Passage II: I was glad when somebody told me, “You may go and collect Negro folklore.” In a way, it would not be a new experience for me. I was born into the cradle of black culture. It fit me like a shirt—I didn't observe it; I wore it. Only in college, away from my native surroundings, could I stand off to the side and look at my wrapping, and even then I needed the lens of anthropology to look through. When asked where I wanted to work, I chose Florida. I knew that Florida drew AfricanAmericans from all southern states as well as from other parts of the country, so I thought I could find a cross-section of black culture in that one state. And since I was feeling new myself, it made sense for me to balance that newness by choosing familiar ground. I started in the town of Eatonville, which I believed would be rich with source material that would be easily available to me. I wanted to experience my childhood memories as an adult. As long as I could remember, black men would gather in the evenings outside of stores and tell stories. Sometimes women would join them. As a child when I was sent down to the store, I'd take my time making the purchase so I could hang around longer to listen to them talk. Folklore is not as easy to collect as you might think. The ideal sources have the fewest outside influences, but that's also where people are less open about sharing their cultural traditions with strangers. Although in other cities it might have been difficult to gather the information I wanted, I knew that in Eatonville everybody would help me. According to the passage II, Based on the first paragraph, it is most reasonable to conclude that while in college the author ---------.