DAILY TRAVAILS OF AN EARLY DOCTORATE STUDENT

I received permission to continue my doctorate program at Massey, having earned approval for my research topic and acceptance of my DR2 application by the Graduate Research Committee (GRC) around mid-October. Currently, I am in the throes of the literature review.

There are a lot of interesting synchronicities in the literature relating to discussions about resilience in the human development, ecology, and social-ecological systems, but I'm struggling to coordinate the themes discussed in them because I’m not sure how much I should cover in the review. I’m already starting to select the key concepts that will need elaborating in the final confirmation paper due later towards the end of my first year.

Doctorate studies is more isolating than I had imagined because my topic is really unlike anyone else’s here or even in the literary world made up of ecologists and food system scholars. My particular research area has not been covered extensively by such scholars and, therefore, there are virtually no studies of food systems in the province, where I expect to be later next year. Thus, I can’t really discuss the fine points of the literature review with many of my peers – or colleagues, which I think is the preferred name for doctorate classmates.

There is definitely an air about being a doctorate student at Massey University. Here, I feel like a researcher than a student more than when I was a masterate student. We are also seen as such, as professionals navigating their own ship than students still being guided by assignments.

I’m the most recent arrival here. Many of the doctorate students have been progressing through their seminar report and confirmation for at least one year, already. For some, the time has been at least two years. One of my colleagues returned to Pakistan to do his fieldwork. He passed his confirmation seminar and left some weeks thereafter.

The next most recent doctorate arrival is a researcher from Mexico. He came in June or August, I can't remember which month. That time seems like aeons ago, which means the time has flown here for me.

The weather remains temperamental; lots of intermittent sunny days, interrupted by rainy ones. The rain never lasts, though. The day might start out sunny and then give way to rain and grey, cloudy skies in the late afternoon, or vice versa. Parts of Palmerston North are in the valley, and when I walk in the basin of the valleys, I can see the elongated mountain ranges. There is a wind farm along one of the gorges here. The white, rotating windmills sit atop what look like green, chocolate drops when viewed from far away. But, the truth is, these sceneries are never very far away. Generally, they're outside my window, where I can easily gaze at them. 

Because my literature review due date is the end of January next year (2013), I spend most days studying – in the morning, afternoon through lunch, and into late evening until about 11pm, sometimes 1am. In between these long, studious hours, I squeeze in some walking time. My trek is usually the same, down and up some hills, and then up the "1000-steps" stairs, the name I’ve lovingly given to the ascending, winding structure that’s much worse than a stair master.

Television shows allow me to vegetate for an hour or two. TV time is usually when my creative juices flow most prolifically and actively. Since the beginning of October, I’ve also attended the occasional fellowship event with postgraduate students from the Philippines. Through these events, I've met other New Zealanders, Pacific Islanders, and various people from around the world, who’ve come to Massey U or New Zealand to settle.

While my life might appear mundane to some, I’m happier than I’ve ever been, nestled in my carrel, reading through my research material. Meanwhile, the minutes tick away unnoticed by me.