July 2nd, 2009
Finally the morning of our departure arrived and I could not help but arrive at breakfast early to my intense disappointment. Of course our final breakfast was nearly unpalatable, a plate of papaya, watermelon, and pineapple, along with a dish of flan, and some toast. I managed to eat the pineapple and a few slices of toast minus the questionable jelly, but with a little bit of butter and honey instead. Since a few slices remained I packed enough for a cheese sandwich, since Allison had bought Manchego from a local store for a cheese sandwich of her own. Thus lunch today will consist of the Malian special in honor of the all bread and cheese diet suffered by Babe during her trip to Mali. Even after completing breakfast I had an hour before the arrival of our van to Valladolid, the first five minutes of which were spent bringing my bags the few feet to the loading zone. I couldn’t wait any longer to get out of my bungalow, the remaining fifty five minutes spent sitting at the breakfast table chatting with anyone that happened to show up.
Soon the van arrived along with Sharon who was finalizing the bills with both the Sacbe and individual loans to certain individuals. She tried to charge me nine dinners for Tim from the Chac Mool which I refused to pay since he only ate there four times. I repeated to Sharon where Tim and I were each night and she still seemed in disbelief, which I couldn’t understand since no one ate at the Chac Mool on Thursday and Friday with the various fieldtrips. In the end I did only pay for the four nights. The ride was largely uneventful except for the growing bladder pains that the three remaining passengers suffered, finally forcing Allison to use the facilities behind a rather carefully selected tree. As for Connie and I we continued on in some pain for ten minutes more before stopping at a restaurant in Piste for the restrooms, and an Oxxo for some snacks, including strawberry granola bars, animal crackers, and peach juice.
It wasn’t long before the familiar blocks of Valladolid began to flash past the glass windows and the van made its final approach around the main square stopping outside the steps of the Meson. Allison and I waited painfully for Connie to decide if she was going to book a single at the Meson or locate the nearby hostel. She seemed extremely flustered by the details of booking the room and relied heavily on Allison’s Spanish skills. It wasn’t long before she broke down with frustration when she was told there were no triples and Allison and I refused to have a third cot brought in for her. As we were signing the paperwork for our hotel stay and passing our luggage to the porter Connie finally decided to book a room as well. It was so nice to finally step into our air conditioned room and collapse on our beds. I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the beautiful pool that seemed all too familiar from my time spent at the Meson last year.
Dinner was spent in the gorgeous courtyard where the large chandeliers and ferns fashioned a serene tropical oasis. Familiar faces walked around the courtyard serving the various tables, I greeting my own waiter with a Maya phrase. The same excitement as last year registered on the face of my waiter when he discovered I spoke Yucatec. After a dinner of pasta carbonera Allison and I retired to our comfortable room where we discovered a tiny gecko hiding alongside the mirror in the bathroom. Since Allison had plenty of experience removing creepy crawlies and unwanted visitors from the girl’s rooms in Cuba she grabbed a piece of paper and a glass as I grabbed my spray bottle to coax the little fellow out from beside the mirror. As I sprayed Orinoco, a name chosen by Allison, he jumped from the sink to the floor where she gracefully managed to slap a glass over him. It all happened so fast until I realized Orinoco’s tail was wiggling inside the glass several centimeters from his tiny body. We were both horrified as Allison took the glass out the front door and dumped the small critter out. It wasn’t until a bit of research that we both felt better knowing Orinoco’s tail would eventually grow back, and obviously I felt better knowing my room was critter free for the night.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Final Photos of Santa Elena
*** New posting later tonight on my arrival in Valladolid. Just finishing up the Santa Elena material with a few final pictures. Enjoy. ***
The last night before Tim returned to Chicago. We ate dinner at the Pickled Onion while waiting out a rainstorm, only to discover a beautiful rainbow.
Tim and I at Pancho's in Merida where he had the flaming coffee.
Me making tortillas for the final fiesta at the Chac Mool. Donna Francisca is in the background.
"The palace" nestled in the jungle waiting for all the nasty spiders and geckos to come in.
The inside of "the palace." Don't be fooled by the beautiful sunlight, this is two minutes after the maid left right before I slammed the windows shut and pulled the blinds hoping to eliminate bugs.
The main square of Santa Elena from the church. This is just after a major storm that we waited out in the town cultural center, and yes, this is basically all there is of Santa Elena.
The last night before Tim returned to Chicago. We ate dinner at the Pickled Onion while waiting out a rainstorm, only to discover a beautiful rainbow.
Tim and I at Pancho's in Merida where he had the flaming coffee.
Me making tortillas for the final fiesta at the Chac Mool. Donna Francisca is in the background.
"The palace" nestled in the jungle waiting for all the nasty spiders and geckos to come in.
The inside of "the palace." Don't be fooled by the beautiful sunlight, this is two minutes after the maid left right before I slammed the windows shut and pulled the blinds hoping to eliminate bugs.
The main square of Santa Elena from the church. This is just after a major storm that we waited out in the town cultural center, and yes, this is basically all there is of Santa Elena.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Tin beetaj tamales!!
***Note: The pictures correspond to the previous blog posting, which is why they are not incorporated throughout the newest text. I will post Thursday and Friday later today with a few more pictures of me making tamales!! ***
Tim and I at the Hotel San Juan catching some rays.
Tim and I at Uxmal with a view of the Pyramid of the Magician and Nunnery.
The Pyramid of the Magician at Uxmal.
Another view of the Pyramid of the Magician.
The original colonial period well at Mani where the twisted cords are said to be buried.
Cute baby parrot at Labna.
June 30th, 2009
It seems as if I always begin my blog with breakfast and so following tradition I had a bowl of cardboard like cereal that was completely unsatisfying along with an untouched bowl of papaya and watermelon. At least the tea was palatable. My leg is extremely sore from the cramps last night and so I found myself hobbling along to the classroom bungalow where we reviewed largely for tomorrow’s exam. After class I returned to my room to close the windows and blinds which the maid perpetually opens to my absolute horror. I fell asleep minutes after lying down and woke up nearly an hour later, departing a little late for Donna Francisca’s. I am sure that my body needed the extra sleep after last night.
I walked especially slow into town, stopping shortly after the small schoolhouse to sit on the curb to regain both my strength and my vision, my leg nearly as tense as when the cramp occurred last night. Since I still felt quite dizzy, as a result of dehydration or of shock from the tensed muscle, I decided it was best to turn back to the Sacbe since it was closer than Donna Francisca’s. As I neared the Pickled Onion I walked up the rather steep hill to the patio to rest once again and to drink some cold water. What I imagined would be a quick rest suddenly turned into an extended stay, regaining my strength with more water, before attempting to make any form of contact with home. It was to my intense disappointment that after an hour I still had no news and sat staring at the laptop screen with utmost sadness. Since my Comcast account is no longer available, I have lost all emails sent between Sunday and Tuesday, please forward any sent messages to my new Gmail account, which I do not know the address for yet, or to my UIC account at hlundy2@uic.edu so that I can read everything that I missed.
My next attempt at communication also failed, Facebook encountering a server error, so I still had no idea if Tim arrived safely in Chicago. The last item on my list was checking comments on my blog, which it should not be surprising at this point to discover that of course those did not load as well. It was with much sadness that I finally sent an email from my UIC address with a new blog, not knowing anything that has happened at home. On the plus side, my blog is completely caught up and pictures will be posted soon, but I knew it would take forever to upload. After a few hours at the Pickled Onion, my stomach began to growl fiercely, and since my leg was still quite sore, I ordered a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich knowing I would never make it to dinner without food.
The evening class proved to be quite frustrating as my day continued to decline into the deepest quagmire. We walked around the grounds of the Sacbe with Don Humberto learning about indigenous plants, though paying attention was extremely difficult given the persistence of the mosquito’s. Every few seconds you would hear a load slap as a hand swiftly landing on a biting k’oxol. Shortly after we began the rain fell from the sky and we rushed back inside, which is too say that I hobbled rather slowly. Everyone is extremely frustrated with the evening classes since they seem largely like a waste of time.
During dinner we were joined by an evaluator that will be watching over the students and getting feedback about the program for the remainder of our stay. It feels very much like we are being watched. Sharon even warned Level I about their excessive drinking after they behaved so badly on Saturday at the Pickled Onion.
After dinner Christa, Mark, and I made the long walk into town to use the payphones. One hundred pesos bought me twenty five minutes, and after trying to contact Meg, I tried Tim instead to make sure that he was in Chicago and that the move-in day went smoothly. I think it was especially hard to hear his voice and it took a significant amount of control not to break down into tears. Hopefully after one more day in what I basically consider to be a glorified campsite, my mood will improve somewhat. Connie asked about getting a triple at the Meson for the long weekend which Allison and I flatly refused, especially since I am familiar with the accommodations and would never want to occupy a room with three individuals in such tight quarters. During my stay at the Meson with the program from Sunday evening through the following Friday I will be rooming with Stephanie from Level III, which is perfectly acceptable to me.
When I returned to the Sacbe, Mark and Chris came for a visit to “the palace” for some much needed study time, which of course made me feel a little bit less alone during the worst part of the day. We studied until midnight before everyone returned to their bungalows for a bit more studying and sleep.
July 1st, 2009
Once again we had eggs for breakfast with cheese and chaya, a glass of tamarind juice, and whole wheat toast with some very peculiar looking jelly. I stuck to butter instead. The exam lasted nearly an hour and a half, and I feel quite positive about my performance compared to the two previous tests. We have a small amount of homework for the next four days, followed by four days of class, a personal pool day for me since I will not return to Ek’ Balam, and then my departure on the 11th of July at about seven in the morning for my noon flight. I hope it goes by quickly.
After the exam I went to the internet café in town to see if I could figure out my email, which was only a waste of time and pesos since all of my mail is forwarded to the new Gmail account, I have no way of accessing the information for the username and password.
During my visit with Donna Francisca everyone was preparing for tonight’s goodbye fiesta at the Chac Mool, preparing two hundred tamales for all the students and their host families. Donna Francisca and I spent about an hour outside with her daughters making tamales, which was a very interesting experience in local cooking. Today I found that our conversation flowed quite well, especially since I am beginning to think less about what to say in Maya and actually just saying what I want to say and not what I know how to say.
When I left Donna Francisca’s I bought a Telcel phonecard and called Megan for a total of nine minutes to find out about my new Gmail account. Afterward I walked to the Pickled Onion where I picked up some laundry, actually checked my new Gmail account and blog comments, and swam in the pool.
Our afternoon class was another waste of two hours, especially since we also went to the town museum last year. We were late returning to the Sacbe, so I squeezed in a quick shower before the evening’s festivities began. Everyone’s family made an appearance, along with traditional dancing performances, singing, eating tamales and cake, and saying farewell to our Santa Elena families. Tomorrow we have breakfast at eight o’clock followed by a nine o’clock departure, hopefully arriving in Valladolid no later than one o’clock.
Tim and I at the Hotel San Juan catching some rays.
Tim and I at Uxmal with a view of the Pyramid of the Magician and Nunnery.
The Pyramid of the Magician at Uxmal.
Another view of the Pyramid of the Magician.
The original colonial period well at Mani where the twisted cords are said to be buried.
Cute baby parrot at Labna.
June 30th, 2009
It seems as if I always begin my blog with breakfast and so following tradition I had a bowl of cardboard like cereal that was completely unsatisfying along with an untouched bowl of papaya and watermelon. At least the tea was palatable. My leg is extremely sore from the cramps last night and so I found myself hobbling along to the classroom bungalow where we reviewed largely for tomorrow’s exam. After class I returned to my room to close the windows and blinds which the maid perpetually opens to my absolute horror. I fell asleep minutes after lying down and woke up nearly an hour later, departing a little late for Donna Francisca’s. I am sure that my body needed the extra sleep after last night.
I walked especially slow into town, stopping shortly after the small schoolhouse to sit on the curb to regain both my strength and my vision, my leg nearly as tense as when the cramp occurred last night. Since I still felt quite dizzy, as a result of dehydration or of shock from the tensed muscle, I decided it was best to turn back to the Sacbe since it was closer than Donna Francisca’s. As I neared the Pickled Onion I walked up the rather steep hill to the patio to rest once again and to drink some cold water. What I imagined would be a quick rest suddenly turned into an extended stay, regaining my strength with more water, before attempting to make any form of contact with home. It was to my intense disappointment that after an hour I still had no news and sat staring at the laptop screen with utmost sadness. Since my Comcast account is no longer available, I have lost all emails sent between Sunday and Tuesday, please forward any sent messages to my new Gmail account, which I do not know the address for yet, or to my UIC account at hlundy2@uic.edu so that I can read everything that I missed.
My next attempt at communication also failed, Facebook encountering a server error, so I still had no idea if Tim arrived safely in Chicago. The last item on my list was checking comments on my blog, which it should not be surprising at this point to discover that of course those did not load as well. It was with much sadness that I finally sent an email from my UIC address with a new blog, not knowing anything that has happened at home. On the plus side, my blog is completely caught up and pictures will be posted soon, but I knew it would take forever to upload. After a few hours at the Pickled Onion, my stomach began to growl fiercely, and since my leg was still quite sore, I ordered a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich knowing I would never make it to dinner without food.
The evening class proved to be quite frustrating as my day continued to decline into the deepest quagmire. We walked around the grounds of the Sacbe with Don Humberto learning about indigenous plants, though paying attention was extremely difficult given the persistence of the mosquito’s. Every few seconds you would hear a load slap as a hand swiftly landing on a biting k’oxol. Shortly after we began the rain fell from the sky and we rushed back inside, which is too say that I hobbled rather slowly. Everyone is extremely frustrated with the evening classes since they seem largely like a waste of time.
During dinner we were joined by an evaluator that will be watching over the students and getting feedback about the program for the remainder of our stay. It feels very much like we are being watched. Sharon even warned Level I about their excessive drinking after they behaved so badly on Saturday at the Pickled Onion.
After dinner Christa, Mark, and I made the long walk into town to use the payphones. One hundred pesos bought me twenty five minutes, and after trying to contact Meg, I tried Tim instead to make sure that he was in Chicago and that the move-in day went smoothly. I think it was especially hard to hear his voice and it took a significant amount of control not to break down into tears. Hopefully after one more day in what I basically consider to be a glorified campsite, my mood will improve somewhat. Connie asked about getting a triple at the Meson for the long weekend which Allison and I flatly refused, especially since I am familiar with the accommodations and would never want to occupy a room with three individuals in such tight quarters. During my stay at the Meson with the program from Sunday evening through the following Friday I will be rooming with Stephanie from Level III, which is perfectly acceptable to me.
When I returned to the Sacbe, Mark and Chris came for a visit to “the palace” for some much needed study time, which of course made me feel a little bit less alone during the worst part of the day. We studied until midnight before everyone returned to their bungalows for a bit more studying and sleep.
July 1st, 2009
Once again we had eggs for breakfast with cheese and chaya, a glass of tamarind juice, and whole wheat toast with some very peculiar looking jelly. I stuck to butter instead. The exam lasted nearly an hour and a half, and I feel quite positive about my performance compared to the two previous tests. We have a small amount of homework for the next four days, followed by four days of class, a personal pool day for me since I will not return to Ek’ Balam, and then my departure on the 11th of July at about seven in the morning for my noon flight. I hope it goes by quickly.
After the exam I went to the internet café in town to see if I could figure out my email, which was only a waste of time and pesos since all of my mail is forwarded to the new Gmail account, I have no way of accessing the information for the username and password.
During my visit with Donna Francisca everyone was preparing for tonight’s goodbye fiesta at the Chac Mool, preparing two hundred tamales for all the students and their host families. Donna Francisca and I spent about an hour outside with her daughters making tamales, which was a very interesting experience in local cooking. Today I found that our conversation flowed quite well, especially since I am beginning to think less about what to say in Maya and actually just saying what I want to say and not what I know how to say.
When I left Donna Francisca’s I bought a Telcel phonecard and called Megan for a total of nine minutes to find out about my new Gmail account. Afterward I walked to the Pickled Onion where I picked up some laundry, actually checked my new Gmail account and blog comments, and swam in the pool.
Our afternoon class was another waste of two hours, especially since we also went to the town museum last year. We were late returning to the Sacbe, so I squeezed in a quick shower before the evening’s festivities began. Everyone’s family made an appearance, along with traditional dancing performances, singing, eating tamales and cake, and saying farewell to our Santa Elena families. Tomorrow we have breakfast at eight o’clock followed by a nine o’clock departure, hopefully arriving in Valladolid no later than one o’clock.
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