sense to everyone, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Now the real fun begins. I am currently in the process of actually writing the thesis, which is proving more difficult and far less enjoyable than the research. I have just over 3,000 words of the 20,000 that I need, so there is clearly much work to be done. I have set the goal to write some every day, but it’s not going too well. I have great plans for this week, though. It’s sort of intimidating to realize that the statements I make and the conclusions I draw could someday be quoted by another person. (It is also a bit fun to think of being an authority on a subject.)

In other news, I have moved house. The contract is for one year, which means that barring deportation, I will be staying in England until next summer. I’m pleased, though not sure exactly how everything will work out financially, but I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. At any rate, my old housemate Kim is getting married in September so we have replaced her. We also added one to our number and needed a bigger house. As soon as things are sorted out and the house looks nice, I will take pictures and post them. We’re not far from where we were before, but this house is quite a bit nicer. The owners replaced the bathroom and redid the walls and carpeting, so it looks pretty posh. It also has an extra room and a living room, which our other house was lacking. There’s also space in the back for a small vegetable patch, which I have great plans for. It’s one downfall is the absence of a clothes dryer, which will be greatly missed this winter when I have to lay my clothes out on the radiators to dry. Bleh. I hate crunchy underclothes. Oh well, I’m told that I’ll survive. We’ll see.

Other than that, life is good. I’m healthy and happy and loving the English summer. The loveliness of the summer almost makes the dreariness of the winter worth it. It stays light until well after 10 pm, which means that people stay out and about. I love it. It also, unfortunately, means that the sun comes up around 4 in the morning, which I don’t love. I’m currently in the process of securing some blackout drapes for my east-facing bedroom. I’ve had a few summer adventures, which I will write about presently, but I feel this post has reached its boredom-inducing threshold. Thank you for persevering through to the end. I hope to be better at posting in the coming weeks. It will give me a good distraction from writing my thesis. J