Extra Credit Learning Journal 2

I went to "Manulua: Creative Activities between Two Communities" by Prof. Joe Ostraff on Thursday afternoon. It was really good and very informative. He talked about how to get into and navigate different communities. He showed slides of different pictures of Mataika, Tonga and used the parallel between a Tongan little girl holding a kitten and his daughter holding a baby pig. He said that children do the same things. Even though they are from a different culture and have different backgrounds they still do the same thing with animals. It made me think about my views of going into Tonga and how I view the people. I think I sometimes view the people of Tonga by their culture. I think one of the most important things I need to remember when I go down to the field is that Tongan's are just like me. Yeah we have different backgrounds and perceptions regarding certain things but bottom line we are all people. We all have the same basic needs. I really liked Joe's presentation. Especially the part when he said that the Tongan's don't really care when palangi mess up or do something not culturally appropriate because they are palangi and it's okay. That really helped me to feel better about entering a culture I am not familiar with.

Learning Journal 21

I went to the inquiry conference on Tuesday and it was really informative. I went to Educate a Girl, Educate a Nation: Changing attitudes about girls education in Wiamoase, Ghana. It was a very interesting presentation and it reminded me about a movie I watched in my anthrofilms class last semester. It was about microcredit and how it is used to generate wealth among the poor populations. The companies would only loan money to women because they knew that if they gave it to the mothers the whole family would benefit. If they gave it to the men they would just spend it on things that they wanted and it wouldn't benefit the whole family. It made me think about the power of women in societies. I know that T0nga is semi-dominated by women because of the Fau of the families. It made me also think about what ways I might come across women dominance or ways that women are better suited for certain jobs than men in Tonga. Also what ways are men and women's roles different or similar in the Tongan community.

Learning Journal 20

I've thought a lot about the topic of agency lately and how it is used. I agree that agency can be used to discern from right and wrong but I definitely think that agency can also be used to choose between good and better things to do. I was thinking about how the principle of agency we discussed in class could be related to my project and ultimately to my field study experience. I think a lot of it has to do with how we use our agency and the decisions we make while we are in the field. We can choose right and wrong things pretty easily I think but being able to decide better things to do is something different entirely. When we get in the field I don't think it will be hard for us to decide not to cheat or lie. It might, however, be harder to decide how to utilize our time more effectively and do better things with our time down there. For example interviewing people is a very good method of gaining information but going with them to work and gathering food might be more valuable. Observations in the market place would be an effective way of gathering general information on a certain topic but actually talking to people and creating rapport might be better. These are just some thoughts that have been running around in my head.

learning Journal 19

I have been thinking a lot about the article "Helping, Fixing, or Serving" and what it truly means to serve someone. In my last learning journal I talked about the importance of making sure the people you talk to don't become a number. Ashley commented on my journal and asked me if I had thought about ways I can communicate to the people I spend time with that I see them as an individual. I thought about that and came up with a few ideas. First off I think just knowing someone's name goes along way. Last summer I made it a goal to know everyone's name in my ward. I learned everyone's names and whenever I would see any of them I would call them by name and say hi. It was really cool how much of a difference knowing someone's name really made. I made a lot of friends. People were more comfortable around me cause they felt like I really cared about them since I had cared enough to learn their name. Another idea I had was to ask them questions about their life and show genuine interest. Don't talk about myself unless they ask me questions. Try to focus on them and their interests instead of mine. I could also find out about the things that they cared about and ask them about it any time I see them. Also remembering things about the person even after you talk to them goes a long way as well. These are just a few ideas I have come up with so far but I'm going to keep thinking and see what I can come up with. Ps mentoring was cancelled today so I guess I'll have to practice telling someone I have to go next Friday....