FINALLY!

I did it! I had a meeting with my female informant, it was part of the project. She was to teach me how to text message. I did it, sure it took me 15 minutes to type one sentence but I think I learn't some thing from a teenager.
She typed a whole paragraph in those 15 minutes, wow! todays kids are good.

Got the car

The following week, the male informant called me and asked me, if I could come with him to give a final verdict on his choice 'Acura 3.2 XL'. He lowered his choice by couple of decimal points. I really do not have much knowledge about cars and could not given him a good advice. Therefore I convinced him to bring his mother along. The journey began with a complete silence for 15 minutes, finally his mother broke the silence, and continued saying how she and informants dad were okay with his choice and will try their best to accomodate it.
My male informant gave me a look and looked at his mother and said, I f you guys would have not accomodate my choice then I would have left the house." This statement gave me jolt, how can todays kids bully their parents? Don't they understand the word resposibility?
Ultimately, we reached the Acura car showroom, and the informant and his mother negotiated their way into buying his car. And captured him in his own conditions, where he will go out partying only on Friday's.
Both Mother and son, had a smile on their faces for their own reasons, the informant got his choice of car and the mom struck a deal on a reign of conditions.

Long time no write

Sorry, I apologize to have kept my self away from the postings. Things have not been easy with me lately. Well, folks I have a lot to share with you, it is catch up time.
I got hold of my male informant who is 17 and very tricky, disappears in a jiffy. He was looking for a car, and had planned car shopping with his mother, with just a handful of money which he made the first three weeks of his new job. I placed in a request to his mother and him if I could join the hunt. I was welcomed with open arms, ofcourse, I was sitting in the back seat listening to all their bickering and arguments.
To my utter dismay I hear my male informant lay certain conditions with his mother," if you make me buy a cheap, and non - branded car then watch me go out partying every night and will return home late hours, but if you let me buy what I want then I will go out only every friday night." His mother burst out screaming, trying to explain him the valure of money, and how dare he lays conditions for things which are beyond their reach.
But nothing could break the devotion to buy Acura. 3.5. XL- , the atmosphere generated in the car felt like, you are on a war path where the only slogan is 'buy or die', it is my way or no way.

exploring

I was a little shy to share some 13 year olds views on homosexuals. On of my non- informant asked me a question, "when a boy makes out with another boy are they gay?" In response I asked him a question, what does making out mean? "My God you do not know what making out means, how dumb you can be!", replied my little informant. "Well, times have changed and so have the languages", I expressed my innocence, trying to tell him I am not stupid. Then I gave him the answer to his question, I said," you can not pass a judgement about any body at this age since, this age is unpredectable. Adolescents are experiencing various emotions at the same time and they have no clue what they are doing and what do they want." "Hum!" was the answer I got in return.
My female informant was supposed to meet me over the weekend to go over her ny space web page but she couldn't, since she woke up late due to party she had attended the night before. She whispered on the phone," Sorry! I cannot make it, I am in trouble, due to late night ventures and plus I have to go to work, bye, I will call you later." That was it I never got a call from her after that.
My male informant came over to talk about the project and expressed no problem in sharing his my space with the whole class. While we were amidst a conversation, a weird ringtone goes off, it was his cell phone. He picks up the call and tells me " I have to go, it's my friend."
I was curious and wanted to ask him, whether it was a girl or a boy, but I just remembered Anthropologist do not ask questions!

understand my world

I met my female informant over the weekend, since she had the flue we could not really speak with each other. She comes over to show me her Tatoo. She got a tatoo on her neck; saying her name. My jaw dropped on the floor, I asked her when, how and now what all at the same time.
She was not at all hesitant in telling me the whole incident, it all happened when she had gone for her vacation to Chicago, where she and her cousin sneaked out of the house to get one. Some how her mother, has an intuition of her acts. She calls her on her cell phone and confronts her to speak the truth. She spoke the truth that she already has one and now nothing can be done about it. To her utter surprise her mother did not say a word when she came home. Apparently, she realized the issues which will be created when her grandparents and her father finds out about her. It is still under wraps; and she trusts me for not to share this information to her family.
I acknowledged her wish, and turned it into command.

My first meeting with my informants was very brief, a brief intoduction of the whole assignement and their consent was accomplished. Their only fear was "do not tell my parents since you will be part of us." I bided by their wish and gave them assurance that, this is what this assignment is all about.

I think I have found my informant, she is going to be my 18 year old niece, spoke to her parents about the whole project to her parents and they had no objections. Since they are having an extremely difficult time adjusting between typically traditional Indian setting to the more western Americanised one.
Also, I have a thirteen year old son and he has friends around that age, I was thinking to add the difficulties, discrepencies I am facing with him in our daily lives in this assignemnt, just to bring in a better insight into the worlds of 13 & 18 year olds.
Probably, after being with an 18 year old will give me totally a different outlook to life, which is a little different to the one I grew up with.

Todays class provided me a new insight in field methods, the whole process of subjectivity, observation methods, and how to project them in your own words by submerging your self in your informants world.

This is going to provide the best way to learn something 'new', an unexplored world.

Finally, I completed my blog, hope it is interesting. I enjoyed the whole experience of creating my blog and MySpace page. Well, the full credit goes to my son since he has navigated the whole process of creating and educating me into this amazing world of computers.

Technology is amazing, it adds a zest in your life!

Thank you, Professor Rubenstein, for providing a different outlook towards computerized education, it is not stereotype.