Blog Mission, Ethics

(This entry comes from two ongoing lines of reflection: 1. Self-reflection regarding my roles in Ecuador. How do I negotiate being a sister, daughter, friend, white-woman-in-ecuador, anthropologist, student, teacher, and blogger all at once? and; 2. Reflection regarding the positive/negative effects of social media and individual blogs for relationships and social movements-- see provocative articles here and here).

I started this blog in 2008 as a way to transmit information to friends and loved ones while studying in Ecuador. Trajectories became a space for schizophrenically tracing my final year of college, and for making my family laugh.  For the next 10 months, I am excited to write from Ecuador again.

This is a personal blog. Although characters pass in and out, it is about me and my initial perceptions of the world. It exists to tell you stories, and, of course, broadcast my snarky inner narrator to a larger populous. It is, however, a one-way forum. I hope you will still call, e-mail and send me long letters, since I wish to know your stories as well!

I am a student of sociocultural anthropology. I work with real-life-people, many of whom occupy far more vulnerable social positions than me (probably you too) and yet choose to make themselves constantly vulnerable by engaging with me as an anthropologist. While I will be conducting ethnographic research in Ecuador, this blog is not it. These are not my field notes, much less well-informed arguments about people, cultures or organizations (Case and point: I'm linking you to wikipedia pages). Still, the very nature of ethnographic inquiry means my private relationships and experiences (ie this blog) are completely entangled with what I research/write towards academic ends. So I like to be sensitive regarding my words and images online. I change names, I inch around and omit sensitive information, and ultimately do my best to collaborate with and protect the people with whom I work, on their terms. I follow the American Anthropological Association's Code of Ethics in virtual and actual spaces.

The Basics

Now that I've traced the dramatic lead up, I'm sure everyone knows how unbelievably ecstatic I am to finally announce my teaching placement and have plane tickets in my hand (e-mail box)! This is truly truly overdue. 

Where: Ambato, Ecuador. It is starred on the map below. 3-4 hours south of Quito, Ambato is a mid-sized city in the middle of the Ecuadorian highlands, with a population of about 350,000, cool/temperate climate year-round, and high altitude.

When:   October 4 2010- August 4 2011. Yes... I leave in a week.

What: Assisting with English courses at La Universidad Tecnica de Ambato and pursuing ethnographic research on secondary education and the politics of youth/childhood in highland Ecuador. 

How: Well, I'm taking suggestions. The long answer is that I'll go to Quito, attend orientations at the Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy, get a bank account to begin receiving my stipend, go to Ambato, find a place to live (probably alone, in an apartment), try to meet as many people as possible, buy a machete (incredibly useful down there), teach, and take lots of notes. So the short answer is I don't know.

Ambato is Amazing Because: I've never been there, which means there is much to learn. Ambato is also the birthplace of  two of Ecuador's literary greats (Juan Montalvo and Juan Leon Mera), it offers easy access to almost anywhere in Ecuador, and is called la ciudad de frutas y flores --> the city of fruit and flowers, both of which I ordinarily like.

The Lead-Up, or, What You Might Have Missed

For the sake of memory:

I started my Fulbright grant proposal 15 months ago, following a rocky readjustment to the U.S. after my semester abroad in Ecuador (Fall 2008). 13 months ago I was taking a full course-load, running like 237 organizations on campus, expending emotional energy like I was some sort of bottomless well of compassion (turns out I am not), plus working on applications, grad school, and job stuff. 12 months ago I submitted my proposal. Then I began waiting. 8 months ago I got through the first round of Fulbright, felt happy, and then felt grumpy towards the prospect of more waiting. 8-6 months ago I waited. Mix in a potpourri of emotional breakdowns (due to: waiting, 2 undergraduate theses, senior year pressure, perfectionism, and self-insistences that I can do everything), and I became a general grab-bag of crazy. Many good people stepped forward to rescue me, and I began to learn to accept compassion in addition to doling it out.

5 months ago I got the Fulbright! I celebrated! ...For a day... maybe even just a happy hour...then I finished my thesis. I realized that I have power to shape the course of my own life, and had subsequent mini-crises over what this means. In the words of a great 20-something blogger: "It made me feel slightly uncomfortable that I'm the person making all the decisions about my life." 4 months ago I graduated! Sweet sweet release! 4-1 months ago I was waiting, resting, and a taking an intentional life pause. 1 month ago my restfulness ceded to impatience. AND NOW TODAY.

Update Regarding Lack of Updates

I am not in Ecuador. Thus far, predicting when my grant will begin (since this is up to the mysterious people of Ecuador's Fulbright Commission) has yielded results on par with a middle school Ouija board encounter. Mostly what I know is "not yet" and "soon." 

Things I have as of 9/8/2010 at 9:57 PM EST:

<-- A one year cultural exchange visa to go to Ecuador, featuring this less-than-flattering, though officially (awesomely) stamped, photo.

- A desire to leave, ASAP.

- A scheduled in-country orientation for October 7-8, indicating that someone plans to bring me to Ecuador by October 7-8, to do something.

Things I lack:

- A University placement and teaching assignment.

- A location (this encompasses a home city, a place to live in that city, research contacts in that city, and a basic working knowledge of how not to get kidnapped in that city).

- A start date. Also an end date... but let's take this one step at a time.

- Plane tickets. 

- $$ to sustain my life here in the US.

- A desire to be living in the US.