June 24th, 2009
Chris and I had another very eventful day with our host family. It seems as if our daily conversations continue to evolve into more detailed explanations, which are extremely enjoyable and altogether preferable to the choppy one word answers from Level I. Chris tends to lead all stories into a tone of melancholy which I gladly reverse into a fit of laughter. Today Donna Francisca taught Chris to eat “the Maya way” with no utensils, of which I managed to avoid at all costs. Somehow eating pureed squash with your bare hands isn’t a skill I’m looking to perfect. Several times throughout the meal Chris offered his habanera pepper to me, which I flatly refused in Maya. Donna Francisca quite enjoyed this exchange of antics, which made our visit seem like old friends that have known each other for eons. Before we departed she offered us mangos to take for later, handing Chris three brilliant orange fruit, before presenting three to me. I smiled and politely asked my host for the yaax mangos, which caused a huge grin on her face and three shiny green fruit of my very own.
After class Tim and I went for a very relaxing dip in the pool at the Pickled Onion. It was extremely refreshing and once again I felt the weight lifted from my lungs and the task of breathing eased. We spent a little over an hour soaking in the warm sun, and the delightful feel of the water before returning to the Sacbe and my evening class.
We began our lesson by discussing every body part imagined in Maya, Connie standing up in her Hawaiian print capris and pointing to her buttocks as she asked Don Humberto the appropriate terminology. Afterwards my class left to partake in the Festival of Saint John, listening to the lighthearted music of the jarana and young Maya girls dancing in their brightly embroidered huipils. The colorful parade seemed to walk on for hours before returning to the small bright blue chapel where the many children enjoyed the spoils of five piñatas, though hidden among the many treasures was the dead carcass of a large green frog. Soon it was launched into the crowd from one side to the other, Allison and I running for cover to the side of the field where a row of small houses stood with dozens of Maya women dressed in their traditional huipil. Mark on the otherhand couldn’t contain his laughter and nearly rolled to the ground in a fit of giggles, which even today when timed perfectly with a sip of limonada can produce a scene that is altogether very enjoyable to watch as he struggles to contain his laughter. During these proceedings the many children decided to place the dead amphibian on Connie’s backpack, which she did not notice until many minutes later when she realized that they were all staring at her back.
Since the festival seemed to drag on into the hours of dusk I finally snuck off to return to the bungalow for Tim and our walk to the Chac Mool for dinner. As I walked along the main road back to the Sacbe, a minivan halted beside me and the smiling face of Don Alberto and Donna Francisca waved from inside the small interior saying, “Ola Flor.” They asked my destination and gladly offered a lift, which I accepted and thus mere minutes later arrived back at the hotel. Dinner was a traditional breaded chicken dish with fresh vegetables and rice. On our return to the room we did not have any run-ins with Simon, who we named after Simon from American Idol since his bark his worse than his bite. Once again our bungalow proved to be nearly bug free thanks to the continued spraying of doors and windows, with only a few specimens to whack with the flyswatter. Our major complaint is that with the windows tightly sealed during the night, the air is quite stifling and altogether unpleasant. As such we plan on returning to Merida this weekend for a bit of a break from the heat.
June 25th, 2009
My daily wish for pancakes was finally answered this morning with a stack of three fluffy hotcakes, along with a dish of pineapple and banana. Even though they were delicious and satisfied my pancake urge for today, I have a feeling I will still wish for them tomorrow. During class I developed a migraine and after a dose of Tylenol still felt the throbbing pain in my forehead. At the conclusion of class it had peaked into a full-blown migraine, so I took several Excedrin and tried to sleep it off in the semi-darkness of my bungalow. Since any form of bright light only caused more pain I stayed at the Sacbe instead of venturing to Donna Francisca’s since it would only have made the situation worse.
Several hours later, another dose of Tylenol and my second class of the day, Tim and I walked to the Pickled Onion for some pool time and something a bit more familiar for dinner. The pool was extremely refreshing, except of course when an enormous beetle the size of my hand emerged from the cloudy depths before disappearing again. Needless to say we stayed at the opposite end of the pool. I had an amazing bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with French fries and a chelada Montejo, while Tim enjoyed a Caesar salad and a Corona. Obviously we both ordered a brownie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Afterwards we used the internet which is available for the first time at the Pickled Onion, though there is only one laptop available for use, which is enough as long as the entire class doesn’t go at the exact same time. It was so nice to have an evening all to ourselves to enjoy the pool and our long awaited time together.
June 26th, 2009
Once again breakfast consisted of an egg and chaya omelet with whole wheat toast and a glass of mango juice. As usual, group activities seem a bit disorganized as the itinerary listed a seven thirty departure, yet breakfast was just being served and the van did not arrive until eight fifteen. It was very frustrating to sit in the very back of the van since Level I pre-boarded at the Flycatcher before it picked up Level II at the Chac Mool. Not one speck of cool air found its way to the back since the last vents were positioned above the second to last row, which meant it was equally as hot inside the bus as outside.
Our first stop was at Labna were once again Tomás lectured for far too long in the blazing sun on topics of rather little interest to the majority of us. Before we arrived at the municipal center of the site we stopped in some near shade to discuss the colonial occupation of Labna. As the group moved on Tim wasn’t feeling too great and at my request sat down to regain his strength. I am quite use to Meg getting dehydrated and recognized the blurred vision immediately, forcing him to drink as much water as possible. As his strength returned the driver found a baby parrot which he scooped into his straw hat and brought over for us to admire. Instead of rejoining the group, I took Tim back to the entrance where I purchased more water and two cans of peach juice for us to enjoy while getting some much needed sugar into our systems.
We walked back to the archway at Labna where Allison took our picture before slowly making our way down the sacbe to the palace. Mark and I discussed the few calendrical glyphs, which is always fun to practice with other students. Then Tim and I found a shady spot to rest during the never-ending lecture from our resident archaeologist. The large van would have been a welcome retreat after the heat and sun had it not been for the lack of air conditioning making its way to our row in the very back. Our next stop was the small town of Maní famous for the Book of Chilam Balam of Maní in which they prophesize the arrival of the Spaniards. Tomás delivered another rambling lecture at the cathedral where the sun was so intense that you could feel the skin on the top of your feet burning. When we walked into the interior of the church, which was in the process of being retiled and restored, it was my turn to feel weak from the blistering sun and lack of food. After locating the well from the Old Lady of Maní myth, Tim leaned over to take a picture of its dark depths for me, before we found a bench in the chapel to relax our tired bodies. It was very exciting for me to discover that the well actually exists, and would have been even more exciting if I had a chance to locate the church archives concerning the well since it was built during the days of Bishop Landa.
Lunch was served at the Titul Xiu Restaurant in Maní famous for its Poc Chuc. The tall glass of jamaica was particularly refreshing and my stomach was pleased to finally get some food. The last stop of the day was Uxmal, an hour ride from Maní, where my first task was to purchase a phone card as I had done on my trip last year. It was so good to hear Cherylie’s voice and to spend a longer time catching up on events not yet posted in my blog. As the group departed for a tour of Uxmal, Tim and I decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream before I took him on a private tour of Uxmal, slipping around the Nunnery to avoid the rest of the group who were still at the Pyramid of the Magician listening to Tomás. It was so nice to get pictures of the site with a brilliant blue sky instead of the gray clouds from my previous trip. Tim seemed glad to see more of what I study and impressed by the size and complexity of the site compared to Labna. When we completed the tour, the group ordered drinks at the bar, Tim and I having a cold Sol, before cooling down in the large swimming pool, which had a few too many dead bugs for comfort. Level II and Level I stayed largely separate, with Level I behaving a bit immature given the amount of alcohol they consumed.
The light show was as odd as last year, yet the silhouette of the ruins as each building was lit during the narrative was quite beautiful with flashes of lightning on the horizon and a drizzle of cool rain splashing on our bare arms and shoulders.
When we returned to the Sacbe after nine o’clock the driver had to return to Merida and so Pablo, who was returning to the city as well, asked if we would like to come instead of catching the bus in the morning. We packed an overnight back as quickly as possible, not even really knowing what I had packed, and soon we were on our way to Merida. It was after eleven o’clock when we arrived and finally settled into our air conditioned room at the Hotel San Juan.
June 27th, 2009
After a very restful night sleep snuggled under the sheet with a wave of air conditioning holding the heat at bay, we showered and went for coffee and tea at the Maya Chocolate Café. Before we left I also purchased a little something for Joe, walking another block to what I would consider the Maya version of Lush for specialty soap, one crafted especially for my mosquito bites made from indigenous plants and fruits. We spent much of the morning basking in the sun while remaining in the cool, glistening water of the pool. We even managed to get a few pictures with the camera placed on a nearby lounge and set to automatic capture. Lunch was near the zocalo and consisted of quesadillas for Tim and a ham and cheese sandwich for me.
I spent the afternoon completing the mass of homework that John assigned so that the rest of the weekend would be free to enjoy with Tim. What started as a simple hug turned into perhaps thirty minutes of tears and a never-ending embrace as I tried to push back the eventual departure of Tim and the tears that would accompany it. I had hoped to wait until Monday to cry after he left, but I know that it will arrive sooner rather than later and I will once again be alone. It is amazing how a complete stranger can grow so quickly into someone you love and cherish and I know that when he leaves it will feel like someone has violently ripped out a part of myself.
I wanted to have an enjoyable dinner somewhere that was secluded and romantic; hence I knew right away that I wanted to go to Pancho’s from last summer. It has a huge patio overgrown with palms and soft lighting that makes you forget that you are in the hustle and bustle of the city. I had my first margarita of the trip while we snacked on plantain chips with a honey barbeque dipping sauce. We also ordered a plate of four cheese empanadas, and a chaya artichoke dip with more plantain chips. Everything was top notch, including the flaming coffee that Tim ordered and they prepared tableside. As they lit the coffee on fire the waiter transferred it from metal pitcher to metal pitcher, the honey brown liquid accented by a dancing blue flame along the stream of coffee. The top of the glass was rimmed with sugar with a final touch of ice cream floating in the middle. Sometimes you almost wish you liked coffee just to order something like that. When we returned to the room it was already late and we were ready for bed.
June 28th, 2009
I spent much of my morning trying to catch up on my blog before internet disappears once again. In fact, as I completed each day I made a new posting just to make sure that nothing got left simply because I ran out of time. Tim and I went to a nearby hotel for breakfast, overlooking a small park while eating eggs with ham and toast with strawberry jelly. We showered and packed before checking out, using the internet one last time to purchase tickets to a White Sox and Orioles game when I return. And yes, I am going to wear black and orange.
After we checked out, it was a short taxi ride to the bus terminal where we had to wait nearly an hour for the buses departure at two thirty. I was feeling a bit dizzy and having some trouble breathing, so it was Tim’s turn to force water down my throat, along with a can of peach juice, and a pack of crackers. The bus was not very cool and smelled strongly of piss, so I was very pleased when I recognized Santa Elena and we disembarked for the rather long walk back to the Sacbe. Tim was surprised at the distance that I walk nearly every day to reach Donna Francisca since it was his first time seeing the center of town.
Once again, we spent some time consoling each other and drying tears since tomorrow we will probably not get a decent goodbye when the bus arrives. We went to the Pickled Onion one last time for dinner, Tim ordering quesadillas, and I a cheeseburger with fries. Of course I probably don’t have to say that we ordered brownies with ice cream. The evening was much cooler than the last few nights so we sat holding hands as the sun set below the horizon and the sky was painted in the colors of dusk.
The walk back to the Sacbe brought another first during this trip, the sudden appearance of a large am on my ankle, a load yelp from me and sinking even closer into the side of Tim as we unlocked the door to the bungalow and ducked inside. Still there was nothing too unmanageable in our room…though a careful reader will notice the bit of foreshadowing as the spiders tend to be getting a bit friendlier each day now that one has actually crawled up my leg. It was extremely hot in the room and I am sure it was a combination of sadness, heat, and tears that made sleep quite difficult.
June 29th, 2009
This morning Tim and I cuddled for one last time before we got dressed and walked the short path to the main road. Since Tim’s arrival at what would have been the most stressful and emotionally painful portion of my trip I have been able to remain positive and in good spirits. Already his departure has taken its toll as the heat, bugs, and lack of any sort of creature comfort becomes ever more obviously lacking. At night I could sleep peacefully knowing that he was there to protect me and now I am constantly worried about what I will find. I only managed to get to breakfast after some time in my room trying to compose myself. As I walked back to my now empty bungalow Allison gave me a much needed hug to let me know she was there if I needed anything.
Returning to my room after class I had the unfortunate luck of discovering a very large spider, nearly the size of my fist. Chris and Mark noticed me standing in the doorway with my can of Raid and came to lend a hand, first locating the sneaky critter as it ducked behind the curtain before chasing it around the wall with my flip flop and smashing it into the white tile as I covered it in a pool of the toxic spray. Its shaking body was enough for Mark to laugh nearly as hard as when the dead frog was tossed into the crowd. At least I am good for a bit of a laugh. I am off to my host’s for lunch and have just lost electricity to the ceiling fan and light, which I pray will be restored before my return. I just want my Tim back so my mind can be at ease and the tears can stop rolling down my check. Three evenings of this seems practically impossible and I am sure that sleep will be very difficult. I did not expect it to be this dismal already, but I feel as if I am missing a half of myself.
On a happier note, Chris and I have each been given our own family this week, with me continuing to visit Donna Francisca and Don Alberto by myself. I assume that means things are going well. I made the very long walk to Donna Francisca’s by myself, walking slower to keep from getting too overheated. It took some time for them to realize that Chris was not coming back this week until we moved on to some real conversation. We talked about my weekend in Merida, Tim’s departure and my family, aided largely by pictures that I had on my memory stick. They thought that Tim was a very handsome guy and that I looked stunning with straight hair. Donna Francisca was especially shocked to discover that I was twenty four, since I do not look my age. The picture of Megan and I made equally as much commotion with every member of the family wanting to see the identical twins, and of course hear her life story as well, the first question as usual regarding her marriage status.
My return trip to the bungalow proved to be quite miserable as I suffered from a full bladder and a lack of water which meant walking even faster in the blazing sun. My breathing was significantly heavy and as I finally arrived at my bungalow, now known as “the palace” I collapsed on the bed with the ceiling visibly spinning above me. I am certain that if the walk had been just a bit longer I would have blacked out from dehydration. Since Mark and Chris have seen my bungalow after this morning’s am (spider) hunting mission, I have been informed that what I consider to be the rough conditions of Bungalow One are even worse in the single rooms of my classmates, hence earning it the ever appropriate name assigned by Mark.
I barely had an hour to recover before our evening class, which I spent trying to cool down and drink as much water as possible. The two hours of class felt more like six hours with its conclusion being a very welcome event. After class we had a lecture by John on the milpa which I unfortunately was already familiar with from last year along with Christa, as well as Pablo who has been absent all day, not surprisingly taking an extra long weekend since he went to Progreso with his friends.
I was happy to have Allison return to my bungalow if only to borrow my flyswatter for a pesky critter of her own, but it was nice to have someone there as I searched for any unwanted visitors. I awoke several times during the night with leg cramps, the last occurring at about five thirty and lasting nearly thirty minutes. I simply laid there cradling my leg, while tears rolled down my cheek and I prayed for the muscle to suddenly relax, but nothing seemed to relieve the tension. I am guessing that it is due to the lack of water that I obviously did not drink during the day, but perhaps that is because I am crying it all out. Needless to say, my leg is very sore and walking extremely difficult until it stretches back out.
I forgot to mention that the final count of mosquito bites was nineteen for Tim and so far seventy four for me. Of course his will heal much quicker given that he is much more disciplined in leaving them alone.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Ek' Balam
*** Note: This posting, as well as the Yaax Mango, and Pictures posting are all new. Please post all comments on the most recent one. ***
June 23rd, 2009
Donna Francisca asked for a small English lesson so we wrote several phrases in Maya, Spanish, and English while she slowly tried to pronounce each syllable. Then each of us took turns writing our full name and saying it in English for her. During our mini lesson, Gatishnawe, their tiny white cat, climbed the rungs of my rickety wooden chair and began to tickle my legs before taking her rather long claws and sinking them into my flesh. Soon after she was sent out the back door with yells of “Foolish cat” from our host. Thankfully she only managed to scratch the scabs off two mosquito bites. It feels much easier this year to communicate with my family and I am actually enjoying the fact that we are having a real conversation instead of wondering for three hours what we’ve actually been saying.
Since I neglected to mention Tim yesterday I will say that during our break together we had fun with peel and kep, just so my readers don’t think that I Ieft him stranded in some jungle to be attacked by the baalamo’ob. During our afternoon class Don Humberto took us out to a newly discovered, unexcavated site called Ek’ Balam, not to be confused with the Ek’ Balam famous for its stucco façade just outside of Valladolid. Tim came on our hike, with Don Humberto lecturing in Maya about the local plants and clearing our path with a whack of the machete. The ruins were significantly smaller than Nopat, which they are planning to journey to next week. Since Tim will already be gone I do not plan on attending that grueling hike once again or braving the ticks since I have seen the glory of Nopat already. When we returned to the Sacbe I took my third shower of the day and counted a grand total of fifty two mosquito bites, Tim only suffering from one.
We had very interesting torta de papas for dinner, essentially potato pancakes with cheese and a salad. Tim and I left dinner early and on our return trip, arm-in-arm, flashlight scanning the path ahead, I grabbed his arm and pulled back. “NO! Don’t walk any further.” Just inches from our feet was the largest fuzzy, black spider I have ever seen in my life. It was easily larger than the size of my outstretched hand, sending shivers down my back. We walked a very large circle around Simon, who we now keep an eye out for every night, and got a little bit closer until we unlocked the door to our very hot bungalow and shut the door tightly behind us. I wish I had taken a picture, but sticking around Simon for even a moment more proved to be impossible.
June 23rd, 2009
This morning we had a bowl of fruit with toast outside once again where the morning mosquitoes had a much better smorgasbord than the one served on the table. I stayed mostly away from the fruit, except for the few slices of banana, since papaya and watermelon are definitely not my favorites. Class proved to be just as informative as yesterday and I am really enjoying the format and teaching style of John.
During my time with Donna Francisca we walked around their backyard while Don Alberto discussed the various types of plants and varieties of fruit. Chris wanted to hear more about their livestock and so we were introduced to their two rather large ducks and swine flu carrying pigs, which there were eleven. Don’t worry, we only got close enough to feed them their morning corn gruel so there is only a small chance of us actually not getting sick.
Donna Francisca asked for a small English lesson so we wrote several phrases in Maya, Spanish, and English while she slowly tried to pronounce each syllable. Then each of us took turns writing our full name and saying it in English for her. During our mini lesson, Gatishnawe, their tiny white cat, climbed the rungs of my rickety wooden chair and began to tickle my legs before taking her rather long claws and sinking them into my flesh. Soon after she was sent out the back door with yells of “Foolish cat” from our host. Thankfully she only managed to scratch the scabs off two mosquito bites. It feels much easier this year to communicate with my family and I am actually enjoying the fact that we are having a real conversation instead of wondering for three hours what we’ve actually been saying.
Since I neglected to mention Tim yesterday I will say that during our break together we had fun with peel and kep, just so my readers don’t think that I Ieft him stranded in some jungle to be attacked by the baalamo’ob. During our afternoon class Don Humberto took us out to a newly discovered, unexcavated site called Ek’ Balam, not to be confused with the Ek’ Balam famous for its stucco façade just outside of Valladolid. Tim came on our hike, with Don Humberto lecturing in Maya about the local plants and clearing our path with a whack of the machete. The ruins were significantly smaller than Nopat, which they are planning to journey to next week. Since Tim will already be gone I do not plan on attending that grueling hike once again or braving the ticks since I have seen the glory of Nopat already. When we returned to the Sacbe I took my third shower of the day and counted a grand total of fifty two mosquito bites, Tim only suffering from one.
We had very interesting torta de papas for dinner, essentially potato pancakes with cheese and a salad. Tim and I left dinner early and on our return trip, arm-in-arm, flashlight scanning the path ahead, I grabbed his arm and pulled back. “NO! Don’t walk any further.” Just inches from our feet was the largest fuzzy, black spider I have ever seen in my life. It was easily larger than the size of my outstretched hand, sending shivers down my back. We walked a very large circle around Simon, who we now keep an eye out for every night, and got a little bit closer until we unlocked the door to our very hot bungalow and shut the door tightly behind us. I wish I had taken a picture, but sticking around Simon for even a moment more proved to be impossible.
Yaax Mango u yotoch Donna Francisca
June 22nd, 2009
Our first breakfast at the Sacbe was served in an outside cabana with a palm thatch roof by the French woman that owns the small seven bungalow establishment. We had a simple egg and chaya omelet, whole wheat toast with strawberry jelly, mango juice, and your choice of tea or coffee. Our daily schedule for the next two weeks in Santa Elena will consist of a two and a half hour class starting at nine o’clock, time with the host family from twelve thirty until three, and class again from five o’clock to seven.
Class with John proved to be much more enjoyable than with Ismael, partially because he teaches in English, and partially because his teaching style is such that even after one class I feel that I have learned more than the three weeks combined with Ismael. John is very good at explaining grammatical components of the language that have been lacking from all three of my Level I and Level II professors combined. After class we were assigned our host families for our stay in Santa Elena and I was thrilled to both be paired with Chris and to be assigned with Donna Francisca and Don Alberto, my same family from last year.
The walk to Donna Francisca’s was every bit as long as I remembered and equally as hot. Upon our arrival Donna Francisca and her husband embraced me as if we had not parted for a year and welcomed us back into their home. We sat at the kitchen table while she prepared lunch. She remembered xLeah breaking the cabinet, and she remembered teaching me to make tortillas. She still has difficulty saying my name and has taken to calling me Flor since it means flower in Spanish.
Before lunch was served her daughter Ruby brought us each a mango, which I politely declined since they are not particularly a favorite of mine, which prompted a discussion on what I do not like about mangos. Before long everyone was laughing, and Ruby was preparing two dishes of yaax mango, meaning green, or not ripe. The first dish was thin slices of mango sprinkled with salt, and the second dish was thin slices of mango, lime juice, and chili flakes. Both were personal favorites of Ruby since she too does not prefer ripe mangos, and they have become two of my favorite little snacks from my host family.
Of course lunch was delicious, as expected, consisting of chicken, rice, peppers, avocadoes, bean, and Donna Francisca’s fresh made tortillas. I had forgotten how amazing a fresh corn tortilla can be, and was delighted to enjoy them once again. It took thirty minutes to return to the Sacbe with an hour to relax before the evening class. Don Humberto and Andres are teaching in the afternoon, focusing mainly on vocabulary. Today we discussed weather, plants, and animals.
After panuchos at the Chac Mool, the rest of the evening was spent trying to stay cool before drifting off the sleep. We only had a few beetles or moths in the room, and certainly nothing unmanageable for now.
Our first breakfast at the Sacbe was served in an outside cabana with a palm thatch roof by the French woman that owns the small seven bungalow establishment. We had a simple egg and chaya omelet, whole wheat toast with strawberry jelly, mango juice, and your choice of tea or coffee. Our daily schedule for the next two weeks in Santa Elena will consist of a two and a half hour class starting at nine o’clock, time with the host family from twelve thirty until three, and class again from five o’clock to seven.
Class with John proved to be much more enjoyable than with Ismael, partially because he teaches in English, and partially because his teaching style is such that even after one class I feel that I have learned more than the three weeks combined with Ismael. John is very good at explaining grammatical components of the language that have been lacking from all three of my Level I and Level II professors combined. After class we were assigned our host families for our stay in Santa Elena and I was thrilled to both be paired with Chris and to be assigned with Donna Francisca and Don Alberto, my same family from last year.
The walk to Donna Francisca’s was every bit as long as I remembered and equally as hot. Upon our arrival Donna Francisca and her husband embraced me as if we had not parted for a year and welcomed us back into their home. We sat at the kitchen table while she prepared lunch. She remembered xLeah breaking the cabinet, and she remembered teaching me to make tortillas. She still has difficulty saying my name and has taken to calling me Flor since it means flower in Spanish.
Before lunch was served her daughter Ruby brought us each a mango, which I politely declined since they are not particularly a favorite of mine, which prompted a discussion on what I do not like about mangos. Before long everyone was laughing, and Ruby was preparing two dishes of yaax mango, meaning green, or not ripe. The first dish was thin slices of mango sprinkled with salt, and the second dish was thin slices of mango, lime juice, and chili flakes. Both were personal favorites of Ruby since she too does not prefer ripe mangos, and they have become two of my favorite little snacks from my host family.
Of course lunch was delicious, as expected, consisting of chicken, rice, peppers, avocadoes, bean, and Donna Francisca’s fresh made tortillas. I had forgotten how amazing a fresh corn tortilla can be, and was delighted to enjoy them once again. It took thirty minutes to return to the Sacbe with an hour to relax before the evening class. Don Humberto and Andres are teaching in the afternoon, focusing mainly on vocabulary. Today we discussed weather, plants, and animals.
After panuchos at the Chac Mool, the rest of the evening was spent trying to stay cool before drifting off the sleep. We only had a few beetles or moths in the room, and certainly nothing unmanageable for now.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tim´s Arrival
June 17th, 2009
Class seemed to drag on forever today, especially considering that there are only three days until Tim’s arrival. After class we went as a group to a local pizzeria where we had Hawaiian pizza while literally baking ourselves in the small restaurant with the heat of the oven only a few feet away and the humidity of Merida pouring in the open café. Since we had a mandatory lecture at five o’clock many of us decided to stay in el centro to do some shopping, hammocks being at the top of the list. Mark and I discovered the Popol Nah, a small shop specializing in cotton and nylon hammocks where the shopkeeper, Ruben, opened various options in many hues and hung them across the small store. The selection of matrimonial sized hammocks was considerably smaller, but I settled on a cornflower blue interwoven with a midnight blue for the price of about one hundred US dollars, slightly less than the going rate since Mark and I were both purchasing one.
Afterward Ruben took us across the street to show me the filigree jewelry that I fell in love with last year at the Hacienda Ochil. He seemed eager to make another sale and quoted one hundred dollars for a lovely cuff bracelet that was probably worth more than two hundred. I think it would be exactly what Megan was looking for, and will probably purchase it after I consult with her via email.
The evening lecture was delivered in English with a heavy Australian accent and proved to be as boring as expected since it discussed historical linguistics. When she began the second topic out of four I knew we were in for a long night thanks to her longwinded explanations. All I could think about was the exam to follow tomorrow morning. As soon as the lecture concluded Connie proceeded to ask multiple questions, which only solicited longer responses from our lecturer. It was with much pleasure that Allison, Mark, and I bolted afterward, racing to the bus for our return home and sleep.
June 18th, 2009
Breakfast brought another one of my favorite dishes prepared by my host, a ham a cheese sandwich. It may seem quite simple, but the manner in which she toasts the sandwich over the stove in a double sided pan with handles seems to create an entire pocket of warm melted cheese and ham in a lightly toasted bun. Upon my arrival at class I was extremely disappointed to learn that we were taking two exams instead of one. However, I was quite excited when Ismael passed out the translation exam with questions in Maya concerning a text in Maya, especially considering that I am excellent at translating. I was even more pleased to discover that the second exam was based on vocabulary and that even though it was a verbal exam I managed to score one hundred percent.
After the exam we spent the rest of the class playing hangman in Maya, one team calling themselves the baalams, meaning jaguars, and Mark naming the other team nojoch baalams, meaning large jaguars, which only sent Allison into a fit of giggles. Since the Maya alphabet is quite a bit larger including all vowel variants for short tone, high tone, long tone, and glottalized, no one managed to guess the various words. With only three days left in Merida, Mark and I split immediately after class for the bus station near the zocalo for a final trip to Progreso.
Upon our arrival I enjoyed one last dish of garlic shrimp before renting a beach chair from the restaurant, a luxury I did not enjoy on my previous visits, but worth the extra pesos since the afternoon is so windy that lying on the ground is like being sandblasted. At lunch Mark’s straw blew out of his glass so fast that it actually appeared to disappear in thin air, followed shortly by his napkin blowing away so fast that it was at the other end of the beach in mere seconds. What was even more entertaining was watching his brain literally think that the napkin would be at his feet as he bent to pick it up, only to realize in slow motion that logically it was impossible.
About an hour after stretching out on my beach chair, the sky darkened and a storm seemed imminent. Just as we were packing up thunder roared across the sky and we left for the bus to Merida. Since I had no homework, the rest of the evening was spent relaxing for once and trying to catch up on some much needed sleep.
June 19th, 2009
Since there are only two days remaining before my departure to the Hotel San Juan I was desperately hoping for Blanca’s amazing cinnamon pancakes, but was equally as pleased with the scrambled eggs generously sprinkled with onions and bacon. Of course breakfast would not be complete without a banana and an apple wrapped in plastic for my break during class. Our very last day of instruction with Ismael was spent competing as two teams in a Maya crossword puzzle. Allison, Chris, Pablo and I proved quite a team and won the competition with flying colors. Each row or column was presented as clue in Maya to a verb or vocabulary term we have learned in the past three weeks. Afterward, we played a Maya spin the bottle game with the empty plastic water bottle only pointing at me twice. My first question asked where I really wanted to go before I died, obviously a very loaded question for a Semester at Sea alum who has no idea how to say, “How about another semester at sea,” in Maya. My second question asked the name of my first boyfriend, which of course is Tim, so it really threw everyone off.
After class Allison and I finally enjoyed a luxury we have waited three long weeks to have dance over our taste buds. Hint: think Maya chocolate. Only one block away from our class at the UNAM we sat in the shaded chocolate café enjoying a warm, fudgy, chocolate brownie with pecans and dripping in chocolate sauce. Allison had a chocolate espresso, while I sipped a warm cup of bright pink hibiscus tea. She wanted to go to the mall to shop at a popular Latin American clothing store, and so I decided to tag along since shopping is a very girly activity and the mall was heavily air conditioned. Before we left the café I mentioned a small Mexican boutique that had caught my eye in the Gran Hotel near the main square, so she decided to check it out with me since shopping was the main activity on our afternoon agenda.
The windows of the Mexicanismo boutique were filled with gorgeous dresses in organic, natural fabrics with the most beautiful embroidery I have ever seen, one dress in particular catching my eye. When we entered the air conditioned store we were told that all dresses were one size and altered to fit. Thankfully Allison’s excellent Chilean/Cuban Spanish proved quite useful as the two dresses I wanted to try were on the mannequins.
As soon as I put on the second dress, came out of the fitting room and had it pinned to fit I couldn’t stop smiling. The white linen hugged my body in all the right places and made me feel every bit like a princess. As I turned in the lighting the small silver and gold threads caught the light and I could imagine a beautiful beach with the sun shining on the iridescent threads. It was absolutely perfect. Allison was so excited and conveyed to the shopkeeper that I wanted to purchase the dress. He promised to have the alterations complete by six o’clock and whisked the gown upstairs for its immediate transformation. As we left the boutique and stood waiting on the corner for the bus, Allison was so excited that she gave me a giant hug. I think we both had huge grins plastered to our faces for the remainder of the day. I couldn’t believe that I had found the dress, without even looking. It only took one walk past the boutique earlier that week and I couldn’t shake the silhouette from my mind. In my heart I know if I had not gone, that dress would have been exactly what I would have looked for in every dress I tried on afterwards.
Our trip to the mall was equally successful, Allison purchasing a few tops, and I eyeing the ice cream kiosk each time we passed. Somehow brownies and ice cream didn’t seem like the most nutritional lunch, but they looked so delicious in the glass front freezer pre-scooped into perfectly shaped bowlfuls. After a glass of refreshing jamaica Allison and I returned to the main square in the rain where I purchased the silver filigree bracelet for Megan and made a final exchange of US dollars into Mexican pesos. Still raining we entered the boutique for my fitting. It looked stunning, not me of course since I was covered in sweat with frizzy curly hair, but the dress was amazing and more than I could have imagined. With my wedding gown carefully wrapped we walked a few feet to the Gran Hotel restaurant for a glass of wine while listening to live wooden flute music in the waning storm.
Barely twenty minutes after returning to my host house Mark and Connie arrived for our farewell dinner at Roberto’s restaurant called La Calle. Connie’s host mom, Anna Rosa, and dad, Roberto, had sent a charming note with her to class inviting Connie and I for dinner and music that evening before our departure to Santa Elena. While the free quesadilla and fishbowl sized glass of jamaica were delicious and the entertainment provided by Roberto’s guitar playing and Anna Rosa’s singing were well received the night seemed to drag on and I simply wanted to sleep. The warm air and nearby smokers were enough to bring my early departure, but not before saying goodbye to our hosts and signing the wall of the restaurant in Maya.
June 20th, 2009
Since I actually managed to sleep in for once during this trip, Blanca served me a bowl of honey corn flakes and a banana for breakfast while she made the final touches to homemade lasagna for lunch. After I finished packing Blanca fed me my last meal consisting of a very delicious dish of lasagna, with seconds, and fresh bread. Finally my bags were packed and in the car, I said my goodbyes to Xavier and was on my way to the hotel with Blanca.
Check-in went smoothly, and as I made my way to my air conditioned room past the glistening surface of the pool I recognized John, the Level II professor for the remainder of the course. I decided to make a final walk to the main zocalo to purchase a book from Dantes, take pictures of the main square, and cathedral, and of course the boutique where I bought my dress the previous day, before finding a cute little shop selling gourmet soap made of natural ingredients, some of my personal favorites being the coconut, lime, chocolate, and xtabentun. I only purchased a few bars and have decided to return to acquire a few more at a later date.
Upon my return I laid by the pool for a few hours enjoying the intermittent clouds for a brief respite from the sun. It was deserted in the interior courtyard and I was extremely glad to have such a beautiful pool to myself, completely undisturbed for the remainder of the afternoon. By the time I returned to my room it felt quite like an ice box, but it felt absolutely amazing. I turned on the American Network, which was airing Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, and took a very long, hot shower for the first time since my arrival. Afterwards, I leisurely got dressed while preparing a final blog before my departure to Santa Elena and the void of wireless.
Soon it was dark outside and I asked the hotel to call a taxi for my trip to the airport. When I arrived there was a mass of Mexicans already waiting at the international gate, and I felt quite conspicuous as the only foreigner waiting for their special someone to arrive. Once, I thought I saw Tim turn the corner into the baggage claim, but minutes ticked on and more and more passengers completed their visit with Customs, but no Tim. My view continued to be blocked, and before I knew it a very familiar face was standing right in front of me. It seemed so crowded and yet at the same time it felt as if no one else were there but us. Minutes later we were riding in the taxi back to the hotel and the start of an amazing nine, very hot, days.
Class seemed to drag on forever today, especially considering that there are only three days until Tim’s arrival. After class we went as a group to a local pizzeria where we had Hawaiian pizza while literally baking ourselves in the small restaurant with the heat of the oven only a few feet away and the humidity of Merida pouring in the open café. Since we had a mandatory lecture at five o’clock many of us decided to stay in el centro to do some shopping, hammocks being at the top of the list. Mark and I discovered the Popol Nah, a small shop specializing in cotton and nylon hammocks where the shopkeeper, Ruben, opened various options in many hues and hung them across the small store. The selection of matrimonial sized hammocks was considerably smaller, but I settled on a cornflower blue interwoven with a midnight blue for the price of about one hundred US dollars, slightly less than the going rate since Mark and I were both purchasing one.
Afterward Ruben took us across the street to show me the filigree jewelry that I fell in love with last year at the Hacienda Ochil. He seemed eager to make another sale and quoted one hundred dollars for a lovely cuff bracelet that was probably worth more than two hundred. I think it would be exactly what Megan was looking for, and will probably purchase it after I consult with her via email.
The evening lecture was delivered in English with a heavy Australian accent and proved to be as boring as expected since it discussed historical linguistics. When she began the second topic out of four I knew we were in for a long night thanks to her longwinded explanations. All I could think about was the exam to follow tomorrow morning. As soon as the lecture concluded Connie proceeded to ask multiple questions, which only solicited longer responses from our lecturer. It was with much pleasure that Allison, Mark, and I bolted afterward, racing to the bus for our return home and sleep.
June 18th, 2009
Breakfast brought another one of my favorite dishes prepared by my host, a ham a cheese sandwich. It may seem quite simple, but the manner in which she toasts the sandwich over the stove in a double sided pan with handles seems to create an entire pocket of warm melted cheese and ham in a lightly toasted bun. Upon my arrival at class I was extremely disappointed to learn that we were taking two exams instead of one. However, I was quite excited when Ismael passed out the translation exam with questions in Maya concerning a text in Maya, especially considering that I am excellent at translating. I was even more pleased to discover that the second exam was based on vocabulary and that even though it was a verbal exam I managed to score one hundred percent.
After the exam we spent the rest of the class playing hangman in Maya, one team calling themselves the baalams, meaning jaguars, and Mark naming the other team nojoch baalams, meaning large jaguars, which only sent Allison into a fit of giggles. Since the Maya alphabet is quite a bit larger including all vowel variants for short tone, high tone, long tone, and glottalized, no one managed to guess the various words. With only three days left in Merida, Mark and I split immediately after class for the bus station near the zocalo for a final trip to Progreso.
Upon our arrival I enjoyed one last dish of garlic shrimp before renting a beach chair from the restaurant, a luxury I did not enjoy on my previous visits, but worth the extra pesos since the afternoon is so windy that lying on the ground is like being sandblasted. At lunch Mark’s straw blew out of his glass so fast that it actually appeared to disappear in thin air, followed shortly by his napkin blowing away so fast that it was at the other end of the beach in mere seconds. What was even more entertaining was watching his brain literally think that the napkin would be at his feet as he bent to pick it up, only to realize in slow motion that logically it was impossible.
About an hour after stretching out on my beach chair, the sky darkened and a storm seemed imminent. Just as we were packing up thunder roared across the sky and we left for the bus to Merida. Since I had no homework, the rest of the evening was spent relaxing for once and trying to catch up on some much needed sleep.
June 19th, 2009
Since there are only two days remaining before my departure to the Hotel San Juan I was desperately hoping for Blanca’s amazing cinnamon pancakes, but was equally as pleased with the scrambled eggs generously sprinkled with onions and bacon. Of course breakfast would not be complete without a banana and an apple wrapped in plastic for my break during class. Our very last day of instruction with Ismael was spent competing as two teams in a Maya crossword puzzle. Allison, Chris, Pablo and I proved quite a team and won the competition with flying colors. Each row or column was presented as clue in Maya to a verb or vocabulary term we have learned in the past three weeks. Afterward, we played a Maya spin the bottle game with the empty plastic water bottle only pointing at me twice. My first question asked where I really wanted to go before I died, obviously a very loaded question for a Semester at Sea alum who has no idea how to say, “How about another semester at sea,” in Maya. My second question asked the name of my first boyfriend, which of course is Tim, so it really threw everyone off.
After class Allison and I finally enjoyed a luxury we have waited three long weeks to have dance over our taste buds. Hint: think Maya chocolate. Only one block away from our class at the UNAM we sat in the shaded chocolate café enjoying a warm, fudgy, chocolate brownie with pecans and dripping in chocolate sauce. Allison had a chocolate espresso, while I sipped a warm cup of bright pink hibiscus tea. She wanted to go to the mall to shop at a popular Latin American clothing store, and so I decided to tag along since shopping is a very girly activity and the mall was heavily air conditioned. Before we left the café I mentioned a small Mexican boutique that had caught my eye in the Gran Hotel near the main square, so she decided to check it out with me since shopping was the main activity on our afternoon agenda.
The windows of the Mexicanismo boutique were filled with gorgeous dresses in organic, natural fabrics with the most beautiful embroidery I have ever seen, one dress in particular catching my eye. When we entered the air conditioned store we were told that all dresses were one size and altered to fit. Thankfully Allison’s excellent Chilean/Cuban Spanish proved quite useful as the two dresses I wanted to try were on the mannequins.
As soon as I put on the second dress, came out of the fitting room and had it pinned to fit I couldn’t stop smiling. The white linen hugged my body in all the right places and made me feel every bit like a princess. As I turned in the lighting the small silver and gold threads caught the light and I could imagine a beautiful beach with the sun shining on the iridescent threads. It was absolutely perfect. Allison was so excited and conveyed to the shopkeeper that I wanted to purchase the dress. He promised to have the alterations complete by six o’clock and whisked the gown upstairs for its immediate transformation. As we left the boutique and stood waiting on the corner for the bus, Allison was so excited that she gave me a giant hug. I think we both had huge grins plastered to our faces for the remainder of the day. I couldn’t believe that I had found the dress, without even looking. It only took one walk past the boutique earlier that week and I couldn’t shake the silhouette from my mind. In my heart I know if I had not gone, that dress would have been exactly what I would have looked for in every dress I tried on afterwards.
Our trip to the mall was equally successful, Allison purchasing a few tops, and I eyeing the ice cream kiosk each time we passed. Somehow brownies and ice cream didn’t seem like the most nutritional lunch, but they looked so delicious in the glass front freezer pre-scooped into perfectly shaped bowlfuls. After a glass of refreshing jamaica Allison and I returned to the main square in the rain where I purchased the silver filigree bracelet for Megan and made a final exchange of US dollars into Mexican pesos. Still raining we entered the boutique for my fitting. It looked stunning, not me of course since I was covered in sweat with frizzy curly hair, but the dress was amazing and more than I could have imagined. With my wedding gown carefully wrapped we walked a few feet to the Gran Hotel restaurant for a glass of wine while listening to live wooden flute music in the waning storm.
Barely twenty minutes after returning to my host house Mark and Connie arrived for our farewell dinner at Roberto’s restaurant called La Calle. Connie’s host mom, Anna Rosa, and dad, Roberto, had sent a charming note with her to class inviting Connie and I for dinner and music that evening before our departure to Santa Elena. While the free quesadilla and fishbowl sized glass of jamaica were delicious and the entertainment provided by Roberto’s guitar playing and Anna Rosa’s singing were well received the night seemed to drag on and I simply wanted to sleep. The warm air and nearby smokers were enough to bring my early departure, but not before saying goodbye to our hosts and signing the wall of the restaurant in Maya.
June 20th, 2009
Since I actually managed to sleep in for once during this trip, Blanca served me a bowl of honey corn flakes and a banana for breakfast while she made the final touches to homemade lasagna for lunch. After I finished packing Blanca fed me my last meal consisting of a very delicious dish of lasagna, with seconds, and fresh bread. Finally my bags were packed and in the car, I said my goodbyes to Xavier and was on my way to the hotel with Blanca.
Check-in went smoothly, and as I made my way to my air conditioned room past the glistening surface of the pool I recognized John, the Level II professor for the remainder of the course. I decided to make a final walk to the main zocalo to purchase a book from Dantes, take pictures of the main square, and cathedral, and of course the boutique where I bought my dress the previous day, before finding a cute little shop selling gourmet soap made of natural ingredients, some of my personal favorites being the coconut, lime, chocolate, and xtabentun. I only purchased a few bars and have decided to return to acquire a few more at a later date.
Upon my return I laid by the pool for a few hours enjoying the intermittent clouds for a brief respite from the sun. It was deserted in the interior courtyard and I was extremely glad to have such a beautiful pool to myself, completely undisturbed for the remainder of the afternoon. By the time I returned to my room it felt quite like an ice box, but it felt absolutely amazing. I turned on the American Network, which was airing Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, and took a very long, hot shower for the first time since my arrival. Afterwards, I leisurely got dressed while preparing a final blog before my departure to Santa Elena and the void of wireless.
Soon it was dark outside and I asked the hotel to call a taxi for my trip to the airport. When I arrived there was a mass of Mexicans already waiting at the international gate, and I felt quite conspicuous as the only foreigner waiting for their special someone to arrive. Once, I thought I saw Tim turn the corner into the baggage claim, but minutes ticked on and more and more passengers completed their visit with Customs, but no Tim. My view continued to be blocked, and before I knew it a very familiar face was standing right in front of me. It seemed so crowded and yet at the same time it felt as if no one else were there but us. Minutes later we were riding in the taxi back to the hotel and the start of an amazing nine, very hot, days.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Dzibilchaltun
June 15th, 2009
After class Allison and I went in search of the Indemaya organization to purchase some Maya materials that we have used in class, including a very cute Memory game in Maya. Upon our arrival they graciously presented us with the game for free, and showed us a selection of other materials, including a book of poems and a compilation of Maya songs, which we both purchased.
When I returned home to my host’s on Calle 19 I was pleasantly surprised with a clean set of blue floral sheets on the bed and a blue bath towel hanging over my hammock.
June 16th, 2009
We walked around the now wet site, Connie asking for a picture of Allison, Chris and I standing in front of a large puddle. Again, Chris was there for comic relief as he stood feet away from Allison and I and loudly exclaimed, “I don’t do together.” I don’t think one attempt at that picture actually had all three of us not laughing.
Since we were already soaked we decided it was worth swimming in the cenote and so as we approached the small sinkhole Connie lectured us on swimming in water with bacteria and complaining that it appeared slimy and rancid. “We can’t really swim in that?” she asked, as Allison and I plunged right in. It was quite funny after several minutes when Allison let out a yelp, realizing that cenotes do indeed have fish. We were the last tourists to leave the site, and Connie walked so slowly taking pictures of cows, trees, clouds, and flowers, while the poor overseer stood at the gate to lock it behind us.
Blanca made a wonderful omelet this morning with Mexican cheese, onions, and bacon. After two weeks it is routine for her to re-fill my water bottle, wrap a fresh apple in a plastic bag, and place a banana next to my plate for breakfast. At least I have not had the unfortunate occurrence of choosing between fruit or juice these last few days.
Class was unusually routine, much of our time spent reading to improve our pronunciation. There is a running joke that I do not know the verb for, to read, since it seems as if every time Ismael goes on a long tangent in Spanish he returns to Maya by asking me to read the next portion of text, of which I usually have no idea what he is saying since I successfully zoned out after ten minutes of Spanish. At least the next time I get asked anything I will simply assume that I am supposed to read. “Tin xokik xJeder…earth to xJeder.” Oh well.
After class Allison and I went in search of the Indemaya organization to purchase some Maya materials that we have used in class, including a very cute Memory game in Maya. Upon our arrival they graciously presented us with the game for free, and showed us a selection of other materials, including a book of poems and a compilation of Maya songs, which we both purchased.
When I returned home to my host’s on Calle 19 I was pleasantly surprised with a clean set of blue floral sheets on the bed and a blue bath towel hanging over my hammock.
Lunch was a very interesting Mexican rice dish with thick slices of hot dog mixed. I must have been craving something familiar though since it was actually a nice change from the refried beans, black bean soup, tortillas, and rice. After lunch Blanca sat a dish of Napoleon ice cream before me, which was still a pleasant surprise even if I don’t enjoy strawberry ice cream. My nighttime routine has become a bit uncomfortable as I lay in bed each night until midnight before waking again at two or three o’clock for several hours. All in all I suppose that I get approximately four hours of sleep each night. Allison and Mark seem to be afflicted with the same strange sleeping habits and so we have decided to initiate an insomnia club.
June 16th, 2009
Once again Blanca prepared a wonderful plate of French toast with syrup in addition to my daily banana and cold glass of pineapple juice. As I was eating breakfast she was scurrying around the kitchen and seemed to be preparing quite a feast. Before long I realized the chicken and onion sandwich, slices of pineapple, wrapped apple, second banana, can of peach juice, and pack of chocolate chip cookies were my lunch for the day since I would not be returning after class. It was so cute and thoughtful the way she wrapped each item individually and presented it to me at the door in a plastic bag tied in a bow. I was so thrilled with the can of peach juice since it has become one of my favorites. To my misfortunate Connie discovered my bulging bag and packed lunch and so soon we were backtracking to her house for her to grab a lunch, bathing suit, and towel for Dzibilchaltun.
The only event of note during class was the return of our exams which were void of a marked grade and so I am content just to know what mistakes I made instead of stressing over a certain letter. Sadly, many of my errors were quite careless, missing a specific tense or pronoun. It was also strange to be missing both Christa and Mark during class, though Mark had sent me a message earlier that morning that he was feeling under the weather. After class Allison, Connie, Chris, and I ventured to Dzibilchaltun. Even though I received an excellent tour of Dzibilchaltun last year with Ruben, one of Dr. Miller’s friends and also the archaeologist at the site, I decided to keep each day as full as possible and to do that by integrating myself into the group as much as possible as opposed to completely alone.
Our drive to the site was wrought with Chris complaining incessantly about paying fifteen pesos for the direct bus versus five pesos for the bus that drops its passengers off seven kilometers from the site. Yikes!! As we walked up the path leading to the main sacbe Chris exclaimed, “That’s a really interesting stone cactus,” followed by Allison saying, “Chris, it’s not stone, it’s real.” Of course we all nearly laughed so hard that we were rolling on the ground. As we climbed the first temple, the sky suddenly darkened and as if in slow motion we could see the rain blanketing the site in the distance before it reached us as well at the very top of the platform. Since I was familiar with the site I led my companions into a lower chamber where we took refuge from the downpour while sharing amusing stories. Soon the cramped quarters accumulated several inches of water on the ground as it came pouring in from above and we were forced to move as high as we could in the semi-darkness. Connie pressed again the walls while clutching her found wooden walking stick, emerging to discover that her white blouse was covered in green and brown sludgy earth.
We walked around the now wet site, Connie asking for a picture of Allison, Chris and I standing in front of a large puddle. Again, Chris was there for comic relief as he stood feet away from Allison and I and loudly exclaimed, “I don’t do together.” I don’t think one attempt at that picture actually had all three of us not laughing.
Since we were already soaked we decided it was worth swimming in the cenote and so as we approached the small sinkhole Connie lectured us on swimming in water with bacteria and complaining that it appeared slimy and rancid. “We can’t really swim in that?” she asked, as Allison and I plunged right in. It was quite funny after several minutes when Allison let out a yelp, realizing that cenotes do indeed have fish. We were the last tourists to leave the site, and Connie walked so slowly taking pictures of cows, trees, clouds, and flowers, while the poor overseer stood at the gate to lock it behind us.
We waited ten minutes for the bus, only to have Connie complain that it seemed to be going in the wrong direction and was not the same bus we had arrived on. Of course not! I don’t think it occurred to her that there are multiple ways to return to Merida. All in all it was a very long day and I was pleased to return home, though the hour was late and after a quick shower I was ready for my nightly routine passing the hours before finally drifting off to sleep. I was very happy to routine to the site and learned that even though you have already done something the experience will always be different. Unfortunately, I am convinced that any time I go to a site it will definitely rain.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Aantenex'e tin Luubul ti' K'aan
June 14th, 2009
Unlike my previous trips to the beach this morning began with a leisurely breakfast of cereal, toast, and fruit while waiting for Blanca’s daughter, son-in-law, and grandson to arrive. During breakfast Xavier told me to walk over to Connie’s house to invite her along on our excursion and soon we were all piled into the back of their van on the way to the beach. At first the drive was entirely familiar from my many trips to the beach, though eventually we veered to the left, away from Progreso and towards the pueblo known as Chelem. I had no idea that we were going to a different beach, but was so excited to get a less touristy perspective. The drive was peppered with pastel colored homes behind fancy wrought iron gates and crumbling stucco walls labeled with the name of each residence. As with any beach town the names reflected a sense of whimsy and humor, some of which included the Crazy Mosquito, Villa Margarita, Butterfly, Angelfish, and Coco Loco.
Suddenly the van steered off the road and into a sandy lot, parking closely under the shade of a palm. We emerged from the car and crossed the sandy street to a local ceviche restaurant, which was also accompanied by an in-ground pool. Blanca told me we were having refreshments and in minutes we were served ceviche made with fish and octopus, fresh tortillas, and bean dip, along with a large bottle of Sol and glasses of lime juice with salt on the rim. It was my first chelada of the trip, but truly worth the wait. Blanca kept refilling my glass eventually replacing the lime and beer with just straight beer, which at that point I had already licked all the salt off the rim. Two other stops brought us to a fruit stand where they purchased bananas and oranges, and a convenience store where Coca Cola was added to the many snacks now packed for the beach.
We stayed on the main road out of Chelem and soon took a sharp right onto a sandy path edged by beach grass and houses in various stages of construction. The van stopped suddenly outside of a beautifully crafted set of wooden doors, which Blanca’s son-in-law unlocked to reveal an orange house with a huge sparkling pool in the front yard. Now I knew what she meant by eating lunch at the house. I had originally assumed that Xavier was simply joking at breakfast when he said we were going to a private beach, which meant clothing was optional. Still, I was quite glad to have my suit.
They unlocked the house to reveal a simple, but large interior which opened onto a back veranda with a large stone staircase onto the very beach itself, which was indeed completely void of inhabitants except for the gulls. We began our afternoon by relaxing in the gentle waves, Blanca even sporting her own bathing suit, hat, and foam noodle to float along in the turquoise waters. After our swim, Connie and I walked along the beach collecting shells ranging from small conchs to pretty purplish angel wings. Blanca prepared chicken tacos for lunch with pickled onions and tomato, which was followed by an afternoon siesta. Her daughter retired to one of the bedrooms with her young son, while Blanca hung hammocks in the living room with the double doors open overlooking the ocean and the refreshing breeze drifting constantly through the open windows and doors.
As I crawled into my hammock something felt terribly wrong and mere moments later, as if in slow motion, it careened to the floor. Since I was only a few inches above the ground I went unharmed, just disappointed that I missed my one and only opportunity to use the phrase, “Aantenex’e tin lúubul ti’ k’áan,” or “Help me I am falling out of my hammock.” We had discussed in class the uselessness of the dialogues that we learn as students of Yucatec Maya, mainly because the phrases seem quite inadequate in our present situation, though at last one line may have proven itself useful today. Upon our return home I could no longer remember my purpose in Yucatan and felt like I had had a miniature vacation for my mind and soul. Tomorrow is the start of week three and only five days until Tim arrives.
How to Play Memory in Maya
June 12th, 2009
This morning was spent entirely in anticipation for today’s exam. After reviewing my notes and eating breakfast I arrived at class for the two hour long assessment of aspect makers, reflexive verbs, and imperatives. Allison quickly translated the Spanish phrases into English, a task that proved quite necessary for any amount of success. As each student completed the exam, Ismael reviewed their handiwork, adding a “Jach ma’alob” after glancing over my own. Soon only Connie was left with an exam, her voice echoing through the room as she realized she had forgotten page two, which left us waiting for her to complete the remainder at her own pace. As she handed her paper to Ismael, she threw her hands up in the hair and said, “I give up,” in a huff completely unbecoming for a women of her advanced age. It truly felt as if a three year old were in our midst.
After the exam Ismael set up a memory card game in Maya and we took turns flipping over the cards to complete a match. In fact, Mark never actually completed a match himself but let everyone else tell him which cards to turn over instead. Laughing quite a bit, the stress from our tedious morning melted away with each match. In addition, there was a bit of friendly cheating to encourage our classmates, but in the end I had a seven set matching streak emptying the board and winning the game. I don’t think this pleased Christa at all, but we all do know my uncanny ability to win.
My favorite part about today was an impromptu call to Cherylie and Joe. As soon as her cute little voice recognized mine I couldn’t help but break down into tears. Of course I didn’t realize that I was on speaker phone until I heard Joe chuckling in the background to my list of strange ailments and complaints after the last two weeks. When I got off the phone I could already feel a shift in my mood for the better. It certainly was exactly what the doctor ordered. The remainder of the afternoon was spent at Ana Rosa’s pool, an excursion that always leaves me feeling completely refreshed, if only for a few short hours.
Our evening plans brought us to Buenas Aires City, a rather fancy restaurant a few blocks from the general region of everyone’s current living arrangements. I am sure that our bunch stuck out like a sore thumb dressed as grimy tourists as opposed to sophisticated diners. A few of us enjoyed a glass of wine, my pinot grigio being the most expensive item on the menu at one hundred and eleven pesos, about ten dollars for the glass. I ordered a ham and cheese empanada, which was absolutely delicious and well worth the energy to go out as a group. It was refreshing to talk outside the classroom for once about our travels, education, and significant others. Tomorrow Mark and I will venture to the beach to escape the heat of Merida.
June 13th, 2009
I actually managed to sleep in this morning before packing my bag and heading to the beach. Mark and I decided to take a taxi to the bus terminal in el centro and so after stopping for water and a strawberry granola bar at the nearest Oxxo, we were on our way. The bus ride was uneventful and upon arrival Mark realized that he had forgotten his swimsuit so he quickly purchased one on the way to the beach. Stepping onto the sandy beach we positioned ourselves under the shade of a vacant palm.
After some time spent soaking in the gentle waves I let the saltwater dry on my body as I collected some of the tiny shells speckling the beach like confetti before laying out my towel and bathing in the rays of the sun. The breeze was so refreshing and barely twenty minutes on each side before I relocated to the shade of the palm leaves while Mark enjoyed the beautiful soft waves of la playa.
Later that afternoon we choose a shaded table at Los Henequen’s on the Beach where I ordered a delicious plate of garlic shrimp sprinkled with tiny pieces of toasted coconut. The remainder of the afternoon was spent chatting with Mark under the thatched roof of Los Henequen’s until an orangish sun starting bouncing off the water, indicating that it was nearly seven o’clock. The pleasant breeze rolling off the ocean suddenly picked up, the sand stinging our legs like sandpaper and we knew it was time to return to the city. The entire trip was made easier by our choice to hire a taxi from the bus terminal instead of walking the many blocks to the San Lucas Express which would carry us home. After today I have a wonderful red glow and cannot wait for it to fade to brown tomorrow for my return trip to Progreso.
This morning was spent entirely in anticipation for today’s exam. After reviewing my notes and eating breakfast I arrived at class for the two hour long assessment of aspect makers, reflexive verbs, and imperatives. Allison quickly translated the Spanish phrases into English, a task that proved quite necessary for any amount of success. As each student completed the exam, Ismael reviewed their handiwork, adding a “Jach ma’alob” after glancing over my own. Soon only Connie was left with an exam, her voice echoing through the room as she realized she had forgotten page two, which left us waiting for her to complete the remainder at her own pace. As she handed her paper to Ismael, she threw her hands up in the hair and said, “I give up,” in a huff completely unbecoming for a women of her advanced age. It truly felt as if a three year old were in our midst.
After the exam Ismael set up a memory card game in Maya and we took turns flipping over the cards to complete a match. In fact, Mark never actually completed a match himself but let everyone else tell him which cards to turn over instead. Laughing quite a bit, the stress from our tedious morning melted away with each match. In addition, there was a bit of friendly cheating to encourage our classmates, but in the end I had a seven set matching streak emptying the board and winning the game. I don’t think this pleased Christa at all, but we all do know my uncanny ability to win.
My favorite part about today was an impromptu call to Cherylie and Joe. As soon as her cute little voice recognized mine I couldn’t help but break down into tears. Of course I didn’t realize that I was on speaker phone until I heard Joe chuckling in the background to my list of strange ailments and complaints after the last two weeks. When I got off the phone I could already feel a shift in my mood for the better. It certainly was exactly what the doctor ordered. The remainder of the afternoon was spent at Ana Rosa’s pool, an excursion that always leaves me feeling completely refreshed, if only for a few short hours.
Our evening plans brought us to Buenas Aires City, a rather fancy restaurant a few blocks from the general region of everyone’s current living arrangements. I am sure that our bunch stuck out like a sore thumb dressed as grimy tourists as opposed to sophisticated diners. A few of us enjoyed a glass of wine, my pinot grigio being the most expensive item on the menu at one hundred and eleven pesos, about ten dollars for the glass. I ordered a ham and cheese empanada, which was absolutely delicious and well worth the energy to go out as a group. It was refreshing to talk outside the classroom for once about our travels, education, and significant others. Tomorrow Mark and I will venture to the beach to escape the heat of Merida.
June 13th, 2009
I actually managed to sleep in this morning before packing my bag and heading to the beach. Mark and I decided to take a taxi to the bus terminal in el centro and so after stopping for water and a strawberry granola bar at the nearest Oxxo, we were on our way. The bus ride was uneventful and upon arrival Mark realized that he had forgotten his swimsuit so he quickly purchased one on the way to the beach. Stepping onto the sandy beach we positioned ourselves under the shade of a vacant palm.
After some time spent soaking in the gentle waves I let the saltwater dry on my body as I collected some of the tiny shells speckling the beach like confetti before laying out my towel and bathing in the rays of the sun. The breeze was so refreshing and barely twenty minutes on each side before I relocated to the shade of the palm leaves while Mark enjoyed the beautiful soft waves of la playa.
Later that afternoon we choose a shaded table at Los Henequen’s on the Beach where I ordered a delicious plate of garlic shrimp sprinkled with tiny pieces of toasted coconut. The remainder of the afternoon was spent chatting with Mark under the thatched roof of Los Henequen’s until an orangish sun starting bouncing off the water, indicating that it was nearly seven o’clock. The pleasant breeze rolling off the ocean suddenly picked up, the sand stinging our legs like sandpaper and we knew it was time to return to the city. The entire trip was made easier by our choice to hire a taxi from the bus terminal instead of walking the many blocks to the San Lucas Express which would carry us home. After today I have a wonderful red glow and cannot wait for it to fade to brown tomorrow for my return trip to Progreso.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Kuxan Sum
*** After a rather sleepless night tossing and turning I managed to finish another blog posting before attempting to sleep once again. The next two posts are new, so please put any comments on the most current one. ***
June 11th, 2009
Last night was probably the worst night I have had in the last two weeks. My nightly quota of restful sleep has decreased from about eight hours at the beginning of this adventure, to about six at the current date, last night being the exception since it was even less. I awoke on multiple occasions with cramps in both of my feet and was forced to jump out of bed as quickly as possible to relieve the spasm. It will be a very long day with another evening lecture and shortly after I awoke I could already feel my heavy eyelids laden with sleep.
We spent almost all of class preparing for the exam, which I found quite frustrating since Ismael would dictate multiple sentences in Spanish for us to translate into Maya. On several occasions I only managed to dictate a single sentence, which left me confused and discouraged, owing largely to my increasingly irritable mood and an overwhelming feeling of defeat. Since I had given my notes to Christa to photocopy I have had no chance to study for the exam and find myself completely overwhelmed with the very few hours left to study after the evening lecture. It was with great relief on my part that Ismael agreed to let Allison translate my exam questions in English, making it much easier for me to study the remaining verbs and removing a huge burden from my shoulders.
After class, Mark, Allison, Connie and I walked to a small local restaurant called Trapiche, ordering a delicious ham and cheese sandwich along with a diet coke. We spent the remainder of our free time soaking in the chill of the UADY library while preparing for our exam. Connie was like a broken record at the small table asking a thousand and one questions as if she had never learned the language before, giving Mark, Allison, and I very little time to focus on our own studies. It was not until after the lecture that my wonderfully organized notes were returned to me two days later. Since I had gone out of my way to help replace her lost notes, I very strongly felt that she should have made a greater attempt at returning them sooner with the pending exam.
To my relief the lecture was presented in Maya by a Maya anthologist, Feliciano Sánchez Chan. It was amazing to hear a complete lecture in Maya and I found myself picking up on much of what was said. I was even more pleased to be able to relate key points from the lecture to some of my classmates, in return for their summary of Tuesday’s presentation since it was in Spanish. I was rather shocked that most of my classmates admitted to a mere ten percent of verbal comprehension. Perhaps the most exciting part of the lecture was Feliciano’s retelling of the kuxan sum, the primary source for my thesis which I have never heard in Maya. Luckily I had my Sony voice recorder and managed to create an entire sound clip of the kuxan sum as told in Yucatec Maya. It will be so much fun to listen to later and research thoroughly as part of my thesis, including a complete translation of the narrative. Afterwards, his small pile of Maya books were purchased in a flurry of grabbing and hoarding, I myself only purchasing two of the three texts I had been partial too during his presentation since Connie decided that she deserved eight books in all, while my classmates and I were left to divide the remainder in groups of two or three per person.
It was another late night as I prepared for the exam, and in addition I set my alarm earlier to review my notes one last time.
June 11th, 2009
Last night was probably the worst night I have had in the last two weeks. My nightly quota of restful sleep has decreased from about eight hours at the beginning of this adventure, to about six at the current date, last night being the exception since it was even less. I awoke on multiple occasions with cramps in both of my feet and was forced to jump out of bed as quickly as possible to relieve the spasm. It will be a very long day with another evening lecture and shortly after I awoke I could already feel my heavy eyelids laden with sleep.
We spent almost all of class preparing for the exam, which I found quite frustrating since Ismael would dictate multiple sentences in Spanish for us to translate into Maya. On several occasions I only managed to dictate a single sentence, which left me confused and discouraged, owing largely to my increasingly irritable mood and an overwhelming feeling of defeat. Since I had given my notes to Christa to photocopy I have had no chance to study for the exam and find myself completely overwhelmed with the very few hours left to study after the evening lecture. It was with great relief on my part that Ismael agreed to let Allison translate my exam questions in English, making it much easier for me to study the remaining verbs and removing a huge burden from my shoulders.
After class, Mark, Allison, Connie and I walked to a small local restaurant called Trapiche, ordering a delicious ham and cheese sandwich along with a diet coke. We spent the remainder of our free time soaking in the chill of the UADY library while preparing for our exam. Connie was like a broken record at the small table asking a thousand and one questions as if she had never learned the language before, giving Mark, Allison, and I very little time to focus on our own studies. It was not until after the lecture that my wonderfully organized notes were returned to me two days later. Since I had gone out of my way to help replace her lost notes, I very strongly felt that she should have made a greater attempt at returning them sooner with the pending exam.
To my relief the lecture was presented in Maya by a Maya anthologist, Feliciano Sánchez Chan. It was amazing to hear a complete lecture in Maya and I found myself picking up on much of what was said. I was even more pleased to be able to relate key points from the lecture to some of my classmates, in return for their summary of Tuesday’s presentation since it was in Spanish. I was rather shocked that most of my classmates admitted to a mere ten percent of verbal comprehension. Perhaps the most exciting part of the lecture was Feliciano’s retelling of the kuxan sum, the primary source for my thesis which I have never heard in Maya. Luckily I had my Sony voice recorder and managed to create an entire sound clip of the kuxan sum as told in Yucatec Maya. It will be so much fun to listen to later and research thoroughly as part of my thesis, including a complete translation of the narrative. Afterwards, his small pile of Maya books were purchased in a flurry of grabbing and hoarding, I myself only purchasing two of the three texts I had been partial too during his presentation since Connie decided that she deserved eight books in all, while my classmates and I were left to divide the remainder in groups of two or three per person.
It was another late night as I prepared for the exam, and in addition I set my alarm earlier to review my notes one last time.
Monday, June 15, 2009
"Jach Ootilen, Mina'anten Taak'in"
June 9th, 2009
I had a delicious grilled ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast accompanied by a plate of sweet pineapple and my daily apple wrapped in a plastic bag for my trip to class. Christa was absent for the second time in the past seven classes, which left everyone wondering what tragedy had befallen our most ill-fated classmate. I had to read my homework assignment first again today, a small letter answering my father’s request for money. I think that Ismael quite liked my approach. Instead of agreeing to send money to my father for an ailing brother I replied that I was quite poor and had a small income, followed by a statement telling him to ask my rich sister instead. “Jach óotilen, mina’anten táak’in. K’áat ti’ in kiik,” or “I am very poor, I have no money. Ask my sister.” Ismael couldn’t stop laughing and repeated the lines in question over and over again until it was equally enjoyed by all of my peers.
After class we remained in el centro to grab lunch at a simple restaurant directly across from the Hotel San Juan, our brief accommodations from last summer, and the establishment that I will book for Tim’s first night in Merida. Lunch consisted of a sandwich on the freshest whole wheat roll along with a cold glass of my favorite beverage, jamaica, in the company of Mark, Allison, and Pablo. Afterwards I walked to the UADY library to use the internet and enjoy the copious amounts of air conditioning before our four o’clock lecture on cultural linguistics. Christa made her grand appearance at the lecture regaling us with her tales of theft and robbery as her notes, textbooks, and laptop were stolen from her project’s van the previous evening. In my kindness, which sometimes I question, I loaned her my tediously typed notes to photocopy, as did Stephanie from Level III. I do try to follow the golden rule once in awhile, even though this particular instance backfired later. I will have to remind myself not to attempt any sort of interaction with Christa…ever. The lecture proved to be two and a half hours of pure boredom for me as it was presented entirely in Spanish. Thus, my rather sad attempts to follow the presentation quickly diminished after the first fifteen minutes. The entirety of my notes is as follows: blah, blah, blah, linguisticos, blah, blah, anthropologia, blah, blah. Obviously I took quite a bit away from the lecture. What you cannot see are the hearts in the margin drawn around Tim and Heather, the list of items to be sent from Chicago, and another list of various names beginning with G for my next encounter with one of Gideon’s rather cute yet unwelcome friends.
My light at the end of the tunnel was a pre-planned short phone call to Tim, of which I emphasize the word short. It can be assumed that the conversation did not last mere minutes, though one does wonder how many times you can say “I love you” in one thousand two hundred seconds, which is twenty minutes for my mathematically challenged readers. It was so good to hear his voice, and yet it will certainly make the next eleven days drag on forever. Sleep came quickly with my happy heart filled for a short while with the sound of my love’s voice.
June 10th, 2009
Last night Christa informed us of a rather frightening exam on everything we’ve ever learned in Maya to take place during today’s lecture. Apparently our fellow classmate was informed on Monday in a private conversation with Ismael. Something just doesn’t seem right about this situation as one student should never know about an exam two days before the others. Luckily her information proved faulty, as we all assumed anyway. Ismael does love to joke around, though Christa is certainly the type to believe everything she hears. And then of course any jokes are often lost in translation from Maya to Spanish and Spanish to English. However, cue horror music now, the dreaded exam will occur on Friday instead. We were given a rather long translation for homework and decided that a few of us would gather at five o’clock to decipher the text together.
After class I spent a few hours at the pool before Connie and I walked to the Parque Aleman and a comfortable table overlooking the kids laughing on the carousel and street vendors selling their wares. Our table was situated outside an ice cream shop and so Allison, Connie, Chris, and I each bought a deliciously cold and deliciously sweet fruit popsicle, the tangy lime my personal favorite. It took all four of us and four different dictionaries to complete the text in just over two hours. At least these gatherings prove to be useful as each of us required the use of each other’s dictionary and so four heads are definitely better than one.
Dinner proved to be another American classic, the hot dog with onions, mustard, and ketchup, or catsup as it is referred to here, pronounced “cat-soup.” Blanca still has to learn the size of my appetite as she laid a plate of four hotdogs and three buns on the white tablecloth directly in front of me. I still wonder in what universe any person would be able to eat that many, and what about the lack of a bun for the forth sad and lonely hot dog. Afterwards I had the most delicious cinnamon bun covered in a mass of icing. The remainder of the evening was spent trying to study a list of fifty six verbs for Friday’s test, which really amounts to one hundred and twelve verbs considering that the test will be in Spanish and so I also need to memorize the Spanish equivalent of each.
I had a delicious grilled ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast accompanied by a plate of sweet pineapple and my daily apple wrapped in a plastic bag for my trip to class. Christa was absent for the second time in the past seven classes, which left everyone wondering what tragedy had befallen our most ill-fated classmate. I had to read my homework assignment first again today, a small letter answering my father’s request for money. I think that Ismael quite liked my approach. Instead of agreeing to send money to my father for an ailing brother I replied that I was quite poor and had a small income, followed by a statement telling him to ask my rich sister instead. “Jach óotilen, mina’anten táak’in. K’áat ti’ in kiik,” or “I am very poor, I have no money. Ask my sister.” Ismael couldn’t stop laughing and repeated the lines in question over and over again until it was equally enjoyed by all of my peers.
After class we remained in el centro to grab lunch at a simple restaurant directly across from the Hotel San Juan, our brief accommodations from last summer, and the establishment that I will book for Tim’s first night in Merida. Lunch consisted of a sandwich on the freshest whole wheat roll along with a cold glass of my favorite beverage, jamaica, in the company of Mark, Allison, and Pablo. Afterwards I walked to the UADY library to use the internet and enjoy the copious amounts of air conditioning before our four o’clock lecture on cultural linguistics. Christa made her grand appearance at the lecture regaling us with her tales of theft and robbery as her notes, textbooks, and laptop were stolen from her project’s van the previous evening. In my kindness, which sometimes I question, I loaned her my tediously typed notes to photocopy, as did Stephanie from Level III. I do try to follow the golden rule once in awhile, even though this particular instance backfired later. I will have to remind myself not to attempt any sort of interaction with Christa…ever. The lecture proved to be two and a half hours of pure boredom for me as it was presented entirely in Spanish. Thus, my rather sad attempts to follow the presentation quickly diminished after the first fifteen minutes. The entirety of my notes is as follows: blah, blah, blah, linguisticos, blah, blah, anthropologia, blah, blah. Obviously I took quite a bit away from the lecture. What you cannot see are the hearts in the margin drawn around Tim and Heather, the list of items to be sent from Chicago, and another list of various names beginning with G for my next encounter with one of Gideon’s rather cute yet unwelcome friends.
My light at the end of the tunnel was a pre-planned short phone call to Tim, of which I emphasize the word short. It can be assumed that the conversation did not last mere minutes, though one does wonder how many times you can say “I love you” in one thousand two hundred seconds, which is twenty minutes for my mathematically challenged readers. It was so good to hear his voice, and yet it will certainly make the next eleven days drag on forever. Sleep came quickly with my happy heart filled for a short while with the sound of my love’s voice.
June 10th, 2009
Last night Christa informed us of a rather frightening exam on everything we’ve ever learned in Maya to take place during today’s lecture. Apparently our fellow classmate was informed on Monday in a private conversation with Ismael. Something just doesn’t seem right about this situation as one student should never know about an exam two days before the others. Luckily her information proved faulty, as we all assumed anyway. Ismael does love to joke around, though Christa is certainly the type to believe everything she hears. And then of course any jokes are often lost in translation from Maya to Spanish and Spanish to English. However, cue horror music now, the dreaded exam will occur on Friday instead. We were given a rather long translation for homework and decided that a few of us would gather at five o’clock to decipher the text together.
After class I spent a few hours at the pool before Connie and I walked to the Parque Aleman and a comfortable table overlooking the kids laughing on the carousel and street vendors selling their wares. Our table was situated outside an ice cream shop and so Allison, Connie, Chris, and I each bought a deliciously cold and deliciously sweet fruit popsicle, the tangy lime my personal favorite. It took all four of us and four different dictionaries to complete the text in just over two hours. At least these gatherings prove to be useful as each of us required the use of each other’s dictionary and so four heads are definitely better than one.
Dinner proved to be another American classic, the hot dog with onions, mustard, and ketchup, or catsup as it is referred to here, pronounced “cat-soup.” Blanca still has to learn the size of my appetite as she laid a plate of four hotdogs and three buns on the white tablecloth directly in front of me. I still wonder in what universe any person would be able to eat that many, and what about the lack of a bun for the forth sad and lonely hot dog. Afterwards I had the most delicious cinnamon bun covered in a mass of icing. The remainder of the evening was spent trying to study a list of fifty six verbs for Friday’s test, which really amounts to one hundred and twelve verbs considering that the test will be in Spanish and so I also need to memorize the Spanish equivalent of each.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Adventures of a Rather Intelligent Gecko
June 7th, 2009
Today was mostly spent completing my homework assignments for tomorrow. I have wanted to reorganize my suitcase since my arrival and at the end of the day feel that it is finally back in some semblance of order. My other task for the day was hand washing a few items, mostly tank tops that I have worn throughout the week and a few delicates. I was shocked to discover that they were dry in only an hour and feel quite productive at the end of an otherwise boring afternoon. My time at the beach yesterday has left me with a peeling forehead and several heat rashes, which are diminishing quickly with my careful application of Cortaid.
Dinner delivered another wonderful panucho to the table, and to my surprise and excitement, a cup of delicious vanilla ice cream. It still feels quite strange to be staying in someone’s home, but Xavier’s constant jokes and conversations in English go a long way to making me feel more comfortable. After one week I finally feel enough at ease to really put my Spanish language skills, no matter how insignificant, to greater use. Blanca was quite impressed at my vocabulary, which I explained to her my difficulty in forming my large repertoire of words into grammatically correct sentences. I was trying to tell her a little bit about my time spent at sea, which went much better than I expected in my clipped Spanish phrases. I find listening to my host family, her children, and even her grandchildren a great help. After dinner Blanca and Xavier asked me if I would like to go to the beach next Sunday with the entire family, which I am looking forward to as opposed to taking the multiple buses to Progreso. It will be fun to watch them interact with their grandchildren and I am sure that it will remind me of my childhood at the beach with my own family.
By now my readers have assuredly read the previous post and are familiar with the events of this evening. Gideon, as I have come to call my scrawny visitor emerged quickly from above the florescent bulb shortly after I turned out the lights. I do not like how their creepy little bottles wobble back and forth as they scamper across the wall, nor do I like their disgusting yellow green coloring that becomes almost peach in certain lightings. At first Gideon made his way toward the closet at the opposite end of the room, but my quick thinking halted this merry scuttling across the peach colored wall as I turned back on the light. I would like to offer my actions of this night to some sort of scientific research. Geckos are smart little buggers. Light clearly equals bugs, which clearly equals food. They apparently can do the math. With this theory proved I turned off the overhead florescent and turned on the lamp next to not only the bed, but also the door. It took some time and alternating between light sources, but eventually, after already opening the heavy wooden door, I pushed open the screen and he disappeared. Of course time seems to fly when dealing with these night critters and so it was well after midnight before I lay restless looking around my, what I assumed to be, secure abode.
June 8th, 2009
Obviously my 6:30 wake-up call arrived too soon and I begrudgingly crawled out of bed to get ready for class. After last night if anyone has a gecko that needs to be trained I would be more than glad to help for a small fee, though potty training is additional. This morning breakfast was a delicious plate of cheesy eggs with pieces of bacon and onion. I’m not sure if my face is easy to read or if Blanca is beginning to guess by the amount of fruit left which ones are my favorites and which ones are not so much. She has taken to placing an apple and a banana at my place setting, which I always eat the banana at breakfast, and take the apple for a snack during class.
Class passed rather quickly, but I still feel as if my instructor constantly chooses me to go first, in which case you have no model to base your answer on. Today I was asked to create a question in the future tense, which everyone tried to correct after the fact, only to discover that indeed I was correct after all. My Spanish is horrible and yet I knew that my question was in the appropriate tense. I even made it a point to say, “Isn’t that exactly what I said,” when Ismael wrote it on the board for everyone to see. After our break I was again asked to read my one page essay first on our visit to Yóol Iik’. I even had to sit in the front of the classroom facing my peers and read the essay aloud. When I reached the portion about Chris forgetting the name of his wife, everyone burst out in laughter. Keep in mind my entire essay is written in Maya. Ismael gave me a “Jach ma’alob,” meaning “very good,” and mine was the only essay not to get corrected on the dry erase board. I’m patting myself on the back right now.
The afternoon passed a bit slowly with me lounging lazily in the hammock. After a traditional Mexican lunch accompanied by two cold Hershey kisses, I retired to my room where clean sheets awaited me on the bed along with a fresh towel. It was so cute at lunch how Blanca dug around in the fridge looking for the box of Hershey’s as if she had hidden it away from everyone. It feels like Ismael gives us quite a bit of homework and I wish that it did not take so long to do.
Dinner was a delicious hot dog, no chance of forgetting American food altogether, followed by, of all things a cinnamon bun and the freshest one I have ever tasted. I have decied that either my blog gets published in Spanish and they know how much I enjoy my sweets, or they are concerned that I will melt away into nothingness. My shower once again shut off before I was complete, but I think that I am finally beginning to get the timing right so that at least the shampoo is rinsed out of my hair. Tomorrow we have a lecture at four o’clock so I am not sure if I will return to Blanca’s or wait it out in the city.
Today was mostly spent completing my homework assignments for tomorrow. I have wanted to reorganize my suitcase since my arrival and at the end of the day feel that it is finally back in some semblance of order. My other task for the day was hand washing a few items, mostly tank tops that I have worn throughout the week and a few delicates. I was shocked to discover that they were dry in only an hour and feel quite productive at the end of an otherwise boring afternoon. My time at the beach yesterday has left me with a peeling forehead and several heat rashes, which are diminishing quickly with my careful application of Cortaid.
Dinner delivered another wonderful panucho to the table, and to my surprise and excitement, a cup of delicious vanilla ice cream. It still feels quite strange to be staying in someone’s home, but Xavier’s constant jokes and conversations in English go a long way to making me feel more comfortable. After one week I finally feel enough at ease to really put my Spanish language skills, no matter how insignificant, to greater use. Blanca was quite impressed at my vocabulary, which I explained to her my difficulty in forming my large repertoire of words into grammatically correct sentences. I was trying to tell her a little bit about my time spent at sea, which went much better than I expected in my clipped Spanish phrases. I find listening to my host family, her children, and even her grandchildren a great help. After dinner Blanca and Xavier asked me if I would like to go to the beach next Sunday with the entire family, which I am looking forward to as opposed to taking the multiple buses to Progreso. It will be fun to watch them interact with their grandchildren and I am sure that it will remind me of my childhood at the beach with my own family.
By now my readers have assuredly read the previous post and are familiar with the events of this evening. Gideon, as I have come to call my scrawny visitor emerged quickly from above the florescent bulb shortly after I turned out the lights. I do not like how their creepy little bottles wobble back and forth as they scamper across the wall, nor do I like their disgusting yellow green coloring that becomes almost peach in certain lightings. At first Gideon made his way toward the closet at the opposite end of the room, but my quick thinking halted this merry scuttling across the peach colored wall as I turned back on the light. I would like to offer my actions of this night to some sort of scientific research. Geckos are smart little buggers. Light clearly equals bugs, which clearly equals food. They apparently can do the math. With this theory proved I turned off the overhead florescent and turned on the lamp next to not only the bed, but also the door. It took some time and alternating between light sources, but eventually, after already opening the heavy wooden door, I pushed open the screen and he disappeared. Of course time seems to fly when dealing with these night critters and so it was well after midnight before I lay restless looking around my, what I assumed to be, secure abode.
June 8th, 2009
Obviously my 6:30 wake-up call arrived too soon and I begrudgingly crawled out of bed to get ready for class. After last night if anyone has a gecko that needs to be trained I would be more than glad to help for a small fee, though potty training is additional. This morning breakfast was a delicious plate of cheesy eggs with pieces of bacon and onion. I’m not sure if my face is easy to read or if Blanca is beginning to guess by the amount of fruit left which ones are my favorites and which ones are not so much. She has taken to placing an apple and a banana at my place setting, which I always eat the banana at breakfast, and take the apple for a snack during class.
Class passed rather quickly, but I still feel as if my instructor constantly chooses me to go first, in which case you have no model to base your answer on. Today I was asked to create a question in the future tense, which everyone tried to correct after the fact, only to discover that indeed I was correct after all. My Spanish is horrible and yet I knew that my question was in the appropriate tense. I even made it a point to say, “Isn’t that exactly what I said,” when Ismael wrote it on the board for everyone to see. After our break I was again asked to read my one page essay first on our visit to Yóol Iik’. I even had to sit in the front of the classroom facing my peers and read the essay aloud. When I reached the portion about Chris forgetting the name of his wife, everyone burst out in laughter. Keep in mind my entire essay is written in Maya. Ismael gave me a “Jach ma’alob,” meaning “very good,” and mine was the only essay not to get corrected on the dry erase board. I’m patting myself on the back right now.
The afternoon passed a bit slowly with me lounging lazily in the hammock. After a traditional Mexican lunch accompanied by two cold Hershey kisses, I retired to my room where clean sheets awaited me on the bed along with a fresh towel. It was so cute at lunch how Blanca dug around in the fridge looking for the box of Hershey’s as if she had hidden it away from everyone. It feels like Ismael gives us quite a bit of homework and I wish that it did not take so long to do.
Dinner was a delicious hot dog, no chance of forgetting American food altogether, followed by, of all things a cinnamon bun and the freshest one I have ever tasted. I have decied that either my blog gets published in Spanish and they know how much I enjoy my sweets, or they are concerned that I will melt away into nothingness. My shower once again shut off before I was complete, but I think that I am finally beginning to get the timing right so that at least the shampoo is rinsed out of my hair. Tomorrow we have a lecture at four o’clock so I am not sure if I will return to Blanca’s or wait it out in the city.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Proceed at Your Own Risk...Just Kidding
First, try not to analyze if you can see my rib cage in the last photo on the right side of my body, the left side when you are looking at the picture. I promise that the only thing not fitting are my shorts. Second, try to ignore any mistakes in the last entry since it was written in a frazzled state as Gideon, my not so welcome friend scurried around the ceiling. I have finally coaxed him out the door with some fancy lampwork to attract him to the light and warmth and pray that he is finding happier feeding grounds elsewhere. Lastly, I forgot to mention the lovely heat rashes that have since appeared on my hands, shoulder, arm pits, and wrists, which I have treated with my anti-itch creams and am satisfied with the results. Secondly a mere twenty minutes in the sun at Progreso has bought me a wonderfully peeling forehead and the mosquito bite count has halted, thankfully, at twenty. I seem to have found a somewhat workable solution, combining two types of repellant for prevention, and six types of anti-histamine creams for treatment including Aveeno, Cortaid, Benadryl, StingEze and a yellow tube with a green lid, all of which would work significantly better if Cherylie were here to threaten stabbing a fork through my hand if I touched them one more time. Honestly though, this first batch of bites will be gone in a few days so something is actually working. Now that I am feeling in a much better mood, and Gideon has tucked me in for the night...I can hopefully sleep some of the next six hours.
Progreso
June 6th, 2009
I made another attempt this morning to take a shower and found once again that the water was still unavailable. I feel absolutely disgusting, an oily blob with an invisible sheath of sticky bug repellant. I made do with what amenities were available, thankful that my spray bottle was full of water to aid in assembling my curls into some order as opposed to the smashed bed head curls a la humidity, which basically translates as “AHHH!” each and every morning. My breakfast was served at a quarter to ten, delicious little rolls called pancito with strawberry preserves and slices of pineapple. Connie and Mark arrived and sat with my host family as I finished my breakfast and off we went to the bus station already feeling the heat of the day.
We began our trip by walking several blocks to catch the San Lucas bus into the city center, which we take to class each morning. Upon arrival in the city we trudged along for what seemed like forever in the already blazing sun to the bus terminal where we boarded the, hallelujah, air conditioned bus to Progreso. It was a forty minute ride north, where upon arrival we had to walk another four or so blocks to the beach. At this point I already felt quite scorched and lathered on the sunscreen. We choose a table at Eladio’s on the beach where I enjoyed a cold drink and panuchos, one of my favorite Yucatecan dishes of shredded pork or chicken atop crispy tortillas with avocado, tomato, and red onions. It took quite some time to navigate the currency since we are all trying to break our larger bills for smaller ones before Santa Elena.
The beach was speckled with thousands of tiny shells, focused predominately along the edge of the blue water, which was a pretty shade of turquoise, though definitely on the cloudier side. It was even more surprising to step into the calm surf, its warmth quite a shock and preferable to colder temperatures since it still felt refreshing in the fiery of the sun. We positioned our bags under a lone palm tree for some shade, and I knew after a short time in the sun that I was getting pretty burnt. As the shade moved with the movement of the sun, I shifted my towel around the perimeter of the palm to keep my nose and forehead shaded for the remainder of the afternoon. It was a wonderful feeling to be at the beach, and surprising to find it so deserted on a Saturday since many families in Merida make the trip to Progreso each weekend. Almost as soon as we arrived the ocean breeze was a welcome change from the stuffy quarters of the city blocks and I felt for the first time this week that breathing came naturally once again.
When I finally returned to my host house I had barely walked into my room before I grabbed my shampoo and body wash and dashed off to the shower, which at last was delivering a chilly flow of water. It felt so good on my burnt skin and sandy body. Afterwards I was extremely thankful for packing aloe and quickly fell into a deep sleep as any day at the beach is bound to provide.
La Casa de Blanca y Xavier
My bedroom
The hammock, television, and bed in my room with the two walls of windows.
The old, old tape holding the screen together where creepy crawlies can enter and the location of my band-aids (I'll post that soon.)
The large holes near the levers where my favorite little geckos haven't tried to get into yet.
Yool Iik'
June 4th, 2009
Since Mother Nature conveniently forgot to pour buckets yesterday afternoon, today’s forecast will prove even more humid than the last few days. I sincerely hope that today will bring the ever so welcome rain clouds. Perhaps I will have to perform a dance to Cháak while pouring water over my head. Breakfast this morning consisted of French toast and cantaloupe, of which I am not a huge fan, though the toast was amazing. I woke up feeling a bit dizzy today and am very thankful for the purified water that the families provide. Xavier is quite amusing and always promises to ask only one question each meal, which of course turns into an endless string of inquiries. Today he was asking about my family and Tim, deciding not to call “il novio” by the Spanish equivalent, Timateo, since it is less attractive to the ear.
Class ended an hour earlier today for a small field trip to Yóol Iik’, the Maya speaking radio station located off the main zocalo. After a short walk in the blazing noon sun, and bustling sidestreets we crowded into the small air conditioned waiting room of Yóol Iik’. Christa, Pablo, Christopher, and I made our way down the hall to the Yóol Iik control room, while Connie, Mark, and Allison awaited their turn. What we didn’t know, but were shortly about to find out, was that we were the sole topic of today’s broadcast. Yes, we were “on air,” speaking solely in Maya. The radio announcer took turns asking us questions such as our name, our hometown, and our course of study, to our relationship status, and our reason for studying Maya. He had a very difficult time pronouncing my name, a commonality I have found both this year and last. Quickly my name became the simplified Maya xJeder once again, with of course everyone laughing at the announcers attempts to pronounce a –th sound. Christa forgot why she was studying Maya, Pablo received a call from a listener which quickly turned into a Spanish rather than Maya conversation, and Christopher surprisingly forgot the name of his wife, to much laughter from my fellow classmates. Needless to say we were all quite pleased when the whole ordeal was complete.
Afterwards the program paid for Level II and Level II to enjoy a traditional Yucatecan lunch in the city, where for the first time this year I enjoyed my very favorite sopa de lima and jamaica. Jach ki’, very tasty! I spent the afternoon in a bit of a daze thanks to the overbearing heat and lack of rain. At six o’clock four of my classmates and I braved the darkened sky and gathered at Allison’s host house to study and work on our homework assignment, where the clouds rolled in and the rain began at last. I genuinely did not want to join the study group, preferring the comfort of my purple hammock near the window. However, many of my classmates had already finished the translation and so it was a breeze for me to complete my own as we corrected the assignment together. Dinner was a delicious plate of quesadillas, before my delightful, note the sarcasm, ice cold shower and bed.
June 5th, 2009
This morning I unfortunately discovered the fate of my leftover fruit. It would seem that my cantaloupe from yesterday morning has transformed into a cold glass of chunky cantaloupe juice. Not so appetizing. I am now faced with the choice of finishing my fruit or facing it a second time perhaps in a less appealing form, a decision I faced with my plate of watermelon this morning, which will not be waiting for me in a glass tomorrow. Obviously I forced myself to eat the nasty, tasteless red bits.
The first strange occurrence of the morning began waiting on the corner for the bus, which proved to be quite a prolonged wait unlike the last several mornings. Three stops after boarding brought our very first chance meeting on the bus with Mark, one of our fellow classmates. Several minutes later and the friendly face of Grant from Level III boarded our bus. I have found it quite strange that we all live so close to each other and yet have never been on the same bus into the city center until this morning. Upon arrival to the UNAM were we shocked to find all of our peers waiting across the street in the shade of a building, the front door to the university securely locked. After twenty minutes the secretary finally arrived with the keys and we filed into our classroom ready to begin.
Forty minutes passed quickly when Christa, sitting two seats in front of me, knocked her notebook onto the floor and leaned back in her chair. Later we decided that she appeared to be laughing hysterically, though it became obvious within seconds that something was quite wrong. First her small body tensed up and began convulsing uncontrollably. Her head fell backwards nearly into Pablo’s lap, her eyes rolling back into her head, and foam pouring out of her mouth. It looked so painful. Connie and Allison managed to reposition her on the tile floor, Christa’s heart rate beating fiercely, and foam rolling onto the tile. After sixty seconds, time had slowed to the pace of a snail, her body relaxed and she seemed to be in a state of sleep. At the same time our professor Ismael was calling Lupe, our coordinator here in Merida and my Level I professor’s wife, who in turn called the doctor. Several more minutes passed before the heavy breathing stopped and she lay motionless on the floor. As Connie moved to reposition her body, Christa sat up and apologized for falling asleep in class, though she had no idea how she had come to be on the floor. She remembered nothing of the incident, and was shocked since she had never had a seizure. She moved to a chair next to Pablo, but I think that all of us could tell that she was not completely there. She even tried to stay for the rest of the class, but Lupe would have none of that and so with her hands shaking and barely able to walk she left for the hospital.
It was a very upsetting event to witness and we were all quite shaken for the remainder of the day. I cannot imagine how scary that would be to have a seizure in a foreign country with none of your loved ones around to protect you and make sure that you are safe. I was very upset for the rest of the day and would really have loved to hear the voice of someone I loved.
When class concluded I returned home for lunch where Blanca once again surprised me with a strange but familiar mannerism. She produced a cold glass of tea from the fridge, which she stirred with a knife in the same way as Nana before wiping the blade on her blouse. After lunch I walked to Connie’s house, noticing that the interior was much fancier than that of my own host family. The pool area is quite charming in its own secluded little courtyard and we spent hours relaxing in the refreshing water. During my afternoon at Anna Rosa’s and Ricardo’s he invited Connie and I to the restaurant that they own and so at nine o’clock we will walk the four blocks to his restaurant.
I was disappointed upon my return to my own host house to find a lack of running water for the remainder of the evening. I wanted nothing more than a cold shower in order to feel refreshed before tonight’s festivities. Without running water I used my bottled water to brush my teeth and wash my face as best as could be managed and together Connie and I went to La Calle, Ricardo’s restaurant. It is a charming little establishment and bar with a simple menu and live music, which occasionally Ricardo even performs himself. He made us feel right at home and brought us fishbowl sized glasses of jamaica, even though he wanted to bring us a cold beer. I think we were both too concerned about the events of the day to consider drinking and were focused on keeping ourselves hydrated. When I returned home there was still no running water and I was very disappointed not to get a shower before bed, especially since I hadn’t showered at this point since Thursday evening.
I am praying for a shower in the morning before a ten o’clock departure with Mark and Connie to the beach in Progreso.
Since Mother Nature conveniently forgot to pour buckets yesterday afternoon, today’s forecast will prove even more humid than the last few days. I sincerely hope that today will bring the ever so welcome rain clouds. Perhaps I will have to perform a dance to Cháak while pouring water over my head. Breakfast this morning consisted of French toast and cantaloupe, of which I am not a huge fan, though the toast was amazing. I woke up feeling a bit dizzy today and am very thankful for the purified water that the families provide. Xavier is quite amusing and always promises to ask only one question each meal, which of course turns into an endless string of inquiries. Today he was asking about my family and Tim, deciding not to call “il novio” by the Spanish equivalent, Timateo, since it is less attractive to the ear.
Class ended an hour earlier today for a small field trip to Yóol Iik’, the Maya speaking radio station located off the main zocalo. After a short walk in the blazing noon sun, and bustling sidestreets we crowded into the small air conditioned waiting room of Yóol Iik’. Christa, Pablo, Christopher, and I made our way down the hall to the Yóol Iik control room, while Connie, Mark, and Allison awaited their turn. What we didn’t know, but were shortly about to find out, was that we were the sole topic of today’s broadcast. Yes, we were “on air,” speaking solely in Maya. The radio announcer took turns asking us questions such as our name, our hometown, and our course of study, to our relationship status, and our reason for studying Maya. He had a very difficult time pronouncing my name, a commonality I have found both this year and last. Quickly my name became the simplified Maya xJeder once again, with of course everyone laughing at the announcers attempts to pronounce a –th sound. Christa forgot why she was studying Maya, Pablo received a call from a listener which quickly turned into a Spanish rather than Maya conversation, and Christopher surprisingly forgot the name of his wife, to much laughter from my fellow classmates. Needless to say we were all quite pleased when the whole ordeal was complete.
Afterwards the program paid for Level II and Level II to enjoy a traditional Yucatecan lunch in the city, where for the first time this year I enjoyed my very favorite sopa de lima and jamaica. Jach ki’, very tasty! I spent the afternoon in a bit of a daze thanks to the overbearing heat and lack of rain. At six o’clock four of my classmates and I braved the darkened sky and gathered at Allison’s host house to study and work on our homework assignment, where the clouds rolled in and the rain began at last. I genuinely did not want to join the study group, preferring the comfort of my purple hammock near the window. However, many of my classmates had already finished the translation and so it was a breeze for me to complete my own as we corrected the assignment together. Dinner was a delicious plate of quesadillas, before my delightful, note the sarcasm, ice cold shower and bed.
June 5th, 2009
This morning I unfortunately discovered the fate of my leftover fruit. It would seem that my cantaloupe from yesterday morning has transformed into a cold glass of chunky cantaloupe juice. Not so appetizing. I am now faced with the choice of finishing my fruit or facing it a second time perhaps in a less appealing form, a decision I faced with my plate of watermelon this morning, which will not be waiting for me in a glass tomorrow. Obviously I forced myself to eat the nasty, tasteless red bits.
The first strange occurrence of the morning began waiting on the corner for the bus, which proved to be quite a prolonged wait unlike the last several mornings. Three stops after boarding brought our very first chance meeting on the bus with Mark, one of our fellow classmates. Several minutes later and the friendly face of Grant from Level III boarded our bus. I have found it quite strange that we all live so close to each other and yet have never been on the same bus into the city center until this morning. Upon arrival to the UNAM were we shocked to find all of our peers waiting across the street in the shade of a building, the front door to the university securely locked. After twenty minutes the secretary finally arrived with the keys and we filed into our classroom ready to begin.
Forty minutes passed quickly when Christa, sitting two seats in front of me, knocked her notebook onto the floor and leaned back in her chair. Later we decided that she appeared to be laughing hysterically, though it became obvious within seconds that something was quite wrong. First her small body tensed up and began convulsing uncontrollably. Her head fell backwards nearly into Pablo’s lap, her eyes rolling back into her head, and foam pouring out of her mouth. It looked so painful. Connie and Allison managed to reposition her on the tile floor, Christa’s heart rate beating fiercely, and foam rolling onto the tile. After sixty seconds, time had slowed to the pace of a snail, her body relaxed and she seemed to be in a state of sleep. At the same time our professor Ismael was calling Lupe, our coordinator here in Merida and my Level I professor’s wife, who in turn called the doctor. Several more minutes passed before the heavy breathing stopped and she lay motionless on the floor. As Connie moved to reposition her body, Christa sat up and apologized for falling asleep in class, though she had no idea how she had come to be on the floor. She remembered nothing of the incident, and was shocked since she had never had a seizure. She moved to a chair next to Pablo, but I think that all of us could tell that she was not completely there. She even tried to stay for the rest of the class, but Lupe would have none of that and so with her hands shaking and barely able to walk she left for the hospital.
It was a very upsetting event to witness and we were all quite shaken for the remainder of the day. I cannot imagine how scary that would be to have a seizure in a foreign country with none of your loved ones around to protect you and make sure that you are safe. I was very upset for the rest of the day and would really have loved to hear the voice of someone I loved.
When class concluded I returned home for lunch where Blanca once again surprised me with a strange but familiar mannerism. She produced a cold glass of tea from the fridge, which she stirred with a knife in the same way as Nana before wiping the blade on her blouse. After lunch I walked to Connie’s house, noticing that the interior was much fancier than that of my own host family. The pool area is quite charming in its own secluded little courtyard and we spent hours relaxing in the refreshing water. During my afternoon at Anna Rosa’s and Ricardo’s he invited Connie and I to the restaurant that they own and so at nine o’clock we will walk the four blocks to his restaurant.
I was disappointed upon my return to my own host house to find a lack of running water for the remainder of the evening. I wanted nothing more than a cold shower in order to feel refreshed before tonight’s festivities. Without running water I used my bottled water to brush my teeth and wash my face as best as could be managed and together Connie and I went to La Calle, Ricardo’s restaurant. It is a charming little establishment and bar with a simple menu and live music, which occasionally Ricardo even performs himself. He made us feel right at home and brought us fishbowl sized glasses of jamaica, even though he wanted to bring us a cold beer. I think we were both too concerned about the events of the day to consider drinking and were focused on keeping ourselves hydrated. When I returned home there was still no running water and I was very disappointed not to get a shower before bed, especially since I hadn’t showered at this point since Thursday evening.
I am praying for a shower in the morning before a ten o’clock departure with Mark and Connie to the beach in Progreso.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
I am Stuck on Band-Aid Brand
June 2nd, 2009
Last night I welcomed the first of my favorite friends, brought most assuredly by the rain and increase in mosquitoes, though I still only have one bite. As several tiny geckos jumped around the jungle gym of window panes, I grabbed my tennis shoe to knock their creepy little bodies off the screens. After sealing the windows, one pesky critter remained chasing a moth, and with much horror I watched it leap and gobble the trapped prey before disappearing through the glass. With that settled I drifted off to sleep listening to my shuffle and praying that my windows were steadfastly secure. Since the windows resolve to protect me from the creatures of the night weren’t in question anymore, the fraying screen of a single pane surely was. I knew my first task for the new day lie in a solution to the gaping hole in my otherwise secure abode.
Breakfast proved to be a delicious plate of pineapple and banana, cinnamon pancakes, and peach juice, actually quite palatable and sweet in comparison to the orange. When I showed Blanca a picture of “il novio” at her request, she remarked that Tim and I were a beautiful couple, “muy bonita.” In fact both Blanca and Javiere found Cyrulik easier to pronounce than Lundy. The walk to the bus was uneventful and Connie seemed amazed at how well I remembered and navigated the streets of Merida to our class at the UNAM. Class of course was routine and at least until the weekend will prove to be more of a bore.
On our return trip the bus drive right passed our stop and so Connie and I were forced to navigate two additional blocks in the blazing sun. Lunch consisted of chicken tortillas, refried beans, and a bowl of what I can only imagine was carrot soup, and I know everyone is familiar with my intense dislike towards the orange veggie. Javiere informed me that the pool was being cleaned and re-chlorinated so that very soon it would be ready for me to swim whenever I wished. What a relief since tomorrow is forecast at 103 degrees. My afternoon was spent lounging in the purple hammock while studying Maya and listening to the sound of the 4:00 storm.
All four of Blanca’s grandchildren were present today and I found with much amusement that her mannerisms remind me of my Nana – the way she moves her hands when she is unsure, the way she raises her eyebrows when she smiles, the silly expression she gets when she finds one of her grandchildren amusing, and most significantly, the way she wipes her hands on her backside while she is cooking and places them on her hips.
I was extremely pleased to find a simple sandwich for dinner with a pitcher of fresh pineapple juice, which Blanca instructed me to take to my room afterwards. In this heat a heavy meal only seems to weigh you down and so I always welcome a lighter dish. Since there is no warm water my shower was frigid, turning me into a human popsicle in mere seconds. My last task for the day, now that you are wondering what happened to the hole in the screen, was to determine how to patch a tear in the screen without tape, as several worn strips dangling from the opening announced a past similar solution. As I looked through my belongings I determined that band-aids were my best bet, and so now, my screen is quite literally stuck on band-aid brand. Only one gecko sneaked between the glass and screen before quickly departing and I fell asleep feeling much relieved about my sticky solution.
June 3rd, 2009
Today began just as the rest, waking early and eating in a rush to rendezvous with Connie. Mexican eggs and toast awaited me at the table, along with apple juice and sadly a plate of cantaloupe. I managed to stuff two bites of the fowl fruit into my mouth after finishing both slices of toast and eggs before hearing Connie’s voice at the gate. Saved by my crazy friend I rushed out of the kitchen and made my way to class.
I am becoming more and more confused by what aspect of language and grammar we are discussing, especially since Ismael only speaks in Spanish to explain Maya. Allison and I talked after class and I am beginning to understand, finally, the significance of the –ej ending. Since today was Wednesday I can at least feel relieved that three days have passed and only two remain before a two day weekend. Mark mentioned making a day trip to the beach in Progresso about thirty minutes north of here and I would very much like to tag along. Connie wanted to go to the bookstore after class so I showed her Dante in the city center, before stopping at a nearby vendor to look for the bean bracelets everyone loved. Unfortunately none were to be found, though I did remember a conversation with Megan about mismatched button earrings for her friend Stephie. For the equivalent of a dollar fifty I purchased four different buttons of varying hues.
When I returned home I had a quick lunch of spaghetti with chicken before retiring to my purple hammock, taking two Tylenol for what I hope is just a dry parched throat and not a sore one. A few of us were meeting at six o’clock to do our homework together, but it is pouring and I don’t feel like getting drenched, especially until someone rescues me by bringing my rain jacket, which we still managed not to pack in the suitcase. Babe and Tim…I want my rain jacket. Lastly, a single mosquito visited out classroom today. The bloodsucking vampire managed to partake of my lovely right arm, which is now suffering from four irritated red lumps on my elbow and shoulder, but don’t fret I only have six types of anti-itch bite sticks to choose from.
Last night I welcomed the first of my favorite friends, brought most assuredly by the rain and increase in mosquitoes, though I still only have one bite. As several tiny geckos jumped around the jungle gym of window panes, I grabbed my tennis shoe to knock their creepy little bodies off the screens. After sealing the windows, one pesky critter remained chasing a moth, and with much horror I watched it leap and gobble the trapped prey before disappearing through the glass. With that settled I drifted off to sleep listening to my shuffle and praying that my windows were steadfastly secure. Since the windows resolve to protect me from the creatures of the night weren’t in question anymore, the fraying screen of a single pane surely was. I knew my first task for the new day lie in a solution to the gaping hole in my otherwise secure abode.
Breakfast proved to be a delicious plate of pineapple and banana, cinnamon pancakes, and peach juice, actually quite palatable and sweet in comparison to the orange. When I showed Blanca a picture of “il novio” at her request, she remarked that Tim and I were a beautiful couple, “muy bonita.” In fact both Blanca and Javiere found Cyrulik easier to pronounce than Lundy. The walk to the bus was uneventful and Connie seemed amazed at how well I remembered and navigated the streets of Merida to our class at the UNAM. Class of course was routine and at least until the weekend will prove to be more of a bore.
On our return trip the bus drive right passed our stop and so Connie and I were forced to navigate two additional blocks in the blazing sun. Lunch consisted of chicken tortillas, refried beans, and a bowl of what I can only imagine was carrot soup, and I know everyone is familiar with my intense dislike towards the orange veggie. Javiere informed me that the pool was being cleaned and re-chlorinated so that very soon it would be ready for me to swim whenever I wished. What a relief since tomorrow is forecast at 103 degrees. My afternoon was spent lounging in the purple hammock while studying Maya and listening to the sound of the 4:00 storm.
All four of Blanca’s grandchildren were present today and I found with much amusement that her mannerisms remind me of my Nana – the way she moves her hands when she is unsure, the way she raises her eyebrows when she smiles, the silly expression she gets when she finds one of her grandchildren amusing, and most significantly, the way she wipes her hands on her backside while she is cooking and places them on her hips.
I was extremely pleased to find a simple sandwich for dinner with a pitcher of fresh pineapple juice, which Blanca instructed me to take to my room afterwards. In this heat a heavy meal only seems to weigh you down and so I always welcome a lighter dish. Since there is no warm water my shower was frigid, turning me into a human popsicle in mere seconds. My last task for the day, now that you are wondering what happened to the hole in the screen, was to determine how to patch a tear in the screen without tape, as several worn strips dangling from the opening announced a past similar solution. As I looked through my belongings I determined that band-aids were my best bet, and so now, my screen is quite literally stuck on band-aid brand. Only one gecko sneaked between the glass and screen before quickly departing and I fell asleep feeling much relieved about my sticky solution.
June 3rd, 2009
Today began just as the rest, waking early and eating in a rush to rendezvous with Connie. Mexican eggs and toast awaited me at the table, along with apple juice and sadly a plate of cantaloupe. I managed to stuff two bites of the fowl fruit into my mouth after finishing both slices of toast and eggs before hearing Connie’s voice at the gate. Saved by my crazy friend I rushed out of the kitchen and made my way to class.
I am becoming more and more confused by what aspect of language and grammar we are discussing, especially since Ismael only speaks in Spanish to explain Maya. Allison and I talked after class and I am beginning to understand, finally, the significance of the –ej ending. Since today was Wednesday I can at least feel relieved that three days have passed and only two remain before a two day weekend. Mark mentioned making a day trip to the beach in Progresso about thirty minutes north of here and I would very much like to tag along. Connie wanted to go to the bookstore after class so I showed her Dante in the city center, before stopping at a nearby vendor to look for the bean bracelets everyone loved. Unfortunately none were to be found, though I did remember a conversation with Megan about mismatched button earrings for her friend Stephie. For the equivalent of a dollar fifty I purchased four different buttons of varying hues.
When I returned home I had a quick lunch of spaghetti with chicken before retiring to my purple hammock, taking two Tylenol for what I hope is just a dry parched throat and not a sore one. A few of us were meeting at six o’clock to do our homework together, but it is pouring and I don’t feel like getting drenched, especially until someone rescues me by bringing my rain jacket, which we still managed not to pack in the suitcase. Babe and Tim…I want my rain jacket. Lastly, a single mosquito visited out classroom today. The bloodsucking vampire managed to partake of my lovely right arm, which is now suffering from four irritated red lumps on my elbow and shoulder, but don’t fret I only have six types of anti-itch bite sticks to choose from.
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