Another Good Week

      I posted new pictures but I didn´t have time to write anything. I will make up for it in this post:)  The pictures are of Los Lagos de Montebello and some nearby waterfalls.  Seven of my girl friends from the study abroad program came down to visit me in Chiapas last weekend.  It was soooo much fun.  We hiked to an assortment of caverns, lakes, and waterfalls that are close to the border between Guatemala and Chiapas. As you can see, the waterfall was an absolutely beautiful aqua blue color. The water is clean but it is not perfectly translucent.  The minerals make it milky.  It was so pretty that me and my friend Gloria could not pass up the opportunity to go on the zipline.  We got in line after a huge group of british tourists.  But it was well worth the wait.  We were so excited that we must not have paid very close attention to the instructions that the man gave us.  We both totally ignored the rope that they throw out to you to help you stop.  Oops!  I went shooting back to the center of the rope.  It ended up working out great though. I got to spend an extra few minutes overlooking the beautiful jungle from high above the treetops!  Gloria and I thought that the tour group left without us but we learned that our group was waiting for us outside the park entrance.  Apparently they had been politely asked to leave since our other friends had spent their afternoon bathing nude in the pools.  That is against the rules.  Crazy American girls!!  We went to a set of lakes after the waterfall.  They are famous because each one is a slightly different color of green-blue.  My friends went to tons of other places as well but since I have already done most of the stuff, I stayed behind and tried to get work done.  I saved my energy and money for the partying!  Just kidding, sorta:)  They all stayed in the hostel that my friend Wenda lives in.  (I feel like it is my home too sometimes because I am there so much).  It worked out great.  It was really nice to have friends for the weekend!  

   I had a really important meeting with my research advisor and the program director this week.  They said that I was doing well, but I lacked experiences in the field.  I tried to make up for that this week!  I did more observing in the clinic in Tenejapa.   I talked with a few women from church and then today, I had an interview with a traditional midwife in a remote community in the mountains.  Again, I went with an anthropologist and translator.  They filmed the interview. I can´t wait to show you all.  This time, I was more prepared.  I brought fruits and sweet bread to give to the family.  It´s a good thing that I brought alot because the entire family (like 10 people) participated in the interview!  While we were driving home, I asked the guys if they considered the conditions that the family lived in "extreme poverty."  They said that it is not extreme, but it definitely is poverty.  As an anthropologist, you ask a lot of stupid questions.  They are good questions, but to the people, they are so obvious that they can´t help but give you a blank stare.  For example, today I asked the midwife if the majority of women in her community use midwifes during their pregnancies.  She responded with a definite yes.  I then asked her why she thinks this is.  This is exactly the type of question that I am talking about.  The answer is so obvious it is unexplainable.  Firstly, there are no doctors in the community.  A doctor comes about once a month to the local school to give consultations.  And secondly, it is just the normal procedure.  It is what women do.  Imagine how difficult it would be for a woman in the US to explain why she chose to go an OB/GYN while she was pregnant.  It is not even really something that we think about.  It´s the same thing for the women in this community.  This all occured to me in the temporary silence that followed my question!  

      The anthropologist brought his daughter.  During our conversation, she got up and left because she didn´t feel well. I went out to check on her and she said that her stomach and her head hurt from a bad case of culture shock.  It was a lot for a little girl to handle.  We went back in after talking for a little while.  We both started to giggle when we saw the little girl (the grand-daughter of the midwife) pretending to make tortillas.  She had a bowl with a pretend tortilla mixture of mud and rocks that she rolled into little balls and then smushed with a little bloc.  It was adorible!  Little girls play house all around the world.  We had easy-bake ovens; little indigenous girls have tortilla presses!  

    I feel like I am starting to get the hang of this fieldwork thing.  You have to be really pushy, and kind of annoying.  I know that nobody wants to talk to me.  I am a young, foreign girl who doesn´t speak perfect spanish.  Nobody wants to take time to answer my silly questions.  But I have finally learned that if I want to get anywhere with my project, I need to get over all my insecurities.  Today I met these two girls in Tenejapa.  They are youger than me but both are married with kids.  While the anthropologist was talking to their dad, who is one of the leaders of the community, I cornered them and started a conversation.  At first, it was a little forced but it ended up going really well.  They asked me questions, I asked them questions, and then I gave them my cell phone number so that we can meet up to talk again the next time I am in Tenejapa.  It sounds simple, but it was a big deal for me.  I could not have done that a month ago. 

      I didn´t post any new pictures cause as of right now, it is impossible.  I don´t have a computer.  Mine broke and I finally gave up on it.  I have given up on pc´s alltogether.  I went to Tuxtla and bought a new macbook.  All by myself.  In a different language.  Well, ok.  The money wasn´t my own!  I still can´t believe I made the switch. I don´t have the laptop yet but hopefully it will be ready by the end of the week.  

     This week I am going to work really hard so that I can take a wonderful vacation with my family next week! We are meeting in Cancun on Saturday.  So exciting!!  And I love the fact that Grandma and Grandpa Tanner are coming.  I have such cool grandparents.  Everyone cracks up when they hear that I am going to Cancun with my entire family during Spring Break week. Keep your eyes out for us when watching mtv! Woo hoo!