School is starting once again and for me this is a momentous occasion because it marks the beginning of the last year I’ll ever be in school…as a student. I started school when I was 4 years old and I’ll be ending this epic three decade journey with a new title, a few extra letters around my name, a certified piece of paper in a frame, and a brain so stuffed with information that it mostly just seems like a jumbled muddle of words. I’ve been in Graduate School longer than most of my Thai friends have EVER been in school. And that’s tough to think about. Not because grad school takes forever in Anthropology, but because school is so valuable, yet totally taken for granted in our North American lives that it hurts to stop and consider it in a humanitarian perspective. Most people are impressed when they hear that you’re working on your doctorate in any field of study. Some disciplines have more clout to astonish then others. Anthropology usually gets looks of pleased confusion ( What