So i know there is probably somebody out there wondering where part two to my February travels is.
This blog is not it. This is the why-part-two-is-two-weeks-delayed post.
Taking advantage of the fact that the blog picture uploading feature is fixed, I’ll give you a glimpse of the reason why:
I have an upcoming 20 minute oral presentation in Spanish for my Latin American history in the XIX century class. My topic is the Independence of Venezuela. Sound easy enough, right? Wrong. Venezuela declared its independence in 1811, but it wasn’t recognized until over 30 years later by Spain. Add on top of that that the country drifted in and out of four republics during this time, until it gained its independence from Gran Colombia, a country of which it was a part of.
And of course, the presentation has to be in the Sciences-Po format. I don’t think I explained what this format is, but for every exposé at Sciences-Po–and we have exposés in every class–you have to follow a specific composition. Your exposé must have a problématique, in which you pose a question that can be responded to as “Yes, but.” For example, if you had an exposé on the sky, and your problématique was “Is the sky blue?” You would have to answer saying “Yes, the sky is blue because our eyes perceive it to be so. However, there are proponents who argue that the sky is not actually blue. It is not blue during the sunrise/sunset or when it’s cloudy.” And then go further on to say “In reality, color is a very relative thing…colors don’t even exist!” Or something of the such.
Basically, the point of your problématique is to frame your exposé in a way that you can argue both sides of the picture. To answer the question your problématique raises, you must outline a plan in two parts: part I (yes) and part II (but), and within each part, you have 2 or more arguments. Each section of your exposé must be strong as points can be taken off for underdeveloped arguments, a weak plan, or even a faulty problématique. Preparing exposés in another language has really forced me to work ahead. At Georgetown, I can’t really remember a time where I prepared more than 2 weeks ahead to write a paper. This is probably not a thing to admit in a public blog, but there it is. But here, since the sources that I use to write my exposés come in all languages–French, Spanish, English–it’s difficult to not start ahead early, because once I’ve synthesized all my information into an outline, it’s usually in two or three languages lol…And then I have to work on producing the final draft in the actual language it’s supposed to be in…It really just takes a lot of time and patience…And work..
I also had a 10 minute Spanish exposé last week, which dominated a lot of my time. But I promise you that part II of my trip in Spain and Morocco is coming and is actually in progress.
Here are a few pictures I found to share, in the meanwhile. It’s so nice to finally be able to put up photos! 🙂
These pics are just of me chilling in my room. My friend Carla took these pictures. It was just after we had came from soccer practice, and we had just eaten a snack in my room before doing work. The second pic is of my teddy bear, whom I love very much, rocking the shades. I don’t understand why everyone finds him so funny. Everyone–from my friends at Georgetown, to my Sciences-Po friends, to family, to even my Dad–makes fun of him. He used to be my mom’s, and now he’s mine. Yeah, he’s old…and has lost some of his stuffing..but I think he looks pretty darn good for his age! One time, while at a security check during the airport, I was asked to open my bag, and when the guard saw my scraggly, old teddy staring back up at her, with his tongue hanging out, all she could do was laugh..Haha oh well.
