![\"9655f202-666d-4a7e-aa96-c95999d8e06e\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/efrancks\/files\/2016\/09\/9655F202-666D-4A7E-AA96-C95999D8E06E.jpg\")
<\/a>Showing a group of women in Odisha pictures of my family<\/p><\/div>\n
These insights transfer directly into my job search post-graduation, but do not reflect the other type of learning I experienced while in India this summer. At a most basic level, I learned more about our ability as humans to connect with people despite cultural, linguistic, and age differences. I jokingly told friends at home, \u201ctwo things that can cross any language barrier are a smile and a picture of my cat,\u201d which I found to be true throughout my experience with villagers in various regions of West Bengal and Odisha.<\/p>\n
We were lucky to be able to start our field research almost immediately upon arriving in India. On the first Monday of work we were already on our way to Murshidabad, West Bengal to visit a village that recently installed a solar irrigation pump. The farmers there led us out to their fields and gathered around as we asked questions about the pump and their farms. One by one, we interviewed the farmers in the hot sun as the others patiently watched, despite it not being the usual time of day they would be working the fields. They went out of their way to make us comfortable, offering to hold an umbrella over my head to shield the sun as I interviewed them. They joked with us constantly, using the few English words they knew.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Rabin and his “helmet”<\/p><\/div>\n
We spent the afternoon laughing and enjoying their company. One of the farmers, Rabin, came up to us with his hat on saying, \u201cthis is my helmet!\u201d He started cracking up, and so did we, reminding me that humor is nearly always the best way to connect with someone, even if you\u2019re not completely sure what you\u2019re laughing about. After the interviews were done the farmers started giving us gifts of their produce; I ended up with about 20 cucumbers that I could barely fit in my backpack! Then, they insisted on showing us around the village, so we got a tour for about an hour and met nearly every person, including the village leader.<\/p>\n
We all felt incredibly lucky to have had such a great first field experience, though as our visits to new villages got shorter and more rushed, we started to lose sight of the connections we felt with villagers before. We started to feel like our research was very one-sided, and we were simply extracting information from people who may or may not want us there. After recognizing this issue, we reached out to our mentors for advice, and were reminded to show pictures of family and friends before we started interviews to make them feel more comfortable and ensure information was being shared both ways.<\/p>\n
Immediately after starting to do this, we realized a difference in how comfortable people were with us and on camera. I always made sure to go out of my way to show photos from home to women, who were especially excited to see my family. Usually, they wanted me to take a few pictures with them on my phone, which we scrolled through and laughed at. These small moments of bonding with people before interviews were invaluable. I have never felt more human than in those moments when I was laughing with someone from halfway around the world who had such a different life than my own. I learned a lot about relating to people by observing PJ when he was with us, because he can honestly connect with anyone. He consistently had a group of about 20 people surrounding him, and spent at least an hour hanging out with a village leader while we were busy interviewing in a village in Odisha.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Me and PJ in a village in Odisha, India<\/p><\/div>\n
All of these moments taught me about myself, the lives of rural villagers in India, and how we relate to each other. Cross-cultural communication is hard, and it\u2019s a lot easier to sit back and avoid having that awkward half-conversation that takes place when you don\u2019t speak the same language, but feeling that connection with another human being is worth taking that risk. The people I met were not helpless, they were smart, compassionate, and skilled problem-solvers. I often felt conflicted leaving villages for a hotel room with air conditioning and running water, and I\u2019m sure that\u2019s a feeling that I\u2019ll continue to have in the future, but I now have a deeper understanding of the depth and complex identities of the people that live in rural India. I hope to have similar encounters in the future that strengthen my understanding of what it means to be human.<\/p>\n
<\/a>ONergy and MFI employees showing us a park in Odisha with PJ and our driver<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The other day, a few of the other fellows and I were commenting on the fact that we have now been back in the US longer than we were in the field. At this point, the experience feels so distant, … Continue reading