As a Behavioral Science student, I'm required by some of my classes to go on fieldworks and travel to different kinds of communities. There, we immerse ourselves in the local culture and learn about the people's history, traditions, and current living conditions.
Whenever we go to a community, a lot of our time there is spent interviewing the locals. Personally, this is the most fun part of fieldwork. Hearing their stories especially when they get really passionate and carried away is really heartwarming and eye-opening. Listening to them talk about the struggles they face each day and hear them say that they are happy in spite of that really puts things into perspective.
I'm grateful that I get to go on fieldwork every so often. I've found that no amount of words or photos is enough to truly grasp the beauty of a culture (ironically, that's coming from a blogger). It's really in the immersion of one's self in a community where the appreciation of culture in its truest and rawest form can truly happen.
Thank you, Ronggot, Laguna. You were absolutely beautiful! Your resilience and the pride that you have in your culture is inspiring. I'm grateful to have been able to visit you. This last fieldwork was so much fun that I honestly cannot wait to see where the next one takes me. Here's to a bunch more fieldworks and immersing myself in different cultures!
Until next time!
~ Luis
Previous Post: Japan: Day 5
Related Post: Zambales 2016
P.S. I couldn't actually take a lot of photos of the people because I would have needed permission from the people I would take photos of. My initial purpose for brining my camera anyway was to document the area as required in our research. Taking photos of the locals was not the priority as compared to the content of the interviews as well as documentation of the area. Hope y'all understand!
