wanderlust

I think it's official. I suffer from Wanderlust. I noticed some time ago that I get a hankering to go somewhere every 2-6 months, but I realized this morning just how bad it really is when Rebekkah emailed Janet and me about our coffee date: "Where shall we meet, my lovelies? Starbucks? School? Paris?" And for the last 40 minutes, ever since "Paris" arrived in my inbox, I've been kicking around the idea of making the short train trip over there. It's really not very far--just three hours, I think. Why would I go, you ask? Why WOULDN'T I go?! And if you need a reason more specific than that, I can probably come up with one.

Paris will have to wait at least a month though, because on Sunday I'm headed for the Sunshine of South Africa to work on my MA research. Things I'm excited about for this trip are a)Early Summer! b)a Safari! c) seeing the country that I've had about a bazillion classes on in the last two years, and d)getting to know the family I've arranged to stay with; they are friends of friends, and seem like lovely people. I'm also looking forward to working on my project. It's now titled, "Damming the Olifants: Mining and Hydropolitics in the Limpopo Province." I'm working on the historical and political context of water rights/allocation and the Mining industry, and particularly the decision to build the De Hoop Dam and the currently contested proposal for the Richmond Dam. I hope I'll find the information I need! Planning a research trip is a new experience for me, and not like the days at Fox where Paul Southwick and I just trekked over to the Oregon Historical Society archives every Saturday for a few weeks. I'm sure I'll wish I'd prepared differently in some ways, but it's a first try, so I don't want to hear any tsk tsking if I make some mistakes or didn't anticipate fully everything I'd need. I am pleased to have four quality readers lined up already for my February draft review process! That's going to really make my paper better.

That's it for now. Go somewhere interesting! If not Paris, perhaps Pendleton. If South Africa is too far, maybe Southern Oregon. Life is more fun if you go somewhere!