What I Did on my Summer Vacation

Back when I was a kid, this was the school assignment I dreaded because we never did anything on summer vacation. When you submit the same summary – of reading books and complaining to an unsympathetic mother about being bored – for several years in a row, you start to worry that you’ll be accused of plagiarizing yourself.

Anyway, I haven’t been bored during summer since I got my first job, and this year is no exception.  Lockdown or not, I have client research to complete, presentations to write, family documents to archive, a household to keep running, and that’s just for starters. I did have a vacation planned, though. It was all set; airline tickets purchased, AirBNB reserved, tuition paid, and itinerary planned.  I’d go to Pennsylvania and attend the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), then drive to New York and visit my cousin before doing some onsite research in Broome County.

Then COVID came along. Big decisions had to be made. I am grateful to the team at GRIP choosing to go virtual. I’m also grateful that the instructor for my course, “Mastering the Art of Genealogical Documentation,” was up for the challenge of switching to an online format.

GRIP opted to use Zoom to host the classes.  This allowed attendees to interact with each other and with the instructors during class, during breaks, and in the lunch hour.  Dropbox and e-Mail made it possible to quickly and easily share course documents, homework assignments, even the class picture!  Evening sessions remained a part of the GRIP experience.

At first thought, there are many aspects of an institute that seem irreplaceable. So, how did I replace them?  Or did I?

In person, there would be water and cups in each classroom, and snacks during breaks. So, I set up a small table in my office for beverages and snacks. In person, you don’t have to cook meals, there’s a cafeteria and lots of restaurants to eat at. I stocked up the fridge, but a special shout out to the DoorDashers & PostMates this week for feeding me hot meals!  In person, Maia’s books would have lots of tempting volumes for sale. I thought I’d be safe from this one, but I still managed to buy four books this week. At least I’m not playing the “how much does this checked bag weigh now?” game. In person, there are long lines for the restroom and supplies can get low.  Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with the lines – but I did have to refill the soap dispenser in the bathroom closest to my office. The custodial staff around here needs to be fired. Oh, right. Sigh.

In person, at least in all of the courses Dr. Thomas W. Jones coordinates, there is homework.  Lots and lots of homework. Homework is optional, of course, but if you want to get the most out of your course, do the homework.  In person you have people to chat with, books to browse, dinner to eat – and if you want to do all those things AND the homework, say goodbye to an early bedtime.  Tom didn’t go easy on us because we were all in our own homes.  Oh no.  We had plenty of homework to do.  This is the one place where being virtual is an advantage over being in person! I got through all of my homework pieces each night and still got to bed before my coach turned into a pumpkin.

Overall, I had a great experience at GRIP, and felt the benefits of going to a virtual format balanced out the drawbacks. This is great news, considering I’ll be doing this again in a few weeks! The refunds from all that canceled travel allowed me to sign up for a second course at GRIP this summer. I’ll be learning about Practical Genetic Genealogy from Blaine Bettinger.