Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
| www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
humor
understand
5106
egyptology student (1470) in the people Z. can't training for a master's degree, but she is not of her and we are both still trying to get her up to the standard set by all the other Egyptologists in our department.
But what I have discovered is: George L. Smith has to be careful how he treats his young love because some older women with whom she comes into contact will be very jealous of him, especially since there is a lot of talk about her being "a scandal" and that she's also "unfit" as a student, even though she is learning well.
All students at U. go to the library. It was not that far from where I live so it took me about 10 minutes to walk there. The steps up to the entrance are very steep and I can't believe they let anyone in with all that stuff going on. But when I got there, it was still a mess of people coming and going.
I sat down at a table in front of the window near the door where I could watch everyone. It seemed like everyone was just staring at me as if I were some kind of alien from another planet. I felt so out of place among all these people who looked like they belonged there.
After about an hour or so, one girl came up to me and said, "Hey, are you new?" I nodded my head yes and she smiled at me warmly. She introduced herself as Mary and we started talking. We spent the next few hours chatting away until it got late and I had to go back home.
The next day I went to the library again and found another girl named Jane sitting at the same table where I'd been before. She looked quite friendly too so we struck up a conversation immediately. She told me about her studies in Egyptology and how much she loved it. We talked for ages until our respective classes began.
Over time, I made friends with several other students who were also interested in Egyptology. They helped me understand things better and even lent me books when needed. One of them was particularly helpful - his name was David and he became one of my closest friends during those years at university.
One thing that struck me most about studying under Professor Smith was how demanding yet supportive he could be towards his students. He expected everything from us but always gave us encouragement whenever we struggled with something difficult or confusing.
Despite having such a great time overall, there were moments when I felt overwhelmed by the amount of work required each week combined with balancing my social life outside class too. Sometimes I wondered if maybe I should have chosen something else entirely instead of pursuing this path.
But then again, perhaps that's exactly why I fell so deeply in love with Egyptology in the first place - because it challenged me constantly both academically and personally throughout those four intense years spent studying here at Cambridge University.