Challenge

Today I experienced my most challenging interview so far. The home owner was very suspicious about what our intentions were with the project and at first refused to have us take any pictures, or interview her. Even after several attempts of offering detailed explanations on who we are and what purpose this project serves, the home owner remained skeptical and suspicious. I finally gave her my supervisor's business card and offered to come back a different time after she had a chance to talk with my supervisor a bit more to clarify any questions or concerns she may have. The home owner did not take this offer, even after offering it to her several times, and finally reluctantly agreed to be interviewed, but without the voice recorder.

Throughout the interview, the home owner often responded with caution, suspicion, and even hostility, and I constantly felt on-edge, never knowing what her reactions would be to each question. I believe the only reason she agreed to be interviewed was because I had told her every other adult foster care home around the area is participating in this project. This idea was confirmed when, at the end, I asked if I could take a picture of her, to which she immediately replied with a furious head shake "Mm-mmm, no." I made a comment that it might be strange that her home would be the only home without a picture of the owner in the portfolio, and then afterwards, she suddenly had a change of heart and said "Oh, I was just joking with you earlier. Of corse you can take a picture of me!" Like I said earlier, I never knew what to expect from her. Along with being the most challenging and stressful, it also was the longest interview we conducted. Most interviews took 45 minutes, sometimes up to an hour. This one took an hour and forty-five minutes. I would say it was a very stressful but also very valuable learning experience, though I can only hope that I will not have to face another similar interviewing experience. I am now so grateful that the majority of the interviewees have been so generous and cooperative.