As part of one of our classes, and to help us get ready to do a month of independent research, we conducted three interviews with villagers in the Mekong Delta. Visiting the villages has been one of the best parts of my experience here so far. It's something that I wouldn't be able to do if I was here as just a tourist.
The people in the village were always so welcoming. They would often come out of their houses as we were walking past and invite us inside. The children liked to follow us down the road. Often times the woman would just look at us and laugh. Everyone was always in good spirits.
We worked through a translator to conduct the interviews. Our topic was dating and marriage, but we ended up getting a lot of information about their daily lives.
The people in the Khmer village grew rice and also made baskets. The women worked hard all day long to make the baskets to sell at the market. The man we interviewed did not speak any Vietnamese, he only spoke Khmer. So, his answers were translated by his son to Vietnamese, and then translated for us into English. He said the younger generations speak Vietnamese because they go to Vietnamese schools, where as he attended a Khmer school. His dream for his grandchildren is to go to University and learn many foreign languages, like English or French. He doesn't know if that will happen, though, because they don't generally have enough money to send the children to school past primary school.
We sat on their porch while we talked. About twenty people were looking and listening in. They were mainly women and children. The women loved to laugh at our questions. They especially laughed when we asked how he had met his wife (they had an arranged marriage, by the way).
After the interview, they gave us a tour of their home. Their home was filled with pictures of family, posters, religious artefacts. They also showed us a box filled with some precious items. They were mostly very old coins. I thought that Zakcq would have liked to see them.
When we were done with the interview, we joined up with the rest of our group. One of the households had put some music on, and Scott (one of the American students) was dancing for everyone. The kids could hardly get enough of him.
I think we must have had such an impact on the village. I wonder what they said about us at dinner that night. I wonder what sort of questions the children were asking our parents after we left.
At the end of our program, we have a month to do independent research. Partly because of these experiences last week, I want to spend some of the time in a village. I will be looking at ancestor worship in the village of Ben Tre (my homestay sister, My, pronounced Mee, is from this village) and how recent urbanization and globalizaiton has affected those family traditions and rituals.
I'll actually be able to begin collecting information in about a week. Next Friday, My is taking me to her village to celebrate the two year death anniversary of her grandmother. I'm very excited to meet her family and see what their lives are like.
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2 comments:
We conducted some similar interviews when I was in Costa Rica. Seems to be a traditional study abroad activity. Really interesting though, i remember them being. Although I think I was more limited because I didn't have a translator. That picture is gorgeous!! You can tell her to fly back to Minnesota and I'll adopt her! Oh, and thanks for the presents from Egypt, I really like them.
yeah, I like Khmer kids. Why don't you see if you can fit one in your suitcase.
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