Adventures in Yucatan, Mexico

     This past week has been full of activities. We attended a conference at I.N.A.H. ( Instituto Nacional de Antropologia y Historia ) which spanned the entire week and was devoted to presentations from researchers on their findings regarding the Mayans in Northern Yucatan. We heard experts speak about cosmovision, architecture, speleology, archeoastronomy, bioarcheaology, anthropology, as well as epigraphy and the Mayan language. As the conference was geared more towards experts and less toward the general public, much of what was presented was difficult to understand, but nevertheless interesting to catch a glimpse of at the very least. Our students between speakers- photo taken from article about the conference: http://yucatan.com.mx/merida/educacion-merida/maya-y-espanol-deben-ensenarse-juntos Emily interviewing a participant during the break The group lining up to check in with Karla Some students interviewing a speaker Artifacts on display in the INAH

The City of Mérida       Before the famed Francisco de Montejo arrived on the limestone plateau of Yucat án and selected the perfect spot to build his city, the Mayans had already been there and built their own city of Ichcaanzihó which means "five hills." Later on, it was renamed T'ho, which is how Montejo came to know it, but with the ruins that he saw upon arrival so very similar to the Roman ruins in the city of Emérita, Spain, he decided to name it Mérida when the city was founded on January 6, 1542. In 1618, Felipe II, king of Spain bestowed upon Mérida the title of "noble and loyal city." The crest of the city of M érida      Initially, the city was divided in 4 neighborhoods around the parks of San Sebasti án in the south, Santiago and Santa Catarina in the west, San Cristóbal in the east, and Santa Lucía and Santa Ana in the north. These parks are still central meeting points in the city, and the students in this yea

¡ Hola!  The first week of the COA-PICY Yucatan program is complete! We have explored the capital city of Yucatan, scaled Mayan ruins, learned about the importance of mangrove forests, seen crocodiles, flamingos, pelicans, herons, eagles, and catfish in biosphere reserves, visited a city painted entirely yellow, and eaten  un mont ón  of delicious Yucatecan food. The students are now with their host families enjoying the weekend and a day of rest before attending a week-long conference on Mayan culture.  The Coast Passing time on a little island taking in the sun and learning how to open coconuts. The Pueblo Learning about the milpa (traditional agriculture)  Ruins Learning a little bit of Maya at the archaeological zone  The site of the game Pok Ta Pok (juego de pelota) Feeling the rubber tree that the Mayans used to make the ball for Pok ta Pok Scaling the palace building View from the top! Meeti