Week 1 - Emotions and Coping Skills

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WEEK 1 - GETTING ALONG IN THE FIELD
EMOTIONS AND COPING SKILLS
Karen Brison, Steve Leavitt

The term "culture shock" is often discussed in relation to experiences of anthropologists in the field. While it is easy to talk about "culture shock", it is much harder to describe the actual feelings you'll have in learning to cope with field situations. The first thing to remember is that your feelings will be REAL; they will not be labelled "this is culture shock" so it is hard to recognize what is going on when you are actually feeling the feelings. Here is a list of feelings you should expect to be feeling more acutely than you would have in routine life back home.

Elation, Excitement, Affection, Love

We won't discuss these in detail as they are positive feelings, but overall field work offers real opportunities for genuine friendships and some very exciting experiences. In most cases, these more than offset the negative feelings I'll discuss in more detail below. Be sure to revel in your new experiences, as the whole trip will soon feel too short. Here are the other, less pleasant, feelings:

Loneliness

This feeling becomes less acute as you make new friends in the field, but your stay will be short enough that you should expect to feel lonely throughout the duration of your trip. Writing letters to your loved ones helps with this--try to imagine that you are including them in everything that is happening to you. Weekly meetings with us and with one another will also help. Visiting people you like in the village, people you can talk easily with, helps as well.

Anxiety

The field situation requires that you live with a high level of ambiguity. This has various forms--from simply failing to communicate effectively to trying to organize the logistics of travelling or visiting. You may never be sure that you are doing the "right" or "appropriate" things when interacting with your hosts. All of this ambiguity contributes to higher-than-usual levels of anxiety. You may find yourself worrying a LOT about small things, things that in the larger schemes are really not all that important. I, Steve, remember in my first weeks in Papua New Guinea staying up all night one night worrying about HOW the village house builders were going to be able to attach the rain gutter to the roof of my house! Of course in the end they had no problem. Try to always ask yourself: how important really are the things that I am stewing about? Remember also that these worries are always their worst in the middle of the night. You are likely familiar with all of this from having to adjust to life in college.

Irritation

The field situation means having to deal with many more minor hardships, from washing in cold water to coping with mosquitoes. Expect to find yourself reacting more strongly to some of these things than you had expected. You may also find people you are with to be irritating as well. The best thing to do with this is to remind yourself that these feelings are stronger because of the culture shock, and that you should expect yourself to put up with them. At the same time, it is equally important to try to make yourself as comfortable as possible. In Papua New Guinea I managed to find a way to give myself warm showers, for example. Because you are living with a family, you may feel inhibited about asking your host family to deal with your small comfort needs. You want to fit in and make a good impression. But at the same time, remember that your needs are important, and that you should be able to have some control over things. If you are in a social setting and are feeling very tired, you can politely ask to leave. As a general rule, try always to be reasonable, but it is also true that people should understand some of your needs if you explain them to them.

Fatigue

Struggling with communication and trying to figure out what is going on are very strenuous activities in themselves. This means you will notice a lower level of stamina than you are used to. This is compounded when you are in situations where you cannot easily leave or take a nap. Be sure to give yourself enough sleep.

Depression

You may not feel terribly depressed in a short stay of ten weeks, but this is always a possibility. In my experience there were times when things seemed unusually bleak and I had to recognize this as a symptom of culture shock. To combat these feelings, try to interact with people you enjoy, stay involved, and spend time with your work. In general, the emotional ups and downs of field work are more extreme than what you are used to.

Coping Skills

The following is a list of skills or qualities that facilitate cross-cultural learning and adaptation. They are derived from the experiences of several professors who have observed and supervised students in the field. Try to use these as much as you can:

Accept ambiguity: Recognize that this is inevitable and just try to live with it as best you can.

Work to maintain your inner control even when unable to control external circumstances (e.g., individuals snub you or stare at you, informant fails to show up for an interview; the bus doesn't come. In Fiji, people do not stick to tight schedules. A meeting with you at 12:00 can mean any time in the early afternoon. This pattern requires a real adjustment from Americans who are used to working by the clock. Learn to live with things not going as planned.

Following on that, work to be flexible, to take advantage of the unexpected (e.g., to make the most of a bad situation, such as when stranded in a village or bus stop). Bring a field notebook with you wherever you go. When you are in a boring situation, you can always write field notes or journal entries.

Work to rely on your inner resources to remain confident and capable without the benefit of outside props or people.

Try to maintain a sense of humor and willingness to play. To be able to laugh at your predicaments, at your social blunders. Be willing to appear vulnerable, and try not to take things too personally.

Be open-minded: this is the essence of an anthropologist's approach. Be able to question your own values when they are challenged (but also do not let them go if they still, in the balance, remain right for you). Above all, work to understand the perspectives of those you're with.

Maintain a sense of curiosity. Your biggest asset will be a sincere interest in the people and culture around you, not just for the sake of doing well in a course but as an observant and interested human being.

Try not to jump to conclusions about things. Suspend your judgment during a difficulty or conflict while you begin asking questions; keep an open mind until you fully understand the situation. Always to be clear in your notes about when you are speculating about something. A convention we used is to put speculations in brackets [].

Have a love of adventure and challenge. Maintain a healthy balance between growth and safety.

Above all else, work to maintain a sense of perspective--be aware of the cycles of emotions, one's own patterns, over the long-term and the short-term. Step back from a situation and assess carefully what really needs to be addressed and what does not.

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