Tuesday, January 21, 2008
Today in culture we watched a video about the day of the dead and its overlap with Christian views. It was sort of interesting. Before I go home, I am going to buy one of the skull figurines they have down here (the skulls look like the one Oogie bumps while singing in the Nightmare Before Christmas). They are pretty popular, I see them all over the place.
Friday, January 25,
I have officially finish Spanish class, and I know I learned a lot more than I would have in a language class at Ursinus. Perhaps the Spanish ideology on education is more effective. They believe the goal is to learn. If you learn, if you pass, then you have succeeded and done well. In the U.S., everything is based on grades. Future doctors, grad students, and employees have to worry about dropping below an A or B level GPA. For many of us, we lose our scholarships if our GPA drops below 3.2. What does this do for us? I think it causes a lot of unnecessary stress. People in other countries don’t have to pull all-nighters. They don’t have to kick themselves if they get a B on a test instead of an A. So, why do we put ourselves through this? Really the goal of education should be to learn, and to enjoy learning. When I’m stressed, I can’t enjoy learning. I guess it sucks to grow up in such a competitive society. Why do I need to get good grades? If my grades are better than the people I’m competing against for a job or grade school, I have the upper hand. I’m scared of losing that upper hand. I want to learn just for so, but I can’t because that competition always plays in the back of my mind. Right now, I feel like to many people identify who I am based on what I do. I even identify who I am based on what I do right now. I just wish I could get past the point where life should revolve around a job.
To celebrate the end of the day, we had yet another dance party. This one was not nearly as fun though. I couldn’t do it. Every dance class I have ever taken involves moving my hips. This dance was strange. There was no hip movement. Somehow the woman’s legs just majestically moved, while the rest of her body stayed completely still. It reminded me of an Irish jig. Truth be told, I like full body movement much better. I like to feel the music from head to toe, and that dance just wasn’t as fun because it was so stiff. I will stick to learning salsa, thank you.
Later, we headed to the Governor’s Palace. I took many photographs.
The building was beautiful with gorgeous arches and an expanse staircase reaching to the top floor. As I climbed the stairs, a huge mural gleamed above my head. The mural consisted of the west, east, north, and south. It consisted of reds, grays, and yellows. It depicted a cycle. To the west, the sun set, and the colors disappeared into grays depicting death. A jaguar creeps in the night. The jaguar, orange in color, stands out from the rest of the mural. In the center of the large mural, it depicted creation, with man rising from maize. On the east, the mural depicted a higher level of education and organization where man learns the arts and writes.
Like the Jaguar, Animals are so heavily incorporated into their religion, it made me start to think of the role of animals in my own religion, Christianity. According to my religion, animals were made before man, and were to walk the earth with man. Man was giving control of these animals, and the world was to be in harmony. We do not see animals as sacred, as the Mayans did. The animals that plays a major role in my religion is the serpent, a symbol of evil. The serpent is seen in Mayan culture as well. Although we do not see animals as sacred, I understand the awe that the Mayans must have felt for the great animals that roamed the earth. When I see jaguars or parrots in zoos, I am captivated by their beauty. I know no mythology of the animals and I am placed in awe. If I find such satisfaction in merely viewing an animal that creeps behind closed bars, it only seems reasonable to me that the Mayans would include such mystic creatures, dangerous and wild, in their mythology.
Another extremely powerful image was one of famine. On one wall, you view the Mayan’s fighting boldly against the conquistadors. However, the famine picture raises different emotions within me. I see a group of people who are relying on earth, which is failing them. Today, in we see a photograph much like this one occurring in Africa. The Maya tried to control their habitat by making sacrifices and catering to the gods. And, in the hardest of time’s, that did not always work.
One mural depicts Mayans fighting the conquistadors. The painting shows the Mayan’s power, that they were able to hold back the Spanish, even when the Spanish may have predicted a quick conquer. Behind the warriors sit starving children, who place their hands on the warriors for protection. In another room sits a picture of Cocom, a Mayan leader who greatly held back Spanish forces and prevented the quick conquer of the Mayans. As we know, from the churches appearing in the Mayan ruin sites, and the architecture, cathedral, and name of Merida, the Spanish won. Other murals depict the Mayans being placed into slavery. However, it wasn’t only captives being placed into slavery, it was women and children as well.
Two murals corresponded with one another. One was of a Mayan’s hands and the other of a Mayan’s feet. The feet are weathered, dirty, and bare. They are walking on a hard ground. The hands are old and wrinkled. Dirt lays under each fingernail, and they lay in a cupped position.
My favorite person depicted in a mural is Guerrero. He was captured as a Spanish explorer. After escaping and then being captured by another tribe, he ended up becoming a Mayan by learning the language and marrying the daughter. He tattooed is body, and took on Mayan culture. Years later, Cortes came to rescue him, but he refused to go. You would have to really love a group of people to turn your back on your old country. Not only did he give up his history, but he actually fought against the Spanish. I don’t think that I could ever do that. But, I see him as a brave man for giving up everything he knew in the past to live his life the way he saw was best.
After the governor’s palace, we headed off to the contemporary art museum, Museo Macay. Most of the student entries reminded me of American contemporary art. Of course, the people looked a bit different. I noticed that the people were more abstract and the artists tended to accentuate women’s curve. Many were of famous Mexican’s I have never heard of. One was of Elvis, who was depicted in Mexican form, which was interesting. One room contained prints of famous paintings. It stretched throughout all cultures. It showed Egyptian hieroglyphs, Greek vases, Michelangelo, the Mona Lisa, some paintings of Jesus from the renaissance, and some other very famous paintings. This is the first time that I have ever seen prints of these famous paintings in a museum. Most times, the museum artwork is original, and you can only see these in their place of origin or printed in textbooks. It was cool to see the art in it’s lifesize, duplicate form. One room contained a series of sculpted bulls. The bulls were carved into different types of stone and polished. It was pretty neat. Some of the bulls looked lifelike. Others were tall and slender. Some carried people on their backs. Others depicted brave bull fighters. I HATE that bullfighting is so popular down here. I understand that it’s tradition, but seriously, it’s like a modern day gladiator battle in the coliseum. The bulls used for fights in Merida die. I’ve heard it’s a very bloody, disgusting sport. I just have to say it’s one traditional sport I will never be interested in attending. I really liked artwork by Patricia Henriquez, which depicted silhouettes of birds (the parrots and quetzals were the prettiest) and other animals. They also have paintings using black paint only that made me feel as though I was in the ocean. I also liked Jorge Tillet Orozco, who depicted bright pictures of beautiful scenes, such as Celestun with the flamingos. Looking at his artwork gave a feeling of tranquility.
The most scandalous painter I have seen is Benjamin Dominquez. At first, I walked though the room thinking is artwork was immaculate and detailed. His people looked very realistic. He incorporated an imprinted golden foil into most of his art pieces, which added elegance and texture. My favorite painting was of a man looking at himself. On one side, he is a religious figure, but the other side he stands naked and tattooed, holding a serpent. The art was powerful. Some was mystic and depicted toys, flying people, and other strange figures. Then, I moved into the next room, which was shocking. The art contained the same people and elegant gold, however now it depicted bondage and torture devices. I found it disgusting and vulgur. I didn’t really see the point within this room. It just looked like a mix of paintings depicting risqué sex scenes and medieval torture and pain. The next room exited the bondage theme, but continued with the risqué. At least it had a them. Every painting had a mirror that sat in a room. The room was the same, with the same bed in each painting. However, the people changed. There were a lot of naked religious figures and sexual images. There were people looking into the window at the sexual images. Some of the people in the paintings didn’t look like they belonged in the same room, or there was a time lapse and they were just painting together. They were not looking at one another or interacting. In general, that was really strange, and I preferred the guy’s first room, with strong imagery cutting the vulgarity. But, I must say, his artwork is what caught our attention the most at the museum, even if it was only due to pure shock.
Finally, I looked at Gina Novendstern’s art. I really liked her sculptures. Many were depicting very long legs and with feet carved into stone. Some walked. Some stood. Others were placed foot to foot. She transitioned into using skulls. That was my favorite part of the museum. In some of the artwork, there were tons of skulls, all identical, placed together within neat rows. Another piece of art depicted two very real faces. One rested on the top shelf of a tall, open cabinet, and the other sat on the lower shelf a body length below it facing in the opposite direction.
Later yet, we went to friend’s house who lives in Merida. I learned that Mexicans watch all the same movies as we do in America, with Spanish subtitles. It’s nice to sit down and watch Zoolander with a bunch of friends. I really enjoy that there isn’t always cultural disparities. Most of my generation Mexican watch the same movies as I do in the states and listen to the same music. At the house, we ate tacos. We learned you are not supposed to fold the tacos so the meat doesn’t fall out. The boys were actually laughing at us. As if Tex Mex didn’t ruin Mexican food badly enough, now they are just teaching us to eat actually Mexican food wrong as well!
On Saturday, we took a night trip to la playa, which was amazing. On the way, we rocked out with our Mexican friends to songs from various decades. While listening to Sinatra, we spoke of the rat pack and 1940s style. It got me thinking, does style reach across the border? Now, people in the U.S. dress just as they do in Mexico? Did they have big hair in the 80s and swing in the 40s? I think it’s interesting, because many times I associate style with music. It’s not hard to distinguish between a rapper and a heavy metal fan in either culture. When I went to the bookstore with Katie, I was looking through a book with photographs of Merida from the roaring 20s. And, there were flappers! The hair, clothes, posture, and everything directly replicated the U.S. 20s. I feel that since the music crosses the border, so does the style, and I’m glad I can share a great appreciation of the rat pack and antique dresses with people from Mexico.
January 26, 2008:
Long is an understatement for the day, however it was full of experiences I could never have in the U.S. We woke up bright and early to head to Oxkintok. Oxkintok is full of Mayan ruins. Standing next to ruins is indescribable, just like the cenotes. Despite my fear of heights, I stood at the top of a high pyramid, looking out at ancient temples. Rebecca, my new teacher, told us that we were standing somewhere that no common people would be permited to stand. We were standing in a very sacred place. Looking out from the top, you could see several hills upon the flat ground. They were buried pyramids! There were at least four of them. It’s crazy to think that underneath that vegetation sat another ancient temple. Thousands of years have passed before the temple saw the light of day. In the U.S., this would not happen. If there were ruins, they would be excavated. Even in my hometown, pottery was found along side the road, and a giant exaction project to build up the pottery for several months was started. So, why are the pyramids still buried here? We were informed it’s the money. I know that that is a big component, but I feel like there must be more to it. I’m sure there is some rich American/ American organization that would donate money to have great ruins excavated. But what would the excavation bring? Tourists already visit the site since pyramids, the plaza, the ball court, the labrynth, and an old church built by the Spaniards were uncovered. So, the other ruins would not bring in tourists. As for history, wouldn’t we want to know about the history? Perhaps we have learned enough of the site from the excavations that have already occurred. On those stances, it wouldn’t help economically or educationally to dig out the sites. Jessie said something that also made sense. We trample up and down all the other pyramids, and they will eventually be degraded because of it. These temples were sacred, so it’s kind of cool that there are temples that just sit, with whatever they may contain. They aren’t exploited by tourists. They will remain sacred with the spirits of the Mayan nobles who wants lived there. They will be preserved in their most natural form, even if that isn’t perfectly constructed, and rests under a pile of plants. I think it’s for the better. We can spend our efforts restoring the temples we degrade to keep those in tact, as opposed to uncovering a bunch and exploiting them, and never being having the resources to restore them again.
At Oxkintok we decided to climb through the pyramid. Honestly, I don’t have the slightest idea what these little passageways are for. They are very tiny, then open up into two rooms. There were two that ran parallel in one of the pyramids. I crawled into the first opening, but was too scared to go on. There were a lot of critters in the opening. I saw a tailless whip scorpion and tons of daddy long-legs in mine. In the parallel one, there was a tarantula, wasps nest, and centipede. That is the first time I have ever seen a tarantula in the wild. It was pretty cool, since it was just sitting still. They seem very docile. I took a picture.
After the ruins, we traveled to a cave, Usil, which was interesting. It had hieroglyphs painted in red high on the wall. It’s crazy to think that the cave was once filled with water. Some things in the cave seemed very real and mystical. Others seemed very fake and for show. I’d imagine that it would be easy to fake some artifacts, and try to make it believable if you have the science behind one of the artifacts. These men had carbon dating for the hieroglyphs, which I buy. There was one artifact which we weren’t even allowed to take a picture of, and we have to climb into a tiny space to look at it. I didn’t buy that as much. Finally they had bones. The bones were obviously animal bones and laying out on a table. I figured the couldn’t possibly be that old, because if that cave was underwater, that table with the bones would have also been underwater. So, I got to thinking that these men had made a great discovery, but in their seeking fame and fortune, go mixed up along the way. We had to pay to see the artifacts, so I’m sure they wanted to put on a show. I’m not sure what these men would have to lose down here. In the U.S., a scientists faking evidence would lose his job and reputation. Depending on the extent of the mistake, he may be put in prison for fraud. In the U.S., the quick buck made isn’t really worth it (unfortunately, I’m sure there are people that don’t get caught). Here, I don’t know the worst that could happen. In a movie that we watched at bio boot camp, a man who made false Mayan artifacts and sold them as real was interrogated and arrested. I hope the men who found the cave were honest about the artifacts, because like the man in the movie, if not, they would be making money off of pretend artifacts, even if not selling them directly.
After the cave, we went swimming in someones backyard cenote. The decent into the cenote was TERRIFYING. It was just a ladder straight down into a hole. They found the cenote while digging to make a well. That would be pretty cool to find that surprise. However, I wouldn’t want a cenote in my backyard, because I would hate having random people in my backyard all the time. The people lived in a tiny house.
We ate at a really cute Mayan restaurant. They cooked our meat underground! They literally had it in the cooking pot, put it in a hole in the ground, and covered up to hole, It was delicious. I also tried to sopa de lime for the first time, which was also delicious. I really like some of the Mayan foods.
After we got back we headed into the city to a canta-bar. Danielle and Cindy sang Uptown Girl. It was lovely, they were cute. They got tons of cheers at the end, and it was a break from the Spanish slow songs that had been playing all night. The guy who ran the bar did a Michael Jackson song, and he was amazing. He could dance just like him. It’s funny that Michael Jackson also crosses the border in the popularity of his dances.
Finally, we headed to the beach. It was my first time swimming at night, and it was amazing! The water was unbelievably warm compared to the air. The fact that I can go to the beach and swim at night at the end of January rules. I do miss my family and friends, but I have yet to get really homesick.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Every shop in Merida reminds me of the boardwalk. Nothing has prices on it. People run after you to try to get you to come into their stores. They all are located in row-home type settings (not department stores) with the pull-down garage type doors. I wish that I knew enough Spanish to haggle. I really have to go souvenir shopping soon.
I am trying to find Winnie the Pooh in español. They have all the newer versions of Disney Winnie-the-Pooh books, but I can’t find Milne’s original translated stories. Then I realized I probably will not find them in a bookstore here, since I have a hard time finding them in the U.S.
Looking at Mayan mythology is interesting, especially creation. I like to compare creation stories to my own religion to compare and contrast: so here we go. Since most are familiar with Genesis, the brief is God made man in his own image. Man was initially made of flesh, and woman from his bone. This man lived for years, until sin was too great, and then God cleared away all men, except Noah. Throughout the whole creation story, from the creation of the planet to the creation of man, God, a single God is in charge. The Maya creation of man differed. Man was first made from mud, however the gods were not pleased, so he became mud once again. Next, man was created as wooden figures. The wooden figures did not fit the images of the gods, so they too were decimated. Finally, man was made of flesh. However this man had sined greatly, so the Mayan god’s wiped man out with a flood. Finally, man rose from Maize, and that man was in the form of a god. In Mayan, men can be gods and closely related to god. In Christianity, men are men, imperfect in God’s image with no blood relation to him, and no man can be a god. There is only one. Only one man has God status, being Jesus. Jesus differs from the great kings of the Maya, in that he did not rule an empire. However, Mayan kings became the connection between man and the gods, just as Jesus did for the Christians.
I am always intrigued to read about floods. A major flood appears in almost every religion. So, there are plenty of people looking for evidence of a great flood. Many Christians believe the marks of the flood will prove Christianity. However, great floods are documented in Christianity, Maya, and other religions. I think that flood appears so heavily in religious texts due to smaller population sizes and the need to live near a water source. Coastal areas could easily flood, and floods that did not directly kill people could bring diseases that would. Such a drastic decrease in population would be devastating, and how would on explain such an occurrence happening without the scientific knowledge we know have? They could explain it through religious phenomenon.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Our second to last week in Merida is almost over, and of course we headed to the Mambo Café last night. Everyone came out, and I think it was one of the best nights. Nobody got injured this time around! (In the last two weeks, one girl had to go to the hospital because her toenail fell off and Jessie had to go to get stitches from a bad cut on her finger.) We danced all night. I’m starting to learn salsa, and get the hang of the steps and taking a lead. I can do a little more complex spinning, even though it’s still pretty basic. I want to salsa dance when I get home, so that I don’t forget! Before we went to Mambo, we headed out to see a band that is really popular here. The band has a VERY derogatory name, but apparently down here they don’t see the word as bad. I can’t even type the word without feeling awkward, but it’s the one that starts with an n. We all pronounce the word the wrong way because we feel weird saying it. The people from Mexico and Holland both don’t understand the problem, so apparently it doesn’t cross cultures. I wish they weren’t called that, because the band plays really good music, but because of the name, I know we will never hear it in the U.S. Well when the band was playing, a riot broke out. We managed to avoid the riot and stay far back in the crowd. However, up further there were lots of police. There was no police brutality, luckily. Other than that it looked like a scene out of a peace convention in the 60s.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
So, in one week we leave. I really can’t believe it. We’ve done so many fun things here, that it is hard to imagine life without the Mambo Café. However, the longer I’m here, the more awkward I feel about homestays. My host mom is ridiculously overprotective, like Katie and I can’t even walk 4 blocks to the bank after 6:30 without getting an “it’s dangerous” lecture. But, it’s completely safe, we do it all the time. I don’t understand it. I also feel weird about calling her “MaMa”. I don’t do it. She isn’t really like a mom to me, I still feel like I live with a random woman from Mexico. She loves the boys we live with, and I always feel like she just give Katie and I a hard time about eating, friends, going out, bla bla bla. I am grateful for what she’s given me though. I just hope I settle into my next homestay a little better.
I feel weird about beggars. I feel like the little old women and children that beg in Mexico are actually poor for legitimate reasons. In Reading, the majority of the poor are alcoholics, drug dealers, or people released from mental institutions. Of course, there is a grouping of homeless that can’t find jobs, but there are organizations in Reading to help them and give them a place to stay. These organizations allow them to stay for up to one week, then help them find a job, even if it’s only minimum wage. I do feel sympathy for the people who take these jobs, and just can’t support their family on minimum wage. At least they can get food stamps and such to help. However, a lot of the people on the streets won’t go to the shelters because they do not want jobs. They ask for money and a place to stay, but don’t attempt to find work, so get kicked out of the shelters. I have no sympathy for them. I automatically affiliate many beggers with laziness. I know churches who will take them to the grocery store to buy them food and give them clothes and help them. But, some people don’t want the food, just the money. If there are so many places to help, and they just won’t go, then they don’t deserve a dime. But what about in Mexico? There are beggers all over the place here, more than I have ever seen in the states. They hang out at street corners, near stores, in front of churches. Some are obnoxious, others are nice. Many are children. I want to feel sympathy for them, but I can’t because I automatically compare them to the lazy ones in the states. It makes me wonder, what kinds of aid organizations do they have down here? I have learned from friends and our tour guide that sometimes it’s not worth working here. The minimum wage is $4 for a full day’s work, and it costs more to get to and from work than you earn. You couldn’t buy any groceries with that money. I figure you actually could make more money begging on the streets. So, perhaps that is why there are more beggars here. These are the people who don’t have enough education to work jobs that will pay enough to make a living. In a way, yes, they are still being lazy because they don’t have jobs. However, I understand it a bit more here than the U.S. Is it possible to go back to school though? So, this brings up a social issue that is a problem here and in the U.S.: minimum wage. At least the U.S. sets minimum wage as a minimum earning per hour, and food stamps and welfare can be used for support. Do they have those systems here? I haven’t really seen homeless shelters, nor have I seen meals-on-wheels. If they don’t have meal systems, then how can the minimum wage be as low as $4 per day? Why isn’t it an hourly wage?
I want a hammock. I’m debating whether I want to spend the money and get a nice handcrafted one, or just cope out and get a cheap one from amazon.com I guess it depends on how much my blanket/ skull souvenirs cost.
I still must write blogs for my weekend, which included seeing one of the 7 wonders of the world, climbing pyramids, seeing wild flamingos, parrots, and a crocodile, and eating $0.60 panuchos. However, I don’t have time to at this moment, so more to come soon;.
So, the past week has been extremely interesting.
Saturday night we hit the centro to put our salsa dance lessons into action. Every weekend, they close one of the main streets in the center of the city for dancing and live music. I wish they would have a tradition like that in the states. So, we danced. First we danced with the boys in our group, who were doing a wonderful job. Then we wanted to progress so we danced with Mexicans. It was interesting. The dancing here is differs greatly from that of the U.S. In the U.S. you can dance on your own, with a partner, or in a group. The dances are not structured in anyway, everything is just free style. Some people are very, very good, and others just have fun being fools on the dance floor. Then, most guys stand along the side and refuse to dance. Here, the dancing skill level is greatly increased. Not many people avoid the dance floor like the U.S., there is just an increased amount of energy that follows with the music. The dances are much more structured, and you really need a partner to dance to the songs. It’s not like the U.S. where you awkwardly avoid dancing with anyone but your crush, here, people dance just for fun. I find it difficult to dance with a partner. I found that out once on Saturday, and again at the Mambo Café on Wednesday. I don’t know why, I just have a hard time taking a lead. I have an especially hard time with spinning. I usually spin the wrong way, get tangled up, but my partner will save the day by doing a series of other spins to somehow get out of the jumble. It’s fun though. My partners always lie and say I’m good at it, even though I tend to fumble my way through the dance, spin the wrong way, and lose my place a lot. Even though I took dance lessons for years in the states, I feel like I will be a much better dancer with all this practice in Mexico. I really think it outcompetes the jazz dance lessons that I took most of my life.
Of course with dancing, you need music. Most of the places I have visited have had live music. Sometimes they play salsa music. That is always fun because it involves lots of horns! Other times they place American songs. When we went to the Mambo Café, I was a bit thrown off when the band started playing the Backstreet Boys and doing their dances. It reminded me of learning the dances with my best friend in 6th/ 7th grade. Before the live band started to play, the club was dead. We were about to leave because no one was dancing and they were playing 80s music videos on the big screen. Of course, not Spanish 80s, U.S. 80s. We saw the music videos for “Like a Virgin” and “Shot through the Heart”. I think it’s funny that 80s music crosses between cultures. Apparently all the new popular songs play on the radio as well. Well, when we were beginning to get bored out of our minds, we heard a bang. Like the tourists we always are, many of us jumped. The rest of the club was used to it. Then the intro to the music started, and the live band started playing. Within 5 minutes, the Café went from being desolate to being filled with energy and dance. It was amazing.
We learned in class that X in Mayan is pronounced “sh”. I didn’t think much of it, until one day Katie and I came home, and our lunch was labeled and waiting for us in the fridge. My host mother had spelled my name “Ax”. I find that much more interesting than spelling it Ash, and I would take that on in the states, but of course everyone would then pronounce it “Axe”. So I guess I can enjoy the different spelling only while I’m in Mexico.
Coming from a country that protects all religions, I am always surprised to see how heavily the Christian/ Catholic faith is displayed in daily life here. Here, figurines of Jesus’s crucifixion are hung in every public bus. The taxis I’ve been in have crosses and Rosary beads hanging for the mirrors. Artisans sell jewelry and figurines with all the saints and religious figures. I feel like in the U.S., well moreso in the Northeast than the Southwest, people would freak out if someone hung a Jesus figurine on public transportation. My host mother even turns off the internet on Sundays!
My classes here are really different than they are at Ursinus, which is frustrating. Initially I like the idea of having a class for three weeks, but now that I am actually doing it, I hate it. I think my issue will just be with the language course though. For people that already know Spanish, three weeks of speaking and refreshing vocabulary would be fine. However, since I do not know Spanish, I have to learn pages and pages of vocabulary and grammar every day on top of how to speak, and it’s completely overwhelming. I liked language class (I took German) much better on the Ursinus schedule, 4 days a week 50 minutes a day, and one full semester. I had time to learn the language, and I wasn’t cramming so much in a single day that it was overwhelming. I’m trying though. I mean, I took the Spanish class at Mont Co before I left, but I deemed that useless when I started this Spanish class. We had covered every single thing we covered in that class in a single day here. What’s really frustrating is since I had a semester I feel like she expects me to know more than I was taught, and I feel like my prior Spanish class is going to be working against me in my final grade. The other thing I find frustrating is we learn tons and tons of Mayan vocab, which is interesting, but I wish we would learn more of the Spanish vocab that we are actually tested on. The grading down here is different, so we will see. She feels that an 80% is passing, and if you get an 80% or higher, you have a good grade. I got an average of 85% between my written and spoken portion of the exam, which in the states would be a B, but if 80% is failing, I guess it would be a D? Ahhhh I don’t know how this works. I wish the class was more like Ursinus. But I will continue to cram learning a language into 3 weeks.
Off that rant… There are major pricing differences between the U.S. and Mexico. I was surprised to find that clothing is pretty expensive down here. My mother always taught me to find a good sale, but it is much, much more difficult to find a good sale here! I plant to go shopping again soon, since I need more clothes and new shoes. However, most other things are really inexpensive. Take, for example, a retinol cream. I used to have a retin-a prescription with the same stuff in it, and without the prescription it was close to $100 per bottle. I went to a Walmart here, and bought some for $2, no need for a prescription. You can also buy odd things, like syringes, for $0.89. Drinks are very, very cheap. Jewelry also seems really cheap. Food at a restaurant is about the same price though. Oh, the other really cheap thing is a trip to the beach. It cost only about $3.00 to take a bus to the beach and back. That is amazing!
I’m sure that I’ve mentioned it before, but I will mention it again, the food here is extremely different than in the states. The fruit is all much, much sweeter. Most of it is locally grown. They eat pork all the time, as opposed to eating chicken all the time in the U.S. They love, love, love beans, which are not my favorite, but I eat them. They make fresh juice. My favorite juice is Jamaica juice. It’s from a flower. They boil the petals, and when they boil the petals, it releases the juice. It’s a red juice that looks sort of like cranberry juice. It’s good for your kidneys. In class we ate pinuchos. They were really good. They are made of two layers of tortilla, fried with a layer of bean in the middle. Then you have a topping of meat, lettuce, tomato, onion, and egg on top. I really like them, but only after I removed the onion. In class, we also had a tasting of their breads. There is one kind of bread called sweet bread (pan doluce) and it is not sweet. It tastes a lot like licorice. It was mostly desert type food, but there was only one type of bread that I really liked. Growing up with sweet, good, and fattening Pennsy-Dutch food like funnel cake, whoopee pies, and fastnachts, my theory is that the Mexicans cannot handle/ make really sweet foods. I also miss other home foods like apple butter, apple dumplings, and pretzels. This is bad for my sweet tooth, but I’m dealing. Even the chocolate that my host mother gave us was extremely dark and bitter. I found that you can buy normal ice cream, packaged at Oxxo. Oxxo is like our Walmart. The problem is they don’t have vanilla flavor! When you buy ice cream from vendors, it tastes a lot more like water ice, and it comes in fruity flavors. It’s not very creamy. That may also be because they only used boxed milk down here, which taste very, very different from the gallons of milk that you would buy in the states.
We saw the strangest thing in class in culture class on Thursday. It’s called a maquech. It’s a piece of jewelry, a pin to be specific. However, the pin is a living beetle that has gold and gem things glued to his back. You can wear it until it dies, then get a new one. The beetle has a chain glued to its bum, so that you can pin the chain to your sweater, and the beetle is limited on how far it can walk around. It’s really creepy. On Friday, Shoji and I saw two mequeches trying to mate. However, the store owner pulled them apart. Apparently she did not want baby maqueches.
My curiosity was peaked by the piece of jewelry. Why would anyone want to spend 200 pesos on a decorated beetle? I mean, I don’t even really like receiving flowers because they die, let alone a beetle. But, the mythology that I read is kind of charming. There was a princess who fell in love with a man who she could never marry. She was distressed, so she went to a witch to help her and her love. The witch turned the princess into a jeweled beetle, that the man could wear. The princess lived her life close to her love’s heart. Okay, so maybe it’s not all that charming, but it makes wearing a beetle a little less strange in my opinion.
On Thursday night, I went to the Spanish/ English conversation session, which I needed since I need to practice speaking Spanish as much as possible. We learned the Mayan word for moth was X’ Mahana, which was on our lotteria game bored the next day in Spanish class. We played scrabble, where we made Spanish words, and they made English words. It was fun.
Last week, when we went to the cenotes, we rode on a carriage drawn by a horse on a railroad. In Spanish class, we learned what the railroad is for. It was originally for transporting Henequen, a plant that was widely used in Mexico.
On Friday, and yesterday, we went to museums of anthropology. The first one was in Merida. It was really interesting, and disturbing. We learned that Mayans reshaped the skull of higher class males. While the babies skull was forming, they put the baby into what looks like a huge sandwich press to make it more flat and wide. The skulls we saw looked really strange. I am amazed that making painful physical changes like that went back that far. The Mayans did it to fix their skulls, the Chinese did it to make their feet smaller, and we may grimace, but now there are plenty of people getting nose-jobs and such which isn’t too far off. We saw the Mayan calendar, which is only 360 days, and we saw the Mayan numeration system, which to write involves doing arithmetic. It looks cool, but I don’t like having to do math just to write down a number. The Mayans were buried in a big pot type thing with their favorite belongings for the afterlife. Some of the Mayans were sacrificed for a god. The sacrifices had their hearts cut out and placed onto a statue for the god, then were thrown into a cenote (a giant hole in the grown with water in the bottom). Or they may have been thrown in first, then had their hearts cut out, I’m not sure of the order. Either way, that was apparently an honor. I will admit, when I go swimming in cenotes now, I will be a little more weirded out. We also saw toys. Many were like American toys, dolls, puppets, and those stand ups with the painted bodies that you can stick your head in. One was strange. It was a skeleton taller than myself, and you pulled on the strings to make it move. Mexicans really glorify the dead. We learned that on November 1st and 2nd they celebrate the dead by building an alter to them, and then having a feast in their honor.
In the Museum we went to on Saturday, we saw all kinds of artifacts from the Mayans, from their early on, through their wars with the Spanish, until now. You can tell when the Spanish came, because the artifacts begin to have Christian figures incorporated into the artwork. Then we saw huts. They weren’t bad at all, I mean, no worse than sleeping in a tent. I can handle living in a hut at a later point in time. Then, we visited the pyramids, which were amazing. The site was called Dzibilchaltun. We stood where the king sat and looked out at the plaza. There were so many ruins. We saw the church the Spinards built in the middle of the plaza once they took over. Climbing up the ruins was scary, since I am afraid of heights. I can’t believe that short people would build really high, steep, narrow steps to the top of the pyramid. I had to take huge steps to reach the top, I imagined that they would have had to climb. In the middle of all the ruins, there was a cenote. This is where the village got their water. It was an open cenote, and since you can’t wear sunscreen, I went in fully covered to avoid burning. Unfortunately, I was a little sick, so I couldn’t breathe in the water to stay in. The cenote was beautiful. It had lillypads and clear blue water. There were many fish and lizards running around.
Only two weeks in, I’m sick. It started Friday night with a sore throat, and progressively got worse until now. I started taking antibiotics, hopefully it will go away so I can have fun again soon. Apparently one of the other guys in the house is sick as well. I really hope I feel better by tomorrow because I get graded on speaking in Spanish class. You just can’t get sick on a 3 week course schedule.
My internet has been really bad, so sorry for putting up all posts at once/ not being able to post pictures.
Thursday night, we headed to Santa Lucia to experience traditional dance and music. It was amazing. Katy, Akash, Shokji, and I all got to the plaza too early, so we decided to explore the city a bit. Everything is so different than cities in the U.S. I have yet to feel unsafe, or walk down a shady street. I also like how the city is laid out. In Philly it’s really easy to get lost, but here, everything is just easy street numbers with a nice grid system. The other major difference is the bussing systems. In the states, a bus driver wouldn't’t let you get onto the bus without paying. Here, you can pay whenever you please, I’ve even seen people pay when they get off the bus. But, off that tangent, so we walked around the university in the city. It’s beautiful. In the center, there a gorgeous courtyard. Then we took the stairs up to the roof to look at the city. I really love skylines. Of course, we took pictures! We headed downstairs and went into a small art museum. Many portraits hung on the wall of one room. I wish I knew who the people were. In the next room, there were amazing landscape paintings. One of the paintings was of the flamingos, and it made me really excited to head to out to see them on one of our excursions. All the paintings had foreign trees and birds, which I can’t wait to see. It will hard to go back to the U.S. and only be able to see the animals in zoos or google images. After the university, we looked at artwork being sold in the street. I plan to buy a piece that has a bird (flamingo, parrot, quetzal) painted on a feather. The art is really colorful. After wondering a bit, we went to see the traditional dance in Santa Lucia. I really wish that I could dance like that! The women wore traditional Mayan style dresses and flowers in their hair. The men wore white suits and hats. One of the dances involved them balancing a tray with glass bottles on their heads. Not one try fell, and they were really moving and dancing! At the end the women all spun past the point that any normal person would get dizzy and fall down. I was impressed. The following trio was cool as well. The music was a little slow for my taste, but it was neat to hear. The men were really talented. Afterwards, we went to the same restaurant we ate at the other night. We ate good food. We wore sombreros. The waiters were loud and made it obvious that we were tourist, but they were fun.
We learned to Salsa dance in class yesterday. It was a great time. I really like salsa, and I can't wait until we go out to a salsa club to start to dance. One of the teachers told me that I was good at salsa, which made me happy. Having that dance lesson in Spanish was interesting. But, I understood. It really made me miss dancing, which I did for years before college. Band nerd talk also comes hope frequently on this trip, which actually makes me miss playing the flute a bit to. However, I still plan to master the pan flute, and hope to find a nice big one down here.
Last night, we had a fiesta at CIS Centro. All of our host families came, and there are a bunch of students from Ursinus, but also students from Holland and Sweden. The girls from Holland are really nice, and they are in all of my classes. It’s neat to hear about multiple other cultures when you travel. I have never seen so much spaghetti in my life, but it was all delicious. It was neat to see all the other host parents as well.
Earlier today we went to two cenotes. So far, the cenotes have been the best part of this trip. They are underround caves that have completely clear water that you can swim in. People are not even allowed to wear suntan lotion, so that they will not contaminate the water. They were beautiful. There is nothing like swimming in stalagtites in clear blue water. There were bats, birds, and fish in the caves too! We jumped off high platforms, and that topped any cliff jumping I ever did at blue marsh. We had a few underwater cameras, so I’m sure there will be many pictures to come. I did lose my shades in the water though L, but that’s okay, I came prepared with two pairs. Anyone who travels to Mexico should make a point of swimming in a Cenote, the experience is indescribable. I couldn’t even set up a comparison to something in the states, because there is nothing like it. In the first cenotes, our group were loners, so it was nice to swim around. At one point, we were on some Mexican broadcasts, who knows what show or channel. In the next cenote, we had lots of fun playing in the water. There was an amazing fig tree that grew down from the land, and extended through a hole in the ground, down into the cave, and it’s roots were attached in the water. We tried to climb the tree and swing on it, but we were stopped due to safety precautions. Soon after, a ton of tourists came, and we left. Although we stand out as tourists on this trip, we tend to stray away from them. We are intentionally avoiding tourists traps, like Cancun, in order to experience the actual culture and scenes of Mexico. On the way to the cenotes, we rode carts pulled by donkeys and horses. Our driver was really nice. He pointed out his house (casa) and his family.
The experience thusfar has been amazing, and I imagine it will only get better from here.
I am continuing my adventures in Mexico. Yesterday we took a historical tour of Merida, and the city is beautiful. I am excited to have the Maya course, where will have an in depth description the city’s history. We saw several cathedrals, and although I am protestant, I want to attend mass just for the experience. On the tour, we also saw a beautiful Mayan monument. I will post pictures as soon as I steal them from someone else. In the middle of our tour, we stopped at a park, which had posts with all the countries in the Americas on it. Megan and I ran around frantically looking for the Cuba sign, so we could snap her picture with it. After circling two sides of the road again, and again, and again, our 15 minute break was over, and it was time to load onto the bus. As we approached the bus, we found that there was another section that we had missed, the one that probably contained Cuba. However, along the way, we got some good pictures, including one huge group picture of the Ursinus kids and Dawley2 on the stairs of on of the monuments.
I really enjoy my culture class. So far we have gone to get hot chocolate (I know, hot chocolate in the heat may sound crazy, but it was delicious). The hot chocolate is made with real chocolate and water in a churn type thing. They add honey, and it is much lighter and foamy than the hot chocolate in the U.S. We were told the story of where chocolate came from, did you know the Aztecs used to eat the chocolate without sugar, so it was bitter? I bet not! Today we listened to very special romantica musica. Here, for special occasions, like birthdays and anniversaries, a boy will go out and hire a trio to come to the girl’s home and sing for her. All the neighbors come out and watch, and it’s apparently a very emotional experience. I hope that one happens on my street (Calle 31) so that I can see it.
I’m picking up Spanish much quicker. I still am in no way, shape, or form fluent, but I’m picking up and using vocabulary when I can. Once I learn more verbs, I feel I will be able to communicate much more easily. Today we practiced conversation in class, which is where I need more practice. I speak like a snail, but I’m working on it.
The other night, we all went out for Akash’s B-day. We picked a place to meet, a Christmas tree in the city near our school, a place we all knew well for its bank. Of course, Katy and I managed to get lost. When everyone finally gathered, we headed to the center of the city. It was beautiful and lively. The people here are so friendly to foreigners. We needed to find a restaurant, and one man actually walked us to the restaurant. The restaurant let a group of 16 eat there. It was a lot of fun. They gave us pink and yellow sombreros to wear during our meal, and we were one classy crew.
Tonight we are heading to Santa Lucia to hear costume music. Soon, I will post pictures, however my internet is quite slow to do so right now.
So, I'm here. Starting from the begining. First, I went to bio boot-camp (formally known as orientation to the rest of you). I learned a lot of Latin. We went through taxonmies (for those of you who aren't bio nerds taxonomies are animal/ plant identificationn systems that group animals with their relatives) for plants, arthropods (insects and scary things like scorpians and spiders), amphibians and reptiles, and birds. Today we just learned about the mammals in class. Orientation was a lot of work, we literally worked from 6:30-10:00 with the exception of breaks to eat and one hiking break. The hikes were my favorite part :). At one point we all walked across a frozen lake, of course by the time I went across the lake I had to step in a puddle before getting onto the ice, thank goodness for water proof boots.
On Sunday, we left at 3:00 am to head to the airport. We didn't get to Merida until the evening. After we arrived at the airport, we ate a large buffet lunch. I tried a lot of foods that I have never seen before, and I still couldn't tell you what they were. At home, I am the pickiest eatter in the world, however in Mexico, I am trying a lot of new foods, most of them are good. My host mother does not speak English, which is interesting because I don't really speak much Spanish. I came in knowing about 10 words total. At first I didn't understand anything, however, I am learning fast. Today when my host mother was speaking, I understood about 40% of what she was saying, which may not seem like much, but it's a huge improvment from before. In class I learned how to say useful phrases like "No entiendo," which help make the communicating process at home a little easier. I still need to learn to use actually sentences, and I have a lot of vocab to learn. However, I've learned so much in two days, I can't even imagine how much I will learn by the end of the 5 weeks. Having a host mom that speaks no english really makes me learn the language, so I will get a lot more out of my experience here. Beside my Spanish class, I have a culture class. Culture class is a lot of fun. We go on trips around Merida. Today, we went to get hot chocolate (I know, hot chocolate in 90 degree weather may not sound appitizing, but it was delicious!). They make hot chocolate completely differently. Yesterday, we learned about the bus system.
I'm glad that I live with Katie! She helps me out a lot. She really helps me communicate with Senora. We live in the cutest room with our own walk in closet and bathroom. The kitchen is huge, and made of beautiful tile. Outside our room is a cute little indoor patio type thing with plants. I love it. Today, we had fun on the bus! I have never really rode on a public bus before, so this whole system is completely new to me. Here, it is different than the U.S. Instead of having bus stops, planned routes, and pick up times, you just stand along a busy road and have to wave at any oncoming bus that has the name of your destination written on the window. It's a pretty bumpy ride. When you want to get off, you have to stumble to the front, or yell stop. It only cost 5 pesos and you can stay on the bus for as long as you please, and don't really have to transfer. I really like having the oppurtunity to ride public transportation, since at home I live in the suburbs, and cars are necessary to get around. On the way home today, we thought that we may be a little lost, however two of my favorite things from home helped guide our walk. One was a painting of Winnie the Pooh on a building. The other was a 1972 Chevelle, the same car my dad fixed up for my when I was 16, except it's gold instead of orange.
Oh, and my new cell is:
999-264-3916, add 01152 if you are calling from the states.
Mexico rules.
I can't believe we only have a couple days before bio boot camp and the trip. I'm ready to bundle up and get outside.
I'm really excited, and very nervous at the same time about leaving for Mexico. I'm extremely insecure about speaking Spanish. I took one semester at Mont Co, but we didn't ever actually speak Spanish :/, so I can read it, but understanding/ speaking it may be an entirely different story. I'm really nervous about being in the city. Also, I never really spend time in cities with the exception of Albuquerque.
I'm really anxious and excited to get back out to the field. Doing research and getting to spend everyday outside over the summer was the best experience of my life. I'm prepared with my field clothes/ camelbak/ SPF 60.
I think the only things worse than packing are funerals and eye doctors. It took me two days of packing and repacking to be content. I thought that I could fit everything into one monstorous bag, but couldn't. Oh well. I'm preparing for the flight with lots of gum. Despite the fact that I've been on 10 planes in the past year, my ears pop like crazy every single landing.
I am really, really, excited about getting outside and hik