Notes from the field 8/9/11 (morning)
Yesterday I made good progress with Don Francisco on getting full paradigms for all the nouns in Triqui. I don't know why I just didn't barrel forward in the past to get these, but perhaps I didn't see the relationship between certain roots that raise among all the different tonal patterns in the language. Sometimes fieldwork is like this.
I have two housemates now, Brenda and Álvaro, a couple from Tlaxiaco. Brenda is a teacher at CECYTE, the technical school here in San Martín. Álvaro is her husband. They will be staying in the other room here. They're very nice and we chatted a bit last night. They cleaned up the room where they're staying quite nicely. It's difficult to keep things looking decent here in San Martín with all the mud and with people being farmers (essentially). I can't imagine what Triqui people would think about my relatives' houses where we all take off our shoes before entering. Cultural differences abound.
Last night I was able to chat for a bit with some different people here in San Martín, such as Rodolfo and Adolfo. It was nice having a coffee in the evening and having the energy to have a relaxed chat. Rodolfo was apparently very impressed at my knowledge of Triqui. I sometimes am surprised at how many words I know as well. It's just that putting them together is a bit of a trial sometimes. I'm getting better though. I've been speaking more in Triqui with people here during this trip.
I miss Paul, but I think he misses me more right now (which is very sweet). He's back at our apartment in New Haven and trying to develop his lesson plans for the semester while putting things away and cleaning the things we didn't have a chance to clean before we left. I wish I was able to help him back at our apartment. However, I don't want to let feelings of longing get me down while in the field. It can be really lonely here and I've learned that letting your feelings get to you can be disastrous. You can get into a depressed funk that hinders your fieldwork. This "funk" also doesn't help you escape the field in any way. So, years ago, I decided that the best remedy for these feelings was obsession with work in the field. This is just a coping mechanism though.
Today is nice and sunny, if perhaps a bit hazy. I've been feeling healthy lately, which is rare in the field for me. Bringing oatmeal to eat in the morning and avoiding drinking any water from the pozo has been a good idea. I also have been eating canned tuna and plenty of peanut butter and crackers. All this breaks up the relative amount of chile in my body at any one time.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Notes from the field - 8/7/11
8/7/11 Fieldwork, day 1.
I had a good day today. It went at a somewhat leisurely pace. I woke up having to use the bathroom, which is never a pleasant experience in the field, but hey. I thought I was going to work with Don Francisco at 9 AM, and I should've been on time (I was eating). He came by at 9, but then decided to go do tequio (community work). I should just trust him to be on time. I'm too used to flaky consultants. He's not flaky.
Anyways, we started working around noon, after I had spent some time relaxing and preparing an elicitation list. We worked for 3 hours straight, focusing first on noun paradigms, but then on other grammatical things. I had thought that he had real trouble with paradigms, but then we went back to them and he seemed to really get it. I shouldn't be afraid to explain what I want and why I want to get it. Things went swimmingly afterwards. At 3 we took a break. I decided to have a snack of tuna fish and peanut butter with crackers. Lame I know, but Wilfrido's wife wasn't preparing dinner until like 6 PM, so I had to have something to hold me over. I had just eaten a little bit of bread this morning and I needed some protein. At 5 PM, I worked with Wilfrido for an hour. He's much quicker "getting" what I ask, but seemed less interested. I know that paradigms are boring, but where in a text would you ever find "your star" or "his prickly pear"? These are things that don't come up in conversational speech and relate to tonal alternations in the morphology. Eliciting them has been fruitful so far, so why not finish the task by getting all the possessible nouns' paradigms?
At around 6, I was able to call Paul and talk to him for a bit. This was nice. I'm glad I have such easy access to the internet and that I can see what is going on with him. It's so much less stressful than when I came to the field years ago. After that, I had a dinner of rice, beans, tortilla, and mustard greens. Healthy stuff here.
I worked with Don Francisco for another hour after that, but we were both getting tired. I talked to him about recording a story tomorrow and he seemed really interested. I think this is the type of stuff that really turns people on. I enjoy doing it, but it requires tons of time and I end up having to put off any experimental work on Trique in the meantime. Maybe amidst elicitation, I should do some text recording though. It sounds like fun.
I am a bit worried about having to run my psychoacoustic experiment here. It's almost ready. I just have to change it to Spanish (from French). However, it's REALLY boring and doesn't directly relate to Trique listeners. So, I'm hesitant to even run it with them. I wish that I could instead just run something different, but that requires creating something new and I just don't know if I would have the time to do all the work required for another experiment. Yuck. So, what do I do? My postdoc wants me to run another experiment, but I don't actually find it to be feasible with the speakers. Experimental world, meet rural Mexico. I wish that I had stayed with the older experimental paradigm. That's certainly more of a fruitful enterprise.
Hmm, come to think of it, perhaps I can put something together that simply gets at confusability between tones? That would be both fun and give me some more info about how Trique speakers perceive tonal contrasts. Okay, something to put together tomorrow.
I had a good day today. It went at a somewhat leisurely pace. I woke up having to use the bathroom, which is never a pleasant experience in the field, but hey. I thought I was going to work with Don Francisco at 9 AM, and I should've been on time (I was eating). He came by at 9, but then decided to go do tequio (community work). I should just trust him to be on time. I'm too used to flaky consultants. He's not flaky.
Anyways, we started working around noon, after I had spent some time relaxing and preparing an elicitation list. We worked for 3 hours straight, focusing first on noun paradigms, but then on other grammatical things. I had thought that he had real trouble with paradigms, but then we went back to them and he seemed to really get it. I shouldn't be afraid to explain what I want and why I want to get it. Things went swimmingly afterwards. At 3 we took a break. I decided to have a snack of tuna fish and peanut butter with crackers. Lame I know, but Wilfrido's wife wasn't preparing dinner until like 6 PM, so I had to have something to hold me over. I had just eaten a little bit of bread this morning and I needed some protein. At 5 PM, I worked with Wilfrido for an hour. He's much quicker "getting" what I ask, but seemed less interested. I know that paradigms are boring, but where in a text would you ever find "your star" or "his prickly pear"? These are things that don't come up in conversational speech and relate to tonal alternations in the morphology. Eliciting them has been fruitful so far, so why not finish the task by getting all the possessible nouns' paradigms?
At around 6, I was able to call Paul and talk to him for a bit. This was nice. I'm glad I have such easy access to the internet and that I can see what is going on with him. It's so much less stressful than when I came to the field years ago. After that, I had a dinner of rice, beans, tortilla, and mustard greens. Healthy stuff here.
I worked with Don Francisco for another hour after that, but we were both getting tired. I talked to him about recording a story tomorrow and he seemed really interested. I think this is the type of stuff that really turns people on. I enjoy doing it, but it requires tons of time and I end up having to put off any experimental work on Trique in the meantime. Maybe amidst elicitation, I should do some text recording though. It sounds like fun.
I am a bit worried about having to run my psychoacoustic experiment here. It's almost ready. I just have to change it to Spanish (from French). However, it's REALLY boring and doesn't directly relate to Trique listeners. So, I'm hesitant to even run it with them. I wish that I could instead just run something different, but that requires creating something new and I just don't know if I would have the time to do all the work required for another experiment. Yuck. So, what do I do? My postdoc wants me to run another experiment, but I don't actually find it to be feasible with the speakers. Experimental world, meet rural Mexico. I wish that I had stayed with the older experimental paradigm. That's certainly more of a fruitful enterprise.
Hmm, come to think of it, perhaps I can put something together that simply gets at confusability between tones? That would be both fun and give me some more info about how Trique speakers perceive tonal contrasts. Okay, something to put together tomorrow.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Notes from the field - 8/6/11
I always like to share my field experiences with people, but internet access in rural Oaxacan towns is either non-existent or quite slow. So, I've decided to post my field journal entries from a month ago into my blogger as if I were currently in the field. The following entries are dated almost a month ago now, but I will continue to post them here as if you were reading them while the events were unfolding.
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Saturday, August 6, 2011
What a day. I am back in San Martín Itunyoso. It feels weird to be here, knowing that I'm both not going to be here for very long (just 10 days) and knowing what I've done this summer. Paul and I spent all summer moving, visiting family & friends, and settling in to our new lives in Connecticut. In many ways, I don't really feel like we have settled in to Connecticut that much. We have lots of stuff and we have been able to clean up the apartment a bit, but so many things are still not unpacked. And now I'm off in Oaxaca.
Paul and I also haven't had hardly any time to just relax and do what we want, like watch movies, work, go out for a nice dinner, etc. Our schedules and free time have been governed by work necessities. I guess that is life though. You go through periods with lots of travelling and periods where you stay put. If this journal is any indication, I've been really wanting to stay put recently.
Anyways, I'm in San Martín. I felt really nervous yesterday and this morning about coming here. I was worried about everything: getting to Tlaxiaco on time, having a place to stay, getting time to work with consultants, even whether or not I was getting sick (which makes fieldwork much more suckier). Michael gave me a ride to the "suburban van" station where you get a ride to larger towns around Oaxaca. The trip to Tlaxiaco took about 3 hours, which was made longer by some road construction and the excessive amount of eating the driver decided to do while he was driving. Once I got to Tlaxiaco, I went to try to find a telephone to call Benigno, my main Triqui consultant. He was working today though, so his phone was off. He also didn't have any space available to leave a message. I was worried that if I didn't get a hold of him, there would be no way for me to get to the village.
So, I decided instead to just walk right into the outside market. Saturdays are market days in Tlaxiaco, full of tents covering people selling all imaginable products. Trying to manage the narrow passageways with a rolling suitcase is a real pain. Luckily, within about 30 steps, I spotted Benigno's brother Wilfrido. I was happy to find him so quickly and to have some friends who could help me get to San Martín Itunyoso. Unfortunately, almost all the people from San Martín had left Tlaxiaco already, so they said they had to take a van out of the city toward San Martín. After trying to find a van that could accomodate 4 more passengers, my luggage, and their purchases, we just decided it was best to take a taxi to San Martín. It cost 250 pesos (about $20), which is lots of money for most Oaxacans, but I was happy to pay it if it meant that I could get settled in more quickly and finally eat something.
We got into San Martín at around 5 PM or so. After saying hello to people, I went to find Don Francisco, my main Triqui consultant of late. His son is away in California as a migrant worker, so he has an extra empty house that I can stay in. I stayed there last time and it was reasonably comfortable with a good amount of privacy. It also stays somewhat warmer than the outside air, which is a bonus in chilly, rainy San Martín. Don Francisco was very happy to see me and pleased to offer me his son's place to stay in. This ended my last anxiety about coming here. I hadn't been able to get a hold of Don Francisco before coming, so I didn't know how much we would have been able to work together or if I could stay at his son's house. Luckily, this worry was abated.
I had a very full meal with Benigno's family, consisting of eggs served in a chile sauce, roast chicken, steamed mostaza quelites (greens), local sweet potatoes (very dark purple ones), and of course, fresh tortillas. It was a nice meal at the end of the day, finished with a sweet cup of coffee. I'm tired though. I hope tomorrow isn't as dreary and rainy as today is. I need some sun.
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Saturday, August 6, 2011
What a day. I am back in San Martín Itunyoso. It feels weird to be here, knowing that I'm both not going to be here for very long (just 10 days) and knowing what I've done this summer. Paul and I spent all summer moving, visiting family & friends, and settling in to our new lives in Connecticut. In many ways, I don't really feel like we have settled in to Connecticut that much. We have lots of stuff and we have been able to clean up the apartment a bit, but so many things are still not unpacked. And now I'm off in Oaxaca.
Paul and I also haven't had hardly any time to just relax and do what we want, like watch movies, work, go out for a nice dinner, etc. Our schedules and free time have been governed by work necessities. I guess that is life though. You go through periods with lots of travelling and periods where you stay put. If this journal is any indication, I've been really wanting to stay put recently.
Anyways, I'm in San Martín. I felt really nervous yesterday and this morning about coming here. I was worried about everything: getting to Tlaxiaco on time, having a place to stay, getting time to work with consultants, even whether or not I was getting sick (which makes fieldwork much more suckier). Michael gave me a ride to the "suburban van" station where you get a ride to larger towns around Oaxaca. The trip to Tlaxiaco took about 3 hours, which was made longer by some road construction and the excessive amount of eating the driver decided to do while he was driving. Once I got to Tlaxiaco, I went to try to find a telephone to call Benigno, my main Triqui consultant. He was working today though, so his phone was off. He also didn't have any space available to leave a message. I was worried that if I didn't get a hold of him, there would be no way for me to get to the village.
 | |
| Saturdays are "market" days in Tlaxiaco, which has been a center of trade/commerce since pre-colonial times. The people at the bottom of this picture are selling comales (clay plates you lay on top of your fire to cook with). |
So, I decided instead to just walk right into the outside market. Saturdays are market days in Tlaxiaco, full of tents covering people selling all imaginable products. Trying to manage the narrow passageways with a rolling suitcase is a real pain. Luckily, within about 30 steps, I spotted Benigno's brother Wilfrido. I was happy to find him so quickly and to have some friends who could help me get to San Martín Itunyoso. Unfortunately, almost all the people from San Martín had left Tlaxiaco already, so they said they had to take a van out of the city toward San Martín. After trying to find a van that could accomodate 4 more passengers, my luggage, and their purchases, we just decided it was best to take a taxi to San Martín. It cost 250 pesos (about $20), which is lots of money for most Oaxacans, but I was happy to pay it if it meant that I could get settled in more quickly and finally eat something.
We got into San Martín at around 5 PM or so. After saying hello to people, I went to find Don Francisco, my main Triqui consultant of late. His son is away in California as a migrant worker, so he has an extra empty house that I can stay in. I stayed there last time and it was reasonably comfortable with a good amount of privacy. It also stays somewhat warmer than the outside air, which is a bonus in chilly, rainy San Martín. Don Francisco was very happy to see me and pleased to offer me his son's place to stay in. This ended my last anxiety about coming here. I hadn't been able to get a hold of Don Francisco before coming, so I didn't know how much we would have been able to work together or if I could stay at his son's house. Luckily, this worry was abated.
I had a very full meal with Benigno's family, consisting of eggs served in a chile sauce, roast chicken, steamed mostaza quelites (greens), local sweet potatoes (very dark purple ones), and of course, fresh tortillas. It was a nice meal at the end of the day, finished with a sweet cup of coffee. I'm tired though. I hope tomorrow isn't as dreary and rainy as today is. I need some sun.