Vegetarianismo (Morgan)

It takes a certain courage to be a traveling vegetarian. Especially if you plan to live in a homestay, as the Merida program warrants, you have to come to certains terms with yourself. There are two options for those with self-imposed dietary restrictions. The first is to maintain the habit and risk an ideological barrier between yourself and the host family (given that they do not share your views toward meat). The second option, as painful as it may be, is to temporarily abandon vegetarianism for the sake of the cultural experience.

It's an extremely difficult choice. One of the essential qualities of a good traveler, and a good guest, is flexibity. On the other hand, my choice to become vegetarian some years ago was made in efforts to be a better "global citizen." Quite the catch-22.

Before coming to Mexico, I had prepared myself to live in a non-vegetarian family. On the personal information form that is used to place students in homestays, I had written "vegetarian, but willing to eat meat for cultural purposes."

You can imagine my surprise, then, upon the first meal with my Mexican host mother, she declares to the waiter that our gorditas will have to be made with egg, since we are vegetarian. Not only was I placed in a vegetarian homestay, but I've noticed a significant non-meat consuming culture in Merida. Mama Violeta, a Buddhist yoga instructor and vegetarian for 30 years, says that she is abstains from meat consumption for health reasons. She's also lactose intolerant, which renders her an ovo-vegetarian (eggs, but no dairy...very close to veganism).

Walking along the streets, I've noticed a significant sprinkling of vegetarian restaurants, or normal restaurants that advertize vegetarian options. Natural food and medicine stores are everywhere, and no one furrows their brows or widens their eyes in restaurants if I ask for food sin carne. (Quite the opposite of my European travel experiences. where the typical response would be "Excuse me, you don't eat meat? But...WHY?")

I feel that I'm still experiencing Mexican cuisine as any other person would. Cheese-filled empanadas, egg-filled enchiladas, sauteed soy with chile instead of chicken (that's really delicious), etc. Mama Violeta taught me how to order a hamburger at Burger King like anyone else would, except she instructed the worker to bread a thick slice of cheese with a little egg and throw it on the griddle to subtitute the meat. Fully dressed, it's even better than a normal burger :).

Not only have I been able to enjoy my time studying abroad, I have also been able to do so without compromising my vegetarian lifestyle. (AND there's free yoga in the backyard. I couldn't ask for more in a homestay.

Maya Chuy (Morgan)

Chuy is the Mayan word for embroidery. The traditional hupil, a dress worn by Mayan women, can be seen throughout the region. This indigenous technique has been wonderfully preserved over the years, and is today a thriving business that allows female artisans a step into the otherwise male-dominated world of entrepreneurship. Embroidery is perhaps the most striking of the crafts in the Yucatain. The bright, intricately woven floral patterns certainly catch the eye. Other local products include bags and baskets made from hennequen, sisal and palm leaves (all local raw material), delicate paper flowers and butterflies, silver jewelry, wooden jars and bowls, hammocks, wax figurines, paintings and wooden toys for children.

I recently had the opportunity to visit a local non-profit organization that works with local craftswomen. Tumben kinam encourages female entrepreneurship by helping individual women and cooperatives develop their products by coaching them on what type of merchandise sells in the modern market. They encourage women who have a skill for embroidery to produce handbags, coin purses, eyeglass cases and t-shirts in addition to the traditional hupil. Such products tend to appeal to the western tourist market present in the Yucatan, and allow the merchandise the flexibility to be exported to the United States and Europe, where they bring a higher price. Tumben kinam, directed by Sra. Sylvia Teran, also helps link the women with venders, one of which is the government-backed Casa de las Artesanias. Established in 1978, the project seeks to rescue and preserve indigenous craftsmanship by maintaining a market for traditional crafts. The organization stocks large stores in most major cities in Mexico with ware from local artesans. Casa de las Artesanias keeps two shops in Merida, one in the Centro and another on the Paseo Montejo. Featured in several guidebooks, these stores are the ideal starting point for those interested in artesanal crafts.

The work of local craftspeople is a daily sighting in Merida. From hupil-clad Mayan women on the bus to hammocks swinging on porches to woven Sisal shopping bags in the Supermarket, one is constantly reminded of the presence of Mayan culture in the Yucatan. Indigenous crafts therefore is one of the essential points of culture in the Mexican Yucatan.

Lunch at the Mama's House

Monday through Thursday, I get out of class at one and head towards the bus station. As I wait for a bus that goes towards Itzimna, my mind always wanders towards lunch and what my madre has made for me and my roommate. I try to predict what she has made and wonder if it would be better to grab a couple tacos to go or save the pesos and brave the unpredictability of her cooking. Most of the time I decide to go with her cooking and hope for the best. Somedays, I hope someone asks me if I wanna grab some lunch because I have a bad feeling about lunch at home. My gut normally serves me right and those bad feelings become tuna lunch days. The bus ride home always leads to a build up of my hunger. Something about sweating profusely while bouncing up and down makes me starved. The bus drops me off close to my house so I am able to scramble inside my house rather quickly, not having to endure more of the Mexican heat. I always hope for something really authentic for lunch. Something spicy and chickeny that is going to blow my mind...has yet to happen. No matter what the entre of the meal is, I can bet my life it is going to come with half a pound of rice. The bun-less burger, the empanadas, the soup, the tacoesque looking things, all of it comes with a huge amount of rice. I have learned that hot sauce makes it a lot easier to eat half a pound of rice, but every meal ends with a little rice baby in my stomach. After my madre serves lunch, she sits with me to talk but not to eat. I feel like such a fat kid sometimes shoveling rice into my mouth while she just watches and smiles. I must say we do have some candid conversations at lunch though. I understand maybe forty percent of what she says but somehow it still works. We have talked about cougars (not the large cats), my hair, girls she wants me to meet, life and death, carpe diem, her life, how she hates her son's girlfriend, and more. I must say, were pretty tight. I look forward to lunch every day after class, especially today. I came home and saw a huge pot of pasta and was stoked. I said I was hambre so she gave me a gigantic helping with cheese and hot sauce. I finished it all ten minutes later and was finishing my glass of water when I saw her coming at me with a big piece of tuna.......

People Are Strange, When You're A Stranger: A Native Tourist--Taylor Erwin

The waves forced the starboard side into the air, pummeling the port windows into the Caribbean waters before crests on that side reciprocated the unwarranted aggression; a pair of aquatic bully of a tempest violently see-sawing our ferry back to the mainland. Due in large part to my fatigue and newly discovered seasickness I found myself nearly dropping to my knees and Bugs Bunny-kissing the ground as I finally stepped foot on shore. It was Sunday afternoon, and we were just returning from a Cozumel fall break. As the events of that weekend are well documented - not without their plot holes, appropriate as they may be - I shall not relay another version of the same four days seen through another pair of sunglass wearing eyes. I will say, however, that our pool volleyball game was absolutely epic. México has certainly grown on me. Not that I ever had any animosity towards the basement in what is the house of North America, but I was new. Like a cellar the beginning of my occupation is somewhat lacking as my eyes adjust to the (cultural) darkness and my olfactory organ assimilates the redolent recollections I so rarely remember. Now, however, I've set up my shag rug, my thrift store sofa, black and white TV and I'm comfortably cohabiting with my collegiate comrades. Alright, I'll stop the alliterations. In all honesty, though, I have become so accustomed to life in México that I'm surprised when I don't recognize a street, or I sit on a bus I haven't yet plopped my over-indulgent American toosh onto. I don't quite feel like I'm an expatriate, but maybe America and I are having a trial separation. We all feel somewhat similar; that is, in a land where we're clearly not natives we still don't feel like tourists. It's an abroad purgatory. But it certainly adds an interesting dynamic to the whole situation. I'll be honest - and it sounds exceptionally supercilious and ethnocentric - but I feel there is some discrimination towards gringos down here. Nothing too much - most of it consists of assuming that we're more likely to buy a hammock on the street, regardless of the fact that each of us pass the vendors at least twice daily - but I've had a couple of instances where I've felt that the bus driver refused to pick me or a group of us up because we reflected the sun so brightly. Nevertheless, I believe that most of the people here are fully accepting of us; they're certainly friendly, and many will even try and bear with those of us who speak limited Español. I am in a feverish anticipation over our forthcoming excursions to the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco and I can say - with full transparency - that this has long been the part of the trip I have been looking forward to the most. Our group has proved fantastic, our educators superb and our meals inconceivably toothsome. And as much as I will rejoice upon my return to the States, I will feel more than slightly strange when I'm not invited into every shop I pass at 10:30 in the morning, offered a shot of tequila.

Fall Break, etc. - Andy Hagerman

Well yesterday marked the 40th day since we flew in to Yucatan and I must say that it has been quite an interesting experience thus far. On one hand I feel like I just got here a couple of weeks ago, but on the other hand I feel like I've lived here for at least a year. I've fallen into a routine of using the bus system, getting to UNAM, getting back to my house, going to clubs, restaurants, etc. It really feels like I live here, not like I'm visiting, and I like that. I find myself seeing large groups of other whitet people with fanny packs and cameras draped about their necks and I look at them as foreigners although I am one myself. I really feel like an inhabitant of the city and of the country as well. Typically, the majority of our group goes out to the discotech's on the weekends, but this past weekend it was a relief to make our way out of the city of Merida and do a bit of traveling. The four hour ride to Puerto Morelos followed by the 30 minute boat ride to Cozumel flew by and before I knew it we were relaxing by the ocean. The resort atmosphere provided a good, relaxing weekend, but by the time Sunday rolled around, I was quite ready to return to Merida. It was fun, but being surrounded by strictly other Americans at the resort made me feel as if I wasn't in Mexico anymore and quite possibly could have been at any one of a thousand resorts in Florida or another American beach site. However, the island atmosphere was fantastic and was a pretty fun adventure. The weekend before Fall Break Lee, John, Blair, Sarah and I all made the trek to Chichen Itza which was amazing. The bus ride was quite cheap, as was the entrance fee and we were able to see the great structures at the site. I must have taken 1,000 pictures of the large temple alone. I'm quite excited that in a few days we're leaving for Palenque/Chiapas, Oaxaca and Villahermosa...this is the trip I've been counting down for since I first got our schedule. Oaxaca is very famous for Day of the Dead and it's really cool that we get to be there on that occasion...I get to post another blog not too long after that experience so that will be nice. Until the next time, hasta luego, Andres

No Way Only Half Way!? - Lee Myers-White

So I was taking a look at the calendar for our trip last night and I noticed that in four days we will be only half way through our trip! I am not sure about everyone else but I feel like I have lived here for about three years. The only thing keeping me from believing that is that I am still awful at Spanish. This week trying to take things fairly easy after a great time in Cozumel, possibly just go to the beach on Friday and then maybe go to Uxmal, another very large set of ruins, on Saturday before we leave on our ten day trip to Oaxaca and Chiapas. Yes let me spell this out for you, we have fall break in Cozumel, come back and have only 4 days of class and then leave on Saturday for a ten day trip. It just doesn't seem fair does it? Right now just sitting in Starbucks thinking I will be doing work soon but knowing that with internet at my disposal it may not happen for some time. Being my first blog entry I feel like I should have more to contribute, especially after Cozumel, but if you want to good idea of what it was like I suggest trying to check out the facebook pictures, I feel like they capture it better than I can in words. Also just recently picked a topic for our final project in Phylis' folklore class, I am working in a group of a few people and we decided to go around Merida and take pictures of graffiti. I found one flaw in our choice of topic as I snagged my camera the next time I was leaving the house: there is barley any graffiti in this city, almost nonexistent. All of walls are spotless. The only bit I can find is scribbled on bus seats or the classic bathroom stall. So as of now I am not sure what I am going to do. I have had almost 2 months to experience things to explain in this blog and this is all I can get and my next one is in a week so hopefully something monumental happens in 6 days or the next one may be pretty weak. Hasta luego!

We left our mark on Cozumel and Cozumel left its mark on us - Lydia McCollum

Where to begin, where to begin…fall break ’09 in Cozumel was definitely an unforgettable trip! It all started Thursday morning October 15 when we woke up at 6 am to meet the bus at Phyllis and Allison’s at 7am, according to Jose the bus waits for no one. My mom Irene insisted that she would drive me and Rachel to meet the bus so we did not have to take a taxi so early. However, Mama Irene is definitely on Mexican time and does not hurry very often. One thing I’ve noticed since day one in Mexico is that no one is in a hurry and that society moves at a much slower pace than in the United States. I think that expression that is often seen on T-shirts and used in the US “We’re on Island Time” should be changed to “We’re on Mexican Time”. I am enjoying the slow pace of society. It’s a nice change from what I’m use to and I’m adjusting quite well. So when 6:45 on Thursday rolled around and my mom was still not awake, I began to wonder if she really had said she would take us or if there was a minor miscommunication with the language and all. I decide to knock on her door and find out. She said we will leave in 10 minutes. I looked at Rachel saw the panic in her face because since we were going to be late, but there was nothing we could do. Nevertheless, we left at five minutes till 7 and made it just in time to hop on the bus before it took off. It was a four hour bus ride to Playa Del Carmen and by the time we arrived we were all bursting with excitement. In Playa Del Carmen we caught the ferry to Cozumel. After an hour ferry ride with traditional music and a 30 minute taxi ride with Sarah McLachlan “I will remember you” playing, we finally arrived at the resort Whyndam. By the time we arrived, we were so ready to take advantage of the all inclusiveness and hit up the buffet and bar. After a little lunch, Sam, Katie and I discovered that our room had a pretty sweet balcony with a Jacuzzi, which we put to great use. We spent our days in Cozumel doing everything from lying in the sun, swimming in the pools to playing beach and water volleyball and of course enjoying the foam fiestas in our hot tub. We also enjoyed doing a little swinging at the bar because they had swings instead of bar stools. They were my personal favorite! Throughout the four days we were all frequent visitors to the snack bar, where we ate our weight in hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, quesadillas, and nachos. The best part of it all was that anytime you ordered a drink or food, no need to pull out your wallet to pay for it, the blue wristband was all you needed. Overall Cozumel was a complete success and our escapades were priceless. I do believe we left our mark on Cozumel and Cozumel left its mark on us!

The Day Post Fall Break and Out of the Ordinary

So t'was the day post fall break and as I awoke in the morning I could already hear my liver and sanity thanking me. As some of you may know we spent a wonderful time in Cozumel, Mexico thoroughly enjoying the scenery, cool temperature, pools, all-inclusive drinks, and Jacuzzi bathtubs. It was an educational trip. I learned about 15 new drinks (such as a dirty monkey, a dirty monkey with a tail, luzes de Habana, Miami Vice, Blue Kamakazis, Lemon Drop, etc etc), how many bottles of hotel shampoo is takes to make a wicked bubble bath in a Jacuzzi (2 bottles), and what happens when you add 17 crazy Centre students to an all inclusive beach resort in another country (fun fun fun). It was a marvelous time, but I'll leave those stories for others to tell. What I will tell you now is exactly what happened today when I woke up...really strange things. For one, the first thing I noticed when I woke up was that it wasn't boiling hot! Not only did I have my clothes on, but I also have my covers on too. This is rare in 110 degree weather (which is the usual temperature around here). And I mean 110 degrees Celsius, jk, Fahrenheit of course. Anyway, it felt completely amazing. I didn't wake up already sweating and sticky from humidity. I carried on my day as I naturally do and after breakfast I waited outside my house like usual for the bus. I waved one down just as I got out of the house and it decided to stop a block ahead of me. He threatenly tapped the gas pedal, and knowing how teasing and impatient the bus drivers sometimes are, I made a run for it. As I got on the bus I noticed that there were only 2 more people. Now if you know about Mexican buses, or any Mexican automobiles, there will always be somewhere between 6 and 100 people squished in there. (Whoa, looked how weird squished is spelt, its pronounced squwished, but there is no w in there, I just googled it!) Anyway, 2 people, plus me, plus bus driver adds up to only 4, in a bus! Let me tell you, that is strange. And after literally 2 minutes it was just me and the bus driver. NEVER HAVE I EVER been on a bus alone! Ever, in Mexico, never ever. I was today. I looked around and realized that no one else left except me. The bus driver caught me off guard and asked me where I was going. "Centre! uhhh I mean Centro, Centro!" In response the bus driver went off the usual route, took a short cut, and went straight to the Centro! This made me wonder if he had been taking short cuts all day which would explain why he didn't have anyone on his bus. Is he trying to get himself fired? Maybe? Clever way of doing it I suppose. As I got off my bus stop I saw a clown dressed up in blue with big yellow shoes. Yes, that's right, I saw a Mexican clown. Anyway, he was checking himself in the mirror, as I passed by he said something in Spanish which I didn't understand, but then immediately showed me his zipper which was located on his shirt from his shoulder to neck, which was unzipped. Ahh, I said to myself, luckily I'm not a dumb ass and I can take hints when I see them. So in response I tied his shoes. JK! I helped him with his god forsaken zipper which after a long 4 minutes of trying, finally noticed it was stuck in a hole in the cloth. The whole time I was wondering if it was some trick and if I was going to be squirted with water or something. Luckily I was not. After a gracias, a smile, and a de nada, I carried on my way to school where everything returned to normal. Normal is not part of this story so I'll fast forward to when I got home. When I got home everything seemed normal, I got off the bus, walked through the gate. As usual Teri (my Mexican dog the most awesomest dog in the world) was waiting by the door. As I opened the door and looked in the house, all the things in the living room, the chairs, the old clock, the lamp, the mirror, etc etc was all replaced by pieces of fallen cement and concrete on the floor, everywhere. What I have just described is what is called house construction, which is what will be going on in my house for the next 15 days. 15 days of hammering and tearing down walls, and ripping out floors. I don't mind really, since I'll be on a trip soon. Anyway, that is what happened to me today, and it might not seem very strange to you but it was for me, especially because I had just come back from vacation, and this is not what my sanity was expecting. Pues... let me leave you with this fun video of some more clowns I've seen on this trip...with love of course!

School in Merida is No Joke (Michael Keach)

¡Buenos días, América! When I wrote my last entry, I had not yet begun classes in Mexico- and let me tell you, its no longer all fun and games. Don’t get me wrong- there are still plenty of opportunities to go out, dance, explore, and have fun. However, there is now always the looming deadline somewhere in my mind. The first week and a half in Mexico was a fun-fueled tour and exercise in “getting to know another and your environment.” Everyday, we had a fun activity planned- visiting ruins, snorkeling, hitting the beach- the only responsibilities we were charged with involved keeping track of our wallets and looking out for one another. I’m not going to lie- the addition of class definitely bummed me out a bit. I’ve never been what would be considered an “academic” (well, at least by Centre College standards) and so naturally, I would prefer to have kept on partying and learning by fieldtrips, rather than papers and reading assignments. However, I’m not yet aware of any school that operates in such a fashion. To be honest, I had some crazy idea that the workload in Mexico would be a joke compared to the rigor back in Danville. How naïve I was! The classes that I am in right now are actually very challenging, and time consuming. I had been fed tales by Centre friends who had been abroad- “Don’t worry- It will be cake. There are only like 30 days of class per semester.” While it may be true that there are only 34 days that I am scheduled to have class this semester, each day I am in class for 4 hours. Though we don’t hold class on Fridays down here, I still attend class for 16 hours a week- a significant increase compared to the 12 or so hours stateside. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have class from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. - which can really be trying on one’s concentration. I guess I can’t complain too much, though. I know of several girls down here who take all four of their classes on the same days. While they only have to go to school 2 days a week, each day they have class for 8 hours! I am in two anthropology classes, and two Spanish classes. I take a Folklore anthropology class taught by Prof. Passariello, and it is definitely my favorite class. We have been reading several books, but the one I really enjoy is about the various folk saints of the Mexican people. One particularly interesting character is Jésus Malverde (The bad green one!), a train robber in late 1800’s Mexico who would redistribute his wealth among the poor. Today, he is prayed to and venerated mostly by drug dealers and criminals. Because the Day of the Dead is approaching (Nov. 1-2), last Monday we met at Prof. Passariello’s home to craft in the theme of the holiday. I had a lot more fun with this activity than I had anticipated. I made a skeleton- horse, complete with real dead flowers, glitter glue, and little sparkly fabric puffs. My other anthropology class is about the ancient Maya, and I certainly am learning a lot. For our midterm exam last week, we were permitted open- books. The catch: each response (all ten of them!) had to be AT LEAST a whole page typed (double spaced, of course.) I ended up with 16 pages, after about 8 hours of labor. My Spanish conversation class is a lot of fun. Rather than focusing on reading or book exercises, our homework consists of interviewing Mexican citizens or reading the paper and presenting our findings. We also have debates and conversation during class, which I think is more essential to learning the language than is writing or memorizing vocabulary. Our midterm consisted of watching a movie in Spanish, and then answering 5 questions to test our comprehension. My Mexican literature class is most trying for me. We are always reading, always in Spanish, and the language is complex. It takes me forever to do my homework, because it seems as though I have to use my dictionary to look up every other word. Our midterm for that class was to write 8 pages, either an essay or a short story. I chose to write a short story, because you can’t really give a wrong answer when you are creating your own story. I hope my professor agrees with me. Right now, I am on my final day of fall break. With the exception of one or two others and me, the entire Centre crew went to Cozumel. I am sure they had a blast, and I can’t wait to hear the stories. In fact, they are probably on their way back right now. I opted to save a bit of money and hang around Mérida for the break. As of now (this is before I have heard the wild tales) I am glad I stayed home, because I slept in until well past noon everyday, and also got a whole ton of work done. I also had time to write my friends and call my parents, for the first time since I arrived. Also, Friday night I had the opportunity to experience a small town’s celebration and dance. I don’t know the name of the city, but it is about 30 minutes from Mérida. Alison (Prof. Passariello’s assistant and my good friend) invited me to attend the cultural event with her, along with Claudia (who works as a sort of liaison and interpreter for our Mexico program) and several of her friends. I witnessed a style of dance that I had never seen, and the women dancing had beautiful, ornate dresses. Alison and I were the only gringos there, and I feel like this was the most genuine Mexican cultural experience I have seen. I am about half- way through my Mexican excursion. I have certainly learned a lot, and I have realized that though many things are way different in Mexico, Americans still have a lot in common with Mexicans. Will I be happy to get home to Kentucky? Certainly, without a doubt. I have always taken for granted the resources and rights we have at our disposal in the States. However, I think my stay in Mexico has enriched me as a person, and will forever change my perceptions and attitudes. Adiós, Michael Keach Sunday, October 18, 2009

Family Life- Rachel Skaggs

I truly believe that the homestay element of Centre in Mexico is the best part. I have grown to love my huge extended family. There are always people in and out of our house, and we even had a wedding anniversary party last weekend where SIXTY-FIVE of our immediate family members came to our house for tacos, cake, and socializing. We have lived in Mexico long enough for this all to feel routine. Kara and I have a host family that loves to take us around and show us new places and things to do in and around Merida. Last weekend, this was a day trip to the colonial city of Izamal where nine Maya pyramids are set amongst the small modern houses and stores as well as the huge monastery. This monastery is beautiful and ancient. The oldest date I saw on any of the inscriptions was from the 1600’s. Pope John Paul II visited here in 1993, and there is even a large statue of Friar Diego de Landa in one of the city squares. I have already had so many great experiences, but this weekend has definitely been the best weekend of all. On Friday, our Tio Pepe and Tia Elia brought us to the Maya site of Uxmal. Unlike the rest of our Maya site experiences, we went to this one at nine pm. We wandered toward the main square and sat. This site has a light and sound show that tells the story of the city of Uxmal. It was fun and very different to get to see the ancient buildings lit up with white, green, red, and blue lights. At times, they would only light certain parts of the monuments, such as the Maya god Kukulcan. They told stories in Spanish as we sat and listened, all while reclined on the steps of one of the huge buildings. This was a great night and a fun time to bond with some of our other family members. On Saturday and Sunday we went to our family’s beach house in the fisherman’s village of Sisal. This is the town where all of the henequen plants used to be sent out, thus giving henequen its other name, Sisal. We have been here once before and stayed in Mama Melba’s house, but this weekend we went with our “nephew” Beto and stayed in his beach house. The day started with a great picnic by the pool with brie, crackers, crema de cacahuate con miel (Peanut butter with honey), and brownies. The group had a great time here and then decided to walk on the beach. Phyllis, Alison, and Widdle came with us, and Widdle had the best day ever on the beach. She ran as fast as her 11-year-old dachshund legs could take her. She chased seagulls and made new doggie-friends until Phyllis & Alison decided that it was time to go home. Later on, we watched a Mexico vs El Salvador Soccer game, ordered a pizza, and took in the sea air. Today we fished at 6 am (with only line, hook, and bait!), slept in the sun, and ate our fish. It was a great weekend, and a great peek into Mexican family life yet again!

pescadora buena, pescadora muerta - katie halloran

if there were be two phrases to sum up this trip so far, they would be, "i love my life" and "where ARE we right now?". the first is self-explanatory, but the second i find myself constantly saying because i end up in the most ridiculous and crazy situations that i would have never imagined being in, let alone in mexico. por ejemplo, instead of preparing for my midterms, i spent this past weekend at two separate beaches. doesn't sound too wild, right? well, on friday (i'll take this opportunity to mention that we don't have class on fridays!!!) a group caught the bus to progreso. it costs about two dollars to get there and back, and it's about a thirty minute bus ride, although time passes quickly because there is typically a guitarist serenading all of the passengers. we swam, laid out, had a cheap but delicious lunch, and then began to walk back to the bus stop. on the way, christine spotted a bathing suit in one of the shops, and so we separated from the rest of the group so that she could have a closer look. the shop was a mix of convinient store/bathing suit shop/restaurant/bar, and while christine tried on her potential purchase, i started talking to the store owner, francisco. he asked if i spoke spanish, if i was a student, etc., and when he found out that i was taking some anthropology classes, he began to explain his past career as a tour guide. we became fast friends. i bought a bottle of jamaica (a mexican beverage made from hibiscus), and he asked why i wasn't drinking beer. in between trying to explain that i wasn't in the mood to drink and him showing off all the brands of beer in the cooler, christine returned to pay for her bathing suit. this was only a minor distraction. he became more persistent and offered us each a free shot of tequila. we thought why not, and he broke out a bottle, some limes, and salt. he was not satifised with only one, offering us another, and i'm pretty sure he would have had us empty the bottle had we not firmly refused. only in mexico can a simple purchase of a bathing suit turn into free shots (p.s. francisco wants to throw the group a party at his restaurant very soon). on saturday i had received an invite to the beach house of rachel and kara's host family. the drive itself was an adventure. we piled seven humans (professor included) and one dog into a car. once there, beto, a grandson of rachel and kara's host family, had forgotten his key so we all ventured to the pool with some snacks while we waited for someone to come let us in. the rest of the day was spent swimming, playing cards, and watching the mexico vs el salvador futbol partido because we had an early morning. at 5:45 a.m. our alarms went off, and we quickly threw on our suits to meet our fishing guide, pepe, at the beach. mind you, when told that we were going fishing, all of us expected a decent-sized boat with actual fishing rods. not the case. pepe, rolls up in this tiny, wooden contraption with the motor practically duct-taped and super-glued to the back. it took awhile to even start, and i began to imagine myself stranded at sea as pepe attempted to row us back to shore. after a twenty minute ride out, pepe pulls out six large spools of fishing line with hooks tied to the end. he then pulls out some tiny fish, which he chops into little pieces. we were all a little sea sick at this point, and personally i almost tossed my cookies right there. rachel was definitely on the same page because shortly after i got a great view of vomit chucks floating in my direction. lydia was next to go. just more food for the fish, right? so stomachs emptied we continued on. fishing sisal style consists of just holding a piece of fishing line, and then we you get a bite, just jerk the line until you hook a fish. then you have to reel them in bare-handed. i dominated some fishing, which i attribute all to the straw fisherman's hat that beto let me borrow. they started calling me "pescadora buena", and pepe, noting a passed out passenger on the side of the boat, referred to rachel as "pescadora muerta." pepe really got a kick out the four gringas vomitting off the side of his boat, especially kara. her spanish skills are epic. they consist of phrases such as, "buuuuueeeeenoooo" and "puedo cerveza", pepe lauging at both. he even started repeating her ridiculously voiced, dying cat call, "bueno". upon returning to the shore, we had a feast of the fish we caught, crashed a birthday party by the pool (equipped with beer, birthday cake, and techno music), and watched "legally blonde". i really can't comprehend how i end up in these situations, but when in mexico, live as the mexicans do.

What a month its been... Kara Beer

Vida es buena... This is pretty much all I can say to describe my life thus far in Mexico. Each day I wake up, might I add drenched in sweat, but nontheless totally ready for an awesome day- which never fails to occur. My host family and I are starting to truly bond and I feel that I get closer each week with them. Every Wednesday Mama Melba, my Tia Norma, Rachel and I all go to the movies and then to dinner. The first week we were in our home stay Rachel and I suggested it might be fun to hang out together at the movies and its now become our weekly "thing". Our eighty-something mom and aunt decided to see "The Ugly Truth" one week and Rachel and I thought this would be good. Little did we know that there are some graphic scenes in the movie and they were certaintly not meant for the eyes and ears of little gray-haired eighty-year-olds. I remember looking over in several scenes and seeing my poor Tia Norma's hands over her mouth, with a wide-eyed expression of shock. Rachel and I were mortified and convinced our trips to the movies would have seen their last that night. However, much to our releif, when we walked out of the theatre they both wore wide grins and said nothing to us about the content of the movie. Perhaps the Spanish subtitles didnt translate the English exactly or perhaps Melba and Tia Norma are just a lot cooler than we ever expected- I'm going with the latter of the two. One of our latest exploits with my family was this past Friday when we went to Uxmal for the light and sound show. Rachel and I piled into the car with our Uncle Pepe and his wife Elina and quite literally raced to Uxmal. Pepe loves to drive as fast as he can and the roads can be a little rough, plus I'm sure we almost plowed down at least 3 people on bikes. Needless to say once we arrived I was quite happy. The light and sound show was so beautiful and we were able to literally sit on a ruin, while watching the ruins around us light up. There was a story and music that went along with the light show, however, my spanish skills are quite lacking and I picked up on about every fifth word. Despite not understanding the "sound" part of the show I had a wonderful time and am hoping to go back soon. Anyone up for a trip to Uxmal?!

Only in México: Blair Murphy

It has officially been one month since I stepped foot in Mexico. I never knew the routine of starting classes would make my time here pass by so quickly. On the upside, I have finally been here long enough to know my way around instead of looking like just another tourist. That doesn’t mean that I don’t still stick out like a sore thumb, but I think the look of confusion on my face has definitely dwindled. I now understand to a certain degree why people stare at us. It is more than us merely getting hit on by Mexican men. There is a certain curiosity in seeing someone who looks different from you. In my case, I am now curious whenever I see white people too.

On a random note, just about everything here is eaten with salsa. When I say everything, I mean it. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks…it is always there. Not saying that I am not a fan of salsa, I just need a little variety sometimes. Because of this, we have decided to branch out on our food choices when we eat outside of the house. The last place I ever expected to have Sushi was in Mexico, but it has really been one of, the best, if not the best, meals that I have had since I’ve been here. I came into this trip thinking that I was going to be eating tacos, quesadillas, and fajitas the whole time. I was wrong. They have just about everything here that we have in the states. Eating the food here has also made me realize that we have a very limited amount of food that is “American.” In fact, the main things I associate with “American” food here are sandwiches, burgers, or hot dogs. I am just glad that we have relied on some other countries to broaden our food choices back home.

Anyways, that is enough about food. This weekend a couple of us had our first Mexican movie theater experience. The funniest thing is that the movies are all pretty much in English with Spanish subtitles, but the names are different. For instance, “The Hangover” here is called “¿Qué pasó ayer?” which translates directly into English as What happened last night? The movies here also come out much later than they do in the states, but that just means that if we really liked a movie from back home we might get to see it again here!

This weekend a few of us made the trip from Mérida to Chichen Itza. It is one of the most touristy ruin sites here, but after going there I can see why. The main pyramid there is just huge; there is no other way to describe it. I also really got a greater sense for what the ball courts were like because the little rings through which the balls passed during the games were still intact on the walls of the court. There was a little thrown for the King to sit and watch the game and basically wait to see which of the two players would later be sacrificed. Crazy.

There were both pros and cons to the tourism of Chichen. Stands lined the walkways to every ruin site so that you could not escape the constant pressure to buy something. In saying this, there was also a constant source of entertainment every time we walked from one site to another. The phrases that the venders had picked up to draw in English-speaking tourists were nothing but comical. Everything was either “almost free,” or at a “discount for today.” When they asked if you spoke Spanish, the phrases that followed next were either “barato” or “tiene un novio,” which mean cheap, or do you have a boyfriend. It never got old.

Well, time to study for Midterms after our five days of class. As much as I am not very excited about them, I also have the thought in my head that in 4 days I will be arriving to the island of Cozumel to do nothing but relax at the beach for our fall break. Only in Mexico.

Blair

John C

Well even after classes started the trip is still going great. The classes have a lot of reading involed and we have midterms coming up this week but I guess it can't all be fun right? There hasn't been anything too crazy going on, after classes started we kind of got into a routine: classes monday through thursday, beach on friday, discotecas friday and saturday night, and all day at the starbucks on sunday doing homework and using the internet. We kind of changed things up a little this past weekend considering we have midterms coming up and then fall break this weekend we went to the movie theater and we went to chichen itza and we tried out the Barbeque House which was all inclusive food and drink all night for around 9 american dollars. I've started to figure out the bus system a lot better and a taxi is always a reliable source of transportation. The majority of the people are leaving this thursday around 7 in the morning for our fall break consisting of 4 days and three nights in Cozumel which is going to be an amazing trip and is the one thing helping most of us get through these last few days of tests.

Feeling OK, Feeling Alright -- Taylor Erwin

I've always held a fondness for the expression "fly by the seat of your pants" (in this apparel based analogy of aeronautics in which one's hindquarters are jettisoned into the wild blue yonder I imagine the wallet, sitting in the cockpit of my back pocket, to be the pilot - a fitting comparison, indeed - my legs the wings propelling me forward; would this make my zipper the navigation, compassing me into a wondrous journey--or oblivion?). Regardless of the airline implications I do believe that most of my experiences thus far have been off the cuff, if we're continuing with our clothing line of expressions. Not infrequently I find myself hopping onto a bus, throwing down my $6 peso fee, and finding a seat by the window, and keeping my fingers crossed that I'll know where I am when I get off.

If Mérida is anything, it's a city that breathes. I feel the pulse of activity every

step I take along the streets, smelling not only the curbside vendors and noxious fumes of countless buses, but the passion and vitality - the vivacity - that keep the blood flowing through this city. Although I spend little of my free time in El Centro, the entirety of pedagogical attention we receive takes place downtown, providing near daily exposure to the heart of Mérida. Likewise, the necessity of public transportation opens a window - albeit with translucent curtains still drawn - into the lives of those living here. I imagine where these people are going (in jeans, no less; for god's sake, it's an average of 95º F everyday!) and what they must be thinking of this six foot plus gringo in aviator sunglasses and Chaco sandals riding the bus by himself, reading a Tom Robbins novel (I've found that the bus, not quite a hub of conversation even for the locals, is a great place to read since I can't communicate verbally with it's patrons). Then I wonder if they're even thinking about me at all.

Whenever I receive an e-mail from home or Skype with loved ones and they ask how is Mexico I almost consistently respond, "Well, it's hot." While I try to avoid complaining about the weather I think it would be absolutely absurd to try and act as if it did not shape daily life and our perception of the place we inhabit. Plus, it really is very hot.

One thing that I can say about Mérida, and all the locations we've visited thus far, is that it doesn't get boring. On one street alone (Avenida Montejo, if you're wondering) there are several discotecas, watering holes, and karaoke bars. These establishments have been oft

frequented by our group, both as

a whole and in smaller sects. While much dancing has indeed occurred, I find an evening spent in the boîte known as Palacio del Billar to be worthy of recantation. Jose Ordonez, John Clark and myself noticed a special for Tuesday nights and decided to try it out; we also thought we'd pull our singing voices out of the attics and see if they still fit after all these years. After a few locals strutted their stuff, I thought perhaps I should give it a go. So I did. As did Jose. And we sang. We sang until our vocal chords switched to reserve power. Feeling quite courageous - perhaps it's just that Mexican air - we serenaded the crowd, their hearts melting butter over the flapjack's of our songs (to which I am now liberally applying a hefty helping of maple syrup sarcasm). In addition to several Spanish songs from Jose (which I did not know) I added to the mix The Doors, a dash of Eminem, and 1 part Backstreet Boys, a la "I Want It That Way." I don't want to say it was spiritual, but it's the first thing that comes to mind.

Mexico is fun. It is a gift basket of experiences, a taste of everything (what's with these food metaphors?). However, one thing I've tried to not overlook while I'm here are the differences from America. I do not want to become disillusioned by the nightclubs and beach trips - but, oh sweet Jesus, those beach trips are nice; it's hard not to think about all the people changing class in Grace-Doherty Library on a Friday afternoon as I lay on the white sand beach of the Yucatan Peninsula - but I always try to keep in my mind the disadvantages so many of the citizens of this country have. I believe that maintaining a viewpoint that doesn't forget that I am fortunate enough to live in the country I do allows me to truly experience everything Mexico is, and helps me to avoid becoming the obnoxious, self-righteous ass that much of the world views Americans to be already.

This trip, without a doubt, is the trip of a lifetime.

La Vida en Merida- Sarah Swauger

From the moment I stepped off of the plane in Mexico, this experience has felt like a never ending adventure. The adventure began with a flat tire and cracked windshield on the bus ride from Cancun to Merida. Somehow, my streak of bad luck with the busses has continued from that moment. Last night after waiting for 45 minutes for a bus, we crowded onto it with our huge backpacks and stood jam packed the entire ride home. When we finally had to get off, I had to push Blair through the crowd as everyone around us just watched and laughed at the silly Americans. Aside from those minor issues, everything else has been absolutely incredible. When else in my life could I go to the beach every Friday?? I also feel like I have learned so much in such a short time. I never knew anything about the cultural history of this place and I enjoy learning about the Yucatan area both in and out of class. Every day we encounter people who are so in love with Mexico that they just want to share it with us, like this man we met outside of the cathedral who took us on a mini tour. One of my favorite experiences has definitely been spending time in Puerto Morelos. Scuba diving was amazing as everyone else has said, but I also enjoyed going to the square to watch some kids perform traditional dances. It seems like there is always some kind of celebration going on with music and dancing, which is way different from life in the States. I also think this experience has been made that much better because of the family me and Blair are living with. Our mom, Gloria, is always so sweet and makes amazing food. From the moment we met her, she has been more than willing to help us with everything, from the busses to where we should go on the weekends. She has 3 daughters all with children, so the house is always lively when the grandchildren come over. I especially love playing with the kids in the pool and I already feel like part of this family. I’m sure there are more adventures to come!

Adios,

Sarah Swauger