My son's preschool was closed last week for February vacation, so we (some might say, insanely) drove down to Florida from where we live in the "North." Right now, I am very much missing the sunshine and summer temperatures. Also, right now I should really be focusing on making up for the work hours I lost last week (although the time I spent in place of those with my family were undoubtedly well worth it)-- reading for my comprehensive exam and working on my conference paper. However, I've spent a few minutes dabbling in one of my "guilty pleasures"-- which I will conceptualize as a stress-relieving distraction that I also feel guilty (at times) spending time on.
My guilty pleasure in this sense is Hindi language serials (soap operas). In all honesty, there are a couple right now that I am very addicted to, and it goes in waves. There have been a number of shows that I have swooned over; when those have ended I always swear that I will not get hooked on another show. Well, er, that often doesn't happen.
Since the episodes air in India before we are able to see them in the U.S., I will often go on to one of the Indian television forums to get a sneak peak of what happened. There are often lively discussions on those forums about the show-- hopeful predictions about the story line, love triangles between the leads, etc that provide a fun distraction as well. In all honesty, sometimes I wish I could discipline myself to break this addiction so that I can have that extra hour every weeknight to do my work, but the nature of the distraction itself is often more interesting to me at 9:30/10 p.m. than my academic reading. I have been trying to read for a while after watching my shows; some days that works out while other days it doesn't. I guess we all need a break sometimes....and since my research is focused on South Asia and the South Asian diaspora in general, I feel like in a way it is related (haha). I only wish I could say that I am more proficient in Hindi now than I was 3 years ago, but unfortunately that is not the case. That is another goal I set for the new year that I have yet to progress on!
My guilty pleasure in this sense is Hindi language serials (soap operas). In all honesty, there are a couple right now that I am very addicted to, and it goes in waves. There have been a number of shows that I have swooned over; when those have ended I always swear that I will not get hooked on another show. Well, er, that often doesn't happen.
Since the episodes air in India before we are able to see them in the U.S., I will often go on to one of the Indian television forums to get a sneak peak of what happened. There are often lively discussions on those forums about the show-- hopeful predictions about the story line, love triangles between the leads, etc that provide a fun distraction as well. In all honesty, sometimes I wish I could discipline myself to break this addiction so that I can have that extra hour every weeknight to do my work, but the nature of the distraction itself is often more interesting to me at 9:30/10 p.m. than my academic reading. I have been trying to read for a while after watching my shows; some days that works out while other days it doesn't. I guess we all need a break sometimes....and since my research is focused on South Asia and the South Asian diaspora in general, I feel like in a way it is related (haha). I only wish I could say that I am more proficient in Hindi now than I was 3 years ago, but unfortunately that is not the case. That is another goal I set for the new year that I have yet to progress on!
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