I actually read the wrong article (well, then I read the right one), but this post is in response to the wrong article (: I felt like it was interesting enough, though, so I hope y'all enjoy it anyway.
Oh, and I went on a blind date this past weekend, which I'm writing about that for my first Methods assignment. I hate blind dates, so it should be fun! ha.
As I was reading "Participant Observation," I think my favorite part was this: "The most important thing you can do to stop being a freak is to speak the language of the people you’re studying—and speak it well" (359). This made me laugh because so many times being a foreigner means sticking out like a sore thumb, to use the cliche. I find myself always going back to my mission, because being a North American (and blonde) in South America meant standing out--then add uber-conservative missionary dress, a name tag, and a gringo accent and you're good to go. I suppose that the point of being a missionary of the church isn't to blend in necessarily, although I wonder how it would change missionary work if they were to adopt a sort of participant observation style. But again, the point of missionary work is not to study culture as much as it is to share the Gospel.
But I digress. When I was in London the last time, I often visited sites with the study abroad group, so there were about 40 of us together. Maybe it was that I was about 4 or so years older than most of the people in my program, or maybe it was that the other girls in the program were particularly clamorous, but I was often embarrassed by the behavior of some girls in our group. They really STUCK OUT, not necessarily because of their appearance, but definitely because of their behavior. They didn't seem to understand the importance of respecting another culture and behaving appropriately in that culture; rather, some felt like they had to emphasize their Americanness by overacting. In other words, they were "freaks," like this article suggests. I realize that I wasn't perfect in my behavior, but I felt like cultural sensitivity goes a long way. Interestingly enough, the article also says that "The rules for presentation of self are simple: Be honest, be brief, and be absolutely consistent. In participant observation, if you try to play any role other than yourself, you’ll just get worn out" (358). So it seems that even though it's important to be culturally sensitive, one should remain true to oneself. So it might be difficult to strike a balance between keeping one's own identity and personality while still being respectful and "blending in." Interesting.
Because of my personality, it might be easy to blend into the background of London without calling too much attention to myself--because I am naturally shy, and afraid of doing something too offensive or outlandish. However, it's not going to be as easy as that. As I'm interacting with different people for my project, I have to fight the urge to keep to myself. I've heard that before truly learning a language, you have to make thousands of mistakes (so you can learn from them). Although it's hard for me to open my mouth and make mistakes, it will be necessary if I'm to truly interact with Londoners. On top of that, it might be a temptation to avoid (living) people too much because there will be so much to explore as far as dead people. So it will be a job, but I want to make sure and actually talk and connect to people in London.
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