I have been meaning to write this piece since quite a while, especially if we are normally just writing about the fun bits… so here comes the serious stuff!!! Get out your tissues, you might get really sad! (And it is I writing this, as new to the field) rather than either of the two experienced people….

Before coming out here I could not wait to get away from the desk,I had not much experience in Social Surveys, interviews other than that I was really interested in people. After all I have only started late with my love for Ecology, but have always been searching for more…

Anyways, here I was , Sarah as a personal trainer, myself and a whole load of questionnaires to ask people about 80 questions… the questionnaire was not really the scary thing, but when you start  to go to a random house, knock on the door (even though houses here have no bells and you are actually standing outside shouting “Hallo, Hallo”, and sometimes you hear from the inside “hallo” and again you shout “hallo” this could take quite some time! And you never know… who is it going to be, are they going to be nice and friendly, are they happy to see you, can you convince them to give you 30-40 minutes to talk to them? After having gone to 100 plus houses I still always feel slightly nervous when I shout the first “Hallo”.

I wonder if it will ever go, or whether it is like before you go on stage- the stagefright, and once you don’t feel it any more, your performance will change???

But once you have met someone, it only starts to get interesting! It is fantastic, the different people you meet, it is opening up your mind and just pure excitement! One day you might be talking to some fisherman, who goes out with his little boat to make a living, then you might meet a fantastic Reggae singer, who is one of the best on the islands, you meet people from all ways of life, and everyone has a story to tell: The Lady who drives the school bus and is accompanied by her talking parrot, the general manager of a large hotel, the owner of a restaurant who meets us at his private house with tennis court and infinity pool, fishermen who invite you out on trips on their boats (so far we had no time to do so)! But then you also hear very sad sad stories, from people who just love having someone to listen to them, stories about loneliness, loss, and stories about people being strong and making the best with the little they have or with what they had to endure with in the past, which is a very humbling experience.

And then there are all those marriage proposals ad declarations of love 🙂

And then there are the dangers for the social researcher- DOGS!!! We always thought they were the dangers top the postman, but social researchers seem to fall in the same category (maybe we will have to disguise ourselves better and our folders we are carrying look too much like postman Pat bags??)  But I have to say most of them are really lovely once they get to know you, but even I, as a dog person, have to say that at times I can get a bit scared…

But after all, the job never gets boring, it drains all the energy out of you and it is fantastic!

And I am just thinking about all the amazing things I could do with the data, once I am back… the sky is the limit! I thought Ecology was amazing and interesting… but compared to this, I should have discovered it much earlier.