An anthropologist typically does research by immersing oneself in a society, learning the language if need be, spending a year or two observing, asking questions, getting involved, photographing, videotaping, and writing copious notes on how people live their lives, in other words, on how they experience and manifest their culture. Anthropologists call that method "participant observation, " and the goal is to produce a cultural description that can be shared with any and all who might be interested. This book describes three cultures in a single, integrated narrative. For one, it offers a case study of the culture of anthropology itself as it records how I experienced ethnographic research as both a method and a way of life. My original goal was to describe the culture of chiropractic as a prominent and important field of alternative medicine. As is common in anthropology, that seemingly straight-forward objective detoured in an unanticipated direction. I accomplished my purpose by graduating from a chiropractic college as a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.).Still another unanticipated diversion in this complex ethnographic adventure led to medical school, but not in an accredited institution in the United States. Taking a leave of absence from my professorship at Mills College, I eventually graduated from a Mexican medical school as a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). I earned qualifications in medicine and surgery by entering the profession through a back door.