The Final Count Down...

In just 18 days I'll be in Kenya, and things are really starting to get a bit hectic. I am trying to balance doctor’s appointments, injections, dentist appointments, packing, saying good-bye to family and friends as well as some final bits of work all before I go - there really don't seem to be enough hours in the day.

However I feel like I am slowly getting there. I am only coping by doing one thing at a time and not paying attention to quite how mammoth the task ahead in... I have so much to get done before I leave, and recently I realised that in just a couple of weeks I will basically be living in Kenya, and be officially conducting the research for my PhD... ARGH!!!! So yeah, as I said, for now I am avoiding thinking about those things (or at least am trying to).

Last night I packed up my room in Canterbury and filled my little Peugeot to the rafters - it is quite possibly the fullest car in the whole world - it looks like something you would see in the streets of India, it could rival the men who carry boxes, chickens and goats on a motorbike. Well, maybe not quite, but it'd give them a run for their money. It is incredible quite how much one can fit in such a small car. It is the Mary Poppins of cars (or more specifically it is the car equivalent of her handbag. If she had a car it would totally be a Peugeot 106).

As you may have noticed, I have gone a little mad in the last couple of weeks. I think it is safe to say the pressure is starting to get to me a little bit, and is spilling over a little in weird ramblings and odd imaginings, but at least I have moved on from the immobilising fear and depression that I was gripped by a few weeks ago, and have moved onto manic hysteria. Which is giving me a lot more energy these days, and that is definitely needed. I can't promise that the madness is temporary, but hopefully it'll make things more amusing!

So, at the present time... I am up to date with my jabs; have almost all the kit I need before I go; have moved almost everything out of my new house and am in the process of carting it back to Devon (so I can rent out my place); I have just had my mouth drilled so that I won't have to deal with trying to find a dentist in rural Kenya; my questionnaires are almost complete (thanks to everyone who helped get those into a fit state); and I have a place to live when I get to Kenya. In fact other than packing properly and finishing off a few bits of work there is only one thing that is of concern - my research permit.

I have already stumbled on the joys of trying to get Kenyans to work to a time table and process official papers. Oh lordy, it is not fun. To be able to do any of the work I have planned, I require a research permit. In order to get a research permit in Kenya, you must have an 'affiliate institution' which is either a governmental department, or a university. I managed to arrange for my affiliate institution to be with the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), who I am doing my language training and a lot of my work with. So, as requested, two months ago I sent my papers to Kenya. The papers arrived safely, and I was assured that everything would be sorted in just a couple of weeks. Four weeks later I was starting to get a little worried, so emailed my contact in Nairobi, the head of NMK. He emailed back to say he was trying to sort everything. I proceeded to email him 3-4 times over the next 2 weeks, and finally after calling him I got the confirmation letter I needed that NMK would be my affiliate institution, and he assured me they would sort everything.

In order to get the permit I have to pay USD$200 to NMK as an affiliation fee, plus an additional USD$400 for my permit. The joy being that I cannot pay the National Council (the people who give you the permit) the fee directly, I must pay the fee to NMK, who then pay the fee on my behalf to the National Council when they pass over my paperwork. Therefore, as I am not a fool, and have been to Africa (and in fact this applies to every country I've been to), I was not just going to put an additional USD$400 into the NMK account on the hope that they would keep their word and pay the fee on my behalf. I wanted written confirmation. So I asked for this, and over the phone was assured that would be fine, however two weeks later I am still waiting. At one point NMK didn't want to write the letter as this might result in 'additional administration requirements' - I have no idea how that works. But finally, after agreeing to send a letter, requesting for the letter and explaining why the letter was necessary (and doing so), I have just been told that they will send me the confirmation letter today. Woohoo. So hopefully I will finally be able to pay for my permit. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it all goes OK. However, as it stands at the moment, I will arrive in Kenya in just 18days and am still currently permit-less. Not quite how I wanted things to stand just weeks before I fly.

On a more positive note, I got my new camera and lenses the other week and very excited about being able to take some decent photos when I am in Kenya. I have also been given a bunch of maps for the GPS unit I am taking free of charge by the wonderful people at Tracks4Africa which is brilliant. Hopefully that’ll help make sure I don’t get too lost when wandering round in strange places. Of course, I don’t plan on doing those things alone, and unguarded, but it still helps to know where I am. It should also mean I can get some decent mapping done of the areas where I am doing my work. I also have a new field assistant to help me, as my previous one managed to get a job with a local conservation company, so will only be able to help outside of his work hours. All in all the people I have been in touch with about my work have been so incredibly helpful and kind, and I owe them all a lot for everything they have done – and I’m only 6 months in. By the time I finish this PhD most of my word-count will be taken up in the acknowledgements.

So, for now things are going well (except for the minor permit hiccup). I have been jabbed and drilled; am considerably poorer than this time last month, but have lots of fun toys; and am down to living out of one small suitcase before I leave. Now is when things start to get exciting. In less than three weeks I will be in Mombasa (hopefully with a permit), learning Swahili and conducting my PhD research. I’m not sure how I fooled people into giving me money for this thing, but now that I’ve got it, I guess I better make sure I pull it off!

Emma xxx