Final Journal
For My senior project, I learned Zapoteco, an indigenous language of Mexico, and how to do weaving (a cultural practice in Oaxaca). I went to Oaxaca, Mexico, to connect and learn more about my culture. Learning a new dialect is a beautiful way to connect with your heritage and deepen your understanding of your family's traditions. By immersing myself in the language and culture, I've gained a new skill and a greater appreciation for my roots. This experience has made me a more culturally diverse Mexican American and will continue to shape my identity and perspective. It takes a lot of courage to explore new parts of yourself and your culture, and I'm proud of myself for taking that step.
I have grown and learned from this opportunity that this project has given me. It has shown me how to be one with my culture and connect more with my indigenous side. Historically when Spanish colonizers took over Mexico and forced indigenous people to learn their religion and language, they also left a social standard linked to white supremacy, and we still have socially built on to those standards even hundreds of years later. For example, even in Mexico, the social norm is to have a whiter skin tone and to speak fluent Spanish, although most Spanish speakers have an indigenous background from tribes in Mexico. My grandfather, for example, was scared to teach his family Zapoteco because of the standards and the racism he had to struggle with. Through this experience and connecting more with this indigenous side of my culture, I have learned to love myself and not to push the social standard onto anyone else. I also understand that just by me doing this, it's spreading representation for indigenous peoples.
Learning a new language can be challenging, and understandably, it would add an extra layer of difficulty to my senior project. Additionally, I struggled with time management, which made the project even more challenging. Balancing my project with other commitments can be difficult, especially when you're trying to learn a new language at the same time. However, By staying focused and seeking support when needed, I overcame these obstacles and created a project I am proud of.
Despite the challenges I faced, I persevered and continued to work hard to improve my language skills. By including myself in the language and culture, I overcame the language barrier and had meaningful conversations with my grandpa in his indigenous language. This is an exceptional accomplishment that deepened my connection with my family and made my life easier in countless ways.
The one thing I needed was time management which can be a difficult skill to master, but it's an essential one for success in both academic and personal life. By working on my senior project and learning a new language, I have developed time management skills and become more organized. Additionally, working with my teacher and mentor and engaging with Oaxaca's language and culture has helped me build my social skills and confidence in my interactions with others. These are valuable skills that will help me in college and for jobs in the future.
I did a perfect job on my product, although my physical product is a book, and weaving is the product that holds more value to me. The real product for me is the memories I made through the senior project. Being in Mexico and learning a new dialect was very hard, but I had to remember that this was something that I wanted to do for the sake of my indigenous culture and to shine a light on the Zapotec people. Furthermore, I spent much time on my weaving after getting home. Learning how to weave is a complex and lengthy experience.
I started weaving in May of 2022. My mentor was Annette Higby. I spent about ten hours on my weaving. Weaving is an important part of cultural identity. While working with Mrs. Annet, not only did I learn that weaving takes a long time, but I learned that it requires a lot of patience and concentration. and the biggest challenge was time management. I could have met with my mentor more and learned how to weave quickly and more accurately, but I didn't, which made it hard to finish. My other product, though, is a book that I translated from Zapoteco to Spanish and English. Writing this book was challenging because when you try to balance three languages at once, you can get caught up with grammar wording and specific details that make it hard to translate. As a Mexican American, I dealt with this more than once in school and talking to friends or even with family. Finding the right words to say can be hard to be bilingual, but I finished the book.
The Zapotec have a proud history of weaving which they continue today. Weavers regard themselves as keepers of tradition, and they continue to contribute to society by creating textiles and garments that depict the culture. Weaving is a part of cultural identity which needs to be preserved. Learning how to weave with my mentor was a fantastic experience and the most exciting part of my project. Learning how to weave was hard, but Mrs. Annet was patient and encouraging as she showed me the basics. It was interesting seeing my little piece of woven fabric come together. When I practiced weaving, it was very relaxing, I saw this as a form of meditation, and I plan on continuing to weave after this project. It was another step in getting closer to my culture.
The research I did help and was a fantastic tool for my paper; by delving into the history, culture, and other languages, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of my culture and Zapoteco. Additionally, the process of writing a paper was a fantastic experience, as it requires you to organize your thoughts, develop your ideas, and communicate them effectively. This experience will continue to inspire me in the future for studies and personal pursuits. Writing is an essential skill for me in both academic and everyday life, especially for me, who has trouble writing and organizing thoughts on paper, by researching, drafting, and revising the paper with mrs holder. I developed a strong understanding of the writing process and the importance of organization, structure, and clarity. These skills will help me at UVM. Writing essays and papers is a part of college life, and my experience with senior project will allow me to approach assignments.
Looking back on my time in Oaxaca, I have some regrets over the summer. If I were to go back and talk to my past self, I would talk about how to make the most of my time in Oaxaca. It's always important to take time to enjoy the moment, savor your experiences, and appreciate the people and places around you. By indulging in the foods and events of Oaxaca, I was able to immerse myself in the culture and create lasting memories that will stay with me forever. I'm proud of past me for my hard work, and I'm excited to see where this experience will take me next time I visit. I want to learn even more fluent Zapoteco to have fluent conversations with locals and not seem like a tourist.