Welp, it's happening again - Field Study: Part 2!

I always thought that the Field Study in Eastern Europe that I went on in 2007 was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I never thought I'd have the money to travel, or the opportunity, and I especially didn't think I'd be able to earn University credits doing it. 

Even so, when Dr. Scheffel invited the Anthropology 403 group from last year to a meeting that he "thought we might be interested in", I was immediately excited. My compadre Jen was no longer going to TRU, so I reached out to a few of the group that I'd friended on Facebook - Ashnola, Heather, and Shannon, and was delighted to find out they were all going. We met up right before the meeting and went in together, taking up the second row of the small lecture room. 

There were a few other people from our Europe group already in the room: Ryan, Alizée and Brad

David walked in a cut right to the chase: he was launching a brand new field study. This one would take place in the Philippines to "...investigate the challenges faced by aboriginal foragers in their adaptation to a physical and social environment that makes the pursuit of hunting and gathering increasingly difficult."

David's wife Phoebe is from the Philippines and, of course, on one of their trips to her village, he was fascinated when a local Ati woman came by selling medicines and wares. It was clear this person was a different ethnicity from Phoebe and her family, and the ethnographer in him wanted to know more.

Traditional Medicines

The more Dr. Scheffel described the trip and what it would be about, I felt emboldened by our previous experience and thought that this would be an immediate 'yes' from me if I could afford it. I looked down the line at the other girls and could tell that they were thinking the same thing. 

After the presentation, we all excitedly huddled together and made plans to see if this was something we could do and keep in touch if we were able to make it work. 

I can't lie and say I didn't have some fears about the location - I am pale and get actual hives in the sun if i'm not wearing SPF 60 or above sunscreen. The beach is not my friend, I'm not the best at hiking or trekking through any kind of wilderness, and I am deathly afraid to spiders, something I was sure were quite large and plentiful in that neck of the woods. 

But I also knew that if I didn't do everything in my power to try and go on this adventure I would regret it forever. 

I called my mum and asked her what the possibility of using some of my remaining "school fund" to join this field study was, and of course, being the best mother in existence, she was nothing but supportive.  She immediately transferred me the $500.00 deposit and I checked in with the gals. 

Ashnola, Shannon and Heather were also all in, and like the Europe trip, were all interested in travelling outside of the field study, so like Jen and I did in Europe, we figured since we'd already be over there, we might as well pack in as much as we can. 

After we collaborated on how long we could go for as a group, and the places we could fit in in that timeframe, we settled on the following criteria: 

Cambodia: 1 week - July 9-17th, 2008
Highlights: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, Sihanoukville

The Philippines: 3 weeks - July 18th - August 5th, 2008
Highlights: Ilo Ilo, Guimaras, Boracay

Thailand: 3 weeks - August 5-25th, 2008
Highlights: Bangkok, Presat, Chiang Mai, Koh Phangan, Koh Phi Phi, Phuket 

We haven't planned a whole lot beyond this - the one thing I regretted about my Europe trip was how confined we were by all of the pre-booked hotels my mum had found for us. They were great places to stay, and honestly it was probably a better sleep than we'd have gotten in Hostels, but we couldn't go with the flow or make any adjustments. We had to be places because we'd already paid for them. 

This time around, we're only going to book one hotel in advance for when we arrive at the recommendation of our Travel Agent. She said that it's a long flight and we'll be very disoriented when we get there so it's best to have something comfortable waiting for us. 

I can't wait!