An International Student's Perspective: Navigating Identities and Conducting Ethnographic Fieldwork in the U.S.

Researchers that conduct fieldwork outside of their home country oftentimes experience challenges and situations that are not described in textbooks. While some encounters may be affirmational, other experiences can challenge identities and interrogate assumptions. In this narrative, I recount my experiences as a novice ethnographer. I am from India and at that time, I was conducting research in an elementary school in the U.S. From the first day of entering the field, I discovered a process of internal transformation. I hope that by sharing my experience other ethnographers will embrace their own process of reflexivity.