1. Recreate Fieldwork Experience
a. How you decided on the topic.
While attending Roosevelt High School, I noticed a great population of Ethiopians (especially coming from Vancouver, Canada, where high schools are highly populated with Asians and rarely students of African descent) and have generally observed them as people who strongly express themselves, whether it is telling a story or performing Ethiopia's traditional dance.
b. Getting an entry to the community
In the duration of my stay at Roosevelt High, I have become friends with people of different backgrounds, including Ethiopians. At Roosevelt High, racism does not exist but in my perspective, I did see a segregation of the different ethnicities. Within the group that had Black skin color, the African Americans and the newly arrived Ethiopians or any newly arrivals of African descent usually did not mingle. This came naturally because their interests were different and newly arrived immigrants usually are on the 'assimilating stage', especially at a North American high school where most of the students are highly concerned about their identity, which I can honestly say was also a stage I went through as a newly arrived immigrant in North America.
Ethiopia, Lalibela
Ethiopian Commercial Bank, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
Shaded relief map of Ethiopia, 1999, produced by t...Due to the fact that even with identity crisis as another burden for a high school student, it intrigued me how these Ethiopian students are usually the ones that excel in academic performance. Even with language and the difficulty of assimilating into American society as a barrier, they have strongly expressed their values and held on to it. I kept in touch with them even as I attend North Seattle community college now; I have told them of my thoughts and they were delighted to be interviewed.
c. How you established rapport with them
Part of what I was interested...