Sometimes I wonder if I’m not just making things more difficult for myself by coming to France. Doing research in a foreign country and in a foreign language is daunting for several reasons. As a sociologist, I need to be aware of what my interviewees are telling me and not telling me; what backgrounds they are coming from; and I need to connect with them. While there are pros to being an outsider, there are also a number of challenges.
Working in a foreign language is also time-consuming, because it takes me twice as long to read in French, and at least three times as long to transcribe an interview in French. And the thing about being fluent in a language is…nobody cares. If my French passes, people just treat me as French. No pat on the back. No high five. Even worse, they don’t do hugs.
But at the end of the day, it’s pretty badass that I have a research grant to come to Paris, friends and family who are understanding about my taking a semester off, and I have friends from last year who are willing to help me out. So I can’t really complain.
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