A Learning Process…

One thing that I’ve learned from studying Anthropology is how little I actually know about the vastness of the world. Geertz was right in stating that in order to fully understand the cultural interactions of all societies you have to first understand each one individually, on the micro, emic level.

I have been reading a lot about Peru and Sendero Luminoso in these past few weeks leading up to my departure, and its enrapturing how much I’m learning and how much I will get to experience: I’ll be my own primary source. Before I applied for this grant, my knowledge of Peru was pretty much limited to Machu Picchu, llamas, cuy (fire roasted guinea pig) and whatever else I was supposed to absorb in ANTH101. And then there was that History class where we touched on the role of the Spanish conquistadors in South America in the 16th century. But other than that I kind of dove into a rather large pot of information this summer. Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself that half the point of doing a thesis in the first place is to broaden your horizons on something that you might be interested in but don’t know too much about, and proceed to develop a more complete understanding throughout the entire process.

As for the actual ethnographical research I feel semi-confident that I know what to do once I get to Peru. Luckily, I am practically being handed a field informant, so going into an environment I know little about will be a lot easier than if I just showed up and tried to initiate conversation with Qechua-speakers until I found someone who spoke Spanish and English and oftered to introduce me around and help me answer specific questions. I have the ‘Good Book’ of Anthropology by Russ Bernard (who’s kind of the modern day Clifford Geertz/Franz ‘Papa’ Boas of Cultural Anthropology Research Design) so I will be in good company while I hammer out my research. I imagine many quite nights under the stars: just me and my field note journals.

I am thankful that I took an intense graduate-level research class back in my sophomore year. I learned a lot in that semester, and I probably would not have had the knowledge or the confidence to take on such an extensive project. Nonetheless I am still nervous about traveling so far by myself. Actually, the only part that really bothers me is making sure that I’ll be able to find my way onto the six different planes I’ll be taking just to get there and back. I really hope I have a window seat at some point.