where i am, really.
January 12th, 2006 kat
I arrived in Oz on Wednesday, in Adelaide actually, to start a few weeks fieldwork with Genevieve Bell, Director of INTEL’s Domestic Designs and Technologies Research Group. We are looking at the edges of homes; how people conceptualise this in terms of physical and virtual architectures, social and spatial boundaries and the movement of people and things across and within these spaces. We’ll be revisting a lot of the people that we spent time with two years ago for Inside Asia - the project which investigated how culture shapes techology use.
These pictures are from Coober Pedy - 850kms and 10 hours drive north of Adelaide along needle straight roads through the kind of landscape for which you have a 20Ltr jerry of water in the back of the car “just in case”. It was even better than I had hoped - at least 40 degrees and bonkers. Cooper Pedy is an opal mining town, with 3,500 residents, from over 45 countries and it is so hot that many live underground in ‘dug outs’, some of which can be up to 6 bedrooms and pretty spectacular. This means that there is little to see on the surface and doors or garages in the sides of small hills of dirt might well lead into hotels or bars, galleries or shops, or just people’s houses. The name, Coober Pedy is apparently close to the aboriginal words for ‘white man in hole’. It’s all red dust, flies, wide streets, slow walkers, friendly people, panting dogs and the super surreal detritus of space movies (see below).
I’m also in Adelaide to talk with some community volunteer Wi-Fi group members in relation to my PhD studies. I’ve made contact and look forward to meeting with them next week.
Entry Filed under: Wireless technology research, travel
5 Comments Add your own
1. MC | January 13th, 2006 at 3:29 am
Yay, welcome to Aus!
2. kris | January 13th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
I can’t tell if I’m incredibly jealous or incredibly the opposite of jealous. But I think the former. In either case: wow, exclamation point. -kris
3. kat | January 14th, 2006 at 4:53 am
if ever a place could describe the word “dry” this one would come pretty close. it is hot and red and dusty and fascinating and even more so when jetlagged. whoah. it was a great experience. i’ll post some salt pan pics next. that was equally bizarre and bonkers.
4. Tom HOPE | January 20th, 2006 at 8:09 am
I just rediscovered this blog and what a pleasure to find these pictures. I’m sure you’ll have a great time - what a place to do fieldwork!
Would love to see more pics.
5. kat | January 24th, 2006 at 3:57 am
hi tom. yep it’s definitely a pleasure doing research here. i’ve been travelling a lot lately, from adelaide to sydney via broken hill (as you do!) and i have hundreds of great pics. will post more soon.
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