DoingEthnography@sta

In the mini ethnography that I did in 2021 I wanted to give some insights into how two families used communications technology and social media in a world not only engulfed in diseases and chaos – more so than typically - but also considering the drastic changes in cultures and communications. In my project I observed that the usual behaviors and practices of togetherness changed greatly. Traditionally, Caribbean peoples were used to ‘liming’ (socializing) or doing other official cultural activities like ‘feteing’ (partying) and J’ouvert (during Carnival), all of which reflect norms and desires for togetherness. But with COVID-19, these norms had to be abandoned in favor of safety. However, through immersion in the online world of Family Chat A and Family Chat B, I came to recognize that these families created a virtual liming center that acted as a substitute for the traditional “backyard jams” from a popular soca music song by Farmer Nappy.  At these virtual “backyard jams”, the ...

When I conducted interviews with both Venezuelan migrant women and Trinidadians for my undergraduate thesis at university, I came to recognize the distance of our virtual interviewing as a safety zone for both the migrant women and the Trinidadians.  From the perspective of the three Venezuelan women interviewees, being away from the socio-economic and political pressures in their home countries presented a refuge for them. Of course, this is not to say that their standard of living was ideal in Trinidad— keeping in mind factors like low wages, difficulties finding safe, comfortable housing and navigating residence and work requirements— but they were grateful to be out of danger and to have work. They emphasised that they were here to make an “honest living,” and they distinguished themselves from other Venezuelan migrants who demonstrated “comportamiento poco serio” (unserious behaviour). For the interviewees, the ‘unserious’ women created a negative one-sided image about who the...