Earlier today we had our first meeting with the Bhangal community, the community that we will be working with for our time in Nepal. Despite the slight language barrier, I found the overall event and interactions to be warm and welcoming. Smiles, eye contact, and positive body languages filled in the gaps of language barrier and started paving the bridge of communication and rapport. With help from our Nepalese student counterparts, we were able to get to learn more about the household members that attended the meeting; who their family members were, what they do for a living, and what their cows are named.
For me, it was interesting to see that the overall representatives from each household were females, and that they were not only outspoken about issues from their community, but also very well articulated in their thoughts and concerns; they did not shy away from the spotlight, nor our presence, at least that was what I perceived. Throughout the interactions and discussions, we came to learn about the current issues from the community and things that they find delightful. The strong sense of community and pride amongst the households was clear and undeniable. One quote was particularly resonating with me: “Small quantities [in the context of the number of people in the community], but together.”
Our table, from left to right: Sujan, Reshma, Nisha, and Sujan
The participatory process, in retrospect, may have been slightly more one-sided than in theory, I think it was mainly due to our language barriers. For instance, Chamile, a 52-year-old female head of household, had less interactions with us UW students, and felt more on the outside of our table, possibly because she didn’t speak English; she mainly interacted with our Nepalese student counterpart, Sujan. This, I certainly hope to improve and help facilitate a more inclusive discussion environment with learning more of the Nepali language. The atmosphere from the community was filled with excitement; although, we should consider whether this could be due to factors of it being a new event with foreigners, the kind-hearted nature of the Nepalese hospitality, or the opportune avenue to be finally heard. Overall, my first experience of the participatory research process in the foreign context was positive, which I am really grateful. I look forward to our collaborations in the near future.
Reshma’s solo dance performance