Fieldwork 2: Electric Boogaloo

This was easier on my nerves than last time. I've already been to the bazaar and the market, so neither place was new. Going with Karalygash I found women were much more likely to talk to us and answer questions. Karalygash had me asking some of the questions myself in Chinese, which was both excellent practice and nerve-wracking. I got some interesting answers this time around, with some themes emerging. That's encouraging. We'll be leaving for the country sometime between Friday and Monday is it stands now. That gives me a few more days to do informal interviews and observation.
I keep forgetting to wear my Eastern shirt and Dr. Z keeps forgetting to take pictures of me out and about in these exotic locations. I'm trying to be dilligent about organization and typing up my fieldnotes every night. Nothing really completely prepares you for the experience of being in such an alien environment for the first time.
Dr. Z has been giving me "5-minute Chinese" lessons daily, where we go over useful words and phrases, then build on them. Today we focused on things around the house, so we can speak less English at home. Immersion is the way to learn a language. Even when you don't know the word, it forces you to talk around it to make your meaning known, which is a component of fluency.

30 seconds along Da Bazaar