Researchers observe reality and abstract it. This is a really hard (and sometimes dangerous) task. This exercise is a great metaphor of the research process. Working in pairs, one participant is asked to describe a painting to the other partner. Just like a researcher tries to make sense of the reality of another person, the partner is tasked to re-paint an image they can’t see. This exercise sometimes can be very  frustrating, but it is a powerful reminder that as researchers we need to be aware of our limits and our bias.
Stepping into a community, there is so much that we don’t see. If a painting is so hard to describe, imagine describing a personal experience of another person! We need to be humble, listen carefully, and communicate effectively.
At the Recrear House-Office we organize lots of ‘painting nights’: we hang out with our friends and paint together. Afterwards, we recycle the painting for different exercises. We adapted this exercise based on a workshop that Cuso International utilizes to train their international volunteers to be conscious of their limited perceptions of a community when working in different country.