passing time

I can't believe that about six weeks ago I looked ahead to this coming week thinking this would be the final week of concerted work on my PhD in the UK. Now that this week has arrived I can't believe it has come so quickly. Yes and I will never have the past six weeks back again. But life really happened in these past six weeks. Life interceded in my PhD. I think this is probably the first time during my four years in the UK that I really felt that life took the place of my PhD. It's rather strange because for all intents and purposes nothing 'dramatic' happened for life to intercede in the way it did. But it did and created a sort of psychological impasse that I hope I can bridge.

I've been working on my literature review - I feel I know so much, yet so little. I can see the fruit of my labour in the first year of my PhD. But now revisiting the core literature that is most salient for my PhD argument, I am questioning my understanding of certain theoretical concepts and how I applied it methodologically. How crazy is that. I laid in bed on Friday almost in some sort of blind panic thinking that I didn't accurately understand the concept of literacy practice. That I got it wrong. Yet my whole thesis is based on this concept. I guess in a similar way in February the realisation that I didn't accurately understand the concept of recontextualisation was also brought home to me in the most stark manner. But this, in a way, is what the literature review process is all about...helping one to gain more insight and understanding into the theoretical constructs holding up your thesis. So onward I guess.

Just over a month to go before I head back to Cape Town - yes it really is happening and I have the boxes to prove it. I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time. Looking forward to saying hello to my friends and family in Cape Town but equally anxious about saying goodbye to my academic family and friends here. The goodbye process started already on Friday when I said goodbye to KC;  I'm not sure I'm looking forward to all the other goodbyes that are still to come. All part of life of course - wish it were easier. The weekend has been gorgeous - the weather perfect, reminiscent of summer. I'm hoping for a productive Sunday and week ahead.