Chapter 3 Asking Questions and listening

I thought the story of Mamma Day was very interesting. The part that interested me the most was the part about Reema's boy. He came to the island to write a story about the people there. However, he was so engulfed in using his tape recorder and writing down things that he missed the main points. He wanted to find out what 18 and 23 meant, but he never sat down and asked anyone. If only he would have taken the time to sit down and truly listen to the people. He would have quickly understood just what the people were talking about when the mentioned 18 and 23. In the end he wrote his book, and gave his own interpretation to what the numbers meant.The people that read what he wrote totally dismissed it, and did not even finish the book. This writer made a critical air, and ended up totally miss understanding what the people were talking about. Reading this story has helped me to understand that I need to be more aware of what people are saying. It truly helps to listen to people, and understand where they are coming from. Just by listening to people and watching what they do you can get a good sense of their subculture