The most important things I learned from 20 years of anthropological fieldwork

Over the past 20 years I have been doing fieldwork in a remote village in Papua New Guinea. The people there have become the dearest people in my life, and have completely transformed me. We often worry about the impact of the West on other cultures. Sometimes it works the other way around. As I learned their culture it was as if the whole ethos of their culture started to course through my veins. I could feel my whole body re-arrange itself into their postures and habits. My back loosened, my arms swung a little more freely, and my feet came alive, feeling the terrain like an extra set of hands. I learned to walk with a springy step over mountains I once had to crawl up and down. I tuned my senses to see and understand the world as they did. I learned to see the stories a plant could tell and to hear birds as clocks and harbingers of what was to come. I learned the joy of growing your own food, and of hunting, trapping, skinning, and feasting. I learned the values of humility, calm and patience required to live in a small community with people you have always known and will always know. I learned to feel the cool wind coming down over the mountain as a signal of the coming rain.
Most importantly, I have had the opportunity to share the deepest experiences of life with them - the highest highs and the lowest lows.
I am tremendously and eternally grateful to all of my friends and family in New Guinea. You not only gave me these great memories, but you also inspired me to have a family and to be the kind of dad that I am today.
Featuring quotes and excerpts from Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, available through PBS.
The Art of Being Human amzn.to/2vDOPUo
Free Anthropology Course: anth101.com
Social Media: @mwesch

[@emielrobert]

This videos means more than telling experiance. It's about relationship and learning to adapt to a new culture. Thanks Michael for sharing your experiance By the way I was around 6 years old when you came to Tumolbil.

[@rebeccaandrews8834]

Watching this as part of an anthropology uni paper im taking for an unrelated degree in a different field. I love how it shows the ways humans use relational tools to try connect with each other, it shows how connection can mean acceptance and survival which we all need to thrive as a human race. The video highlights human similarities through human connection. I weld up at the frisbee use. It acted at first as an olive branch, a peace flag, and an ice breaker and it turned into a historical artifact almost and a symbol of friendship and positive history. It served as a vehicle for communication regardless of language. Very cool.

[@phuoclamhuytran3862]

Dear Micheal, I am an undergraduate in Vietnam researching about the Bahnar people. Your videos become a huge motivation for me. It is also similar sentiments and connections that I have created in the Bahnar village. I only realize that such bonds has been a part of me and my life. they have become my family. Thank you for your inspiration! I have cried everytime watching this video.

[@hoppenbrauer17]

As always, Michael, this video is thought-provoking and deeply moving. Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us.

[@heathermcilvaine-newsad233]

So lovely, as always. I wish I had taken video during my initial time in the field. Despite not having any video, the bonds that make us family are still strong. In fact, I am seeing my Dominican brother and sister in Boston this weekend, for the first time 30 years. I think we too will have hugs that last a long time.

[@mwesch]

That's fantastic! Hope you have a wonderful reunion!

[@charlottelou6894]

"It might not be meaning we're after, it is the feeling of being alive." This is so profoundly simple, and it's beautiful. Thank you so much for your videos, Michael. They make me feel at home being a human.

[@richardfraser7024]

This is amazing. As a fellow anthro, I love your vision and heart. Great.

[@TheJezcol]

Hi Michael l don't know u personally of course but thank you so much for sharing your personal journey l found it deeply moving. ❤️

[@mwesch]

Thank you!

[@PhysicsProtagonist]

Hey Michael ! Visited your channel again and rewatched your videos. Please stay connected to us and keep sharing such beautiful stories ❤. I am also a teacher here on KZbin and I rewatch your videos to remind myself of why I started this in the first place.

[@PhysicsProtagonist]

I have came to this channel a dozens of times to see if Michael has posted anything or not and finally all those visits paid off. This is beautiful. thanks for sharing it Michael

[@zacharymiller5172]

Such a beautiful story. Truly inspirational for a young anthropologist.

[@michaelcameron3645]

This is such a good video. Really cool to see the progress of your time with the villlage.

[@calinative1986]

Very rad piece. Your knowledge sharing is always a beautiful dream. Love the Joseph Campbell layer with your life's work.Thank you!

[@ScottWalkerScEdD]

Reminds me of my grad work in the rural mountains of northern Mexico. Not 20 years worth, only 4, but still made close connections and was so pleased at the first birthday party I was invited to. I felt welcome. A small part of the community. Great story.

[@WaynePollard]

Michael... thank you for sharing this experience and making me smile!

[@sebastianzimmerhackl3849]

how to visit LAZARUS ?

[@shivashaktiyoga108]

thank you for sharing, it made me cry, laugh and delight in the beauty of life

[@JM-qi5dm]

Beautiful!

[@williamhbuck6879]

Hi Michael. What a great thing life is. Thank you for reminding us. The stories are us. :)

[@BraTalian]

13:35 intertwined: secret to the strength of the string back: it is in fact just one string woven in on itself over and over again.

[@miriamstark3339]

This is so beautiful. Thank you.

[@samcrates6574]

KZbin algorithm finally did a thing!! I have been on a motorcycle tour for the last 2 years in preparations for a grand adventure across Africa. You, Sir, have added life to my thoughts. This is so beautiful. Giving meaning to thoughts I had forgotten. Thank you

[@littlemaidofthemoon9978]

I am studying to become a anthropologist and i hope sooo much that i will be able to work "in the field" like that!!! Any advice for me?😭😍

[@HarrisburgMafia999]

🪶🪶🪶🪶🪶🪶

[@BraTalian]

Aerobie love! Giving thanks for this heart felt share 🙌🏽 the aerobie was introduced to me a few years ago in Central Park and it changed my life perspective ♥️

[@eclecticraeen]

this was so beautiful youve got my husband and i in happy tears. were an interracial couiple and hope to visit africa just like this one day. now maybe New Guinea

[@tuantanah9076]

Made me well up a few times.

[@julie-annejefferson8863]

That is such a beautiful video. I found it quite emotional. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

[@King_Size7]

9.52 that made me got a lump in my throat. "The bond we build can only be felt by space and time".

[@laurareis8668]

this is truly amazing

[@azengoose1070]

This is beautiful