Good afternoon! This post is the second of a trilogy of entries inspired by my recent visit to Colombia. In this piece, I reflect on my visit to the town of Armero, a site well-known to volcanologists worldwide for the tragedy that befell it in 1985. In the picturesque town of Honda, elegant bridges span … Continue reading Armero
Find my research inside in the form of a fun poster!
I'm really proud to say that I recently had a blog post published on another site. The site, DoctoralWriting SIG, is a forum for discussion of higher education writing. It's not only for PhD students and researchers, but anyone interested in sharing knowledge and talking about issues associated with academic writing. Recent blog posts have … Continue reading Research Languages: blog feature!
"It came to me in a dream." This sentence has been the explanation given by visionaries throughout history for their inspiration: religious mystics, Frank Ocean, this amazing footnote. But as the rudder that steers the passage of a career in an ordinary life? That seems foolhardy. And yet ... such dreams can clarify subconscious desires. … Continue reading When to weigh anchor
Regresé de Guatemala el lunes pasado, y desde luego no he hablado español por mas que 15 minutos. ¡Como lo extraño! Un cambio dramático desde el sábado pasado, cuando pasé una cena muy feliz con mis amigo-compañeros de INSIVUMEH y CONRED en la Ciudad [de Guatemala], platicando sobre todo desde cumpleaños hasta nuevas estaciones sísmicas. … Continue reading Hasta la proxima vez
I first thought of writing this post in late March. I was then in the thick of my research, and had just experienced a couple of examples of the phenomenon that I outline below. I imagine that what I write will feel familiar to others who have undertaken ethnographic research in less economically developed countries. … Continue reading Just Say No
Week Five was an incredibly long and dispiriting week, in which I hung around, failed to do interviews, and was generally hard on myself. I started to write a blog post about my largest bugbear, which was my continuing difficulty in communicating in Spanish to the level I’d like, and then – the post felt … Continue reading Picture The Scene
It has been an intense couple of weeks at the observatory - so much so that I wasn't able to publish a post last weekend! (More on that on next week's blog post.) This was written on 10th March 2018, at the end of Week Four of Nine total. I hope you enjoy it. As … Continue reading Sequels and serials
Since coming to Guatemala, I have been consumed by mastering a song by Natalia LaFourcade. It’s called “Soledad y el Mar” (Loneliness and the Sea). With its lulling lyrics and its swaying rhythm, it’s the perfect bittersweet tune to play before bed. Week Three (25th Feb - 2nd Mar) was the week I finally cracked … Continue reading Soledad y el Mar
It’s been a busy week! I am writing from my bunkbed in Fuego’s observatory, OVFGO1, in the village of Panimaché Uno (here). I am taking today (Friday 22nd February) off after conducting interviews between Monday and Thursday in the villages of Panimaché Uno, Panimaché Dos, Los Yucales, and Morelia. I am tired, but really stoked … Continue reading First impressions
