Tentative titles-
Riding in Trains with Boys: An In-Depth Look at the Life of a Young, Mexican Mother in New York City
From Niña to Madre: Teen Pregnancy and the Life Changes that Come With it
Synopsis-
My ethnography looks at the life of Karen, a Mexican teen living in New York who became pregnant at the age of 17. She chose to keep the baby and is now juggling the many responsibilities of motherhood and more, such as school, work and married life. Though her and Marilyn's father stayed together, their relationship wasn't always perfect and they're now trying to make it work and keep the young family intact.
Outline-
•Opening scene--as of now it's just a normal day with Karen, I am still deciding whether I am going to keep it this way or choose something else.
•Dating--this will include information about how her and Anthony met, fell in love, etc.
•Pregnancy--a section about how she became pregnant, how she told her parents and the ways other people responded to her pregnancy
•Teen pregnancy--statistics about teen pregnancy, especially among Hispanic teens
•Labor--brief information about her labor
•Newborn--here I will discuss how life changed with the baby and what types of problems it caused — such as Anthony cheating and Karen moving back to her parents house.
•Closing scene--I am still planning on closing with the birthday party, I just don't know if it will change somewhat if I decide to also ope with it
I am still struggling to figure out what my paper is about. As of now it just seems kind of generic, like why is Karen different? Though in a sense I think it's interesting that she's not different. Teen pregnancy is kind of everything it's cracked up to be--hard, tiring, they wish they would have waited, missing out on things, etc. And I do think, to a certain extent, that's interesting in and of itself. I also just think her story has a lot of color and interesting characters, which makes for good detail that is not always present in stories like this.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Writing My Ethnography --Missing Information
So I have started to write my paper and I have realized that I am in need of a lot more information. I know that this is the point of writing a draft, but I also feel like most of the information I'm missing is stuff I should have already asked about. I don't know if all the information I'm missing is super important, but I know at least some of it is so right now I'm just anxious to get the answers to my questions. I am also looking forward to going to Marilyn's birthday party because I think that will provide me with a good amount of details to put in my ethnography and I also think (hope) it might make a good ending to my story. I don't think I'll have a chance to ask Karen the questions I have at the birthday party because I don't want to distract from the fun, but I am going to call her on Sunday to get some more info. Then during the week I will talk to her in person and get more specific details.
Here are some of the topics I want to talk to Karen about:
1. Dating
What attracted her to him and vice versa?
How did her parents feel about her dating an older boy?
Did they go on dates? Where?
Was Anthony her first boyfriend?
How would she characterize her relationship with Anthony?
2. Pregnancy
Were they using birth control? (I think I've asked this before but I can't find her response anywhere and I don't remember the answer so maybe I just imagined I had asked it)
How exactly did she tell her mom? I would like to get more details about her parents reactions and hopefully I can talk to them at the birthday party.
I also want to get more information about other peoples reactions to her being pregnant, especially girls at school.
Did they want a girl or a boy?
3. Labor
I need more solid facts about Karen's labor.
Exactly how long was she in labor?
How big was Marilyn?
What was the medical side of the pregnancy like?
4. Life with a newborn
What was it like adjusting to having a newborn?
What did it add to her and Anthony's relationship? What did it take away?
What did the adults in her life, especially the mothers, teach her?
Was it easier or harder than she expected it to be?
I think those are all the questions I have for Karen as of now. If I think of any more I'll jot them down. Like I said, I'm not going to be able to talk to Karen tomorrow afternoon, but I hope to talk to her Sunday morning.
Here are some of the topics I want to talk to Karen about:
1. Dating
What attracted her to him and vice versa?
How did her parents feel about her dating an older boy?
Did they go on dates? Where?
Was Anthony her first boyfriend?
How would she characterize her relationship with Anthony?
2. Pregnancy
Were they using birth control? (I think I've asked this before but I can't find her response anywhere and I don't remember the answer so maybe I just imagined I had asked it)
How exactly did she tell her mom? I would like to get more details about her parents reactions and hopefully I can talk to them at the birthday party.
I also want to get more information about other peoples reactions to her being pregnant, especially girls at school.
Did they want a girl or a boy?
3. Labor
I need more solid facts about Karen's labor.
Exactly how long was she in labor?
How big was Marilyn?
What was the medical side of the pregnancy like?
4. Life with a newborn
What was it like adjusting to having a newborn?
What did it add to her and Anthony's relationship? What did it take away?
What did the adults in her life, especially the mothers, teach her?
Was it easier or harder than she expected it to be?
I think those are all the questions I have for Karen as of now. If I think of any more I'll jot them down. Like I said, I'm not going to be able to talk to Karen tomorrow afternoon, but I hope to talk to her Sunday morning.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Week 10 -- Another Visit (and a CULTURAL ARTIFACT)
This week I spent a little longer at the house with Karen and Marilyn and I feel like I'm starting to blend in more with the family. Of course, I'm still an obvious presence, but this time I asked less questions and just hung out. I got there around lunch time so we sat at the table while Marilyn ate. She basically offered me everything in the kitchen, in Spanish and her very accented English. This time during my visit we spent time not only in the Kitchen, but also in the bedroom where we watched some Winnie the Pooh movies. When Anthony came home this time he was much more talkative and in a very good mood. He made everyone banana milkshakes, which were delicious. Karen had one, which is the first time I've seen her eat. Mostly during this visit we just chatted and I tried to blend in more and not seem like such an outsider.
While I was at the house this week I tried to identify a cultural artifact and get Karen to talk about it. The only thing that really stood out to me was Marilyn's crib. Karen, Anthony and Marilyn all share a room, a smallish room at that, and so the crib takes up a good deal of space. The crib is very pretty wood and inside are various dolls and stuffed animals. I asked Karen if it was the same crib that Marilyn had as a baby and she said it was and that Marilyn "loveddd" the crib. Marilyn is so attached to her crib because it's a place of her own and she loves to spend time in the crib playing with dolls and making up stories. As Karen told me about Marilyn's crib, she also told me that Marilyn was a very easy baby. She said that after the first two months she slept through the night and hardly cried unless she was hungry or needed a diaper change. Now though Marilyn has a lot more energy and is not as easy to take care, but at night she still loves laying down in her crib and for the most part is a good sleeper.
While I was at the house this week I tried to identify a cultural artifact and get Karen to talk about it. The only thing that really stood out to me was Marilyn's crib. Karen, Anthony and Marilyn all share a room, a smallish room at that, and so the crib takes up a good deal of space. The crib is very pretty wood and inside are various dolls and stuffed animals. I asked Karen if it was the same crib that Marilyn had as a baby and she said it was and that Marilyn "loveddd" the crib. Marilyn is so attached to her crib because it's a place of her own and she loves to spend time in the crib playing with dolls and making up stories. As Karen told me about Marilyn's crib, she also told me that Marilyn was a very easy baby. She said that after the first two months she slept through the night and hardly cried unless she was hungry or needed a diaper change. Now though Marilyn has a lot more energy and is not as easy to take care, but at night she still loves laying down in her crib and for the most part is a good sleeper.
DISTINCTIONS
(I'm not sure whether this is supposed to be on Blackboard or here, but I'll post it here for now)
I tried to talk to Karen about some distinctions she made between herself and other categories of mother. She didn't have much to say, but what she did have to say was somewhat contradictory. Here are some highlights:
*I asked her what it was like to be a teen mother and whether she thought it was harder to be a mother at such a young age. She said that it was harder at such a young age because you don't have your own time anymore. Karen talked about always having to do stuff for Marilyn and having so much more responsibilities than before. While I was there on Thursday, for example, Karen was still in her pajamas because she had had to wake up Marilyn, get her breakfast, give her a bath and do her hair. She also said she has to constantly make sure she has everything for Marilyn when they leave for school, something other teens don't have to worry about.
*On a separate visit I asked Karen if she thought it was better to be a mom at her age or at 30, which was basically the same question as before. This time, however, she said she thought it was better to be a mom at her age because she was younger and had more energy and when she's 30 she'll probably feel old and not be able to chase Marilyn around as much. I thought it was interesting to see that she answered the question differently. I think there is some truth to both of her answers and I'm sure she genuinely feels both ways.
*I also asked what differences there were between her life as a mother and her own mother's life as a mother. Karen said that her mother's life was very, very hard. She had a difficult childhood and lost her mother when she was 14. Soon after she moved to Mexico City where she worked. [Karen mentioned that her mother was "abused" after she moved to Mexico City from Puebla and I'm pretty sure she meant her mother was raped, which led to the birth of her older brother.] After moving to the city Karen's mom met her dad and they got married and had Karen. When Karen was younger her dad moved to New York to try to make money, but he had an alcohol problem and wasn't helping the family so Karen's mother came here and straightened him out and soon after the whole family moved to New York. I think that Karen sees her life as much less difficult than her mothers. In a similar vein, I asked Karen if she tried to teach Marilyn right and wrong the way her mother did to her and she said that yes, some times she did but that usually her parents just had to tell her to sit somewhere and she would sit there for hours and that Marilyn was very different and took a lot more work.
I tried to talk to Karen about some distinctions she made between herself and other categories of mother. She didn't have much to say, but what she did have to say was somewhat contradictory. Here are some highlights:
*I asked her what it was like to be a teen mother and whether she thought it was harder to be a mother at such a young age. She said that it was harder at such a young age because you don't have your own time anymore. Karen talked about always having to do stuff for Marilyn and having so much more responsibilities than before. While I was there on Thursday, for example, Karen was still in her pajamas because she had had to wake up Marilyn, get her breakfast, give her a bath and do her hair. She also said she has to constantly make sure she has everything for Marilyn when they leave for school, something other teens don't have to worry about.
*On a separate visit I asked Karen if she thought it was better to be a mom at her age or at 30, which was basically the same question as before. This time, however, she said she thought it was better to be a mom at her age because she was younger and had more energy and when she's 30 she'll probably feel old and not be able to chase Marilyn around as much. I thought it was interesting to see that she answered the question differently. I think there is some truth to both of her answers and I'm sure she genuinely feels both ways.
*I also asked what differences there were between her life as a mother and her own mother's life as a mother. Karen said that her mother's life was very, very hard. She had a difficult childhood and lost her mother when she was 14. Soon after she moved to Mexico City where she worked. [Karen mentioned that her mother was "abused" after she moved to Mexico City from Puebla and I'm pretty sure she meant her mother was raped, which led to the birth of her older brother.] After moving to the city Karen's mom met her dad and they got married and had Karen. When Karen was younger her dad moved to New York to try to make money, but he had an alcohol problem and wasn't helping the family so Karen's mother came here and straightened him out and soon after the whole family moved to New York. I think that Karen sees her life as much less difficult than her mothers. In a similar vein, I asked Karen if she tried to teach Marilyn right and wrong the way her mother did to her and she said that yes, some times she did but that usually her parents just had to tell her to sit somewhere and she would sit there for hours and that Marilyn was very different and took a lot more work.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Week 9 -- Visits!
Last Wednesday (3/24) I went to Karen's house in Brooklyn to talk to her some more and get to know her more. I ended up having to wait about 30 minutes on her stoop until someone answered the door. It turned out to be her husband's aunt who lives in the basement apartment of the apartment. She let me in and I sat with her while she got her extensions redone and we watched telenovelas. It was a good opportunity to practice my Spanish. Anyway, Karen finally got home (she had subway problems) and we sat in her kitchen and chatted for awhile. Here's some more information I got:
*She lives with not only her husband and daughter (Marilyn) but also his mother, aunt, cousin, brother and brother's girlfriend. The brother's girlfriend is pregnant and 16, so basically I hit a gold mine in terms of my topic.
*Karen's parents were NOT happy when they found out she was pregnant because they are very traditional but they now, of course, love they're granddaughter, especially her dad who spoils her. She said, "They were really upset. I was young, I was going to church, and they're all, you know, traditional."
*Her and Anthony have had their share of problems, but they are getting along much better now and they did just get married a few weeks ago (March 4th).
*Karen is not a legal resident, but Anthony is a resident. She plans on waiting to apply for citizenship until Anthony goes through the process.
*Karen, who is about 100 pounds, gained 50 pounds while pregnant and she was "huge, like a hippo." She had a difficult pregnancy and opted for a natural labor, which took about 24 hours.
*Now that she lives with Celina (the brother's girlfriend) she tries to help her out and give her advice, tell her what to expect, etc. *As of now Karen doesn't think she's going to have anymore children, but she's not sure.
* She got pregnant even though she was practicing "safe sex" but didn't tell her parents for about 3 months.
That is most of the information I got on my last visit. I was also able to just chat with Karen about her life now and just life in general, which was nice. She's also very comfortable sharing information which is helpful and I don't feel awkward asking her what ever questions I have. Marilyn is turning 3 in April and Karen invited me to her birthday party so I'm definitely going to go and meet more of her family and what not. I think there is more to add, but I can't think of it now so expect another update soon.
*She lives with not only her husband and daughter (Marilyn) but also his mother, aunt, cousin, brother and brother's girlfriend. The brother's girlfriend is pregnant and 16, so basically I hit a gold mine in terms of my topic.
*Karen's parents were NOT happy when they found out she was pregnant because they are very traditional but they now, of course, love they're granddaughter, especially her dad who spoils her. She said, "They were really upset. I was young, I was going to church, and they're all, you know, traditional."
*Her and Anthony have had their share of problems, but they are getting along much better now and they did just get married a few weeks ago (March 4th).
*Karen is not a legal resident, but Anthony is a resident. She plans on waiting to apply for citizenship until Anthony goes through the process.
*Karen, who is about 100 pounds, gained 50 pounds while pregnant and she was "huge, like a hippo." She had a difficult pregnancy and opted for a natural labor, which took about 24 hours.
*Now that she lives with Celina (the brother's girlfriend) she tries to help her out and give her advice, tell her what to expect, etc. *As of now Karen doesn't think she's going to have anymore children, but she's not sure.
* She got pregnant even though she was practicing "safe sex" but didn't tell her parents for about 3 months.
That is most of the information I got on my last visit. I was also able to just chat with Karen about her life now and just life in general, which was nice. She's also very comfortable sharing information which is helpful and I don't feel awkward asking her what ever questions I have. Marilyn is turning 3 in April and Karen invited me to her birthday party so I'm definitely going to go and meet more of her family and what not. I think there is more to add, but I can't think of it now so expect another update soon.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Week 4-Now -- Ups and Downs
Since my last post a lot has happened...and a lot hasn't happened. I am slightly frustrated by the challenges this project has seemed to produce, repeatedly. For every contact I make or step in the right direction I take I feel like I take five in the opposite direction. That being said, I am not going to lose faith. I am going to push forward and continue on with this project because I feel like in the end it could produce something really great. So here are some updates on what has been happening the last few weeks:
* I met Karen! As I said last class I was FINALLY able to meet with Karen at her house in Brooklyn. Karen is very sweet and seems more than willing to work with me on my project so that's good. Here are some things I learned about Karen on my first visit-
• She just moved in to her husband's (boyfriend's?) house with her 3 year-old daughter. Before that she was living with her mom and dad and younger sister, but since she and her boyfriend got married they decided to live together.
• Her husband, Anthony, is 24 and originally from the Dominican Republic. They were dating for 3 years before Karen got pregnant at 17.
• Karen is originally from Mexico City, but she came to the states when she was 11.
• She attends the LYFE program at Independence High School and is supposed to graduate in June. After that she's not sure what she's going to do, but she hopes to someday continue her education.
• Karen's family was supportive of her pregnancy and they love their granddaughter.
• Karen works part-time cleaning apartments and Anthony is going to school to become a medical technician.
• Since moving into the new house Karen's life has become more focused on her domestic role-cooking, cleaning, etc.
* Like I said, Karen seems very willing to work with me on the project. I got the impression that she is somewhat bored at home and will enjoy having someone to talk to.
* I have not been able to see Karen since the initial visit, which is extremely disappointing and worrisome. I was going to go there before Spring break, but that didn't work out. Then I was hoping to visit over the weekend, but again that didn't work out. In fact I hadn't heard from Karen in a couple of days even though I had called her and texted her multiple times. Finally we arranged for me to visit on Monday, but when I called to confirm she said she couldn't meet up because she had to work. As of now I am planning on going over to her house on Wednesday, which is the day we had agreed on before I left for vacation so I am hoping that everything will work out.
* I met Karen! As I said last class I was FINALLY able to meet with Karen at her house in Brooklyn. Karen is very sweet and seems more than willing to work with me on my project so that's good. Here are some things I learned about Karen on my first visit-
• She just moved in to her husband's (boyfriend's?) house with her 3 year-old daughter. Before that she was living with her mom and dad and younger sister, but since she and her boyfriend got married they decided to live together.
• Her husband, Anthony, is 24 and originally from the Dominican Republic. They were dating for 3 years before Karen got pregnant at 17.
• Karen is originally from Mexico City, but she came to the states when she was 11.
• She attends the LYFE program at Independence High School and is supposed to graduate in June. After that she's not sure what she's going to do, but she hopes to someday continue her education.
• Karen's family was supportive of her pregnancy and they love their granddaughter.
• Karen works part-time cleaning apartments and Anthony is going to school to become a medical technician.
• Since moving into the new house Karen's life has become more focused on her domestic role-cooking, cleaning, etc.
* Like I said, Karen seems very willing to work with me on the project. I got the impression that she is somewhat bored at home and will enjoy having someone to talk to.
* I have not been able to see Karen since the initial visit, which is extremely disappointing and worrisome. I was going to go there before Spring break, but that didn't work out. Then I was hoping to visit over the weekend, but again that didn't work out. In fact I hadn't heard from Karen in a couple of days even though I had called her and texted her multiple times. Finally we arranged for me to visit on Monday, but when I called to confirm she said she couldn't meet up because she had to work. As of now I am planning on going over to her house on Wednesday, which is the day we had agreed on before I left for vacation so I am hoping that everything will work out.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Week 3 -- Moving on
(This post will be expanded on tomorrow after I have a better understanding of where I'm going from here)
This past week I have gone back and forth and back and forth again trying to decide whether I should continue with the idea of a teen mother or move on and, I have to say, I haven't come to much of a conclusion. Last Friday I was supposed to go to the school to meet with Karen, the teen mother I was hoping to use for my project. Unfortunately when I called to make sure Karen was in school that day I learned that she wasn't. For the past few weeks I feel like I keep coming so close and then everything kind of falls apart. Iris told me that this population was very hard to work with just because they have so much to deal with already. So, since I couldn't go meet with Karen, I began to wonder if perhaps I should change course. I felt like I was losing time and didn't want to be too far behind so I started thinking of alternatives. Then I got a call from Iris...and Karen. I spoke to Karen over the phone and we arranged to talk over the weekend and get together either over the weekend or sometime Monday afternoon. I got her phone number and told her I would call her to chat more and figure out a meeting. That was Friday. I haven't heard from Karen all weekend and, as of now, we have not set up a time to meet tomorrow. And, so, we are back to the issue of whether I should switch ideas and go a different route. If I don't meet up with Karen tomorrow I am moving on. The next question, of course, is moving on to where?
This past week I have gone back and forth and back and forth again trying to decide whether I should continue with the idea of a teen mother or move on and, I have to say, I haven't come to much of a conclusion. Last Friday I was supposed to go to the school to meet with Karen, the teen mother I was hoping to use for my project. Unfortunately when I called to make sure Karen was in school that day I learned that she wasn't. For the past few weeks I feel like I keep coming so close and then everything kind of falls apart. Iris told me that this population was very hard to work with just because they have so much to deal with already. So, since I couldn't go meet with Karen, I began to wonder if perhaps I should change course. I felt like I was losing time and didn't want to be too far behind so I started thinking of alternatives. Then I got a call from Iris...and Karen. I spoke to Karen over the phone and we arranged to talk over the weekend and get together either over the weekend or sometime Monday afternoon. I got her phone number and told her I would call her to chat more and figure out a meeting. That was Friday. I haven't heard from Karen all weekend and, as of now, we have not set up a time to meet tomorrow. And, so, we are back to the issue of whether I should switch ideas and go a different route. If I don't meet up with Karen tomorrow I am moving on. The next question, of course, is moving on to where?
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