Week 100: Conversation analysis and pistachio cake

My PhD diary has reached Week 100!

I cannot believe that it’s been two years – the time has gone by so quickly. I’ve written about my activities in research, teaching, and baking every weekend, and I’m now starting the third year of my PhD. As a mini celebration for Week 100, I baked a Teff Flour Pistachio Cake.

Conversation analysis

It’s really tricky – when I look at my audio data, I just feel overwhelmed. I had exactly the same feeling that Dr Service said in her paper:

“Where do I start? Were these useful data? Is there anything significant here? As I read through, they appeared to be mundane and I wondered if I could be able to answer the research question or if the interviews and the observations had been a waste of my time”… (B. Service, Keeping the Faith).

I froze. Where do I start? Reading through my notes from the last meeting with my supervisors, I decided to mark up transcripts of five cases with Conversation Analysis (CA). My supervisors sent me some useful guides and papers on CA. It took half a day to learn the CA symbols, and I’ve been learning how to apply them. It takes time, but I’m enjoying it, and it’s nice to see the data from a different angle.

Applied to a teaching position

Last week, I completed a two-year online course for teaching Japanese and said, “I am not sure if I will teach again next year”. But after that, I actually applied to a teaching position.

When I received the certificate, a letter was enclosed, which was a reference letter from the course director of the programme in case I applied for a teaching role in the future. This was a big surprise for me, which encouraged me to try it.

A few days ago, I got an invitation to an interview next week. I am now preparing my lesson plans and a taster lesson for the interview. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity and will try my best.

Teff Flour Pistachio Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love Amanda’s teff flour pistachio cake recipe. Last month, I baked this pistachio cake without the cream cheese frosting, and the cake itself was very moist and had a beautiful flavour. So, I recommend both versions, with and without frosting. For the cake, I added a tablespoon of almond flour and an extra amount of vanilla extract.

Initially, I tried to make a pomegranate cream cheese frosting by using light-fat cream cheese, but it turned out to be too loose to frost the cake. I had to make it again, but that time, using a full-fat one. Eventually, the second try was a success!