Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Cathy Nguyen
2nd Year, Biostatistics Master's Candidate
What a week so far! We arrived at the Grenada Airport around 3 pm local time on Friday
with a
week of adventure and learning ahead of us. I could not have imagined the incredible
whirlwind
this experience would have been when I stepped out onto the tarmac.
I am writing this blog post on Wednesday, our last day in the field and our fifth
day on the island.
Even in five days, I felt like I was wearing many hats: gladly so, also. We started
the weekend
by exploring Grenada by sea and land. I was a snorkeler and diver surveying Grenada
sculpture
park, an amateur food connoisseur tasting local foods at the Belmont Estate, and a
hiker in the
Grand Etang. I soaked all the Grenadian history and culture shared during our tours
and
conversations with the locals. My eyes were constantly in awe of the island's natural
beauty and
the biodiversity of the flora.
On Monday, we kick-offed our fieldwork by meeting part of the Grenada Red Cross Society
team at our resort. It was amazing to hear how much everyone loved the organization
despite
wearing other hats in academia, business, and their community. They wear their hats
to create
a positive impact on their community. The conversations ignited my group's desire
to be flexible
and utilize any skills required to interact with our intended parties. We weren't
just public health
researchers but people willing to engage in fluid conversations in any scenario. Unstructured
and casual interviews through canvassing were a new experience for all three of us.
Learning to be confident and culturally aware was crucial to our mission. Luckily,
Red Cross
leaders Augustus "Sarge" and Luann navigated us through the entire journey, so we
could
interview and collect data properly and safely. I was impressed by how we jumped into
roadside
conversations with locals from different regions on the island. We quickly noticed
the diversity in
people and viewpoints, even in the same parish, that we are excited to evaluate.
Since fieldwork has concluded, we will work on our deliverables and presentation.
It is my firsttime doing a thematic analysis with qualitative data since my background
is primarily in
quantitative research. I am scared, but I know my teammates are knowledgeable and
will train
me to use this new "hat." I am excited to complete our final products. We have our
work cut out
for us. Tune in next time for my final recap with more hats potentially!