For almost a year and a half, I've been thinking about the possibility of moving to New Zealand.
It started on April 19, 2016 the 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology was winding down in San Francisco, and there was someone that Virginia, my graduate advisor, really wanted me to meet. Her old friend Melinda was offering a scholarship for a graduate student who would work with her on some kind of fish bone research. Building mathematical models of fish populations and sustainability in the South Pacific was mentioned. I knew of Melinda's work on the study of fish hook function and form. Yes, I would be interested in meeting her.
Melinda had just arrived in San Francisco from New Zealand for the meetings , and she was dealing with massive jet lag AND a cold. It was hard to arrange a meeting time around all of the talks, but through Virginia we arranged to meet for a few minutes on the last day. We found each other in a lobby crowded with about 300 other archaeologists. We exchanged some pleasantries, talked briefly about the position, and then we both had to go.
In August the advert for the funded PhD position went out. I was about to start the third year of my Master's program at Portland State University, and I had no plans for after I got my degree. I told myself it wouldn't hurt to apply. There were several appealing factors. First, I would get paid to live for three years in New Zealand. Second, I could get a PhD in three years, as opposed to the 7-10 year average commitment for an American PhD in Anthropology. Lastly, the project would be writing a history of Maori fishing, evaluating the impacts of Maori fishing techniques and climate change on fish populations, and using the information to make recommendations for more sustainable fishing practices.
Seemed like a perfect fit. But it was also terrifying to consider the possibility that I might get in.
On September 8th I sent in my application materials. On October 1st, I got word of the decision: I had been provisionally selected! All I would have to do is finish my current graduate program and get into the University of Auckland.
I was totally petrified.
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