The other day when I was speaking with Mark he advised me to make sure that I have a good handle on the language before I go into any interviews. This will certainly help my interviewees to feel more open and will help me to conduct the interview better so that I can ask for the important information without using circumlocution (asking something in other words sometimes, and in this case, because of a limited vocabulary).
But one of the greatest benefits that this will give me is a greater opportunity to build rapport. During the first 3 weeks or so of my experience I may just want to be talking to people, getting to know the language better, and getting involved in the culture. That is one reason why I am glad I am taking a cultural proofs class, which will require me to attend these cultural events and get involved with the people in Mexico. I'll probably just spend my first while in Mexico working on that class.
The nice part about this though is that this cultural immersion will actually be helping me to complete my project. It gives me a chance to not only build my Spanish skills, but to get to know the people better, to search out my potential interviewees and build rapport with them. That, in my humble opinion, is going to be one of the best parts of my Mexico experience- the relationships that I will make with the people :)
Benjamin
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