Conference Preparation

In the last three days I have graded 42 papers and 21 mid-term exams (yes, I still have mid-terms because of my 8 week class); not to mention replying to at least 25 student emails requiring feedback. All of this while stressing about my upcoming conference in Turkey (since I am not finished with the paper yet). The good news is that it is over for a little while, and I can finally concentrate on my own work. I am finally getting excited about my trip to Turkey, and about this conference. I am in the first panel on the first day (yikes!) with only one other presenter who is also talking about Rushdie (what?!). Now you may remember me talking about this before, but it is very rare for there to be another Postcolonial scholar at any of the conferences I've been to let alone someone writing specifically on Rushdie. So I am in for a treat, but I am also nervous. I spent all of last night diving into the texts, going over my notes, etc - and I couldn't help but just marvel, again, at Rushdie's Luka and the Fire of Life. I get to write on both of his children's books, and it has been a pleasure. If you have children around the age of 10 (give or take 4 years), I highly recommend these.
I still want to reflect on some of my teaching experiences from the term, and I am going to try and blog from the conference again, but I have to spend Thanksgiving morning packing and working on this paper. So wish me luck! I will be off to my first trip to Turkey starting the evening of Black Friday.