Rachel Sing-Ee Tan

Tired of revising my third analysis. I decided to visit the Morning Magpie cafe with my sidekick, Tracy.  It is an interesting cafe with eccentric set up and arts. It has different sizes of tables and chairs and ample space for us to work.  After discussing with Tracy about my analysis, I managed to unpack my mind for a clearer picture on how to improve my key ideas for the chapter. A great combination after an hour of writing.

My recent trip to the State University of Zanzibar was my first time to travel for work. It was also my first time to Africa and I am especially grateful to Dr Maryam and Umayra for hosting Dr Ben Daniel, my supervisor and I. I am also grateful for Ben’s patience and guidance that helped me to successfully collect rich data from my interviews. Here, I share some of the experiences I enjoyed whilst I was not conducting my research. These experiences, whilst extremely enjoyable, also helped inform my understanding of the research context. I am thankful that our lovely department administrator, Candi, chose an excellent hotel in Stone Town that was within a 10-minute walk to my interview location. Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the name was chosen because the buildings were constructed using coral stone. I was living in a 19th-century town and in the middle of historical and cultural sites. The buildings’ architecture have Arab, Persian, Indian, European, and Afri...