Anthropology instructor Jason Shepard led a group of six students from MSU to Guatemala and Honduras for a three week study abroad course this summer. This is the fourth summer that students from the university traveled to Central America to study Spanish and Tzutujuil language while living with local Mayan families. Before traveling to the village of San Pedro, students visited the art and emerging “silicon valley” district of Guatemala City and took a guided bicycle tour of Central America’s largest city. They spent two weeks with their host families in the highland village of San Pedro La Laguna situated on the volcanic lake Atitlan. Aldous Huxley wrote that the lake, “touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque”.
In the process of studying local subsistence, agriculture, and tourism and its various impacts in the region, students took weekend trips and morning excursions. They experienced the busy and colorful market in the capital of Solola, where few tourists visit, and the equally busy and famous outdoor market of Chichicastenango, which caters largely to an international crowd. They visited local coffee farms and religious sites by trail and truck and learned about the ancient system of growing corn, beans and squash (the three sisters). Also in San Pedro, they had the opportunity to watch traditional dances and local pageantry. After leaving San Pedro, the group traveled to the colonial city and UNESCO World Heritage site of Antigua Guatemala, touring the city and learning about the rich history of the former Spanish Colonial capital and local religious and musical traditions. Students were engaged by a tour of the historical buildings and spent three nights in the city before scaling the active volcano Pacaya and then traveling on to Honduras. In Honduras, students were exposed to the different culture of the neighboring country and explored the ruins of the Classic Mayan city and ceremonial center of Copan.
Students Alison Dalbom, Jill Fritter, Savannah Gomez, Jessie Kilbourne, Tami Logan-Franklin and Elizabeth Nowicki were all enrolled in the course. The group was lucky to be joined for some of our activities by Amy Huff and Elizabeth Haughey. Amy is currently in the accelerated master’s program in Anthropology at MSU. She previously spent several months in San Pedro and helped organize some of the group’s excursions after completing a study away program in Mexico. Elizabeth came with Shepard’s first study away group to Guatemala in 2012. She has been doing research with local weavers in the country every summer since, and often joins MSU groups while they are there. Haughey is now studying at Tulane University in New Orleans, completing her master’s degree in Latin American studies. She is a graduate of MSU’s anthropology program and is currently working with the Middle America Research Institute at Tulane, focusing on Guatemalan textiles.
Several students plan on presenting their experiences and research findings at the next student anthropology conference. We hope you can make it! Jason has already begun recruiting students for next summer’s journey. The Mayan World course can be taken as either Anthropology: 490 or Spanish: 297. If you are interested in finding out more about the course, don’t hesitate to contact Jason Shepard at ozarksjason@gmail.com.