Thoughts on the big T

Thesis, that is. Duh.

I just found out that one of the first English sisters of the Order was named Sister Johanna. :) Isn't that funny? However, I don't think she had to answer the question "Did you join the Order of St. John because your name is Johanna?" a lot. I've had to answer that more than once, explaining that I'm not researching the Order because my name is the female equivalent of John. Sorry to disappoint.

The reasons why I chose to research this Order instead of, say, the Templars, are simple. The Templars don't exist anymore, whereas the Order of St. John does (which then brings the wonderful aspect of a milennia of continuity into the research); the Templars have been studied in plenty, whereas the Order of St. John isn't as well known and finally, I know a person who actually is a Knight of the Order and can help me with my research. Funnily enough this little project of mine has even resulted in me getting a new friend from Malta, too. *waves to Rob*

So I'd say I made a fairly good pick when I decided I wouldn't want to dig into the history of the Templars, or the Teutonic knights, for that matter. Granted, both those topics would probably have been easier to research in Turku, but what the heck, I'm not well known for my lack of determination... :)

Nearly finished the background chapter today. Only nearly, because I had serious difficulties concentrating, with a million things on my mind demanding my attention (but then again, what's new?). Like for example the very exciting piece of news I heard from my professor. He told me there is indeed going to be a visiting lecturer from Malta University later this fall and that he'll make sure I get to meet him. I'm hoping meeting him will give me some insights into the topic of my thesis. Maybe I should write an English summary on what I've got so far, so I could show him... Hmm. Could be worth the effort.

At the same time my professor told me that the visit had been confirmed, he also suggested that I should apply for the Erasmus exchange program for next spring. They still have one place available in Malta University. Sigh. I'd love to go. I've been dreaming about some of the courses they teach there. But I have my priorities set for this year and I won't be able to quit my job to go to Malta for 5 months.

However, it's not in any way sure that I'll have anything to teach in Nousiainen come next fall, so maybe I can apply for the place then. There'd be the added bonus of probably being able to begin a licenciate thesis while in Malta, which is a tempting thought. But honestly, I shoudn't be getting ahead of myself. There's still about 80 pages to write for my master's thesis, so I should just concentrate really hard on that one and getting all the rest of my studies finished as soon as possible. (Which is a goal I'm a huge step closer to now, because I've gotten the results of most of my summer exams. Didn't pass the f***ing business econ exam, but passed all my history ones with flying colours. Yay for that, at least.)

Oh well. Better to go read a research. Had to skip the first dance class of the fall today, because I'm feeling a bit feverish, so I might as well use the time to study. Right? :)