Carlos Medina
My initial intention for enrolling in the ethnographic field methods course was to put theories I was learning about in my anthropology classes to practice; to make these abstract notions a part of my reality.  I came in expecting that what I would learn on this trip would accrue to my arsenal of anthropological knowledge and that I would have immense intellectual growth.  What I had not anticipated was the amount of personal growth that I experienced and the profound effect the community of Santa Maria Atzompa would have on me.  Applied anthropology refers to the application of method and theory in anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems, and this is the direction that I knew I wanted to take my academic career. 
            Once I arrived in Oaxaca and began to work with the community it hardly seemed fair to refer to my field experience as work: it was an enlightening experience that permanently altered the way I view my life.  I learned to reevaluate what it is that I deem important; to separate the wants from the needs and to acknowledge that the most important things in life are my health, family, and happiness.  The most rewarding part of the project was my work with a group of the community’s children, children that were experiencing cognitive learning disabilities as a result of lead exposure.  My field experience has had an insurmountable influence on my future as an anthropologist and the way that I view life.  It has been an event that I look back on with fond memories and an experience that has inspired me to return next summer.