What I Did On My Sabbatical: Amy Treonis
December 10, 2013
Where did you go on your sabbatical and why?
I went to Kathmandu, Nepal where I was a Fulbright Scholar, teaching and conducting research at Kathmandu University. I choose to go to Nepal because I wanted to immerse myself in a completely different geography and culture during my sabbatical. Also, I could teach there in English, which was important because I am not fluent in another language. Finally, I wanted to learn about agriculture in the developing world to benefit my teaching and research.
Who was the most interesting person you met?
Samina Mumtaz is a Ph.D. student at Kathmandu University, working in the laboratory that I was housed in. Samina is from Pakistan, so, like me, she was a visitor to Nepal. She was doing a soil microbial study on Nepali agricultural fields, and we decided to collaborate together to include a nematode component to her project. I really valued the opportunity to meet a young Muslim woman from an area of Pakistan affected by the Taliban and learn about her life and the challenges she faces.
What happened that you didn't expect?
Too many to list - everything was new to me, it seemed! One thing that stands out, however, is how I regularly received invitations to the homes of students, faculty colleagues, and even random people that I struck up a conversation with, such as the cashier at the Kathmandu Federal Express office. Nepalese women in particular delighted in sharing their families, and traditions with me. Their lack of reserve made me fee safe and welcomed to Nepal and really enhanced my experience there.
How has your experience affected your teaching?
In 2014-15, I will be co-teaching an SSIR "Eating locally, thinking globally," and I know that my exposure to the food system of Nepal will really impact what I'm able to present in the classroom. From seeing subsistence farmers plowing their rice paddies with hand tools to my conversations with the proprietor of the tiny, "organic" grocery shop in my Kathmandu neighborhood to learning how to cook with a stove-top pressure cooker, I have a lot of new experiences to draw upon.
What advice would you give to someone about to leave for their first sabbatical in a different location?
My advice to anyone else on the verge of doing something like this for sabbatical is to acknowledge that the experience is about so much more than just the scholarship you might accomplish in the new location. I used my time in Nepal as an opportunity to read Asian literature, study the architecture of temples, and observe the growing pains of a young democracy. I wasn't just studying soil nematode communities in Nepal (my area of scholarship); the things I experienced that were unrelated to nematodes are the ones that I benefited from the most. I think this message parallels with what we are cultivating in our students through the liberal arts curriculum at UR.
I went to Kathmandu, Nepal where I was a Fulbright Scholar, teaching and conducting research at Kathmandu University. I choose to go to Nepal because I wanted to immerse myself in a completely different geography and culture during my sabbatical. Also, I could teach there in English, which was important because I am not fluent in another language. Finally, I wanted to learn about agriculture in the developing world to benefit my teaching and research.
Who was the most interesting person you met?
Samina Mumtaz is a Ph.D. student at Kathmandu University, working in the laboratory that I was housed in. Samina is from Pakistan, so, like me, she was a visitor to Nepal. She was doing a soil microbial study on Nepali agricultural fields, and we decided to collaborate together to include a nematode component to her project. I really valued the opportunity to meet a young Muslim woman from an area of Pakistan affected by the Taliban and learn about her life and the challenges she faces.
What happened that you didn't expect?
Too many to list - everything was new to me, it seemed! One thing that stands out, however, is how I regularly received invitations to the homes of students, faculty colleagues, and even random people that I struck up a conversation with, such as the cashier at the Kathmandu Federal Express office. Nepalese women in particular delighted in sharing their families, and traditions with me. Their lack of reserve made me fee safe and welcomed to Nepal and really enhanced my experience there.
How has your experience affected your teaching?
In 2014-15, I will be co-teaching an SSIR "Eating locally, thinking globally," and I know that my exposure to the food system of Nepal will really impact what I'm able to present in the classroom. From seeing subsistence farmers plowing their rice paddies with hand tools to my conversations with the proprietor of the tiny, "organic" grocery shop in my Kathmandu neighborhood to learning how to cook with a stove-top pressure cooker, I have a lot of new experiences to draw upon.
What advice would you give to someone about to leave for their first sabbatical in a different location?
My advice to anyone else on the verge of doing something like this for sabbatical is to acknowledge that the experience is about so much more than just the scholarship you might accomplish in the new location. I used my time in Nepal as an opportunity to read Asian literature, study the architecture of temples, and observe the growing pains of a young democracy. I wasn't just studying soil nematode communities in Nepal (my area of scholarship); the things I experienced that were unrelated to nematodes are the ones that I benefited from the most. I think this message parallels with what we are cultivating in our students through the liberal arts curriculum at UR.