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Marcela Ospina

Product management, Service design, user research,
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Marcela Ospina_Africa_2012

Chronicles of fieldwork in Luanda: understanding mobile engagements

June 6, 2014

I thought I should write something about my trip to Angola since it was a rich Anthropological experience in my life.

I arrived to the airport hoping to find the person who was going to fetch me, yet, there I was waiting next to 2 other scared-looking white guys, who were also looking for their drivers, and seemed as anxious as I was (eventually all our drivers arrived after 45 minutes). 

 I was  nervous because I got a lot of warnings about the place, especially in regards to malaria, the mosquitoes, the corruption, the not walking alone in the street, the underdevelopment, and the unhealthy water. 

I have been here 6 days now, and from what I've seen, yes, all of the above are true, but not in a conventional way. 

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In Ethnography Tags Mobile Africa, Social reality Africa, Behaviour in Africa, surrealism, Ethnography
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I thought I should write something about my trip to Angola since it was a rich Anthropological experience in my life.

I arrived to the airport hoping to find the person who was going to fetch me, yet, there I was waiting next to 2 other scared-looking white guys, who were also looking for their drivers, and seemed as anxious as I was (eventually all our drivers arrived after 45 minutes). 

 I was  nervous because I got a lot of warnings about the place, especially in regards to malaria, the mosquitoes, the corruption, the not walking alone in the street, the underdevelopment, and the unhealthy water. 

I have been here 6 days now, and from what I've seen, yes, all of the above are true, but not in a conventional way. 

Read more →
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