Behind the Syllabus: Nicole Sackley

What do you do during the weekends?

Chase my toddler around the playground. Sing goofy songs (see toddler). Sleep. Make pancakes.

What's the craziest thing you did when you were in college?

I jumped into a mountain stream in New England. In November. In my underwear. Somewhere, there's photographic evidence, but not (that I know of) on Facebook.

What's one thing your students would never guess about you?

I failed to complete the minimum number of required history courses in high school.

What did you do over the summer?

I attended my 20th high school reunion (!) I camped out in my office to work on the book I'm writing about Americans in India during the Cold War. And, I went to Germany with my husband and 18-month-old son. We loved the beer gardens. We loved the pretzels.

What is your favorite college memory?

My senior year, I shared a place off-campus with two friends. It was an attic apartment at the back of an old house in Providence, R.I. In my memory, it was always snowing that year and we were bundled inside with lots of people in our living room drinking wine and trying to figure out the world.

If you could take one year off to do anything, what would it be?

Sleep! Just kidding. It's a cliche, but I'd take a stack of novels with me and spend three months each in four places around the world — exploring, thinking and learning how to cook whatever I ate.