By Jamie Annel, Beth Kalisak and Cassie Pratt

A few months in Guatemala was more of a learning experience than sociology instructor Pat Cole had anticipated.

During her summer and a fall semester sabbatical to the economically underdeveloped Latin American country, Cole found herself questioning and changing some of her views.

"They (Guatemalans) taught me how blind I was with my First World ideas," she said.

Despite the fact that she is a trained researcher and veteran traveler, Cole said she moved into the village of Panajachel with a typical U.S. ethnocentric bias.

"I’m still stuck in my culture," she said. "That was one of the hardest things -- to step back, accept, to not judge, to understand their culture from their point of view, not mine."

Cole, who is working on a Ph.D. from Loyola University, was in Guatemala to study the culture and people for her dissertation, examining the sustainable economic development of the country.

As Cole described how her views of this developing nation have changed, she mentioned the changes occurring in Guatemala, which is still emerging from the turmoil of a 30-year civil war.

She has chosen to title her study "From Red to Blue," colors that are important to the indigenous Guatemalans and symbolic of change. The indigenous people, decendants of the Mayans, wear hand-woven garments in shades of red, representing, strength and determination or in shades of blue, representing peace and passivity.

Cole described the typical rural family as industrious. Men work the fields while women work close to home, care for children and weave the beautiful textiles with motifs unique to each village. The family structure is strong, she said, and "machismo" is a part of the system, at least for the Latinos, those with Hispanic background.

"The male has the power, is the boss," she said. "It is common that a married man will have extramarital affairs. It is somewhat accepted and somewhat a badge."

During her research, Cole found herself admiring the perseverance of the Guatemalans as they face serious problems including poverty, little access to medical care and natural disasters.

"They pick up what little they have and continue to try and live," she said. "It's part of the spirit that's grounded in the Mayan religion in which nature is interwoven. Their resilience is incredible.

"We would just fall down and cry," she said.

Cole, who has learned some Spanish, has been conducting most of her research by interviewing the indigenous, traveling with an armed bodyguard who doubled as an interpreter. She explained that it is dangerous for a woman to travel alone in any Latin American country.

Her bodyguard, hired with guidance from the U.S. Embassy, is a middle class, well-educated Latino.

"I didn't like having a bodyguard," she said, "but I like him, his wife and his children."

The safety concerns, however, didn't affect her view of the place she calls "the most beautiful on earth."

With a big smile she described the house she continues to rent, nestled among three volcanoes and overlooking Lake Atitlan. And the food, "fabulous fresh food," she said, includes lots of soy, beans, rice, tortillas, and fish.

Cole is just returning from spending mid-term break in her Guatemalan home, and she looks forward to spending the summer there completing her research.