Return of the Jedi

Last week my mentor, Mark, got back from his sabbatical leave in Morocco and it was really great to meet with him.  Mark has traveled over south America to complete over 70 of these types of interviews in different languages;  he is just the man for the job, and now he is back.  We had a great meeting on Tuesday wherein he was able to point me in the right direction concerning my research and preparation.

One of the great things that I learned was how to access the church archives online.  Because I have already conducted a lot of general research, the study that lies before me is now merely two-fold;  I will do research on the secular history of Irapuato and the surrounding area, and I will use Church archives to get a general idea of dates, time periods, and names for the early church within Irapuato.

Interestingly, another idea came up that if I can find any of the missionaries who served in the early days of Irapuato, then I could possibly interview them before my trip to Mexico.  The odds are good that there are a few that live nearby as BYU does lie within the center of the Mormon community.

In essence, I am just grateful to have Mark on board, I couldn't do this without him and I feel that his contribution to my learning will be invaluable.  Mentorships are the best.  I am glad that I am planning to a teacher so that one day I may also be a mentor to a young padawan, and train him in the ways of the force.

Transcribing

For my third methods practice I transcribed an interview that I had with a friend of mine.  We spoke for 10 minutes or so in Spanish about his mission, and I later took the time to painstakingly write down every word that we said.  I find these new skills that I am learning particularly interesting to put into practice.

Nearly every day in the field I will be interviewing somebody, and then taking time to write down everything.  My interviews will usually be longer than 10 minutes and my interviewees will be speaking in Mexican accents at a much faster pace.  The frequency which I will have to transcribe means that itis a skill that I definitely need to work on.

I wonder what tips and tricks of the trade their are for transcribing?  I definitely can work on my listening comprehension, for which I am going to start watching some movies in Spanish.  I also need to become more familiar with typing in Spanish and using the Spanish keyboard.

It is interesting to me how much I really need to learn and take into account as I prepare for Mexico.

Benjamin

The Flood

During my studies this week I learned about a major flood that swept through Irapuato after a dam broke due to heavy rains.  The death estimate was around 200 people and the city was devastated.  It was the worst flood in Mexican history!  I actually found out about the flood from and Ensign article that told of the one small branch that was in Irapuato in 1973.  Luckily no members were harmed in the flood and there was a lot of humanitarian work that was done.

I found it so interesting that this major event happened in Irapuato and I hadn't even heard of it.  The flood will give me a definite starting point, something that I know happened locally and effected the members.  The article also mentioned the name of the branch president during the time, Octavio Arrendondo, who by now would be about 60 years old. This means that many of the first members in the Irapuato area might still be alive; I have a good chance at getting many first hand accounts! And I even have a name to start with.

I really am getting rather excited to see the final product.  This is a good sign for me, I am gaining an greater interest in the actual work that I will be doing with history, in addition to that which I had for the language and the culture.

Fears

I've been meaning to do this post for a little while, and I hope that I can do so in the right way.  You see, it is important sometimes to acknowledge our fears so that we can take a closer look at them and realize that they may not be that scary after all.  Fear all really stems from one thing: the unknown, think about it and you will recognize that most of your fears will come from, at least in part, the fact that you don't know how things will be.

What are some of my fears in going to Mexico?  First of all one of my major fears is not being able to communicate well.  I am still learning the language and I don't want to be stuck inside my head surrounded by people that I don't understand.  I am practicing Spanish everyday, and I am overall not too concerned, however I do sometimes wonder what hinderences will bar my path because of my inability to express myself fluently or understand others completely.

I suppose this stems from not know the full extent of my Spanish abilities, coupled with me not know how well I will be able to understand the native speakers there.  There are a few things I can do about this: first, I need to get a better understanding of my speaking level.  This is tied to the idea that I need to create a better study plan to acquire the Spanish language.  Second I need to practice my ability to understand native speakers.

Both of these problems are primarily solved by practicing speaking with people from Mexico, and I am lucky that I have a few Mexican friends.  But I can also practice comprehension by watching movies in Spanish and practice speaking by setting a certain amount of time each day that I will speak Spanish with my roommate or class mates or others.  Lastly, I can always ask for help and advice from a large group of friends that served foreign language missions and have more skills and experience in language acquisition than myself.

So... that's the plan (rule the world).  It's simple right?

Benjamin

Interview Method Practice and Language Acquisition

This morning I interviewed my roommate, Gordy, about his mission.  I wasn't going to find anybody to interview about the history of the church in Irapuato, Mexico, so I figured that because he served in Samara, Russia, that was the next best thing... right?

Luckily I did find some correlation to my project.  While I was learning about missionary work in Russia, Gordy brought up language study, which is something that I didn't have to do on my mission.  In response to my questions he explained the difference between a good language study plan and a bad one.

A bad language study plan errs very close to not having a language study plan at all.  For a little while on his mission he said he would just read the scriptures in Russian and, though it helped a little, there is only so much you can learn from this approach.  It is important to try lots of different approaches.  As he taught me, "you are going to speak the language about 5,000 more times than you will read or write it," so it is very important to incorporate that usage of speech into your language study plan.

Some of the things that he found effective, that I want to try not only while in the field but as I study the language before hand, include activities that he would do throughout the day.  For instance, if he was talking with someone and he heard a word he didn't understand, he would write it down to look up later.  Also, if he was trying to communicate something but didn't have the right vocabulary or grammar structure in the moment, then he would be sure to make note of that and learn how to correctly say that at a later time.

As language acquisition is one of the main focuses of my field study, I am very grateful for these methodological insights into language study plans.  I feel that this interview/methods practice proved more helpful than I originally thought it would be.

¡Chido!

Individualism: Ser, o no ser.

Reading about the Ophelia Syndrome (accepting the framework of being told how to think/act or what is important to learn) really made me think a lot about my education and everything that I am learning in school.  Quite fittingly I heard today that Mark Twain, among his many other witty words, said "Don't let school interfere with your education." I think there is a lot of truth in that. He also said "If God had meant for us to be naked, we'd have been born that way," but that seems a little less relevant.

But seriously, there are the things that we are going to college, and paying tuition, to learn, and then there are the hoops that we need to jump through in order to get the grade we need.  Usually they are unrelated.  It is unfortunate that so much of our time is spent jumping through these hoops that we don't learn the truly valuable lessons like what type of people we are and what is important to us.

Now I understand that my field study is not supposed to be this amazing "self-realization" experience, and I will be focusing outward and seeking to learn about the culture that surrounds me, but I think that overcoming the Ophelia Syndrome for field studies is completely applicable.  In order for me, or anyone, to be successful in learning about others and their culture they must first understand themselves.

We have talked a lot in class about recognizing "the water that we swim in" or the cultural views that we take for granted and then trying to compensate for them.  But it is also important for us to understand who we are personally so that we can see where we are coming from that personal standpoint.  And the better that I understand myself and what I want to learn, and how I can best learn, the better I will be at learning those things and completing a successful and meaningful field study.

 Sometimes the most difficult search we will conduct as Sherlock is trying to find out who we really are.  It's as Ezra Taft Benson has said: "Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul."

Framework

Up until today I was fairly worried that all of my research that I have done has been somewhat irrelevant to my actual project.  As I have mentioned previously, my mentor for my project has been out of the country for the past few months and I have kind of been shooting in the dark.  Each class period I have been required to come up with a source (such as a book or article) that is "related" to my project in some way.

Luckily, for me, there is a fairly decently sized collection of Mormon Mexican History within the BYU Library, which means that I have been able to do some research on what the basic history of Mormons in Mexico, as well as the history of several of the original Mormon colonies.  There is, however, quite a lack of readily available information concerning what I will actually be doing my project on, that is, Irapuato's Mormon history. Without my mentor here to guide me to the right information, or at least methods of searching for it, I feel like I have been hitting all around the target with my research, but have yet to get a bulls-eye shot.

In class today, though, I was able to take a closer look at the research that I had completed and what it tells me.  Because I have been, as I said, hitting all around the mark, and now that I have taken a step back I can better see what I have been missing in the middle.  I can now better define what I need!  I knew what I had been aiming for all along, but sometimes it's rather hard to define until you frame it and determine what it is not; "eliminate the impossible and what remains must be the truth!" as my good friend Sherlock put it.

So what am I looking for now?  I'm still getting the idea, but from what I understand, I am looking for things like: historical documents from Irapuato itself, statistics concerning religious affiliation during the time period of the first Irapuato Mormons, church records concerning early members of the church, and dates and names of the first appearances of Mormons within Irapuato. Where am I going to find this, and similar information? Well...

"You know my methods, Watson"

A Changing Perspective

Reading the Family and Kinship article was interesting for me.  It brought back a memory I had of some pacific island people in my high school.  I remember thinking that it was really crazy that their whole family had moved to the same town in rural southern Utah because all of the islanders I knew always called each other "cousin."  I once asked about this and found out that they weren't really cousins and thought that was interesting that they all were cousins, apparently through simple mutual agreement.

Now that I have learned more about how family and kinship structures differ in other cultures it causes me to pause and think about those things that I take for granted.  I never would have assumed that something I took as basic as the perception of my family would differ in other cultures.  I wonder how accepted I will become within my host-family in Irapuato.

The article said that kinship units were sometimes established by geographical boundaries.  In some cases all those people within a certain area would share a name.  In America we seem to use geographical boundaries to differentiate between different school or college preferences, and especially different sports teams, but we don't have a name given to these fans collectively; my name isn't Benjamin Provo-ite Cougar-fan Jones.

I wonder what other established social systems that I take for granted, and in what other ways I may be like the fish who doesn't know that he is swimming in water.  The views of education (especially public education) in Mexico probably differ greatly from that in the U.S.  The views of work and benefits are probably very different as well.  What is the average occupation within the area of Irapuato?  They probably have a lot less "white-collar" office jobs than we do.

I wonder what I can do while I am there to truly see the differences and similarities between our cultures. Wouldn't it be great to receive reverse culture-shock upon my return?

A Spanish Sherlock

In order to complete my first Methods Practice I had to become a participant observer in a social situation (which is defined by three factors: place, actors, and activities).  I chose to observe the groundhog's day party that my roommates and I were throwing last Friday.  The place: My apartment.  The actors: my friends.  And the Activities: cards and party games.

It is interesting to me that each of these three elements, especially the first two, were very personal to me.  Because the setting and the actors were familiar I felt at ease, comfortable and ready.  The activities were also familiar to me, and as party games for me have the a positive effect, I once again felt at home and comfortable in the environment.

I wonder how this factor of familiarity played a role in my role as an observing participant.  I admit that it was easier to loose sight of my task in an environment that I had done almost everything but field work before.  I had to be careful not to get too wrapped up the the activities that I left my role as an observer.

In Mexico I think I will have a different problem. Here all of the actors were my friends beforehand. There I will be an observer, an outsider from the start.  I may have to take into account some skewed results from reactivity. At my party I could easily hide the fact that I was an observer, but in Mexico it will be blatantly obvious.  It may take some time for me to gain a level of trust with the people whom I will be associating with.

I really enjoyed that activity, even the part about writing the notes up afterwards. I felt a little like Sherlock Holmes, recording all of my observations. Yes, yes, quite smashing actually. I shall have to keep up my observations once I have reached the field; it's elementary, really.

Unofficial Interview Questions

Here are a few questions that I might use while interviewing members of the church in Irapuato, Mexcio. Mark Grover has his own interview rubric that I will be using, but these questions will help give me a general idea while I am waiting to talk with him.

1. Who were the members of the church when you were first baptized?

¿Quienes son los miembros de la iglesia cuando se bautizó usted?

2. Do you remember who had joined the church around the same time as you did?

¿Usted puede recordar a quienes la unieron a la iglesia acerca de usted?

3. Do you remember the names of the missionaries that taught you?

¿Usted puede recordar los nombres de los misionaros que le enseñaba?

4. What challenges did you experience while you were preparing for baptism?

¿Cuales retos tenía usted cuando estaba preparando para el bautismo?

5. What challenges did you experience after you were baptized?

¿Cuales retos tenía usted después de bautizarse?

6. Who strengthened you the most as a new member of the church?

¿Quien le ayudaba la más cuando era usted un miembro nuevo?

7. How big was the church in Irapuato when you were baptized?

¿Cuantos miembros tenía la iglesia aquí en Irapuato cuando se bautizó usted?

8. What first brought you the church?

¿Que cosa le gustaba más a usted cuando conoció a la iglesia?

9. How much time was there between when you met the missionaries and when you were baptized?

¿Cuanto tiempo hace el momento de conocer a los misionaros, y se bautizó usted?

10. Would you mind telling me the story of how you came to know the church was true?

¿Usted puede contarme la historia del momento en que supo que la iglesia es verdad?

11. Have you had any experiences in helping others come into the church?

¿Usted ha tenido algunas experiencias de ayudarse a otras personas para que se unieran a la iglesia?

12. What did the missionaries do that most helped to strengthen your testimony?

¿Que cosa, que hicieron los misionaros, le ayudaba más a usted para fortalecer su testimonio?

13. In general, was your life like before you came to know of the church?

¿En general, como era su vida antes de conocer la iglesia?

14. What changes in your life have you experienced since joining the church?

¿Cuales cambios ha visto usted en la vida desde se unió a la iglesia?

15. Do you have any further experiences that you would like to share with me?

¿Tiene usted algunas experiencias más que le gustaría compartirme?

Modismos and Sayings

On class on Wednesday we had a really interesting discussion about some idioms used in the Spanish language. You can tell a lot about a culture from the idioms that they use. Our idioms in America are very centered around time (such as "time is money"). Where as Spanish idioms seem to deal a lot with food (such as "me vale queso" which means I don't care, but literally means something like: that matters to me as much as cheese).

Last night I was watching Ocean's 13 and there is one part where one of the "mormon twins" is working in a factory in Mexico. One of his co-workers warns him "algo es peligroso" (something is dangerous), to which he responds "Peligroso es mi nombre medio" (literally: Dangerous is my middle name). I thought this was funny because the subtitle read "danger is my middle name." It's interesting how we try to get our idioms to fit in another language and sometimes it doesn't work, especially when we translate wrong.

I wonder sometimes what impression my use of the Spanish language is going to give the native people there; I still have a lot of Spanish to learn. Every time that I mess up my grammar or use the personal tú instead of the formal usted I am labeling myself as a outsider. Of course, with my pale skin and 6'8" I will stick out like a sore thumb, but language is something else.

The nice part is that I will be able to use my lack of language proficiency to my advantage sometimes. If I admit my mistakes and inadequacies but express a real desire to learn, that should open up the hearts of the people of Irapuato. Who doesn't like someone who is struggling hard to learn your language and culture? They should be happy to help, and as I seek to learn in friendship, I am sure they will respond in like kind.

And I will be feliz como una lombriz (happy as a worm).

La Vida Cotidiana [or daily life]

I was looking through some of the past readings for the class and was really impressed by the reading about field notes and I really liked the picture that the author portrayed of the actual field studies. He had spent most of his life doing field research in countries other than his own, and I liked the idea of daily life that he spoke about in his article.

I wonder how my actual daily experiences will be once I am in Mexico. How much time will I be spending with the people? How much time will be spent doing homework, especially taking field notes?

I really liked the system that he had for note taking, the jottings, diary, time-log, and field notes proper. It reminded me of my mission, especially when he talked about the time-log where he would plan what he wanted to do for the day and then what he ended up accomplishing. In a sense, I believe that my daily life in Mexico will be a lot like my mission.

Just like my mission I will be planning nightly for the following day, during which I will be trying to meet with people and have discussions/ask questions with them. I will need to be keeping a personal journal (diary), time-log (planner) and giving a report at the end of my experience.

I feel that my mission experience has prepared me a great deal for what lies ahead (if I only had a dollar for every time I said this, I could retire on Tuesday coming). But there is one aspect that is definitely going to be different and quite a challenge for me: I will be learning another language.

With this challenge comes a whole other wave of questions which I will have to consider in another post, maybe I won't even know the answers to some of these until I am in the field. These questions include: What language tools should I bring with me to the field? Which should I bring with my on my daily excursions? What is the best way to study the language while at "home"? Should I take another Spanish class while I am in the field? What note taking and other remembering methods can I use while out of my living quarters? And what do I do if I simply can't understand someone?

I hope to be able to answer some of these soon, and some later, and when I do I will let you know.