i didn’t know what to imagine when I was going to my field site for my first official observation. I’ve been observing them for quite a while before this actual project without realizing it, but this time with the help of my uncle, they allowed me to observe them in their premises. My uncle reassured these people that this would be confidential and I would not use their names or do anything malicious that would get them into trouble. I guess you can consider my first official observation when I was with my uncle and a fight broke out. I was really anxious, really did not want to go and was close to flaking, and then I thought we’re heading towards the middle of the semester it’s too late to flake. I had no choice, but to suck it up and go with the flow. I was mainly scared, due to me being the only female and the people I was going to observe were Bangladeshi men. I am of a Bangladeshi descent and so far my …show more content…
knowledge of Bangladeshi men are that they are very narrow minded. If they spot a female in their premises, lord knows what will they think of me and I assume it will be negative thoughts. The first time when I walked in, these men were in the middle of a game that they didn’t notice a female being present.
I got lucky and I started conducting my observations. I will refer to this spot as “The spa”. The reason behind this is because many people do not know about this spot so I do not want to exploit their privacy out and mainly because these men come here to chill/relax. Thanks to my uncle’s somewhat of a connection with these individuals, they actually let me into their premises. I thought this would be a good start to my ethnography because people are using this abandoned place to gamble, which might seem like an illegal act that is out in the opened. This place looks like an abandoned garage, but formally it was a grocery store that went out of business. It does not have electricity, they use a battery powered lamp to brighten the place up a little, but still remains somewhat dark. It does not have windows nor main doors, so anyone who actually observes really carefully could see what they are up to. I wonder what happens if cops passed
by? Any who, this spot is pretty spacious, people could come here to throw a warehouse party inviting about a hundred people, but then again since there isn’t electricity the idea would be invalid. These men come here during the afternoon when the sun is up and they play in the middle of the area, where they can get enough light and people who are passing by would not notice what is going on in here. “The spa” is next to a café so sometime this place smell of tea, pastries and masala (South Asian spice). At times this place can smell pretty odd, like metal burning. So there about ten to fifteen men, ranging from age thirty to sixty years, who comes to watch or play the game. Some are dressed in traditional attire (kurta/pyjama), some of them mixed traditional and western together (kurta/jeans) and the majority would wear western clothing (shirts/jeans).
I am visiting Kemah Boardwalk for the day; I came down from Central Texas to visit my friend, Astronaut Rex, at NASA. He recommended I visit the Boardwalk as it is a very nice tourist destination and it sits on the coast. Driving up to Kemah I see there is a very nice waterfront hotel that sits on, what I will call a plaza, it has restaurants around it and lots of entertainment. I see rollercoasters and I am very excited to be here, the view promises lots of fun for children and adults alike. I walk up and first thing I see is a band playing under a tent. The music is upbeat and it sets the mood for dancing. I see a few people bopping their heads to the beat of the music. I see others cheering the band. As I keep walking and reach a little pond where you can pay to drive little boats around, it’s a boating race! Lots of children are lined up on the edge, I see that I have to put two quarters in the machine that has a wheel and a number, the number corresponds to the boat you are controlling. I pay for my daughter to race her boat and the race begins. My daughter is winning she is jum...
This establishment was closed several times by the police, fire and building departments but reopened after they new that nobody else was going two come around for another check up to make sure it was still not operating.
session, I found myself reflecting on why I felt so uneasy and nervous about participating in an
One of the major advantages of participant observation is the ability of the anthropologist to gain access to events, locations and intimate situations where outside observers would not be allowed. DeMunk and Sobo (1998) describe some benefits of the observation method over alternative methods of anthropological data collection including the fact that it allows admission to the “backstage culture” (DeMunk and Sobo 1998 p.43), it allows for intimately detailed description, and provides the anthropologist with opportunities to be a part of all events. DeWalt and DeWalt (2002 p.92) also suggest that it increases the quality of the data that has been collected and the interpretation of the anthropologist, as well as analysis of that data and assisting in the development of new research questions and hypotheses. However, DeMunk and Sobo (1998) also address some disadvantages of using the particip...
In all parts of the world, clubs and festivals have been used as safe haven for the abuse and trafficking of illegal drugs. Drug traffickers find entertainment joint to be the safest places the conduct their illegal trades. In addition, most events take place during the night; therefore, provides a darkness cover for the illegal trade to continue without the interruption of the authorities. The presence of drugs in entertainment joints has made illegal drug use to be part of the entertainment itself. Visitors are always tempted to use the drug since the drugs are
I expected to receive a variety of reactions anywhere from hostility and uncomfortability to acceptance and respect. But I had predicted the major reaction would be discomfort. As previously stated the place where this took place was South Western High School during a school day. I observed the reactions of students as well as teachers as I walked through
This was a great week at my field placement. I had the opportunity to go out on a home visit and it was a great experience. I really enjoyed interacting with the family. There is a great deal that goes into a home visit. My field supervisor instructed me to observe the foster children in their home setting. This would usually make me nervous, but I felt that I was ready. I guess I felt this way because of my previous weeks of training and having a field supervisor that helps me understand the different dynamics of therapeutic foster care. Every day, I become more and more comfortable with observing and identifying different elements of each client. Although I know
...ure of what I may encounter. I understood the task at hand, but just wasn’t sure what to expect. At first, I felt a little silly just sitting in a chair (that I brought with me) next to the road with a note pad and pen. However, once I started taking notes, I stopped thinking about myself and started focusing on the people I was supposed to be watching. Although it was hot, it smelled horrible, was terribly loud, and possibly somewhat dangerous, it was a good experience overall. I was able to notice patterns of behavior much quicker than I thought I would have, and I feel like my analyses are “spot on”. If I could change one thing about this experience, I would definitely have chosen a safer place to sit.
Our team was instructed to listen and see if we could identify any questions that might be asked during the inspection. I was terrified. We were all gathered up by our squad leaders. They told us to be confident and began to check our uniforms. My squad leader Binney was going over my uniform with a lint roller and began to ask me some questions. When was this, who is this, what are these. I knew the answer to most of them, but I was having trouble with the land navigation stuff. I could not remember for the life of me hill, valley, ridge, saddle, and depression. Luckily they were probably not going to ask me that. The other schools inspection had started and all I could hear was screaming. I could not tell whether it was the other cadets, or the Army Instructors. This did not help me calm down at all. Finally they were finished and Binney gave me and the other people in his squad a mint. We lined up and all I heard was, “PLATOON” from Dasha, and then “ATTENTION, PORT ARMS, FORWARD MARCH” from Greene. We all started marching in, and this was when the inspection
Somalia is the poorest country in the world! Somalia is in the eastern part of Africa on the coast. This country has alot of interesting things to talk about.
When I had communicated with them I had to bring them to the bus which was for the event and sit then down, to make then feel comfortable I had to then ask them if they wanted some orange juice, tea or coffee. This had made them feel a little comfortable talking to me. I had to then talk in a manner that would not make them feel threated because the reason for this activity was to ask if they know people who are being physical or emotional abused, because this is a sensitive topic I had to make sure that I was relaxed and had an open posture to show them that I am really interested in their matter, this was an activity that I had to carry out to get people to get involved in what the Otley action for older people and one of the information that I had to give and ask about was abuse. . When I was talking to Sue one of the elderly who I had approached I had realized she didn’t need any information about any of the topic that I was say, Sue needed information about what events is their going on this year. I then had to go and get the leaflet and to show that I didn’t mind that she needed some other information I had kept on smiling and I had listened carefully in what Sue was asking for.
Most of us have a mental picture or image of what a country is like.
“The Only Enemy an Afghan cannot defeat is himself.” - a thousand splendid suns. Afghanistan has been war torn by centuries of constant invasions and war. Afghanistan has become so used to war they have become accustomed to it, this has lead to Afghanistan's constant struggle. Many things in Afghanistan lead to war there. Terrorist groups such as the Taliban occupy much of Afghanistan and enforce inhumane laws. Afghanistan struggles from extreme poverty, this leads to many people becoming homeless. All of these problems keep this beautiful place from developing into a working country.
The American Anthropological Association 's (AAA) aim is to offer guidelines and promote education and discussion. American anthropologists do this often by speaking and interacting with individuals living and experiencing the culture. Truly understanding, learning, and becoming accustomed to a new cultural environment takes a significantly long period of time, perhaps even years of exposure to the culture in order to truly understand traditions, morals, and customs. For instance in the Shostak`s study on the !Kung people, it was important for the researchers to say words correctly, at appropriate times, and in a culturally accepted manner, in addition, in order to interview individuals, specifically women, the anthropologist would ask one to “enter work” with her and they would talk for an hour or a day, or over a long period of time, perhaps two weeks. When studying another culture, American anthropologists include host country colleagues in their research planning and when requesting funding, establish true collaborative relationships, include host country colleagues in dissemination, including publication, and they also ensure that something is given back to the host. When studying other countries, the process is done carefully and thoughtfully, in order to end the study with new information on a culture and to establish new connections
By interviewing Jian, I went to my high school. My friend who is also my participant, lives next to the high school. I took off at 79th St station, and saw a group of five boys, they were playing outside the bakery. I took a look at my watch, at this moment, they supposed to study in the classrooms, not play outside the bakery. And there were two students buying bread in the bakery. Students in this school were the “same” as the time when I went to this school. Cross the street, the high school is on my right side. There was a football team playing, actually they were trained by the teacher there. Again, there were three guys wearing hats were watching students playing football outside the playground. These styles of study are definitely not good for students. After one minute of walking, I still had a good view on students playing. There were cars all along the way on both sides. Behind that black car, my classmate was sitting on the long chair and smoking in front of his house. He seemed like he was looking, but