My Anthropology
Well I think I’ve come full circle.
I remember when I began to realize that Anthropology is a lifestyle. I had been visiting the Rroma in Garnachilandia for about a year when I realized that there was only one step left for me to take. If I wanted to continue with my research, I needed to move to Garnachilandia and make my life among the Rroma, at least for a while. Otherwise, my research would not go beyond where it had taken me.
I thought about it, and quite seriously. But life got in the way. I was in a serious relationship, actually, in the process of getting married. Taking on Garnachilandia would mean setting my personal life aside. After careful consideration, I chose to stay in Xalapa.
There are a number of Romani women who come to Xalapa to read palms. I see them regularly downtown. My plan for some time has been to take up my research again with these women. Outside of their environment, outside of their homes, it’s more challenging to establish trust.
That, and I’m a mama now with a busy life here in Xalapa. I can no longer pack my backpack and take the first bus out of town.
I felt like I had hit a brick wall, like I couldn’t move on with my professional life. I finally realized that I was wrong.
I understand now that Anthropology is all around me. Anthropology is everything. By that I mean it is the study of humans and everything that has to do with us.
What’s more, I’m an American living in Mexico. I am smack in the middle of one of the great cultural gaps of our time. This is a perfect opportunity to live Anthropology. It has always been, after all, my lifestyle.