Posts (page 2)

It was a beach day today, with great weather and warm water.  The water was cloudy like the Jersey shore, though.  I’ve been warned (about a million times) about how much stronger the sun is here but reapplying SPF 50 throughout the day seemed to do the trick, and I survived with no sunburn.  We ate lunch at an open restaurant on the beach that had tables in the sand.  We ordered drinks and got all sorts of interesting appetizers for free with them.  It was fun to taste all the different kinds, but out of the 8 or more types we only liked a few.  I’m not even sure what we were eating most of the time.  One thing I know for sure though is that I’m tired of corn tortillas and really miss flour tortillas.  And I could go for a Crunchwrap Supreme.

Tonight during my shower I could hear kids playing in the street below (because there is NO water pressure so the shower is almost silent when running) and singing to the tune of, “This old man, he plays one; he plays knick knack on my thumb.”  I wish I could understand what they were saying, because it would be neat to know what lyrics they have for it.

Yesterday we learned to salsa dance in culture class!  It was fun and although we were only taught some basic steps, a lot of us were still terrible at it.  Then at night we had a welcome party at CIS with our host families.  It was interesting because I am already mostly used to the kind of food that Delia and Raquel make, so it was fun to try food from other host families. 

Then this morning we woke up early and headed out for a day trip to see some cenotes.  Cenotes are basically freshwater lakes that form from the underground water system breaking down limestone and creating sinkholes.  Many of the cenotes are underground like the ones we went to today.  We got to the cenotes on carts pulled by horses on a track that was once used for “los trucks,”(yes that is the Spanish word for them, I learned it while playing Loteria in class) which the Mayans used for transporting henequen.  As we were swimming there were bats flying around above us.  I expected the water to be freezing cold, but it wasn’t.  We were all in awe of how turquoise and clear the water was, and we could see alllll the way down to the bottom.

At night we went to Paseo de Montejo in the center in the city, where every Saturday they shut down some of the streets and then restaurants put tables outside and there is live music.  While we were watching Raul Sanchez sing (he was very popular), there were kids running around all over and through our legs.  Street venders were selling jewelry, toys, wallets, and all sorts of other things.  They also set off fireworks.  It was such a fun and nice family atmosphere.  I feel safer in this city than I do in Philly.  We bought ice cream, which was less creamy than the kind at home and had more ice chunks. 

Then we went to a karaoke bar where they referred to Allison, Jess, Ashley, and Megan as the “American Band.”  They sang a Spice Girls song.  Most of the places we have been to have had fun waiters with a lot of personality and like to joke around with us a lot.  Many of them speak English, so it always makes us laugh when we ask something in broken Spanish and they respond with very good English, but it also makes me feel guilty sometimes because I am a visitor in their country, and they shouldn’t have to speak in my language.  People sometimes apologize for their poor English and I try to tell them that I should be sorry for not speaking Spanish. 

At the end of the night, we went out on the streets and put our salsa lessons to good use, and danced with each other and some of the older locals to the live music.  It kind of reminded me of cheesy dancing you do with someone’s dad at a wedding.  Most guys were patient with us and our poor rhythm.  I even saw Megan being taught a new step, and we learned after a while that we’re not supposed to salsa to every song, which is too bad because it’s all we know.  It was fun to watch some the couples who have obviously been dancing for years.  The guys here move their hips better than I ever thought possible.

Yesterday we went on a bus tour or Merida.  I didn’t get many impressive pictures (the good stuff always seemed to be on the other side of the bus!) but it was fun and interesting.  We saw a lot of mansions that were previously owned privately by people who got rich from exporting henequen that was grown by Mayans.  A lot of the mansions are owned by companies now, and turned into offices or restaurants. 

Spanish classes have been going very well.  In my language class, it is interesting because there are two girls from Holland that are learning Spanish before they work as volunteers here in Mexico for a month.  One of them, Linsey, speaks English very well and Patty is good too but not as fluent as Linsey.  I can’t imagine trying to learn a language when all explanations are in another unfamiliar language.  They explain things to each other in Dutch a lot and I always feel like there are a million languages flying around the room at once (or just three).  Both girls are really good at rolling their R’s too, because rolling R’s are in the Dutch language.  So is the hacking “HHHHeh” sound like Hebrew, and they usually say the “sh” sound when there is just an S.  I asked what bye was in Dutch and I think they said it sounded like “doy.”  Linsey always tells me how great the weather here is because there is NEVER sun in Holland.  It always sounded like a nice place to me but I guess it is dreary.  She claims that even when the sun is up, there is still no sun.  It must rain a lot.

Yesterday we had our first day of class.  We woke up at 7:00 and Raquel, Delia’s maid, served Dana and me bread, coffee, and different kinds of fruit including papaya, guava, banana, and pineapple.  Then Raquel escorted us on the bus to Centro de Idiomas del Sureste (CIS). 

We took a placement exam at 8 and then had Spanish class from 9-12.  Valentino is the beginners’ teacher.  I learned that Mexicans are somewhat insulted when we introduce ourselves as americanas, instead of norteamericanas, because they live on the same American continent as us (granted we’re both on north as well, but I guess we are northern north, so it’s okay to call ourselves that).  At 12 there is a half hour break, and then at 12:30 we have Mexican culture class.  Roger taught us how to take the bus, how the city is set up, good places for food, and some fantastic discotecas.  We hope to go to Mambo Café soon and participate in some salsa dancing.  Raquel picked us up from school and we took the bus home again for lunch at 3:00. 

The afternoon was spent studying and dinner was at 8:00 (where I ate my first jalepeno pepper!).  Then at night Dana, Danielle, and I went out with Danielle’s homestay brother, Felix, at Segas.  It was a neat little café/bar, and they played lots of American music.  In fact, we hear a lot of American music everywhere. 

Felix told me that Americans are called gringos because when the US and Mexico were at war, the Mexicans would say to our soldiers, “Green, go” because our soldiers were wearing green and the Mexicans wanted them to leave.  Now that has turned into the term “gringos.”  He also told us that the Yucatan got its name from when the Spanish first came here and met the Maya.  They kept asking the Maya in Spanish, “What is this land called?” and the Mayans responded (in Mayan!), “I don’t know what you’re saying” which, funny enough, the last three syllables sounded like “Yucatan.”  In all, it was a fantastic day, and the most important thing I learned is that Merida water is safe to drink (and brush your teeth with).

Today we took the bus on our own and started off with a taxonomy quiz at eight, and then Spanish class again.  I finally got to a bank today, and took out 1,000 pesos, which a little less than 100 dollars.  It made me feel like a big spender.  In Mexican culture class, we learned about the history of chocolate, and how the Mayans would prepare it with chili, not sugar.  Then we took a field trip to a chocolate store.  In Mexico, people turn their noses up to the idea of powdered hot chocolate (chocolat caliente).  Instead, they boil water and then blend the hot water with a chocolate bar.  In the end you have foamy hot chocolate.  Megan and I shared a cup, and I did enjoy the foaminess.  We also sampled some beans and pieces of chocolate.

After class and as we were taking the bus home we got off at the wrong stop.  Sometimes it’s confusing in Merida because there are multiples of all the street names but different neighborhoods.  We got off at 18^th street in the wrong colonia, and found ourselves quite lost for a little bit.  After a loooong and hot walk back, we finally made it home.  Roger says it’s good to get lost at least once, so hopefully we won’t make the mistake again.

Right now it is the end of my first day in Mexico, and I’m very tired from waking up at 2:30 for the flight to Cancun.  We met with our guide who will be with us during most time spent traveling later in the semester.  His name is Hugo and he has a very funny personality.  Hugo took us to a buffet lunch in Cancun that was delicious.  On the way to the restaurant he talked to us about how Cancun was first built and has been increasing over the years.  The part of Cancun that we drove through wasn’t the resort area, and there was definitely no glitz and white beach.  There were a lot of stray dogs and a lot of litter.  Then we had the long bus ride to Merida.  We were picked up by our host families in the downtown area of the city and it was beautiful.  There is a huge Christmas tree and tons of lights and decorations all around.

Delia is my cute little Mexican homestay grandma, and I live in an upstairs bedroom of her house with Dana in colonia Mexico Oriente.  Delia lives alone, except for another student from Belize who is in the bedroom next to us (right now she’s home visiting her family).  Delia’s house reminds me of my grandma’s old apartment a lot, because of the smell and all the candy.  Our room has a nice balcony that looks down onto the street and Delia’s front gate.  Merida isn’t like New York or Philadelphia, where there are tall buildings everywhere.  There are a lot of individual houses that have their own front gate like Delia’s, and a lot of old unused buildings.

The language barrier is already difficult because Delia doesn’t speak any English and Dana and I can’t really speak Spanish, so when she gave us a tour of the house I don’t really know what she was explaining to us the whole time.  I think we got the gist, though.  She was looking for the moon when she showed us the balcony, I understood that much.

For dinner she made us soup (sopa) and added chili to it.  First she added what she called “American” chili, and it added some flavor, but then she added another kind (I supposed the “Mexican” chili), and that sopa ended up real spicy, but it was still tasty. 

Tonight I brushed my teeth with the tap water.  I don’t know what the results will be for that little mistake, but I’m hoping tomorrow will be fine.

Mensch Mills was an interesting time without cell phone service and internet for 4 days.  Most of the time at the barn we woke up early (6:30!?!) worked on our Bio 220 papers, had class, and studied.  My paper is on Carollia bats and Piper plants.  I know we'll see Piper plants in Mexico, and I hope we'll net a Carollia bat while we're there as well. 

Right now I'm sitting in the Philly airport, waiting for our flight to Cancun!!  Unfortunately we won't even get to see the water before we get on a bus for the 5 hour ride to Merida.  From there we'll meet with our homestay families (I think Dana and I only have a homestay mom, no family) and then go home with them.  Then class on Monday morning!

Today's the day I'm leaving for Mensch Mills, and it was just as hard to wake up as any other day.  I have to go to DPG sometime this morning and get my phone back from Jason, funny how I thought I was all packed and managed to leave that big detail in his car.  After four days at Mensch Mills in the exotic town of Bally I leave for Mexico, the real deal, on January 6th.  We leave for our flight at 4am that morning, but hopefully it won't be as difficult to wake up.