This past week, things at ECOSUR moved very slowly. I was hoping that I would find out the communities where I would work and that I would be able to go and ask permission to conduct my study. However, Dr. Ochoa did not return from Mexico City until Wednesday, and when he reviewed my survey he told me that I needed to pilot test again with the changes that he had made. I also did not find out from Dr. Ochoa what communities I would be working in until the end of the week, and there was some confusion about who would travel with me to translate my survey into the indigenous tseltsal language (Elena, the translator, told me that ECOSUR was not going to pay her what she needed). However, I continued working on my research project. On Tuesday morning, I went to the Secretaría de Salud to meet with a woman who works in the reproductive health office. She gave me some helpful information and now my survey is based off the information that pregnant women receive about risk signs and complications during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. I also had time this week to start writing the background section and the literature review for my thesis.
On Wednesday, Dr. Ochoa returned from Mexico City and I gave him a final copy of my quantitative survey. I met with Dr. Ochoa, Rosario, Roberto Solís and Elena about my research project. Dr. Ochoa talked with Roberto Solís about which communities I should work in. We also discussed how I would calculate my sample size. Because part of my survey will be given to only women (a section on obstetric history, a section on knowledge of risk signs and complications, and a section for pregnant women) and another part of my study will be given to women AND men (attitudes and practices with regards to complications), it has been somewhat challenging to calculate sample size. I am also worried that since my survey is now very long (and I will only be working with one translator walking from house to house in each community), I won’t have time to survey an adequate number of people for my analysis. Hopefully it will all work out.
This week there was a giant tent set up in the main square with a concert stage in the presidential plaza. After salsa class on Wednesday night, I went to see what was going on in the tent. There were lots of ecotourism agencies from different indigenous areas of Chiapas and other states in Mexico, including Oaxaca, Veracruz and Michoacan. I also went to listen to the concert going on across the street from the tent. There was a group singing in tsotsil, one of the indigenous languages in Chiapas.
On Thursday and Friday, the logistics of my research project finally started coming together. Rosario told me that on Monday, I will go with Elena to pilot test my survey in a municipality near San Cristóbal called Oxchuc. On Tuesday, Elena and I will go to two indigenous communities (Mesbiljá and Tzopiljá) where I will ask permission to conduct my research study. ECOSUR conducted a trachoma study in these communities in 2007, and Roberto Solís has a list of the families that were randomly surveyed. Dr. Ochoa explained that it may be easier to bring this list with me on Tuesday and ask the community leaders if it would be possible to survey the same families. On Wednesday and Thursday (if the communities agree to participate), I will hopefully be able to start my field work. Because Elena will not be available to translate again until the third week in November (she is also translating for another project), I am hoping I will be able to make some progress on my field work next week.
Thursday night, Rahul and I met our friend Paco and went to a birthday party for one of the secretaries that works at ECOSUR (there is always a birthday around here!). We chatted with some of the other people from ECOSUR and after a few hours, the salsa dancing started. When I return to the states in December, I am really going to miss the festivity that is ever-present in Mexico.
This past weekend, Rahul and I went with Ronni (one of the nutrition students at ECOSUR) to his hometown of Ocosingo. On Saturday morning after a night filled with salsa dancing, I woke up and Rahul and I went to the bus station to meet Ronni and his friends. It was a beautiful day and after stopping for some breakfast, we drove to Ocosingo, which was about a two-hour drive northeast through the mountains.
We arrived in the late afternoon and walked around the town of Ocosingo. On January 1, 1994, Ocosingo was occupied by the EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional). Not coincidentally, January 1, 1994 was the day when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect. The Zapatistas wanted to call the world’s attention to protest the signing of NAFTA, which the EZLN believed would increase the inequality gap among people in Chiapas. The Zapatistas wanted the natural resources that were extracted from Chiapas to benefit the people of Chiapas in a more direct way and also desired autonomy from Mexico. When the Mexican army arrived in Ocosingo, the Zapatistas did not retreat and there was a lot of fighting. Ronni says that he remembers (as a 7-year-old boy) that everyone was afraid for their lives that day. Today, however, Ocosingo seems like a peaceful place with a small-town feel.
On Saturday night, Rahul and I went to dinner with on of Ronni’s friends, Daniel. He is a middle-school teacher in a community outside of Ocosingo near the jungle. Later that night, we met some more of Ronni’s friends. One of them told us that we were the first gringos that he had ever talked to. On Sunday, we went to a Mayan archaeological site called Toniná with one of Ronni’s friends, Daniel. Me and Rahul rode in the back of the pick-up truck (one of my goal’s since coming to Mexico) as we drove through the beautiful landscape to the archeological site. When we arrived, we perused the small museum and then walked the path towards the ruins. It was a very hot day, but we climbed the stairs to the top of the ruins. The Mayans definitely picked a good spot – the view from the top of the ruins was incredible. After descending the steps, we got back in Daniel’s truck and drove to a nearby river, where families were picnicking and boys were swimming in the freezing water. We got some empanadas from a local food stand and walked along the river. Before heading back to San Cristóbal, we ate some food that Ronni’s mother had prepared for us. When we said goodbye, she said “mi casa es tu casa” and assured us that whenever we wanted to return to Ocosingo, we would have a place to stay :-)
Near our apartment
This week there was a giant tent set up in the main square with a concert stage in the presidential plaza. After salsa class on Wednesday night, I went to see what was going on in the tent. There were lots of ecotourism agencies from different indigenous areas of Chiapas and other states in Mexico, including Oaxaca, Veracruz and Michoacan. I also went to listen to the concert going on across the street from the tent. There was a group singing in tsotsil, one of the indigenous languages in Chiapas.
Thursday night, Rahul and I met our friend Paco and went to a birthday party for one of the secretaries that works at ECOSUR (there is always a birthday around here!). We chatted with some of the other people from ECOSUR and after a few hours, the salsa dancing started. When I return to the states in December, I am really going to miss the festivity that is ever-present in Mexico.
Rahul waiting for Ronni to meet us at the bus stop
This past weekend, Rahul and I went with Ronni (one of the nutrition students at ECOSUR) to his hometown of Ocosingo. On Saturday morning after a night filled with salsa dancing, I woke up and Rahul and I went to the bus station to meet Ronni and his friends. It was a beautiful day and after stopping for some breakfast, we drove to Ocosingo, which was about a two-hour drive northeast through the mountains.
I achieved my goal of riding in the back of a pick-up truck :-)
We arrived in the late afternoon and walked around the town of Ocosingo. On January 1, 1994, Ocosingo was occupied by the EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional). Not coincidentally, January 1, 1994 was the day when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect. The Zapatistas wanted to call the world’s attention to protest the signing of NAFTA, which the EZLN believed would increase the inequality gap among people in Chiapas. The Zapatistas wanted the natural resources that were extracted from Chiapas to benefit the people of Chiapas in a more direct way and also desired autonomy from Mexico. When the Mexican army arrived in Ocosingo, the Zapatistas did not retreat and there was a lot of fighting. Ronni says that he remembers (as a 7-year-old boy) that everyone was afraid for their lives that day. Today, however, Ocosingo seems like a peaceful place with a small-town feel.
Driving to the ruins on Sunday in Ocosingo
On Saturday night, Rahul and I went to dinner with on of Ronni’s friends, Daniel. He is a middle-school teacher in a community outside of Ocosingo near the jungle. Later that night, we met some more of Ronni’s friends. One of them told us that we were the first gringos that he had ever talked to. On Sunday, we went to a Mayan archaeological site called Toniná with one of Ronni’s friends, Daniel. Me and Rahul rode in the back of the pick-up truck (one of my goal’s since coming to Mexico) as we drove through the beautiful landscape to the archeological site. When we arrived, we perused the small museum and then walked the path towards the ruins. It was a very hot day, but we climbed the stairs to the top of the ruins. The Mayans definitely picked a good spot – the view from the top of the ruins was incredible. After descending the steps, we got back in Daniel’s truck and drove to a nearby river, where families were picnicking and boys were swimming in the freezing water. We got some empanadas from a local food stand and walked along the river. Before heading back to San Cristóbal, we ate some food that Ronni’s mother had prepared for us. When we said goodbye, she said “mi casa es tu casa” and assured us that whenever we wanted to return to Ocosingo, we would have a place to stay :-)
Me with Ronni (right) and his friend Daniel (left) at the ruins of Toniná
Me and Rahul at the ruins of Toniná
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario