Adventures in Yucatan, Mexico

Last weekend, the celebration of the Virgen of Guadalupe took place throughout Mexico. The Virgin of Guadalupe is celebrated as the patron saint of Mexico. Her story is one of the "mestizaje" the mixing of Spanish and native cultures. The Virgin of Guadalupe was first seen in a miraculous apparition by a native, Juan Diego, just outside Mexico City in the year 1531. She appeared in front of him, spoke to him in his native language, and asked for a shrine to be built in her honor at the site of her apparition. Some of our students with a group of "Guadalupanos" who had just arrived at the shrine of Guadalupe. The miracle of her apparition took place amidst the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The Virgin, although a Catholic figure, did not speak Spanish, but instead the language of the natives. She represents the combining of both cultures. Today she is celebrated as one of the most important figures in Mexican Catholicism, there are shrines dedicated to her all ov

After our orientation and a weekend of getting comfortable with their host families our COA students are jumping right into their classes. A view from the Mayan Anthropology class.  Students will take two classes throughout December and January before heading off on their independent projects. All of our students are participating in the Mayan Anthropology class: Life and Death Among the Mayans. For their second course some students will will continue their Spanish language class, building upon what they learned in the fall, and others will take an elective of their choice, all in Spanish of course! Building our very own mayan cities! This year our elective classes include: Biology and Ecology of the Yucatan Peninsula, History of Expression in the Yucatan: Mediums of Communication and Art, and Merida's System of Discarded Materials. Students take to the streets to learn hands-on about the city of Merida. Although we started out this week in the classroom,

Our students moved in to their host families this past weekend! There were nerves and excitement from everyone - but mostly just excitement! After their first encounters the students were off with their Yucatecan families for the weekend. Students spent the weekend getting acquainted with their new homes: they helped with the cooking, went to concerts, attended religious celebrations, and ate lots of new delicious food! The host families are one of the most enriching parts of the immersion program. The connections made by sharing your lives, culture, and food together for the next two months is sure to leave unforgettable marks. Bianca and her family. Julia and her mom. Halle and her mom. An and his family. Kira and her family. Sahra and her family. Ella and her family. Emmanuelle and her family. Thomas and his dad. Petra and her mom. Griffin and his family. Morgan and her family. Maxim and his mom. Marina and her

And so it begins! We are off and running on another winter program with our students from the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. Our 14 students arrived this past week, excited and ready for adventure! We spent one day in the capital city of Mérida, the headquarters of our program, and then set off for four days of orientation throughout the state of Yucatán. Our first day in Merida, enjoying breakfast. We kept the students busy, between exploring the wilderness and its plants and their uses, to a workshop in basket weaving with the local material “bejuco” in which each student produced their own work of art. We also had our first experience sleeping in hammocks, a necessary skill to earn your badge as a “Yucateco”. Apart from being woken up by roosters in the morning, everyone lasted their first night in hammocks. Our first night in hammocks! The next day we tested our strength and repelled 200 ft into an underground cave. Once inside th

It's our second to last day of the program! Yesterday we had a marathon day of final presentations where each student spoke for a half-hour about their experiences in rural communities. We saw the embroidered napkins and blouses, photos, artwork, hammocks and sombreros that the students produced in only three weeks and heard some amazing stories of their time. Today we have feedback sessions and are filming testimonials and tomorrow we say adios!  to all!  Interested in seeing some images from the final presentations? Check out our instagram at  https://www.instagram.com/picy.yucatan/  

Our students come back from their independent projects in the next few days. Here are some images from our visits with them in their communities. There will be many more images and stories to share once they arrive! Ella with the women of her family Haley with her family  Julia with her mother and puppies! Susana with her family showing off one of 2 hammocks she has made so far!

For the past two days we have been traveling around the peninsula and seeing some pretty amazing sites. Our first morning was an early one, at 6:30am we rode bikes to see a milpa , the traditional form of rotation agriculture in the Yucatan.  It was a beautiful, cool morning The fields look a lot different from the agriculture that we are used to. The useful trees are kept instead of cut down, like these guano  trees whose leaves are used to make the thatched roof of the homes.  With our guides  After breakfast we headed off to the Mayan ruins, but had time to braid hair in the van! We had some coconuts first to keep our energy up for all the walking! Karla explains a little bit about the archaeological site The group at the base of a ceiba, the sacred tree of the Mayans. We thunked it a few times to hear the sound the hollow trunk makes. This tree was thought to connect the heavens with the earth and the underworld Exploring ancient be