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.

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.

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.

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. 

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