Hey there everyone! Hope all of your weeks are off to a good start. I'm back in Merida for a day and a half and thought I would let you all know how my trip to Yaxunah went this past week. Let me just sum it all up by saying that it defiantly had a huge impact on me and will be something I will never forget!
Saturday morning, my host mom drove me to the bus station where I was to meet our group and head to Yaxunah for 4 days. Yaxunah is a little pueblo or village about 30 minutes away from the famous Chichen Izta ruins. We were told that we would be going there to do some community service projects and to get to know what life in a peublo is like. Other than that, we didn't know too much so I tried to have an open mind and see what the trip would bring.
Our bus took us to Chichen where we met our Coordinator/Director for the trip. His name was Elias and he was great. Let me just back up and say that our program director did not go on the trip with us so it was the 11 of us from the Butler Program (2 students stayed behind as they had conflicts with the dates) along with 2 students from UADY-a gal who is studying anthropology and came along as part of a project and another guy who was our paparazzi for the weekend and took video footage of just about everything. After piling all of our stuff in a van (and by piling I mean shoving everything including ourselves into the van and shutting the door super fast so that nothing would fall out), we drove 20 minutes to get to Yaxunah. As we drove along, there were less and less buildings until all that was around us were trees and grass. It was kind of like driving to the middle of nowhere.
Once we arrived, we got a quick introduction at the cultural center where we would be working for the next 4 days. The center was recently built and is really nice. By far the nicest building in the area and even had ac in one of the room and internet access. It is a source of pride for those who live in the village and they work really hard to keep it looking nice.
Our first order of business after the meeting was to go to our houses. I ended up rooming with a friend from the program, Sarah. Our house was owned by a single man and he met us at the door to welcome us. Our "house" was a cement block that had one light bulb, a bathroom with no running water, and a table with a stereo. Sarah and I got a kick out of the fact that the stereo was really nice and blasting mariachi music. It was pretty different than our houses in Merida but it was really interesting to see a different type of life here in Mexico. The man showed us where the water was ( a 5 gallon bucket in the bathroom), gave us a key, and left. We then hung up our hammocks, set our backpacks on the table and headed to eat lunch.
Lunch was served in a little hut and was made by a woman and her daughter. The food was some of the best I have ever had in my life! We ate soup with chicken, veggies, and rice and hand-made tortillas. After a quick siesta in our hammocks, it was time to get to work.
The first job we had was to clean up the cenote. We all grabbed life jackets and plastic bags and headed down to the cenote. After climbing a really freaky ladder to get down into the cenote, we swam around picking up trash and dead leaves that had fallen into the cenote..Defiantly easier said than done, especially while swimming but after 2 hours we had it pretty clean.
That night, we had a bonfire with the other volunteers from the village complete with marshmallows and stories. It was fun to interact with the other students and volunteers and get to know some of them. Some of us sang them the song One bottle Pop, Two Bottle pop, ect, and they got a kick out of that. We then returned to out house for our first night in a hammock. Sarah and I talked for a while before calling it a night and it was really fun to get to know her better. Surprisingly, sleeping in a hammock isn't too hard and is actually a lot of fun..once you get the hang of it. Unfortunately, we had some roosters living close to us who decided to crow all night so that made it a little hard to sleep.
I woke up the next morning and went for a run. It was fun to run on the only road that goes out from the town. It was so peaceful and quiet and I loved it. I can back, took a "shower" from the 5 gallon bucket and headed off to breakfast with Sarah.
After breakfast, we split up into groups to accomplish different tasks. One group made PIB, a type of meat that is slow cooked underground that we would eat for lunch, another group made a stone path, and our group raked up leaves and cleaned up the area. It was fun to work with the other volunteers and pick up on some Mayan words. Lunch was amazing and we had a break afterwards for a siesta. I had my quiet time, napped, and read a little.
We then went for another swim in the cenote and got a tour of the museum. That night was one of my favorites. We were all eating the dinners our host mom's had packed us (we brought our own food to eat for dinner) in the center of town when all of a sudden, kids started to show up. I decided to start a game with them and we ended up playing for hours and more kids joined us. We played tag, soccer (futbol), baseball, and just ran around. It was so much fun and the kids loved playing with us and wanted us to take pictures with them which was adorable.
That night, Sarah and I had some more late night pillow talk and then went to bed. After breakfast, we all set off to explore some ruins that are close to the village. These ruins were not very well kept up( they were pretty much in the middle of the forest) so we had to hike though lots of foliage to get to them but climbing them was pretty sweet. It was also cool to be able to see ruins that not a lot of other foreigners get a chance to see.
Back at the cultural center, we got to work sanding rust off of the fence surrounding the cenote and repainting it. It was a dirty job but fun. A group of us started singing Disney songs which made time go by a lot faster. We then ate another delicious lunch and went to our houses for siestas. Later, as Sarah and I were walking back to the cultural center, two little girls came running out of their house and gave us both huge hugs and asked us if we were going to play with them again. We told them of course and headed off to finish painting. It was adorable and made me feel so special.
After we finished painting, we went to the park to play with the kids which was super fun. Then Sarah and I headed home. As we were sitting in our hammocks talking, we discovered a huge spider on our wall that started moving. (There had been a few that were there that didn't move so we just left them alone) This one though, was giant and freaked us out. We both screamed and I jumped out of my hammock to grab my shoes to kill it. It ran behind the door though and just as I was about to try to throw my shoe at it, a little girl came into our house asking us what we were playing. Her parents followed behind explaining that the little girl heard us scream and though we were playing and was sad we didn't invite her...Hilarious! We quickly explained that there was a huge spider and that we were really scared and that's why we screamed. The dad took a broom that was in our room and brought the spider outside. He and the mom just gave each other a look that said, "wow!'. I imagine they thought we were pretty silly but in our defense it was a huge spider and we both weren't looking forward to sleeping in the dark with that thing crawling around. After thanking the family a million times, they left and Sarah and I collapsed into a fit of laughter. The whole chain of events was hilarious. We then went back to talking thankful that the adventure was over...or so we thought. About 15 minutes later, it came crawling back in and this time I decided that we had to kill it. Sarah was freaked out so she stayed in her hammock taking pictures (naturally) and I armed with my tennis shoes and a broom stick set out to kill the spider once and for all. It finally ran into the door separating the bathroom from where we slept and there I killed it. It was pretty discussing but at least it was dead and we could sleep.
The next morning, was out last day. After running, I found a tarantula in our toilet and decided that maybe I was glad we were leaving. After finishing up laying the rest of the stone path at the cultural center, we visited a school and then packed up our stuff and headed out. Some of the kids came and tackled us with hugs and begged us not to go..it was so precious and almost made me cry. They followed behind our van waving. We arrived back in Merida around 4. The first thing I did when I got back was take a nice, long shower which felt amazing. I feel so much more thankful for running water, a fan in my room, and a bed to sleep on.
Working in the village taught me a lot about a different lifestyle here in Mexico. I learned that the people of the pueblos are proud of their Mayan ancestry and are happy where they are at. While their lives are really different than mine, I learned that I could appreciate the simple way they lived. It was such a privilege to be able to spend 4 days there and I know that part of my heart was left with the kids there.
Today, I went to el centro and explored el mercado or huge market. You can literally find anything and everything there! Tonight, we have a Halloween party with our program so that should be fun. I'm not feeling the greatest-I’ve got a super sore throat and cough so you can be praying that that gets better so I can enjoy the next few days. Tomorrow, some of us are going to the beach and then I have homework and we head out at 12 that night to go to Chiapas. Love to all!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Carving My Name On Hearts...
The other day I came across the following quote by Charles Spurgeon and it stuck with me :
~ "A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble."~
It was a good reminder for me : I have been given so many amazing opportunities to "carve my name on the hearts" of people who cross my path here in Mexico. Whether it's though taking blood pressure at Hoy en Tu Comunidad, playing hide and go seek with my host family's grandson, engaging in classroom discussions, or just smiling at the random people I pass on the street, I have great opportunities to be a light for Jesus right where I am! I am realizing that the more I die to myself, surrender my "rights" and desires, let God take control and use me as He desires, the He is able to shine. I love 1 Corinthians 1:28 and the way that God uses the "lowly" things of this world to fulfill His purposes! There have been so many moments here when I have felt like I have absolutely nothing left to give and am at "the end of my rope" and then God has stepped in and worked in ways I never would have imagined.
I am really looking forward to this next week. We have a week off of school and are using the time to do some traveling with our program. Tomorrow morning, we are taking off at 9 to go to a village (yaxunah-pronounced ya-shoe-na) about 2 hours from here and will be there until Tuesday. While there, we will be living with different families, sleeping in hammocks, hopefully learning a little bit of Maya, helping out with different service projects, and having the opportunity to see what everyday village life is like here in Mexico.
After returning to Merida for a day and a half, we will hop back on buses and head to Chiapas, a Mexican State about 8 hours from here. I am super excited to see Chiapas and learn more about the Zapatista movement there.
As for this past week, things have been pretty normal. I had my fist test in International Relations and felt like it went well. My homework load is starting to pick up and I find myself more and more thankful that I have a tutor to help check over my papers and give advice. I still love living with my host family and enjoy sitting around the table with them talking about anything and everything under the sun-our topics this week ranged from the Yankees game, gossip about the queen and princesses of England and Spain, our favorite telanovela, Rubi, to Day of the Dead traditions, and running. The other day my host sister and mom showed me how to make these really sweet scarves using a loom and a hook. They love doing crafts just about as much as I do so I feel right at home! :)
I think that's about it for my update. I have quite a bit of homework to tackle before tomorrow so I'd better get going. Love to all!
~ "A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble."~
It was a good reminder for me : I have been given so many amazing opportunities to "carve my name on the hearts" of people who cross my path here in Mexico. Whether it's though taking blood pressure at Hoy en Tu Comunidad, playing hide and go seek with my host family's grandson, engaging in classroom discussions, or just smiling at the random people I pass on the street, I have great opportunities to be a light for Jesus right where I am! I am realizing that the more I die to myself, surrender my "rights" and desires, let God take control and use me as He desires, the He is able to shine. I love 1 Corinthians 1:28 and the way that God uses the "lowly" things of this world to fulfill His purposes! There have been so many moments here when I have felt like I have absolutely nothing left to give and am at "the end of my rope" and then God has stepped in and worked in ways I never would have imagined.
I am really looking forward to this next week. We have a week off of school and are using the time to do some traveling with our program. Tomorrow morning, we are taking off at 9 to go to a village (yaxunah-pronounced ya-shoe-na) about 2 hours from here and will be there until Tuesday. While there, we will be living with different families, sleeping in hammocks, hopefully learning a little bit of Maya, helping out with different service projects, and having the opportunity to see what everyday village life is like here in Mexico.
After returning to Merida for a day and a half, we will hop back on buses and head to Chiapas, a Mexican State about 8 hours from here. I am super excited to see Chiapas and learn more about the Zapatista movement there.
As for this past week, things have been pretty normal. I had my fist test in International Relations and felt like it went well. My homework load is starting to pick up and I find myself more and more thankful that I have a tutor to help check over my papers and give advice. I still love living with my host family and enjoy sitting around the table with them talking about anything and everything under the sun-our topics this week ranged from the Yankees game, gossip about the queen and princesses of England and Spain, our favorite telanovela, Rubi, to Day of the Dead traditions, and running. The other day my host sister and mom showed me how to make these really sweet scarves using a loom and a hook. They love doing crafts just about as much as I do so I feel right at home! :)
I think that's about it for my update. I have quite a bit of homework to tackle before tomorrow so I'd better get going. Love to all!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Hola from Mexico
Hey there!
Another Sunday afternoon has rolled around and I realized it was time to update my blog!
Tuesday, we didn't have school, so several of us went to Progresso to enjoy the beach. It was a gorgeous day and so nice to have a break from the normal routine of school and classes!
Wednesday, I woke up and headed out for a run. It was already pretty warm as the sun had been out for a few hours and I was drenched in sweat by the time I came back..Thank God for cold showers! Wednesday is my long day of classes and my day goes from 12-9. International Relations went well and then we had a break to eat lunch and then headed to our underwater archeology class. I enjoy learning about ancient Mayan culture and how to identify important objects and themes from different time periods. It’s especially neat when our professor shows us pictures or videos of his own dives and the things he has found! After class, we headed to our weekly meeting that we have with our program director. When I walked into the room, I saw a package sitting there and realized it was for me...I was super excited to discover that it was from my family and was full of all sorts of goodies including almond m&ms and homemade granola!! At the meeting, we talked about our upcoming trip to a pueblo about 2 hours from here and Chiapas. We will be in Chiapas over Dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead) and so part of our meeting was spent talking about that and the ways that people here celebrate.
For those of you who don't know what Day of the Dead is, it's a celebration here in Mexico of family members and loved ones who have passed away. People make alters in honor of the deceased people and spend the night with family remembering the times they had with those who have passed away. While ever alter has some basic elements (water, photos, candles, etc) each is a little different and includes things that the person who passed away enjoyed-food, games, drinks, etc). It was really interesting learning how celebrating in the Yucatan is different than from that in the North. While I was in Cuernavaca, I saw how Day of the Dead was celebrated and it will be interesting to see how it compares with celebrations here.
Thursday, I dropped off my laundry at the lavandaria (the lady there now knows me by my name and is always excited to see me...I’m not really quite sure why but it’s cute) and then headed to class. Classes went well. After Spanish class that afternoon, I had my tutoring session with my tutor. We just worked on a paper I have to write for one of my classes summarizing a book called McMafia. Afterwards, I headed home and went for a run, ate supper, worked on some homework and went to bed.
Friday, we had US-Mexico relations class and then Andrea, Pearl and I went to cafe la Habana to work on a project we have for that class. We have to update a bunch of information about NAFTA and present it to the class. It’s a lot of looking up statistics and reading economic analysis reports which takes a bit of work and in my opinion, isn't that much fun. It was nice to all be able to work together though, and we spent almost the entire afternoon working on the project. We got a pretty big chunk done which was great. Then, Sarah, Des and Di showed up and we all studied for a test we have on Monday in International Relations. It was nice to be able to review with other people from class and make sure I'm understanding everything. By the time we called it a day, I had been doing homework for a straight 6 hours and was exhausted! I came home, went for a run, worked on a little more reading, and went to bed.
Saturday, I was able to sleep in which was so nice! I then went for a run and worked on homework until lunch time. For lunch we ate Arab food which is my favorite thing my family has made so far. It was sooo good! After lunch, Sarah and I went shopping in El Centro and then I came home, worked on more homework and went to bed.
This morning, I was able to sleep in again. I then got up, ate breakfast and worked on homework. Around 11:30, I headed to Plaza Fiestas to meet up with Sarah, Di, and Des to finish studying for our test. When we were done studying, I came home and we ate leftovers from yesterday for lunch which was just as delicious as yesterday. I then worked on some more readings and cleaned up my room. I don't really have too many plans for the rest of the night: I'm planning on watching a sermon online and having my own church service, making sure I have everything done before tomorrow and heading to bed. Hope you all have had a great week!
Another Sunday afternoon has rolled around and I realized it was time to update my blog!
Tuesday, we didn't have school, so several of us went to Progresso to enjoy the beach. It was a gorgeous day and so nice to have a break from the normal routine of school and classes!
Wednesday, I woke up and headed out for a run. It was already pretty warm as the sun had been out for a few hours and I was drenched in sweat by the time I came back..Thank God for cold showers! Wednesday is my long day of classes and my day goes from 12-9. International Relations went well and then we had a break to eat lunch and then headed to our underwater archeology class. I enjoy learning about ancient Mayan culture and how to identify important objects and themes from different time periods. It’s especially neat when our professor shows us pictures or videos of his own dives and the things he has found! After class, we headed to our weekly meeting that we have with our program director. When I walked into the room, I saw a package sitting there and realized it was for me...I was super excited to discover that it was from my family and was full of all sorts of goodies including almond m&ms and homemade granola!! At the meeting, we talked about our upcoming trip to a pueblo about 2 hours from here and Chiapas. We will be in Chiapas over Dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead) and so part of our meeting was spent talking about that and the ways that people here celebrate.
For those of you who don't know what Day of the Dead is, it's a celebration here in Mexico of family members and loved ones who have passed away. People make alters in honor of the deceased people and spend the night with family remembering the times they had with those who have passed away. While ever alter has some basic elements (water, photos, candles, etc) each is a little different and includes things that the person who passed away enjoyed-food, games, drinks, etc). It was really interesting learning how celebrating in the Yucatan is different than from that in the North. While I was in Cuernavaca, I saw how Day of the Dead was celebrated and it will be interesting to see how it compares with celebrations here.
Thursday, I dropped off my laundry at the lavandaria (the lady there now knows me by my name and is always excited to see me...I’m not really quite sure why but it’s cute) and then headed to class. Classes went well. After Spanish class that afternoon, I had my tutoring session with my tutor. We just worked on a paper I have to write for one of my classes summarizing a book called McMafia. Afterwards, I headed home and went for a run, ate supper, worked on some homework and went to bed.
Friday, we had US-Mexico relations class and then Andrea, Pearl and I went to cafe la Habana to work on a project we have for that class. We have to update a bunch of information about NAFTA and present it to the class. It’s a lot of looking up statistics and reading economic analysis reports which takes a bit of work and in my opinion, isn't that much fun. It was nice to all be able to work together though, and we spent almost the entire afternoon working on the project. We got a pretty big chunk done which was great. Then, Sarah, Des and Di showed up and we all studied for a test we have on Monday in International Relations. It was nice to be able to review with other people from class and make sure I'm understanding everything. By the time we called it a day, I had been doing homework for a straight 6 hours and was exhausted! I came home, went for a run, worked on a little more reading, and went to bed.
Saturday, I was able to sleep in which was so nice! I then went for a run and worked on homework until lunch time. For lunch we ate Arab food which is my favorite thing my family has made so far. It was sooo good! After lunch, Sarah and I went shopping in El Centro and then I came home, worked on more homework and went to bed.
This morning, I was able to sleep in again. I then got up, ate breakfast and worked on homework. Around 11:30, I headed to Plaza Fiestas to meet up with Sarah, Di, and Des to finish studying for our test. When we were done studying, I came home and we ate leftovers from yesterday for lunch which was just as delicious as yesterday. I then worked on some more readings and cleaned up my room. I don't really have too many plans for the rest of the night: I'm planning on watching a sermon online and having my own church service, making sure I have everything done before tomorrow and heading to bed. Hope you all have had a great week!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Cuentos (late night stories), Celestun, Ciruelas, and wet Cement
Wow! It has been quite an eventful week here in Merida. I'll try not to bore you all with an extremely long post but so much happened this week to tell you all about!
Monday, was a normal day with classes and homework. I was really excited when I was able to laugh at a joke the professor made in class because I actually understood it not just because everyone else was laughing..a lot of times, we, as Americans, don't get the jokes made in class because they are references to Mexican politics or some other aspect of the culture that we just don't quite get but it felt good to actually know why the joke was so funny. That night, I went out for a nice long run and saw one of the most gorgeous sunsets here. I'm not really sure why, but pretty much every sunset here is beautiful although Monday night was exceptionally gorgeous...it makes for some great runs and I can't help but praise God for His works of art.
Tuesday was another day of classes. After Spanish class that night, Gaby, Emma and I went to the salsa dancing class we normally go to and then I headed to the gym to bike and lift weights. The gym here is pretty different than gyms back home...all the equipment is super old and there is no air conditioning. I usually opt to go for a run as #1 it's free and #2 I like running more than biking #3 it's fun to explore new places but for some reason, my legs had been feeling kinda tight the past few days so I decided to bike to see if it would make them feel better. I'll appreciate the gym and modern equipment we have even more when I get back to the states!
Wednesday, my host mom and I went out for breakfast with another host mom and her daughter. Both of the host moms are a hoot and we had fun talking with them. Our underwater archeology class was canceled so we had the afternoon off. After our International Relations class, several of us met up and went to a mall about a 40 minute walk from my house and ate Chinese food for lunch which was incredible, shopped a little, and then went to a movie. It was nice to spend a day doing something other than homework. That night, I got to skype with some friends in Minnesota which was great and made my night and it was so good to get caught up on what was going on in their lives!
Thursday was another day of classes. After Spanish class that afternoon, I had met with my tutor and we studied for a test I have coming up. I just about died though because I had been in class for a straight 4 hours and then spent 2 hours going over my notes with her. It was good to review but my I thought my brain was going to explode! 6 hours of straight class in Spanish is pretty tough!! Hopefully, I will do well on the test! :)
Friday, I had my Mexico-US relations class in the morning and then came home and did some reading by our pool. My homework here consists of a lot of reading and studying my notes which is nice as I can bring them pretty much anywhere. I love being able to work on homework by our pool where I can enjoying being in the sun, hop in the pool when it gets hot, and do homework at the same time..life doesn't get much better than that!
Saturday, we had to be at Hoy en tu Comunidad an hour earlier than usual so that meant waking up at 4 in the morning and heading to the bus stop. The village we went to is 3 hours away from Merida so we needed to leave earlier in order to get there on time. It was an amazing day. The village is ranked as the 3rd poorest in Mexico and 90% of the population speaks Mayan. Most of the children can speak both Spanish and Mayan because school is in Spanish so they helped us translate quite a bit. I picked up on a few basic phrases like what is your name, my name is..., how are you feeling, where does it hurt, but it was quite the adventure trying to communicate with people there. I tried a new fruit there called Ciruelas. They are a small yellow fruit and taste a lot like mangos and were soo good! I spent the day working with the kids. We started the day talking about nutrition and hygiene and gave them free toothbrushes and toothpaste and had them practice brushing their teeth with us and then we played games for the rest of the day. I taught them how to play SPUD which I just called BASTA (stop) because I wan't quite sure what other name to call it. We also had a relay race, played tag, and jumped rope They seemed to get a quick out of it and I enjoyed playing with them just as much as they did. It was fun to spend the day getting to love on a ton of children. They were all precious and it was really hard to be there knowing they needed so much more that we could give them in only one day. The toughest part of the day was after we had packed up. A few of us decided to go for a walk around the village while we were waiting for the doctors to finish up the last consultations of the day. On our walk, we got a chance to see more of the village. Most of the houses were just huts with thatched roofs and didn't have electricity. The only library in the entire municipality had only one wall of books. While it wasn't the poorest place I have ever been to in my life, it's one of the poorest I have seen so far here in Mexico. The part that broke my heart was that we were only able to be there for half a day and I know that there is so much more to be done than just give medical exams and play with kids! It was a really good reminder of how blessed I am and how much I have in comparison with so many others around the world. I wish I had the words to describe more of my experience there but I’m still sorting through everything and trying to figure it all out. Hoy en tu comunidad has been such a great way to get to know more about the culture here and to be able to see what the villages are like and how the majority of people in the country live.
That night when we got home, Shannon and I decided to go for a run. We were just going along, enjoying our run, and discussing whether hell exists (she wasn't quite sure that it did) when all of a sudden we hear this horrible noise followed by whining. We quickly realized that the car behind us had hit a stray dog! It was the saddest thing to hear. Several blocks later, I went to hurdle a cement block that was lying in the street (here in Mexico there are always things everywhere so I didn't even stop to think that it might actually be blocking something) and landed on a slab of wet cement. Talk about leaving my mark here in Mexico! The entire right side of my body was covered in cement. The hilarious part was that we were still pretty far out from my house so I had to finish our run in cement. It must have been quite the sight! I actually felt worse for messing up the freshly paved sidewalk than for myself. When I got home I had to try to wash everything off including my shoes which still have bits of cement attached to them because I couldn't get it off. It was a pretty exciting run.
When I told my host family what happed later at supper, they couldn't stop laughting. First I can't figure out how to unlock their door and then I come home covered in cement...they are going to have some good stories to tell their other host students! :)
We had pizza for supper which made the night a little bit better and then my host mom and I stayed up talking about pretty much everything under the sun. One of the stories she told me was how the word gringo came to be used. According to the story, during the Mexican revolution, there was a famous castle in Mexico City known as Chapultepec Castle. During the revolution, it was a training academy for the Mexican army and was full of young cadets. One night, for some reason (I’m not sure why) all the officers were gone and only the cadets were inside the castle. Well wouldn't you know it, the American troops decided to attack Chapultepec that night. The poor cadets did all they could to fend of the soldiers but they didn't have enough training to really fight them off; the only thing they could do was shout "green go" (as the color of the uniforms of the American troops were green). Their shouts didn't do very much good though and most of them were killed trying to defend the castle. In Mexico City, there is a famous park called Chapultepec Park where there is a memorial to them and the name gringo has been used ever since to refer to Americans. I love hearing Silvia tell stories and I really enjoy our late night conversations. It's fun to have someone here to talk to and learn from!
Sunday morning, Shannon and I met up early to go to Celestun. It is a wildlife reserve/beach about 2.5 hours away from Merida. I really enjoyed it because there are virtually no tourists and the beach is pretty deserted. We took a boat tour and saw a flamingo sanctuary, a petrified forest, swam in a fresh water spring, and just enjoyed cruising around in a boat for 3 hours. After the tour, we came back and layed out on the beach, ate our picnic lunches that we had packed, and did homework. The water was beautiful and it was fun to spend a day exploring a new city. We got home around 8. I showed and ate supper and then headed to bed as I was exhausted from the long weekend.
Today, I had class in the morning and then came home and have been working on homework. I plan to take today easy and just stick around home to get some studying done. Tomorrow we don't have school so some of us are planning on heading to the beach to chill for the day.
I think that's about it from here. Hope that gave you all an idea of what my week was like. I wish I had more time to write more, but I should get working on some homework. I miss you all!
Monday, was a normal day with classes and homework. I was really excited when I was able to laugh at a joke the professor made in class because I actually understood it not just because everyone else was laughing..a lot of times, we, as Americans, don't get the jokes made in class because they are references to Mexican politics or some other aspect of the culture that we just don't quite get but it felt good to actually know why the joke was so funny. That night, I went out for a nice long run and saw one of the most gorgeous sunsets here. I'm not really sure why, but pretty much every sunset here is beautiful although Monday night was exceptionally gorgeous...it makes for some great runs and I can't help but praise God for His works of art.
Tuesday was another day of classes. After Spanish class that night, Gaby, Emma and I went to the salsa dancing class we normally go to and then I headed to the gym to bike and lift weights. The gym here is pretty different than gyms back home...all the equipment is super old and there is no air conditioning. I usually opt to go for a run as #1 it's free and #2 I like running more than biking #3 it's fun to explore new places but for some reason, my legs had been feeling kinda tight the past few days so I decided to bike to see if it would make them feel better. I'll appreciate the gym and modern equipment we have even more when I get back to the states!
Wednesday, my host mom and I went out for breakfast with another host mom and her daughter. Both of the host moms are a hoot and we had fun talking with them. Our underwater archeology class was canceled so we had the afternoon off. After our International Relations class, several of us met up and went to a mall about a 40 minute walk from my house and ate Chinese food for lunch which was incredible, shopped a little, and then went to a movie. It was nice to spend a day doing something other than homework. That night, I got to skype with some friends in Minnesota which was great and made my night and it was so good to get caught up on what was going on in their lives!
Thursday was another day of classes. After Spanish class that afternoon, I had met with my tutor and we studied for a test I have coming up. I just about died though because I had been in class for a straight 4 hours and then spent 2 hours going over my notes with her. It was good to review but my I thought my brain was going to explode! 6 hours of straight class in Spanish is pretty tough!! Hopefully, I will do well on the test! :)
Friday, I had my Mexico-US relations class in the morning and then came home and did some reading by our pool. My homework here consists of a lot of reading and studying my notes which is nice as I can bring them pretty much anywhere. I love being able to work on homework by our pool where I can enjoying being in the sun, hop in the pool when it gets hot, and do homework at the same time..life doesn't get much better than that!
Saturday, we had to be at Hoy en tu Comunidad an hour earlier than usual so that meant waking up at 4 in the morning and heading to the bus stop. The village we went to is 3 hours away from Merida so we needed to leave earlier in order to get there on time. It was an amazing day. The village is ranked as the 3rd poorest in Mexico and 90% of the population speaks Mayan. Most of the children can speak both Spanish and Mayan because school is in Spanish so they helped us translate quite a bit. I picked up on a few basic phrases like what is your name, my name is..., how are you feeling, where does it hurt, but it was quite the adventure trying to communicate with people there. I tried a new fruit there called Ciruelas. They are a small yellow fruit and taste a lot like mangos and were soo good! I spent the day working with the kids. We started the day talking about nutrition and hygiene and gave them free toothbrushes and toothpaste and had them practice brushing their teeth with us and then we played games for the rest of the day. I taught them how to play SPUD which I just called BASTA (stop) because I wan't quite sure what other name to call it. We also had a relay race, played tag, and jumped rope They seemed to get a quick out of it and I enjoyed playing with them just as much as they did. It was fun to spend the day getting to love on a ton of children. They were all precious and it was really hard to be there knowing they needed so much more that we could give them in only one day. The toughest part of the day was after we had packed up. A few of us decided to go for a walk around the village while we were waiting for the doctors to finish up the last consultations of the day. On our walk, we got a chance to see more of the village. Most of the houses were just huts with thatched roofs and didn't have electricity. The only library in the entire municipality had only one wall of books. While it wasn't the poorest place I have ever been to in my life, it's one of the poorest I have seen so far here in Mexico. The part that broke my heart was that we were only able to be there for half a day and I know that there is so much more to be done than just give medical exams and play with kids! It was a really good reminder of how blessed I am and how much I have in comparison with so many others around the world. I wish I had the words to describe more of my experience there but I’m still sorting through everything and trying to figure it all out. Hoy en tu comunidad has been such a great way to get to know more about the culture here and to be able to see what the villages are like and how the majority of people in the country live.
That night when we got home, Shannon and I decided to go for a run. We were just going along, enjoying our run, and discussing whether hell exists (she wasn't quite sure that it did) when all of a sudden we hear this horrible noise followed by whining. We quickly realized that the car behind us had hit a stray dog! It was the saddest thing to hear. Several blocks later, I went to hurdle a cement block that was lying in the street (here in Mexico there are always things everywhere so I didn't even stop to think that it might actually be blocking something) and landed on a slab of wet cement. Talk about leaving my mark here in Mexico! The entire right side of my body was covered in cement. The hilarious part was that we were still pretty far out from my house so I had to finish our run in cement. It must have been quite the sight! I actually felt worse for messing up the freshly paved sidewalk than for myself. When I got home I had to try to wash everything off including my shoes which still have bits of cement attached to them because I couldn't get it off. It was a pretty exciting run.
When I told my host family what happed later at supper, they couldn't stop laughting. First I can't figure out how to unlock their door and then I come home covered in cement...they are going to have some good stories to tell their other host students! :)
We had pizza for supper which made the night a little bit better and then my host mom and I stayed up talking about pretty much everything under the sun. One of the stories she told me was how the word gringo came to be used. According to the story, during the Mexican revolution, there was a famous castle in Mexico City known as Chapultepec Castle. During the revolution, it was a training academy for the Mexican army and was full of young cadets. One night, for some reason (I’m not sure why) all the officers were gone and only the cadets were inside the castle. Well wouldn't you know it, the American troops decided to attack Chapultepec that night. The poor cadets did all they could to fend of the soldiers but they didn't have enough training to really fight them off; the only thing they could do was shout "green go" (as the color of the uniforms of the American troops were green). Their shouts didn't do very much good though and most of them were killed trying to defend the castle. In Mexico City, there is a famous park called Chapultepec Park where there is a memorial to them and the name gringo has been used ever since to refer to Americans. I love hearing Silvia tell stories and I really enjoy our late night conversations. It's fun to have someone here to talk to and learn from!
Sunday morning, Shannon and I met up early to go to Celestun. It is a wildlife reserve/beach about 2.5 hours away from Merida. I really enjoyed it because there are virtually no tourists and the beach is pretty deserted. We took a boat tour and saw a flamingo sanctuary, a petrified forest, swam in a fresh water spring, and just enjoyed cruising around in a boat for 3 hours. After the tour, we came back and layed out on the beach, ate our picnic lunches that we had packed, and did homework. The water was beautiful and it was fun to spend a day exploring a new city. We got home around 8. I showed and ate supper and then headed to bed as I was exhausted from the long weekend.
Today, I had class in the morning and then came home and have been working on homework. I plan to take today easy and just stick around home to get some studying done. Tomorrow we don't have school so some of us are planning on heading to the beach to chill for the day.
I think that's about it from here. Hope that gave you all an idea of what my week was like. I wish I had more time to write more, but I should get working on some homework. I miss you all!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Another week here in Merida
Hello there guys!
Well another Sunday has arrived and I figured it was time to update my blog for the week. I just finished having my own church service and decided to procrastinate a little bit more before sitting down and tackling some more homework.
Monday was class, a random conversation with a man waiting for the bus about immigration, homework, a long run, more homework, part of the Packer game and sleep.
Tuesday, I had Communications class in the morning. We had to read an article by a French Philosopher and talk about the way that cartoons often times deliver subliminal messages about culture. It was an interesting discussion and I was surprised to realize how many American cartoons are popular here in Mexico...most of them go by different names though so I had to do a little work to figure out what was what. That afternoon, I had Spanish class. When I got to the office (where our classes our held), I was told that there was a package for me. My friend Amanda had sent me a package filled with all sorts of random stuff and it completely made my day! Getting mail is the best!! I then went to the salsa dancing class that I usually go to on Tuesdays. It was fun although I still have so much to learn! Sometimes I feel so lost and like a terrible dancer compared to my classmates but it's still a blast and a great workout. :) I then came back home, went for a run, worked on homework and went to bed.
Wednesday was another normal day of classes. Wednesdays are my long days as I have things going on from 12-9. At our program meeting that night, we all learned how to make guacamole, pico de gallo, and another traditional dish here called chec..It is made with hicama, oranges, chili, limes, and salt and is really good. I can't wait to make it when I get back to the states!
Thursday, I had communication class again in the morning then had a break to come home and eat lunch before heading out to Spanish class. After Spanish class, I had my first appointment with my tutor for this semester. Our program provides free tutors for us and I thought I might as well take advantage of all the help/practice with my Spanish I can get. My tutor is super nice and helped me make sure I was understanding what was going on in my classes and how to study for tests, etc. It will be nice to have someone who can check and see that I am really understanding what I am learning and help me make sure I so things correctly!
Friday, I had international relations in the morning and then several of us headed to Progresso (the beach) for the rest of the day....going to the beach after classes on Friday is becoming a tradition. We just sat on the beach and ate our lunches, layed out in the sun, worked on homework and swam a little in the water. I even made a sand castle when I got bored of doing homework. Some of the other people on the beach were curious about what I was doing and came over to watch..it was kind of funny because all I was doing was building a sand castle but they thought it was really cool. Around sunset, we all decided to head back to el centro. Back in Merida, Sarah and I decided that we wanted to stick around el centro and do some shopping so the two of us just went around looking at cheap clothing stores and discovering sweet places to do some shopping. We found this little hole in the wall pizza place and stopped there to eat pizza for supper. The pizza was amazing and super cheap! Afterwards, we decided to head home as I had to get up early for Hoy en tu Comuniad the next morning.
Saturday, I woke up at 5 to head to Hoy en tu Comunidad. The ride there took us about an hour and I slept pretty much the whole way there. I worked again with the medical school and was stationed at the table to take blood pressures. It was fun to get to know the other students I was working with and to practice taking blood pressures. I can pretty much do it in my sleep now :) Plus, it is always super fun to be able to speak Spanish the entire day and to see a different way of life in the "pueblos" (or smaller villages). Around the time we were finishing up, some students from the Anthropology school came up and asked us if we wanted to see some Mayan "ruinas" (ruins). Not wanting to miss an amazing opportunity, we told them yes and head down the street to where the ruins were. For those of you who don't know very much about Archeology, unexcavated ruins are pretty much just a pile of dirt and rocks. The ones in this city were completely covered in all sorts of plants and thorny bushes but everyone wanted to go to the top so we asked a local man whose job it was to take care of the ruins to guide us to the top. He walked in front of us with a huge knife to cut a path through all the foliage. It was pretty intense especially in flip-flops but we all made it up to the top. The view was defiantly worth it! You could see the tiny pueblo below and all the fields. After taking some pictures, we started our descent which was even tougher than climbing up. We all got pricked about a million times by thorn bushes but eventually we made it down. It was neat to be able to see ruins from thousands of years ago and to think about how life was back then.
Going out to see the ruins gave us a chance to walk through "town" and see where the people of the village lived. Seeing their homes made me realize how different life must be for them. Most of the houses were just one room huts with gates around them. While the poverty there wasn't as extreme as some places I have seen in my life, it was obvious that these people lead a way different life than me. It made me really thankful once again, for all the things that I have become accustomed to having-running water, indoor bathrooms, fans, tvs, computers, etc. We returned back to the main square where we were served tacos by some of the ladies from the village (every place we go, we are fed lunch by the people of the community we serve..it's their way of saying thank you for helping them) and then we hopped on the buses and headed home. When we got back to Merida, I headed to el centro to pick up some flowers for my host sister (it was her birthday) and went back to my house. For the rest of the night, I talked with my family, did homework and went to bed.
This morning, I had the chance to sleep in which felt great. Once I woke up, I worked on some homework, had my church service and took a shower. After lunch today, I am planning on heading to el centro to hang out for a little while and then I'll probably come home and do some more homework and go to bed.
Well, I think that gets you all caught up on my life here in Merida. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support. I still have a strong sense that this is where God wants me this semester. He is teaching me so much and molding me in ways I never imagined! I just pray that I would be a willing servant that He could use to show His glory. Love you all!
Well another Sunday has arrived and I figured it was time to update my blog for the week. I just finished having my own church service and decided to procrastinate a little bit more before sitting down and tackling some more homework.
Monday was class, a random conversation with a man waiting for the bus about immigration, homework, a long run, more homework, part of the Packer game and sleep.
Tuesday, I had Communications class in the morning. We had to read an article by a French Philosopher and talk about the way that cartoons often times deliver subliminal messages about culture. It was an interesting discussion and I was surprised to realize how many American cartoons are popular here in Mexico...most of them go by different names though so I had to do a little work to figure out what was what. That afternoon, I had Spanish class. When I got to the office (where our classes our held), I was told that there was a package for me. My friend Amanda had sent me a package filled with all sorts of random stuff and it completely made my day! Getting mail is the best!! I then went to the salsa dancing class that I usually go to on Tuesdays. It was fun although I still have so much to learn! Sometimes I feel so lost and like a terrible dancer compared to my classmates but it's still a blast and a great workout. :) I then came back home, went for a run, worked on homework and went to bed.
Wednesday was another normal day of classes. Wednesdays are my long days as I have things going on from 12-9. At our program meeting that night, we all learned how to make guacamole, pico de gallo, and another traditional dish here called chec..It is made with hicama, oranges, chili, limes, and salt and is really good. I can't wait to make it when I get back to the states!
Thursday, I had communication class again in the morning then had a break to come home and eat lunch before heading out to Spanish class. After Spanish class, I had my first appointment with my tutor for this semester. Our program provides free tutors for us and I thought I might as well take advantage of all the help/practice with my Spanish I can get. My tutor is super nice and helped me make sure I was understanding what was going on in my classes and how to study for tests, etc. It will be nice to have someone who can check and see that I am really understanding what I am learning and help me make sure I so things correctly!
Friday, I had international relations in the morning and then several of us headed to Progresso (the beach) for the rest of the day....going to the beach after classes on Friday is becoming a tradition. We just sat on the beach and ate our lunches, layed out in the sun, worked on homework and swam a little in the water. I even made a sand castle when I got bored of doing homework. Some of the other people on the beach were curious about what I was doing and came over to watch..it was kind of funny because all I was doing was building a sand castle but they thought it was really cool. Around sunset, we all decided to head back to el centro. Back in Merida, Sarah and I decided that we wanted to stick around el centro and do some shopping so the two of us just went around looking at cheap clothing stores and discovering sweet places to do some shopping. We found this little hole in the wall pizza place and stopped there to eat pizza for supper. The pizza was amazing and super cheap! Afterwards, we decided to head home as I had to get up early for Hoy en tu Comuniad the next morning.
Saturday, I woke up at 5 to head to Hoy en tu Comunidad. The ride there took us about an hour and I slept pretty much the whole way there. I worked again with the medical school and was stationed at the table to take blood pressures. It was fun to get to know the other students I was working with and to practice taking blood pressures. I can pretty much do it in my sleep now :) Plus, it is always super fun to be able to speak Spanish the entire day and to see a different way of life in the "pueblos" (or smaller villages). Around the time we were finishing up, some students from the Anthropology school came up and asked us if we wanted to see some Mayan "ruinas" (ruins). Not wanting to miss an amazing opportunity, we told them yes and head down the street to where the ruins were. For those of you who don't know very much about Archeology, unexcavated ruins are pretty much just a pile of dirt and rocks. The ones in this city were completely covered in all sorts of plants and thorny bushes but everyone wanted to go to the top so we asked a local man whose job it was to take care of the ruins to guide us to the top. He walked in front of us with a huge knife to cut a path through all the foliage. It was pretty intense especially in flip-flops but we all made it up to the top. The view was defiantly worth it! You could see the tiny pueblo below and all the fields. After taking some pictures, we started our descent which was even tougher than climbing up. We all got pricked about a million times by thorn bushes but eventually we made it down. It was neat to be able to see ruins from thousands of years ago and to think about how life was back then.
Going out to see the ruins gave us a chance to walk through "town" and see where the people of the village lived. Seeing their homes made me realize how different life must be for them. Most of the houses were just one room huts with gates around them. While the poverty there wasn't as extreme as some places I have seen in my life, it was obvious that these people lead a way different life than me. It made me really thankful once again, for all the things that I have become accustomed to having-running water, indoor bathrooms, fans, tvs, computers, etc. We returned back to the main square where we were served tacos by some of the ladies from the village (every place we go, we are fed lunch by the people of the community we serve..it's their way of saying thank you for helping them) and then we hopped on the buses and headed home. When we got back to Merida, I headed to el centro to pick up some flowers for my host sister (it was her birthday) and went back to my house. For the rest of the night, I talked with my family, did homework and went to bed.
This morning, I had the chance to sleep in which felt great. Once I woke up, I worked on some homework, had my church service and took a shower. After lunch today, I am planning on heading to el centro to hang out for a little while and then I'll probably come home and do some more homework and go to bed.
Well, I think that gets you all caught up on my life here in Merida. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support. I still have a strong sense that this is where God wants me this semester. He is teaching me so much and molding me in ways I never imagined! I just pray that I would be a willing servant that He could use to show His glory. Love you all!
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