Anthropology 1001

Originally, I had my focus on the Global Medical Brigade organization, specifically the NYU branch. My good friend talks much about this organization and always boasts about the goodness it brings to the people in Honduras. I jumped on this specific organization because it seemed interesting to explore. But just recently, I realized my curiosity for their purpose wasn’t strong enough for me to keep questioning them and searching for answers. It was also hard for me to observe and take conclusions out of this. They rarely met and when they did, it was a general meeting. It would have been helpful if I could observe first hand the work they do in Honduras; however, that’s simply impossible.
For a while, I thought maybe I can stick with the Global Medical Brigade. The lack of passion gave me doubts however. Then I realized the passion I am looking for is within my reach. During the summer, unfortunate events occured in my family. My grandmother, a very religious Catholic woman, turned to God for comfort, strength and guidance. She summoned prayer meetings and for a whole week our family would have to pray the rosary. At the end of the week, a group of devotees would come to the house and pray the rosary; it marked the end of the week long rosary crusade. My grandmother’s devotion and dedication did not stop there. She promised God that she would faithfully go to Church whenever she can. Every night and whenever she can, she prays the rosary. The ultimate action though was the 2000 Hail Marys.
Twice I’ve been part of this crusade and it just made me wonder. For almost eight hours, a group of people say a little more than 2000 Hail Marys. Before and during the “prayer”, a person writes a petition on a piece of paper, folds it, and puts it in a pan where later it’ll be burned. My curiousity for the cause, the devotion, and the patience of each individual willing to do this suddenly burned. I grew up in very much a Catholic background. I went to Catholic school until high school. Catholic ways has been instilled by me not only by my family but also my school until high school. I like to believe I’m a firm believer. A doubt can be seen in there because I don’t see the purpose in all of these praises, crusades, and meetings. I question the devotion, effort, patience of individuals who in their daily lives, take time to execute these actions. Is it because they grew up in the Philippines, a generally Catholic based country, and their environment, values, and such was surrounded by Catholic ways?
I’ve made observations of these prayer meetings and have questioned a few devotees. Very carefully, I plan to ask more in depth questions in the following weeks.

           The organization that I will be analyzing is the Muslim Majlis of Staten Island (MMSI). MMSI is a mosque, which is an Islamic house of worship, run by a number of people, the most influential being the Kari Saab. I visited the Mosque on a Saturday evening on November 1^st to get an idea of how much the mosque had changed and I had a conversation with Kari Saab on November 10^th during Quran reading sessions. On these occasions, I noted down key words and differences I noticed in the Mosque and took pictures. I did not have to make an appointment because I knew from previous visits that he would be there and be willing to answer any questions.

            My goal is to understand the functionalism of MMSI and mosques in communities in South Asia and how they compare and differ. One question that I focused on is a woman’s status in the Muslim community in South Asia and a woman’s status in mosques in America, focusing on MMSI. I spoke to Kari Saab and asked him questions such as the differences in the roles of women in our Mosque and Mosques in South Asia, if women met as frequently as men in the mosque and what or why not, if women hold influence over either Mosques, and if there have been changes in the involvement of women since MMSI opened in 1989.  Some of the answers to these questions are obvious, such as the frequency of women going to Mosque. For most women to attend Mosque as much as pious, avid Mosque-attending men is impossible because of the restriction of women not being able to enter the Mosque when they are on their menstrual cycle, which can take as much as a week out every month. Another one of my questions that can easily be answered is the role of women, which is most definitely equal to men in MMSI because they hold equal titles to men in the Mosque, if not higher. 

     My chosen field of research for the ethnography report is The Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption, in Port Jefferson NY. I have always been intrigued by this religion’s customs and beliefs. I had originally had qualms about doing my research in this church since the religion is very similar to my Catholic faith and I feared not having enough new material. However, through my research, I learned a lot about this religion, as well as latent and manifest reasons for their customs, particulary in the sacarament of marriage.

    I performed participant-observation in two ocassions. First, I attended a Sunday morning mass on October 12 and observed their usual mass rituals and customs. The Second time I attended a wedding on Saturday, November 15 and once again observed their usual customs during this service. Such customs included: ” The Crowning,” ” The Common cup,” and ” The Ceremonial Walk,” etc. I observed both manifest and latent reasons for these cutoms during both of my visits. For example, the ceremonial walk during the wedding. A manifest reason to a person who is not familiar with the culture could be that the couple is taking their first steps as married couple. This in fact is true, however, there is a deeper meaning to this ritual. Among the many  latent reasons for ” The Ceremonial Walk” ritual there is the belief that the newly married couple should base their lives around God and Jesus Christ.  The Priest places the Gospel and cross on the table and then leads the couple around the table three times which symbolizes the holy trinity. When lead around the table by the priest, the couple makes a complete orbit around the Gospel and Cross which symbolizes that God and Jesus Christ are at the center of life.

My ethnography report is based on an organization called the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Their organization is worldwide and they have bases in all different parts of the world.  The one in New York is located  on 333 7th Ave #17.  I was able to interview three different people but one of them didn’t speak English fluently. I learned that English was taught as a second language in Israel.

I focused mainly on their transition from life in Israel to America. I learned that they were forced to move because they lived in parts of Israel where the war against the Palestininans were going on.  I always assumed Israel was behind in terms of technology but after interviewing them I realized life in Israel was just as good as the U.S. except in parts where war was going on. This made transition for them easier than most immigrants would find it who come to America with nothing.

The interviews were scheduled on two days, November 1st and November 6th.  I interviewed two of them on one day and took notes during the interviews. I ended the interview after a few questions with the one who didnt speak English fluently. They were very nice and open to questions and didn’t hide anything when they answered.

       I was originally going to base my research on an organization named NICE, their main goal was help immigrants assimilate to their new surroundings so that they would not be easily susceptible to injustices and discrimination. However, due to multiple scheduling conflicts I was not really able to interview any of their leaders or participants. Thus I looked to a different organization, this one was relatively small and allowed me to conduct observations and interviews. It was part of a Christian church in which its members volunteered to teach people in their community how to speak English. The students ranged from different backgrounds, including Chinese, Hispanic and European. The class is conducted once a week on Saturday mornings for the duration of an hour and a half. During this hour the “teachers” do exercises out of a book and have conversations with the “students” in order for them to practice English. The “teachers” are in fact teachers, there are two, one teaches at a high school and the other is a math teacher at a junior high school. John, the junior high school teacher, is of a Korean background. After I asked why he volunteered to give up about two hours of sleep on a Saturday morning, he responded humoursly by saying his “sleep-in day” was Sunday, but he then said that he remembers how much he and his parents had struggled trying to adapt to this new foreign way of life. He knows how much difficulty his parents had with the language barrier and so now that he has grown up and speaks fluent English, he does not want to forget how difficult it was and wants to help others who were in similar positions. He says that it takes patience but that it can be rewarding. I then interviewed some of the students, (there were about seven, which made it a warmer and friendlier environment). The students were mostly middle aged and most agreed that they had come to America searching for an opportunity for improvement. One of the students, Cecilia, said that she wanted to learn how properly speak English in order to communicate more effectively. She told me that her husband owned a small landscaping company and that she wanted to help him by being his secretary, handling paperwork, scheduling appointments, making phone calls and so on, but due to her poorly spoken English she could not communicate effectively. This she said was very frustrating and anxiety provoking, she said she felt at times like a small child not being able to get her point across. She also said that she wanted to be more independent and not rely on her husband or daughter for translations and so forth. I then asked how long they had been in the country, what had particularly motivated them to come here, what they missed most, their first impressions among other things. I want to see how this organization impacts them and how it could latently change their situations. I also want to see how the different cultures’ symbols and ways of life transform into the “American way of life” and what that means to them.

For my ethnography I chose Full Gospel United Church of New York(FGCNY) located in Flushing. It is a Korean church that I have been attending for not so long. I was in their youth group(for k) for just about 3 Sundays, I think, but currently I am attending the adult service(with my mother) which is mainly consisted of middle aged - older people. The yg(youth group) service and adult service start around the same time. There is also a seperate service for college students at a different time, but I was told that it’s mainly people around their 20’s.
I have observed both the yg and the adult services. There are a couple differences in them. The only person I was able to interview for just a short time was the adult service Pastor, Rev. Seung Ho Yang. I will continue the interview the next few visits i have.Even though it is a Korean church, I have found out that it isn’t directed to just Koreans. In my observation, I have seen a couple of regular churchgoers whose nationality is not Korean or any type of asian.
The people there are very friendly and I hope to learn more about the church. I know that I wanted to think about ethnicity as i was doing this research, but I would also like to focus on why these people chose FGCNY as their regular church. I mean, there’s a different church just 2-3 blocks from this one. I’d like to know why some people attend FGCNY.

Introduction

I chose the East Harlem Bilingual Head Start Program for the fieldwork project. Head Start programs were created in 1965 to provide education, health, nutrition, and parent-involvement services to low-income children and their families. This national initiative is administered federally by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and at state and local levels by local agencies. In 2000 over 850,000 children were enrolled in more than 64,000 Head Start programs nationally (Reaching Uninsured Children through Head Start and School Lunch Programs by Holly A. Kenny, 2002).

Although Head Start programs service American children and their families, the East Harlem Bilingual Head Start became a de facto immigrant community program. This Head Start serves the children of East Harlem (El Barrio) in general and, in particular, the Mexican children, for they are the dominant group in that neighborhood. In keeping with the mission statement of this initiative, the Bilingual Head Start has also developed and implemented various programs for the parents. These include English as a Second Language, health and nutrition awareness projects, and other empowering programs.

Data Collection

The data for this fieldwork was collected by interviewing staff, service providers, and parents. I visited the program on October 8^th, October 13^th and again on November 3^rd and November 19^th. During these visits, I met and interviewed Ms. Rita Prats (program director), Ana Maria Aramburo (education director), Miriam Caballero (social services coordinator, Diana Martinez (parent coordinator)Kerwin Acevedo (coordinator parent involvement, and Audrey Zwick (family worker) In addition to these staff members, I also interviewed the following parents: Geraldo, Erica, Margarita, and Manuela. The participant-observation sessions also took place during morning these visits. These consisted of a Parenting workshop and an English as a Second Language workshop. My data consists of all the notes I took while conducting the interviews as well as my participation on the above mentioned workshops.

Material Culture

I collected pamphlets published by the agency, brochures promoting the Head Start services to parents (in Spanish and English), and a copy of the most recent monthly newsletter from the Bilingual Head Start Program.

Frame and Analysis

I have lived in East Harlem for more than 40 years, and have witnessed many changes in the neighborhood, including those related to demographics. Mexicans began to move into East Harlem some two decades ago. This influx happened at a time when the neighborhood was in the decline: the buildings were dilapidated, neglected and ultimately abandoned, and the merchants have begun their exodus. Soon after they moved in the Mexican began to fix the buildings and to open new shops that met their needs.

Today, walking down 116^th Street, one can readily see a revitalized community, mainly due to the efforts of these new immigrants. One can argue that these new comers are determined to realize their version of the American dream. This quest comes with a price for the Mexicans as for other immigrant groups in the city.

During a parenting workshop, Geraldo D., one of the parents, said that his father beat him, and that Geraldo feared him. I asked Geraldo, after the workshop, if there was a difference in the way he deals with his children. “In Mexico fathers are very strict with their children. I don’t want to be like that with my children. I want them to respect me, not fear me. We don’t leave our customs in the border when we cross, but, in workshops like these, we learn there are other ways to discipline our children.”

During the ESL workshop, I was sitting next to Manuela P. She seemed very determined to learn English. “My brothers tell to watch English TV, and to read the English newspapers because I must learn English.” She said. Mexicans in their new country are compelled to challenge some of the customs they grew up with and to learn new things. These stories show what immigrant face as they try to both fit into American society and to hold onto their national identity.

I am going to frame and analyze my data by looking through my notes in search of other stories told by parents and staff that illustrate this assimilation/national-identity struggle.

Manifest and Latent Functions

The manifest function of the agency was established by the legislation that created the program, that is, to provide “comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent- involvement services to low-income children and their families.” But the program offers other services that are not advertised. Mr. Acevedo, who works with parent involvement, told me a story that clearly exemplifies these other services. During nap-time, teachers and staff became concerned about a 4-year old boy who would not sleep on the cot but wanted to sleep on the floor . They would tell him to lay on the cot, but  after awhile, he would go back to sleep on the floor. When they talked to the boy’s mother about it, this is what they found out: After she came to New York, she met the man who would become the boy’s father.  Shortly after their son was born, the man abandoned her. Unable to pay the rent,  she sought the help of relatives. These relatives owned a grocery store and allowed her work there . She does not get paid for her work, instead, she is allowed to stay in their apartment. Since her space there is small, both she and her boy have been sleeping on the floor for three years. The program staff will be getting her a bed to be donated by a neighborhood merchant.

Like this family, many others are dealing with issues in addition to those for which the agency was developed. Providing such services is the latent function of the prorgam.These include dealing with issues like domestic violence, substance abuse, and lack of food, clothing, and other necesities. These services are very important on many levels, particularly as it pertains to trust building between the agency and its clients. In order for agency staff to meet their intended objectives, they first have to be trusted. This is not easy. Because of their undocumented status, many clients are fearful of anything having to do with the government. Thusfar, the program has  been able to develop a trusting relationship with most of the families it serves.

I will be doing my ethnography based on a small family owned company called Lisa’s Laundromat. It is operated by a middle aged married couple who immigrated to the United States from China in the 1980s. Hoping to create a better future than one in homeland China, the couple struggled to start a new path in a country where they have a minimal amount of money and connection to others. The company that I will be focusing on is mainly run by the wife and the husband’s company is a branch from their first business as immigrants.

I will be focusing mainly on the effects of gender and ethnicity. I will also analyze the transition and adaptation from life in China to life here in the United States as an immigrant. Gender and ethnicity are a big factor of the reason they moved to the United States. In order to have a good future, they had to immigrate to somewhere that provides equality and discrimination-free of gender and ethnicity. Especially for Mei San Hum (the woman), it was hard for her to start a business because of gender and especially her ethnicity as minor in the states. Also, the employees that Hum hired in her business are similar to her, middle aged Chinese woman immigrants. The manifest reason for why Hum’s employees are only Chinese is that she feels more comfortable with working with people who she can communicate and relate to. The latent reason behind this may be that it is a practice from discrimination or job inequality.

The scheduled interviews were on September 27th , October 9th, and October 16th. I took notes during the interviews. I also took pictures of the workers during their shift and the interactions between the company and customers. The customers appeared to be content with the clean laundry and the work that they paid for. Most are neighborhood and frequent daily customers. There were not any material culture to be collected at the store.

For my ethnography, I have been researching a company called Jaga-Pol Service based out of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Jaga-Pol is named after the owner of the shop, Jadwiga(Jaga) Kosiak. The storefront business specializes in helping Polish immigrants be successful in America. Jaga-Pol offers a variety of services including translation, notary public, and shipping packages to Europe(specifically Poland.) 

Upon entering Jaga-Pol for the first time on November 8th I noticed a large collection of DVD’s of movies and television shows. Many were American titles overdubbed or subtitled in Polish but the majority of the DVD’s were of Polish shows or movies. Jaga rents these movies as one of her other services. I was then greeted by Jaga who sat me down for a conversation. I knew of her company from my parents and from an old friend. That old friend was Jaga’s daughter Joana. Joana spends some of her time working with her mother when she has the chance. The second time I came into Jaga-Pol on November 14th, Joana had told me she would be there so I could discuss with her, her own experiences with the company.

In my ethnography I plan to achieve a greater understanding of the difficulty of immigration from the point-of-view of a Polish-American. Doing my fieldwork at Jaga-Pol is a great opportunity because of Jaga’s own history in America. Jaga had started this company when her now deceased husband had given her the idea in the late 80’s(around the time I was born.) With little knowledge of the business she visited other Polish agencies observing what they offered and how they worked as a means of learning to do it herself. My parents have been using her services for years so I hope to include their thoughts on these ideas as well.

In my field work I observed the Greek Community of the south shore of Long Island, more specifically the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Paul. I felt from the first time I tried to enter the church that they are a much closed community. I interview Father Luke, the leader of the community, on September 30^th at the church and in his office at 9 am. I used a type recorder to capture our interview. Father Luke was very helpful, but he kept a certain distance. He showed me icon of Saint Paul who the church claimed to be crying. It was interesting that he said that people from all over the place came to see what, according to him, were tears coming down of the icon’s eyes. This got me thinking about how much this can influence people come to the church? How does a close community deals with outsiders coming to see the miracle? The church’s website has the material content I used before and after the interview. While I was there Father Luke gave me an image of the saint. This got me to thinking about how the church is advertising the community.

I visited the youth group, GOYA, on October 8^th at 8 pm. There were about 30 youngsters there who did not seem bothered by my presence. They seemed to want to let me know about themselves. I am not sure if they were willing because I am young and they feel like they can relate or they felt comfortable with me. I took notes that night because I thought it would be easier and more practical since usually teenager tend to talk over each other. Most of them went or were going to Greek school, but only a few spoke the language frequently. One of the traditions they kept were the dances. I felt as it was the single best expression of their background, not the language as the church enforced upon them.

I visited the senior center on Tuesday, October 14^th at 9 am in the gymnasium that is attached to the church itself and where most meetings are held. The person in charge was Olimpia and from the first talk she had with me over the phone I knew she was very skeptic about my role as a researcher. She kindly allowed me to talk to other participants, until she politely insinuated for me to leave after about 20 minutes. They also talked about the dances as one of the aspects of the Greek culture they preserved. It made me wonder of the fact that the dances do not require a partner has any relationship to the fact that they were all women. Different than the younger group this group seemed enthusiastic about the language, but they all confessed not to speak anymore. They blamed the younger generations. They also cooked Greek food and they felt like that would be another form of they could remain true to their origins.

Throughout my visits I found that there was three ways that different groups felt about their background. The church felt the promoting the church would make it better for the people to express their Greek background. The youth felt that dance would be their best form of expression. The older crowd focused on dances and food as a form to express who they were.