Two Months

So it's probably a touch early, but I thought that an update on the next fieldwork trip was in order. Two months from today, on August 20th, I fly to London (via NYC!) then later to France to begin walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, interviewing people as I amble. It's a pretty exciting prospect, firstly because walking the Camino is something I have wanted to do for years, and secondly because my fieldwork in India was so successful and I can't wait to get to do more.

Speaking of which, I'm now in the final stages of writing up the India chapter of my thesis. It's a tricky assignment, and I think the final product will reflect the personal nature of the trip. It looks like it will be a heady mix of first person accounts and rich description with smatterings of academic theory thrown in as spice. There are echoes of de Botton and Dalrymple, and some playfully irreverent stuff in the style of Tim Moore, all done in a form inspired by Bruce Scates (his book on Gallipoli pilgrims was the final inspiration for me to go back to Uni to do this). In the end, I hope it says something meaningful and useful to some other people, but mostly I'm just happy to be writing it at last.

This makes me extra excited at the prospect of getting onto the Camino. It won't be like India at all, but in a strange way it will be. The people I meet (and have already started to meet at pilgrim meetings here ) will make it another enlightening and enriching experience. Best of all, it's another chance for me to do what I love and to be able to say something about it. I can't wait.