Represent!

     Today in class we continued talking about gaining access - to the community and the organizations we will be working with in South Africa. She asked us three questions, which I would like to answer here. The first question was how do I explain my purpose in the field? We are going to be meeting a lot of new people, and they are all going to know what this young American college student is doing in South Africa. My project is easy to explain simply...I almost worry it is too straightforward? Like people will want to ask clarifying questions just because it is so brief....but Heather did tell us to make it as concise as possible. My purpose in going to South Africa is to study the relationships between zoo keepers and the animals in their care. Boom, done. To go a little more in-depth: I want to study how relationships between keepers and animals can benefit the animals and how it can benefit the keepers. The model is that positive relationships benefit both parties. I want to further explore how positive relationships develop and what the benefits are.
   
      The second question was what roles will I be assuming inside the homes, communities and organizations that are hosting me? I will start with my host family. Heather mentioned that the Thomases did not want to impose on us because they viewed us more as guests. I do not want my role in their home to be as a guest - at least not for three months. It might start out that way, but I am hoping to become a friend. Not a relative necessarily, but not a guest - I think friend is somewhere in the middle there. I want to help out around the house and I want the Thomases to know they can ask me to help and I will not be offended at all. This goes into reciprocity, which we also talked a little about today. In the host home, service is the best way to "pay back" our host family. The role I want in the zoo is a little harder to define...I am not exactly sure yet what role I want there. Obviously I want to be more than just a zoo goer. And I want the zoo keepers to be more than just my study subjects. I want them to be a major part of the research and aides in the research - with their full consent and willingness, of course. I want to become a friend or colleague to the people who work in the zoo. Someone they can trust to observe things usually done behind the scenes, and maybe even trust enough to help out with stuff. I am not sure what other communities I will become a part of...certainly the LDS community. In that community I want to be another YSA, a faithful, helpful member. I wonder how much of the Thomases community we will meet and how many interactions we will have with them - enough to become a part of it?

     The third question was how will I introduce myself in these contexts? Our host family will already know a little about our background since they have been hosting BYU field study students for the past few years. Someone in class on Monday brought up the point that we need to be careful how we treat those communities and people we interact with, because we will affect how future BYU students are seen and how easily they are accepted. I wonder what preconceived notions the Thomases, the zoo, or the LDS ward will have of visiting BYU students? When I think about introducing myself to someone I have just met, whether it be at church, the zoo, or some social gathering, here are some things I will probably include: I'm a college student at BYU, I grew up in the United States, my family is from Montana (will they even have heard of Montana?), I'm studying wildlife, and my purpose for being in South Africa is to study keeper-animal relationships. I am interested to see how this changes over the course of my stay there - if there will be certain details I want to leave out in certain situations etc.