It's all happenning!

Hey everybody, welcome to my blog! This is my first foray into the world of self-publication, so hopefully I offer up something that you all will find worth reading. I am just 48 hours from my flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I'll be performing an ethnographic investigation of small vendors working in the city's subway system, El Subte. I'm sure I've already run through boring and long-winded explanations of this admittedly unusual project with most of you, so I will leave that one-sentence description to speak for itself. Once I land in Argentina, the project will take on a life of its own and you'll be able to see it unfold close-up from my blog. (For those of you who are IRB-minded, I will of course not be disclosing any confidential project data online. This blog is about my personal experience of the ethnographic method and thoughts about life as an expat in Argentina generally . . . )

As I'm not actually on the ground yet, I don't have any comments about the whirlwind that is travel abroad. Those will be forthcoming next week, but for now I'll leave you with a Jack Kerouac quote that I think sums up the simultaneous excitement and regret that one experiences when stepping out into new places and stages in life and the world:


"What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing?-- it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's goodby. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies."


Thanks so much to all of you -- family, friends, professors, all of you -- for all of your support in the year leading up to this adventure. There was a time when I wasn't sure whether I could do this, but that time is passed, and I have you to thank. The loud and enthusiastic encouragement has meant the world to me. I'll miss all of you, and I can't wait to describe the whole crazy show to you as this year of my life kicks into gear. Check back next week! Adios!