THESIS IN!!!

I know it might look like I've been missing for a while, but I've been here! I've just been working my butt off to get my thesis in on time. Add on top of that a trip to Chile, Chilean friends coming to visit and staying at our apartment, and my generally slow speed of thesis writing, and I've had a busy, stressful month. I literally can't remember the last time that I didn't dream of my thesis- sometimes I dreamed that I was conducting a study on the bus, other times, I was just running through cocoa statistics in my head. Last night, I dreamed that my tutor de tesis- the professor sending me comments and responsible for approving my thesis- was at my apartment and that we were working on my conclusions, and that he helped himself to vegetables in my fridge that I didn't even know were there. Today, hopefully I'll have a restful sleep. I turned in my thesis today! My profe and I have been emailing back and forth (he's in Amsterdam working on a doctorate degree), with him sending me suggestions about organizations, conclusions that I make, and grammar points, and I've been sending him revised versions. This morning he sent a letter off to the university officially approving my 124 page thesis to continue on to the next stage- the defense tribunal.

All of this discussion of my hard work on my thesis inevitably leads to a huge shout out to Alvaro. I won't deny that I worked really hard throughout the year, reading relevant literature, reaching out to actors in the cocoa chain to get interviews, visiting cocoa communities, and planning, organizing, and writing the thesis. That being said, Alvaro really went above and beyond to help me with revisions of my thesis at all stages. Before I would send off chapters to my professor for his comments, Alvaro would go through them, checking to make sure that my sentences made sense and that I was using formal, academic Spanish. Then, once my professor sent back his commentaries, Alvaro helped me make sense of his comments and looked over my (now completely revised drafts). There were nights when Alvaro would come home at 8pm and then stay up until 1 or 2am with me so that I could get my revised version sent back to my professor the next day. When his friends from Chile arrived, Alvaro spent a night holed up in the bedroom listening to me complain about my thesis and answering questions while his friends drank wine in the living room, and he sent them off for a day on their own so that he could stay home with me to finish up some final revisions in order to get it all turned in with extra time for my professor to look over these changes. By the time my professor sent his commentaries about my conclusions, Alvaro knew my thesis inside and out and was even able to suggest some new contradictions that I hadn't thought of. On top of all of this, Alvaro cooked and cleaned when I was too stressed out to help with either, and he would suggest that I take a break or a nap while he did chores. This thesis has truly been a team effort in the complete sense of the word! My thesis wouldn't have the same quality without Alvaro's help, and I would probably be a mess. I feel so lucky to have had him with me while I've been working on this degree!

OK, OK- enough cheesing about Alvi. I really don't have anything else to comment on- my life has been completely dominated by this thesis for the last month. I've been briefly looking at some jobs (the plan is to work in Quito for another year!) and I've applied for a few, but I haven't really concentrated on any efforts, so I think that will be next on my To-Do list, along with finally beginning to organize wedding plans and helping others plan trips in Chile! Finally, we're heading to Mindo soon with Alvaro's friends, which will be a nice way to relax and celebrate the (almost) end of this stage!

Sorry to have been so absent! Look for more interesting posts and possibly a few pictures from Chile soon!