Robert Nims
Anthropology
9:00
A Little Piece of Mexico
Melissa Schaefer
Ethnography
Introduction-I studied a culture from a different country. I went to a Spanish market called El
Mexicano that has a small little restaurant in it. I observed the Hispanic culture and the main
reason that I chose to do so is because I thought it would be interesting to learn from a culture from
a different country. And that is a pretty hard thing to do living in the U.S. But there are certain
places where you can view cultures from outside the U.S. And my girlfriend is from Mexico and
so I figured it would be interesting to learn more about the culture she grew up in. I think every
country has there own cultural differences. People that grow up in different countries usually
have different traditions, values and behaviors. And so I think if someone grows up in a different
country then they definitely have a different culture then someone that has grown up in the United
States. So people that grow up in Mexico or people that have parents or grandparents that were
from Mexico would be taught different ideas and traditions from birth. There is a definitely a lot
of distinguishing characteristics to the Hispanic culture. A few of them are the ways they view
the family unit, the food they eat, and celebrations and holidays they have. Usually the typical
person learns about someone else's culture through TV, movies, books, and other sources of
media. So I wanted to learn about this Hispanic culture through my own eyes and see if I could
see in these five hours the manifestations of the Hispanic culture. One thing that I did notice is
that there was a mixture of American culture at the store. And this makes sense of course. It is a
store in the U.S. and so there are going to be American and Hispanic people visiting the store.
The owners probably just wanted to make the store to meet the needs of the general public and so
they adapted a little and put some American culture in it. But there is still plenty of Hispanic
culture evident in the store. I think there is definitely more Hispanic culture in the store then there
is American culture.
Field Research Methods-Most of my research was spent doing direct observation. There was a
little section of the store that was kind of like a small little restaurant where you could order
different foods. And they had a few tables in that section so I spent most of my time sitting at the
tables watching what was going on in the store. I did talk to a few people that sat down close to
me, but it wasn’t really an interview. I mainly just said hello to them and asked them how they
were doing or what was good to eat at the restaurant. So I did talk to a few of the people that I saw
at the store but I didn’t really conduct an interview and ask them questions. It was basically just
small talk for just a few seconds. I didn't really have culture shock. I have been around a lot of
Hispanic neighborhoods and businesses in the past in Maryland, Minnesota as well as some places
throughout Utah. There was definitely a lot of interesting things I saw and learned while doing
this project. But I still had been around this culture before and so I had an idea of what it would be
like. There were times when I felt a little out of place just being there by myself. There were
other white people that came in from time to time and so I wasn't the only American came in the
store. I think if white people never came in to the store then I definitely would have gotten a lot
more looks and I would have had way more people staring at me. But for the most part I think
people didn't think it was that weird to see me in there just hanging out by myself. I think the girls
that worked there thought I was a little strange
because I was there basically five days in a row for close to an hour every time. I noticed
they were the ones that stared at me the most.
Description of Cultural Activities-The environment at this store seemed very different in
comparison to a typical American store that someone would go to. It seemed like the store was
kind of disorganized. It definitely isn't a store that would be able to fit a lot of people in at one
time. The aisles are very narrow, and there are many racks of different items that seem in the way.
Walking around I definitely felt a lot more congested and trapped then I usually do in a typical
American store. One thing that I thought was quite unusual was the fact that there were a lot of
items that were actual sold behind the counter and assistance was required to get them. The items
were things like medicine, vitamins, and other healthcare items. In a normal American grocery
store or supermarket all those items would be on a shelf where anybody could access it. But here
they had it where you could get it only if you asked a worker. I have been to many different
grocery stores in many different cities and states and in all my visits to one I don't think I have ever
seen a mounted head of an animal out in the main part of the store. Here at the Mexican
supermarket they had a huge bull's head that was mounted on the wall. I thought that was
interesting because like I said I have never ever seen one in a grocery store and probably never
will. There were a lot of unusual items that someone would probably never see in a typical
grocery store. Some of those items were chickens feet that were sold at the meat counter. They
sell huge plastic jugs of pickled pigs ears and skin. They sell pig's feet in grocery stores but these
jars at the Mexican supermarket were massive. The biggest ones would have been at least two
probably even three gallons. The people that came into the store varied in age. It seems like
most of the people that did come in were women. And if it was the mid-afternoon there was
definitely more women then men that came in. Most of the people were dressed in t-shirts, and
jeans. There were very few people that came in that were dressed up in dress clothes. Basically
everyone was wearing everyday, casual clothes. All the people that came into the store seemed to
be pretty happy and looked and acted like they were in a good mood. On the weekend when I
went there were a lot of people that came in groups of several people. I don't know if they were
family members or friends. But I could still tell that they enjoyed being in the company of people
that they were close too. Knowing Spanish would definitely come in handy to communicate with
a majority of the people. While I was observing people I noticed that the teenagers and young
kids would talk in English to each other. If they were talking to their parents then basically all the
time it was in Spanish. The adults always spoke in Spanish. I didn't ever hear them talk in
English. And the really young children that were toddler age spoke in Spanish as well since that
is the language that their parents would teach them. I did buy some things from the store and I
found it very interesting how much English the girls that assisted me spoke. The first time I
bought something the girl actually spoke to me only in Spanish. She gave me the total due and
how much change I was getting all in Spanish. The other girl did speak English. I didn't have a
conversation with her and so I don’t know how much she spoke but when she was assisting me
with my purchases she did speak English to me.
Conclusion-This group exists because they are a group of people from a different country. I'm
sure that there are a lot of people from Latin countries that visit the store but I would imagine that
most of them are from Mexico. I would imagine that growing up in a country and then moving to
a completely new country and experiencing a whole new culture would be very hard and difficult.
So I imagine that it is very nice for people from Mexico to be able to visit the store and have a little
piece of home. My girlfriend grew up in Mexico until she was 11 and I know for her she
definitely enjoys going to the Mexican stores. Because it does remind her of home and a lot of
things that she hasn't been able to see or experience for many years. It is probably the same for the
Hispanic people that visit El Mexicano. It is really hard to see the way a culture from a different
country, unless you actually visit that country. It is always interesting to be able to see the
differences in a different culture compared to mine. It's pretty common for people to try and shut
out other cultures and the traditions and beliefs other cultures might have. I know that I definitely
have that mindset a lot of the time. It is something I really want to try and change though because
there are so many amazing things found in each culture.
Areas For Future Research-I think I would maybe focus more on the store and the materials and
items found in the store. I mainly tried to watch the people to see what they were like and didn't
really explore the store as much as I would have liked. I did walk around and take a look through
the store. But I did a pretty fast walk through and so even in that amount of time I saw many
interesting objects and items and I am sure I would find a lot more if I spent more time walking
around and looking at items.