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. 

Interviewing and observing

I think that the interviewing assignment was pretty enlightening for me. First, I really enjoyed talking to the student. She was very helpful and interested in helping me fulfill my assignment. I also think that while this experience was helpful in practicing for being out in the field, my interviews with the Mexicans in actual rural Mexico will be a lot different. First of all, they will not be students who understand the importance of allowing another student to fulfill an assignment. Also they will not speak English and even though I spoke with her somewhat in Spanish, it was easy to fall back on English. With that also in mind- we were somewhat rushed. while I was able to put in the 45 minutes, we both had things that we needed to go do. So I hope that while I'm in the field time will be my friend. There will be more time to sit and talk to people, in a less formal way. There will be more time for me to be able to express myself in Spanish. In addition, I am kind of glad that my project relies a lot on quantitative data. (Although I also feel that this in itself will come with a different set of challenges.) Interviewing and remembering what the people say, asking the right questions, and getting the types of answers that you are looking for is indeed very hard. I will still need to informally interview people in order to get a feel of the activity levels and culture aspects that may possibly affect core stability, but I am glad that it is not the only data that I am relying on.
In addition, I want to comment briefly on the interview with my Mexican friend. She seemed to be in the opinion that children in Mexico now are not participating in the same activities as she did when she was a child. She feels that the children are less active. This is more evidence that suggests that there may not be a difference between American children and Mexican children in terms of core stability. My interviewee grew up in a larger city on the coast of Mexico and so her observations may not be the same as what I will see in the small rural areas that I am going. I guess that I will see when I get there.
Lastly, I want to briefly report on the meeting that I had with Dr. Mitchell. It was very informative and as helped me see a little bit more what I need to focus on. First, she told me that they changed to fitness tests that we will be administering. I will have to be trained in how to give these tests and to know what to look for. I'm excited because they seem to have it worked out fairly well. Also, she said that they are working on a movie that will demonstrate the tests. I will need to get it dubbed over in Spanish. I'm not sure how easy or difficult it will be to show a dvd in Mexico. It's something that I will need to look into. Dr. Mitchell also talked to me about the IRB approval which they have already started drafting. And so while that is nearing completion, I also need to have the forms etc translated into Spanish. So I will begin working on that fairly soon.
So right now, I'm making headway but I still have a long way to go.

Methods Practice 1: Interviewing

Methods Practice 1: Interviewing

I was able to interview a student from Mexico this past Friday. I found her simply by looking around campus and asking her where she was from. I had never met her before but she was very friendly and willing to answer any questions that I had. So this interview was semi-structured. I had most of the control over the topics of discussion, but she was also able to freely answer the questions and expound as she liked.
Activity level changes
Some of the points of interest that she brought up were the differences in activities between children when she was small and children today. She feels that kids today are not as active as she was when she was a girl. She says that she remembers always running and running. In her opinion the rumors of increasing obesity among children is true. In addition, she feels that not just children but adults are less active than they were in the past. More people take cars and buses instead of walking. She gave two reasons for this, increased laziness and increased danger. She felt that both were equally to blame.
Comparing US and Mexico
I feel it important to also note that of the activities that she listed having taken part in, the differences that I might note from my childhood is that she walked a lot more as a primary means of transportation and she also noted that they played a lot of soccer. She did not mention bicycles or other types of toys that they played with. I also didn't ask her about them either. But she mentioned being outside a lot and playing games like hide and seek or other games that they would make up. This is something very similar to what I enjoyed as a child as well.
Diet
Another interesting note was the diet she described. She mentioned a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. She didn't even know that you could get frozen vegetables at the store. She also made it a point to say that Mexicans eat a lot of fried food that can be very fatty. The meals they eat are also usually very fresh even if they are fried. They do not eat often at fast food restaurants. And McDonalds in Mexico has more fresh foods and takes longer to eat there than in the United States- according to her.
She also talks about "treats." She did not eat a lot of junk food and sugar as a girl. For treats she would have a lot of fruit. She eats more candy in the United States as an adult than she did as a girl in Mexico. 
PE in schools
When asked about physical education in schools she mentioned that during the younger years PE mostly focused on fitness testing instead of instruction. In the later years they were taught to play sports like volleyball and also played a lot of soccer. In addition, they were taught how to dance in school. I want to note that she didn't think of this as physical activity. I asked her directly about dancing and the latin culture. She agreed that it was a big part of the culture but that they didn't do it much until they got older. As children they were dance in school and at parties sometimes, but it was mostly for adults.)
Influence of technology
At the end of the interview she made it a point that the advances in technology were the cause of the obesity problems and lack of physical activity among children. She did not have tv growing up and now every household has a tv. She also mentioned the numerous television channels with cartoons and other kid type shows that are available all day long. This is another change from her childhood. She said that when they did watch television it was at a certain time that they could watch cartoons and then after that they had to find other things to do. I asked her as well about video games. She said that she doesn't know many kids who have video games, but she feels that computer games are getting bigger and bigger and more children are spending time doing that.

Mexican student (M)
Interviewer (I)
I: How long have you been in the United States?
M: about 5 years.
I: Did you know English before you came?
M: A little bit. My father, for a little while, was a graduate student here getting his masters. So when I was really little I learned English but then we moved back to Mexico and I was there until I decided to come here to go to school.
I: Well your English is very good. I imagine that it would be very difficult to go to school in a non-native language.
M: Yeah it is. My English isn’t perfect and it’s a lot different here.
I: What are you studying?
- (Information is too identifying and not related to this study. Also, I gave her a brief introduction to the study that I’m doing and we had a little bit of good yet irrelevant small talk.)
I: what kinds of activities did you participate in as a kid?
M: Oh we were always playing. We were always outside. We played games like hide and seek and a lot of futbol. We didn’t have a tv so we were outside all the time.
I: what about dancing? Isn’t that something very integrated into all latino cultures? When do you start learning to dance and how much is it a part of your life?
M: Oh yeah dancing is huge. As little kids we don’t dance very much. There is dancing at parties maybe and other activities but little children don’t dance a lot. But then we learn it in school. They teach us different dances in school. And so then we start to dance more and it’s really fun. Later on though we don’t want to do it because we are embarrassed. We think that people are looking at us and stuff.
I: So is this like a teenager type attitude?
M: Yeah when we are teenagers we don’t want to dance. We think it’s weird or something. But when we get older we really like it. We dance at everything. All parties and holidays. It’s a lot of fun.
I: What about other activities or sports? Do they teach you other sports in school?
M: What do you mean?
I: Well for example, in the United States we have PE classes. . .
M: Oh yeah we have those too in Mexico. In elementary school they give us physical testing you know like jumping jacks or they measure how far we can stretch. Things like that. Then later in Junior High we learn to play a lot of sports. We learn like volleyball and we play lots of futbol. Then we have tournaments and things like that to compete in and it’s a lot of fun.
I: What about at home? What kinds of chores did you do? For instance, did you help your mom cook or work out in the yard with your dad or help him fix things?
M: Yeah – mom would cook. . . I remember my dad would play with us a lot. He was always doing things with us. He would take us to the beach every week. He would also bring the neighbors and we would go to the beach to play. Our house was only like 3 blocks from the ocean and so we would walk there.
I: Did you walk most places? Did you walk to school for instance?
M: Yeah we walked a lot. When I was a little girl I was always running everywhere. I would walk to school when I was really little and then I would take the bus when I got older. But a lot of people walked. They don’t so much anymore. And the kids do not play the same now as they used to.
I: So you think that the things that you did as a kid aren’t the same as what they do now.
M: Yeah the kids don’t play as much as they used to. Not outside. They don’t have the same games. They watch a lot more television. We didn’t even have a tv but now everyone has a tv. And even you don’t see as many people just walking, they are lazier. They take the bus mostly. The public transportation there is really good. Not like here in Provo. But still before people walked a lot more. I guess it’s also kind of dangerous now. More than it was before.
I: So would you say that the people are walking less because of the danger or because they are lazy? Which do you feel is the main cause?
M: I think it’s both honestly. I think that both factors go into it.
I: Okay, well let me ask you about eating and food in Mexico. How many meals do you eat and can you describe them a little bit?
M: Well when we were little we would take lunch to school. A packed lunch. And we have four meals a day, not just three. But the last one is very light. It would usually be something small like bread and some chocolate milk. So it wasn’t really like a meal.
I: Yeah it seems like just a small snack.
M: Yeah it was very light. We would have that and then three other meals. And we ate every day at the same time.
I: What kinds of foods would you eat?
M: My mom would cook it mostly. We ate a lot of fresh vegetables. I didn’t even know that frozen vegetables existed. I thought it was so weird when I came here and saw that you could freeze vegetables. They are not as good. But it is kind of nice because I don’t have a lot of time to cook.
I: So would you take more time to cook and eat when you were in Mexico than you do now?
M: Yeah we would always eat at the house and it was always fresh veggies. We rarely ate fast food. If we ate fast food it was like on the weekend and we thought it was like a special occasion. It wasn’t very common, not like I do now here. And for example, McDonalds is a lot different there. The fast food is different. The McDonalds uses fresh food, fresh fruits and vegetables. And it’s not really fast. If you go there you still have to wait like thirty minutes to get your food because they cook it after you order it. It’s not like here where you get it thirty seconds after you order it.
I: Yeah it’s more like that in France. The food is a lot better too. I don’t think even Americans like the American McDonalds.
M: Yeah in Mexico it is a lot better tasting but it is not as fast as here.
I: What are some differences in your eating habits since you’ve come to the United States?
M: I don’t really eat fruit any more. I used to eat a lot of fruit in Mexico. I would have a lot of mangoes and pineapples and things like that. In Mexico they are a lot better and cheaper. And when I was little I would eat fruit as a treat. To me it was special to eat fruit. We didn’t really eat it with our meals. We ate it more like for dessert. We didn’t have a lot of chocolate or cookies or things like that. I don’t remember eating a lot of that when I was a kid. In fact I think that I eat more of it now than I did when I was little. The candy that we had was even kind of spicy.
I: Oh yeah, I’ve had Mexican candy before and it was like a sucker cover in chili power.
M: Oh yeah we love that. We put chili power on everything and we really like to eat a lot of spicy foods. We would even put it on the fruit and eat fruit with spicy stuff on it.
I: What other kinds of foods did you eat a lot in Mexico?
M: Well, remember we aren’t perfect. We would have fresh fruits and vegetables but we had a lot of fried food as well. We love eating lots of food and deep frying it.
I: I’ve read several articles about an increasing trend of obesity in Mexico, similar to what we are seeing in the United States. What do you think of that? Have you noticed it and what would you suggest is influencing it?
M: Oh yeah well I think that there are a lot of things that go into it. I do feel like the kids are fatter. They don’t run around and play like we used to. I blame technology. You know when I was little we were sometimes able to watch cartoons but they only came on at a certain time. Now kids have tons of channels with cartoons all the time. They can just sit and watch for hours. When we watched tv there was a certain time slot that we could watch them in and we would but then there was nothing else to watch and so we went outside to play.
I: Is it just television or are video games also really big there right now?
M: I don’t see a lot of video games. But I do see a lot of computer games which is essentially the same thing. A lot of kids also play a lot of computer games.
I: Hmm, that is interesting. . . . Okay well thanks so much for letting me talk to you. That is pretty good for not. Good luck.
-END-

Gender Dynamics in Rural Mexico

I read an article discussing a pilot project with the goal of educating and therefore increasing the income of women in rural Mexico. (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.) First though, I want to discuss the recent push toward increasing opportunities specifically for women in third world countries as an attempt to improve the economic status not only of the individual women, but of the communities they are in. It is interesting to note the change in emphasis- where before men were given the priority as bread winning and therefore were the ones that could qualify for loans or given education and now it is the women who are given these opportunities. A prime example of this is microcredit, in which only women are given small loans to begin private businesses in order to support their children. With this is mind, I wonder what kind of shift this creates in the culture and gender dynamics of these communities. This article discusses several different interventions that were taken in order to educate and give opportunities to women to help them come above the poverty line. Some of the interventions worked and some did not. Most of the problems seemed to stem from the already embedded gender "roles" and ideals within the society. In Mexico, the women are responsible for the household chores and tasks, while the men earn food or money so that the family can eat. When given "projects" or ways for the women to earn money- they were still left with all of the tasks that were required of them before. The tasks were not redistributed. In addition, the women were already not as well educated as the men. They were not accustomed to learning new things and gaining new capacities. And so they didn't gain the abilities that the interventions attempted to teach them. They do not have the mentality for learning and increasing their potential for a better life. 
This brings to mind a few questions for me and my project. First- how will these differences in gender roles effect my interaction with the people? Who will I need to talk to in order to find subjects for my project? The fathers or the mothers? As well, will they listen to me. I am a woman and I may not be regarded as an equal when I am speaking to men. What will they think of my increased education? Will they judge me for it? Most women my age in Mexico already have a couple of children and are taking care of their households and husbands. Will my difference in position and ideals in life conflict with theirs? I am not really sure if these questions can be answered until I get there. 

Reading: Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo