Earlier in the year I made a video narrating ‘a day in the life of a Masters student’. This is a similar video, but with some significant changes worth sharing. I am not a Masters student anymore; I am sure you have seen that already in my blogs. Upon getting my Masters with a distinction, I was appointed as a part-time junior lecturer in the Department of English, Media Studies and Linguistics at the University of Venda. Yes! Quite exciting, especially because I happen to be the youngest in the department. I teach English Studies. It is not a fancy contract, but it pays the bills and keeps me going. The experience will come in handy in the future of course, and it give me the opportunity to be properly positioned and grounded for a full-time career in academia.

Well, although a few things have changed, some things will always stay the same. I still put so many hours into work, just as I did with my Masters research. I have so much to prove to myself and my senior colleagues. My days are still as exciting. By 05:30 AM I am up because the by then the sun is already out here in Thohoyandou, and it is the perfect time for a morning jog in spring and summer. The early breeze is both refreshing and strengthening. It makes you look forward to the rest of the day. On a normal summer day, here the temperature sits at 37°C, it even gets above 40°C at times. But we get used to it.

I had taken some time off from postgraduate studies to focus on my job, and I am happy that I eased in to it with no difficulties. This break also allowed me to think critically of what I would want to do for my PhD. I focused on crime fiction for my Masters and it has been both enlightening and exciting but I feel it is time to focus on something else, Cultural Studies perhaps. I would have the opportunity to examine contemporary culture in South Africa, looking at how it emerges, how it sells and sustains itself. This is a critical study in South Africa right now given the influence of the film and telenovela industry in the country and abroad.

Well this has been my year in a nutshell. The year is not yet over and so many exciting things could still happen and I am looking forward to it all just as I look forward to life beyond this year into my PhD project and beyond.