Learning To Be an Anthropologist (1)
This was the first field trip for us and there were many new experiences for us. All of us as first-year anthropology students had never experienced this kind of field trip; and we asked ourselves, ‘What are we going to do?’ We motivated ourselves by asking the question, ‘If we are afraid to ask questions, we will know nothing’.
Thus, at first, we approached an anthropologist, a foreigner, who was working there. We asked him about his impression of U-Pein bridge. He said, ‘The Taungthaman is an interesting historical place, and I would like to see other places to understand the daily routine and practices of the people – cultivation, picking corn, digging the land etc. where traditional way of life as practice. While it is nice to see the bridge which people use to commute, it has also become a social place where you can see the cycle of people’s daily lives doing so many different kinds of things; and how people from different backgrounds interact with each other in one place.’
Observations from the field by Group 4: Htet Kaung Khant, Kadaw LaKkawng, Thet Htoo Aung, Kaung Sithu, and Nyan Linn Htet
Myanmar (Burma)