Yesterday our students visited one of the most import historical sites in the city of Merida: Casa de los Montejos. The Montejo family came to Yucatan in the mid 1500's as part of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Our group learned about the colonial er and the history of Merida which was founded by the Montejos on top of an ancient Mayan city. The "House of the Montejos" is located in front of the central plaza in downtown Merida. Today it is a museum that is open to the public at no charge. You can see the bed rooms, living rooms and dining room with much of the original furniture and artwork. They learned household vocabulary and that many words relating to home comforts in Spanish are actually derived from Arabic, dating to the eras when Spain was under Moorish rule.
In the final part of the Yucatan Program, our students have the opportunity to complete their Spanish Language and Cultural Immersion Practicum while living in a community apart from the group for three weeks. At this point they get to put into practice everything they learned during the program, as well as getting to know another host family and interact with new people. During this span of three weeks, the students are visited by their professors to see that they are having a positive experience, and above all to make sure that they don't have any problems in developing their independent project, which they were later able to share with us along with their experiences in a presentation upon their return to Merida. Each student’s experience was unique. In Merida, Emmaline was able to help usher in new life through her experience in the birthing unit of a local hospital. On the coast, Drew and Theo discovered new ways of experimenting with their patience in the co...