Scene 1: New Faces

07 November 2013

Backstory:

After our failure to get in contact with our co-researchers on Tuesday, Ronell had promised to speak with them and figure out what they wanted to do.  That night she called us and informed us that the co-researcher team we had been working with had received other jobs and would no longer be working with us. However there was still hope, as she informed us that she had found 3 new people interested in working with us and we would be meeting them on Thursday!

scene 1

Cast of Characters:

MGV Park Team:  Zachary Goddard, Tyler Collins, Katherine Connors, Lucine Bahtiarian

Co-Researchers: Abdul, Ebrahim, Cheslyn

Community Members: Ronell Trout

 

Setting: It was a bright and sunny day as we walked from the train station to Perseverance Park.  Our team was filled with anticipation at the thought of meeting a new set of co-researchers and hoping they would match our enthusiasm.  The park was empty when we arrived, though people were out and walking around on the streets nearby.

 

Scene:

Our team sat on a bench in the park nearby what was once the basketball hoop.  The plan as we understood had been to meet at 1:00pm as usual, though there was no sign of anyone aside from the occasional person walking through the park or others sleeping on the grass.  Fifteen minutes passed and two men we did not recognize began walking towards us from across the park.  We had assumed that Ronell would be bringing the co-researchers to meet us so we were not sure what to make of them.  When they finally arrived, they introduced themselves as Abdul and Ebrahim, and we asked if they were part of the new team who was to be working with us.  Unfortunately, they did not seem to know what we were talking about and said all they had been told to meet here at 1:00pm. At this point we still weren’t sure what the situation was and thought it best to wait for Ronell.  After another 45 minutes Ronell arrived by herself and greeted all of us, confirming that these would be the guys working with us.

As we began walking, the third member of the new team, Cheslyn, joined us.  We made our way to the Community Centre to sit down, discuss the project and everyone’s expectations as to not to waste any time.  Lucine began by explaining our goals and catching them up to speed on our progress so far.  We also made sure to emphasize that we wanted them to be equal partners in this project so that not only are they learning from us, but we are learning from them as well.  It was important that they are committed so that when we are gone they will be able to carry on and make sure the process continues to run smoothly.  After laying down the ground work, we lightened up a bit with some more in depth introductions, sharing our ages, where we were born, what we study/studied, and any interests and hobbies.  It was interesting to learn that Ebrahim had studied information technology and was interesting in audio engineering and Abdul had studied mechanical engineering, though neither had finished their degrees.  Discussion moved into ideas for things we could implement in the park and the co-researchers seemed more eager to be involved in the conversation and to share their ideas.

After we felt we had established a solid base point for working together, the co-research team walked us to the train station.  During this walk, we learned through casual conversation that Ebrahim enjoys producing hip-hop music and that Abdul is a talented artist and wants to go to the US.  As our train pulled away from the station, our team felt excited for the future.

 

Reflection:

Though the day started off a little awkward, it evolved into a much better experience.  Our new co-researchers seemed interested and eager to work with us on the project and provide their input.  It was great to have some common ground with their background in engineering and information technology and this helped to foster casual conversation. We hope to take advantage of Abdul’s artistic ability in drawing park designs and making the park look appealing to the eye, perhaps incorporating mosaics or graffiti into the park. As we spoke with Ebrahim, we couldn’t help but picture him as the D.J. at a community event held in Perseverance Park. Overall, we felt happy about how events were unfolding, and were looking forward to working further with them on our project.