Adventures in interviewing

After a long wait for the driver to fill up the pre-arranged car with gas (why these things are not done ahead of time is anyone's guess), we had a late start to drive out to the field. We were two translators and two note-takers (me & Amy) in search of the final interviews for Amy's study. I was entrusted with interviewing one of the young mothers who had been a participant and beneficiary in the program. My translator, Manizha and I were led to the chosen woman's home where we were greeted warmly (even though are arrival was essentially last-minute and unannounced) and ushered into their sitting area which was fortunately warm and toast against the drizzly, chilly day. The woman (pictured) is 23, and under the purple cloth, is a baby sleeping in one of their very ornate cradles. I saw similar cradles in Kosovo - and they seem like such a great idea for sleeping infants.

Nineteen people lived in this household which to my eyes structurally consisted of two rooms - so how that works, I have no idea. While the pulled out the stops to provide food and tea for their guests, it was not lost on Manizha and I that what we ate would take away from the little they had. Still, they insisted that we eat, and eat more. Our interview did not go well because the woman was not only shy, but her mother-in-law would not leave the room and frequently interrupted with her own answers. Because young women are at the bottom of the power hierarchy in this culture, there was no way we would get an in-depth answer from this woman about her experience at trainings and her perceptions about how her role and relationships in her family had changed.

We made a second attempt by taking the woman with us back to the village volunteer's house but when we arrived, there were five other women there so again, the young woman was not going to give open answers. Finally they brought another woman in who was slightly older and said she felt comfortable enough - though her body language said otherwise to me. In the end we completed the interview - while Amy and her translator had much more successful interviews with male community and religious leaders.

This evening Amy and I went for a quick and muddy walk up to a hill above the city. At the risk of sounding redundant, it is beautiful here, especially with the changing leaves - though I've been told Spring is the best time when all the hills are a brilliant green.