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!
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