Transcription of my original notes since my handwriting is atrocious:

Summary: My friend walked me through how to make the best bowl of cereal. Step one is to get a big mug (so that you can easily transport the cereal). Then pour Honey Nut Medley Crunch into the mug and add vanilla Silk Milk unit the cereal just barely floats. If you don’t want to use Silk Milk, vanilla almond milk or 2% provide good alternatives. You then mix/stab at the cereal to break up the almond clusters. You then add a smear of peanut butter to the side of the bowl, and as you take a spoonful of cereal, you can scrape some peanut butter off.

Personal reactions:

  • on Zoom
  • close friend -> more hand motions than usual?
  • had a bowl and spoon to show me how to make cereal but didn’t actually make a bowl
  • combo of fast speaker + internet voice makes it hard to catch all the details
  • I WRITE TOO SLOW
  • sound is a little glitchy -> how can I improve my connection/help her improve hers?
  • harder to read/get a vibe of how she’s feeling
    • helpful that she’s such an expressive person
  • can see into her kitchen -> level of intimacy I wouldn’t get under normal circ?

Direct observations:

  • best cereal is in a mug (transportability = main factor)
  • big mug -> “bowl with a handle”
  • Honey Nut Med. Crunch -> 3 types amazing on their own + together = even better
    • “ideal medley”
  • vanilla silk milk *chef’s kiss* -> benefits to drinking non-dairy
    • vanilla almond milk
  • cereal first OBVIOUSLY -> pour til it just barely floats
  • stab it so it mixes & almond clusters broken up
  • PB [peanutbutter] on the side, scoop as you eat so you eat [note after-the-fact: I don’t know what I was trying to say here]
  • ideally teaspoon so cereal lasts longer
  • was BF [breakfast] every day before HS [high school]
  • dessert or even lunch
  • 4th grade teacher said best breakfast is toast w/ PB + banana and glass of milk
    • her bowl of cereal = cereal vers [version] of the best breakfast

Post Note Reflection:

For my next ethnography, Xue suggested that I type up my notes after so that they’re easier to read, and that I should include a little more background info (cultural info, who they are, etc) about the participant as well as my role in the interview (i.e. summarize my contribution to the conversation). Additionally, signs, symbols, and a key for my acronyms could make my notes clearer. Some questions that could be answered in future interviews include: does she make the cereal for others? How have they reacted? How does it compare with my cereal?

I noticed that I was missing a lot because I was trying to write everything down, so I need to practice highlighting only the most important pieces and then filling in the blanks after the interview. I think having a recording of any interviews will make taking accurate notes easier, as well as allowing me to be more present during the interview itself. Also, a good internet connection is absolutely vital for this kind of interview (which led me to think about the ways quarantine may exacerbate the issues with anthropology that we discussed last week).