Starting to get ready

In the last couple of weeks things have really started to get a bit more 'real'! I have booked my flights to Nairobi, gone through all my travel stuff what gear I have and the condition it is in and sent off my research permit application, bit as with everything in life it has been slightly more complicated than I originally thought...

First I had to get my visa application sorted, which involved: 5 copies of the application (which was about 10 pages long); 5 copies of my literature review (which I hadn't yet written); 5 copies of the questionnaire I am going to use (which I hadn't written yet); 5 copies of my CV and funding letter; as well as 3 passport photos and a copy of my passport...

So of course panic set in. I had to do things one step at a time, and the first was to get my literature review written. For me this isn't the simplest of tasks, as I find reading difficult and then processing information and putting it into comprehendible sentences is even more difficult. So after a couple of weeks getting not too far in Canterbury, I decided a trip to Oxford would do me and my brain some good. It is incredible what catching up with good friends, eating good food and being surrounded by incredibly intelligent people will do for ones work. In 4 days I got nearly 6,000 words written and the first draft of my questionnaire completed. I then topped my detour off with a weekend at home, primarily to look at flowers and discuss decorations for Alice’s wedding, but I also managed to get the rest of my literature review finished.

I grabbed all my gear from home, went through my injections list and realised that rather than being pretty much covered as I thought was the case in fact I am due for every single injection again before I go, which means yet another thing to add to the list!

Once back in Canterbury I managed to get all the other paperwork sorted and finally had a wodge of over 300 pages to send to Kenya. The only slight problem being that the application details wanted me to send $400 USD cash in the post with the application – not the greatest idea. So after a couple of hours on the phone to some interesting governmental personnel in Kenya I managed to arrange to transfer the money across, but at the cost of a $200 USD ‘affiliation’ fee from the department who will process the payment and complete my paperwork. So I am finding myself having to pay people off already and I’ve not even got to Kenya yet! Once I got that sorted I posted the application (for the meagre sum of £25), with the information that it should get there in a minimum of 5 days, but they can’t guarantee when or if it will get there... Great.

Once all this was sorted I managed to get on with the rest of the organisational stuff... So my flights are booked – I fly to Nairobi on the 10^th April; my hotel in Nairobi  is booked, I think I have accommodation in Mombasa – thanks to a lovely woman at WWF Mombasa; most of my gear is ordered (which has cost a fortune); and I have both a dentist appointment booked and my injections organised.

In all honesty it is starting to get pretty scary! Having all this stuff to organise is keeping my mind busy, but in reality when I think about it I am very aware that I am about to disappear to Kenya, with no one to guide me, or tell me what I should be doing. The joy of being able to do my own research however I wish is definitely shadowed by the knowledge that it is entirely up to me and there isn’t anyone to hold my hand or tell me what to do. If I’m honest, I quite like that security.

For now though I have to get everything else sorted. I am giving a presentation on Culture and Conservation tonight, which is an overview of the rationale behind my work and what I aim to achieve, so hopefully I’ll get some positive feedback. Then it’s a case of making sure all is in order before I go. I can’t believe that in just 7 weeks I’ll be in Kenya.


Emma xxx


P.S.  For those of you who wanted to leave comments previously but couldn't sorry! I hadn't set things up properly, but hopefully you can now do so. For those of you who aren't sure how, if you are on the home page click on the bit that tells you the number of comments (just below here), then it should open up a box where you can type your comment. If you are on the page for the individual post it should have the comment box below - please let me know if it still isn't working. I look forward to hearing from you all. xxx

Introduction

This is my first attempt at Blogging, so please bare with me. The idea behind this blog is primarily to keep friends and family up to date with what I am up to whilst away conducting research for my PhD. However, I hope that other people will find it interesting, and maybe even helpful.

I began my PhD at Kent University in September, so am still getting into the swing of things. I am doing a self-designed project looking at Culture and Conservation of the Mijikenda Kaya Coastal Forests of Kenya. I am looking at how the forests have changed over time, and the correlation between change in forest and change in culture in the area. I then hope to be able to look at how the culture is continuing to change, what drivers are influencing the change in culture, and the impacts this will have on the forests and their biodiversity. The main reason for doing this research is to find a way of conserving the forests in a way that allows local people to take ownership of the conservation programme, and that helps to protect the local cultural herritage and biodiversity simultaneously. I hope that from my research it will be possible to find a way to protect biodiversity whilst allowing the local people to retain their cultural identies connections to the forests.

I will aim to write the blog at least once a week (more often if something of particular interest happens). Initially it will be about the joys of getting prepared for overseas fieldwork and all the fun of trying to get things sorted for conducting research abroad. Following on from there it will then be an account of the trials, tribulations of my research in Kenya, and all the adventures I get up to whilst I am out there. If possible I aim to keep the blog going throughout my whole PhD, and depending on what happens, I may keep it going beyond that.

I hope you enjoy reading it, and that it is both informative and entertaining. Please leave me comments. For all my friends and family - I miss you all so very much when I am away, so it is lovely to hear from you all and find out what you are up to and what you think of what I am doing. For those of you I don't yet know who are reading this, let me know what you think, any advice you have, and tell us your stories too. I love hearing about what other people think (good and bad), and the experiences they have had, so if you have anything to say, just let me know...

For now I must get back to work. The first hurdle to jump is the Kenyan Research Visa Application. I need to send them a copy of my literature review and my questionnaires. Which requires me to finish the literature review, and writing the questionnaires - and I have to get it all done by the end of the week-end! I've got over 7,000 words of my literature review which is not in good shape, and there is a lot more information to go in, and I only have a rough draft of one questionnaire which needs a lot of work. So I must now get back to it....



Emma xxx