jury de terrain

Last night I could not sleep because I was stressing the jury de terrain I had today. This was a meeting with our professors where I had to present my masters thesis. I was supposed to explain what I am going to study, why and how. Still this morning I was panicking so much that I was actually shaking. My sister told me to relax and have some self confidence. I had none so she sent me some.

Now I am annoyed. I spent hours and hours being nervous for no reason. Firstly the professor was sure I am going to Guinea. Ok, fair enough, maybe for him all the countries in West Africa are the same, small little dots somewhere far far away but still. “And you will be staying in, in…in…in the capital?” In fact no, I will not be in FREETOWN, but in the country. I had already told him that I will be working in a project for refugee reintegration – “so this organisation provides tents and foods and stuff?” Reintegration, man. REINTEGRATION. I gave up. “So will you have internet there?”

He thinks, after seeing some of my essays and other work I have done, that I am perfectly capable of writing a good thesis on my own but that I should still keep them informed and send regular updates about my progress – so that they can help. Yeah, right.

After the meeting I fell into despair. But I was the only one. Somebody else fell even further: “So, in Ecuador you will stay in Lima the whole time?” That’s it. Right.

Then again, they do say that ignorance is bliss.