April 4

Friday we got the chance to practice observations in the wilk. I watched a table and drew a picture of the body language and tried to be objective. It was kind of fun, but I realize that a lot of the time I want to interpret things and assume something, and it can be a little valid here since it's my own culture, but if I'm in Tonga, I can't make value statements based on my culture because it could be completely wrong! Then Dallin had us go "enter" into the community, and we had to talk and meet with a group. I tried to find some people that looked friendly but I realize that everybody here is so private about their lives and the things they do! I caught myself thinking, well they don't want to be bothered, or they wouldn't want to talk to me. Let's just say I'm grateful that the people in Tonga are so friendly and nice and hopefully it will make entering into the community a lot easier! Basically the biggest lesson I learned for my project is that I have to make sure I don't interpret things based on my own culture and understandings of things. Once I get to know the culture better and see patterns and ask people about it, I can start making interpretations for my research and write all about it!