There are many things that I already miss about my time in Tanzania. The fresh food, the kind people, and community-oriented perspective is what comes to mind first. While I certainly still need to process a lot of different things emotionally that I witnessed in the hospital, I am looking forward to continuing this research in the next step: data analysis. This was my first anthropology research project that I actually used ethnographic methods such as participant-observation and I can now see how narrow my point of view was coming into the project. Before going to Tanzania, I thought I’d be looking for specific ideas and perceptions to match anthropological theories already in existence but now I can see how backwards this is. I appreciate the role of preliminary fieldwork more than before, I understand how and why research questions in this field are constantly evolving the more time you are in your fieldsite, and I appreciate the work of anthropologists more than before. While I already knew the importance of language fluency, I have a greater determination to become fully fluent in Swahili before I return. Even if you know the vocabulary and grammar, cultural nuances of how and when certain phrases are used is crucial in my opinion to fully understanding observations and participants’ thoughts. There were times when I felt like I was following along with the conversation and understanding, only to find out afterwards that the meaning I derived was completely wrong and the “figurative language” was not implying what I thought it was.

 

Overall, this was a tremendous experience that has changed my perspective, solidified my goals, and increased my understanding of a variety of topics.