Reflections on Mexico etc etc

So I figured that I would just write a few key things about my experience in Mexico. These thoughts are all over the place, so bare with me.
First I don't like Nopales. I tried really hard to like them, but I just don't. And also, thats okay. I learned how to tell people that I don't like them or don't want to eat them and it turned out just fine.
Also, my host family was the best. I feel like they were the missing link between the college students visiting from the United States and the rural Mexicans that we were with. Every time we had a question about what something meant or why people do what they do, or if we heard something that we didn't think was really true- gossip or just an unlikely explanation for a cultural practice- we could always get clarification from our host family. They were willing to explain things so that we could understand which wasn't always easy to get from other people. And as well they were fun to be around. We danced, we partied, we watched many many movies, and ate a lot of food. Being with them was an easy way to keep myself in the culture without feeling overwhelmed.
Health in rural Mexico sucks. Here are a few reasons why.
-Nutrition- they eat carbs and sometimes protein. They lack a variety of fruits and vegetables with vitamins and minerals. This isn't really their fault. There is a scarcity of this food and they are poorly educated about proper nutrition. I came to this conclusion after several meals with Silvia's dad, Daniel. He once tried to convince me that eating skunk soup was good for my asthma. I told him that I didn't have asthma. On several other occasions, he gave me misguided dietary advice.
-Exercise- they don't. Silvia likes to exercise. She has lost quite a bit of weight since last year by doing a dance routine that she would make up. We would do it with her. Of course that attracted many of the muchachos from the ranchos. I didn't really like being the night's entertainment but I wanted to support Silvia in her efforts to exercise. She is the only one who exercises and is criticized by many people including her husband for doing it.
HOWEVER- they seem to be very strong. The men and women do a lot of heavy labor and so seem to have a lot of core strength. However, this is accompanied by a lot of girth- the women especially seem to carry a lot of extra weight around their midsection. Many of the men remain fairly trim. This is likely because the men get more aerobic type exercise working in the fields while the women can never seem to get their after-pregnancy weight off because they mostly stay at home.
Physical Education- no one gets it. The teachers themselves are minimally trained on how to teach physical education and proper nutrition. So how would they be expected to teach it. PE class is really just extended recess. Honestly, it is not surprising that Physical Education would not be emphasized in a society where education, in general, is unimportant. Still, the kids seem to be in fairly good health. Of course this was the purpose of my study. I can't draw any conclusion right now because I haven't been able to analyze the data or compare with other data. But from my observations, the kids don't seem to be any less healthy or more healthy than other children their age. They seemed to do the exercises fairly well so maybe they are a little stronger, but still there were some that were less capable.

So those are my thoughts as far as my time in Mexico is concerned. It was certainly an interesting experience. Sometimes it was super exciting and I loved it and sometimes I didn't. But overall it was a good experience- something that I will never forget.

Update

Hey everybody—
So its been a little while and I'm not really sure where I left off last time- and honestly it was so long that most of you probably didn't even finish reading it. This one might be equally long so we'll see if I can keep your attention. I'll start from the end and work backward.
Today was super great because I was able to do three students in my project- so just in case some of you don't know what the heck it is that I'm doing here- basically I'm making some kids in Mexico do sqauts and planks and pushups among other things. Its like fitness testing but Mexican style. But yeah soI was able to finish three kids today and that makes six total done- only 24 more to go. Thats a bit overwhelming for me but that's alright. Next week I should be able to finish the other nine kids in the school here in El Encino and Hopefully I'll get some kids from another Rancho, Santa Rosa next week. I went to the school today to give the kids the consent forms to sign. We'll see how many I get back. At this school I didn't really have the help of the teacher to introduce the project and the kids were kind of running around and I did my best to make the project sound appealing and told them I'd give them candy if they brought back the form. I'll cross my fingers that it'll work. It was actually really easy to get the forms back in El Encino. I just told them that the first 5 people to bring back the forms would get to use the pedometers. I had kids running to my door during their lunch break to bring back the forms. It was great. :) I didn't have the pedometers to give or show to the kids in Santa Rosa so they weren't so easily intrigued. It also looks like one of the kids here broke or lost a pedometer and so I will only have 4 to work with. That will tag on some extra time for the study since I'm down a pedometer. I also decided to give the kids a questionnaire anywhere because that will be a sort of back up way to check their physical activity. It helps too because I can't monitor their pedometer use all the time and I know there have been a couple kids who haven't worn it every day.
But anyhoo- the kids are doing a good job with the exercises. They seem to understand me pretty well and do them right. That makes me feel good. (I'll take this time to remind everyone that I started learning Spanish January last year. Its going pretty well.) Also, the kids seem pretty strong. I don't know how kids in the US would do but they are really good at some of the exercises that I think are harder. Its fun to watch them do it and see how easy or hard different things are for them.
So before I could start my project I had to make the equipment. Last week when I was in Irapuato I made a couple of the kids from the ward take me to Home Depot to buy wood and pvc pipe. (I can't tell you how happy I was when I found out they had a Home Depot. At first when I asked the guys where I could buy wood they said they didn't know. So I started looking online and I found a home depot- which they apparently already knew about but I guess they didn't know you could get wood there. I don't know. They also couldn't fix their car a couple weeks before when it broke as we were going out for tacos. You can take from that what you think it means.) Anyway, we went to Home Depot and I also again successfully explained what type of stuff I needed and how I needed it cut to the people working there. It turned out they couldn't really help me as much as I hoped anyway, but thats alright. I bought a  box cutter and whittled away at the pipes myself. Its pretty good makeshift equipment that I made for myself.
 Also, I have to ask what the deal is with no one having change. I give them the equivalent of a 20 and to pay for something that's around 7 dollars and they ask if I don't have a 10. No I tell them. So they look in their register and then ask again if I don't have anything smaller. NO- but this time with American attitude because I know that I'm gonna have to wait around for someone to pay for something with a 10 so they can give it to me as change. I don't get it. I've never worked in retail or whatever that is but I'm not sure what it is that we do in the United States but there is always change for a 20. I can understand when the little tiendas don't have change but the bigger grocery stores? Anyway, I live in Mexico.
Okay- soooooo otherwise things are good. I'm happy that I started on my project now. I'm feeling the pressure a little bit and I have some other coursework that I'm supposed to do while I'm here that I'm behind on. But it'll get done. School gets out July 8th so I'm working really hard to get all the kids done before then. So ideally I'll finish with the study in a couple of weeks and then later I will get going on the other coursework. And hopefully we'll get to go more places and meet new people so that I can learn how to make tortillas. And hopefully it will rain soon so that we can go swimming in the river and I will also wash my clothes there too. Right now I just go as long as I can in my dirty clothes until I'm just too disgusting I can't take it anymore and then I wash them in a machine that they have. I was half disappointed when I saw that she had a machine but also I was okay with it. I wasn't sure what it would be like here for that. I also wasn't sure if there would be a toilet. Which there is not but there is a latrine. Its nice- made of cement with a hole in it and a little curtain for privacy. I never close the curtain because the wind just blows it in my face. And that  way too I can overlook the beautiful landscape. It has a pretty nice view- mostly flat dry dirt and some cactus scattered about. Sometimes there are goats in the distance. They keep me company when I've had an especially upsetting meal. Okay so maybe that is a little too much information for you guys but I will have to say that you win the prize for continuing to read to this point. But yeah- we have a latrine that is pretty luxury, some people do not have that. The worst is when I'm in another village and at someone's house who doesn't have an outhouse or anything. I'll keep that story to myself.
But yeah- we also have a shower. I was expecting to give myself sponge baths from a bucket for three months. But actually I'm living the high life out here in the-middle-of-nowhere Mexico. I have an outhouse, a shower that looks like a cave, and a washing machine. You'd think I never even left Provo. You can tell me if you agree. I took some pictures so I could show you folks at home the exotic adventure I'm having.
Oh one thing that I do really have to mention- the stars here, incredible. Definitely better than what you've got in Provo. It´s okay be jealous of that.
That's all I have for now. A la prochaine.
Barb

Helloooooo out there

So life in Mexico is going pretty well. I have really enjoyed myself this past week. I am finding a lot of really great things to do- for my project and also just for fun. So I started “working” in the schools this past week. Or maybe I started last week. Either way, its going well. For the first class I wasn’t really sure what I would be doing. When I approached the Maestro about working in the schools I just offered to help him inwhatever way he needed and suggested to teach English or some sort of health related class. He said okay- thatI could do whatever I want whenever I want and for however long I want. While this is generous, it is also vague. So I went to class, not really knowing what I would be doing. The teacher asked me if I was ready and I said yes and so he left. So... luckily I used to have to teach kids on the spur of the moment when I taught karate so I just played a game where I got to know their names and then they got pretty bored with that and wanted to play a game. So we talked about different games and sports that they like to play. We played a game called “encantado” which I feel like is a mix between freeze tag and capture the flag. It was fun, but it was sooooostinkin hot that I really didn’t want to play. But I did anyway.  Then class was over and they had an hour lunch break. I went back to my room to do some homework and after about an hour Natalie, the other girl that is with me knocked on my door and said there was half a school waiting at the gate for me to come and play with them. I looked outside and there were about 20 or so Mexican kids waving at me so that I would come and play some more with them. So Natalie and I played soccer with them. That was more fun for me because I could stand in the shade more whereas in the other game I had to run around in the sun a lot.
So the next week I was more prepared for what I would teach the kids. It’s a bit difficult though because my study deals with their normal activities and how that affects their body composition and strength. So I don’t want to teach them a lot of exercises that they don’t usually do and all of a sudden they have way better core stability than they did before. Honestly, I don’t imagine it would make much of a difference but I still don’t want to take the chance. So on Wednesday I taught them the food guide pyramid. They were disappointed to see that they should be eating more vegetables than meat. Honestly, I don’t think they have a lot of control over what they eat. The diet here is pretty much limited to beans, rice, tortillas and tomatoes. IT actually kind of is hard for me- themeals are just one color- brown. What I wouldn’t do for a salad or something green. They do have a green vegetable, the nopale, it’s a cactus. It’s actually pretty good but it sometimes has a slimy texture and I’m not so into that, but its green so I eat it. Anyway, after I explained the food pyramid I had them prepare a menu with an appropriate balance of all the foods. It was actually a really hard concept for them to understandbut I think they figured out at least that they should be eating more veggies. After a while they were getting kind of rowdy and so we played a game called “fruit basket.” I used to playit in my French class in high schools. It related to food so that’s why I picked it. They enjoyed it.
Also, on Thursday we went to the Jr. high. I thought that I might need to work there too to find some 12 year olds for the study, but actually most of the 12 year olds are in the elementary schools still. But we went to the Jr. high anyway during their PE class to observe. The idea was that I could just observe and then the teachers would talk to me and we would figure out a way for me to help them out if I wanted. What I mostly observed was that there were tons of students and very few teachers. Each teacher would have a group of 20 to30 students and run them through some different drills. After about 20minutes the groups would rotate. So a lot of the time the students were just standing around waiting for their turn to do the drills. So afterward I offered to some up with some sort  of routine that I could run a group of kids through. The teachers were very glad to accept my help. I’m excited. The kids are really easy to talk to and also I think that it’ll be a really neat experience. Later on we helped out in an English class. The tools they have to teach English are pathetic. The books have tons of errors in them and as well, the teachers usually don’t speak English very well. So they are also glad to have our help with that.
I am also going to start helping at another elementary school. This is to help me find more students to recruit for my project. These teachers have actually given us more specific directions on how to help. They want us to teach the kids a song in English that they can sing at their end of year graduation celebration. We still don’t know what song we are going to teach them, but when did teach them the alphabet and what all of their names are in English- except all of the Fatimas. We couldn’t figure out the equivalent for Fatima or Pilar in English. Anyway, I was excited about this school because the teachers asked a lot of questions about my projectand what my goals are and I can tell that they will be willing to help me out once I’m ready to start, which hopefully will be at the end of next week. I’m pretty excited about it but also nervous. School gets out in the beginning of July and I anticipate that there will be a few things that set me back a little bit, so I don’t want to waste too much more time.
As far as the rest of the day, we try to go to different Ranchos and meet people. It’s been interesting. I’ll be honest, I am not good at small talk, especially in Spanish. But it’s been a good experience.
Also, every night we have been working out with my host mom Silvia. I think I may have mentioned this in my last email. She made up a dance routine to some Latin music. It consists of a few kicks and punches and mostly just jumping around, also there are a few songs where we just move our hips like crazy. (So hopefully by the time I come home I’ll be able to shake it like a Mexicana.) It’s actually not too bad. And so we’ve been doing that the past couple of nights. Two nights ago a bunch of boys came over to mock us. There were probably about 6 of them all under the age of 12. I thought it was funny as I was thinking about myself in the middle of nowhere in Mexico dancing some absurd routine with little Mexican kids climbing over the fence to come and laugh at us. It’s just something I never thought would ever experience. It’s also something that makes me really enjoy being here in Mexico. I like all of the new bizarre experiences that I didn’t even know I was missing out on in the United States. It also provides some good insight on the attitude about exercise and physical health here in Mexico. It’s actually the opposite than what I thought. I figured that since the people farm their own land and work in more rugged environments etc that they would be stronger and healthier. But honestly, it just seems like everyone is super fat and lazy. A lot of it has to do with the heat. When it’s this hot- no one wants to move. Also, they just don’t have the nutritional resources available to them. I also think that there is a correlation between education and the amount of importance physical fitness has in people’s lives. Of course these are just observations that I am making and it’s not really the question that I’m trying to answer in my project. I think it will be interesting to see what the results turn out to be. The kids aren’t necessarily obese like I’m observing with the adults but I also am sure they engage in a ton of physical activity because it’s not really encouraged here.
Anyway, that’s all I have for this week. Hope everything is going well back home. Let me know if there is anything you do or don’t want to hear about in regard to my adventures in Mexico.
Avec amour pour toujours,
Barb

Amy Nagle's Inquiry Presentation

I listened to Amy's presentation about her projectand wanted to comment on it a little bit. She talks about some of the different physical activities that are related to core stability in Ghana- she mentions specifically the way women carry things, including their children. We have all seen the pictures of African women carrying large loads on their heads, as well, I am always amazed at how they will carry their children on their backs all day. This seems like anobvious difference between the African cultur and the American culture. I question if i will be able to find these same types of postural activities in Mexico. It makes me think that the kinds of activities that will affect core stability will be more subtle and therefore harder to recognize. It also brings to mind that perhaps there will not be a difference in core stability between Mexican and American children. If this is the case, there isn't really anything that I can do and the results willnot show as different. But if there is a difference, I need to be making very close observations and figuring out what the differences are caused by. I will really try to involve myself as much as possible in the activities of the people in order to not only observe the differences with my eyes, but to also feel the affects of the acitivities on my own muscles. I wonder though if I will be able to participate in all of the activities. I will probably be able to easily participate in the activities of the younger women or even the older women. It might be more difficult to participate in the activities of the children and especially of the men. I will do my best to be able to do what the children dobecause they represent the population that I am studying. I don't want top be seen as strange though and I don't want to overstep my bounds with the kids either. I'm not sure how much I'll try to participate in the activities of the men. I feel like that would seem even stranger to the people. Iwill try to make good observations though (even then I wonder if they will think that I am strange for watching them in the fields.) I'll try to do it in a way that is inconspicuous. If I just sit and watch- that would seem weird. I'll have to make observations while I am walking from place to place and listen carefully without seeming too strange. Hopefully, I will be able to be doing something while I observe so that they do not realize that I am observing them.

Language again

Matt you should still give me credit for doing this post. It was insightful and from a specific conference lecture that Ashley recommended that we listen to. So here it is again.

I listened to "Where's my Babel Fish" yesterday and have been thinking a bit about language in general. First off I think it's great that we were given a list of slang and profane words and phrases to help us understand a little bit better what is going on. In addition, I have been thinking a lot about language from doing the translation work for my consent and assent forms. There are so many words that are just not common in Spanish. For instance some of the exercises and equipment that I will be using just are not common words in Spanish- at least not for a common person. I think I could say the same thing for English sometimes. If I start talking about lateral flexion of the I.S. joint, most people are not going to understand what I'm talking about. This is also something that I have seen when I work in the physical therapy clinic. The PT will explain certain structures of the body or procedures using words that I just learned in my anatomy class last semester. So, I am sure that the patient does not quite understand what he is talking about. This is just not too helpful for that person. This is something that I will need to be careful of when I am in the field. Common words for me may be uncommon to the people I will be living with. Even Spanish words that I have learned in class may actually be rarely used in rural Mexico and there will be other words that the people use for what I want to say. I imagine I will have frequent headaches while I am there trying to understand what is going on. So while this difficulty and problem is inevitable, I hope that it will not hinder me too much in my field study experience. In fact, I am excited to figure out how the people living in the rural areas outside of Irapuato speak and communicate differently than I have imagined here. It will be neat to learn some of the appropriate words and phrases that are unique only to Mexico and even only to Irapuato and the Ranchos.
In addition, it is not only language that differs between cultures, but as Liann described, there are concepts and ideas that vary greatly. Some ideas in American English just do not exist in India. I anticipate that there will be some similar difficulties that I find in Mexico. I am especially interested to find out the differences in their understanding of health and physical activity and then see how these differences in ideas bring about differences in behavior. At the end of Liann's discussion she mentions that she wishes she had emphasized the qualitative data more because it helps interpret the significance of the quantitative data so much more. This is something that I have been thinking about. I hope that three months in Irapuato is sufficient time to shed some light on the cultural reasons for physical differences between Mexico and other areas of the world.

asking questions to get good answers

I have been thinking a little about the conversations that I am going to have in Mexico and how I would like to find out more about their ideas of health and the role it plays in their lives. I am not planning on doing any formal interviewing for my project but I thought that it would be helpful to go over one of the readings about asking questions to gain some insight into how to get answers to some of the questions I have. While reading through it I have tried to come up with some useful questions that I could ask while engaged in friendly conversation. Some of these questions are not formed in a descriptive way, but by asking them I can then ask the ones that are more descriptive. Here they are:

·        Why do you cook the food that way?

·        When you cook, what is the most important part of it?

·        What would you say that your husband would say is most important?

·        What would you do differently if your child were sick/ too skinny/ too fat?

·        What types of activities do you do that you feel make you stronger?

·        Do you ever do anything just to make you stronger?

·        When is it that you start to feel tired while working? Do you ever?

·        What is an interesting question about health?

·        If a group of mothers was talking after cooking dinner/ doing chores what kinds of questions would they ask each other?

·        Could you describe a typical day in the fields/ doing chores/ at school?

·        Could you describe your day yesterday from the time that you finished school to the time that you went to bed?

·        Tell me about the last time you had to run? The last time your muscles were sore? Why?

·        The next time you ______________ (do laundry, go to the town, cook that) can I come along?

·        What is your activity/play like now and how is it different from when you were younger?

·        How would you refer to someone who runs a lot? Is very athletic?

·        How would you refer to someone who is very healthy?

·        If you were talking to your friend _________ would you say it that way?

·        If you were talking to a child how would you refer to it?

·        What are some other ways in which I could use that word?  

·        What do you do during free time? What would you do if you had free time? What do you do during _________’s free time?

Some of these questions are better than others. I think that it gets the ball rolling though. I think that as I am there I will be able to clarify the questions a little more to the specific situations. I also think that some of the way these questions are worded doesn’t work for just friendly conversation. And even reading through the reading, I felt that some of the example questions he gave were rude. For instance, asking a waitress to give an example of someone giving her a hard time, can be a terribly rude thing to ask if she is emotional about a specific incidence. Or asking someone to play a game of bridge and explain to him what they are doing along the way, can be really obnoxious. I think that is why it is so important to first build rapport with the interviewee. Also, I see how these questions can work, I just also see that if he’s not careful he could end up bothering someone and not get any information out of them. As for my questions, I think that I will have to work on them a bit but writing them down does help me focus a bit more on the types of questions that will get me more meaningful answers.

Religion in the Ranchos- La Misa and other such stuff

I have had a few opportunities this semester to attend religious "events" in Spanish- meaning that it was in Spanish with native Spanish speakers. I also finished reading Pedro Paramo- which was a weird book, perhaps a little too existential for my purposes- but I drew a lot of insight about religion from it.  So I thought that I would start with a little report on La Misa and then try to tie in a few other things that will/might apply to my experience in the field.
There were several differences that I noticed in La Misa than what we usually find in Mormon worship services- or even American worship services. One was the food that was there. I regret now that I didn't stop to eat something- but knowing the kind of person I am- shy at first and then I branch out a little- I know that would have been hard for me. If I did it again I would definitely stay for food. Maybe I'll get a chance to go again before leaving. So from that aspect of the Misa and from what I've heard about Mexican culture and even seen- food is a big part of the culture and is even present in religious situations. Of course Mormons do this too- just in other ways. I wish I had more insight about this- that just tells me I should have gotten a churro or something and I probably would have more insight.
As well, in La Misa people were dressed in more casual clothes. I also saw a lot of different types of people. It wasn't just old ladies or families, there were young adults and men alone etc. They all also seemed to have a different way of worshipping- meaning that some of them sang, some did not, some knew the words of the prayers and some did not- or at least didn't repeat them, some held their arms up when they prayed, some did not. In a setting where I was living among them- for instance, I might be able to do this in the field- I might be able to draw conclusions about why each person acted they way they did. Even if I had talked to more people that day, I could not have gotten to know them so well to know what type of person they were and why they were at Mass and why they did or did not repeat the prayers. But in a field study situation, this might be something that I will be better able to do. And since my project doesn't deal so much with religion, this might not be part of the questions that I try to answer, but I could perhaps gain insight into why certain people eat what they eat and the types of physical activity they engage in and why. I'm sure that there are variations within the community. I want to understand their perspective as a whole on health etc, but in order to do that I have to find out what the individual differences are.So the point of this thought is that, only given one afternoon to make observations about people is not enough. It is good practice and can open up some questions, but spending three months will give me so much more opportunity- even at that, I'm sure that three months will in some ways feel insufficient.
Another aspect of religion that I wanted to comment on was that it seems as though it is starting to change. For instance, more people were wearing jeans and more casual clothes than people used to in the past. Also, there were some electric guitars, which several decades ago would most likely not have been permitted in church. In class we have also discussed some of the changes in religion that are happening in Mexico. Roman Catholicism is still the predominant religion, but other religions are giving rise. There is supposed to be an Evangelical Church going up in the Ranchos. I am interested to see how the people respond to this and the changes in religious dynamics that it causes. In the book Pedro Paramo, religion was not portrayed well. The book was written several decades ago during what was probably the beginnings of some of these religious changes in Mexico. The author portrayed the Padre as a hypocrite, preaching of virtue but displaying none of his own. The people of the town were portrayed as ignorant followers (for the most part) going to the Padre for final judgment on their acts but in the end, dying and ending up in a heavenless state- like the idea of purgatory. The author seems to be saying that despite their beliefs there is nothing after death. The history of Mexico reports a very strong influence of religion, especially from the Catholic Church, it will be interesting to see if the people in the Ranchos still hold to this tradition, or if some of the philosophies of other religions/ideas are seeping into their culture.
Of course, I'm not really sure how I would go about answering these questions. It is not connected to my academic project, and religion can be a very sensitive subject. I also wouldn't want to get into a situation where I was presenting my beliefs in an inappropriate way. I think, though, that by participating in and observing the religious events, I will be able to gain some insight and maybe even be able to come up with some questions or engage in some harmless conversation.

Fresh Ideas

So I have been thinking some more about the challenges that I will face when I am in Mexico attempting to apply some of these cross-cultural skills and actually do this project that I have been preparing for. It is quite difficult to figure out what to do when you don't actually know what it will be like and you kind of just have to wait and see. But as I was giving my presentation today one of the challenges that I am most concerned for is helping the kids be motivated to do the exercises that I have for them. I mentioned that I would try to find common movements that the kids do everyday and compare them to the movements that I would like them to perform. Someone suggested somehow making it into a game. I think that is a great idea. I'm not quite sure how I will do it but I've been brainstorming a bit. SOmething that I have thought of is explaining the exercises through some sort of story or rhyme. Kind of like the rhyme about the bunny when you tie your shoes. This is the rhyme that I found online: "Bunny ears, bunny ears, playing by a tree. Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me. Bunny ears, Bunny ears, jumped into the hole, popped out the other side beautiful and bold."
I'm not sure if I could come up with a rhyme but I think that I could come up with some sort of a story.
For instance, with the squat I could have them pretend they are ducking under something overhead. The bar they have to hold straight over their head could have some sort of food that they can't spill balanced on it. They have to keep their heels down- maybe their heels are on a mouses tail and if they lift them up the mouse will get away.
These are just ideas that came from the top of my head. I'd also like to incorporate cultural practices or other things that they are familiar with. For instance, I could have story with food they eat every day, or animals that are around the Ranchos. I could even use specific people that they know- like their teachers.
I'd like to come up with some ideas now of how I would do this with kids here in Provo just to have some sort of a base to work with. Then I can change the stories or rhymes to make them fit the culture of the Ranchos. Maybe there are already some rhymes or songs that the kids are familiar with. I could try to modify these somehow.
It's nice to have an idea like this because I have honestly not been sure what I can do to prepare myself for some of the difficulties that I am sure I will encounter. This gives me more of a concrete idea to work from. Maybe it won't work at all but it will probably lead me to figure out something that will work.

challenges

So from preparing my presentation I have been thinking about the possible challenges that I might encounter while I'm in Mexico. The challenge that I wrote down in class the other day that I'm scared of the most- or that would be the worst to encounter was that I would somehow offend someone to the point where I lost their trust and couldn't do my project and that this would cause problems for future field study students. Yeah- I'm just going to try really hard to not do that. I don't foresee any big problems that I could cause. But I guess my plan for fixing that would be that I would try and talk to someone within the community about how to repair what I may have ruined. I don't have bad intentions so I don't imagine I could do anything too harmful but I guess we'll see. I've been dilligently studying those mexican obscenities so that I know what words to steer away from :)
I was also thinking about the difficulties that I'll have trying to get the kids to do planks and things. I think that they will think it's really weird and stupid to try and hold a plank position for so long. So that is another challenge that I am worried about- getting the kids to cooperate. I have a few ideas in mind. Someone today suggested making it a challenge for them or some sort of a competition. I'm not sure if that is ethical or how to make it ethical.Maybe I could give a prize to the student that performs the best on each exercise. We'll see though. I'm not sure it that would even work very well. I just want them perform their best on the tests and not be lazy or unmotivated about them.
I was also thinking about entering the community and the gate keepers that I will need to get through. I think it will take some time to figure out how to present my project to them. Especially to the parents of the children that I will ask to participate. So I will have to figure out how to talk to people about it.

Culture Shock

So I really enjoyed the discussion in class today. I have a few thoughts about culture shock. First I think that it is important to realize that it is inevitable. Thinking that I will be somehow immune to it will not help me prepare for it. Also, this makes it so that I can realize that it is normal. Someone mentioned in class today that they would think to themselves- I'm not usually this grumpy/irritable- and this would help them understand that it was just a part of the culture shock. I think that this is a good thing to keep in mind. As well, it would be good that when in the honeymoon stage of the summer, to realize it and know that even though things seem so great now, ups and downs will come and that it is not biculturalism. Anyway, I think being aware that these stages and ups and downs are normal is a good way to cope with them while they are occurring. It is good to be self aware and not think that something is a bigger deal than it is.
With that said, I was also thinking of other ways to cope with culture shock. Someone mentioned not having too high of expectations or at least not too specific of an idea of what things will be like. We really can't tell beforehand what the experience will be like and when we have too specific of an idea it is for sure not going to be like that when we get there. So we will for sure be disappointed or shocked or it will somehow be harder to cope with it than if we had neutral expectations for the experience. Or even know that there will be some nights when I might cry or just be unhappy. This is not having low expectations, but it is being realistic and aware of the potential negative moments I might experience.
I also liked the coping mechanism mentioned- to use humor, or to laugh. I'm not sure which. I used this alllllll the time on my mission. I had a companion who said - you're either laughing or you're crying- so when we had hard days- which was often- we would laugh and joke around. Some of my later companions thought I was crazy but I was much more happy and could work better.
I also have a personal theory that when we're in a tough spot and are doing something really hard or uncomfortable just think of what a great story it will make someday. Even some of the uncomfortable moments that Ashley shared in class. They weren't pleasant at the time I'm sure but it was a great story to tell later and even a really unique experience that taught her a lot and she uses it now to teach us. I like thinking of the potential of a good story when I'm experiencing something really tough. It seems to give me a little perspective that the experience won't last forever- and even that thought can make me appreciate the experience a little more because I know that it won't last forever.

Proposal

Going over the proposals in class was really helpful to me. I have been a little bit confused as to exactly what it is supposed to entail- I think that is partly I already did the IRB protocol, and it is similar to that but encompasses a lot more of the cultural aspects of a field study. Also, its hard to propose a plan for EVERYTHING you are going to do in a three month time span in a place you've never been before doing something that you've never really done before. So, while I have more clarity on what I am supposed to put into my proposal, I still feel like I am just giving my best guess as to exactly what I am going to be doing out in the middle-of-nowhere Mexico :)
But I thought that I would share some thoughts that I have about my proposal- mostly this is just for my benefit in being able to write it down just after discussing it in class today.
First- I think that because we had to write the IRB proposal in sections without the more formal format of a regular paper, I have been writing the proposal in a similar way. It's been kind of hard. And now that I understand that it should have introductory paragraphs and conclusions etc, I think it will be a lot easier for me to organize my thoughts and help my reader better understand what I am talking about.
Also, I think that in order to incorporate the cultural immersion aspects of the field study, I have just been tagging those parts in a paragraph at the end of an explanation of my project. That is actually a very easy way to do it. Now I understand a little better that I need to include those things throughout my proposal and they shouldn't feel so separated from my project. I think this part will take a little more effort on my part. Especially with the nature of my project (I am not really using interviews or observations to collect data) it is a little less obvious how immersing myself in the culture is going to help in the project. But luckily, I think that it will. My professors are going to Hungary for about a week to do this project. I don't feel like that is a lot of time to really see how the differences in culture change the results from area to area. And I think that a lot of scientists (especially in the more biological and physical sciences) don't really see the need to get the whole picture when collecting data. I think that the data they collect will be good and valid. I just also think that it could be even better with more time spent there and more effort to immerse themselves in the culture. So I am excited about the different insights that I will gain as I really live among the people in the ranchos and do what they do. I think that it will personally benefit me as a researcher and a person. Still, I'm not sure exactly how I will do this or what I will find so its going to take a little bit of brainstorming on my part to figure out how to incorporate it into my proposal. I think it will come together though.
So those are the thoughts that I have right now. Have a great day :)

Language

I listened to "Where's my Babel Fish" yesterday and have been thinking a bit about language in general. First off I think it's great that we were given a list of slang and profane words and phrases to help us understand a little bit better what is going on. In addition, I have been thinking a lot about language from doing the translation work for my consent and assent forms. There are so many words that are just not common in Spanish. For instance some of the exercises and equipment that I will be using just are not common words in Spanish- at least not for a common person. I think I could say the same thing for English sometimes. If I start talking about lateral flexion of the I.S. joint, most people are not going to understand what I'm talking about. This is also something that I have seen when I work in the physical therapy clinic. The PT will explain certain structures of the body or procedures using words that I just learned in my anatomy class last semester. So, I am sure that the patient does not quite understand what he is talking about. This is just not too helpful for that person. This is something that I will need to be careful of when I am in the field. Common words for me may be uncommon to the people I will be living with. Even Spanish words that I have learned in class may actually be rarely used in rural Mexico and there will be other words that the people use for what I want to say. I imagine I will have frequent headaches while I am there trying to understand what is going on. So while this difficulty and problem is inevitable, I hope that it will not hinder me too much in my field study experience. In fact, I am excited to figure out how the people living in the rural areas outside of Irapuato speak and communicate differently than I have imagined here. It will be neat to learn some of the appropriate words and phrases that are unique only to Mexico and even only to Irapuato and the Ranchos.
In addition, it is not only language that differs between cultures, but as Liann described, there are concepts and ideas that vary greatly. Some ideas in American English just do not exist in India. I anticipate that there will be some similar difficulties that I find in Mexico. I am especially interested to find out the differences in their understanding of health and physical activity and then see how these differences in ideas bring about differences in behavior. At the end of Liann's discussion she mentions that she wishes she had emphasized the qualitative data more because it helps interpret the significance of the quantitative data so much more. This is something that I have been thinking about. I hope that three months in Irapuato is sufficient time to shed some light on the cultural reasons for physical differences between Mexico and other areas of the world.

insights from class

I really appreciated the things that we talked about in class today. The problems that might arise while I'm in the field are inevitable but I just have this feeling that I cannot possible guess what they will be. Or at least there will for sure be some things that come up that I never would have been able to prepare for. So I liked the thought that Ashley gave about the importance of being flexible. I have a project pretty well planned out and it almost seems like the way it is set up - especially the fact that it needs to match other projects that will be done in other countries in order to be effective- it seems that there is not a lot of room for changes to the project. This thought makes me a little stressed. But at the same time, I am coming to realize that this is not necessarily true. No project is perfect, with perfect methods that match completely from every side. If the project was too rigid, in fact, it would become less valid. I have to account for the differences in site and culture that come from being in Mexico. I have to adapt my project to fit to Mexico. If I am too rigid, there may be something that I miss entirely. --- Even if this means that my project ends up being useless after I'm done- or even completely failing- I am excited about the learning experience of being in Mexico and attempting to do something that I've never done before, with people that I've never met, in a place that I've never been, speaking a language in a way that I never have before. Just being able to do that in itself makes the experience a success.
Still I imagine that I will have moments of panic and worry as I try to figure out how to make sure that my project fits in with the culture. Or I'm even sure that I'll have difficulties in many of the areas that I listed on my paper today. How to prepare for them- be flexible- roll with the punches, as Ashley said. This is similar to what I said in my earlier post about just being patient. So maybe that makes this a reiteration. Really though, I think patience and flexibility are different and so it is good to be ready to have both skills when I get out into the field.

Understanding language and culture better in my study

I have a few thoughts concerning what we talked about it class today. For one thing I am grateful that Spanish does not seem to be quite such a complicated language as Tamil- however, I'm sure that it comes with it's complications. I was thinking about my own Spanish and while I am not fluent in it by any means- I can get by here. However, I'm sure that there is lingo that I can't learn here and I will only hear when I get there. I was thinking aboput that article that we skimmed over in class- where different groups of people had different language that they used and the researcher, without knowing what those words or phrases meant could get really lost. Already I know that there will be times that I get lost just because it is in Spanish- but I'm sure that there will be other times when someone uses a word that I've never heard before that no one uses anywhere else. I know that this happened to me quite a bit on my mission and sometimes it could be quite frustrating. I think what helped me the most was when I wasn't shy about asking for clarification- I had to be careful because sometimes people weren't patient with me- but for the most part if I didn't try to pretend like I understood but I respectfully told them that I didn't understand- things went a lot better. In addition, I had to be patient with myself. that is pretty key.
I was also thinking about some of the suggestions that I was given from my journal entries on how I am going to cope with misunderstandings that occur. Right now I don't really have a great answer. I think one thing that is important is again- patience. I need to be patient with myself and with the people that I'm with. I have to make sure that I don't get mad or offended- I don't feel like I'm the type to do this anyway. I also have to not get frustrated to the point that I don't want to continue or work through it. Taking it with the attitude of "this is a learning experience" rather than a "this isn't what I thought it would be" attitude can make a big difference when in the middle of turbulence.
I have one more thought- I have had issues with whether to do a questionnaire or not. I talked to Amy- she likes the questionnaires and didn't think that they took up too much time. I do think that they can be a good way to take into account more of the cultural aspects of physical activity and health in Mexico. However, looking at the questionnaire- I can see that it is probably not the best anyway. So regardless of whether I use the questionnaire or not for the study, I think that it is important to make observations and take notes regarding physical activity in Mexico in order to draw my own conclusions as to why they might have the posture or body composition that they do. I'm not sure how it will fit into my project- or even if it will- but I feel that the information that I gather could help us modify or tailor the project a little better to whatever locations we might go to mext. It could also bring up ideas or questions that we hadn't really thought of before.
So I'm not sure exactly how I will do this, but it is something that I am going to think about a bit in order to make sure that my project is looking at as many aspects as possible and not just those physical aspects contained within the study.

My biggest hang-up for the moment

Okay so I have been working really hard on getting my IRB protocol worked out. So far it is looking pretty good, but I have a kink in my methods. The whole purpose of doing this project is to relate type of physical activity to degree of musculo-skeletal fitness. Amy collected data about physical fitness through a Previous Day Physical Activity Recall, PDPAR. She was also planning to use pedometers but she said that didn't work out. (I sent her an email asking her why and hope to get some better insight.) Dr. Johnson said that the questionnaires took too long and so I should just use a pedometer. But I don't want to get to Mexico and find out that I have the same difficulty with the pedometers that Amy did and therefore have no way of generating data about physical activity type.
I have been thinking about a method that I found in my research called SOFIT in which I observe the physical activities and score them based on a system developed my scientific researchers in physical education. But this method is used to evaluate physical education lessons more than it is used to see what kinds of activities children engage in on their own. I will look over this and see if I can adapt it to my study. The problem is that I need it to be comparable to the data collected in other studies. These studies will be using an accelerometer, which is by far the best method to measure activity level- it just won't work in Mexico because they are too expensive to distribute to the kids. But I need to be able to compare the two studies.
My other idea is to modify the questionnaire so that it does not take too much time to fill out. I'm not sure if this ill generate reliable data either.
This brings me to another thought- this is the whole point of cultural immersion. If all I do is go to Mexico and measure how long they can stay in a plank position etc. and I don't take note of any of the cultural influences of physical fitness and health, then I feel that I will really lose a lot of the knowledge and understanding that I could gain from them. I'm sure that I will observe and take notes of a lot of these things but I feel that it should be emphasized somehow within my project.

Methods and IRB

Honestly I have been so busy I am not sure what I have been learning. We've been going over the IRB protocols and it has been good to see the different projects that everyone is doing. It has also really helped me to see where the most important parts of the protocol are and what I need to emphasize as I am writing mine. I have several sections of my protocol that I need to work on- specifically the risks section, the literature review, and the methods section. The risks and the methods are probably the most important parts of the protocol. I have to do a lot of work with the methods because I am changing them from what Dr. Johnson is doing in Hungary. He is using an accelerometer and that is just not a realistic or a good idea for me in Mexico- they are $300 each. So I will just be using a pedometer. One of my concerns is that Amy said that she ended up having to ditch the pedometers and she just used a questionnaire. Dr. Johnson said that the questionnaires took too long to fill out. So... I'm not quite sure what will be the best way to measure physical activity but I need to figure it out soon. Needless to say, I am a little bit stressed out about this stuff. :)

New Insights

Okay so this is going to be an exciting post because I have some new insights that I can share. First, I was thinking about that thing that Amy said about making the assessments more functional. Well I can't really change the tests because then it wouldn't match the other studies making the idea kind of obsolete. However, I was thinking that while I am in Mexico for the first little while, I will try to observe different activities that the people do (either the kids or the adults) that are similar to or use the same movements as the the things that I will be testing. Then when I test the kids I can compare it to that activity and they can maybe see the value in me doing the tests instead of telling me that I'm torturing them, like Amy said the kids in Ghana told her. I don't know about you but I think this is a good idea. So for instance, for the hurdle step, maybe there is a fence that the kids have to climb over everyday and I could say that with this test we can see how good they are at climbing over a fence without wobbling over or using support. I just have to figure out how to say wobbling in Spanish.
Another piece of advice that Amy mentioned was understanding the culture to know how to influence them to let me do this study. It sounds somewhat manipulative but Amy is so sweet I don't think she manipulated them at all. She just used it to her advantage. She said the the Ghanaian people are somewhat proud of their physical strength so when she would present them the project they were eager to demonstrate how they were, "of course" stronger than the fat Americans. That was kind of her hypothesis so it wasn't a terrible assumption on their part. Anyway, she said that made it easier for her. So she would emphasize that it was a comparative study regarding strength and the Ghanaians were very eager to help her. So, when I'm in Mexico I will be looking for indications of which part of the study the Mexican people will relate to and when I present the study I'll be sure to explain that part- and I wouldn't leave out other things of course. I wish I could think of some things now that I could prepare for. All I can really think of is that I just feel like all Latinos, Mexicans included, are so nice and so they will probably be willing to help me. This come from my interaction with them here in the States- but they might just be nice here because I am a little white girl who is willing to speak my cute Spanish with them. Anyway, this will be something that I think about.
In addition, in the IRB protocol whatnot that we had today I was told to try and think of more risks that might be involved in the study- just to be thorough. One risk I will emphasize earlier is the risk of working with children. I also thought of the risk of competition among the children. What will some children think if they don't get picked for the study or if their parents don't allow it? Also, there may be competition within the kids that get picked. I don't want to have any of the other subjects present while I am assessing another child. I wouldn't want that child to be embarrassed. There also may be some more obese children that feel uncomfortable doing these exercises because they get made fun of or for other reasons. And there is also my gender- some kids may be shy doing this in front of a girl. So I may need to think of a way to get someone to help me with that- maybe a teacher or someone. In any case, I need to minimize these risks and try to think of any others that I can include in the protocol just to be thorough.
So these are my new insights and I think they are pretty good. They have at least gotten me thinking a little bit about how I can better prepare for the culture of Mexico.
Voila!

Finally got to talk to Amy

I was finally able to talk to Amy today. She brought up a lot of really great points for me to think about while I do the study in Mexico. I will highlight a few things. She mentioned that there were a lot of cultural differences that she didn't think of before getting there. - Kind of like we've been learning in class- :) For instance the Ghanaian perception of exercise is a lot different than the American idea. We think its no big deal to go for a run- or we even want to because we know that will help us stay fit. The Ghanaians don't need to exercise to stay fit. The things that they do everyday keep them fit. They walk everywhere and they do a lot of physical labor. So to go for a run is like torturing yourself. In addition, they don't have physical education in the schools there so they are not used to being told how to exercise or stay fit and they definitely are not used to fitness assessments.When Amy would test the kids, she would have them do side bridges etc for as long as they could and they would think it was so pointless- how can that determine if you are strong or you can work hard etc? For them it was like she was torturing them. So she said it would have been better to have them perform some sort of functional task determined by their culture- like carry a load on their heads- which they do all the time and measure that some how. I'm not sure what kinds of functional tests I could give the kids in Mexico- maybe something to do with a soccer ball. I'll have to think about that.
When I spoke to my Mexican friend for the Methods 1 interview- she said that they do have PE in Mexico and they have fitness testing in the lower levels. So I can anticipate that the kids are somewhat used to it but I am sure there will be some differences from the United States and the kids/all the people will have a difficult time understanding why I am making them do what I am will make them do. I'm not sure what these differences will be. I think I will talk to another Mexican that I know about this.
Amy also told me how she did her recruiting and I think it sounds genius and so simple that I wish I had thought of it before. She went through the teacher and sent letters home to the parents for them to sign giving kids permission to participate in the study. One thing she said she wished she'd had was to be able to meet the parents. The area she was in was fairly large and so she couldn't go meet all the parents there. But my area will be small and so it will be much easier for me to meet the parents and discuss the project with them and just in general build rapport. Also, this way I can make sure that they understand what the study is for because she said that she felt that a lot of people signed the form without really knowing what it was - especially since it wasn't in their native language.
There were several other insights that I got from Amy- mostly concerning timing and how to conduct the project. So it was a really good meeting. One sort of take home message that she said was- try to anticipate all the cultural differences that will affect your project but realize that you can't actually anticipate them all.

I have so many questions that I need answered.

Okay so starting the IRB proposal seemed like it was going to be a headache. And it kind of was but I was able to get a few things finished up. I still have a lot of holes though. I am a little frustrated because I haven't had success getting with my mentors about the project. I have just been emailing them questions but I think going to their offices will be much more effective. They have a lot of the answers that I need especially concerning the methods that we will use for the project. For now in my proposal I have made up a lot of the procedures according to what I think it will be like, but that might just change. But I'm just trying to think through the process and write it out as logically as possible. There are some places though where I know that I do not understand exactly how it will be so before wasting a lot time, I want to ask them directly.
I have been able to get a hold of Amy. We plan to have a meeting in Salt Lake this Saturday to discuss the project. I have a lot of questions to ask her as well. These questions have more to do with conducting the study in a different culture than they are about the methods. For instance, What went easier than she expected- if anything did. What was a lot harder than she anticipated? How did she find participants? How did she explain the project to the participants and the parents? How was she received? How did she handle any negative feelings that she may have encountered? What was most affective in working with the children? Was she able to effectively instruct them on the exercises? How did the pedometers work out? Did she lose any? (I want to know because my mentors want to give the kids accelerometers this time and they are a lot more expensive.) What advice can she give me for this type of a project? What would she think would differ in Mexico from her project in Ghana?
These are just a few of the questions that I have had in my mind and while I have a few ideas about the responses, it is always better to hear it from someone who has first hand experience. So in conclusion, I have a lot of questions that I need to ask a lot of people before I can move forward with my project.

Thoughts about the class readings

I enjoyed the class readings for today, but one thing that I thought of while reading them, especially "Christmas in the Kalahari" was STRESS. The idea that you think that you are doing something nice only to find out that it is the exact opposite thing that you should have done is probably one of the worst feelings ever. Of course in the story he actually did do it right, but he thought it was wrong and it gave him a lot of anxiety. And if he had really done something wrong it would have really sucked. That is just the type of cross-cultural misunderstanding that I'd prefer not to have while I'm in Mexico. That being said, how do I make sure that it doesn't happen? One of the interesting things from the article was that when he understood that the people were only teasing him and he asked them why they didn't tell him that was their custom and they said he didn't ask. That really killed him. As an field researcher he knows the importance of questions in his investigations. But really- how was he supposed to know he should ask a question like that? How do researchers figure out how to ask questions and not just assume that what they are presented with is the truth? I think about how I might react in the field. I am a pretty confidant person and can easily talk to people, but I can also be very shy especially when I'm not sure what I am supposed to be doing or if I feel disapproval from others that I respect. I anticipate that it will take me a bit of time to feel comfortable in Mexico. I will try my best to push myself out of my comfort zone right away but I also want to make sure that I don't step on any cultural toes while I do so. It is quite a delicate balance to try and enter a different culture as an active participant without knowing exactly which actions are appropriate and which actions are completely inappropriate. That's why I say STRESS when I think of this situation. The anthropologist was trying to do something nice for the people and while essentially he did, his lack of understanding of the culture caused him a lot of anxiety as he was trying to figure out why they were acting the way they were.
And so I say stress to that but in the end I have to remind myself of the great lesson he learned. Not only did he learn the lesson of humility which was the goal of the people, but he learned that they were essentially treating him as they would any native member of their community. This means that he was accepted among them. He had successfully entered their community and was treated as they were. Of course he was still different and not considered to be a native member there, but he was well integrated into their community and well-liked. So with that said- his time there was very successful even if it got a bit stressful sometimes. So when I go to Mexico- honestly if I am not constantly feeling like I'm being pushed out of my comfort zone, I'm probably not learning as much as I really need to be learning. So while I might feel some STRESS  at times (hopefully not too severe- or at least hopefully I won't do anything to ruin my trust with the people etc) I will also learn a ton and feel that my time there was a success.

IRB protocol sample 2

I will say that having that mock IRB meeting helped me understand a whole lot more what we are supposed to be looking for as far as critiquing the IRB samples that we are given. This time looking at the second sample I was able to be a lot more specific about what was needed. This also makes me realize that if I didn't have someone going through it with me I would make a lot of the same mistakes. with that said, there is one thing that I would like to comment on as far as sample 2 went- I felt like the background and literature review part was very well written. I don't know if others agree with me, but I felt that it was. I feel like, for my own literature review that I have been a little bit lost as far as what exactly I am supposed to put in it and how I am supposed to write it. Seeing this one helped me understand a little bit better. As well, I have looked over Amy's proposal several times and I am starting to figure out the logic of it and how it's supposed to flow. I honestly feel like I have enough information for it, I just don't know how to organize it. This is a good realization- because I think that I was treating it as something different than anything I have ever written before- and while it is, it doesn't have to be so foreign. I realize that I can treat it like a specialized research paper- for me this idea is a lot less daunting than a "literature review." Funny how semantics make such a big difference. Anyway- now that I have let some ideas float around in my head a little while- I guess this is kind of like that idle thinking that was discussed in the "Ophelia" article- I am ready to put them down on paper and get it going a little better. I'm excited to see how it all pans out. I'll let you know.

the ophelia syndrome

I agree with this article. I have seen the ophelia syndrome in my classmates and in other areas of my life for a while but just didn't really have a name for it. I also know that I have been victim to this same syndrome- for various reasons. As well I can think of specific instances where I have rebelled against it. But I want to comment a little on those times well I fall into this attitude of wanting to be told what to do. I think that the attitude of wanting someone to just tell you the right answer and following blinding is never the way to go. I also think, however, that there are times when it is important to get some guidance on what you should do. I'm not saying that the article wouldn't agree with this, but what I'm saying is that sometimes it is hard to differentiate between the two or it is hard to see that we have crossed the line from one into the other. I think that it is a natural human tendency that we have. I think that it occurs from weakness, laziness, and fear.There may be other reasons for falling into the Ophelia syndrome but I feel like these three cover most of them. I know that in my own personal experience, when I take a class and I only fulfill the assignments and memorize that facts without really taking time to be more creative- I usually enjoy the class less. Sometimes, this doesn't really bother me. Sometimes it is a class that I have to take and I don't want to put the effort into it that I need in order to make it more interesting. However, the classes that I have enjoyed the most have been those classes in which I was more challenged and in which class discussions or assignments required more independent action and thinking.
Okay so those are just a few thoughts that I had during the article. But as well I need to think about what this means to my project and going to Mexico.
One thought that comes to mind is the importance of adaptability. While I am in this class, I want to be as well prepared as possible before I go into the field. I want to know exactly what I will be doing, when, and how. I try to talk to the facilitators as well as my professor to figure out exactly how the heck I'm going to pull off this project. Right now, you could say that I would like them to tell me exactly what to do. More or less, this is appropriate. There is a reason I need to have a faculty mentor- because I have never done anything like this before and she has so she can guide me through it. But when I get out into the field I will need to be more adaptable and able to think on my feet. I may plan my whole project out to the 't' but I'm sure there will be several things that just do not go as planned. And so I'll have to figure out how to adapt my project to the circumstances that arise. Not only will I need to adapt my project, but I will need to adapt my behavior and my efforts to immerse myself in the culture. There won't be someone there who will just tell me what to do at all times, and if there was someone who was willing to do that it could easily turn into one of the "Big Fat Greek Wedding" moments- you know when the brother in law tells him to say something in Greek because its really nice or something and really it tuns out to be obscene. -- Yeah I think that kind of goes along with the idea in the article where you should always get a second opinion.
Anyway- I like to think that I can do this well- think for myself etc. But I know that it is easy to fall into the ophelia syndrome and I just need to make sure that while preparing for my field study, that I don't just rely on what my professor says etc but that I come up with new ideas for this project in Mexico.  

IRB protocol and other thoughts

First- I have to say that I read the first sample for the IRB protocol and most of the second one and I feel like they are both fairly well written. I know that we will do over their strengths and weaknesses in class, but it was hard for me to know why one would be rejected or not. So that just makes me realize that this isn't just an easy fill in the blank information sheet. For right now that is okay and I'm sure that I will get the help that I need in order to make sure that I write mine appropriately. As far as my IRB protocol goes, I know that my mentor and another professor in the Exercise Sciences department have been working on a protocol for the same project but in Austria. They are supposed to send it to me. This will be good to help me know a little bit more about the project and the methods we will use. Of course my project will not be the same because I will be in a different location and I also think that some of my methods will need to be slightly different because I will be there alone and because of the differences in location.
I also read the article for today "Choosing a site and gaining access." One thing that stuck out to me was the idea of being a "Martian" as well as an observer trying to be somewhat native. (I don't have the article in front of me so I can't remember the exact terminology that it used.) But the idea was that you had to take on both roles at different times of the study. You should be able to look around you and notice what would be normal to a native but see them as a martian would. So you notice all the little details and commonplace things that a native would not. You also have to blend in and take on a role that assumes that you are just another ordinary person in the setting you are in. That will be kind of hard for me in Mexico- I won't be able to pass as a Mexican- but I also don't need to. I will need to try and become immersed in the culture enough that the people feel comfortable with me there.

Proposal

Of course I started writing my proposal. I'm glad that we have been working a lot on finding articles to support our project and our literature review because I had somewhat of a head start for the proposal. However, I feel like I'm lacking a lot in that area. I have a lot of articles that support my project in some ways, but putting into coherent words as well as making it unified proved to be quite different. As well, I still feel like there are some holes in my research. I may need to do some more searching to find more quality articles for the literature review. I also think that I need to outline a bit of a plan for it so that I can keep my thoughts organized within the proposal. Just describing the articles isn't very helpful if they aren't linked in a somewhat organized way. In addition, I am not sure how to describe the obesity trends in Mexico. The fact that they are increasing does not really support my project- or at least my hypothesis, but in Irapuato and the more rural areas these trends would be expected to not be as high. Of course I don't know exactly what I will find there, but that is what I expect. I think that is one of the hardest things- I can't really make conclusions about what it will be like there, I can only draw assumptions based on the articles that I've read that somewhat relate to my study and to rural Mexico. I'll figure it out though.

short thoughts

I looked over Amy's proposal again for her project in 2009. I'm really impressed with it and fear that the information that I have thus far collected is not quite adequate for my proposal. Luckily, I have time to get it there. Also, I have more information regarding the procedures for the project. I still am not sure about recruitment. Especially after talking about IRB protocol on Monday I realize that I have to be sure that my recruitment techniques do not go against the IRB standards. I will be dealing with a vulnerable population- children- and I will need to be sure that I do not coerce or manipulate them in any way in order to get them to participate in my project. In addition, one comment that was made on Monday made me think a little about giving back to the people. I need to be sure that my time there is not only spent developing my project and my knowledge but also I need to be sure that I am giving back to those who help me. For Amy's project, she brought small inexpensive gifts to give to those who participated in the project. I will need to make sure that this is appropriate in Mexican culture but I think that it is a good idea. As well, I feel that appreciation needs to be expressed not only to those who agree to be subjects in the study but to all those whom I interact with. I don't necessarily plan on buying gifts for them but it is something to keep in mind while I am there so that the people enjoy having me there and then afterward still want to have more students come to their homes.

Testing Methods

One thing about doing this kind of research and preparation for a field study is that answering one question seems to bring up two or three more questions. One of the questions that I have had is what are the tests that we are specifically going to use to test the kids. I was able to get an article from Dr. Mitchell that describes the fitness testing that I will need to administer to the kids. Apparently it is slightly different from what they had Amy do in Ghana. The exercises consist of deep squats, hurdles, lunges, and push-ups. The nice thing about the article is that it describes exactly what I will be looking for when I'm testing the kids. One thing that I know will be difficult is effectively explaining to the kids how to perform the tests. I taught karate for three years and we would frequently have the kids do push-ups. Despite my best efforts and ability to clearly explain it to them in English, there were always several "saggy-bottomed" push-ups or "teepee" push-ups. So it was kind of difficult to get them to understand the placement of their bodies and how they need to hold themselves to do it right. One thing that I am hoping will help is that I will likely be working with each child individually. In karate I would usually have a class of 15-25 students and I could not give them each individual attention to know how to do the exercises. With the kids in Mexico I will have more time and I will be able to work one on one with them. I'll just need to practice a lot of patience.  
There are a lot of technical tests and procedures that I am going to need to understand and perform while I am out in the field. I'll be honest- it is starting to overwhelm me just a bit. Luckily, Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Johnson are both planning of holding several training meetings in order to teach me what I will be doing when I get out into the field.
I also wanted to briefly comment on a discussion I had with a girl who is from Mexico City. I told her about my project and she said that when she was little and going to school posture and sitting up straight in the chairs in class was very important and they were very strict about it. I have not read any articles or studies that have described this and so it was nice to get the information directly from her. I do not know if this will still be the case after the 20 years since she has been in elementary school or if the schools where I will be in Mexico will be the same as in Mexico City- but I will expect to see a lot of differences between American and Mexican schools.

Methods 2

I was able to attend an institute class in Spanish this pat week and I took notes during it as an observing participant. I attend this class often and so I was able to be there without anyone questioning why I was there or knowing that I was there to observe and take notes instead of just listen to the discussion. While I was taking notes tried to focus on their interactions with each other. I tried to see what was similar to an English speaking group and what might be different. I also tried to notice things that I might overlook in a normal situation. For example, even though I am not Hispanic, I am LDS and so some of the situation is very normal and natural for me. I wondered what I would notice or observe if I were a non-LDS person coming to the class for the first time.
Here are a few focused thoughts from these observations.
At the beginning of class everyone took the time to introduce themselves. They were from many different places. There was only one other white/American girl there. The other people were from Argentina, several from Mexico, and Peru etc. They were all here for different reasons. Some were going to school and some were working here and hoping to go to school soon. The amount of time that they had been here varied from a few months to several years. In addition, sometimes when there was common ground between two people, they would start a conversation in the middle of their introduction to talk about it. For example, one person talked about serving a mission in California and another who had grown up there for several years started asking questions and talking very specifically about the area etc in the middle of their introduction.
As the lesson continued and the instructor asked questions, the students would just answer out loud. They wouldn't raise their hands for these types of questions. There were also a lot of people who seemed to be familiar with the answers and they would all simultaneously answer out loud. In addition, sometimes a few people would carry on separate conversations while the instructor was talking. The conversations were quiet and non-interruptive and usually short.
There would come points in the lesson when it took on more of a discussion. People would talk back and forth across the table. And then also some would engage in their own private conversations while the main discussion was still going on.
At times the instructor would ask more "thought provoking" questions, or at least questions that required a longer answer. For these questions people would usually raise their hands to share their answers. Most of the answers seemed to stem from personal experiences. One person in particular would often share a scripture as a way to answer the questions but he was the only one I noticed that would do that.
The set up of the classroom was also a bit different. There was one big table and everyone sat around the table in a circle. I think that this made it easier for the whole class to participate in instruction. There were some chairs sat against the walls of the room. When new people came in late (which about half the class showed up late.) Everyone would scoot over to make more room so that person could sit at the table instead of sitting in a chair against the wall.
It is also interesting to note that there were sometimes when a non-native Spanish speaker (there were about 4 of us in the class by the end) would speak and not know how to say a word- most of the time several people volunteered the word for them. Once someone wanted to use the word "hedge" but no one in the class knew how to translate it. Eventually someone looked it up on google. Also, sometimes someone would ask for a word and people would give several different words to translate it. this might be because they are from different countries or it might just be t because some people interpret a word from English to Spanish differently than another person.

I'm not sure that I can draw any concrete conclusions from these observations. But I can attempt to evaluate them a little bit. At the beginning of the class, we introduced ourselves- so the people there didn't really know each other. During the class though there were conversations that were going on and the people didn't necessarily answer by formally raising their hands. As well, many people shared more personal stories about their own lives. This ease in conversation and discussion might come from the common Hispanic background or it might come from the common LDS background- or some other factor. But the people were very open and there were not a lot of pauses or "awkward" silences that I have observed in other similar settings. In addition, wanting to make room for everyone so that they did not have to sit away from the table and the group seems to demonstrate an immediate sense of acceptance in the group.
It is also interesting to see the diversity of the people there. They were from many countries and backgrounds and were there for many different reasons. I could not put a label on the group that they were all students or Hispanic or non-American. Some spoke English well, others did not. Some were more educated and others were not. Some were planning to stay here for a while and others were just visiting for a bit. So, while they were all Latino and seemed to get along very well- they were all very different from each other. I wonder if you would get a group of white Americans in a room like that and they would so easily converse with one another. I don't know.

machismo

I have read a few articles about machismo. First I would like to rephrase something that I said in an earlier post. From the article (Urquieta-Salomon, J, Tephichin-Valle, A, & Tellez-Rojo, M. (2008). Poverty and gender perspective in productive projects for rural women in mexico: impact evaluation of a pilot project. Evaluation Review, 33(1), 27-53.) I said that the women are not capable of advancing or learning new skills in order to get out of the poverty that they currently face. I did not mean it in that I  think that they are not capable. I was reporting the findings from the article. They found that the programs that they implemented were not successful because of the limited capacities that the women had and they had never been taught to increase their skill set. Etc. I personally think that women can help themselves and are very capable of learning new skill sets etc especially when it comes to helping their families. The article didn’t support this idea. Either way, I feel like I will see better what the women are like in Mexico and how they respond to things like machismo as well as traditions or changing traditions etc when I get there. Maybe my ideas and thinking will change.

As far as the article that I just recently read for today (LaFranchi, H. (1999). Woman cracks mexico's 'machismo'. Christian Science Monitor, 91(171), Retrieved from https://www.lib.byu.edu/cgi- bin/remoteauth.pl url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=2083434&site=ehost-live&scope=site">Womancracks Mexico's `machismo.')I think that it shows the changes that Mexico is encountering while also showing how Mexico is slow to change. First off I feel that it is important for me to say that while I try to look at cultures and other ways of thinking objectively, I would not be honest if I did not say that I hate Machismo and sexism and the problems that come with it. With that said, I feel like I need to try to put my feelings aside in order to try not to judge the people and also to try and understand how and why they do what they do. It has been a concern of mine, how the Mexican people will react to me- as an educated woman trying to take measurements and collect data etc. I honestly have no idea if my gender will be a problem for them. But what I can try to make sure of is that there ideas about my gender do not become a problem for me. I have a higher goal in mind and if I allow my pride to get in the way and try to play a role that for them is not comfortable, they will not be so interested in helping me out.

Anyway, some of my thoughts however are as follows. Who says that a woman playing a traditional role in the home is a bad thing? In all honesty, this is somewhat of a personal dilemma that I have faced while trying to prepare for my career and simultaneously prepare for a family. I feel like the most important thing to look at is whether the people are happy. For instance, in the article “Woman Cracks Mexico’s ‘Machismo,’” it is stated that women are just as likely as men to support the traditional role of women in the home and well as vote for male leaders instead of female leaders. Women seem to be okay with this. (Okay, I’m sure that any radical feminist could come up with many reasons why women are okay with this. They are not allowed to be educated. They are brainwashed. I don’t know.—and I’ll be honest. It is not hard for me to think these same things. The oppression of women is real and not right.— are these women being oppressed? Who am I to judge?) Women may be just as happy staying at home with their children than men are going to work. In fact, one benefit to this idea is that women know their role and men know their role. Some of the confusion that comes with non-traditional roles would be absent. Also, in several articles I have read it shows that women usually get lower levels of education than their husbands. Maybe this does not bother them. I guess my point is that I cannot judge whether it is right or wrong. I think that the most important thing is whether the people are happy in the society and roles that they are in. While I am living with them, I also will better learn these roles and try to fit into them as well as I can.