Episode 2: Fieldwork 2015

Mari
Sep 27, 2015
2 min read

This week was exactly what I'd hoped it would be: as everyone returned from their vacation, a chance to really get rolling on my project!

A few highlights from this week:

Monday: recruited at the university. This time took their info (learned that lesson), and got a few good leads.

My recruitment poster! A few days later, more tabs were gone :)

Tuesday: Got a great tip from a friend to go to the student center for help recruiting. That's on my list for tomorrow! Had a lovely lunch w UCLA S&P alumnus, and (drumroll please!) was granted access to the lab! I now have a central space to work from at the university, as well as a quiet (soundproofed) space to carry out recordings. #Win! Also had coffee with a fellow sociolinguist at the Universidad de Chile, she's been a great recruiting & collaborating help!

Wednesday: Went down to LP, finally met some of the folks at the NGO that I may work with, and we planned a. when I was going to return and b. what type of taller (workshop) I would offer in exchange-- I think one is going to be a Zumba class (!), and another a cooking/baking class. J'adorbs. I also was able to explain my project a little bit, answer some of their questions, and (drumroll!) start interviewing! I got my first interview from that community, so that was another #win!

Thursday: Met with a friend with contacts in both neighborhoods, we got to explore the downtown (where she works) a bit, a nice change of pace!

That evening, got another interview from a participant in V neighborhood-- #win!

Friday: Headed down to the community center early, and boy, am I glad I did! I got not one, not two, not three, but FOUR interviews that day! #win! My first informant was eager to help me recruit, so I have several more appointments scheduled for next week!

Total count: 7/60 done! Not bad for a few weeks' time, especially when one of those weeks included a national holiday & a big earthquake :)

I'm also glad that my schedule is regularizing a little bit: I have plans to regularly go to my sites for the next several weeks, and this week I have at least one interview scheduled for every day!

Thanks for reading, keep in touch! Saludos from Santiago!