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.

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.  

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