Seeing as I didn’t find time to blog once during winter semester, it’s high time that I catch up on the momentous happenings of the past four months. To begin, this past semester was the hardest of any I’ve ever been through. My course load was pure insanity, I had study groups multiple times each week for the MA Exam, I was called to be the first counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, my sister got married the week after finals, and then of course there are those other frivolous things like sleeping and laundry that seem to barge their way into the precious 24 hours of the day. So, since this is my only hope for keeping a record of my life, I’ll give a brief overview of my feelings on a few of these topics. Thus, if your eyes glaze over while reading through this, feel free to stop.
First: The MA Exam. I PASSED with NO reservations! For those who aren’t aware of the gravity of this statement, let me explain. At BYU, this is how the French Master’s Program works: The first year, students take full course loads while reading one or more French novels each week and discussing them each Monday with the department chair, Dr. Cropper. Between September and April, we covered 40 books ranging from the earliest oral texts of the middle ages (La Chanson de Roland 1040), through the classics like Madame Bovary (Flaubert) and Le Rouge et le Noir (Stendall) 19th century, all the way up to modern existentialist writers like Sartre (Les Mains Sales) and Camus (L’étranger). Some were dark and tragic (Emile Zola’s Germinal) whereas others were inspiring and rewarding (L'élégance du hérisson). Some dealt with subjects I’d rather never think about, such as incest (Chateaubriand’s René). Others dealt with problems that were common to most who experience the human condition (Montaigne’s Essais, Montesquieu’s Les Lettres Persanes, and Maupassant’s Boule de Suif). Needless to say, finishing this list in combination with other lectures, research papers, homework, teaching, family matters, etc…was a true feat. Then, this spring I began to prepare for the MA Exam. What this is, is an enormous affair that involves three parts. First, you have all day to take a written essay exam and the questions can come from any of the 40 books that we read, and there is no study guide. You have to know these works inside and out. When you hand in your essay responses, you are given a poem and then have two days in which you must create an in-depth analysis and detailed interpretation of it. Finally, you sit with a panel of three doctoral professors and present your interpretation to them, answer any questions they have about it, and then, you are required to orally answer any question they ask of you. These questions can come from the books or from your answers to the essay questions. I’ll explain how the exam went in my case.
For months before the exam, another MA student and I studied extensively together and tried to pull out the most important themes, quotes, dates, and events from the works. We created a google doc for each book and combined our class notes to ensure we hadn’t forgotten anything important. Additionally, we each studied on our own (I made so many flashcards it almost killed me to throw them away afterward). I spent many late nights in the library and every free second reviewing. I pretty much banned myself from TV, Facebook, and extra activities, even on most weekends. Then, the dreaded week came. I arrived Monday morning April 18th, and found that there was a pool of seven questions and I had to answer three and one essay had to be in French. I spent over four hours on those three questions and then went back over them again and again to check my facts. The questions I answered were:
1. Demonstrate the connection between war and religion in two different texts. Show how the texts differ in their representations of this connection and suggest reasons for these differences.
2. Discutez la/les voix narratives dans les textes de Gabrielle Roy et Muriel Barbery. (Discuss the narrative voice(s) in Gabrielle Roy and Muriel Barbery’s texts)
3. Pourquoi Tartuffe occupe-t-elle une place à part dans l’œuvre de Molière ? Quelle est son originalité ? (Why does Tartuffe occupy a « place apart » in Moliere’s works? What gives it its originality?)
Then, I was given a poem from the 1500’s by Maurice Scève and had to prepare an analysis to present for Thursday’s oral portion. Those next few days were horrifying. I studied my brains out and when Thursday morning came, I was shaking like a leaf. I arrived early hoping to find out who my panel was, but alas, they had not yet arrived. I stood anxiously in the conference room trying to decide where to sit when Dr. Hurlbut came in and said, “You’re not wringing your hands are you?” I smiled and said, “Of course not,” as I continued to fidget them. I was relieved to see him on my committee seeing as he is so kind. Then, Dr. Lebras walked in and I still felt fairly comfortable, seeing as I’ve had classes from him and his French is pure and almost always comprehensible. Finally, my heart sunk as I saw Dr. Lee walk through the door. It’s not that I don’t like him as a person-I do. He’s brilliant, to say the least. He got his doctorate from Yale, the best French program in the country. I feel so insignificant when I talk to him and even when it’s in English he uses words I’ve never heard.
So, entirely terrified, I sat on one side of the table and these three daunting intellectuals sat on the other side. I began with my analysis of the poem which talked about how a mythological character gets shot by Cupid’s arrow and falls hopelessly into love. In my interpretation, I explained how due to the language that was used, one could also read this poem as an allegory of Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden. The protagonist is described very much like Adam was initially: innocent, his eye no expert of sorrow, etc… Then, afterward, he is described as having succumbed and there are several contrasts used in the last lines such as “life and death” and “liberty and enslavement.” After about fifteen minutes, the panel said that they really enjoyed my interpretation and we discussed specific words, phrases and other ideas hidden in the text.
Then, for the next hour and a half, they grilled me. They asked specific questions about my essays, specific questions about most of the books, characters, time periods, literary movements, etc… Some that I can remember are, “Define realism and romanticism and give us a few examples from different texts that show these two ideas.” Or, “Discuss two political ideals from two different centuries.” Or, “How does the role of the woman differ from 1200 to the present? Give us specific examples of women who exemplify these differences.” Or even more specific questions such as, “How did Descartes’ philosophy differ from that of Pascal’s?” Or, “Why could Germinal be considered a naturalist text? Or, “What are Proust’s main themes?” Or, “What social institutions is Montesquieu trying to criticize in Les Lettres Persanes?” I wish I remembered more, but it’s been a few weeks now and I’ve forgotten.
Dr. Lee asked twice as many questions as the other two did combined. I truly believed I had some divine help from heaven being propelled my way because there were a couple moments where I didn’t even know how to begin to answer what they had asked but somehow I managed to pull together some ideas that impressed them. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, they asked me to wait in the hall. They then discussed and deliberated. I tried to listen through the door but the air conditioning came on and it was too loud for me to hear anything. Despite that everyone had said, “I’m sure you’ll do great!” I, myself, was not so certain. I know a fellow student personally who didn’t pass last year and it’s not uncommon for them to give “Pass with reservation” scores, which entails working all summer to retake certain portions. So, after a few minutes they invited me back in and informed me that I passed! With No Reservations! I involuntarily let out a little squeal / scream and they laughed and said, “Are you surprised?” I said, “Yes..I mean..No..I mean..I’ve studied SO hard for this! But it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done! I’m so thrilled!” The department office in the next room heard my excitement and congratulated me on the way out. I was on CLOUD NINE! Truly, it was one of the proudest moments of my life, if not THE proudest. I tried to control my excitement until I got out of the building, but I spent the rest of the day running around like I was just released from prison. Gavin was so excited for me (I had quite frankly been acting like a nightmarish monster for weeks prior to the dreaded day). He surprised me with a new cookbook from The Roof, a restaurant where we have had some special dates and in the building where we had our wedding dinner. It was so sweet! Then, he took me up to The Paris Bistro in Sugarhouse – my all-time favorite place – for a delicious banana and nutella crepe. Success was never so sweet.
Since that glorious day, it’s been somewhat of an exciting whirlwind. I found out I got all A’s in my classes, so I still have a 4.0! The following week, my little sister Hillary was married to Joel Shepherd in the Draper temple and they had a beautiful reception down at The Manor in The Riverwoods. The entire day was beautiful and I’ll post some pictures when they come since words don’t do the décor justice. The temple sealing was sweet and it was so neat to have so many family members and friends there to support. Once we exited the temple, it was cold and windy so we took some pictures and hurried off to the wedding luncheon. It took place at the South Mountain Golf Club in Draper. We all enjoyed hearing stories told on both sides of the family and Gavin and I were able to sing a song called You are the New Day with Joel’s siblings and their spouses. Then, there was time for toasts so I shared a poem I had quickly written the night before:
Hillary’s Wedding Toast
April 29, 2011
Good morning friends and family; a toast I’d like to share;
To the newly married couple who make a lovely pair
Last year, amid the aromas of Brick Oven’s delights,
A waiter and a waitress fell in love at first sight.
Sparks flew quickly and soon they both knew,
That the love they shared was undoubtedly true.
Now on this gusty spring morning of April two-thousand-eleven,
This happy couple’s faces show their hearts are in seventh Heaven
For those who don’t know Hilly well, let me share some words of praise
The dynamic she brought to our family, both energized and enlivened our days.
Luckily for Joel, Hillary is as loyal as a person can be.
She’ll stick by your side and feel what you feel with true sincerity.
She forgives in an instant and hates to hurt a soul,
She’ll be sensitive to the needs of her new sweet husband Joel.
Hillary has a way with children and loves them like no other,
It is evident that one day she will be a playful and caring mother.
Since Joel has entered the scene, I’ve seen some quality traits, it’s true;
He is always patient and supportive and stands by Hilly through and through.
He’s sweet and knows how to be calming when her worries begin to rise,
And there’s no doubt that he adores her, for the proof is in his eyes.
A new adventure awaits you as the future Mr. and Mrs.
Make sure you give each other endless love and time and kisses.
Today as my dear sister was sealed in a holy temple setting,
She glowed from head to toe as a sweet spirit filled the wedding.
Your earthly and heavenly families who have known you both from birth
Are here to wish you luck as you begin this new life on earth.
On this joyous occasion filled with bliss for Hillary and Joel
We are thrilled to see that these two halves will make a beautiful whole.
That evening, their reception was as lovely as any I’ve seen. So many people came to support and it was wonderful to be able to see so many loving and friendly faces. The pictures were beautiful: mom blew up a dozen of Hilly’s bridals at Costco and mom, Betsy Sykes, I glued them back onto foam boards (mom had glued them on with repositional glue dots the day before) and Phil and my dad hung them from cream ribbon all around the rooms. Everyone enjoyed looking at them; they were stunning. Hilly’s videographer also made a darling clip from some of her bridals-I tried to post it here but it doesn’t seem to be working. Hilly had the idea of a “skit” she wanted to do to one of her and Joel’s favorite songs about a month before the wedding and if you watch the clip, you’ll see it turned out adorably well. (If you’re friends with her on Facebook, check it out there).
Fast-forwarding another week, my family flew out to Saint Louis, Missouri to attend Hillary and Joel’s open house in his hometown of O’fallon, Illinois. The Shepherd family hosted us and treated us like royalty! Heidi, Joel’s mom, cooked many delicious meals for us, Larry took work off to give us a native’s tour of Saint Louis, and we enjoyed every moment in their home. On Friday, Larry had found us tickets to a Cardinals game near the front row. We almost witnessed a perfect game until some bad luck in the 8th inning. It was a blast to be at Busch Stadium and I have to say, those Cardinal fans are die-hard. The next day, we attended a session in the Saint Louis temple. It was beautiful and so fun to see Hilly go through a second time. Then, that evening, their Open House took place at a charming nature center not far from Joel’s home. It was a modern log cabin set in a pretty field. The ladies from the ward put on a nice spread of foods and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting many of the Shepherd’s friends, neighbors, and ward members.
Sunday we enjoyed Mothers’ Day at Joel’s home ward and Heidi prepared a nice meal of roast chicken and dressing. The meal was followed by an amusing game of bocce ball, which I discovered is not something I have talent for. However, I found it to be quite fun! That evening, Larry showed us a video on how the Saint Louis arch was made and it really is an engineering miracle. It was fascinating to see how the builders worked from so high, without any safety harnesses, in intense heat and cold, and without the modern technology we have now. The next morning we took a tour of the arch and were able to ride the elevator to the top. The view is spectacular! If I remember right, it’s 630 feet at the top. Dad managed to make it just fine despite his distaste for heights. Then, we toured Forest Park which is similar to Central Park, but bigger. We visited the science museum there, the exterior of the art museum because it was closed, and finally, we spent the rest of the day at the zoo. The nice thing is the city makes all of these things free to the public. The zoo was the best I’ve seen! That evening, Joel took us to his favorite restaurant of all time: LotaWata Creek. The portions are enormous, but the food is quite good. I ordered the most delicious meat: It was called three cheese Greek steak and it was small beef tenderloins breaded in an Italian mixture then cooked. Then, they melted feta cheese, Romano cheese and a third cheese called Provol cheese and topped it with a white marsala wine sauce. It was so delicious I’m still dreaming about it. The funny part came at the end when the waitress accidentally spilled sauce all over me. I couldn’t stop laughing – she was horrified. Poor thing. Larry also took us to the famous Route 66 stop Ted Drewes where we sampled some of the most delicious custard on earth!
The next day, we drove out to Nauvoo and on our way we stopped at Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith was killed. I was touched by the remnants of that horrific day. There are still visible bullet holes in the door, the furniture is placed as it was then, and the way the missionary recounts the incident gives clearer meaning to the actual event. I’m so glad I’ll now have this picture in my mind each time I hear that story. We spent two days in Nauvoo with my parents and Hilly and Joel came up for one of those. The best part was that all six of us were able to go through the Nauvoo temple together. It was incredibly beautiful both inside and out. Even the lockers are made with dark wood. In the lobby, they have some neat artifacts like Joseph Smith’s sword from the Nauvoo Legion, old temple aprons, and old keys to the temple. It was a neat experience to be there together.
We toured most of the historic sites and recreated sites on the Nauvoo grounds. The missionaries do a great job at helping visitors understand what life would have been like in Old Nauvoo. In the evening, all the older missionaries got together and put on a musical production that depicted a few of the settlers’ stories. They were quite comical as a few forgot their lines and most trembled while they sang, but they were sweet and it was obvious that they’d worked very hard to prepare. Nauvoo also has a neat family history center in which you can input one of your ancestor’s names, and then the computer brings up a map of where their property was if they lived in Nauvoo. We also enjoyed playing games together with our new 6th addition. It’s nice to have even teams now.
Well, before our vacation ended, Gavin and I had the chance to meet up with his family in Kirksville, Missouri where his sister Katie and her husband Drew graduated from medical school at A.T. Still. They showed us around the town, where they met, where he proposed, their favorite restaurants, etc…and we enjoyed seeing them take this exciting step. They will now go on to their respective residencies: Katie has a three year residency in pediatrics and Drew has a seven year residency in internal medicine. They have bought a home in Iowa and are anxious to begin this new adventure in a few weeks.
If I don't post at least this much now, I'll never catch up. So, there's much left unsaid, but here are some of the major events that took place this year. I'll try to be better about posting this summer. Signing off, -Haleigh
