Sleeping on my mom's couch
Only a few months into my fieldwork, Morocco suddenly closed its borders. I could stay, but that meant overstaying my visa. Return to the Netherlands? But I had sublet my apartment there. The whole situation left me with two pressing questions: where could I stay, and what would happen to my research?
I had finally settled in Morocco, connecting with translators and respondents. That process came with its challenges. Since studying at the Netherlands Institute Morocco (NIMAR) in 2014, I hadn’t spent more than a few days in Rabat, so rebuilding networks took time. Just as things were beginning to take shape, Morocco closed its borders again in late November 2021. I describe the chaotic journey home in my blog post, "Borders and bureaucracy in Morocco’s lockdown."
Photo taken by Judith van Uden.
From couch to couch
My plan had been to conduct at least seven months of fieldwork, but after just three months, I was back in the Netherlands, without housing. I had sublet my room for the full research period and couldn’t find a temporary place due to a tight housing market and high rents. I moved between the homes of my friends and eventually ended up on my mother’s couch. It was a tough time: I struggled with relying on others’ hospitality, having no privacy, and wondering how to move forward.
Photo taken by Judith van Uden of a hybrid interview.
Hybrid fieldwork
Just after I had finally returned to my own place, Moroccan borders reopened. What to do now? Still, given the unpredictability of international travel, I chose to shift my approach and focus on collaborations with research assistants. Two research assistants were in Morocco, and with them, I organized hybrid interviews: they visited respondents' homes and we conducted the interview together. Despite some technical issues, this format worked surprisingly well.
Feeling insecure
Nevertheless, the transition to hybrid fieldwork brought considerable stress. Would I be able to speak to enough respondents this way? Would I get to know them well enough? Once the coronavirus pandemic was better under control in Morocco, I wondered when the right time would be to return. In this video, I reflect on this choice.
This experience of rethinking and adapting data collection taught me that uncertainty is a constant in qualitative research. Fieldwork rarely goes according to plan. A flexible and pragmatic attitude is therefore essential—perhaps this is the most important lesson I've learned from this process.