Youth Voices: The Art of Noticing
The unrelenting, arid heat of the Northern Indian summer enveloped me in a bone-dry embrace. Despite the steady whir of the fan to my left, beads of sweat teetered precariously at the sides of my face already baked in a sharp-smelling, heavy concoction of sunscreen and bug spray. As my mind wandered in and out of a heat-induced daze, I tried to train my focus on my surroundings: garlands made out of biscuit wrappings that line the cabinets. Knocked-over bottles of Mountain Dew splayed out on the floor. Children’s clothing flung over the edges of sofa arms and doorways.
What started off as a practice to keep my mind alert in the unyielding heat has snowballed into some of the most valuable skills I’ve strengthened over these past eight weeks: the art of noticing and listening.
As someone who loves to strike up a conversation with just about anyone, navigating the language barrier between the villagers and me initially felt intimidating: I puzzled over how to convey my respect, trust in them, and curiosity to hear their perspectives in very little words in my broken Hindi. My inability to verbally engage with the villagers using more than a couple of customary greetings pushed me to harness the power of observation, non-verbal communication, and active listening. These practices don’t require much more than a commitment to step outside of yourself — letting go of your beliefs, worldviews, and preconceived notions — to simply observe the world and the people around you.
Despite my inability to understand the participants’ spoken responses, these interactions with the villagers (who were mostly mothers) were eye-opening in ways that I may not have picked up otherwise if I hadn’t brought this intention of keen observation into these spaces. For instance, after picking up subtle changes in the women’s tones of voices and body language during certain questions, such as ones regarding nutrition intake or income, I was reminded of the importance of maintaining neutral reactions to all questions and fostering a sense of trust and non-judgement with all participants due to the sensitivity of these surveys. I also got a glimpse into rural household gender dynamics and speculate how women’s limited decision-making capacities and autonomy may influence the household’s nutrition outcomes in line with previous literature on women’s empowerment I read. However, in spite of the noticeable differences in women’s and men’s speaking times, watching the women express their perspectives and insights to my mentor with confidence and playfulness during the interview was particularly heartwarming...[CONTINUE READING]