I visited southern Belize for the first time in 1976. As an archaeology graduate student, I was assigned the task of digging test trenches in a newly discovered ancient city, right at the beginning of the rainy season. As my excavations flooded, I spent time sitting in nearby houses chatting with Q’eqchi’ Mayan people in the adjacent village. They convinced me to switch my career to cultural anthropology. Three years later, I returned to carry out research for my dissertation; I spent a year living in three different villages, helping people clear and plant their cornfields, tagging along on hunting and fishing expeditions, and engaging in many hours of chatting and interviewing people in their homes, often over a meal.I visited southern Belize for the first time in 1976. As an archaeology graduate student, I was assigned the task of digging test trenches in a newly discovered ancient city, right at the beginning of the rainy season. As my excavations flooded, I spent time sitting in nearby houses chatting with Q’eqchi’ Mayan people in the adjacent village. They convinced me to switch my career to cultural anthropology. Three years later, I returned to carry out research for my dissertation; I spent a year living in three different villages, helping people clear and plant their cornfields, tagging along on hunting and fishing expeditions, and engaging in many hours of chatting and interviewing people in their homes, often over a meal.Visitei o Sul de Belize pela primeira vez em 1976. Como um estudante de Arqueologia, foi-me atribuída a tarefa de cavar trincheiras de teste numa cidade antiga recém-descoberta, logo no início da estação chuvosa. Como as minhas escavações inundaram, passei o tempo sentado em casas próximas conversando com o povo Maia Q’eqchi na aldeia próxima, que me convenceu a mudar para a antropologia cultural. Três anos depois, voltei a realizar pesquisas para minha dissertação. Passei um ano morando em três aldeias diferentes, ajudando as pessoas a limpar e plantar suas roças de milho, acompanhando as expedições de caça e pesca, e passando muitas horas conversando e entrevistando pessoas em suas casas, muitas vezes durante uma refeição.