Fieldwork

It is amazingly awkward being a fledgling anthropologist doing her first real fieldwork in a foreign country where she doesn't really speak the language and looks phenotypically very different from everyone else. I'm trying to get over that, but I'm still shy about using my camera or asking questions, which is bad. I'll never learn anything if I can't ask! Dr. Z described it as "being the village idiot" which is a good way of putting it. We went to a large fabric market in the clothing district yesterday. The building we went in is largely a minority building where a lot of wholesale distribution is going on, though there is certainly retail exchange taking place. There was a courtyard behind the building, and it had five floors, the uppermost of which was empty. Each floor had stairs at either end and about thirty or forty rooms off the main hallway. I spent about two hours doing direct observation, taking notes and drawing maps. Some vendors sold bedding material exclusively, others sold fabric for skirts or men's suits. We saw a couple of young Han Chinese women buying about 10 meters of curtain fabric, which they said was for every window in an apartment. We encountered one vendor who was extremely rude and unhelpful, and Dr. Z explained that about a third of the people you encounter will be like that, with another third being indifferent and the last third being helpful. Two of the vendors we talked to were helpful, particularly an old woman who was careful to speak clearly and slowly when answering questions. I think it helped that Dr. Z purchased a floor covering from her.

Locally produced cotton bedding. The growing of cotton is devastating the local ecosystem.

Sewing machine outside near the loading dock. Some vendors have machines just to finish raw edges.

Across the street was another building that was mostly Han Chinese and obviously wholesale. One of the vendors there explained that purchasers came mostly from outlying areas to buy blankets and things like that for the smaller towns and villages. Today Karalygash and I are going either back there or to the Big Bazaar again to do more interviews, which makes me nervous. I feel like I won't ask enough questions and miss something crucial. But I suppose that's all part of the learning process. I like to think all anthropologists struggle at the beginning with these issues.

This was taken by the vendor of this stall. He was amused that I wanted to take pictures of his fabric.

The front of the first building.

One hallway in the Han Chinese building. You can see the hall is lined with shipments.