Oh gosh, my first attempt at some kind of a blogging experience. Who’s with me here?
I warn in advance: this could be hit or miss big time. From the get-go, I don’t expect any kind of robust discussion but perhaps some inspired thoughts and some pictures to guide you through your first virtual visit to Dominica. If nothing more, I expect this will be a well-needed security blanket for some of you and for others, I hope it’ll act as a reminder to keep in touch so join in when you can (for you punks out there, remember mom and dad have tender ears!). If nothing else, watch my freckles multiply over the summer (sometimes I fool myself into thinking it’s a tan… let’s see if it works for you too…)
The thought behind the 3-part title:
Unpeeled: This is in honour of all of you who can’t remember anything about my research beyond the fact that bananas are somehow involved. For you: unpeeled… golden.
Unpacked: Traveling solo, I like to romanticize that I’m a lone, wandering ethnographer, carrying nothing more than my favourite orange hiking pack and a stack of field notebooks. OK, so I can even tell in a virtual conversation that I haven’t fooled any of you at this point and we all know this experience isn’t as rugged or as hardcore as I’d love it to be. But, the point of “unpacked” is that I’m going with not-much more than a strong sense of curiosity and an open heart. In my mind, I’m already unpacked and ready to stay for an unforgettable season. I’ve spent most of the year joking to you guys that I have 70 000 friends on a sunny Caribbean Island, of course, the best part being that they have no idea that I even exist (small detail in my opinion). Now that I’m taking off, I’m determined to meet all of them…fine, I’ll say at least half of them for all you disbelievers out there.
Unlearned: This sums up, at least in part, this trip to Dominica. I’ve spent the past 8 months and more learning from books about smallholder agriculture, globalization and development (especially rural development). I’m now ready to learn, anew, from the people who live, love and seek existence from farming day in-day out. I hope to learn directly from the experts themselves, to celebrate their successes and to understand their challenges in a globalized world that, for the most part, no longer values what they do best: smallholder farming.
I hope that'll do as a welcome, that you’ll enjoy keeping up and that you’ll take part when you can.
A few necessary shout-outs before I close:
- To my parents for letting go…literally. I do love those tight hugs though
- To Tony and UWO for funding
- My friends for keeping me smiling no matter what! Wish you could all come with me!
