Social Situations

We (my husband and I) have a place to live, I have possible contacts or gatekeepers, possible social situations and only 48 days until I get on a plane and begin building rapport with these gatekeepers and possible actors in these social situations.  It hit me in the last class period that although we organized actors, location, and activity into a social situation these are real people, real locations, and real activities that I will have more than just a research attitude for the people and location , as it is now, but I will have real emotional connections and relationships with the place and the people. As time to leave approaches I think of how I will build rapport with the people.

 I realize that  most relationships will be built through my host family and my gatekeepers I get in contact with but obviously it will be more than just that. I will come to know and build relationships with people in the community and I hope those relationships will spread. I expect that those relationships will start with my host family and the people I farm with but I don't know where it will go from there. It could be with nuns in the monestary, it could be with people I meet in the markets, in could be with students who I would love to know more about. I am sure that as I play sports with those on the field and ask families about their family tree that I will certainly begin to know individuals in the community and I can't wait to experience that.

I am excited to get there and buy clothing suitable for the culture --  To wear the married women attire and to know what is customary verse popular, and what is casual verses formal. I am excited to have the people teach me about their culture.

Tradition and Change

Allen, Tracy H.. “Tibet: Landscape of Tradition and Change”. FOCUS on Geography. 2009. 23-29

In this article the Allen explores the changing Tibetan landscape and the relationship shared between the culture and the environment. In Buddhist practice there is a deep interrelated balance between humans and nature but as modernity sets in so does a change in practice. China is compelling this change of going global. Railways are increasing and tourists are continually increasing but at the expense of tradition and the environment.

Mundgod: Mini Tibet

The last article I read " Mundgod's Tibetan Farmers on Organic Methods and the Monsoon Pattern" really cemented or, at least, made me more confident on what I want to research. I love the personality of the paper  even though it may not go as deep into the topic as I plan on going. I keep on being tossed back an forth on how much farming actually happened in Tibet.

This article made it clear that it was little and of the farming done it was mostly family farms. In Tibet they did have pesticides so they just maintained natural organic farming. Once they were exiled to India they immediately were taught about pesticides and they became widely used. Now the Dalai Lama is highly advising against it because organic foods are healthier for the body.

Over the years Mundgod has become known as a "Mini Tibet". Mundgod is a showcase of Tibetan culture and life style. It is considered to be one of the largest Tibetan settlements. Its main industry is agriculture but this may change as it continues to transition from a traditional society into modernity. If it is possible I would like to visit Mundgood to see the differences between Bylakuppe and Mundgod. From the readings it seems as though Bylakuppe's farms are more governmentally controlled where Mundgod seems more family oriented but I guess I will never really know until I can see for myself.

A Matter of Location

The participant observation at the airport turned out to be more exciting than I have previously experienced. I started to notice the inquisitive look of the security guards looking over individuals IDs and passports and the questioning expression of the individual wondering if it would be accepted or denied. As you prepare to go through the scans most people look around and look at what other are doing (They don't want to do anything wrong). Others are very intent and set the example of what to do. Mothers are generally checking over and over again whether they have everything they need. Some individuals are digging in their bags for their plane ticket or have wandering eyes trying to spot the nearest bathroom or food court. Customers waiting to board the plan lay on their mom or spouse lap until it is time to board. Every individual as their own way of behaving at the airport. Some look prepared and confident, some are relaxed and others are stressed and worried for the upcoming flight. The airport itself has its own type of culture. Everyone participates it the same simple act but accept it in very different ways. As I thought about how our flight to India will be I considered what the culture will be like when we get to India. I am curious what family we will end up staying with. How many kids will they have, what the parents will be like, where will they live.
Is the location of our house going to be convenient to both Beau's and my projects. Are we going to be near both the farms and a monastery. How are the people in our observation locations going to accept us and communicate fairly freely with us. It will be a different experience but we will learn to blend with the culture. It will be an experience that I will never forget. ( I meant to disscuss location to a further exent but my brother's wedding is calling me.)

Participant Observation

On Saturday Beau and I decided to go out to a restaurant to complete our participant observation assignment. We walked into the restaurant and I immediately noticed the many TVs scattered across the wall all playing the sports game. The lights were dimmed, shades half closed and blues and mainstream rock was playing in the background. There were beer advertisements on the walls, in the menus, and the servers made beer suggestions. Their "special" BBQ sauce was also advertised by placing bottles in perfect view upon entrance and in the menu. Red, blues, yellows, and black decorated the restaurant and small tin pails were used as light fixtures and decorations. I have been in many restaurants and worked at a few and I begin to realize how much the place caters to its customers.

For the assignment (seen above) I documented the place (Wingers), The actors (customers, waiters, manager, etc), and the activity (eating, socializing, serving). Though this is a very basic and common activity I began to realize things I probably would have never noticed. At one point our server brought our dessert without spoons and said that someone was washing them... 5 min later we finally got spoons. Our ice cream was partly melted and our mouths were salivating like crazy. I thought that as a server I would just go wash my own spoons for a customer and, not to mention, the team focus in the back said "dishes are everyones responsibility". I reality those things don't really bother me but it was neat to notice those kind of inconsistencies. It was neat to realize the differences between what Beau and I noticed. I payed quite a bit of attention to what servers were doing that they shouldn't do while Beau really looked at the atmosphere. In most of the situations I was able to understand what they were doing and draw pretty accurate conclusions but I can imagine that in a place and culture that is very different from ours it will be more difficult to make conclusions. I noticed that sometimes it is had to make observations about your own culture because we just do what we do and don't try to make sense of why we do things. It will be a different experience trying to figure out and ask with out drawing quick conclusions.
Working on the farm in Bylakuppe is most likely a different experience that it is here. I am interested to see how people work together and their theories on gardening. I am curious what part girls play on the farm and working in general vs. boys. I am imagining that observations may be easier there because it is different than what I am use to but conclusion may be much more difficult. I guess I shall find out.