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!

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.

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.

Polychronic Time vs Monochronic Time

      

I really loved our last class discussion. We talked about different aspects of culture, mainly the different ways that people deal with time. Monochronic time is very schedule and blocked out - every part of the day is compartmentalized. The United States runs mostly on monochromic time – you schedule times to go to the doctor, to see shows, to have lunch with your friends, to work on homework. I know that I do this, just take a look at my planner. I refer to my class schedule frequently and fill in all the blanks with homework, work, exercise, etc. Polychronic time places more emphasis on doing multiple things at once and the involvement of people. Appointments or schedules are not as important, rather whatever or whoever is the focus gets all the time. These two different concepts of time do not mix well. And yet we see them together quite often, like in our doctor appointment example. You have a set time to go to the doctor but usually wind up waiting several minutes to see him. This can be upsetting – you had a scheduled time, a monochronic view. When you finally do see the doctor you don’t want him or her to be stressed about staying on schedule, you want their full attention and care, a polychronic view.

After this class I thought about trying to change my life to polychronic time. Of course, it wouldn’t work because I am in a monochronic culture – I have a class schedule, a work schedule, homework and tests with assigned due dates and times. In order to fit everything that I have to do into one day, I have to “manage” my time. And thinking about it kind of depresses me. I wish that I could escape monochronic time. The whole discussion made me think of a story I saw on the wall of a restaurant.  It’s called the Parable of the Mexican Fisherman and I liked it so much I’m just going to include it.

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long," answered the Mexican. "But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American. The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs ... I have a full life." The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. "And after that?" asked the Mexican. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise." "How long would that take?" asked the Mexican. "Twenty, perhaps 25 years," replied the American. "And after that?" the Mexican asked. "Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!" "Millions? Really? And after that?" "After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

To me, this is the perfect example of a monochronic world clashing with a polychronic one. The Mexican fisherman is content to work as much as he has to and then spend his time with his friends and family. The American instantly creates this whole plan, or schedule, for him that would make every day more busy and “productive.” Unfortunately for me, I have to be monochronic in order to do the things I want to do, for example get good grades and earn enough money for this field study to South Africa. But I am looking forward to the time when maybe I can be a little more polychronic.

To relate this to my project – what is South African culture, polychronic or monochronic? If they are polychronic how will the affect my time there? If I understand polychronic time correctly, it means that it could be difficult to schedule and keep appointments with people, which could be challenging if I am trying to do interviews. But I kind of hope that it is polychronic, just so I can experience something new and see if I really would prefer it to the monochronic life I have been living.

Apartheid

In Wednesday's class we learned more about the history and legislature of apartheid. I cannot believe that laws such as the Group Areas Act (restricting different races to different living areas) or the Mixed Marriage Act (prohibiting marriage between races) could ever be passed. Unfortunately, South Africa is not the only place where such horrible racism has been displayed i.e. the Holocaust, or slavery in North America. But the apartheid of South Africa took place much more recently and since I am going to be living in a city where people still live in the separate areas forced on them during apartheid, it has a lot more meaning to me. Heather asked us to think about how this history of apartheid is going to affect our time and projects in South Africa. Some of the questions I have when thinking about this: Will black or colored people be less willing to help me because I am white? What is the feeling towards Americans in general? Besides just an unwilling or mistrusting attitude, do black or colored people feel angry towards white people? Do they actively try to hurt or be rude to them? Are white people still racist towards black/coloreds? Do white people/Afrikaans have a sense of guilt for what white people did, even if they were not involved? I know that I feel a little guilty, and I was not even born when most of this was going on! Maybe guilty is not the right word, but I definitely feel like I want to be kind and respectful towards colored/black people and show them that white people are not all rotten. Now, I know that black people were also killing black people during apartheid...revolutionists went after "informers" or those aiding white people. Does some of that anger still exist? I mean. that is on top of tribal disagreements that were going on before!!! Wow, there are so many more complexities to relationships there than I have ever experienced living in the United States.

So, how will all of this influence my project? Obviously, if black/colored people still feel anger towards white people, it might be difficult for me to work with conservation organizations or the zoo or lion park. Oh! If I am kind to black/colored people, will white people be less willing to help me? What a mess. That would certainly influence my project too. Are these questions ridiculous....I mean do South Africans as a whole even think about them? I guess it was only 18 years ago that apartheid ended and a democratic election allowed all races to vote. There are definitely going to be people who were alive and in the middle of things when all of this was going on - so how many of the old attitudes still exist? Do parents teach their children anger towards that one family because they helped whites during apartheid? What do the schools teach about apartheid? Ha, I would do a field study on apartheid, except I don't have the guts...it would be too depressing and horrific. I guess I need answers to these questions in order to know how apartheid will really affect my field study and my time in South Africa, but it seems like best way to answer many of these questions is by going there and talking to people....so I'll just have to wait and see!

South African History: Part 1

In Wednesday’s class we started learning some of the history of South Africa. It is unfortunate that we cannot spend longer on this, because it is fascinating. I feel like I know U.S. history fairly well, but barely know the history of any other part of the world. This is a shame, because there is so much more to world history.  Anyway, Heather asked us to think about how South African history will affect us in our day to day lives in East London. Several things come to mind with this – East London will have a much greater diversity of people than any place that I have lived before. There are colored people, Afrikaans, English, black, etc. It is good to know where they came from historically and how they relate to each other because of the past. Heather mentioned a black friend who was from the Xhosa tribe, I think, and did not think very highly of guys from the Zulu (?) tribe. These kinds of relationships would definitely be good to keep in mind in day to day interactions. It was cool to realize why East London is called East London, and why there is a Port Elizabeth. It is because the British were “in charge” of South Africa for several years, so of course they named things after London and after Queen Elizabeth. And there will not just be British influence in South Africa, because the French and Dutch also had a strong presence there. The Dutch even developed into a new people, sort of, the Afrikaners. And there are all the colored people, who descended from Indians and Malaysians and I can’t remember who else. It is going to be amazing! I am excited to be around so many different people. Do they have different cultures among each group? How united are the South Africans as a people? They have only really been their own country for about 60 years…I am excited to see the effects of these different cultures in everyday life in South Africa.