Week Two at the Communication and Learning Lab
Chinatown
The week was a lovely introduction to what life in academia is truly like. While my daily endeavors tend to feel slow in the moment, time itself is seemingly escaping me. I can not believe I am reaching the end of week two!
On my first day back in the lab after a long weekend I was quickly instructed on how to run the lab. That included learning how to set up all of the iPads, collect informed consent, and give instructions to participants on how to lay the game. Shortly after that, I ran the lab with other research assistants; it went swimmingly, especially considering we had only learned how to properly run the lab a few hours prior.
Parents typically bring their other children in while they run the study, and guess who got the delightful job of looking after them this week? I don’t know wether to list playing with babies as an academic or extracurricular activity! I later was enlisted to learn a far less entertaining, but far more educational, task: transcribing and coding the recorded parent and child interactions that took place during the study. The lab uses a system called Datavyu, which initially appeared to be incredibly difficult, but in reality was quite easy. (And trust me, if I, Lucy Wesson, the queen of technological illiteracy, can figure out how to use this, anyone can.)
I am absolutely amazed by how often I see conceptual pacts being formed in conversation(s) now. When observing studies, I always find myself glued to watching the parent and child interactions, as I can see how oblivious we are to the fact that these types of “negotiations” or implicit discourses are imperative to making ourselves understood by others. I catch myself every time I see it in my conversations with others, and I find it absolutely fascinating.
Being a pretend adult, with responsibilities and whatnot, inspired me to get a more “adult” haircut. But, as many of you already know, haircuts are EXPENSIVE. So, I scoured the internet for the cheapest place to cut my hair, and to my delight, I found a fantastic place in Chinatown. I finally had a reason to make the trip up there! To my disappointment, the haircut did virtually nothing in terms of feeling more adult. However, I then had the BEST dim sum, and immediately felt much better.
My friend Coby and I pretending we like country.
Unlike my previous weekend activities of napping and avoiding the heat, this weekend I left my apartment and attended Windy City Smokeout: my first, and probably last, country festival.While I had loads of fun, I wouldn’t say that country music is my cup of tea, and that made standing in the heat all day less than pleasant.
My lovely sisters and cousins then made the trek up to Chicago from Lafayette, IN, to see Les Miserables.
The theatre where we saw Les Miserables.
The play was stunning, and the vocals were an unworldly experience. 10/10 would recommend.
It appears that is all for now, I’m looking forward to an incredible week three!
The inside of Cadillac Theater.
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