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.