August 11, 2005
The interviews are complete. That was a whirlwind six weeks of data collection. It was exciting. I can’t wait to start examining it, looking at it closely. I want to understand what I have gathered. I want to listen to their stories again. Technically, I feel like the interviews were good. I think I got a lot of information. The kids were very open with me about their lives and about their experiences. I learned so much. I don’t know if my interviewing skills are as refined as some. I know I tend to be a counselor first and struggle with being unbiased in my language. I tend to affirm everything they say and focus on emotions, what they were feeling. I often comment on their words and feel compelled to make interjections. I found it very helpful to tell the kids right up front that I may ask them questions that I already know the answers to (personal information they told me outside of the interview) but that I will ask again because I can only use what they tell me during the interview. This way I can just ask questions without feeling the need to bring things up in a conversational manner. They were so good with me, in helping me learn how to do research, in helping me complete my project.
The thing they were really concerned about was compensation. Most of them asked if I would be paying them out of my pocket. If I was, they did not want the money. I found this to be so touching that they would not want the $20 if it came from me personally. They assured me that they would do it for me anyway. In the end they all took the money. They also took the photography very seriously. They took some interesting pictures to represent their lives. Limited by the fact that they couldn’t take picture of people, they were forced to be creative and to think more abstractly. I was impressed with the symbolism they generated and the way they thought about their lives. So impressed.
A question I come out of the summer thinking a lot about is about houses. I spent some time driving around taking pictures of my own. How is that I knew which houses were obviously those belonging to the rural poor? There are similar characteristics. There are abandoned cars parked in the driveway, on the lawn, in the edge of the woods. There are other appliances and trash littering the front lawn and yard. Why? Why are there “things” everywhere? Does it show what you have? Is it too expensive to have them removed from the property? Is there not enough time in the day when you are working several jobs. Is there a feeling that no one sees it because you are isolated?
