On Saturday after the Independence Day festivities had finished, Rahul and I woke up early and went to San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán, two indigenous villages about 6 miles outside of San Cristóbal. Both communities speak tzotzil, which is very different from Spanish (for example, ‘thank you’ in tzotzil’ is kolaval – very different from ‘gracias’). Our first stop in San Juan Chamula was the cemetery, where we saw graves marked with black, green, and white crosses. Our guide (César) explained that the black crosses were for adults, the green crosses were for young people, and the white crosses were for babies. While the majority of the crosses were black, there were definitely a fair number of white and green crosses in the cemetery. We walked through the small town of Chamula and our guide brought us to the town jail, where there was a man behind bars. César explained that when someone commits a wrongdoing (such as being violet after drinking), they are brought to the jail. If they are male, they are put in a cell that is open to the public and everyone can see them in the cell (the women are not publicly shamed like the men). However, the maximum sentence is only three days. If they commit another offense, they have to do a year of community service. And if they commit a third offense, they are banished from the village. Pretty good judicial system, I think :-)
César also brought us to the church in the center of town. While it looks like a western church on the outside, it is a completely different world on the inside. Before entering the church, we were told to put our cameras away because the people there believe that taking pictures inside the church may take the sacredness away (kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?). We walked in and stepped on pine needles, which covered the church floor. There were no pews, no altar, and no confession stand. Instead, there were hundreds of people kneeling on the floor, with dozens of different colored candles in front of them. Apparently, the candles (and their color combinations), different colored soft drinks, and even a chicken (yes, there was a man with a chicken in the church) are all part of the religious experience in San Juan Chamula [it amazes me how CocaCola has found a way to infiltrate an indigenous religion]. In Zinacantán, there was also a church, but inside there were pews, an altar, and a confession stand. However, our guide explained that the cross outside was not meant to represent the crucifixion, but rather, a tree.
On Sunday, I spent most of the day reading about Seguro Popular, a new health insurance scheme in Mexico that provides health insurance coverage for poor, rural, and indigenous people in Mexico. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well on Sunday or Monday, so I just relaxed and worked on my health systems paper. On Tuesday at ECOSUR, Rahul and I had class with Roberto Solís, who does data analysis. He explained that ECOSUR uses SPSS for quantitative data analysis, so unfortunately I will have to learn how to use a new software system to analyze my data. We did a brief exercise using SPSS with Roberto, and fortunately it was not that complicated (there are buttons to click instead of codes to enter). Roberto Solís reviewed the different types of variables, including continuous (akaescala in Spanish), nominal, and ordinal. During the practice exercise, we also learned how to use SPSS to create contingency tables and do T-tests.
Wednesday was our last day of the research methodology class at ECOSUR. Dr. Enrique Eroza came to talk with Rahul and I about our initial thoughts for our research project. I have learned that maternal mortality is a huge problem among the rural indigenous populations in Chiapas, and so I am interested in doing a research project related to maternal health. I told Dr. Eroza that I was thinking about doing a project to find out the level of knowledge in the population with regards to maternal health and signs and symptoms of complications during pregnancy, birth, and post-partum. On Thursday, I met with Dr. Ochoa to talk more about my research project. He suggested that I do a KAP (knowledge, attitudes, and practices) study among pregnant women in the area of Los Altos, where maternal mortality is very high. Next week, he said he would help me set up a meeting with people from the Secretaría de Salud to talk more about the project. Next Wednesday, Rahul and I will present our research proposals to the people at ECOSUR, and then we will hopefully go to the field with Esmerelda next Thursday.
On Friday, I worked more on my health systems paper and did some more research KAP studies at ECOSUR. Now that the class has ended, I have moved into an office at ECOSUR with Milton and Ronnie, the two guys doing research and getting their nutrition license. I’m on my own this weekend because Rahul left on Thursday to go to a family wedding in Texas, but I think I’ll be able to survive. I’ve been making some Mexican friends at my salsa class and at ECOSUR. I’m happy because I no longer have to dance in the gringo group or with the instructors at salsa class – I’ve advanced to the next level! Slowly but surely I am becoming more mexicana. The fireworks that go off during the day (just sound – no light), the random parades in the street, and the marimba music playing outside my apartment as I fall asleep are starting to feel normal :-)
San Juan Chamula
César also brought us to the church in the center of town. While it looks like a western church on the outside, it is a completely different world on the inside. Before entering the church, we were told to put our cameras away because the people there believe that taking pictures inside the church may take the sacredness away (kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?). We walked in and stepped on pine needles, which covered the church floor. There were no pews, no altar, and no confession stand. Instead, there were hundreds of people kneeling on the floor, with dozens of different colored candles in front of them. Apparently, the candles (and their color combinations), different colored soft drinks, and even a chicken (yes, there was a man with a chicken in the church) are all part of the religious experience in San Juan Chamula [it amazes me how CocaCola has found a way to infiltrate an indigenous religion]. In Zinacantán, there was also a church, but inside there were pews, an altar, and a confession stand. However, our guide explained that the cross outside was not meant to represent the crucifixion, but rather, a tree.
Inside the church at San Juan Chamula (stole this from Google images)
On Sunday, I spent most of the day reading about Seguro Popular, a new health insurance scheme in Mexico that provides health insurance coverage for poor, rural, and indigenous people in Mexico. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well on Sunday or Monday, so I just relaxed and worked on my health systems paper. On Tuesday at ECOSUR, Rahul and I had class with Roberto Solís, who does data analysis. He explained that ECOSUR uses SPSS for quantitative data analysis, so unfortunately I will have to learn how to use a new software system to analyze my data. We did a brief exercise using SPSS with Roberto, and fortunately it was not that complicated (there are buttons to click instead of codes to enter). Roberto Solís reviewed the different types of variables, including continuous (akaescala in Spanish), nominal, and ordinal. During the practice exercise, we also learned how to use SPSS to create contingency tables and do T-tests.
Wednesday was our last day of the research methodology class at ECOSUR. Dr. Enrique Eroza came to talk with Rahul and I about our initial thoughts for our research project. I have learned that maternal mortality is a huge problem among the rural indigenous populations in Chiapas, and so I am interested in doing a research project related to maternal health. I told Dr. Eroza that I was thinking about doing a project to find out the level of knowledge in the population with regards to maternal health and signs and symptoms of complications during pregnancy, birth, and post-partum. On Thursday, I met with Dr. Ochoa to talk more about my research project. He suggested that I do a KAP (knowledge, attitudes, and practices) study among pregnant women in the area of Los Altos, where maternal mortality is very high. Next week, he said he would help me set up a meeting with people from the Secretaría de Salud to talk more about the project. Next Wednesday, Rahul and I will present our research proposals to the people at ECOSUR, and then we will hopefully go to the field with Esmerelda next Thursday.
Institute of Health in San Cristóbal
On Friday, I worked more on my health systems paper and did some more research KAP studies at ECOSUR. Now that the class has ended, I have moved into an office at ECOSUR with Milton and Ronnie, the two guys doing research and getting their nutrition license. I’m on my own this weekend because Rahul left on Thursday to go to a family wedding in Texas, but I think I’ll be able to survive. I’ve been making some Mexican friends at my salsa class and at ECOSUR. I’m happy because I no longer have to dance in the gringo group or with the instructors at salsa class – I’ve advanced to the next level! Slowly but surely I am becoming more mexicana. The fireworks that go off during the day (just sound – no light), the random parades in the street, and the marimba music playing outside my apartment as I fall asleep are starting to feel normal :-)
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