Tomorrow is the day. The day that I will take the flight to Rio de Janeiro for my second period of fieldwork. I’ll be there for 4 months. Easy to say, easy to sit in the aeroplane.
However, I know that I will be away from my house in Leeds for many months (not to mention my hometown in Italy), away from my partner, my office, my English routine; it is hard, especially if you know that you could be in the field more if you do not have enough “data” (on the concept of “data” in social science I will return in a future post).
My house in Providence avenue, Leeds
In these few weeks in Leeds I had the chance to be with my partner, feel again how is to be at home, ride my bike in this lovely city, see my colleagues, andenjoy working at my desk in my office. Also, very importantly, I had the chance to speak with my supervisors, to do a “reality check” before going back to fieldwork. Having the chance to discuss the work done and what I will do next is great, especially because you can take a step back and observe what you have done abroad, in the fieldwork.
Geography department at the University of Leeds
Today is the day before, when you say goodbye to everyone (thank you to all the folks who showed up at the office. Cakes!), you take all the things you need, you pack everything, hoping to have enough space in your luggage (even if, in my experience, the problem is the weight for the return…). Computer (with all the relevant files), audio-recorder, cameras, clothes, shoes, everything I will need. Of course I will buy something there but I always try to travel with bulk of things that I will use.
The flight from Leeds-Bradford airport is at 9.30, not too bad. Then I will go to London and from there straight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Luckily I have some friends that will host me for a few days, while I am doing the of the most stressful things: searching a (good) house. Everything is done, I cannot do more, now it’s time to go.
