tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64253541517052290622024-03-13T04:08:29.893-07:00The Escape Archivist: Chronicles of a tri-continental librarianI am a third generation librarian, born, raised & educated in America. I currently work as a children's librarian at a local public library in Sweden. As of 2016, I have worked in 3 countries (America, Sweden & Bolivia), 3 languages (English, Swedish, Spanish) and 3 continents (North America, Europe & South America). I also happen to have 3 kids. This blog documents my professional and personal experience as a librarian with a passion for international library culture.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-42692253452401302632016-11-11T12:18:00.000-08:002016-11-11T12:18:00.861-08:00Back to a more reality soon, a more vivid realitySo, after this week, which is national Children's book week in Sweden, as well as Rights of the Child week (coincidence? coordination, I do not know), I will be traveling back to the USA to visit my family and celebrate Thanksgiving.<br />
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And then after my trip, I'll be in my last month at the library. My last day of my maternity cover is December 30th. In January, I am back to my job as a fritidspedagog at a wonderful local primary school. It's literally right across the street from the library, so not too far to come back for books and to see my friends here.<br />
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So, what is a fritidspedagog, you might ask? There is not a real equivalent job in the States, because we didn't really have any real regularly planned after school programs in the 1980s when I went to primary school. We took the bus home and I had my grandma home and other children on my block had either moms or babysitters home to greet them. Nowadays, I guess they have after school teachers, but judging from the scant information I've seen on these jobs, they do not require a higher education or any kind of formal training. Nah, a fritidspedgog is more like an afterschool librarian, offering planned creative and fun more informal educational activities.<br />
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Since I've been working as a fritidspedagog, I have fallen head over heels in love with teaching. The ongoing and continual contact with the students is a gift. Being along for the journey and being a guide in the children's ongoing development is the most rewarding job I have ever had. I will absolutely take my 5 years of library experience with me to help students develop their love of reading (or to start that process), but starting in January, I'll be working more as an educator and less as a librarian in the traditional sense.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-83232190855963031132016-11-05T07:00:00.001-07:002016-11-05T07:00:37.967-07:00All Saints DayToday is All Saints Day in Sweden, and the library is closed. We don't really celebrate All Saints Day in America, but Latin Americans do celebrate Dia de los Muertos or day of the dead. So, I guess we 'Murricans bastardized it into Halloween. It's kind of a leap how honoring ones long gone loved ones morphed into costumes and trick or treating, but what can I do about it?<br />
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Anyway, the Swedes have drunk the Halloween Kool-Aid so to speak, so we had a really fun haunted house (spökvandring) at the library where we turned the basement auditorium, periodical room and archived books rooms into a haunted house that visitors wandered through.<br />
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This week I also invited the second-graders from the school I normally work at to listen to a Halloween story hour. Although I was kind of sick, my hoarse witch voice worked and I found some great shortish funny, scary and really scary ghost stories to read. I turned out the lights in the children's section, lit LED candles and read the stories with a flashlight. These things made the atmosphere cozy and spooky. Super fun!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-31095576643160389672016-08-26T05:25:00.001-07:002016-08-26T05:25:13.924-07:00Book bags Bokpåsar<p dir="auto">I remember when my grandma used to do the lists for the take-away preschool book bags. She put a lot of thought into them, and wrote the lists neatly up by hand (it was the 80s and she had lovely penmanship-a lost art). I'm sitting here and doing our book bags for the drop-in nursery school in our community (öppen förskola), which is for parents to attend with their babies who are too small for state-run nursery school and often their older siblings (who are not eligible for enrollment in state run nursery while their parent or parent is on ma/paternity leave). </p><p dir="auto">I'm checking out the books on my computer in my office and saying aloud the name of the books and authors like the announcement lady at the Academy Awards. I clearly need to go outside and be social haha. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-24491195133060014322016-08-20T23:39:00.000-07:002016-08-20T23:39:01.419-07:00Legit Librarian <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tJBJmL2DtrQ/V7k_kssN5ZI/AAAAAAAAuGQ/eD2-EkEz5wM/IMG_7195.jpg?imgmax=9999" ></div><p dir="ltr">I blurred out my co-worker's name to protect her privacy. She is also a non-Swede, who grew up & educated in Southern Europe. It's fun to hear about her experience in library school and as a librarian in her native country. International perspective brings a fantastic texture to workplaces, especially cultural institutions.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-23009327986488086542016-08-19T05:23:00.001-07:002016-11-05T07:02:04.401-07:00Public Relations in Manhattan to Librarian in HöganäsYes, I was a publicist, a long time ago (1998-2008) and in a galaxy far, far away (Manhattan), but admittedly my heart was never really in it.. Sure, it was glam, sure I hobnobbed with the upper eschelons of media celebrity, sure I worked with household names, and sure I have some stories to tell and gossip to spill (it will all be artfully covered in my memoirs one day), but I prefer my life the way it is now. In late 2007, I discovered that I was expecting my first child. It was admittedly a happy surprise, as I hadn't really planned on getting pregnant at that point, but was thrilled with the idea of starting a family. I did know that I needed to change careers though.<br />
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Late night events, journalist dinners, press junkets, being at the beck and call of my clients, I knew that this wasn't the kind of motherhood I wanted to have. I wanted to change careers, but to what?</blockquote>
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So, I did what I normally did in those days, I called my oracle, my idol, my Yoda and my best friend: my amazing late grandmother Rose. Rose had been a diplomat's wife and had accompanied my grandfather on his consular posts in Latin America during the second world war. Rose was also trilingual (English, Spanish & Portuguese-she picked up languages whilst living abroad) and loved to read. She had graduated first in her class at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn (Barbara Stresisand was an alum there too, but not the same year of course) and she wasn't satisfied with the idea of being a lady who lunched/Diplomat's Wife. She wanted more. So she started by working as a translator and bibliographer with the War Effort. And when they returned to the States, Rose attended Columbia University (at that point they had a masters program in library science) and got her degree in library and information science. She had been working as a librarian ever since. Even after she retired, she still worked 9 hours a week at East Brunswick Public library in the children's section, as it brought her great joy. She loved her job. "You should be a librarian. You'll not regret it" was her advice.<br />
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Although I had strongly considered studying early childhood education to become a reading specialist, I was not thrilled with the idea of the American education system (the tyranny of the Core, of pushy American compitiparents) I knew that she was right. Besides, I could take some educational courses in my library degree. She knew me better than anyone. El Sueco, the other person who knows me better than anyone agreed wholeheartedly. I found that Queens College of the City University of New York was accepting late applications for the library & information science program that started in January, 2008. I applied and got accepted. I completed 2 terms of study, gave birth in late summer (my contractions actually started during a cataloging class!) and took the fall term off. I returned to work as a news archivist and librarian at WABC Eyewitness News in 2009 and finished my degree in 2010. Sadly, my grandmother was too frail after a stroke to attend my graduation. But she did give me her Dewey Decimal System tool as a present. It's hanging in my office in Höganäs now, although we use the SAB-systemet in Sweden.<br />
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Rose died in 2011 and we moved to Sweden shortly after. I gave birth to my surprise twins in 2012 (Rose was also a twin, so I still think of them as her parting genetic gift to me), I was home with my children and learned Swedish and finally landed this job in Höganäs in 2016. It is a <i>vikariat </i>position, ie. a maternity cover, so it's not a permanent job, but it's a pleasure and an honor to work at a library as lovely as Höganäs <i>stadsbibliotek,</i> so I'll take whatever I get. Permanent jobs as a librarian are hard to land in Sweden, probably because they are indeed such lovely luxury jobs, so there's very little movement on the job market. I do have a permanent job at a wonderful local school that I'll be returning to when this maternity cover is over, as a <i>fritidspedagog</i>, which is roughly equivalent to a <a href="https://thriveafterthree.com/category/after-school-library-programs/" target="_blank">programming/after-school librarian</a>, but I will cover that on a later blog post. I feel happily rewarded in both jobs and I am grateful for both!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-52921861045895254292016-08-17T02:28:00.003-07:002016-08-17T02:54:05.713-07:00After a 6 year (omg!) hiatus, the Escape Archivist is back! I'm baaaaack! After my 6 year blogging intermission, I am back. And now broadcasting to you over the blogwaves from southern Sweden, Höganäs, to be exact.<br />
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After our adventures in La Paz, Bolivia, El Sueco and toddler M (now almost 8-year old M) have moved to El Sueco's homeland, Sweden in 2011. Since 2011, our family has grown and I now have 2 more M-lings. They are 4 years old. Yes, they are twins. So in the intervening years (I love when narrators say this in films, sounds so dramatic), I have given birth, become professionally fluent in Swedish, and have managed to get a job as a children's librarian at a lovely little public library in the area where we live. 'Tis a wonderful life!<br />
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Currently, I am sitting in my office and adding some newly received books to our library catalog. Later, I will have a shift at the reference desk (<i>infodisken</i>). I look forward to sharing insights on life in Sweden as a librarian.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-68867331868436863982010-09-25T08:34:00.000-07:002010-09-25T08:34:08.680-07:00One month down, one to goAs of September 24th, I have been at my position for one month. I am funded for 1 more month, though I think that it might be possible to extend the funding and appointment. Overall, I have enjoyed both my job and my life in this country. The job market back at home is not exactly beckoning with possibilities, so it is entirely possible that The Escape Archivist will continue to find work abroad. I have received many emails regarding my "escapes" and how to create them. My general advice for finding work abroad is to RESEARCH, RESEARCH and do more RESEARCH. If you are a librarian, doing complete and thorough research should be a natural reflex, though it surprises me how many terrible researchers I have met in library school and in practice at various New York library reference desks. Of course it also helps to be able to read (even better to speak AND read) foreign languages. I can read 7, which I guess helps increase my job possibilities. Moreover, be openminded about foreign cultures. Not everywhere is America, and not everybody speaks or understands English. And sadly, there are plenty of people who will judge you harshly at the outset simply for being American. It is your job as the expat to be respectful of your host culture and to go with the native flow (it´s MUCH harder if you try and impose your standards to the ones in your host country) and just.be.cool. I´m currently funded by the US Embassy, and I take that fact seriously. While some Bolivians may dislike certain American international policies, they are open to respecting our personal and cultural contributions to their country. Likewise, I love learning more about their rich culture and history.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-45398240919744339052010-09-17T13:29:00.000-07:002010-09-17T13:29:53.121-07:00TPS Reports, otherwise known as a Day in the Life<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TJPIvNjwsWI/AAAAAAAAACk/UuJKwq7NXBk/s1600/Amy+internship+photos+museum+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" qx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TJPIvNjwsWI/AAAAAAAAACk/UuJKwq7NXBk/s200/Amy+internship+photos+museum+016.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Archivist´s version of TPS reports</td></tr>
</tbody></table>TGIF, TGIF! Yeah it is Friday and I´ve got a 3 day weekend ahead of me. My family and I are traveling to Coroico, a town in the Yungas Region, which is down the mountain from where we are now. It will be tropical and jungle-like, and we are staying in a little bungalow at the top of a mountain. The road that leads to the Yungas used to be known as the Most Dangerous Road in the World, but we are being lame and taking the new safe(er) road. <br />
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Since it´s Friday and I am thinking of really Office Space/The Office type things, I´m going to give you a run down of how my weekdays usually go. My work/life schedule is quite different from the way it was at home.<br />
8 AM - Awaken, put on coffee, dress<br />
8:30 - M. and El Sueco usually wake up at this point. I help El Sueco get M. ready for pre-school.<br />
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8:45 - Take a Trufi (shared Paceño) taxi from outside our home to work. Cost in USD about 20 cents.<br />
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9 AM- Arrive at work usually huffing and puffing after running a steep hill up from main avenue to Plaza Murillo and then hurtling up 2 flights of Andean Baroque (read:steep) stairs. Why do I run? Well because it´s great exercise and because although I no longer live in New York, the NYC pace is vestigial. <br />
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9 - 12:30 Work, work and more work (and some internet too of course!)<br />
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12:30 Descend from Plaza Murillo to Prado to find a trufi home. It is lunch time! SIESTA. Boom shakalaka!<br />
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12:30 - 3 PM At home, I meet up with El Sueco and M. who is usually sleeping after pre-school. We heat up the lunch that our housekeeper has prepared the night before. After lunch we relax and do things that we cannot do when toddler M. is up and about. <br />
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3 PM - Back at work. Sometimes there is a musical event on the patio (Planta Baja) in the evenings, so I always hope that a good classical music act will be practicing and providing me with a pleasant afternoon soundtrack. And more work. And work. And no, this work is not in English so I need to pay extra attention to what I am doing! <br />
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5:30- 6 Tea/coffee break. A group of us from the office head down to the museum´s cafe where we drink tea, chat and eat a pastry. I love these dulce de leche layered ones. Sometimes we have empanadas or cake. It is very pleasant to have this little break, and I am once again reminded that I am not in the USA (especially when my group of friends all talk fast at once and I feel like a mute because I am not fast enough in Spanish convo at this point. I talk very fast in English and even in Swedish so this is a big change!)<br />
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6-7 - Wrap up whatever I am doing at work. At 7, I head down to El Prado to find my last trufi of the day. <br />
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7:20 - Arrive at home to a clean home with a tasty warm meal on the table for us (our housekeeper is amazing). I then turn on the hot water for a shower (hot water is not a given in Bolivia, and one needs to turn on the boiler manually when it is needed. We must save a ton of energy doing this) and take a shower. Post shower until 9 PM, it is family time, and this usually involves herbal tea, chocolate and the estufa (Bolivian space heater cos 95% of Bolivian homes do not have central heating- again, not convenient but Ecofriendly). ¡Buenas Noches!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-60960027614744923492010-09-09T12:57:00.000-07:002010-09-09T12:57:10.322-07:00Unplugged but Tuned InYesterday I went to the Museum of Ethnography and Folklore. What an amazing place! I met the director of the museum and the chief librarian who gave me a tour of the research library and the archives. This woman was an ALA fellow and has worked in research libraries in the United States, so we had a lot to chat about, particularly regarding the profession and the challenges in each country, comparitively. Overall, I´d say that while Bolivians are more meticulous about preserving their history in myriad ways, the Americans have better technological resources to do so. I sense a collaboration here. For example, yesterday, the MUSEF´s Opac system had gone down, and the researchers at the library had to approach the reference desk to find materials. And there was limited or zero access to the online research databases. <br />
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While I am most defnitely online at work, I do not have internet at home,and this gives me an odd sense of peace. Generally people here are significantly less "plugged in" than in the US (or in New York at least) and here I don´t constantly dodge the text zombies who SMS furiously whilst walking quickly down busy city streets. Nor do you see many people speaking on cell phones on the street or (personal pet peeve) leaving their phones on the table while dining. I have your full attention and you have mine. We are living in real time. And though slower internet and prohibitively expensive cellular service have drawbacks, I like living in real time. Call me old fashioned.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-29633771486381577662010-09-03T12:50:00.000-07:002010-09-03T12:50:34.607-07:00Archivista SuperstarI am aghast (in a good way!) that the general public knows what an archivist does in Bolivia. Seriously. Back in the States, I was often met with clueless expressions when asked my profession. Hemming and hawing, I often have to explain that archiving has nothing to do with architecture (although I am married to an architect, so in my case, the 2 professions share a tax return) and is a branch of librarianship. And that it requires a Master´s degree. At which point, the clueless person has disengaged and informed me that librarians "just read books" all day. And then I get annoyed and consider telling these sorts of folk in the future that I actually make my money as a Real Housewife on Bravo. <br />
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In a pleasant contrast, seemingly everybody I have met in La Paz actually knows and understands what an archivist does. I think that this has to do with the Bolivian respect for cogent cultural history. With a combination of the history of post colonialism plus various political regimes plus the plurality of native cultures, Bolivians understand the need to be aware of their national and political identity both of the past and going forward. <br />
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And who knows if this has anything to do with it, but overall Bolivians are not a people heavily involved in celebrity worship (either their own or imported ones). As a result, people seem to be less impressed with seemingly glamorous lines of work, and more impressed with hard work regardless of the title. This in turn impresses me a great deal!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-31067991005511000262010-08-31T12:46:00.000-07:002010-08-31T12:46:46.927-07:00Seguridad y preservación /Security and PreservationOne aspect of preservation we addressed in school was that of security of the collections. In library collections, this generally meant protecting circulating books from defacement and robbery. Obviously, in special collections and rare book/manuscript collections this meant guarding collections against theft and black market traders. In a museum context, this obviously means protecting collections against art theft. <br />
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And more specifically, in the context of this city/country/location this means protection against protests,riots and revolutions. Though La Paz has been very peaceful since 2005, the museum is located in a politically important location. The Plaza Murillo is the home to major government houses, and has seen many coupes d´etat (and some fairly grizzly stuff too, but you can look that up if you are interested). Because of the political symbolism of some of the collection, I feel that there is a real possibility that this museum might attract political looters. The museum staff was actually trapped inside of the building during the government protests of 2005. (again, do the research if you are interested -this is a blog about archiving and libraries-not politics). Interestingly though, because of the museum´s proximity to the government buildings, there is actually more security than normal in this area of the city. In addition to Paceño police, there are military guards nearby as well. On an institutional level, there is a police staff (no such thing as private security companies in a government institution) on guard at the museum plus a number of security measures similar to those in major museums in New York.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TH1b9nglFzI/AAAAAAAAACc/88uHkmhvrMg/s1600/Amy+internship+photos+museum+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TH1b9nglFzI/AAAAAAAAACc/88uHkmhvrMg/s320/Amy+internship+photos+museum+012.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hipster ghost hangout</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There is no security, however, for the 3 ghosts (fantasmas!) who are said to haunt the museum, which was once a Colonial home to a Spanish aristocrat. I have not seen said ghosts yet, but here is a photo of the corner they are often spotted in!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-32423048275514594182010-08-31T12:10:00.000-07:002010-08-31T12:10:23.055-07:00Photos/ Fotografías of the National Museum of Art, La Paz<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TH0kSyNxiwI/AAAAAAAAACM/Dqiime7eVfM/s1600/Museoconcielo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TH0kSyNxiwI/AAAAAAAAACM/Dqiime7eVfM/s320/Museoconcielo.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The National Museum of Art plus heavens above</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TH0nRQub7qI/AAAAAAAAACU/V2Qc6vbSXdE/s1600/Plantabajacourtyard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TH0nRQub7qI/AAAAAAAAACU/V2Qc6vbSXdE/s320/Plantabajacourtyard.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planta bajo/Colonial patio of museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-92027268184602852192010-08-27T07:04:00.000-07:002010-08-27T07:04:10.201-07:00Information, Información y más informaciónWhere do I even start? My first week at the museum has been extremely eventful. The learning has been two-fold because I am trying to absorb the newness of my work environment, my project and integrating Spanish into a professional archival setting. I will not lie-it is tough. Though I am proficient in Spanish on a practical level, it is entirely something else when I have to turn it out daily at a professional, polished level. Writing a billingual finding aid is one of the toughest work tasks that I have ever done! I guess what is even more frustrating is that I understand and can read at an extremely high level (thanks to AP Spanish plus an advanced Spanish reading course during undergrad at NYU) but my speaking is not equal to my comprehension. <br />
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Nonetheless, I know that my Spanish continues to improve everyday and I know that being able to write well in a foreign language, particularly Spanish is an extremely useful skill. Upon return to the USA, I feel confident that I would be able to catalog and archive in this language.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-69712160595898234052010-08-24T15:45:00.000-07:002010-08-24T15:45:37.758-07:00This Mission, Should You Choose to Accept it...I am at the end of my first day of work. I tossed and turned the night before because I was frankly terrified about the prospect of working exclusively in Spanish. Well, at least I don´t have to answer the phones, right?<br />
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But after a day working here, I have come to accept that my working Spanish is sufficient. I am perhaps not the funniest conversationalist during the tea and cake break, but I am able to have pleasant chats and to do my job. Which leads to me to the job itself. Basically, the museum has been in existence since 1961 and there are extensive records of the museum´s formation. My job is to work with Reynaldo, the chief archivist and Valeria, the museum director to create an EAD, and a finding aid (known as lineamentos here, guidelines, literally) to help both outside researchers and the museum staff itself have a central record of its activities, exhibits, practices, staff, directors, art donations, official correspondences and holdings for both the public record and public memory. <br />
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Notably, the museum opened after the Revolution of 1952 and was created from the ashes of a national uprising. The works of art in this museum as well as its formation represent an important part of the formation of a national identity. The Museum is located in Plaza Murillo and is across the square from the Legislative Palace and the National Congress. Riots and protests happen here, and the Revolution of ´52 went down here as well. There were massive protests here in 2005. It is a location with the dust and blood of Bolivian poltical history. And there is an awesome salteñaría across the street. Just sayin´. Yum. Yup. President Evo and salteñas. I am satisfecho.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-25114836634183899642010-08-22T14:22:00.000-07:002010-08-22T14:22:27.975-07:00Photos of the Escape - non library related<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/THGTZKTSc7I/AAAAAAAAAB0/f0W33Q0ORJk/s1600/000_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/THGTZKTSc7I/AAAAAAAAAB0/f0W33Q0ORJk/s320/000_0002.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Calacoto- where I am temporarily staying</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/THGSfBh3vbI/AAAAAAAAABs/3sjgXmetm_Y/s1600/000_0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/THGSfBh3vbI/AAAAAAAAABs/3sjgXmetm_Y/s320/000_0008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Possible apartment- center of town, not M. proofed though. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Here are some non library-related photos of my journey so far. Unfortunately, my husband (herein known as El Sueco, son will be known as M. like in Bond because of his affection for gadgetry, destruction, and scary multilingualism)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/THGUGhiYpDI/AAAAAAAAAB8/VD5eaV9hc3E/s1600/000_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/THGUGhiYpDI/AAAAAAAAAB8/VD5eaV9hc3E/s320/000_0009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from awesome apartment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-54594813933909008562010-08-21T14:10:00.000-07:002010-08-21T14:10:24.804-07:00The Great EscapeUnlike life itself, I am happy to report that my voyage from New York to Miami to La Paz was totally unevenful. Textbook, I'd say, except that I managed to escape the altitude sickness that knocks many travelers to La Paz sideways. 2 US Embassy escorts met me at El Alto airport at 5:20 AM and I was treated to a winding trip down through the Andes to Zona Sur, where I am staying at the home of a diplomat couple, their adorable son and their hilarious dog. I will soon be moving out of this lovely home once I find accomodation that suits my family, work schedule, and personal preferences. Notably, the housing market is NOTHING like the New York City housing market in terms of price! <br />
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I am currently at the Museo Nacional de Arte, where I have come for a casual meeting with the Director, the Administrative director and one of the conservators prior to my Tuesday start date. I am happy to report that in La Paz, the archives and conservation labs tend to be on the higher floors rather than in the basement, as they often are in New York. The office I will be working in has many windows, high ceilings and a charming Andes Colonial style. Interestingly, because of the very high altitude, there are many different rules and practices regarding paper preservation. I am looking forward to learning more about this.<br />
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Another interesting thing about my job is the SIESTA, though they are now calling it lunch, I guess, to be more modern? Yes, we get a break from 12 until 3 on our weekday working days. I plan to use this time to go home to my family and perhaps get a so-called disco nap! (To those uninitiated in slang a disco nap means a short nap). I am so not in New York anymore, Toto.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6425354151705229062.post-33115442954406698582010-08-17T14:17:00.000-07:002010-08-17T14:49:44.761-07:00Arriving on High, literally<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TGsBd8Yg58I/AAAAAAAAABk/5c3oTIiTPTg/s1600/Coca_leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7z7hCZi3l4c/TGsBd8Yg58I/AAAAAAAAABk/5c3oTIiTPTg/s320/Coca_leaf.jpg" /></a></div>Note to reader: I'm pretty bad at writing about myself. I kept a diary for 27 years, but the point of a diary is that it is private. I hope that I'll get less uptight as I get used to this. <br />
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Now with this incredible adventure ahead of me, I'm shaking off the shackles of self-scrutiny, and letting you the readers (all 3 of you- ha!) share my journey to La Paz, Bolivia. I'm trying to tie up my loose ends here, and prepare myself for the physical exertion of travel. And physical, it sure will be. I'm an experienced international traveler, but I've never been up so high above sea level before. La Paz's El Alto airport (for non-Spanish speakers, that translates to the tall/high up) is at 13,000 feet above sea level. Arrival literally takes one's breath away. I'm taking the proper prophylaxis to prevent any kind of acute soroche attack (the Bolivians have a name for altitude sickness and it is <i>soroche</i>) but who's not a little afraid of the unknown, right? <br />
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The Bolivian folk remedy for <i>soroche</i> is to drink coca leaf tea (<i>mate de coca</i>). Yup, the leaves of the coca leaf plant. Yes coca = the basis (before much processing and additives) of fabled "Bolivian marching powder" and choice substance of abuse for many Bret Easton Ellis characters and glam, fast-lane party people. But coca leaf tea (steeped leaves) will not make automatically you a Lohan or a cast member from Rock of Love. Drinking coca leaf tea does not make you tweak or make you thin enough for sample size dresses (too bad). It does not even show up on drug tests (yes, I've asked, numerous times, I'm such a librarian). Many Bolivians customarily offer newcomers to their land a cup of coca leaf tea, and yes I will drink it. And yes, I will totally think of Nancy Reagan's War on Drugs when I do.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3