Senses of Place in Northern Ontario

The tempurature dipped down to 4 degrees last night and so as I sit outside on the front porch to catch some 10 am sunlight (a fine vintage) I can smell the burning cedar logs wafting from the fireplace next door. This is a smell I definitely associate with Northern Ontario. Situated where we are (quite a distance from town), I can hear the hummingbirds as they hover around the hedge that lines our steep driveway and the crickets that are seemingly ubiquitous throughout the long grass along the front of the property. I can hear these sounds over the dull roar of traffic and construction coming from Sudbury's center. It's either too cold or too early for boaters to be on the lake and so the peace is not yet disturbed. Since kids go back to school tomorrow I'm sure that there will be many water toys out on the water once the day warms up but for now, it is undisturbed. These are the sounds that I associate with my last two summers spent in Sudbury and the many summers I spent in Gravenhurst, a town south of here but north of the city where I grew up. As I type this message I can look out the window onto the lake which for at least this moment is like a cool black mirror. The colour of the pine trees are reflected into the water which appears green instead of the deep blue.

I wonder if this sense of peace, which I associate with the sights, sounds and smells of Sudbury and with northern areas of Canada, will be available in one of the most populated places in Europe? I think it is nostalgic and misrepresentative to equate all of Canada with any form of 'the great wide open' yet, there is a sense of peace and tranquility that I feel is particular to Canadian spaces, even in our busy cities (just walk down the streets of Toronto in the summertime at 3am, or on an early morning when the city's been hit by a fresh batch of snow, you can still find this calm). As I write this last comment, the first boat of the morning has just driven by and the waves have broken up the image of upside trees. Maybe this sense of place will yet be translatable...yes, I know, deep thoughts by Jack Hannah :)

Anatomy and Luggage: The Anatomy of Luggage

I'm packing today but just for a short weekend trip down south where my University is located. Since I'll be missing a couple of marital celebrations this coming year I'm making an effort to attend any preliminary partying, e.g. bachelorette party. My partner is coming down with me since he can't stand to be without me in these final days...yeah right, in reality, his drinking buddies are all down south and he's coming down with me so that he can have a little catch-up (bottle-up) time with them. He'll do this while I dance around to bad music with a bunch of girls who have plastic penis necklaces dangling around their necks and while one of the bride's maids cuts the penis-shaped cake in the background for all to share. Can I say penis one more time? Penis. Okay, it's out of my system, enough anatomy for right now.

Responding to my sister's email earlier this morning, I wrote: "I'm going to pack my computer and some underwear and then I'll just be off." And as I packed for this coming weekend, I realised that packing for the 'real' trip will be just like that...that I just pack a couple of bits and bobs and if I forget anything, well I can probably just buy it over there anyway. It's not rocket science, but I was imaging "the great pack" to be something monumental that I would have to build and work up to. It brings me to reflect on some of the methods of anthropology.

Historically, ethnographic research was conducted by lone (usually male) researchers who went off into the great unknown (usually under colonial auspices) to learn all they could about the local "savages" (yes, scare quotes are necessary here) only to one day return to the Empire and report on all things unholy they found while in the field. Since then, it has become somewhat of a rite of passage.

While most anthropologists of today still feel that an extended period of time in the field is a necessary step for up-and-coming anthropologists and the process overall to be necessary for 'proper' anthropological research to occur, the locales (in most instances) have somewhat changed. Due to circumstances too numerous to mention and a heavy dose of self-reflection, Anthropologists have now begun to study 'themselves', e.g. a Canadian researcher with Dutch heritage conducting research in the Netherlands. With regard to my suitcase (um...where is she going with this?), I'm betting that the 'wildes of Rotterdam' will not be anything so frightening that a trip to the local H&M couldn't cure...or Zara, Mango, etc,. And while I don't want to suggest that stepping out in Rotterdam will be exactly like stepping out in London, Ontario (as stepping out into a bike lane anywhere in the Netherlands will tell you otherwise), I believe my rite of passage will be in some ways easier (than other fields that I could have selected), and yet still different but then in certain ways, almost alike. God, I'm playing with some anthropological fire here, but anyway, point being, my suitcase won't be hard to pack. Okay?

Gone in the blink of an eye

Wait a second, wait a second...where did that day go?

Just gone in a blink of an eye...And the days just hurdle past...

Cracks in a Carefully Laid Out Plan!

Not much time to write today, I'm having my "might-as-well-be" family over for dinner tonight and because its one of the last "great meals" that I will make in Canada for 2009, it's a doozie. These "great meals" are often experimental and are served up to unsuspecting guests in my home. Technically, the house that i currently live in is called a 'camp' by Sudburian standards, but since it's winterised, it's also been called a cottage by those who don't live around here. I think I'll call it 'my lodgings' since that name provides due reference to its location by a lake. The name of the lake you ask? Long Lake. Appropriately named for a person such as myself (Ms. Long)!

Spoke with an good friend of mine today. We're trying to figure out how we can connect before I leave. Because I currently live quite far away from civilization (known as Toronto) I'm feeling the squeeze trying to get everything done (paper, confirming that I indeed have been awarded my extended healthcare, and figuring out whether or not Sudbury has somewhere that I can renew my driver's liscence) and seeing everyone that I've been longing to see (a summer away) and want to see again before I go. I'm starting to see the cracks in my carefully laid out schedule!

Lagging Details!

The weather here in Sudbury (a city in Northern Ontario) is already changing, doing its part to get me ready for a fall spent in Europe as the temperature dips down to 15 degrees at night. Semi-Brrrrrr (oh come on, this is a relative statement...it's only the 25th of August!).

But as my departure date marches closer I'm reminded of the things I have left to do before I leave. And I'm not referring to any of the requirements for changing of student status or other administrative requisites that I've had to deal with before I leave (such as...consolidate my available funds, securing overseas health care benefits, selling of my car, cancelling my insurances, cell phones, etc., changing my address for all concerned institutions, renewing my yet-to-be-but-will-be-while-I'm-gone credit cards and drivers license ... not to mention all the things I had to do before I get there!...acquiring a visa, securing a place to live, learning the language, setting up visiting student status at a local institution, figuring out a local cell phone, etc., etc., etc.,) No, no, no, none of that. What I'm talking about a final paper that I have to write in order to complete the requirements for for a summer course that I'm taking! I'm not really complaining (at least with respect to the paper) as I've really, really enjoyed the course. In fact, if I maybe spent less complaining on this blog up and more time reading and writing for the paper, I'd be jumping over my last hurdle.

Having said that...I'm off to finish up lagging details!

For Better or for worse...the ticket is booked

I've been very fortunate to have a partner in crime during my PhD. A lovely girl who for the sake of anonymity I will call QueenB. QueenB will also be in Europe conducting ethnography at the same time as myself and although we're not in the same country, having someone on the same continent is soothing quite a few of my worries about leaving. It also helps that she's already begun her research (not even a week ago) and is telling me that after the goodbyes at the airport, life once again becomes sunny.

Following this line of thought, I would consider myself to be an independent person, strong in my feminist ideals (second-wave), and creatively adaptive when hard times present themselves. However, I've had quite a time trying to marry my feelings of independence and excitement about my upcoming adventures, with the seemingly bleak prospect of leaving friends, family and my 'proper' partner. There is too little discussion at the graduate level about the practicalities of leaving one's home in the name of research. While I understand that "there's no crying in baseball!" - Tom Hanks (a little adage that in this case means that I need to grow up and 'be professional' about leaving my loved ones), a small caveat should be provided to all student researchers ..."Home may very well be where your heart is" ... just in case they want to factor that into the research plan.

In my case, there will always be the next time because my ticket is already booked! That and despite my misgivings, I'm sure that I will really love living in Rotterdam. 2 weeks, 2 days...and counting!

Velocity is building, Inertia will soon take over...

The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my time as a Canadian PhD student conducting ethnographic research in Rotterdam, Netherlands. My adventure starts on September 9th, 2009 and will end roughly about a year later. The count down to lift off is on and I'm starting to pack and organise for my year away! The question is...it considered unprofessional to allot space in my suitcase to shoes instead of textbooks?