Learning Journal 22

This week in class we discussed our IRB with other classmates and got some feedback from each other. This was nice, but not as helpful as the feedback from our facilitator which I was happy to receive. It is good to have someone who has filled out an IRB before and knows what changes need to be made to improve the proposal.
What I mainly wanted to focus on was one of the articles that we read for class. The article was titled 'Eating Christmas in the Kalahari'. I guess one main point that I got from this article is that we are entering a peoples country, lifestyle, culture, and daily living; so we cannot expect to come in and run the show. The author in this article had been among the bushmen for 3 years and kindly wanted to thank the people by purchasing the biggest ox that he could find for Christmas. Although this was a very generous offer of gratitude, the author did not get the response he was expecting. After being mocked and criticized for his pathetic purchase, the author finally comes to a few conclusions. He realizes that 'there are no totally generous acts. All "acts" have an element of calculation'. I guess he also learned a humbling lesson about good intentions. The author realizes that he gave the people no more than what they get for each other every day and he was expecting more fanfare. His world was turned upside down after he was not getting the expected feedback from people.
This is important for me because I will be in a completely different culture and country. I cannot simply repay or thank people by purchasing them something before I leave. It seems like the author tried to give the Bushmen his parting present with feelings that it should be sufficient. Like the scout rule to leave a campsite looking better than when you first arrived; I feel like this same thing can apply to the places we travel. We aren't there to fix or cure or solve things for people, but we can leave an inspirational and caring impression on those we talk with. The author wanted to give the people something for letting him stay with them, but this act was not totally generous because he felt as if he owed something.
So what can I do? I need to make sure that I build relationships with the host families. I need to help around the house with things that need to get done. I need to be willing to get to know those that I talk with and care about them. I need to be able to get the data for my research, but not in a way where I simply use the people for my data. I can overcome this by just caring for and loving the people. I can't go through all of the motions of research and expect that I can just give a thank you present at the end, it has to be something that I work on continually. Nice acts of service throughout my stay will show my appreciation.