Welcome!

I am unsure what precisely this blog will be.  My intention is to start with chronicling my research trip to Burkina Faso.  I will be working as part of an ongoing research project on Dogon and Bangime langauges.  I am leaving on Aug. 16, 2014 and will return sometime next July (unless I elect to stay longer).


My initial thoughts for today are:


1) I wish I had better time management skills.  Actually, I wish I had the time management skills that I used to have.  During my first couple years of college I was very organized and always had everything done ahead of time.  Then harder classes hit, I moved in with my girlfriend at the time, started doing real research, and I learned all about prioritizing and the procrastination spiral (between you and me, this blog post is procrastination).  Long story short: I have more work to do before I go than I have time for.

2) My French is improving but I still have not hit that critical point where I am confident in my ability to converse.

3) I am extremely grateful that I have this opportunity (thank you Laura McPherson and Jeff Heath)! 

4) I am worried that I will not have enough room to pack everything I need.  I also worry that I will pack all the wrong things.  I know that as an experienced traveler that I am likely fine, but I still cannot help but worry a little.  There are apparently some things that you just can't really get there.

5) I wonder which language I will actually work on when I finally get a handle on the local contact language (Jula).  I am hoping for either Nouchi (A French creole spoken by urban youth in the Ivory Coast) or a language with currently very little or no work at all.  That is to say, I am hoping to do something sociolinguistic or traditional linguistic fieldwork.

6) When will I have time to apply to graduate schools, for a NSF grant, and any other thing I must do as grad school prep?

7) Do I legitimately need to worry about Ebola or my plane being shot down?

8) I am also hoping to blog about feminism, atheism, and veterans' issues at some point.  One thing at a time.