I’m going, going…back, back
To Prague…not Cali.
I went there to study abroad fall semester of my junior year and now I ‘m heading back to the Czech Republic for some intellectual investigations! When I landed at Ruzyne airport, the last thing I expected to find was reggae and other remnants of Jamaican culture. Being Jamaican, when I noticed this culture here I was immediately excited and intrigued! I thought ‘Wow..what in the world is reggae doing in Prague? Who are the people who keep it alive? What is the the appeal?” These are some questions I hope to begin to answer over my 2 1/2 months there.
I am happy to say that I started some light research during the last six weeks of my study abroad trip so I have an idea of who I would like to contact. I will spend most of my time trying to be a fly on the wall and observe the scene and conduct interviews with fans, go to outdoor festivals, meet promoters and hopefully get to meet some awesome, talented musicians. The thing about fieldwork for cultural anthropology is that it is almost completely dependent on other people. I can’t just go there and watch I have to participate (participant observation ;D). In other words, to really get a meaty thesis and insightul information I have to almost become a part of this scene. This will be NO easy task!
To supplement my time I will also try to volunteer at a local organization called Humanitas Afrika, that seeks to combat stereotypes and promote knowledge of African cultures in Prague and the Czech Republic in general. We’ll see how that goes.
Apart from all of this, I also intend to travel around the country and discover the absolute beauty of the Czech Republic. In my opinion, this might be the most interesting part of the trip! I’m not exactly sure where I plan to go, but of course I will keep you all updated!
OK- It was nice meeting you and I hope you enjoyed my introduction to my new CPGC Summer Internship ’09 Blog, but now I have to do some more packing!
Cau! ( a way to say goodbye in many languages, but spelled in Czech!)