In the Field!

So far South Africa has been pretty amazing. I really loved Cape Town, it was such a gorgeous place. I am glad we could spend a few days there seeing the sights, before we headed down to East London. Anyone going there with a limited budget (both money and time) should check out the City Sightseeing Bus. You buy a ticket for the day and can ride it all over, getting off and on. It took us to some great places, like the Botanical Gardens right on the side of Table Mountain. So gorgeous and peaceful. And it goes to World of Birds, a park with hundreds of birds and some other animals too. They had one enclosure with several little monkeys running around and you could go inside and they would jump on your shoulder and try to steal things from your pockets! And of course driving along Chapman’s Drive and down to the Cape of Good Hope was incredible. I could go on and on.

We did have to leave Cape Town though and get on to the next adventure. And to do that we had to ride a Greyhound Bus for 16 hours! We drove all night, so we unfortunately did not get to see as much of the South African country side as we hoped to. But we did have several hours of light in the morning with which to admire the hills and vegetation and towns. East London is quite green and there are lots of plants and trees, thick vegetation. But it is harder to see that where we are staying, surrounded by neighborhoods, malls, etc. Our host family has been absolutely spectacular. The Thomases are great and we love them already! Our little flat is very nice, with lots of sunlight and white curtains. We are all starting to get used to life here, but at first it was a little daunting. Venturing out onto the street or into the mall was nerve wracking. It still is, a little, but we are finding our way around and meeting new people, so things are slowly becoming less alien. I spent the day at the Zimani Daycare. I was stuck into a classroom of 30ish four to five year olds. It was a blast! The daycare is in Duncan Village, one of the townships of East London. The classroom is an old shipping crate or train box car, I am not sure which. The kids were super funny and quick to grin. They taught me clapping games and had a great time playing with my hair and generally using me as a jungle gym.

One of my favorite things so far has been getting used to the taxis. That is our main mode of transportation – taxis are crazy!!! I wish I could do a field study just on them and the drivers. There is a whole system, that we have not quite figured out yet, but I find it fascinating. Yesterday I was in a taxi van with 16 other people! The person sitting next to the driver gets to sort out the money, although the passengers are pretty good at sorting it out themselves. I had a R10 bill and went to pass that forward with the rest of my row – they made sure that I got the correct change out of our collective money pile before passing it all forward.

We have noticed that people who work in the shops and grocery stores are not overly friendly – I feel like it is not unusual in an American store for the cashier to make small talk with you. I do not know if people just don’t do that here, or if because we are white they figure we won’t speak the language…but cashiers here do not do that kind of thing. But that is not to say that people are not kind or friendly. Some of the taxi guys are super friendly, but then they have to be outgoing to track down prospective passengers. People at church have been very friendly, the YSA group is awesome. We have already done one activity with them and institute and a fireside. Tonight we are going to play miniature golf, or put-put with them. I am hoping to get a game of ultimate Frisbee going one of these days – that would be a blast!

As for my project…well I went to the zoo and spoke with the curator. I am still waiting to hear back from her a positive “Yes, you can come do your project.” It sounded promising though. There was the minor setback that the zoo does not actually have zookeepers, it has general workers who have not been trained in animal care or biology or zoology. But it sounds like some of them have been there for years, so I am sure they have developed relationships with the animals in their care. Alison told me of several other animal places. So far I have visited the SPCA, an animal shelter. I got one interview there, but was not allowed to get more. That is fine, because in the SPCA creating bonds with the animals can actually be detrimental to both parties. I really want to check out the Lion Park. It sounds like the Promised Land for my project. Unfortunately it is a bit out of town, so I have to wait until the Thomases or someone could give me a lift there. I am still trying to track down other places that I can volunteer. One group sounds promising, but they do not have anything for me to do right now.

To conclude this blog post – South Africa has really been amazing so far. It is different and eye-opening. Things have been at times uncomfortable but I think that is the point. We are meant to grow and be stretched and that is going to hurt a bit. But it will be worth it in the end, I hope. I have discovered the joys of rooibos tea and rusks and I can never go back!  

Final Learning Journal!!!!

      Except it won't really be my last one, since we have to keep blogging about things in the field...but it is my last one in Provo, Utah, and that is exciting! So today in class we did a little exam review and went over all the different concepts we have learned this semester. There really has been a lot of good information! I hope I can remember all of it and really put it to use in the field. Some thoughts I had during our review:

Being a participant observer - I have to try to not only participant in the activities - be it church, working at the zoo, doing stuff with the Thomases - I also have to remember to be an observer in those activities. It is more than just getting involved: it is paying attention to how people act, what is culturally acceptable, how do I react to things that are different from my culture, what is different and why is it different, how do people treat each other, the list goes on. There are so many things to be aware of, that if I can observe, will really help me gain a better understanding of the culture and be better prepared to enter other cultures in the future.

Conducting successful interviews - we went over all the different ways to interview, the different structures, probes, etc. I can do so much more than just ask my simple questions and I need to remember to tie some of those descriptive questions or probes into my interviews. For example, I didn't list any grand tour questions on my list of possible questions. But I do really want to know what a typical day at the zoo is like. Grand tour question! I'd forgotten some of the language stuff, like asking people to define words, even if they are in English. That could definitely be important. And maybe the word has a similar surface meaning in both cultures, but a different meaning deeper down...like Jackie asking about relationships and what a relationship is in South Africa - I'm sure the surface meanings are the same in both cultures, but do people act differently in relationships in South Africa - is love or caring portrayed a different way? This also reminds me of the Christmas in the Kalahari reading. The researcher thought he was doing this great thing but he didn't get the reaction he expected at all, even though I'm sure the people in the community still appreciated his large Christmas bull, even if they didn't show it like he was used to.

Something else I thought about was entering the community. So far the zoo has not contacted us back...what do I do if I don't reach them before I get to East London? My plan is to just go to the zoo and try to find someone in charge or an administrator type and discuss my project with them. Will this be sufficient? And from there how do I meet the zoo keepers and really build rapport with them? Will it be possible to "hang out" with them while they are working? Is there a break room where I can go and talk to people during lunch breaks? I guess I was counting a lot on the administrators or bosses of the zoo to introduce me to keepers. Who is in charge of the zoo? Is there a main boss or a group of people that decide things? I need to figure that out so I know who to approach.

So yeah, some good thoughts provoked by today's review, I still have some things I need to work on!

If you give a turtle a toy...

      This blog is about reading I did from my wildlife behavior textbook. I read the chapter about playing; it opens with a story of a turtle named Pigface who would "play" with balls and hoops placed in his enclosure. This livened up his bland habitat and stopped Pigface from clawing his own face and limbs - something he did before toys were introduced. Animals playing is an understudied subject...it kind of goes along with the idea of animal intelligence - are animals really thinking and figuring things out? Are they really playing just because it is fun? It is also understudied because it seems to have no evolutionary function and it is unclear what its function really is. I am interested in animal play, especially when it comes to playing with humans. Do zoo keepers play with the animals in the zoo? Does this strengthen relationships? What purpose does it serve for the animals?
    The reading defines play as this - "all motor activity performed postnatally that appears to be purposeless, in which motor patterns from other contexts may be used in modified forms and altered temporal sequencing. If the activity is directed toward another living being it is called social play." I love how they can turn play into this dense, scientific sounding thing! But I guess it does make sense...an example I think of immediately is my cats wrestling with and chasing each other. They are playing, but the motor activities used in play could be used to take down a mouse. What makes play purposeless? (Can't it just be for fun?) The book lists three ways activity can be construed as purposeless - the observers just don't know what is going on and can't see what the immediate benefit of play is; the purpose and benefit of play might not be immediately forthcoming; the benefits may be multiple and confouding. So all of these deal with a benefit existing, just not being readily apparent. I guess play can't be just for fun...
    There are several types of play. Object play is playing with inanimate objects like sticks, rocks, balls, leaves etc. The book provided several examples of animals playing with objects...cheetahs, for example, seemed to benefit from playing in that they were more successful going after live prey released by their mother than cheetahs who did not play as much. So object play can teach animals to hunt and survive in the wild. In a zoo environment, where the animal does not have to hunt, why do they encourage playing? Do they encourage playing?
    Another type of play is locomotor play - this includes leaping, twists, jumps, shakes, whirls, somersaults. Yes, my textbook said whirls. Some benefits of this kind of play include better brain development in the part of the brain that controls limb coordination. This makes sense and would also benefit the animal when it came to hunting or fleeing predators. Another type of play is social play, or playing with others. This in particular applies to my project, because I want to know if zoo keepers play with zoo animals and how that affects/benefits both parties. There are three functions of social play - it can lead to forging of long-lasting social bonds; it provides necessary physical skills; and it may aid in the development of cognitive skills.
     Okay, so what really is the function of play? A general theory is that play "functions to increase the veratility of movements used to recover from sudden shocks such as loss of balance, etc...and enhances the ability of animals to cope emotionally with unexpected or stressful situations." So in a zoo, where the habitat is controlled, the food is provided, and unexpected situations are very rare, what is the purpose of play? I guess animals do have to deal with humans, which can bring some unexpected situations - visits to the vet, other health care procedures, interactions with zoo visitors. So there may be some unexpected situations an animal needs to be prepared for. Personally, I think animals need to play and develop those motor skills and brain skills even if they don't really need them. It is an interesting ethical question....People want to go to the zoo to see animals acting like they would in the wild - that is when it is exciting - so maybe just as a money making tool animals need to be allowed to play or given the opportunity to play in zoos. I want to add a question about play onto my interviews - does the zoo keeper play with or notice the animals in their care playing? Do they think playing is benefical to these animals, even though they live in an artifial and controlled environment? Is it important for animal welfare that they play and develop?

Animals Learn!

         Wednesday's class I presented my project to Carlee and Jackie. It went well : ) Some of the feedback I got from Jackie - she wanted to know if South Africans would have a different idea of what a relationship was and how I was accounting for that. Apparently South Africans are a little more abrupt or straightforward - stern perhaps? So maybe they would not be likely to coddle animals. I have no idea what the normal treatment, or even positive treatment, of animals means to South Africans, but it is definitely something to keep in mind. I am sure I will learn how they feel about relationships before my project is done.
       The rest of my journal I'd like to talk about the reading I did for my annotated bibliography. I read from the textbook I will be using for my wildlife behavior course. The chapter I read was about learning and how animals learned. There were three main ways that animals learned or could be taught - single stimulus, Pavlonian, and instrumental. Remember that learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience. I am interested - what have the animals learned about living in a zoo? I wonder how many of the zoo's animals are captive bred and how many, if any, came from the wild? Is it hard for the wild animals to adapt and learn about living in a zoo environment. Do animals learn how to have relationships? Looking at the instrumental method of learning, it seems like it would be possible for an animal to learn about relationships. The relationship could be the reward, if the relationship brings kinder, prompter, more good natured care from the zoo keeper. But what actions would be part of the relationship...the animal being more cooperative while being moved or brought to the vet? And how would an outsider like me be able to see or observe an animal learning? Would I be able to tell by just watching that an animal had a positive, caring relationship with a zoo keeper? I guess it is easy to tell from the human side: is the keeper kind, caring, playful with the animal. But how do you tell if the animal reciprocates - I guess I am going to rely on the zoo keeper's opinon a lot - do they think the animal reacts to them in a way that suggest a relationship? I am interested to see how animals learn and encorporate that learning into their lives in the zoo.

Coping with Culture Shock

         Monday's lecture was all about culture shock - what it is and how we can deal with it. The reading and class were both alarming and helpful...it is alarming to think that I am going to not only be in a foreign, unusual, different culture, but I'm informed I am going to go through a period of hostility and frustration in which aspects of the culture will effectively drive me crazy. Luckily there are ways to deal with culture shock and hopefully "cure" it. Ashley showed us a list of culture shock symptoms and said that depending on how we personally coped with stress determines our culture shock symptoms. Looking at her list these things stood out as signs I might be under stress: excessive reading and sleeping, excessive laptop use, phobic behavior, or not going out. I definitely use movies and books as a safety net or comfort blanket. So if I realize all I want to do is watch movies or read books I might be experiencing culture shock (of course I do just enjoy movies and books and sleep, so those won't necessarily mean I am in culture shock). I can see myself getting rather phobic about things. Last Christmas I had some money stolen from my luggage and I am already dreading luggage issues with my upcoming international travel. We've talked some about safety in South Africa and I could definitely become phobic about safety issues. And of course, when stressed or disstressed, it is hard to leave the house, where things will be familiar and safe. And of course frustration and general grumpiness seem to be a part of culture shock.
       Okay, so I know the visible signs of culture shock - what do I do once I realize I might be experiencing it? Suggestions that I liked and intend to apply: laught at things, empathy, remembering that this is a once in a lifetime experience, keep the faith, and involving the host family. Of course I am going to make cultural mistakes. Hopefully most of them are pretty small and easy to learn from and then laugh about. I think humor is a great way to combat culture shock and maintain good relationships. Empathy is VITAL!!!! Remembering that the upbringing of South Africans might be drastically different from my upbringing and experiences is very important, as well as putting myself in other people's shoes. I have wanted to go to South Africa forever, this is my dream, and I want to make the most of it and embrace it - culture shock and all! I liked the keeping the faith method for minimizing culture shock...keeping the faith to me means that I remember we are all God's children. We might be different culturally and religiously but we are all brothers and sisters. It also means remembering, as Dr. Brown said in the Inquiry Conference, that humanity and the world are really better than the news usually makes them out to be...the world's a great place. Involving the host family seems like a very wise idea - they will be the people I know best, outside of Holly and Emily, and they will understand how the culture works. Of course I want to take advantage of their knowledge and wisdom.
       Some other thoughts I had from Monday's class: I should talk to my parents about how they dealt with culture shock. When I was 6-9 I lived overseas in Ireland and Israel. I don't remember dealing with culture shock, I was probably too young and just thought everything was a grand adventure. But I'm sure my parents had an interesting time figuring things out - I should ask them how strongly they felt culture shock and how they dealt with it. Another thought - in preparing for dealing with culture shock, the reading suggested knowing about your own culture and how it affects what you think and how you view things. What an interesting thing to think about! As a born and raised Mormon I naturally view some things a certain way, although I can't think of anything specifically right now - another blog post? And the final thing I want to work on is learning how South Africans communicate non-verbally....what things are different then how Americans communicate non-verbally.

The Unconscious Brilliance of Nature

       Another chapter from If a Lion Could Talk. This chapter is about humans trying to determine once and for all whether animals "think". The issue is that intelligence and the ability to think are not the same! A common example: a dog might jump up at a door handle over and over again and one time the door opens, the dog is free! The dog might do this over and over again, opening the door each time, but that does not mean the dog understands the underlying mechanism that causes this. The dog is not conciously thinking "I can open the door by scratching at the handle." This example reminds me of some of the papers I read about human-animal relationships. The keepers are bringing the animals food, so when an animal sees a keeper approaching, it is excited and goes to meet the keeper....is that because it has learned that keeper=food, or is it pleased to see the keeper for other reasons?
    This chapter talks a lot about learning associations - animals can recognize cause and effect, that does not mean they have a "theory of mind." A theory of mind involves imputing personal intentions, beliefs, and desires to and of others....this is kind of a complicated idea, but here's another example to clarify. The author of the book has a dog that would always try to eat the cat's food. The author would tell the dog off, so it stopped eating the food. Then one day the author was on the phone, and the dog went for the dog food again. The author was busy and couldn't tell off the dog. After that, whenever the author was on the phone, the dog would eat the cat food. So, was the dog thinking "Aha! He is distracted, I'm going to eat the food now!" Or was it simply a learned association - when he's on the phone, eat the food. There is a subtle difference between these two things...unthinking intelligence versus understanding.
     Something interesting caused by learned associations is superstitious behavior in animals. Example - a horse shying at the same place in the road where it was once scared by a bird. Apparently animals are pretty quick at picking up possibly cause and effects or associations. They do something a certain way because they recieve positive attention. Okay, so how does all of this tie into my project? I think it ties into the idea of positive reinforcement training - if a keeper treats an animal in a positive manner afte they do something the keeper wants, the animal is going to be more willing to do that behavior again. I've heard of training like this being used with elephants - keepers trained an elephant to raise it's foot for cleaning - positive reinforcement training causes less stress to the animals and make the keepers job easier. I don't know if the animals are really thinking about things - if they make decisions based on what other animals or humans are thinking. But regardless, using learned associations in the zoo environment seems like a grand idea.

Issues in the Field

      Today's class was great - I really appreciated it. We had a panel dicussion with the facilitators who have experience in the field. They shared many of the problems they had the field and ways to get around those problems. Some of the issues that concern me the most: I was not really worried about having issues with the people in my group, but it sounds like that is quite common. I just feel like Holly and Emily are going to be so great to have around, familiar faces in a strange new culture. They are both really smart, likeable girls, so I really hope we do not have too many problems. Another thing that concerns me is culture shock. Everyone talked about being overwhelmed and how little things that are different really start to bother them. This is a bit discouraging to me. I want to hear that everything is just great and an amazing and fantastic experience.....I know this is not realistic, and it is good to hear about these issues so that I do not go into the field completely naively. Anyway, back to culture shock, I really like Heather's approach to this problem, and to the problem of lost motivation. She would make a list of the things she loved about South Africa. It might be the only time I ever get to go to that part of the world, and I certainly want to make the most of it, to enjoy and treasure that time.
       Other things that worry me - I am worried about meeting people and becoming part of the community. I feel like with our field experience that is a little harder - we are not going to some small rural village where everyone will know us, we are going to a fairly large city. So that means identifying communities within the city to join - I know I will be part of the church community and I hope to be part of the zoo community. Then there is our host family and whatever community they are apart of; hopefully I can enter into that community and get to know their family and friends. Anyway, a big part of our in-field class is getting out into communities and working with people. I guess I am worried that since it is a bigger city that it will be harder to find the right communities to work with....but church and the Thomases should provide enough opportunity to meet and befriend other people. And I would like to go to Mama Yoyo's school, so there is another community!
       I haven't been too worried about language, but maybe I should? Heather and others have mentioned that the accents can be quite hard to decipher. And of course there will be new vocabulary. Maybe I'll just listen to a ton of youtube clips of people speaking with various South African accents...I did watch this one video where a guy was trying to teach how to talk with a South African accent - I don't think he did a very accurate job, but what do I know!? Anyway, it was good to discuss these and other issues that arise in the field. I really want to work on adding more safety-nets into my proposal, like Ashley suggested.