Traditional Dance, Ancient Ruins and Garden Structures: Week 4

Another week filled with learning!

From practicing the steps of the traditional dance of Yucatan, la jarana, which includes balancing a glass bottle on your head while your feet move to the driving rhythm of the music as your heart beats with excitement and nerves... our students progressed to the point of showing off their skills at a community festival!

They also enjoyed movie nights in the town square, surrounded by family, friends and neighbors.

Our students also learned how to make a ka’anche’, a raised garden bed that sits about 4 feet above the ground. It was constructed from wood, earth and leaves that most families in rural communities have in their backyards. This raised bed is used to plant a variety of herbs and small vegetables like chives, epazote (an important flavoring for black beans), radishes, cilantro and more. It’s height keeps the small garden from being dug up by the backyard chickens, turkeys, pigs and dogs. Don Francisco and Don Natividad, our same experts from our trip to the milpa, were our guides once again.

And we visited the Mayan ruins that are run and taken care of by the communal land owners’ organization, or ejido. There you can find the sacbe (white road) which forms part of a prehispanic trading network. This section of the sacbe is around 100 km long (62 miles) and measures 10 meters wide (10 yards) and reaches all the way to the ancient city and popular Mayan ruins of Coba.

Yaxunah: Our Days in the Pueblo

Before our next adventure began in the community of Yaxunah,Yaxcabá,Yucatán, we first visited the traditional pottery studio “Najil Kat” belonging to the family Espadas Xooc, in Uayma. Here, the students had the chance to explore the diverse materials and traditional techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation in this family of artists. With the help of Virgilio, we learned about the many types of local soil and clay that are mixed to make a diverse range of creations like vases, plates, mugs, toys, musical instruments, incense holders and more. As part of the workshop, each student sculpted their own little artistic creation, exploring their creativity and the skills necessary to work with the clay. Similar to the time spent in the city of Mérida, the families in Yaxunah are an invaluable aspect for the students to settle into the rhythm of everyday life. The arrival to Yaxunah marks the beginning of a beautiful new family relationship. Students can make s...

Immersion Practicum and Ninth Intercultural Unversity Forum 2025

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...

A Visit to the Coast and our Return to Merida

A Visit to the Coast and our Return to Merida Before beginning the next stage of our program in San Felipe, a small coastal community on the northern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula, we visited the Biosphere Reserve of Ria Lagartos for a boat tour of the estuary. During this tour, we learned about the importance of different types of mangroves, we saw the diverse species of migratory birds that arrive to nest in this region and we admired the endemic bird species that are a key part of the mangrove ecosystem. We also were lucky enough to see majestic groups of flamingos, different types of fishing eagles, herons, pelicans, cormorants, gulls, frigates, plovers and of course, the stars of the “Ria”, Morelet’s crocodiles! Once in the community of San Felipe, the process of meeting our new host families is always a clash of the nerves and excitement that are natural when entering into a completely new sociocultural context. Above all, it is a new opportunity to meet people with big hear...

Adventures in Yucatan, Mexico

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