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.