Day 45: Best Interview of My Life
It is VERY likely that I will never have a better interview then the one I had today. Because IT WAS AMAZING :) I think I found a new soul sister.
Great interviews require a few things:
1. Someone talkative but not overbearingly so; its best when you don't have to ask a lot of questions... when the person you are interviewing just talks about what they thing is relavent (and stays on topic)
2. Someone who speaks pretty good English (because using a translator is definitely not as effective)
3. Someone who is excited to talk to you (it makes the conversation flow so much better
and
4. Someone who thinks through their answers and seems to have put some thought into the things you are asking about before hand.
The woman I interviewed today was all of these things and more. Her name is Shalita and she is:
1. Very talkative but not at alllll overbearing. She knows how to hold conversation. She knew how to talk about her children and their lives abroad (in the UK) while bringing up facts that might be interesting to me. I think I only asked five or so of my questions. I got to listen to her and think of newer, DEEPER questions while she talked.
2. Shalita speaks impeccable English. She has a charming British accent but you can tell she speaks Tellugu most of the time. Somehow though she understood EVERY question I asked her. And sometimes people are really confused my questions. Not Shalita. She's about 70 years old. She lives alone with her husband. She is sick but she does her own cleaning and her own cooking. Her whole life she has been a "housewife" but now in her old age she has taught herself how to use computers. She takes care of stocks, she looks after her own finances and she owns the apartment building that she lives in (SHE owns it, not her husband).
3. Shalita was so nice to me. She invited me in right away and seemed so happy to have company. She didn't seem hesitant at all about answering my questions. She even seemed excited about my research and she gave Rajya Lakshmi a few more names of people I could go talk to. Then she showed me her beautiful flat and gave me something to drink. Most people here are very hospitable but Shalita went above and beyond.
and
4. This is the one that makes all the difference between a good interview and a great interview. Good interviews are when I get answers. GREAT interviews are when people think about their answers and seem to have thought about my questions on their own prior to meeting me. I haven't had many interviews like this. I can count maybe... 7. And most of those where with men (because I think that, generally, men analyze and question things a little more in this society). So finding a woman like Shalita was wonderful. She really didn't hold anything back. And I felt like through the process of talking to her I came to understand myself and life and family a lot more. And I don't mean that in relation to just the Indian culture-- I mean it in relation to my own too. How often have I been able to say that after an interview? Never.
I feel so blessed to have met Shalita. She was referred to me as one of the friends of a previous informant. I had planned to go see someone else today. But everything Shalita said reminded me why I am so excited about the research I am doing. She mentioned that sometimes her children and her grandchildren feel like they are stuck in between two worlds. They are not quite British but they don't feel like they can return and live in India after all the changes they have been through. They love their lives there in so many ways but they also don't feel fully accepted. Shalita is a wonderful blessing to her children because she understand their desire to be somewhere else but to also be connected to home. It reminded me that my own mother does this for me to.
They say that you can tell a lot about an anthropologist by what their studies are based on. I see that every day. I relate to these people so much! I know what it is like to live outside of my country and to feel a little bit unsure about my place. I know I am not American but I also feel like I am considered a little bit less Canadian because I haven't lived there in some time. I feel a little detached from some parts of American culture and society, yet all my friends live there and my life is based there. Like Shalita's children I live far from my parents and have to communicate through Skype and phone calls. Also like them I miss my family but like my independence.
... Conclusion: best interview ever.
Love,
Stéf
Great interviews require a few things:
1. Someone talkative but not overbearingly so; its best when you don't have to ask a lot of questions... when the person you are interviewing just talks about what they thing is relavent (and stays on topic)
2. Someone who speaks pretty good English (because using a translator is definitely not as effective)
3. Someone who is excited to talk to you (it makes the conversation flow so much better
and
4. Someone who thinks through their answers and seems to have put some thought into the things you are asking about before hand.
The woman I interviewed today was all of these things and more. Her name is Shalita and she is:
1. Very talkative but not at alllll overbearing. She knows how to hold conversation. She knew how to talk about her children and their lives abroad (in the UK) while bringing up facts that might be interesting to me. I think I only asked five or so of my questions. I got to listen to her and think of newer, DEEPER questions while she talked.
2. Shalita speaks impeccable English. She has a charming British accent but you can tell she speaks Tellugu most of the time. Somehow though she understood EVERY question I asked her. And sometimes people are really confused my questions. Not Shalita. She's about 70 years old. She lives alone with her husband. She is sick but she does her own cleaning and her own cooking. Her whole life she has been a "housewife" but now in her old age she has taught herself how to use computers. She takes care of stocks, she looks after her own finances and she owns the apartment building that she lives in (SHE owns it, not her husband).
3. Shalita was so nice to me. She invited me in right away and seemed so happy to have company. She didn't seem hesitant at all about answering my questions. She even seemed excited about my research and she gave Rajya Lakshmi a few more names of people I could go talk to. Then she showed me her beautiful flat and gave me something to drink. Most people here are very hospitable but Shalita went above and beyond.
and
4. This is the one that makes all the difference between a good interview and a great interview. Good interviews are when I get answers. GREAT interviews are when people think about their answers and seem to have thought about my questions on their own prior to meeting me. I haven't had many interviews like this. I can count maybe... 7. And most of those where with men (because I think that, generally, men analyze and question things a little more in this society). So finding a woman like Shalita was wonderful. She really didn't hold anything back. And I felt like through the process of talking to her I came to understand myself and life and family a lot more. And I don't mean that in relation to just the Indian culture-- I mean it in relation to my own too. How often have I been able to say that after an interview? Never.
I feel so blessed to have met Shalita. She was referred to me as one of the friends of a previous informant. I had planned to go see someone else today. But everything Shalita said reminded me why I am so excited about the research I am doing. She mentioned that sometimes her children and her grandchildren feel like they are stuck in between two worlds. They are not quite British but they don't feel like they can return and live in India after all the changes they have been through. They love their lives there in so many ways but they also don't feel fully accepted. Shalita is a wonderful blessing to her children because she understand their desire to be somewhere else but to also be connected to home. It reminded me that my own mother does this for me to.
They say that you can tell a lot about an anthropologist by what their studies are based on. I see that every day. I relate to these people so much! I know what it is like to live outside of my country and to feel a little bit unsure about my place. I know I am not American but I also feel like I am considered a little bit less Canadian because I haven't lived there in some time. I feel a little detached from some parts of American culture and society, yet all my friends live there and my life is based there. Like Shalita's children I live far from my parents and have to communicate through Skype and phone calls. Also like them I miss my family but like my independence.
... Conclusion: best interview ever.
Love,
Stéf
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