Monday, March 16, 2009

Mistaken identity

I've gotten used to being mistaken for a student. Whether it's a fellow faculty member objecting to my classroom status ("but you can't be faculty-- you're just a BABY") or the secretary of the international studies department imploring me to study abroad (my delivering in-person of a rec letter was met with a "dear, have you considered our Germany program?"), I've become accustomed to being under-aged.

Now that it is spring break, campus is more absent of undergrads than during Thirsty Thursday shooter specials at the local bar. The only person I saw under the age of 20 on campus today was my department head's six year old daughter.

So the looks I garnered from various humanities professors (when I hiked through "their" side of campus on my way home) were understandable. From what I determined from my facial reading skills (honed during my hours of lecturing freshmen):

- "is it Sunday already?"

- "who let the freshmen back on campus?"

and my favorite:

- "what the EFF are you doing here?"

4 comments:

chall said...

ah yeah.... they all say you should be grateful...

I am not sure about it yet, but maybe in a few years.

(then again, I got really annoyed when someone, in a bar even, suggested I looked 38 the other day.... ;) I'm never happy.... but of course I was really really tired at the time) Enjoy spring break then! no students around

Cath@VWXYNot? said...

Yeah, try to enjoy it! I got annoyed at getting carded at 25 (age limit here is 19), but I miss it now :(

ScienceGirl said...

I bet on my campus you wouldn't get considered an undergrad. Students here very clearly identify themselves by wearing Uggs, colorful rain boots, or flip-flops. Wear neither, and you are not an undergrad :)

microbiologist xx said...

When getting my hair done for my wedding (actually it was the test run), some woman came up a started gushing about how much fun I was going to have at my high school prom. I was like lady, I have a PhD and it is January, not exactly prom time.
I get the feeling that if I would wear make-up, this wouldn't happen nearly as often.