Classes finally began this week! Campus is now lively, which allowed me to have what I cautiously call “luck” with participant recruitment. I was able to reach far more students in masses this week than before. Still, you can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink – I’m waiting to hear back from lots of potential participants that I reached out to. I hope just a bit more time and perseverance might be the remedy to my recruitment struggles. I also dealt with two participant cancellations this week, which was incredibly disappointing given the difficulty of finding interested people in the first place. I didn’t expect my greatest stressors here to be related to finding interested people for my study. I thought students would come flocking at the opportunity to make some extra money for the summer. Instead, I’ve spent far more time searching for people to be in my study than actually conducting the study itself. Although this has been upsetting, I am learning that these are the realities of research: facing challenges, adapting, and moving forward.
Outside of research, this was a quieter week for me. One night, we got all of the PIRE students together for dinner at a great Mexican restaurant where I got street tacos. It was wonderful to see everyone in one place at the same time; the last time was at the airport! I also made a stop at my favorite local cafe, Panchi, during the week to try their taro latte. Another PIRE student, Gabriella, has befriended the owners, so she got to go behind the bar to be my barista (thanks for the drink Gabriella!). On Saturday, Anna Raquel and I revisited an area called Piñones to get some authentic Puerto Rican fritters. We ate alcapurria, a fried plantain dish with meat inside. Then we headed to the beach to soak up the rest of the hot, sunny day. In the evening, a group of us visited a local restaurant for some snacks as we sat on the rooftop among the lights and music.
As I have said week after week, I’m hoping things will improve so that I’m able to have some success with my project. Either way, I’m doing my best to make it happen and learning as I go.
Taro latte
Alcapurria