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So, if you've found yourself reading this, you have probably been able to ascertain that I am a graduate student. I happen to be American, but am in the sciences (insofar as mathematics is considered a science). This means my peers, while largely consisting of fellow citizens of my country, also include a garden variety of residents from 3 other continents. It's great. Some of the closest friendships I've formed in grad school have been with people who, were it not for grad school, would be at least 9000 miles away.

An amusing side effect of having met people from afar is learning their versions of the English language, and occasionally adopting their vernacular. When I refer to the people with whom I began my graduate career, I refer to them as being in my "year" or "cohort". Thanks to a mathie friend from the Indian subcontinent, I recently encountered a brilliant alternative: batch.

The image that comes to mind when I think of my batch is a slew of ingredients getting thrown in together and violently jostled. This would be year 1. After thorough mixing, the batter we have become is scooped into neat little dollops on a scalding baking sheet and shoved into an oven. Some drops of batter stay on the sides and never make it on the cookie sheet. Those who make it proceed to get baked. If you're taken out too early, you fall apart. If you spend too much time in there, you get burned.

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