Yesterday in the prep class, it was interesting to talk about the different difficulties that we will experience in the Field. I was wondering if this was going to be worth it... of course it is. I know that this experience will change my life, I have felt it for so long, and I will honestly be relying on that feeling through out my Field Study, especially as I face the difficulties.
The first difficulty that we talked about was that of language. I have already addressed this in the online journal before. I just really don't understand Tamil, and I have come to terms with that. I have always been able to learn languages and little phrases here and there. I can say hi in thirty-three languages (I have a really nerdy goal of learning how to say hi in every language possible...). I have always been proud of being able to do that...but my pride definitely deflated when I walked into Tamil and could not pronounce half the words. I have always heard that Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn...and when I took it, it was hard. BUT, Tamil is harder. That terrifies me because I will actually be living with Tamils, and I won't even be able to communicate with them...but that's ok. As long as I try really hard, and love them and be friendly, I will be alright. When it comes to interpreters though, I think that it will take a lot of effort on my part in order to find someone that will be able to interpret correctly what I am trying to ask my interviewees. I will have to rely on networking and snowballing in order to know how to find an interpreter who will be fit with my needs.
Cleanliness was another issue brought up that I think is important. I honestly will admit that I am a germ-ophobe. I carry hand sanitizer with me, EVERYWHERE I go. I hate being dirty and touching dirty things. I always make sure that I am cleaning things and after myself. I know that where I will be, will not be up to the standards of cleanliness of Western culture. This will be a challenge to me, but like Ashley said, flexibility is perhaps the most important component of a Field Study. I think that it will take patience and flexibility. I wonder what kinds of things I will face, but I will strive to be flexible and not let something different, discourage me from learning and growing from the field.
We had a really brief but interesting discussion on happiness and how to be able to find that in the field, when there are other things that will be weighing me down in the field. I was really intrigued to hear about the different things that the facilitators did in order to keep high spirits, especially during difficult or less enchanting times in the Field.
Something I want to do in order to keep myself happy, I want to write something new every day that I love about India. Just one thing every morning, and then think about it through out the day. I know that this sounds a little idealistic, but it is a goal that I want to try to do. I want to try to remember that this experience is about me, but mostly, it is about the people whom I will be staying with and whom I will be learning so much from.
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