I have just hit the two month mark here. Wow. It’s gone
quickly.
I feel like it’s been a fairly productive period for me thus
far; I’ve linked up with my existing contacts, started making new ones, and
begun conducting interviews (including a longish adventure into three
districts). I’ve been asked a couple of times by a colleague how many
interviews I’m aiming to do. Honestly, I could give her an answer then, and I
couldn’t give you one now either. My only reply would be that I’m going to do
as many as I can physically manage. I don’t have a magic number to arrive at; I
don’t know how much is enough.
Perhaps I will reach a point with my interviews, after I
meet, or try to meet, all the people I would like to speak to, when I can say
that, well, that’s all folks. Or maybe, and more likely, I will hit a physical,
mental and emotional wall and just have to stop. I feel like I could spend
almost an endless amount of time here doing interviews; it could just go on and
on. Of course, I actually have to stop at some point, analyse the data, and
write the thesis. And my time here is supposed to end at the end of January
2014, I will then have about 7 months to complete the remaining parts of a
first draft of my thesis (4 chapters, plus an intro and conclusion). I’ll
hopefully have six months to clean it up. I think by January 2014 I will be fed
up with it all, and also probably reasonably satisfied with the quantity and
quality of the data I would have collected by then. I’m just trying to mentally
prepare myself for this, and also set realistic targets for what I can get done
between now and January.
I’m just gonna tell you about my plans and schemes for
October (best laid plans etc…) for the rest of this blog (I’m knackered). I’ve
got two trips planned to visit two more districts, Liquica and Ermera. I’ll be
going with one or two other people to assist me with language, introductions
etc. These trips will take up about a week or so of the month. I’ll again be
wanting to speak to political actors in these regions, but also with people in
the community, looking to assess their relationship with political parties.
My father is also making a trip here for about ten days,
which will be really nice. I’m a little homesick and having some family company
will be encouraging. I’ve found myself recently texting and calling friends and
family on a fairly regular basis. I just feel like I need that kind of contact.
I guess I’m a little lonely and isolated here. So yeah, if you want to email me
or hit me up on FB, please do. Messages are very welcome! Dad and I, with a
friend and colleague of ours, Jose, will make a trip to Ossuna to visit a
school that a group my Dad is involved in has been helping out.
Hmmm, I will also continue to chase after interview targets I
have already identified… and I’ve got my hands on a contact list of all the
current members of parliament. Will be cold calling them and hoping a few of
them are cool and ready to speak (this will be very hit and miss). I might also
be doing a similar thing with crashing the offices of political parties and
seeing if I can chat some people up that way. Hmmm, by the end of October, I’ll
be close to returning to Darwin for a little break. Three months is as far as
tourist visas go here so I’ll take a few days off and return to finish off my
trip. Right, anyway, that’s enough. Hope you’re all well. Love and peace. Evan
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