One of the greatest emails i have ever received

One of the greatest emails i have ever received

From New Malden:

It helps to read this with a slightly exaggerated French accent.

____________________________________________________________

Dear friends,

I haven't contacted you for a long time and am sorry about it. My only
excuses are that I was very lazy with the internet, had little access to it
while being in Greece (round trip of Peloponnesus) and Spain (Asturias), and
that I was having such a good time that I slightly lost touch with the
outside world!

I don�t remember when I last wrote to you guys, so I�ll just tell you
basically what I�ve done in the past two months. After having passed the
first year exam in May, I went to Brussels for a while, then came back to
Warwick and spent quite an intensive 6 weeks period writing and finding all
the books written on Bolivia�s political economy (more specifically the
state, it was a fucking nightmare). It was quite a productive period, but
not really one defined by intense social interaction! I wrote the basis of
what will constitute my second chapter, and submitted an article for
publication in an academic journal. I really fucking hope it will be
published! The thesis is going � it�s quite an enormous project and my field
trip to Bolivia is only 9 months away. A bit of a nightmare to say the
least, but I�ll have to make it work.
Then came the five weeks of holiday with Isabel, and as you might imagine,
they were idyllic, really complete! Beautiful landscapes, villages and
beaches, mountains, impressive archaeological sites, delicious foods, etc
etc! Probably the best holidays I ever had. Coming back to the UK was
depressing to say the least. The crappy weather in the Warwick area made the
transition even harder to take.

But back in Warwick I received amazing news from my supervisors: the
department is giving me a two-year scholarship (�10000, 7 after tuition
fees: nice!). So it made me reconsider a few things, because I�m slightly
bored and saturated by Warwick, the friends I made here this year are
leaving, and I wouldn�t mind a bit of fresh air.
Here is the idea: since I don�t have a room reserved, and since I would need
to book a room for 12 months in Leamington or Coventry (but leave for
Bolivia in June), I have decided to fuck off from Warwick with the �7000. I
base myself in Brussels (yes at my parents� place, but I�ll be busy) and
don't teach this year (I would teach in my third year). I therefore save
�3500 of rent that I will use for my research trip to Bolivia, between June
and October. The other 3500 will be saved and used for trips between
Brussels, Madrid (I would spend periods of 2 weeks or so in each place) and
the UK (to stay at friends� place in order to search for books in the
libraries of London and Oxford, and to see supervisors once every few weeks
after submission of written work). Since I wish to see Isabel often this
year, I think that this triangular movement between the three countries
would suit me fine and would actually cost less than if I paid rent.
Of course, I need your help to make this work, and if I could spend a couple
of days every few months at your places, I would be really grateful.

But there is another possibility and it does stress me slightly: because of
the bleak financial prospects at Warwick, I had contacted a professor in
Amsterdam in order to start a new PhD under his supervision. The guy is
interested and will apply for a scholarship for me. I am waiting for his
response, which should come in mid September. I would have a difficult
choice to make between Warwick and Amsterdam if I got the Dutch scholarship,
but at least I now have financial security.

I will leave my place on the 10th September, which means that I�ll have to
go to Brussels earlier (in eurostar) and come back on the 9th with my
father�s car (in shuttle), to pick up my stuff and return to Brussels on the
10th. I will then come to London for a couple of days between the 14th and
16th (could anyone of you guys house me?).

I look forward to receiving your news. You will of course be more than
welcome wherever I may be. Anyway I�ll keep you posted more often (you can
too!), and with shorter (!) emails.

Take care,
Andreas

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