Transcript Interview location: Email Date: Monday, May 2, 2022, 3 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Interview style: Email Key informant for anthropology career: PhD (ABD); Anthropologist who experienced fieldwork 1 Interviewer: Student Name Heading Student Name: I understand you did your fieldwork in the Solomon Islands. Given the many places where you could have done your fieldwork, why did you choose this place? Amy Nthropologist: Well, to be honest, the SI more chose me, than me it. My original field site was to be in PNG [Papua New Guinea]. (This is where the interviewer can add comments: inside hard brackets). I was preparing to go to the highlands of PNG and then an incident with another anthropologist caused me to change my mind. [The next entry is an example of a follow-up question. Amy Nthropologist added information that should be clarified, but the question the interviewer wanted to ask was not part of his/her original 5 questions. This is fine, go ahead and ask, but do not get TOO far off of the questions. This form of interviewing is called semi-structured.] Student Name: Would you be willing to explain further what happened to stop you from continuing your plans to work in PNG? Amy Nthropologist: Sure. A linguist, working in the highlands of PNG (where I wanted to go) was robbed during the night. Several villagers came to his aid, and one of the villagers was killed. I had already heard that women were more of a target than men in the highlands and I knew that this linguist was VERY familiar with the place and the language. If he was vulnerable, I was concerned I would be a target. AND I did not like the idea that my being in a village might cause another villager to be killed protecting me. And my PhD committee heard the same news at the same time as I did. Boy, they jumped all over the idea of my going. In fact, they gave me an ultimatum: If I wanted to go to PNG, they would get off my committee. There was not a real conflict; I changed my mind even before I heard from them! One of my committee members worked in the Solomons and he suggested I go there, instead. Student Name: I understand from my anthropology class that learning the language is an important step in preparing for the field. How did you manage this, given the change in your field site? [Again, note that the interviewer somewhat altered the original question. S/he had intended to ask about language preparation, but s/he rephrased it to acknowledge the information given in the previous response]. Amy Nthropologist: I had a hard time at first. I ran to the campus library and thought I would find information on languages in the Solomon Islands. I learned that there were 80 languages and 1 Instructor Note: While Nthropologist is an employee of EvCC, the questions were about being an anthropologist and not a staff person on Campus.
INTERVIEW 2 TRANSCRIPT 2 most were not written. I also learned there was a pidgin language, but could find few examples of this language. I was very surprised in that I was at the UH [University of Hawaii] which has such a good reputation as a resource of Pac Island [Pacific Islands] materials. I finally found a book of custom stories in pidgin. These stories were great, but my luck really improved when a classmate's wife came to Hawaii. They were Solomon Islanders and I hired her as a tutor. I had to redo my reading list for my proposal, too. This was easier as PNG and SI are closely linked in many ways, culturally. Student Name: What additional preparations did you take before going to your field site? Amy Nthropologist: Well, as I mentioned I read a lot. I talked to every SIer [Solomon Islander] who I meet and asked many, many questions. I sent letters, but really heard little back and only latter learned why they were silent. I got every shot I could get. I bought second-hand clothes. And I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what gifts to take. I was not very good at this, but learned once I was in the Solomons that tobacco, sugar, and cooking pots were great gifts. [Another follow-up question could be why no letters, but the interviewee missed this opportunity. If you interview early enough, you might go back for this question, after reviewing your interview transcripts]. Student Name: So, how long were you in the Solomon Islands, and was this your first time there? Amy Nthropologist: Yes, it was my first time. I was there 15 months, not even enough time to get into learning about other peoples. Student Name: In class we learned that the presence of an outsider can change the behaviors of the people with whom anthropologists spend time. Did you find this to be true? Amy Nthropologist: Absolutely! In anthropology, we call these the Heisenberg and Rashomon Effects. I could talk for hours on examples of these, but let me just give you one example. The day I entered the village, an elderly man came up to be and asked to have my kerosene lantern after I left! The first day! I realized that I was not considered a member of the village that day; no-one would do this to a villager, but I was not a member, but a very rich outsider. Student Name: So, I was going to ask next about culture shock, but I can see that this could also have been a bit hard to know how to respond. Did you experience culture shock often? Amy Nthropologist: Every day. Sometimes, it just made me want to go home, and I do not get homesick easily. By the time I did my fieldwork, I had lived on my own for about 20 years and the UH was not really my home. But, I wanted to eat my food, talk my language and all that. -- many, many times. And I was tired and sick often. I don't mean to say that it was not a wonderful experience or that I was treated badly. The villagers are great people, but just sometimes I was thinking sooooo much I was overwhelmed.
INTERVIEW 2 TRANSCRIPT 3 Student Name: You mentioned being sick. In class, you talked about how anthropologists relish telling each other their war stories', stories of how hard it was in the field. Can you give an example you did not give in class? Amy Nthropologist: First, I need to be clear that while anthropologists love their war stories and that telling them is about bonding together, we also share an understanding the hardships we experienced were the day-to-day experiences for the locals. Anthropologists can leave behind the diseases and the food and all that at anytime. We really ARE rich and fortunate, and we sometimes lose sight of this. But an experience the villagers and I shared was at a Christmas feast. One of the sub-villagers killed a cow, what they call a bullamako, and held a feast. Well, the next morning, about half the villagers and I all had food poisoning. It was horrible! And it was worse in that one woman feed and feed me beef until I was already sick anyway. I had just been in the village a month and was not sure that I could politely refuse her offerings. I was so, so sick. Ironic that it was Western style food that gave me food poisoning twice; the second time from bad canned milk. Student Name: Were their permissions you needed to have before going to your site Amy Nthropologist: My, were there. I started with the US and what is called the Human Subjects Board. I had to submit my proposal and get their approval. Because they did not understand that locals were not literate, in any language, much less in English, I had to revise and resubmit to tell them I would get verbal permissions and the procedure for doing this. And I had a hard time getting anyone to answer me in the Solomons. Finally, I went there and arranged permissions; this took 3 of the 15 months I was in the Solomons. I had to arrange national, provincial, district, and village level permissions. I had to renew every three months. Student Name: Where did you live? Amy Nthropologist: While waiting for the permission, I mostly lived in the capital. After the permissions were secured, I lived in the village. Anthropology is all about participantobservation. I was no verandah anthropologist. I lived in a spare house until mine could be built. I hired local men and worked out an agreement for its locality in that all land is owned by clans. The clan agreed I could build on their land, as long as I donated the house to the village when I left. My house was large by local standards: two rooms and an attached kitchen. Real fancy. Both rooms had wooden doors and locks as over and over again people said I needed locks, even though they did not. I as so rich, you see. Student Name: What was a typical day for you while you were in the village? Amy Nthropologist: Well, I would be up around 6 a.m., late by local standards. I would make tea or the young woman living at my house would make it. Then we ate cold rice or cold sweet potatoes, yams, taro. If there was sugar we put this in our tea. I am so happy not be drinking black tea. I hate it, but the British brought it to the SI and I was the victim' [Cynthia made a hand gesture for single quote, raising the index finger of each hand into the air and pulling the fingers in unison in a downward direction. She also emphasized the word victim with a change of voice.] of this colonialism. Put lots of sugar it, though, and you wake up early.
INTERVIEW 2 TRANSCRIPT 4 (Cynthia got off track and stopped talking. The interviewer should rephrase the question). Student Name: Once you finished breakfast, what would you do? Amy Nthropologist: Oh, that would really depend on what I was researching. Even eating breakfast was research as I would watch villagers get ready for the gardens. Often I would go to the gardens or prep up plant specimens. Mostly I worked doing interviews in the afternoon as my male research assistant worked in the gardens in the daytime. Evening was great for asking questions. I would ask about people's diets, health statuses. I started my fieldwork doing a census and a map of the village. I would do the health status data collection each month. I often went with the flow, too. Student Name: Did you ever take breaks from the village? Amy Nthropologist: Yes. I had to go to Honiara [the capital] every three months to renew my research permits and to get supplies. I usually went by plane, walking 4 hours on foot to the airport. Once I walked 10 hours, and I mean fast as SIers can book along, the other direction and took the fast boat. Once I went by government boat. That was terrible. I was surprised how many Solomon Islanders get seasick; I thought only the landlocked like me did this. We all lined up and threw up over the side of the boat together. Great for rapport. I stayed at hotels or with the sister of the woman who tutored me in pidgin. I eat and eat and eat, but keep losing weight. The parasites, you know are a great diet pill'; too bad they tear up your stomach and make you sick so much. I like to joke about the new weight loss program. I was so skinny and sick. Student Name: When you left the Solomon Islands, what did you do with your work? Amy Nthropologist: Well, I intended to finish the PhD, but I found I had to eat. This meant teaching and as a part-time instructor, I had to say yes to any class offered. I found myself creating all these classes and having less and less time to write. Finally, by the time I was a fulltime faculty member, I had to admit I was too late to finish writing my final paper'. But, I did create a Moli dictionary and I do use what I learned in my classes, so I hope that I did not waste the Moli peoples' time. Student Name: Do you want to return to the Solomon Islands? Amy Nthropologist: Yes, but probably not soon. Since about 2 years after I left, there was been conflict on the Weather Coast [Where Cynthia did her fieldwork] and it is very dangerous even today. After nearly 8-9 years of conflict, the Australians went into the SI and are basically running the government. I am a bit ambivalent. I know there was death and destruction, but now the Solomons are effectively not independent. They are a colonized people, again. And their economy is a big mess. I am so saddened for the people and sometimes feel like I am watching a train wreck. I lost contact with the villagers after the conflicts began. I do hope to retire and go back to the Pacific and volunteer to teach. I hope the Solomons are more stable and I can go there. I want to give something more concrete back to the place that was so generous to me.
INTERVIEW 2 TRANSCRIPT 5 Student Name: Thank you for answering my questions and is there anything else you wish to add? Amy Nthropologist: No, but I would like a copy of your final paper, if that works out to be possible. Student Name: Again, thank you for taking time. After I look over my notes, I might realize a few additional questions I would have wished I would have asked. Would you be willing to answer an email from me as part of a second interview? Amy Nthropologist: I would be happy to do so. Email is easier for me, given by schedule, than another face-to-face interview. In the meantime, good luck with your project.
INTERVIEW 2 TRANSCRIPT 6 Reference Nthropologist, A. (2022). Being an anthropologist in the field. (S. Name, Interviewer). Anthropology Service Learning Collection, Everett Community College Library, Everett, WA.