Day 15: Interviews and Indian Ice Cream
Today was wonderful. It was wonderful because guess what??? I had my first interview today!!! Yeah, AWESOME. I feel like a researcher. I feel like an anthropologist. I feel like four months of this is going to be exciting (sidenote: okay, I know I'm not that cool but at least I don't feel as terrified about talking to people anymore). My first interview happened like this:
I told Rajyalakshmi, one of our translators, that I wanted to go out and find people today to interview. So she said that she would bring me to some homes where she knows parents who have children living abroad. We left at 11am... and I wasn't exactly nervous-- I was just... scared? Scared that I would be the most awkward researcher out there and that I would look like a silly little girl in comparison to the adults I would be interviewing. Thankfully, today I discovered that Telugu people are very hospitable-- they just invite you right in and they are very open to talking. Rajyalakshmi brought me to the house of S and K (I'm just going to leave their names at that for privacy stuff). S and his wife K are both BRILLIANT people; they are both economists. Still, they welcomed me into their home, gave me some delicious mango juice and asked me all about myself. Then S asked me about my research and we got into a forty five minute long discussion about his family. He has one son and one daughter living in the United States. I learned so much from him! And the best part was that he spoke amazing English. I was able to do the talking myself instead of using my translator. But he was so open! I would ask a question, he would answer and if I waited just a little bit during a pause... he would add even more thoughts. The most interesting thing that I learned from our interview was that he and his wife combined only make about $10,000 a year. In India, that is enough to live a fairly comfortable life. They have a nice home, they live in a nice neighbourhood. BUT if they wanted to live in America with their children, or even visit them for a month each year, that $10,000 would be used up instantly. So instead they resign themselves to being separated by distance. They only visit during the time of their daughter's confinement (pregnancy) to help with delivery and child care (which is an Indian tradition). S told me that even though it is not ideal, it is the life that they have and they are content with it. I was just fascinated by the finances of family separation; from phone calls, to internet connection, to travel and the value of the rupee versus the dollar. Another very interesting thing S mentioned was that he never approved of his children's decision to move abroad because he feels that the children of India owe something to their country! It was interesting to think of in that way. I guess I should think about that for myself! Could I ever live somewhere other than Canada? Or do I owe my country (and by that I mean the people in it) something more than I have already given? Food for thought! Anyways, from all this I learned not to be worried about interviews. People here are very willing to talk about themselves and their families. I hope I can find many more willing people like S and K.
Tonight I made Kulfi! You have no idea how much I miss cooking and being in a kitchen. Kulfi is a kind of Indian ice cream (more from the Punjab area). It is DELICIOUS and I can't wait to be able to eat it tomorrow. It is settling in the fridge as I write this. If you ever want to try it out, here is the recipe I use. It's amazing and it works every time-- I just switch up the flavours and get creative since mango isn't always easy to find. Tonight I made almond, pistachio, plain and chocolate! It is my first time making chocolate kulfi so that will be interesting :P
Till tomorrow!
Stéfanie
I told Rajyalakshmi, one of our translators, that I wanted to go out and find people today to interview. So she said that she would bring me to some homes where she knows parents who have children living abroad. We left at 11am... and I wasn't exactly nervous-- I was just... scared? Scared that I would be the most awkward researcher out there and that I would look like a silly little girl in comparison to the adults I would be interviewing. Thankfully, today I discovered that Telugu people are very hospitable-- they just invite you right in and they are very open to talking. Rajyalakshmi brought me to the house of S and K (I'm just going to leave their names at that for privacy stuff). S and his wife K are both BRILLIANT people; they are both economists. Still, they welcomed me into their home, gave me some delicious mango juice and asked me all about myself. Then S asked me about my research and we got into a forty five minute long discussion about his family. He has one son and one daughter living in the United States. I learned so much from him! And the best part was that he spoke amazing English. I was able to do the talking myself instead of using my translator. But he was so open! I would ask a question, he would answer and if I waited just a little bit during a pause... he would add even more thoughts. The most interesting thing that I learned from our interview was that he and his wife combined only make about $10,000 a year. In India, that is enough to live a fairly comfortable life. They have a nice home, they live in a nice neighbourhood. BUT if they wanted to live in America with their children, or even visit them for a month each year, that $10,000 would be used up instantly. So instead they resign themselves to being separated by distance. They only visit during the time of their daughter's confinement (pregnancy) to help with delivery and child care (which is an Indian tradition). S told me that even though it is not ideal, it is the life that they have and they are content with it. I was just fascinated by the finances of family separation; from phone calls, to internet connection, to travel and the value of the rupee versus the dollar. Another very interesting thing S mentioned was that he never approved of his children's decision to move abroad because he feels that the children of India owe something to their country! It was interesting to think of in that way. I guess I should think about that for myself! Could I ever live somewhere other than Canada? Or do I owe my country (and by that I mean the people in it) something more than I have already given? Food for thought! Anyways, from all this I learned not to be worried about interviews. People here are very willing to talk about themselves and their families. I hope I can find many more willing people like S and K.
Tonight I made Kulfi! You have no idea how much I miss cooking and being in a kitchen. Kulfi is a kind of Indian ice cream (more from the Punjab area). It is DELICIOUS and I can't wait to be able to eat it tomorrow. It is settling in the fridge as I write this. If you ever want to try it out, here is the recipe I use. It's amazing and it works every time-- I just switch up the flavours and get creative since mango isn't always easy to find. Tonight I made almond, pistachio, plain and chocolate! It is my first time making chocolate kulfi so that will be interesting :P
Till tomorrow!
Stéfanie
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